"Do you know what Fritz has been working on?" "He's responsible for thousands of deaths." "You may have changed your religion, but don't think for a second you can change your heritage." "But if the worst disputes between warring nations can be resolved, can't two old friends make peace?" "I would like you to meet my good friend, Dr. Niels Bohr." "Are you familiar with Heisenberg's uncertainty principle?" "What about Margot and Ilse?" "They're determined to make their lives here." "Perhaps they'll change their minds once they see how happy a person can be in New Jersey." "I am conducting this inquiry at the request" " of Mr. J. Edgar Hoover." " Hoover?" "What does he want with me?" "Dr. Lenard, it's an honor." "He's expecting you, sir." "Heil, mein Fuhrer!" "Welcome to the Nazi Party, Dr. Lenard." "The intelligence is thin, I'll admit, but if it's accurate, well, then... we'd all better start learning to speak German as well as you do." "What else you got?" "Not much." "That's why you're here." "We may have the Jerries on their heels, but if this Heisenberg character is indeed close to building an atomic bomb..." "Well..." "Jesus." "What do you want me to do?" "It's a Walther PPK." "A Swiss friend of ours has invited Heisenberg to lecture in Zurich in December." "You're gonna be there." "If you're captured, it'll appear you smuggled it from Germany." "But if that happens... swallow the pill." "It's quick." "And it's a hell of a lot less painful than what the Nazis will do to you." "Your contact is Professor Scherrer" " of the Federal Polytechnic College." " What's my cover?" "Swiss secondary school physics teacher." "Tomas Ritter?" "Paul Scherrer." "Pleasure to meet you, Herr Professor." "Which one is Heisenberg?" "There, on the right." "Listen for certain words..." ""heavy water,"" ""fast fission," "plutonium."" "Good evening, gentlemen, ladies." "Thank you for coming." "If anything Heisenberg says leads you to believe he is close to constructing a bomb, kill him." "Congratulations, Dr. Lenard." "The Fuhrer, in his wisdom, has decided to reward your early support and continued loyalty by appointing you Chief of Aryan Physics." "I am humbled and grateful, Dr. Goebbels." "Please inform the Fuhrer that my first order of business will be to reclaim the glory of German science by purging the Prussian Academy of all foreign and impure influences." "We must do more than inform the Fuhrer." "We must inform the people." "In a manner that will forever burn this moment into their memory." "The era of exaggerated Jewish intellectualism is now at an end!" "The triumph of the German Revolution has again cleared a path for the German way." "And the future German man will not only be a man of books, but also a man of character." "And, thus, you do well in this midnight hour to commit to the flames the evil spirit of the past." "Sieg..." "Heil!" "Sieg..." "Heil!" " Sieg..." " Heil!" "Sieg..." "Heil!" "Albert, they have raided our apartment." "The cottage as well." "What were they hoping to find, my supply of... contraband tobacco?" "Margot says that they were looking for guns." "They claimed to have intelligence that you were hiding them for communist insurgents." "Well, that's a very liberal use of the word "intelligence."" "The girls have managed to save most of your papers." "Poor Herr Hitler." "What will he use for kindling the next time he wishes to read by the fire?" " This isn't funny, Albert." " I know." "That is why we must fight, Elsa." "Fight Hitler however we can." "We haven't any guns." "I have a voice." "I can write." "I can speak out, tell anyone who will listen that this man is a threat, that other governments must use all peaceful means to oppose him." "Margot says that Ilse's condition is getting worse." "That is not good news, my love." "We must get her out of Germany." "And the rest of our family and friends." "Use your voice for that." "The car is here." "Oh, thank you, Helen." "You go ahead." "I'll-I'll be just a moment." "Don't be too long." "Flexner has threatened to feed me to the famous Princeton Tigers if I'm late again." "The Nazis are fanatics." "American capitalists such as yourself must refuse to do business with them, Mr. Mills." "I'm surprised a man of your background needs a lesson in capitalism, Professor." "It doesn't work by refusing to do business with people." "You're here to attract donors, Albert," " not to chase them away." " Oh, my mistake." "I was under the impression my job here was to pursue science, not to be the collector for your coffers." "Most of these people are put off as it is, having so many Jews on the faculty." "They don't want our politics thrown in their faces." "Albert, look who I have just