"Warren?" "You'll wake yourself up." "I'll get you breakfast." "No time." "The meeting starts at 10:00." "Don't worry about it." "They always have coffee there." "You're gonna fly down?" "I'll check out one of the trainers." "That way I can get back when I want." "What are you up to today" "Shopping." "I'll get clothes for the boys." "They grow so fast." "Need any money?" "I cashed a cheque." "I had the dream again." "Always ends at the same place." "I guess that's just as well." "Sometime I'm going to see that matador, find out who he is." "When I do, that's it, that's the end of me." "Don't talk like that now, it's only a dream." " Maybe I ought to resign." " What good would that do?" "It would make the dream go away." "I'm sure of that." "They're connected." "Katie, the dream and what I'm doing." "Sometimes I feel the only way I can make it disappear is to give it all up, to resign." "But you can't resign." "You can't give up your whole life." "You're my life, too." "You and the boys." "Maybe I have to choose." "Or maybe it's too late." "Oh, Warren, don't go." "Skip the meeting." "Tell them my wife insists I go shopping with her?" "I'll skip the shopping." "We could have lunch together." "We haven't done that in months." "A little French restaurant with wine." "This one's special." "The new Secretary's going to be there." "They're even holding it in the war room to show how up-to-date we are." "You could do with a day off." "In the middle of the week?" "That's immoral." "We can go out for dinner." "I'll be back by then." "If I can get a sitter." "You got me, you can get anything." "I don't know what I'd do without you." "You wouldn't do very well." "There's no chance of that, is there?" "None at all." "Two hours ago you said 100 million dead." "Now you say 60 million." "I say 60 million is perhaps the highest price we should be prepared to pay in a war." "And what's the difference between 60 million dead and 100 million?" " 40 million." " Some difference." "Are you prepared to say the saving of 40 million lives is of no importance?" "You miss the point, Professor." "The saving of those 60 million lives is what's important." "Face facts, Mr Foster." "We're talking about war." "I say every war, including thermonuclear war, must have a winner and a loser." "Which would you rather be?" "In a nuclear war, everyone loses." "War isn't what it used to be." "It's still the resolution of economic and political conflict." "Well, what kind of resolution with 100 million dead?" " It doesn't have to be 100 million." " Even 60!" "The same as 1,000 years ago, sir, when you also had wars that wiped out whole peoples." "The point is still who wins and who loses, the survival of a culture." "A culture?" "With most of its people dead, the rest dying, the food poisoned, the air unfit to breathe?" " You call that a culture?" " Yes, I do, Mr Foster." "I am not a poet." "I'm a political scientist who would rather have an American culture survive than a Russian one." "But what would it be like?" "I mean, really like?" "Who would survive?" "Who would survive?" "It's an interesting question." "I would predict convicts and file clerks." "And the worst convicts, those deep down in solitary confinement, and the most ordinary file clerks, probably for large insurance companies." "Because they would be in fireproofed rooms, protected by tons of the best insulator in the world, paper." "Then imagine what will happen." "The small group of vicious criminals will fight the army of file clerks for the remaining means of life." "The convicts will know violence but the file clerks will know organization." "Who do you think will win?" "It's all hypothesis, of course, but fun to play around with." "And, time to go home." "I didn't mean to hold forth so long." "I don't usually come to a supper party and talk right through to breakfast." "Nonsense, Professor." "We were fascinated." "I just hope we didn't keep you from your work." "Not at all." "I've got a 10:00 meeting at the Pentagon." "Plenty of time to get home and change." "You must come again, Professor Groeteschele, with your wife this time." "I'd be delighted." " Good night." " All right." "Thanks." "Thanks again, ma'am." "I'm lisa Wolfe." "We were introduced before dinner." "I'd like you to take me home." "You'll have to give me directions." "Just stay on this road." "You could joke about the convicts and file clerks because you know there won't be any survivors, will there?" "Not many." "None." "None at all." "That's the beauty of it." "I've heard nuclear war called a lot of things, Miss Wolfe, never beautiful." "People are afraid to call it that, but that's what they feel." " The beauty of death?" " Don't patronize me." "What else but that are you selling, Professor?" "We all know we're going to die, but you make a game out of it, a marvelous game that includes the whole world." " You make it seem possible." " It is possible, even probable." "You make death an entertainment, something that can be played in a living room." "As good a place as any." "No." "No, there's an even better place." "Turn in there." "This where you live?" " Don't joke." " Why not?" "I'm the joker." "I make death into a game for people like you to get excited about." "I watched you tonight." "You'd love making it possible, wouldn't you?" "You'd love pressing that button." "What a thrill that would be." "Knowing you have to die, to have the power to take everyone else with you, the mob of them with their plans, their little hopes, born to be murdered and turning away from it, closing their eyes to it." "And you could be the one to make it true, do it to them." "But you're afraid, so you look for the thrill someplace else." "And who better than a man who isn't afraid?" "I'm not your kind." " Airman?" " Sir?" "General Bogan should be on his way in." "Tell him I checked out the new computer." "I'll be back on duty before he leaves to check it out again with him." " Yes, sir." " I'll be in my quarters if he wants me." " Yes, sir." "Oh, sir?" " Yes?" "There's a telephone message for you." "They want you to call right back, said it was urgent." "Line, please." "Hello." "Yes, I got the message." "Why do you think I'm calling?" "Well, where did he get the money?" "No, no, no, I'll come myself." "I'm going into town, Airman." "That's the address." "I'll be there about a half an hour, then I'm coming back to the base." "Yes, sir." "Better button up before the general gets here." "Yes, sir." "General Bogars office." "Airman Slote." "No, sir, General." "He's just left." "Damn it, I need him." "Where did he sign out to?" "Conklin, you know where that is?" "Yes, sir." "It's on the way to the base." "Well, get on over there." "I'll pick him up myself, Airman." "Thank you." " This is the house, General." " You sure this is it?" "You sure there's not another street by this name?" "Oh, no, sir." "I've lived in Omaha all my life." "I know this city like the back of my hand." "No, don't bother getting out." " Spending the money I send you on this!" " Give me that!" "You raise your hand against my mother once more..." "Just a drop!" "Who the hell are you?" " Yeah?" " I'm General Bogan." "I'm looking for Colonel Cascio." "He gave this address." " Oh, sure, now, General." " Let the gentleman in, Luke." "Honoured to have you." "My son always speaks well of you." "Sorry to bother you, Colonel." "We have some unexpected VIPs we have to show around." "Yes, sir." "I'll be right along." "Why don't you come in, General?" "Thank you, I..." "I just take a drop now and then." "The boy here, he gets a little excited." "I'm ready, sir." "Damn snot-nosed kid." "It's that Congressman Raskob, the one who's been nosing around the bases." "Washington wants us to put his mind at ease." " He's on one of those committees." " Yes, sir." "Gordon Knapp will also be there to look over that equipment his company makes." "He'll be on our side." "Anyone looks cross-eyed at his stuff, he goes up like a rocket." "Yes, sir." "Time was when I'd say "he goes up like a balloon."" " Times change." " Yes, sir." "Ploesti, that was the rough one." "We lost half our group." "Regensburg was the worst one for us." "I never flew the B-17, only 24s." "Good aeroplane, the 24." "At least you knew you were flying the aeroplane, not the other way around, like today's things." "You still have to fly the Vindicator, Grady." "We're the last of the lot, Flynn." "Don't kid yourself about that." " The next aeroplanes, they won't need men." " You'll be too old, anyway." "After us, the machines." "We're halfway there already." "Look at those kids." "Remember the crews you had on the 24s?" "Jews, Italians, all kinds." "You could tell them apart." "They were people." "These kids, you open them up, you'll find they run on transistors." " No, they're good kids, I tell you." " Sure, sure." "You know