Flashback: September 4th, 1958 - Borograd, SiovanijaThe door to President Milan Dimitrov’s office at the National Chancellery building in Borograd was closed, but when Colonel Ivo Zak knocked on the door, the President's voice greeted him immediately.
"Yes, come in."
“Good afternoon, Mr. President.”
“Ivo, welcome to Borograd. And Lieutenant Rehak, it’s good to see you again as well.” The President stood to shake the hands of both men. “Please, sit down.” The two men, as gestured, took their places across from the President.
“Sir, I trust you’ve been able to analyze the report we delivered to your office,” said Colonel Zak.
President Dimitrov nodded. “Right here,” he said, as he placed the file on his desk. “Colonel, it’s a very good report. You’ve done an excellent job on this project, I must say.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“And of course, Lt. Rehak, you as well - you are one of the bravest men in our country, and we’re all proud of you.”
“It’s an honour, Mr. President.”
“Now, Colonel. There are some key points from the file I’d like to raise.” Milan Dimitrov was 79 years old, but he certainly didn’t feel it, and his mind still worked as it used to. He had studied every word in this report meticulously.
“Of course, sir. I have concerns as well, as I’ve noted in the conclusion.”
“I’m very aware, Ivo. Firstly, I’d like to discuss the report on the aftereffects of the bomb in the area. Two villages were built by the Army Engineers for the purposes of the study - A and B. A was located on the island of Sozopol itself, while B was located on the much smaller island of Tisnov, located 62km to the northeast.”
“That is correct, sir.”
“The report states that all buildings in both villages, made of wood and brick, were completely destroyed. In fact, there was no trace whatsoever of village A. 547km to the north of Sozopol, on the mainland in the coastal village of Kamen, it was reported that the roofs of several stone houses were blown off. As far away as the town of Pocatky, which is 723km to the north of the test site, there were reports of window panes breaking.”
“Yes, that’s correct, sir.”
The President paused. “The heat from the explosion was great enough to cause third-degree burns in a 100km radius from the explosion. The mushroom cloud itself peaked at 71km - more than 22 times the height of the tallest mountain in this country, Mount Kovarik. The fireball itself was greater than 8km wide, and could be viewed from distances up to 1000km.”
“That’s right.”
President Dimitrov continued. “Despite the fact that the bomb was detonated 4km above the surface, it produced magnitude the equivalent of a 5.25 magnitude earthquake.” He paused again for effect. “Let’s move on now to your conclusion.”
“Of course, Milan.” The Colonel and President were familiar enough with each other that they could drop the titles.
The President began again. “A bomb of this size, dropped from a V-51 bomber, has the capacity to wipe out any city in the United Republics in seconds. If dropped on Borograd, Stelburg or St. Jakob, it would cause the total destruction of an area with a radius of 35km. The aftereffects of such a bomb would be felt throughout the entire country. With a 100-megaton bomb, the devastation would naturally be even greater.”
Colonel Zak could only nod at this point as the President continued.
“Pre-flight estimates gave Lt. Rehak a 50% chance of surviving the mission. With a 100-megaton bomb, we estimate a pilot would have a 0% chance of survival.” The President now looked at the lieutenant, who had been sitting listening silently. The room quietly considered the idea.
The President now continued. “Furthermore, at this time, the delivery of such a weapon by missile is impossible. While future development of technology may allow us to equip a hypothetical
Woden-2 or 3 missile with such a bomb, the cost in terms of resources would be immense. In addition, the fallout created from such an explosion would be unacceptably high in terms of pollution.”
“That is correct, Milan.”
“You conclude, Ivo, with this statement: This report argues that the production of a 100-megaton version of the
Grosser Woden would be impractical, unnecessary, and quite frankly unethical. It also argues that further testing and production of the 50-megaton version is unnecessary.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m proud of your work, Ivo. And I agree with your conclusion.” The President and the two men in the room nodded at each other now. “Ivo, do you remember the night we took this building?”
“Of course, sir, it was the greatest honour of my career.” The President was referring to perhaps the biggest moment in the history of the United Republics’ democracy since unification. After the 1944 election, Dimitrov had been elected President. The former President, Marwin Laufer, had refused to leave office and declared the results illegitimate. On the eve of Dimitrov’s inauguration, several members of the military had declared themselves loyal to Laufer, and refused to grant the new President access to the building. The next morning, Dimitrov returned with a military unit loyal to the constitution, and a stand-off ensued. In the early evening hours, Dimitrov gave a rousing speech, urging the soldiers barricaded inside to remember their duty to their country, its people and its liberty, rather than to one would-be dictator. Many would indeed defect back or surrender, and without a single shot being fired, Dimitrov’s units entered the building. It marked the beginning of Dimitrov’s presidency which would bring about a new national unity after so many years of mistrust between the two sides. Ivo Zak, at that time a fresh-faced corporal, had been at Dimitrov’s side in the key moment.