met." "This is Mr. Henry Morgenthau." "He is Secretary of the Treasury for Mr. Roosevelt." "An honor to meet you, Professor." "Morgenthau." " A Jewish name?" " As a matter of fact, yes." "Bar mitzvah boy in '04." "Corned beef on rye." "A Jew who's also a politician." "How very interesting." "Albert, I was thinking maybe Mr. Morgenthau could give us some advice on getting our friends out of Germany." "Get up." "Let's go." " On your feet, you kike." " Move!" "Move!" "Where are you taking them?" "No Jews in government posts." "That includes this laboratory." "This is an outrage." "How am I to continue my work?" "I'm sure you will manage." "Your people are nothing if not clever." "My people?" "What are you insinuating?" "We know you were not born a Lutheran." "Or would you care to drop your trousers and prove us wrong?" "How-how dare you speak to me in such a manner?" "Your Jew-loving friends cannot protect you forever..." "Haber." "Fritz is a German patriot." "He was the first among us to raise his hand in the Great War." "He's also a Jew." "Yes, Philipp, but there are Jews and, uh... and then there are Jews." "I'm told you have already pressed this matter with the Fuhrer himself." " Did he not give you a clear answer?" " Yes, but we cannot turn our backs on Fritz." "He has been a colleague and a friend for decades." "Yes, and for decades you supported the likes of Haber and Einstein while they destroyed the purity of German science." "But the Academy is obsolete, Max." "I am in charge of science in this country now." "Make no mistake, Philipp, the Fuhrer appointed you not for your shining intellect, but for your depraved politics." "I'm afraid there's nothing" "I can do to help your friend Professor Haber." "No university in America wants the stain of a war criminal on its faculty." "I feared that might happen." " Poor Fritz." " The good news is the State Department has agreed to issue visas to several of those on your list." "Betty Neumann." "Your son Hans and his family." "Your wife's daughter, Margot." "Thank you." "But what about my other stepdaughter, Ilse?" "She's sick with tuberculosis." "Elsa's gone to Paris to take care of her, but... we want to bring her here for treatment." "The immigration laws exclude anyone with medical conditions." "No one is admitted who might become a burden to the state." "I would, of course, pay for her care." "I'm afraid we're facing" " the same obstacle with your son, Eduard." " Mr. Secretary," "I promised him." "Is there any way you can make an exception?" "I'm sorry, my hands are tied." "Princeton is so lovely." "We have a pretty little garden with a magnificent elm tree." "Albert is getting everyone's visas in order." "And soon we shall all be together in our little house." "It's like a slow death, all of my good friends leaving." "I know you did everything you could, Max." "Germany has betrayed you, Fritz." "No." "The Nazis have betrayed Germany." "But when they are gone," "I'll come home." "Ja." "We all will." "Palestine." "Imagine that." "It's ironic." "I warned Albert not to get involved with the Zionists, and now it's the only place on God's earth" "I seem to be welcome." "Perhaps the climate will be good for your heart." "Ja." "I will admit, it could use some healing." "I'm sorry to disturb you, Frau." "Is there anything I can help you with?" "No, thank you, Helen." "I'm all right." "I just wanted to say again... how very sorry I am about Ilse." "She was very fond of you." "We all are." "You have become part of the family." "I am honored you would say so." "Perhaps it is time to make you... a signatory on our bank accounts." "I'm not sure I understand." "Albert cannot handle money at all." "He will need you to do it for him." "Fritz is dead." "Oh, Albert." "No." "Your dearest daughter and now this?" "Where are you going?" "To work." "Oh, Albert, scratching equations will not bring Fritz or Ilse back." "I cannot talk about this, Elsa." "I simply cannot." "Who said anything about talking?" "Come, sit with me." "My eyes are tired." "It would be so wonderful if you would read to me like you used to." "It will take our minds off our cares." "Bohr and Podolsky are expecting me." "They will understand." "Please, Albert." "It's only for a little while." "It's Tolstoy." "Your favorite." "I cannot keep them waiting." "Albert wrote and asked me to read this to all of you." ""My good friend Haber was a man of endless curiosity" ""and a passion for discovery." ""He wanted to share" ""his genius with his country." ""That mattered more to him than anything else," ""and thus his bitter end is the tragic story of the unrequited love of the German Jew."" "The SS are outside." "We must finish before they discover what