they're good at their jobs, but you don't know them." "How can you?" "We get a different crew every time we go up." "That's policy, Grady." "It eliminates the personal factor." "Everything is more complicated now." "Reaction time is faster." "You can't depend on people the same way." "Who do you depend on?" "All right, gentlemen." "The sky awaits." "You know something, Billy?" "I like the personal factor." "Those are Vindicator bombers of the Strategic Air Command on routine patrol" "Each one of those planes carries four Bloodhound air-to-air missiles armed with nuclear warheads." "Those are for use against attacking enemy fighter planes." "In addition, of course, each plane carries two 20-megaton hydrogen bombs designed to detonate over enemy targets." "At any given moment, night or day, flights of those aeroplanes are in the air, in case of any surprise attack on our bases." "You can see some of the other groups..." " Who controls them?" " We do." "This is the nerve center, Mr Raskob." "This room." "All these machines you see are constantly receiving information" " from all over the world." " And above it." "Mr Knapp's company did the electronic work on the Argo satellite." "Would you like to see what it's photographing right now?" "Colonel." "This picture you're about to see, Mr Raskob, is being taken now, by a camera 300 miles in the sky traveling at 20,000 miles an hour." "Can you give us tighter scale on this, General?" "Colonel?" "Those are the rocket sites from 300 miles up." " I'm impressed." " We'll get it sharper than that before long." "Be able to see the people, not just the machines." "We'll show you the hair on their head, Mr Raskob." " I suppose they're doing the same to us." " Well, you can see for yourself." "Colonel, let's take a look at the Russian submarines in the Pacific." "There's the western coast of the United States, Hawaiian Islands and those are Russian subs." "That close?" "Nearest is about 50 miles off San Francisco, I'd say." "International waters." "Nothing we can do except keep an eye on it." "Well, that's too damn close." "What's it doing there?" " Scanning us, the way we do them." " Is it armed?" "We have instruments so good, Mr Raskob, they can tell the difference between a whale breaking wind and that sub blowing its tanks." "No argument, General." "I'm sure we've got the best that money can buy." " We're very proud of what we do here, sir." " You ought to be, Colonel." " The money is well spent, Mr Raskob." " I don't doubt it for a minute." "And you don't have to snow me, General." "My committee doesn't deal with appropriations, only with how the appropriations are spent." "Well, you see it all around you." "Pretty impressive, isn't it?" "Well, I'll tell you the truth, these machines scare the hell out of me." "I don't like the idea that every time I take off my hat, some thing up there knows I'm losing my hair." "I wanna be damn sure that thing doesn't get any ideas of its own." "I see what you mean, Mr Raskob, but that's a chance you take with these systems." "But who says we have to take that chance?" "Who voted who the power to do it this particular way?" "I'm the only one around here got elected by anybody." "Nobody gave me that power." "It's in the nature of technology." "Machines are developed to meet situations." "Then they take over, they start creating situations." "Not necessarily." "There's always the chance." "You said so yourself." "Well, we have checks on everything, Mr Raskob." "Checks and counter-checks." "Yeah, but who checks the checker?" "Where's the end of the line, Joe?" "Who's got the responsibility?" " The President." " No one." "He can't know everything that's going on." "How can he?" "It's too complicated." "If you want to know, that's what really bothers me." "The only thing everyone can agree on is that no one's responsible." "Is something wrong, General?" "UFO sighted near Hudson Bay, sir." "What you're seeing, gentlemen, is an unidentified flying object picked up by our radar." "Until we get positive identification, we regard it as hostile." "What do you do about it?" "Well, we've gone to Condition Blue, which is our lowest form of readiness." "At the same time, we've informed those Vindicator bombers that you saw in the air before." "They will now start to fly towards their fail-safe points." ""Fail-safe"?" "Fixed points in the sky on the perimeter of the Soviet Union which are changed from day to day." "The planes will fly to those points and orbit until they get a positive order to go in." " And if they don't get that order?" " They return to their normal patrols." "In short, Mr Raskob, we can't go to war except on an express order." "How do they get that order, by radio?" "Yes, and through a box we call the fail-safe box aboard each plane which can only be activated at the express order of the President." " Oh, he has to tell them?" " Not directly." "No." "His voice can be imitated, you know." "He just gives the order and the rest is done electronically." "No one can interfere with the fail-safe box, Mr Raskob." "No one." "All those new blips you see are fighter planes going after the unidentified object." "Colonel Cascio, tight scale, please." "You seem pretty cool about this, General." "Does it happen often?" "Oh, about six times a month." "Probably an airliner off course." " And if it isn't?" " Well, then it's something else." "That means it's at 30,000 feet, going 525 miles an hour on a compass heading of 196." "Headed right for Detroit." "Seven minutes to fail-safe." "Oh, normal procedure, Mr Raskob." "We start an automatic countdown at this point." "It's very unlikely the bombers will even reach their fail-safe points." "I'd say it happens about one time in 20." "We usually identify the disturbance well before that." "Six minutes to fail-safe." "What have you got there, Blackie?" "Another UFO?" "For a dollar, a commercial plane or a flock of birds?" "Plane." "Off course." "You ought to give me odds." "Yes, be sure you give me that..." "I read your memo on counterforce credibility." "I don't think Groeteschele's going to discuss that today." "You mean you think I should lay off?" "Why open a can of peas?" "Well, we've got to discuss it one of these days, Stark." "This whole policy of overkill, it makes no sense piling up bombs when we already have a capacity..." "Okay, Blackie, just not today." " Good morning, Mr Secretary." " Morning, Mr Secretary." " Wort you sit over there?" " Thank you." " Morning, Mr Secretary." " Good morning, gentlemen." " Everyone here, General Stark?" " Yes, sir." "All right, Professor Groeteschele." "I see we have an alert to supplement our discussion." "Unfortunately, we settled the question of accidental war last week so we can't make use of it today." "Today, the subject is limited war." "It is not theoretical." "On it depends the kind of weapons we use, where we locate them, how we use them." "In short, our entire military posture." "So, is limited war possible?" "Can we confine the exchange of nuclear weapons to military targets alone, or must war lead inevitably to the destruction of cities?" " It must." " Why?" "The object of war is to inflict maximum damage on the enemy, destroy his ability to resist." "In the last war, both sides could have used bacterial warfare." "They didn't." "It wouldn't have been decisive." "Can you be sure?" "Well, maybe people still couldn't get used to the idea of killing civilians." "I suggest you take that up with the civilians of London, Hamburg, Dresden or Tokyo, killed by the thousands in bombing raids." "I omit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, since those actions belong more properly to World War III than World War II." "I still don't see how we could restrict a war." "We could come to a mutual agreement with the Russians to strike only at missile bases." "What if the missile bases were near the cities?" "They would have an incentive to move them elsewhere." "They might take such an offer as a sign of weakness on our part." " It could be worth a try." " They've got as much to lose as we have." "We're talking about the wrong subject." "We've got to stop war, not limit it." "That is not up to us, General Black." "We're the ones who know most about it." "You're a soldier, Blackie." "You carry out policy." "You don't make it." "Don't kid yourself, Stark." "The way we say a war can be fought is making policy." "If we say we can fight a limited war with nuclear weapons, all we do is let everyone off the hook." "It's what they want to hear." "We can just keep on doing what we're doing, and nobody really gets hurt." "But you can't fight a limited war, and you know it." "For my part, I'm not so sure." "There's no such thing as a limited war anymore." "Not with hydrogen bombs, there isn't." "Once those bombs start to drop, you won't be able to limit a