I
An introduction to the character of Leo Szilard and his discovery of the theory of the self-sustaining chain reaction. He foresaw its potential for military use.
Exploratorive, precise, myopic, Hungarian style.
Another sleepless night.
Morning's mist hangs still;
I cross at the light.
Thinking as I walk:
I must get this right.
Density and mass:
the secret at its core.
Surely this must be
one theory to explore?
Suddenly I see
As never before!
Two from one, the logic seems to be sound:
Four then eight, as seedlings born from the ground.
Locked away no more
The atom’s mystery.
Energy held fast
The Neutron sets free.
U-Two Thirty Five:
Could this be the key?
Thread by thread, the web is spun from its source;
Ring by ring, the ripple follows its course.
Deep within this darkness of science must I search,
Truth shall be revealed in the courage of night,
Far beyond the eye of the morning’s first light.
Power lies within
This self-sustaining state.
Moral truth must guide
The chain reaction’s fate.
History has seen
The deeds born from hate.
Fire and might, these words will blacken the sky,
Fear and death, my conscience must now deny!
Deep within this darkness of science must I search,
Truth shall be revealed in the courage of night,
Far beyond the eye of the morning’s first light.
An introduction to the character of Helia, a personification of the atomic bomb (light, energy, and power). Helia appeals directly to Szilard's disposition for scientific exploration and discovery, and his respect for the power of knowledge in evil hands.
Mysterious, seductive, ominous, sensual.
Virgin whispers of a sterile reflection.
My warmth, my dormant womb, awakes,
Forging the fire of our secret conception.
Adore me and I shall cloak you in my fire.
See beyond my pregnant shadow,
Within the void lies the soul of unborn light.
My beauty is locked in embers.
Liberate my heart, and our love shall blind the night.
Adore me and I shall cloak you in my fire.
Hear my cry: a silent need screaming;
Burning arteries flooding to infinity.
My thunder ignites the sky above;
Violet dawning as a new divinity.
My fury: an aching flame blooming;
Immortal seeds reigning for eternity.
Adore me and I shall cloak you in my fire.
An introduction to the character of Gertrude Weiss, Szilard's wife, and her concern about the growing unrest in Germany, Italy, and Japan. Her song encourages Szilard to follow his conscience, to be mindful of the past, and to warn America of his theory's power in the hands of the aggressors.
Plaintive, anxious, foreboding, persuasive.
And a restless sea,
I can feel you beside me in sleep
In a place so still.
As the cold light of dawn's eye draws near
From a nervous night,
I can hear your heart's vigilant cry
Of a closing storm.
Dream of our freedom
and fear not the darkness,
for the truth of our fate
lies within our past.
As the anxious clouds cover the sun
And the tranquil stars,
I can see your eyes search for escape
From a day in time.
As the screaming rain buries the earth
in a flood of tears,
I can sense your warmth bleeding away
as the evil grows.
Dream, dream of a dawning day.
Dream, dream! Do not lose your way.
The burden of our words
is the wisdom of virtue,
for the good of our deeds
shall be memory's gift.
Dream of our freedom
and fear not the darkness,
for the truth of our fate
lies within our past.
A conversatiom between Szilard and his conscience has he formulates the letter that he would ask Einstein to send to the President pleading with him for the US take immediate action.
Alarming, frightening, urgent, methodical, purposeful.
An introduction to the character of Robert Oppenheimer before he was appointed to head up the Manhattan Project by General Groves.
Ambitious, optimistic, grandiose, carefree, spiritual.
An introduction to the character of General Leslie Groves before he was appointed commander of the Manhattan Project by FDR.
Powerful, confident, patriotic, militaristic.
Groves convinces the government that Oppenheimer is the perfect man to lead the scientific arm of the Manhatten Project. Groves succeeds by appealing to Oppenheimer's civic duty and ethical responsibility as a theorist and scientist.
Patriotic, self-assured, constructive, affirmative.