we are doing." "The entire country should be honoring Fritz," "Dr. Heisenberg." "Instead, we skulk like cowards." "What other choice do we have?" "If this is what we have come to, perhaps we should leave like Albert did." "No." "It is our duty to stay, to ensure the future of German science." "Art is like science, Albert." "It cannot be rushed." "Forgive my impatience, Sergei, but... how much longer is this going to take?" "An eternity, if you do not hold still." "Hello, darling." "Can you not see that I am working?" "Aren't you going to introduce me?" "Dr. Einstein, my wife, Margarita." "It's an honor to meet such a great man." "I would rise to greet you properly, madam, but unfortunately, your husband has accepted a very generous commission from my boss, Mr. Flexner, designed to keep me permanently silent, immobile and on display." "Mm." "It's off to a fine start." "But I'm afraid you have not made Dr. Einstein nearly handsome enough." "Fourth or fifth?" "I beg your pardon?" "Your wife." "She's your cousin." "So is mine." "Fourth or fifth?" "Elsa and I are first cousins." "Oh, well, you Europeans are certainly more permissive than we Yankees." "Speaking of Europe, Mr. President," " I was hoping..." " Come, now, Professor." "I didn't invite the world's most brilliant scientist to dinner to talk politics." "No." "I was hoping you could explain to me this famous relativity theory of yours that's got everyone scratching their heads." "If I explain relativity to you in a way that you can understand, will you grant me a few moments to discuss Germany?" "It's a deal." "If you are standing on hot coals, a second feels like an eternity." "But when you are in bed with a beautiful woman, an hour passes in a split second." "That is relativity." "You win, Professor." "But I know what you are going to say." "You want me to take a stand against Mr. Hitler." "America must lead the world in opposing him." "Boycotts, blockades..." "In a way, I envy the little bastard." "He does whatever he wants." "But in this country, no man, not even the president, can act alone." "Then you must persuade Congress." "I'm sorry I can't help you, Professor." "But allow me to offer a small consolation." "I understand you're applying for citizenship." "I could expedite the process for you." "Thank you, sir." "But I don't want any special treatment." "That's very noble of you, Professor, but the citizenship test requires a lot of study." "Promise me you'll save some of that brain power for science." "Imagine two particles." "Measure their mass." "Stick them together." "Let them spring apart." "What happens?" "Their positions and their velocities are related," " but..." " The uncertainty principle says if we measure the position of one..." " Then we cannot measure its velocity." " Ah." "But we can still measure the velocity of that second particle." "And since they are both mathematically related, we can then determine the velocity of the first particle, so we'd know both its position and velocity without having to measure them both." "Heisenberg's uncertainty principle disproved." "With certainty." "You are vanquished, sir." "Hmm, but... what if the act of measuring the first particle influenced the second, changed it somehow at the time it was measured?" "Impossible." "That would be... spooky action at a distance." ""Spooky action."" "You're a better poet than you are a scientist." "Surrender now, and I will offer you generous terms." "Well, what did you have in mind?" "Elsa has made some wonderful strudel." "Helen!" "Bring us some strudel!" "Helen?" "I've been calling you." "It's as we suspected, Mrs. Einstein." "Late stages of myocarditis." "So... how do we treat it?" "I'll give you some time to be alone with your husband." "Elsa?" "How could you keep this from me?" "I didn't want to worry you." "You have... so much else in your mind." "Your science, your committees..." "Don't worry." "Helen can take me home." "You can go to work." "I know that is what you need." "I think I should like to read to you instead." ""The whole world" ""is now divided into two parts." ""One half is she," ""and there is all joy, hope," ""light." ""The other half is where she is not, and there is all gloom and darkness."" "You make a lovely nurse," "Dr. Einstein." ""'I cannot come to visit you," ""'but is it possible that I should never see you?" ""I love you madly." "Can I never?" "'" ""And blocking her path," ""he brought his face close to hers." ""Love hinders death." ""Love is life." ""Everything, everything I understand," "I understand only because I love."" ""Everything is," ""everything exists only because I love."" "The Germans have split the nucleus of the atom." "I didn't believe it