damn thing." "Are you advocating disarmament, General Black?" "I don't know." "Well, it's the logic of your position." "Peculiar reversal." "The press would be interested." "The military man who is the dove, and the civilian who is the hawk." "We're going too fast." "Things are getting out of hand." "Can you be more specific, General?" "We're all trying to make war more efficient." " That's our job." " And we're succeeding." "We now have the capacity to blow up the whole world several times over." "Which does not mean we must do it." "We won't be able to stop from doing it." "That's the logic of your position, Groeteschele." "We're setting up a war machine that acts faster than the ability of men to control it." "We're putting men into situations that are getting too tough for men to handle." "Then we must toughen the men." "Suppose they launch a first strike against us?" "Then we retaliate, and we're all finished." "Oh, would you prefer that only we were finished?" "We have to prepare." "We're preparing." "We've got to slow down." "I disagree." "We have got to speed up." "Naturally, that means taking risks, but our intention is always to minimize those risks." "Of course, we can only control our own actions." "Our concept of limited war is based on an equal rationality on the part of the Russians." "It also presupposes there will be no accidents on either side." "But suppose, for an example, that unidentified flying object was one of their 50-megaton missiles that had gotten loose by mistake." "What could be done?" "How could they prove it was really an accident?" "Would it make any difference if they could?" "Even if we believe them, should we still think in terms of limiting our response or should we hit them back with everything we have?" "It's gone, General." "What happened to it?" " Colonel Cascio..." " Sir." "...let's go to Condition Yellow." " Yes, sir." "It's dropped below the level at which our radar can pick it up, that's all." "You went to the next state of readiness." "Well, that's SOP, Mr Knapp." "It could be a commercial plane about to crash." "Or an enemy plane taking evasive action." "Naturally, we prepare for the worst." "Two minutes to fail-safe." "What are those planes following the bombers, General?" "Fighter support." "Part of Condition Yellow." "From now on, they'll take a refuelling and they'll follow the bombers as far as they go." " What comes after Condition Yellow?" " Green." " And then?" " Red." "But we've never gone to red yet." "Red means war, doesn't it?" " Not an air breather?" " What does that mean?" "Well, jet planes suck air through their engines." "Our warning system can pick up the turbulence this creates." "It could be a commercial plane that's lost power, no turbulence would be created." " It could be a rocket." " Off course?" "Maybe on." "One minute to fail-safe." "It could be a Russian rocket, sir, coming in low where our radar can't pick it up." " Could it be that?" " It could be anything." " Well, how do you find out?" " Our fighters are tracking it." "Countdown will now be in seconds." " Can't wait too long." " 15, 14 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 87, 6, 5, 4" "3, 2, 1." "All groups at fail-safe point" "Right on the dot." "That's flying." " Colonel Cascio?" " Yes, sir?" " Go to Condition Green." " Yes, sir." "Tell the planes to keep orbiting until we get positive identification of the UFO." "They'll do that anyway, sir." "That's their orders." " Well, tell them again." " Yes, sir." " I'll have to ask you gentleman to leave now." " Sorry." " That is an order, Mr Raskob." " You've got the wrong customer, General." "The way I see it, we could be at war in just about two minutes." "You can't get me back to my family in that time," " so I'm staying here to see what happens." " There's no place for you here." "If those bombs go off, General, there's no place for me anywhere." "You want me out of here, you better call those MP's." " I think it's coming up again." " We can't wait any longer, sir." "Give me a tight scale." "That's it, gentlemen." "Sorry we alarmed you." "Contact all the planes and have them resume their normal patrols." "Yes, sir." " Colonel Grady?" " Yes, what is it, Thomas?" "What's the longest you ever stayed at these fail-safe points?" "The longest I ever stayed was three minutes, but I can tell you it seems like three years." " This your first time?" " Yes, sir." " Nervous?" " No, sir." "It's only natural, you know." "I was just calculating fuel, sir." "How is the group holding formation, Sullivan?" "They're right in orbit, sir." "Even Number Six is tucked in." "Old Flynn." "Half man, half bird." "Well, thank you very much, General." "I must say, it was quite a full trip." " What's that, Colonel?" " Checking, sir." "Okay here." "Send in a K-13." "Something blew in the fault indicator, sir." "We're replacing the whole unit." "The fault indicator is our master control." "It tells us if something goes wrong in any of these other components." " Did something go wrong?" " No sign of it." "We'll know as soon as they replace the unit." "Sir, the fail-safe box." "There must be some mistake there." "Check Omaha." "Can't get through, Colonel." "Interference." "What'd you mean, you can't get through?" "What kind of interference?" "I don't know, sir." "It's a kind I never heard before." "Well, try another band." "Try all of them." "Can't get through, Colonel." "They must be trying to keep us from getting our "go" signal." "Well, they're too late for that." "Request permission to authenticate on secondary channel." "Permission granted." "Order confirmed." "Request permission to verify, sir." "Permission granted." " Code sequence correct for today, sir." " Signal is go." "We will now both open our operational orders." "Ready for approach and penetration orders, sir." "So you say these alerts happen half a dozen times a month?" "About that." "Not usually so dramatic." " We rarely get to the fail-safe point." " Well, I'd be a nervous wreck." "Well, so would I if I had to make a speech in Congress." " Oh, yeah?" " General Bogan?" "That blip up there at 10:00." "It's headed into Russia." "And that is why some people advocate a return to manned bombers for a first-strike retaliation, rather than missiles." "They are slower and therefore give more time for evaluation and analysis." "The rockets have the defects of their virtues." "They are too quick." "They allow too little time for thought." "Now I find this point of view old-fashioned." "By the very nature of modern warfare, the..." "Put that on polar projection." " Colonel Cascio." " Yes, sir?" " Get me the President." " Yes, sir." " I'm Buck, the translator." "They sent for me." " May I see your identification, sir?" "Buck, it says you have a small scar on your left wrist." "May I see it, please?" "Oh, yeah." " Dog bit me when I was a kid." " Yes, sir." "Hello, Buck." "How's your Russian today" "Fine, sir," "I guess." "Good." "We may need it." "Hang on, Jennie." "It's a long way down." "Tell Joe nothing leaks to the newspapers, nothing." "Not yet, anyway." "I'll call the Vice President and tell him what's up." "He'll know what to do." "On second thought, we'd better tell the press something." "Have Joe tell them it's urgent, but not a bone-breaker so far." "And off the record, no leaks." "Any leaks on this, the guy and his paper are dead now and forever, you got that?" "I'll tell Joe in just those words." "Now then, who's at the Pentagon briefing today I want them in on this." "Secretary of Defense." "Chiefs of Staff." "That Professor Groeteschele they like so much, he's giving the lecture." " Is Blackie there?" " There's a General Black." "That's Blackie." "I'm glad he's there." "We went to college together." "Got a brain and says what he thinks." "Okay, Jennie, that's all for now." "Get to work." "And tell them to turn up the air-conditioning." "It's hot as hell down here." "We're far enough down." "Maybe it is hell." " You know what's happened, Buck?" " No, sir." "One of our Vindicator groups got a wrong signal." "They took off to bomb Moscow." "We've got to stop it." "Easier said than done." "Buck, we've got a little time." "Not much, but a little, so relax." "Easier said than done, sir." "If things get really hot," "I might have to use the direct phone to the Kremlin." "That's where you'll come in." " But let's hope we don't get that far." " I hope not, sir." " General Bogan from Omaha, sir." " Put him on." "Group Six is now about 200 miles past fail-safe, Mr President." "We still can't make contact." " Do you know what went wrong?" " No, sir, we do not." "Why can't you raise them by radio?" "We don't know for sure, sir." "We've tried all frequencies." "We just can't make contact." " Why?" " I don't know." "We had a flash on the board just before it happened and the fault indicator blew out