“Ivo, think of what could’ve happened if Laufer had access to a weapon like this. Would you trust him not to use it? He would’ve wiped Borograd off the face of the earth before giving up his power if he’d had the choice. And that’s why we can’t have this weapon. Our people don’t need to live in fear. We are a successful country. We have no major enemies - the nuclear program is simply our ultimate form of defence. But this isn’t defence, Ivo - this is outrageous.”
“I agree, Milan. It is absolutely horrific to think about what would happen in a situation this bomb needed to be used. Or, Triglaf forbid, some sort of accident?”
The President again nodded, and looked back at the Colonel. “Colonel, what was the reaction in the high command to this report?”
“Sir, the majority of generals and marshals agreed with the findings. The SSWI were not as convinced, they’re confident that a missile is in development that could carry the bomb.”
“I’ll handle the SSWI. It’s not the missile, it’s the bomb itself. This is something I’m going to push hard. I’ve only got 2 years left as President, and if there’s anything to make my legacy out of, this is it.”
“Sir, when I flew into the Borograd airport this morning, they were putting up a sign that announced construction of Milan Dimitrov International Airport would begin soon. I think your legacy is secure.”
“And all of that will mean nothing if this country goes down the path of fear and builds bombs like this.” Everyone in the room nodded as the President paused. “I’m going to push for major changes to the way our nuclear capabilities are dealt with, and how, Triglaf forbid, they could be used. If I can achieve this, it’ll be the most important achievement of my presidency, because it will secure a peaceful future for our country.”
“We’ll be with you all the way, of course, Mr. President,” said Colonel Zak as Lieutenant Rehak also nodded. There was a bit of silence in the room now. The President again broke that silence.
“I should also mention, I hope you two aren’t leaving Borograd just yet. I just signed an order moments before you arrived promoting the Lieutenant to Captain, and awarding him the St. Gustav Cross for bravery. I’d love to invite the both of you to a state dinner tonight.”
The young captain was beaming now, as he replied to the President. “Of course, sir. It’s an honour, sir. Thank you, sir.”
The President smiled, as did the Colonel. “In addition, Captain, if you’d like a nice desk job at the Air Ministry or in any of the military headquarters, you let me know.”
“Thank you for the offer, sir, but I love being up in the sky. Flying gives me such freedom.”
“You know, I was the same way when I served in the air force. I still remember my first mission. I was in the back of an old Timishov-112 biplane, you’ve probably only seen those in textbooks or museums. It was the first one they ever made - the war saw a rapid development of tech like that. And we had to bomb Stelburg in the middle of the night, and of course, they had all the lights off, so you couldn’t even make out the Kaiser’s palace. I didn’t know until a few years after the war that bomber crews over Stelburg had about a 28% mortality rate in the final weeks of the air campaign.”
The Captain had listened intently to the story, and continued to joke with the President. With a grin, he said “Well, sir, with all due respect, 28% is nothing compared to 50%.”
President Dimitrov laughed as he stood up to leave the room, and put an arm around Captain Rehak’s shoulder. “I guess the only thing that’s changed since then is that now they tell you how likely you are to die before the mission, not after.”
The President enjoyed the dinner that evening, but already, his attention was elsewhere. He would need a meeting with the Chancellor, Igor Benes, as well as pay a visit to the State Strategic Weapons Institute in Chernovets. Things needed to change in Siovanija & Teusland.
Siovanija & Teusland 5-0 The Commuinist Republic of Chinatown, @ Ivo-Balikov-Arena, Vlaikograd
Starting XI: Heuser; Richter, Jager (Niedermayer 75’), Maksimov, Vesele; Mihailov, Kramer (Bahr 75’), Bliznakov; Segert, Tauscher (Gaspersie 60’), Ribbeck
Goals: Michael Ribbeck 22’, 81’, Thorsten Kramer 33’, Leopold Bliznakov 40’, Lukas Tauscher 46’
Man of the Match: Michael Ribbeck
Report: A big night for the Goldhorns in Vlaikograd as they set a new all-time record win, 5-0 the final against The Commuinist Republic of Chinatown. Chinatown provided an early scare when their forward managed a great shot that Ewald Heuser had to tip wide, but this one was never going to be anything other than a win for the home side, really. Michael Ribbeck fired the Goldhorns ahead 22 minutes in, a clean strike from just outside the area, and two more goals in the first half, one from Thorsten Kramer and a first-ever international goal for Vlaikograd hometown hero Leopold Bliznakov made it 3-0 after 45 minutes. Lukas Tauscher’s goal just 25 seconds into the second half added final insurance to the game, and Michael Ribbeck put icing on the cake with a tap-in off a corner in the 81st minute to secure the all-time record win. Next up for Siovanija & Teusland is a trip to visit When U Die, a strange name for a country no doubt, and they sit bottom of Group 10, but will surely provide a challenge the Goldhorns will have to be prepared for.