at first, but that bastard Hahn, he actually did it." "My God, Niels." "Do you think..." "A bomb?" "Impossible." "You could never find enough uranium." "What if you could?" "You'd need an army of scientists." "The Germans are very good at raising armies." "All the best minds have left, though." "Not Hahn." "Not Heisenberg." "We must inform the American government immediately." "Why would the American government listen to a couple of foreign nobodies like us?" "I know someone they will listen to." "That's strike one for the man they call "Einstein in knickers."" ""Einstein in knickers"?" "Why do they call him that?" "They say he's the most intelligent of all the ballplayers." "Elsa would sue them for libel if she heard them use my name like that on the radio." "Ooh." "Hmm." "Mmm." "Mmm." "Delicious." "Oh." " More cinnamon this time?" " Mmm." "Maybe you're just learning to like Russian sweets." " Hmm." " Swing and a miss." "That's strike three for Moe Berg." "Moe might not swing the bat like he did when he first came up 15 years ago, but he still has a cannon for an arm." "Berg's the smartest man in baseball." "Lawyer, Princeton grad, reads as many as ten newspapers a day, speaks seven languages." "He is very smart." "Which reminds me, you promised you'd help me prepare for my citizenship test, not to distract me with baseball." "Shall we go to my study?" "I'd prefer you take me to bed." "But you are married." "Were you never unfaithful to your wife, Albert?" "Yes." "Quite often, in fact." "We had an understanding." "Then what is the problem?" "It's funny." "When Elsa was alive, I..." "I never felt any guilt about other women." "Now that she's gone..." "I somehow feel I'd be betraying her." "It's been years, Albert." "I know you still miss her very much, but... you must be so lonely without her." "How many years does a senator serve?" " Four." " No, Albert, this is the president." "Oh." "Two?" "No, this is the congressman." "A senator serves six." "Now, the electoral college." "No, please." "It makes no sense." "I know what you're going to say." "She's a married woman and I'm a foolish old man." "I was going to say there's a Mr. Szilard here to see you." "Every split would cause..." "A tremendous chain reaction." "You discovered this, Albert, decades ago." "Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared." "Which means with only this much material you can destroy a city the size of Berlin." "God help us all." "Albert... you are the most famous scientist in the world." "You must tell the president." "What should I say to the president?" "That America's scientists must build a bomb before the Germans do." "I'm a devout pacifist." "Hitler is a madman." "Imagine how he would use such a weapon." "He could obliterate London, Moscow." "Many years ago, Fritz Haber tried to convince me his poison gas would end the war more quickly." "It only made it more horrific." "Science must never be used for violence." "Do you think Adolph Hitler shares your moral reservations?" "You must contact Roosevelt." "He will listen to you." "That's the trouble, Leo." "What if he does?" "Achieving an atomic chain reaction will be the greatest feat in the history of German science." "And to think, the Fuhrer has put you in charge of all of it." "Carl..." "What if we succeed?" "Then they will write books about us." "The Fuhrer himself will pin medals on our chests." "We shall be heroes." "Something troubling you, Professor?" "I do not suppose I have ever felt more uncertain about whether or not what I'm doing is right." "What would Frau Einstein have advised you to do?" "I expect she would have reminded me that I once told her we must fight Hitler however we can." "Then you have your answer." "God forgive me if I'm making a terrible mistake." ""Based on this new phenomenon, it is conceivable," ""though much less certain," ""that an extremely powerful bomb of a new type may be constructed."" " A single bomb..." - "A single bomb of this type," ""carried by boat and exploded in a port," ""might very well destroy" ""the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory."" "Good God." "I don't need to tell you what could happen if the Germans develop this technology before we do." "We'll all be doing the goose step." "Or worse." "Which is why I'm asking you to take charge of a program to research and develop an atomic weapon." "It'd require tremendous resources." "Of that I have no doubt." "I'd need wide latitude to manage the project... the scientists, the military, clandestine operations." "Secrecy would be vital, sir." "We couldn't let the Krauts get onto us." "Everyone involved will need security clearance." "Einstein?" "No, Einstein is out." "You haven't even