at the same time." "The Russians may be jamming their reception with some new device we know nothing about." "Why would they do that?" "Is it customary?" "No, sir, but it's possible." "In other words, it's possible the fail-safe mechanism might be giving them a "go" signal at the same time they can't reach you for positive confirmation." "It's possible." "It's not probable, but..." "Is it possible?" "Yes, sir." "All right." "Now, if we do regain radio contact, will the bombers respond to an order to return?" "If we can reach them within the next five minutes." "After that, their orders are to disregard any verbal command." "If I talk to them?" "Even from me?" "Your voice can be imitated by the enemy, sir." "Our men have been drilled in that." "Once they're beyond a certain point they're not to trust any verbal transmission." "What's our next step then, General, if we follow standard procedure?" "We already have fighter planes in the air." "The next step would be to order the fighters after the bombers, to raise them visually and divert them from their course." "What if the bombers don't respond, then what?" "The fighters would be ordered to shoot them down." "Who gives that order?" "You do, sir." "Thank you, General." "I'll be back to you." "Get me Mr Swenson in the Pentagon." "Swenson here." "Mr Secretary, I have a decision to make." "It's my decision, and I'll make it, but I want the advice of you and your people and I need it fast." "The President says he may have to order our fighters to shoot down Group Six." "He wants our opinion." "I oppose it, sir, on the grounds that it's premature." "Our planes have not yet reached Soviet territory." "They're still hundreds of miles away." "We've got to do it and fast." "Right now before it's too late." "Might be too late anyway." "Those fighters swung away from the bombers when they got the all clear." "They've been flying in opposite directions." "But they're faster than the Vindicators." "Not that much faster." "I'm not sure they can catch up in time." "They can go to afterburners." "That'll increase their speed." "And use up their fuel?" "They'll never be able to get back." "They'll go down in the ocean." " We've got to try it." " Suppose they do catch up?" "Why do they have to attack?" "Can't they signal?" "Our men have been trained to expect anything from the enemy." "Even sending up his own fighter planes disguised as ours." "They're good men." "We've seen to that." "If their orders are attack, the only way you're gonna stop them is to shoot them down." "We've got no alternative." "This minute the Russians are watching their boards trying to figure out what we're up to." "If we can't convince them it's an accident which we're trying to correct by any means, we're going to have something on our hands that nobody bargained for and only a lunatic wants." "Mr President, it is our opinion that the fighters should be ordered in." "Thank you." "General Bogan, please." "Yes, Mr President?" "The fighters are to overtake the Vindicators and, if necessary, shoot them down." "Sir, it will be necessary." "I know that, General." "Order them in." "Colonel, order the fighters to attack Group Six." "They don't have a prayer of catching them, sir." "That is an order." "But it's the Arctic Ocean they'll go down in, General." "They'll freeze to death before they get their chutes off." "Colonel, get on the horn and give that order." "Every second you wait takes them farther away." "We're killing them, General, and they haven't got a chance." "This is Fighter Direction." "We are in voice communication with Tangle-Abel-One." "You can talk to them on Channel 7, single side band." "Do I tell them in code or in the clear?" "In the clear." "Tangle-Abel-One, this is Colonel Cascio at Ultimate One." "This is Tangle-Abel-One." "I read you five-by-five." "Group Six has flown through the fail-safe point and is on an attack course towards Moscow." "It is a mistake." "Repeat, it is a mistake." "Go to afterburners and overtake and attack Group Six." "Roger." "Go to afterburners and overtake and attack Group Six." "Did you all hear that order?" "Overtake the Vindicators?" "Who are they kidding?" "All we got is a 50-mile-an-hour edge on them, and they're halfway to Moscow already." "You heard the man." "We go to afterburners." "And use what to run this aeroplane?" "Spit?" "By the time we run out of gas, they'll only be 1,000 miles away." "Man, that's organisation." "All right, cut the chatter, we're wasting time." "On the mark, go to afterburners." "Five, four, three, two, one, mark." "Shall I alert Air-Sea Rescue, sir?" "No." "No point." "Bring up the fighters on the board in tight scale." "Yes, sir." "Beautiful." "Fighters on their way, sir." "Thank you." "Buck, let's hope this all blows over in the next few minutes." "But if it doesn't, we're going to get to know each other very well." "I want you to listen to every conversation I have, try to get to know how I think." " It might come in handy." " Yes, sir." " How did General Bogan sound to you?" " Sir?" "Did he sound worried?" "Confident?" "Scared?" "Well, not..." "Not scared." "A little worried, I guess." "Bogan's an old-time flier, but he's not afraid of all this new equipment." "If he's worried, I'm worried." "You know Mr Swenson, the Secretary of Defence?" "I've read about him, sir." "You won't be able to tell much from his voice." "He's hard as a rock." "But we listen to him, Buck." " If he gives advice, we take it." " Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Will you put the war conference room at the Pentagon and General Bogan in Omaha on a conference line with me?" "Yes, sir." "Ready, sir." " Mr Swenson?" " Yes, Mr President." "If our fighters have to shoot down the Vindicators, the worst is over." "For us, anyway." "I want your people now to consider what we do if they can't shoot them down." "I'm putting you on the intercom so everything you say can be heard here and in Omaha." "General Bogan has Mr Knapp of Amalgamated Electronics and Congressman Raskob with him." "They have my permission to listen in and say anything they want." "Right, sir." "Gentlemen, we've got four questions to answer and not a hell of a lot of time." "First, what happened?" "Second, what do we do about it?" "Third, what are the Russians going to think of all this?" "And fourth, what are they going to do about it?" "Please keep the discussion to those points." "Mechanical failure." "That's what happened." "A double mechanical failure?" "Do you know the odds against that, sir?" " Maybe someone went berserk." " It doesn't matter." "Something failed." "A man, a machine." "It was bound to happen, and it did." "Maybe we'll never know why or what." "It doesn't matter now." " Mr Secretary." " Yes, General Bogan." "Mr Knapp here knows as much about electronic gear as anyone." "He'd like to say something." "The more complex an electronic system gets, the more accident-prone it is." " Sooner or later, it breaks down." " What breaks down?" "A transistor blows, a condenser burns out." "Sometimes they just get tired, like people." "Mr Knapp overlooks one factor." "The machines are supervised by humans." "Even if the machine fails, a human being can always correct the mistake." "I wish you were right." "But the fact is, the machines work so fast, they are so intricate, the mistakes they make are so subtle that very often, a human being just can't know whether a machine is lying or telling the truth." "Well, maybe this time there wasn't any failure." "Maybe the Russians have come up with a way to mask the real position of Group Six." "Maybe Group Six is flying back to the States right this minute." "Then what's on the board?" "Northern lights?" "Maybe a group of Soviet planes, up there for just that reason." "To convince us that we've accidentally launched a bomber group against them." " For what purpose?" " As an excuse to retaliate." "If they wanted to do that, they wouldn't need an excuse." "They'd simply attack." "This way, they've made us commit a group of our fighter planes, our first line of defense." "They've made us kill our own men." "I disagree with Colonel Cascio's analysis." "I think we have to assume that it is our accident and not their plan." "I go along with you, General." "Yes, Saunders?" "A report on what the Russians have in the air, sir." "Seven bomber groups." " Is that unusual?" " No, that's normal for them." "About like us." "What kind of course are they on?" "Normal patrol patterns inside their own borders." "They do have a large number of fighters in the air, sir." "Abnormally large." "Almost half their fighter strength." "They're having the same problem with Group Six that we had with the UFO." "They don't know what it is, why it's there or who it belongs to." "My guess is that they know all about Group Six." "They saw it fly to the