Andy McDermott - The Midas Legacy

‘Which can’t be used to make a bomb, I’m assuming,’ said Nina.

‘Correct. At least not at the Koreans’ current level of development. Plutonium-240 emits a great deal of harmful neutron radiation, with a high risk of a fizzled detonation, or even a premature one.’

‘Premature detonation’s a big problem for some men,’ Eddie quipped.

The Icelander ignored him. ‘But the Crucible achieves an almost total conversion of uranium-238 to supergrade plutonium-239, with practically no impurities. The ancient Atlanteans had the key to literally limitless power, but not the knowledge to use it. Now we have both.’

The technicians used a small crane arm to lift the sphere off the trolley and carefully lower it into the Crucible. Once it was in place, they quickly retreated. The sound of the particle accelerator had now risen to a shrill whine. A large digital readout in the control room was climbing with increasing speed; Nina didn’t know what it was displaying, but some of the staff were paying it close attention.

The lead technician gave a command. One of the operators pulled a lever, and the panels of the radiation shield edged shut, sealing in the Crucible with a flat bang. Another noise could be heard over the accelerator: a deep rumble of vacuum pumps.

The readout was rapidly approaching five thousand. A technician adjusted a dial, the rate of increase slowing slightly. The man in charge raised a hand, saying something in Korean that the visitors could only interpret as ‘Get ready…’

Five thousand — and the lights went out, plunging the room into a darkness broken only by the dim glow of the instruments. The technician barked an order. Another man worked a control. There was the clack of a heavy-duty circuit closing, and the room returned to full illumination. ‘Think you need to fix your fuse box,’ said Eddie.

‘They have switched in the second-stage power,’ Mikkelsson explained. ‘The accelerator is now at its maximum output. The liquid nitrogen cooling system has been brought to full capacity to stop the electromagnets from melting.’

The readings kept rising, the accelerator’s pulsing whine becoming a shriek. Tension was clear on the technicians’ faces as the seconds passed, then minutes. Nina imagined that if something went wrong with the process, the glowering Kang would hold them personally responsible for the failure.

The head technician bent over one of the displays, watching it unblinkingly. He began what sounded like a countdown. The Koreans all held their breath—

A strident buzzer made Nina jump. There was a rush of activity around the room as the techs rapidly worked the controls. The digital readout, which had just topped a figure of twelve thousand, plunged back towards zero as the electrical wail died down.

‘That’s it?’ Eddie asked, moving his cupped hands from his crotch.

‘It is,’ Mikkelsson confirmed. ‘That was the neutron burst.’ He looked over the shoulder of one of the white-coated Koreans at a screen, nodding in approval. ‘I believe the process has been successful. But we shall soon see for ourselves.’

A loud hiss of air came from below as the vacuum inside the radiation shield was breached. The panels opened, a vaporous cloud wafting out. The lead technician’s gaze snapped to a red-painted box on one wall, a radiation warning trefoil stencilled on frosted glass, but it remained unlit. He gave more instructions, his men completing the accelerator’s shutdown procedures while the two who had loaded the Crucible returned to extract its contents. The crane arm descended again, slowly lifting out the sphere.

‘It’s changed,’ said Nina. It was still dark grey, but subtly different in lustre.

‘Pure plutonium-239,’ said Mikkelsson, watching as one of the men ran a Geiger counter over it. The readings were to his satisfaction, and relief. ‘The uranium-238 was cast so it could be fitted straight into an already manufactured warhead after conversion. The North Koreans have a stockpile of such warheads based on proven Soviet designs, simply waiting for their nuclear cores.’

‘And I thought it was South Korea that was supposed to be super-efficient,’ Eddie said. ‘So that’s the plan, is it? Crank out a load of nukes, then tell the world, “Better not fuck with us”?’

‘These warheads are not for North Korea,’ Mikkelsson replied. ‘Not the first ones, at least.’

‘Then who?’ asked Nina, surprised.

Kang answered her question. ‘Saudi Arabia.’

That brought a splutter of disbelief from Eddie. ‘What?’ said Nina. ‘ Saudi Arabia? What the hell does Saudi Arabia want with nukes?’

‘The balance of terror,’ said Mikkelsson. ‘The Saudis want to strengthen their hand against Iran, and Israel. Nuclear weapons will give them that strength. The United States has refused to grant the Saudis access to nuclear technology because of the threat to Israel, but North Korea is willing to supply it in exchange for hard currency — and more importantly, oil.’

‘The Israelis’ll go fucking apeshit!’ Eddie protested. ‘They’ve got nukes of their own, and there are plenty of Israeli politicians who’ve been itching for an excuse to use ’em.’

‘This’ll destabilise the entire Gulf,’ added Nina. ‘Iran only just stopped its nuclear weapons programme — how do you think they’ll react to having one of their biggest enemies getting hold of them?’

‘They will buy them from us also,’ said Kang smugly. ‘An agreement has been made.’

‘Violating a treaty that took years to work out?’

‘The Iranian treaty will not be violated,’ Mikkelsson said. ‘I know, I helped negotiate it. It prevents Iran from developing its own nuclear fission weapons using uranium from its existing facilities. It does not stop them from buying plutonium-based fusion weapons from other nations. The importation of weapons systems was specifically excluded from the terms.’

Eddie let out a disgusted breath. ‘Fucking diplomats. Always leaving loopholes!’

‘And I guess there were other loopholes in the treaty you negotiated with North Korea, right?’ said Nina.

The Icelander nodded. ‘Restrictions were placed on the production of fissile material in its nuclear reactors. This,’ he nodded towards the particle accelerator, ‘is not a reactor. Therefore it is outside the terms of the treaty.’

‘I doubt the US will see it that way.’

‘What the United States thinks is irrelevant. By the time they learn the truth, North Korea will already have an arsenal of thermonuclear ballistic missiles capable of striking South Korea, Japan, even mainland America. The balance of terror will be restored, North Korea will feel safer from American aggression — and a country that feels secure is less inclined to take overtly aggressive acts. You only have to look at your own country before and after 9/11 for proof of that, Nina.’

‘Peace through fear, huh?’ she said scathingly.

‘As the writer Heinlein — an American, I might add — once said, “An armed society is a polite society.” Soon, many more nations will be armed. When everyone has a finger on the trigger, they become very careful about pulling it.’

‘And what happens when someone sneezes when their finger’s on the trigger?’ Eddie demanded.

Before Mikkelsson could provide a smug answer, Sarah again whispered to him, more forcefully than before. ‘Yes, soon,’ he snapped.

‘No, now , Fenrir,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to know. We’ve got to know!’

‘We do, sir,’ added De Klerx, glaring at Nina and Eddie.

‘Very well,’ said Mikkelsson — but before he could say anything more, the group was distracted by the return of the two technicians from the lower chamber. They were carrying between them a small but heavy metal case.