run his background, Edgar." "The Bureau has been concerned about Einstein for years." "He's a radical." "Almost certainly a communist." "He's the man who informed the president of the urgency of this matter." "He cannot be trusted to be loyal to our country." "I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law." "...that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law." "Albert, you have just become an American." "Why ever would you want to learn Russian?" "So I can tell you I love you in your own language." "Ya tebya lyublyu." "Ya teba... lyu..." "lyublyu?" "Lyublyu." "Ya tebya lyublyu." "Ya tebya lyublyu." "Oh, uh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't, uh..." "Oh, Leo." "How wonderful to see you." "You remember my friend, Margarita." " Hello." " She's teaching me Russian." "Yes." "Very nice to see you again, madam." "I do beg your pardon." "Come in, come in." "Please forgive us, Margarita." "Why don't you make us some of your delicious piroshki?" "Of course." "They rejected me." "Who did?" "The atomic bomb program." "They won't give me a security clearance." "I need you to put in a word for me." "They didn't give me a security clearance either." " What?" " Frankly, it's a relief." "It's one thing to write a letter, another thing entirely to help build a bomb." "So you find a Russian girlfriend and now I have no one to speak up for me." "Leo, what on Earth are you talking about?" "Well, they obviously suspect her." "Of what?" "Decoding my poetry, reporting it to the Kremlin?" "I'm not saying it's true, I'm simply saying it's a question they would ask." "Why would such a beautiful young woman..." "Ever pay attention to a disheveled old fool like me?" "Albert, I-I didn't mean to..." "It's all right, Leo." "I just let my imagination run away from me." "I'm sure she cares for you very much." "Yes." "I'm sure she does." "Air must have leaked in somehow." "It's ignited the uranium powder." "We must cool it." "More water over here!" "No, it's too late." "The pile's lost stability." "Everybody out!" "Now!" "Go, go!" "Now!" "So you have achieved atomic detonation?" "It was not the atomic material itself that exploded." "It was the pressure from the steam that burst the container." "Your work has progressed quite slowly, Werner." "And now you have managed to destroy a very expensive laboratory." "One could arrive at the conclusion that your heart and mind are not fully committed to this undertaking." "That is not true, sir." "I am ambitious to make a stable reactor." "The Fuhrer does not care about a reactor!" "Your priority must be a weapon." "Constructing a weapon is an extremely difficult process." "If you are not capable, I will find a man who is." "I can do this, Mr. Halliwell." "I don't doubt your qualifications." "What I don't understand is why." "I'm too old to join the army." "If we do take you on, well... let's just say you might be asked to do things that you find, uh... unsavory." "However I can contribute, sir." "This isn't a game, Moe." "Mr. Halliwell," "I'm a grown man who has spent his life trying to hit a ball with a stick." "I'm tired of playing games." "Dr. Einstein?" "Yes?" "Vannevar Bush," "Director of the National Defense Research Council." "We were hoping you could help us with some calculations." "You're trying to force uranium isotopes into a gaseous state." "If we don't show some results soon, our funding may dry up." "I'm sorry, but I'm quite busy." "They're only a few equations, Professor." "Then again, just one of my equations seems to have started all this madness." "So..." "I really shouldn't be telling you this, but our intelligence services have reported rumblings from Germany." "We know the Nazis are putting everything they have into building a bomb." "You are aware my security clearance has been denied?" "That's why we have to keep this conversation strictly between us." "Nobody can know about this." "God forbid the Germans... or the Russians... learn what we're doing." "Albert?" "I thought you were coming to bed." "Yes, of course." "Just a few minutes more." "Don't be too long." "What are you looking for?" "Could not sleep." "My book wasn't where I left it in the kitchen." " I thought perhaps..." " Ah." "...perhaps Helen put it here." "Well, I woke up with my stomach grumbling for a midnight snack." "Well, then, let me make you something to eat." "Why not?" "All of this is, of course, very complicated, but if something has been particularly unclear this evening, I can assure you it's because of my inability to explain it properly." "Listen for certain words." "Heavy water, fast fission, plutonium." "If anything Heisenberg says leads you to believe he is close to constructing a