fail-safe point." "They've seen that happen plenty of times." "They know the procedure." "So far, no sweat." "And when they saw it fly past..." "They sent up their fighter planes, just in case." "I don't think they'll take any action unless their border is crossed." "Agreed." "That puts it up to the fighters." "In my opinion, they will take no action at all." "They are not going to just sit there, Professor." "I think if our bombers get through, the Russians will surrender." "Who's this professor, Mr Secretary?" "What's he doing there?" "Professor Groeteschele is a civilian advisor to the Pentagon, General." "Will you explain your statement, Professor?" "The Russian aim is to dominate the world." "They think that Communism must succeed eventually if the Soviet Union is left reasonably intact." "They know that a war would leave the Soviet Union utterly destroyed." "Therefore, they would surrender." "But suppose they feel they can knock us off first?" "They know we might have a doomsday system." "Missiles that will go into action days, even weeks, after a war is over and destroy an enemy even after that enemy has already destroyed us." "Maybe they think that even capitalists aren't that insane." "To want to kill after they themselves have been killed." "These are Marxist fanatics, not normal people." "They do not reason the way you reason, General Black." "They're not motivated by human emotions such as rage and pity." "They are calculating machines." "They will look at the balance sheet, and they will see they cannot win." "Then you suggest doing what?" "Nothing." " Nothing?" " The Russians will surrender and the threat of Communism will be over forever." "That's a lot of hogwash." "Don't kid yourself." "There'll be Russian generals who will react just as I would, the best defense is a good offense." "They see trouble coming up, take my word for it, they'll attack and they won't give a damn what Marx said." "Mr Secretary, I am convinced that the moment the Russians know bombs will fall on Moscow, they will surrender." "They know that whatever they do then, they cannot escape destruction." "Don't you see, sir?" "This is our chance." "We never would have made the first move deliberately but Group Six has made it for us, by accident." "We must take advantage of it." "History demands it." "We must advise the President not to recall those planes." "They're flaming hot." "He's firing anyway." "There goes Number Two." "Mr President, the fighters have not succeeded." "They've gone down into the sea." "What are the chances of our bombers getting through to Moscow?" "We've made the calculations a hundred times." "What they have in the way of defense is what our planes are capable of doing." "The Vindicators fly so fast, the Russians won't be able to use all their defensive apparatus." "One or two of the bombers will get through." "Thank you." "Buck, I'm going to talk to the Soviet Premier now." "You'll translate what he says to me." "He'll have his own translator telling him what I say," " but I want something more from you." " Yes, sir, whatever I can do." "I think the Premier will be saying what he means, he usually does." "But sometimes, there's more in a mars voice than in his words." "And there are words in one language that don't carry the same weight in another." " You..." "You follow me?" " Well, I think so, sir." "It's very important the Premier and I understand each other." "I don't have to tell you how important." "So I want to know not only what he's saying, but what you think he's feeling." "Any inflection of his voice, any tone, any emotion that adds to his words, I want you to let me know." "Yes, sir." "I'll do my best." "I know you will, Buck, it's all any of us can do." "And don't be afraid to say what you think." "Don't be afraid all this is too big for you, Buck." "It's big all right, but it still depends on what each of us does." "History lesson number one." "I'll talk to Moscow now." "It's the Premier, sir." "Mr Chairman, this is the President of the United States." "Do you hear me clearly?" "Fine, Mr President." "How are you?" "Mr Chairman, I'm calling you on a matter of great urgency." "I hope it turns out to be a small matter, but it's the first time it's happened and if it's misunderstood, it could be..." "Does it have to do with the aircraft we have detected flying towards Russia?" "Yes, Mr Chairman." "I suppose it's another of your off-course reconnaissance flights." "And Mr President, we have warned you again and again that this constant flying of armed aircraft..." " This is a mistake, a serious mistake." "...over Soviet territory cannot..." "I say, it's a mistake." "Very well." "Tell me." "Tell me the mistake." "A group of our bombers, each loaded with two 20-megaton bombs, is flying towards your country." "We shall watch with great interest while you recall them." "So far, we have been unable to recall them." "Are the planes being flown by crazy men?" "We're not sure." "It might be a mechanical failure." "All I can tell you is that it's an accident." "It's not an attempt to provoke war." "It's not part of a general attack." "How do I know you do not have hundreds of other planes coming in so low our radar cannot pick them up?" "Because I hope to prove to you that it's an accident." "That we take full responsibility." "That we're doing everything we can to correct it." "Go on." "You must have seen that we sent fighter planes to shoot down the bombers." "American fighters to shoot down American bombers?" "That is correct." " And you gave that order?" " I did." "How do I know that the planes were not simply diving to a low altitude to escape our radar?" "On our plotting board, the action could only be interpreted as planes out of control." "You have the same equipment we do." "What did it tell you?" "It did not tell us what is in your mind, Mr President." "I'm telling you that." " And you ask me to believe you?" " You must believe me." "You ask for belief at a curious time." "If we don't trust each other now, Mr Chairman, there may not be another time." "We saw..." "We saw your planes fall into the sea." "I wanted only to hear your explanation." "And whether it was done at your own order." "It is a hard thing to order men to their death, is it not?" "It is." "Sir, someone's trying to persuade him it's a trick." "They want him to strike back at once." "Soviet airspace has still not been violated, Mr President." "But if it is, we will be forced to shoot down your bombers." "And then we will come to full alert with all our missiles and planes." "I understand that." "I hope you're able to shoot down our bombers." "But I urge you not to take any steps that cannot be recalled." "You know we must protect ourselves." "You also know that if you launch missiles, we must do the same." "If that happens, there'll be very little left of the world." "I understand." "Is there anything more you wish to say" "If I may make a suggestion?" "I will arrange to open a conference line between our headquarters in Omaha and your similar officials in the Soviet Union." "We will do all we can to help you." "We do not need your help." "We are perfectly capable of defending our country." "As you wish, but I must tell you what my people tell me." "No matter what you do, at least one of the planes will get through to the target." " What is the target?" " Moscow." "I'll call you back when I see what our fighters do." "How's the formation holding, Sullivan?" "Everyone in line, sir." " How far from the border?" " Two minutes." "We better start spreading out." "Number Six plane in the lead." " Flynn." " Right here, Colonel." " Go to work." " Roger." "Project the Soviet fighter planes." "Give me tight scale on the Russian border." " That does it." " They've crossed the border." "Well, Buck, we're into Soviet territory." "A technical state of war now exists." "Give me Enemy Defense Performance." "This is Enemy Defense Performance Desk, General Bogan." "How do you read the situation?" "Our Number Six plane carrying defensive equipment and masking devices has moved into the lead." "All those new little blips you see are decoys that it's dropped." "Have the Russian fighters launched any missiles yet?" "Not yet You'll see their missiles on your scope as tiny dots that appear suddenly and then disappear." "There go some of them now." "You can see they're confused by the decoys." "They're still not grouping where the real planes are." "Can you wipe the decoys off the screen so that we see just their planes and ours?" "There you are, General." "They're still going after decoys." "Our boys aren't making it easy for them." "Good." " They've picked up one of our planes now." " Get them." "Get them." "Knock that off!" "This isn't some damn football game, remember that!" "That plane's in trouble." "It looks like the Soviets have a very slow missile