Helia seduces Oppenheimer into discovering her by appealing to his love of nature and his respect for its beauty and power. She will prove to be the purest embodiment of such beauty and power. Humankind is a trivial but necessary step in the sequence of events leading to her discovery [freedom].
Seductive, powerful, beautiful, spiritual.
Groves and Oppenheimer undertake the construction of the Los Alamos facility. While Oppenheimer is responsible for assembling the best scientists, theorists and mathematicians [the city of knowledge], Groves concentrates on providing the necessary resources for the development of the "gadget" by overseeing facilities at Los Alamos, as well as in Tennessee and Washington [the city of power].
Militaristic, commanding, expansive, energetic.
Oppenheimer wrestles with his conscience as he contemplates the significance of his responsibility to humankind and to himself. His meeting with an old friend in Copenhagen leads him to reveal his inner conflicts, and to question his motivations. But ultimately, he succumbs to Helia's wishes and justifies his actions through his belief that the bomb will prove too terrible a weapon to ever be unleashed upon nature.
Anxious, unstable, reflective, introspective.
The government confronts Groves with evidence that Oppenheimer's friend in Denmark is a communist, including Oppenheimer's mistress in San Francisco. Groves vouches for Oppenheimer, and convinces the government that he is not a spy, and that the $2 Billion spent developing the bomb will not be a wasted expense. Groves must also convince himself of this and will ultimately have to hold true to his promise.
Confrontational, tense, then reassuring, patriotic.
A celebration of the Allied Victory in Europe. In contrast, a US soldier also recounts the horrors of what he saw while liberating occupied towns ravaged by years of war. With Germany's capitulation, the end of the war seems near.
Celebratory, optimistic, moralistic, patriotic.
Helia reappears to Szilard. Sensing his growing hate for her, she reminds him that her impending creation is now beyond his control. Szilard is aware that the Rising Sun in the East is a formidable enemy who must still be defeated. But he ignores her, and instead draws plans for her termination by drafting a second letter with Einstein to be sent to FDR. The President would die before ever reading it.
Insistent, confrontational, aggessive, urgent.
Groves senses that the war in the Pacific will soon be over, regardless of Japan's refusal to an unconditional surrender. He is aware that many are questioning the continued development of the "gadget" since the Allied victory in Europe, but he is adamant about having something to show for the $2 Billion that has been spent on the project. He must work quickly to produce a workable bomb before an invasion of the Japanese mainland is ordered, a strategy that could claim many more lives.
Powerful, militaristic, urgent, convincing.
Helia appears to Groves. He reveals that he too has heard her song, but pretended not to hear because his duties as an army general demanded absolute focus. The responsibilities mandated by the project ensured his continued involvement in her creation, so she never needed to seduce him, but he finds himself at odds with his conscience. Helia appeals to his patriotism, and convinces him that her liberation will prove to be his vindication in the eyes of the country, a decisive end to the war (for which he had hoped), as well as a place in the history books. This is a future too tempting for him to resist.
Introspective, sensual, lustful, tempting.
The final push toward the Trinity Test. Groves and Oppenheimer must work their teams hard to meet the deadline, while Szilard strains to be heard by a government now more interested in ending the war decisively than concerning itself with questions of moral responsibility. Helia's voice is heard becoming progressively more insistent as the hour of her revelation draws near. The frenzied pace finally reaches a climax as the disparate elements needed for her creation come together. The circuit is closed, and silence follows...
Furious, terrifying, energetic, overpowering.
Helia is unleashed. Her power is terrifying and beautiful. She asks: "Now do you understand?"
Horrifying, grandiose, then tender, sympathetic.
Szilard hears of the test, and later of the two bombs dropped on Japanese cities. He is horrified and feels betrayed. He is convinced that it was his discovery that unleashed evil upon an innocent world [essentially, Pandora's Box].
Reflective, introspective, sorrowful, regretful.