The Gemini Divergence Read Free

all wondering what could be of such importance, that I have
pulled you all out of the middle of your assignments, as I have
never done this before.”
    “Well,” he continued, “It seems that the war
is not going well for Germany. Many of you have probably already
suspected this. The Führer’s Staff is planning ways to turn the war
around but they have already had plans in place in the event that
there was going to be an enemy occupation. It looks as though many
parts of the Fatherland will indeed be occupied very soon, and
unfortunately there are many things that will be unacceptable, if
they were to fall into enemy hands. We have many wonder weapons
that we have made arrangements to move out of the Ruhr River
Valley, but unfortunately there are others that even though they
are of great importance to us, they are in fact of less importance
than others. Therefore, most of you are being given orders today to
completely liquidate these programs. There must not be anything or
anyone left behind that could let the Allies know what we have been
working on. You have specific agendas; lists of papers, drawings,
people, prototypes, etc. that you are either to remove, retrieve,
or raze… To make vanish; as if they had never existed.”
    The general pulled out his chair and sat. He
picked up the pile of papers in front of him and straightened them
as he went on, “You may open your packets and begin reading. I
think that you all will be very interested in the signature at the
bottom of your orders… I want to be sure that all of you completely
understand what we are doing before a single one of you leaves,
even if it takes all night.”
    Schwerig opened his packet and skimmed ahead
to the signature and was indeed shocked that it was signed by
Himmler. There was an added caveat after the signature that this
document was to be destroyed upon completion of the objective.
    *~*
    After finishing his meal, Sgt. Stark cleaned
his mess kit in a series of 50 gallon drum barrels that had been
cut in half with a cutting torch and laid out onto a makeshift
table of boards and saw horses.
    He waited his turn at each step as many other
soldiers were going through the same routine.
    Once again he agonized over his freezing
toes, his boots in mud deep enough to cover the fronts of his
toes.
    As he finished, he started to walk away,
tucking his mess kit back together as he walked, politely nodding
to the soldiers that he passed as he headed back up the mountain
towards the castle.
    As he walked, his mind started wandering back
to his childhood, remembering walking home in the snow. When he
came back from his brief reflection, he was surprised at how far he
had walked already.
    He looked over the edge of the road down into
the valley where he had just been.
    As he walked, he watched all of the men that
he had just dined with setting up tents in the night, the campfires
silhouetting their bodies, hanging up their socks within.
    He wondered if he would have to sleep outside
as well. He dared not venture inside the castle looking for the
major. It would look unprofessional for any officer, if he were
being questioned or interrupted by his subordinates.
    Upon arriving at the staff car, he stored his
mess kit back away and rummaged through his pack until he produced
some cigarettes and a lighter. He put a cigarette into his mouth
and shut the car door before he lit it.
    He knew how the major detested cigarette
smoke.
    As he cupped his hands and turned from the
wind, he lit his smoke.
    The small flame lit the court yard in a
ghostly way.
    He closed the lighter with a click and as he
stowed it in his pocket, he looked up at the overcast sky, past the
enclosed medieval walls of the courtyard and enjoyed the silence of
the night, the soft falling snow, and his, for the moment, precious
solace.
    *~*
    The meeting had obviously come to a
conclusion as the officers were standing in disarray around the
fire lit room swapping stories about the war so