with a much longer range than we thought they had." "The slowness of speed made our missile calculate they must be drones or decoys so it ignored them and went after the fighters." "We can compensate for that." "The adjustment is minor." "The Premier is on the line, sir." "Yes, Mr Chairman?" "We have only a little time left, Mr President." "His voice is different, sir." "It's not angry." "It's subdued." "How shall we use this time?" "He sounds sorrowful, sad." "What luck are your fighters having?" "Luck?" "No luck at all." "We have shot down only one of your bombers." "Well, what about the other five?" "Maybe yes, maybe no." "Your masking devices are better than we had thought." "Hundreds of targets have appeared on the radar." "Perhaps they are decoys." "Perhaps they are real bombers." "Many of my experts are convinced that they are real." "They urge me to release our own bombers at once." "Why don't you, then?" " Good question." " Why haven't you counterattacked?" "I am gambling that you are sincere." "My generals are not so happy with me about this, as I'm sure your generals are not so happy with you." "But there is time for common sense." "I must have proof, Mr President." "Neither of us wants war but we must be convinced that this is truly a mistake, that your intentions are not hostile and that there is a chance for peace." "Mr Chairman, let me ask you something." "Just before our planes took off from their fail-safe point, there was a white flash on our plotting board." "We think this is connected to some mechanical failure that might have activated their "go" signal." "Could this have been caused by your radio interference?" "They're arguing with him again, sir, telling him not to answer, the information is too secret." "Was it your jamming that kept us from getting through to our planes?" "I do not know about this jamming." "I think he does." "We cannot be responsible for your mechanical failures." "Is it possible?" "Could it have happened?" "You ask for proof, Mr Chairman." "This could be it." "They're arguing back and forth." ""Don't trust you."" ""Have to trust you."" ""It's a trick."" "We're paying for our mutual suspicions, Mr Chairman," "I realize that, but the wall must be broken." "We have to break it down now." "We can't afford not to trust each other." "We jammed your radios with a special device even I did not know about." "I suppose I must be very proud of our scientists." "It was more effective than anyone dreamed." "But why?" "Why this time?" "We have computers, like yours." "They computed that this time your alert might be real." "On what grounds?" "Probability." "The law of averages." "They have their own logic." "It is not human, but it is positive, so we listen." "Will you lift the jamming so I can talk to the group commander?" " Will he return on your command?" " There's a chance." "I'll give that order." "General Bogan." "Yes, Mr President." " Put me through to Group Six, fast." " Right away, sir." " What's the group commander's name?" " Colonel Jack Grady, sir." " Does he have a wife?" " I'll see, sir." "Turkey One, this is Ultimate One." "Can you hear me?" "Turkey One, this is Ultimate One." "Can you hear me?" " Yes, sir, he does." " Find her." "If I can't persuade him, maybe she can." " Yes, sir." " Turkey One, this is Ultimate One." "Can you hear me?" "Turkey One, this is Ultimate One, can you hear me?" "I have an important message." "Turkey One, can you hear me?" "Turkey One, can you hear me?" "Turkey One, can you hear me?" "This is Ultimate One." "Can you hear me?" "They've stopped jamming us." "This is Turkey One." "Turkey One, I am not authorized to receive messages." "Colonel Grady, this is the President of the United States." "The mission you are flying has been triggered by a mechanical failure." "It is a mistake." "I order you and the other planes to return to your base at once." "Do you hear?" "At once!" "Colonel Grady, I repeat." "This is the President." "I can no longer receive tactical alterations by voice." "I know that, but..." "What you're telling me, I've been specifically ordered not to do!" "Damn it, Grady, this is the President!" "He's still on, sir." "Mr Chairman, I think it would be wise for you to remove yourself from Moscow so that you'll be out of danger." "It will allow us to continue negotiations even if the worst happens." "I have made those arrangements." "His voice is tougher." "Unfortunately, we cannot remove Moscow." "It remains here, open to your bombs, and when it is destroyed, its people dead because there's no time to evacuate them," "where shall we negotiate, Mr President?" "Shall I come to Geneva, hat in hand, begging for peace?" "I offered you help." "You refused it." "I offer it again." "We will help you shoot down the planes." "Set up your conference line." "I'll come back on the phone when I'm a safe distance from Moscow." "Will you activate the Ultimate One/Red One Touch Phone, please." "Can we stop them, sir?" "Fire." "Fire." "Before he gets off one of those slow ones." "Colonel, knock that off, or I'll have you taken out of this room." "Two down." "Four to go." " Excuse me, sir." " Yes?" "Every minute we wait works against us." "Now, Mr Secretary." "Now is when we must send in a first strike." "We don't go in for sneak attacks." "We had that done to us at Pearl Harbor." "And the Japanese were right to do it." "From their point of view, we were their mortal enemy." "As long as we existed, we were a deadly threat to them." "Their only mistake was that they failed to finish us at the start and they paid for that mistake at Hiroshima." " You're talking about a different kind of war." " Exactly." "This time, we can finish what we start." "And if we act now, right now, our casualties will be minimal." "Do you know what you're saying?" "Do you believe that Communism is not our mortal enemy?" "You're justifying murder." "Yes, to keep from being murdered." "In the name of what?" "To preserve what?" "Even if we do survive, what are we, better than what we say they are?" "What gives us the right to live, then?" "What makes us worth surviving, Groeteschele?" " That we are ruthless enough to strike first?" " Yes!" "Those who can survive are the only ones worth surviving." "Fighting for your life isn't the same as murder." "Where do you draw the line once you know what the enemy is?" "How long would the Nazis have kept it up, General, if every Jew they came after had met them with a gun in his hand?" "But I learnt from them, General Black." "Oh, I learnt." "You learnt too well, Professor." "You learnt so well that now there's no difference between you and what you want to kill." "Yes, Mr President" "Contact our ambassador to Moscow." "Also the Soviet delegate to the United Nations." "Hook them onto my line." "When the Soviet Premier comes back on the phone, put us all on together." "Yes, Mr President" "Is the Touch Phone open between Omaha and the Soviet command headquarters?" " Yes, sir, all ready." " Keep it open." "General Black." "Yes, Mr President." "Blackie," " remember your Old Testament?" " A little." "Remember the story of the sacrifice of Abraham?" "Old what's-his-name used to use it in chapel at least twice a year." "I remember, sir." "Keep it in mind the next few hours." "Blackie, I need your help." "Get out to Andrews Field right away." "Orders will be waiting for you there." "Yes, sir." "Blackie, are Katherine and the kids in New York?" "Yes, sir." "I may be asking a great deal of you." "I'll do whatever you say." "Good luck, Blackie." " General Bogan." " Yes, Mr President?" "I've activated the Touch Phone between you and the Soviet command." " Will you test it, please?" " Yes, sir." "This is General Bogan, Strategic Air Command, Omaha." "I am the translator for Marshal Nevsky." "Marshal Nevsky sends his greetings." "The same to him." "Our reception is five-by-five." "How do you read us?" "We read you five-by-five." "One moment, please." "Mr President, we're through to them." "Thank you, General." "Will you put me on your public address system so everyone can hear what I say" "I want the Russians to be able to hear as well." "Yes, sir." "Ready, sir." "Gentlemen, this is the President of the United States." "Whatever orders I give to American personnel are to be considered direct orders from the Commander in Chief." "They are to be obeyed fully, without reservation and at once." "We must do everything we can to prevent our planes from attacking Moscow." "The Soviet Premier has behaved as I believe I would under similar conditions." "He has delayed retaliation." "I think he believes this is an accident." "But we must convince him and his chief advisors that it is." "I therefore order every American to cooperate fully with Soviet officers" "in shooting down our invading planes." "You are to give whatever information they request" "Any