bomb..." "Kill him." "Right there in the lecture hall?" "We can't allow the Germans to get this weapon." "And just as importantly, we can't allow the Russians to get their hands on Heisenberg." "Even if the Nazis don't succeed, we've got to keep the Commies from getting these secrets, too." "...a formula that will allow us to calculate the masses of the..." "A fascinating lecture, Herr Professor." "Although I am afraid some of it was beyond my abilities." "I know how busy you must be, but if it is not an imposition, perhaps I can walk you back to your hotel." "I have a few questions." "I'm surprised you are teaching such advanced ideas in secondary school." "Alas, I only teach the fundamentals." "Although I do like to keep up with the latest developments." "I suppose I still harbor the fantasy" "I could be a real physicist like you." "What would you like to know?" "The topic that most interests me is atomic fission." "The journals say that it will become a source of energy more powerful than coal or even oil." "That is certainly our hope." "I have also read that it could be used to create a bomb." "Is this true?" "A weapon is only theoretical." "Yes, but, theoretically, if you had the materials, could it be done?" "It would be an extremely difficult process." "But I have a question about atomic fission for you, Herr Ritter." "If you were a real physicist, one who knew how to build such a weapon, and you knew it would help your country win a war but that it could also kill thousands what do you suppose would be stronger... your patriotism... or your moral qualms?" "I suppose... if I were a true patriot..." "I would have to push those qualms aside." "Would you really?" "Tell me, uh... do you know my uncertainty principle?" "Of course." "Uh, the... the more precisely you measure a particle's velocity, the less precisely you know its position." "So perhaps the more precisely you attempt to take my measure, the less precisely you will know my position." "Good night, Herr Ritter." "Thank you for your time, Herr Professor." "The Germans do not have a bomb." "I'm told the intelligence is quite conclusive." "Well, if you are right, we can all take a breath." "But I'm also hearing that our American friends are very close to succeeding." "Even if that is true," "Hitler and his Grey geese are in retreat." "The Americans will not need an atomic bomb to defeat Germany." "What about Japan?" "They wouldn't." "That's why I am here, Albert." "To ask you to write another letter to Roosevelt." "To tell him this weapon must never be used." "Are you not the same man that stood before me six years ago and begged me to get this godforsaken project started?" "This bomb... some say it could start a chain reaction that would ignite the atmosphere itself." "Write to the president, Albert, before it's too late." "This is a late bulletin from our nation's capital." "The president of the United States," "Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is dead." "It appears he has died from a cerebral hemorrhage." "Vice President Truman and the cabinet are meeting now at the White House to settle all matters of public importance." "All we know so far is that the president died..." "The Fuhrer is dead!" "We must evacuate Berlin!" "You are being recalled." "I'm more useful here." "Useful?" "Really?" "Have you brought us anything of value from your professor friend?" "He's not my only source." "Tell Moscow I wish to stay." "Why?" "Because you have made the unforgivable mistake of falling in love with your target?" "You will do as you are told, Comrade." "I don't understand why you are leaving." "There is someone else?" "No." "No, Albert." "But I do..." "I do love my country." "Russia has been devastated by the war, and I am needed at home." "You know, I often suspected you wanted more from me than just my company." "Albert..." "But it's so hard for an old man to find companionship." "I suppose I convinced myself." "Why couldn't both things be true?" "Why couldn't you love your country, and also love me?" "You really are a brilliant man." "Professor?" "I've just heard it on the radio." "They have dropped a bomb on a city in Japan." "They say it used the power of the atom." "My God." "It is an atomic bomb." "It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe." "The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East." "We have spent more than $2 billion on the greatest scientific gamble in history, and we have won." "Yanks beat you Jerries again, didn't they?" "...not the size of the enterprise, its secrecy, or its cost, but the ach..." "How did they do it?" "It's an extremely simple process, actually." "Get me a pencil and a piece of paper and I'll show you."