hesitation, any withholding of information can have the most tragic consequences." "I cannot emphasize this too strongly." "Are there any questions?" "Gentlemen, I expect you to conduct yourselves as patriots." "And I wish you success." "Do the missiles on these bombers have both infrared and radar homing capabilities?" "A number of our fighter planes have been destroyed by a missile that seems to home not on the infrared source, but on the radar transmitter." "Is it possible?" "Colonel Cascio will answer your question." "Answer the question, Colonel." "That is a direct order." "An order, Colonel!" "Colonel!" "Just a moment, please." "Major Handel." "General Bogan." "Sergeant Collins, on the double!" "You're backup man on fire control, aren't you?" "Yes, sir." "Do our Vindicator missiles have both infrared- and radar-seeking capacity?" "Yes, sir." "Loud and clear!" "They've got to know we're on the level!" "It has both capacities, sir." "Can the radar-seeking mechanism be overloaded by increasing the strength of the signal?" "Tell them!" "Yes, sir." "It can be overloaded by increasing the power output and sliding through radar frequencies as fast as possible, what happens is the firing mechanism reads the higher amperage as proximity to the target and detonates the warhead." "Thank you, General Bogan." "We will be back to you." "That's all, Sergeant." "What does it mean?" "We've told them how to blow up our air-to-air missiles and with them our planes." "They're picking us up." "Thomas, send out the code for the alternate flight plan." "We're going down to the floor." "They're trying to avoid the fighters by going too low for their radar." "I'm sorry, General, I..." "I don't know what happened." "I just..." "I just couldn't do it." "It was like a..." "I don't know, a fit or something." "Colonel, I..." "Forget it." "Who could have expected this situation?" "General." "General, I..." "I think this is all a trap." "They wanted this to happen." "We know they've been trying to foul up our fail-safe signal." "I think that we should tell the President it's a trap." "They're just using the time to get their missiles ready and fly their bombers into position." "We have no evidence of that." "They could be flying their bombers in the grass." "They could have fired missiles already and put them up in the orbit of known satellites where we couldn't detect them." "Remember." "We computed that problem." "We decided satellites could be used to mask missiles." "We computed a lot of problems." "I'm not reporting anything I don't know for sure." "I think we should recommend a full-strength attack." "That is not our decision!" "The Pentagon..." "They don't know what we know." "They're not soldiers anymore." "They're politicians." "They don't care what happens to us." "They make a mistake, that's politics." "They send out men to be killed, General." "For what?" "To make some lousy deal, to sell us out." "Save the world, save us." "Save our country before they destroy it with their stinking politics." "Order a first strike, General." "Put an end to it once and for all." " You have the power." "You can do it!" " Colonel!" "You are talking treason." "Stop it now, or I'll have you put under arrest." "General Bogan, this is Marshal Nevsky." "Yes, Marshal." "Can you give us the longitude and latitude of the three planes left in the air?" "We can do that, but we can't give you their altitude." "The signals we're getting now are too distorted." "Will you please give us the position of the three planes?" "We can fly fighters at various altitudes." "Can do." "Gentlemen, I am taking over command of this post at the specific order of the President of the United States." "He has long been aware that General Bogan is mentally unbalanced and has warned me to observe him closely." "The negotiations which General Bogan has been conducting with the enemy are the acts of a lunatic." "By the direct authority of the President," "I now command you to take all orders from..." "Colonel?" "We got orders, Colonel." "You make a fuss, we'll kill you." "You're a traitor." "You're worse than anybody." "You wear the uniform." "You have men under your command." "You're in the field, but you want them dead before they find you out!" "You want me dead!" "I saw it this morning when you found me with those people." "I'm better than you are!" "It's a mistake." "You're betraying us all!" "You're making a mistake!" "I'm better than you are." "You're a traitor." "You're betraying us all!" " Marshal Nevsky?" " Yes, sir." "I am now prepared to give you the longitude and latitude of our bombers in accordance with your request." "I was aware of your difficulty, General Bogan." "We have had such problems ourselves." "I await your information." "Major Handel." " General, you better have a doctor..." " They've got another one." "Sit down, anyway." "That was a bad knock." "Anyone could crack under the strain." "Well, if you ask me, he was a boy on the edge..." "He was a good soldier." "The Soviet Premier is coming back on the line, sir." "The ambassador and the Soviet delegate are already on." " Have they been told?" " Yes, sir, as you said." "Good." "Jay, where are you?" "On the top floor of the embassy in Moscow, Mr President" " Where are you, Mr Lentov?" " In the UN building in New York." "I suppose there is a reason for your ambassador and Comrade Lentov to join us." "There is, Mr Chairman." "Then let's get on with it." "His voice is firmer, sir." "Final." "Like he's made up his mind." "In a few minutes, the bombs may be falling." "I have brought our forces to a condition of full readiness." "Unless we can satisfy one another, I must release those forces." "So, what do you propose, Mr President?" "Do your people think there is still a chance of bringing down the bombers?" "There is always a chance." "But I'm asking you, what if they cannot?" "What will you do?" "Have you made a decision?" "Yes." "It's my decision and I take full responsibility." " Mr Swenson, are you on the line?" " Yes, Mr President." " General Bogan?" " Yes, sir." "This is what will happen if even one of the bombers gets through." "It will drop two 20-megaton bombs on Moscow." " Jay" " Yes, Mr President?" "You might hear the sound of the engines just before the bombs drop, maybe not." "In any case, you'll hear the defensive missiles going off." "Right after that, the bombs will explode." "I'm told that what we will hear at this end will be a high, shrill sound." "That will be the ambassador's phone melting from the heat of the fireball." "When we hear that sound, the ambassador will be dead." "You understand, Mr Ambassador, you're to stay exactly where you are." "Yes, Mr President" "He's got to attack." "Is this your proposal?" "To sacrifice one American for five million Russians?" "No, no, no." "Listen to me!" "Listen!" "I've ordered a Vindicator bomber into the air from Washington." "In a few minutes, it will be flying over New York City." "It is carrying two 20-megaton bombs." "The moment I know that Moscow has been hit," "I will order that plane to drop its bombs." "It will use the Empire State Building for ground zero." "When we hear the shriek of Mr Lentov's phone melting, we will know that he is gone and with him, New York." "Holy Mother of God." "No." "He can't do it." "What else can he do?" "I don't know any other way, Mr Chairman, unless..." "Unless you feel the offer itself is enough." "Showing our intentions." "Would you think it enough?" "If Russian bombers were flying against New York, could you accept only my good intentions?" "No." "I believe this was an accident." "But I also believe your action is the only way out." "I ask you to believe I wish it were not so." "Yes." "Well, we can still hope I won't have to take that action." "How close to target?" "Fourteen minutes, sir." "How many planes left?" "Just us and Number Six." " Flynn." " Still here, Grady." "What's your condition?" "Slight wing damage from ordinary flak." "That's all." "Speed down to 1,350." "Drag even." " How many of the decoys do you have left?" " How many do you need?" "Well, I got the bombs." "You don't." "I want you to take some of those fighters off my tail." "Will do." " Billy?" " Yeah?" "I depend on you." "General Bogan, can you explain this manoeuvre?" "One of your planes has just appeared again." "It's standard procedure, Marshal Nevsky." "That's our Number Six plane, the decoy plane." "It's just trying to draw your fighters away from our other plane carrying the bombs." "I see." "It carries only defensive equipment." "You don't have to worry about it." "Thank you." "We shall try for a kill in any case." "She'll scatter your forces, Marshal." "You don't have time for that." "I tell you, it doesn't carry any bombs." "You don't have to worry about it!" "You're letting our other plane get through!" "I told you!" "There has been a..." "Marshal Nevsky has collapsed." "It appears..." "Well, I don't know." "General Koniev is now in command." "Bogan, what's happened?" "Marshal Nevsky sent his fighters after a plane that carried no bombs." "That means our Number One plane will almost certainly get through." "The marshal realized that It was too much for him." "General Bogan, this is General Koniev." "Do you have the remaining plane on your screen?" "No, sir, we do not." "We cannot see it on our radar, and it is flying so fast, our antiaircraft is useless." " I must assume the plane will get through." " Yes." "I intend to focus all our remaining rockets on the estimated path of the plane and fire them all off at once." "Our hope is to set up a thermonuclear barrier that nothing can penetrate." "That might work." "It's wor'th a chance." "You speak English very well, General." "I was liaison to your headquarters in London during the war." "I was stationed right outside of London." "Yes, I know." "With the 8th Air Force." "Did you like London?" "Very much." "So did I." "The great cities are those where one can walk." "I would walk all the time in London." "Wherever you turn, there's history." " General, are you in Moscow now?" " No." "I was ordered to leave." "Is your..." "It's a hard day." "Yes, a hard day." "Goodbye, my friend." "Goodbye, my friend." " Colonel Grady, sir." " What is it, Thomas?" "The infrared indicator shows a large number of ground-to-air rockets ignited ahead of us." "They should show on the scope anytime now." "What do you know about those rockets?" "They're no different from ours, sir." "Designed to home in on heat-producing engines, like an aeroplane." "They can't be aiming them at us." "We're too low." "They'd blow themselves up." "What are they doing with them?" " General Bogan?" " Yes." "They found Mrs Grady." "She's standing by." "Mr President, we have Grady's wife." "Can we get through to him?" "If he follows procedure, he'll contact us when he gets within range of the target." "Those are his orders so that we know how to evaluate the strike." " Well, he's been following orders so far." " Yes, sir." "Keep your fingers crossed." " Thomas." " Yes, sir." "Would their rockets follow missiles, too?" "I don't see why not." "A missile produces heat." "So I think I know what they're gonna do." "Explode the rockets on top of us, hope to knock us down with a blast." "They can do it, too." "But how many air-to-air missiles we got left?" " Two." " Okay." "Now, the minute you see those rockets ignite on the scope, you fire our missiles and guide them for maximum elevation straight up." " Straight up?" " Yeah." "Maybe their rockets will follow the missiles, explode too high to hurt us." "Yes, sir." "Colonel Grady, we're in range." "We have to report in." "Watch that scope." "Ultimate One, this is Turkey One." "Ultimate One, this is Turkey One." " Can you hear me?" " Grady, this is General Bogan." "Keep receiving no matter what you hear." "Do you understand?" "Keep receiving." "Jack." "Jack, this is Helen." "Jack, it's Helen." "Do you recognize my voice?" "It's not a trick." "It's me." "Jack, you must turn back." "You mustn't drop those bombs." " Do you hear me?" " Is it really your wife?" "They've started their rockets." " Fire one." " Jack." "Do you hear what I'm saying?" "Jack!" "Fire two." "Keep them at least 2,500 feet above the rockets." " Yes, sir." " Jack." "There's no war!" "We're fine!" "You must turn back!" "They're at 18,000." " Go!" "Go!" " 19,000." "This is not a trick." " 20,000 feet." " The rockets are following them!" "Give them as much boost as you can." "The higher, the better." " I've never lied to you, have I?" " 40,000." "50,000." "I couldn't, no matter what anybody did to me, I wouldn't." " Please." "You've got to believe me!" " 70,000." "80,000 feet." " 90,000. 100,000." " Jack, there is no war." " They're slowing down." " 130,000." "140,000." " We'd better get some altitude." " Jack, please, answer me, please!" " Answer me!" " 170,000." "Jack, do you..." "Answer me, please!" "You can't trust it, sir!" "We gotta get out of here!" "No!" "Hang on!" "Their rockets are catching up!" "We're gonna catch some of it." "So hold tight." "There they go." "Think we'll make it now." "How many minutes to Moscow?" "Seven minutes, sir." "Look..." "We have our choice about what altitude to drop the bombs from." "It's about the only choice we do have now." "Blast gave us enough radiation." "At best we'd only last a couple of days." "So I'm taking her in low." "When we're over the target, climbing to 5,000 feet." "Bombs are set to go at 5,000." "We'll go with them." "Okay?" "What the hell." "There's nothing to go home to anyway." "General Stark, are there any papers or documents in New York which are absolutely essential to the running of the United States?" "General Stark?" "No, sir." "There are important documents, but none of them absolutely essential." "Will there be any warning given?" "A lot of lives could be saved if people had a few minutes." "On this short notice, an alert to a big city would do more harm than good." "All you'd produce is panic." "What about this?" "Maybe..." "Maybe he doesn't know his wife is there." "He knows." "Gentlemen, we are wasting time." "I've been making a few rough calculations based on the effect of two 20-megaton bombs dropped on New York City in the middle of a normal workday." "I estimate the immediate dead at about three million." "I include in this figure those buried beneath the collapsed buildings." "Wouldn't make any difference, Admiral Wilcox, whether they reached a shelter or not." "They would die just the same." "Add another million or two who'll die within about five weeks." "Now our immediate problem would be the joint one of fire control and excavation." "Excavation not of the dead." "The effort would be wasted there." "But even though there are no irreplaceable government documents in the city, many of our largest corporations keep their records there." "It will be necessary to rescue as many of those records as we can." "Our economy depends on this." "Our economy depends on this." ""And the Lord said," gentlemen," ""he who is without sin," ""let him cast the first stone."" "Sir?" "May I have a drink, please?" "How'd you ever get to be a translator, Buck?" "You don't seem the academic type." "I guess I've got this talent for languages, sir." "I hear a language once, I pick it right up." "I don't even know how." "And they found out about it in the army." " You sound sorry they did." " Oh, no." "Very interesting job." "I mean, sometimes." "Well, you did a good job today, Buck." "Thank you, sir." "All I did was repeat what he said." "You didn't freeze up." "Another man might have." "You're the one who didn't, sir." "I wonder what it's like out." "Looked like rain before." "Radio said it would clear by the afternoon." "The Premier, sir." "Yes, Mr Chairman." "Mr President," "I have ordered our long-range missiles to stand down from their alert." "Only that part of our defense that has a chance of shooting down your bomber is still active." "We do not think we have much of a chance." "I know." "And yet, this was nobody's fault." "I don't agree." "No human being did wrong." "No one here is to be blamed." "We're to blame, both of us." "We let our machines get out of hand." "Still, it was an accident." "Two great cities may be destroyed, millions of innocent people killed." "What do we say to them, Mr Chairman?" ""Accidents will happen"?" "I won't accept that." "All I know is that as long as we have weapons..." "All I know is that men are responsible." "We're responsible for what happens to us." "Today we had a taste of the future." "Do we learn from it, or do we go on the way we have?" "What do we do, Mr Chairman?" "What do we say to the dead?" "I think, if we are men, we must say," "this will not happen again." "But do you think it possible with all that stands between us?" "We put it there, Mr Chairman, and we're not helpless." "What we put between us, we can remove." " Mr President?" " Yes, Jay." "I can hear the sound of explosions from the northeast" "The sky is very bright, all lit up..." "Put me through to General Black." "Yes, Mr President" "Blackie." "Yes, Mr President?" "Moscow's been destroyed." "Drop your bombs according to plan." "Yes, sir." "You've all been briefed on the mission, so there's nothing more to say." "I have only one last order." "Nobody else is to have anything to do with the dropping of the bombs." "Repeat:" "I will fly the plane and release the bombs." "The final act is my own." "On course, sir." "Approaching target." "Count down from ten." "Give me the signal." " Now." " Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." "Mark." "General Black!" "Katie, the dream." "The dream!" "The matador." "The matador!" "The matador." "Me!" "Me."