Zorik looked around and saw that all the other hostages were silent and left with a sense of bewilderment. He spoke up "Imam Mourtashef, we thank you for your kind words. We also have a keen sense of history and fondly remember that the Great King Cyrus allowed the Jews that were exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar to return to Judea more than 2,500 years ago. We are sorry that the relations between modern Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran have deteriorated so far. But all of us here in the cell have had nothing to do with this sad state of affairs. Please let us go and we promise to be the best emissaries that Iran has ever had in Israel and the West".
The Imam smiled benevolently "Zorik, is it? I know that you will truthfully report that no harm has been done to you, but you must understand that you are mere pawns in a game that involves political considerations in which individuals don't count. So you will all just play the role that your fate has burdened you with and pray to your God that you live to see your families again."
Zorik was put out by this explicit statement, but gathered his wits and said "Thank you Imam Mourtashef for your visit. You have earned our great respect and hopefully one day we'll meet again as free men".
The Imam smiled "Inshalla, praise God" and called for his bodyguards. Fatso bowed deeply to the Imam but as soon as he was out of earshot swore and promised the inmates that their little ploy would cost them their dinner that would not be served that evening.
Imam Mourtashef left the prison wing in which the hostages were incarcerated and made his way to the laboratory in Basement S, where the work was progressing nicely. He was one of the very few people in Iran who knew that the fate of the hostages was so closely linked to the advancement of the project.
Chapter 12
The visit of the Supreme Leader was considered by Dr. Muammar Fathi as the pinnacle of his career. Exactly one year earlier he was placed in charge of a small group of scientists that were the elite of the Iranian military-industrial complex. Each member of this group was vetted by the most feared organ of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the department that was in charge of ensuring the loyalty, zealousness and religious fervor of people in sensitive positions of authority. Fathi's own vetting included a thorough investigation of his personal life and that of his family members, a series of interviews with his close friends and the Mullah of the mosque in which he regularly attended prayers and heard sermons, and the inevitable polygraph test. The latter was a joke as the interrogator decided to focus on Fathi's ties with foreign scientists ignoring the fact that most of his training in nuclear physics was in a British university. The interrogator wanted to know if Fathi was still in touch with his thesis advisor and co-students and when Fathi said that they occasionally met in international scientific conferences he insisted on getting a verbatim account of every conversation. Fathi seized the opportunity and started a downpour of technical terms, complex theories and detailed descriptions of sophisticated experimental systems. After 10 minutes of this tirade the interrogator held up both his hands and placed them on his ears begging Fathi to stop. Fathi remained serious outwardly and said that he was only getting started on the subject but inwardly had a big laugh. Finally he was cleared and received the highest security clearance that the Islamic Republic of Iran could install on a person who was not a religious leader, after all members of that select group were above the law and accountable only to Allah.
He assembled his group that included a few carefully selected scientists and engineers. During one of the coffee breaks he hinted at the interrogation and the fun he had with the interrogator in its final stage and was awarded by knowing smiles from his colleagues. One of them, Dr. Raffsani a renowned mathematician, went as far as commenting that inferior minds had no chance when trying to ensnare super-intelligent people like him, but before he could develop the subject any further Fathi pointed discreetly at the smoke detector. The "super-intelligent" scientist closed his mouth, but moments later the door opened and he was "invited" to join the security officer and leave the room. He was not heard from again despite Fathi's protests that Raffsani was a vital part of the group. He was told to find another mathematician or do without one. Fathi didn't know that his attempt to ridicule the security vetting and polygraph examination has been reported to General Aslawi, the head of the IRG, and wasn't aware of the animosity the general now harbored towards him in particular and the uppity scientists and intellectuals in general. Had he been more sensitive to the feeling of other people, especially those with an inferiority complex like General Aslawi, he would have known what to expect at the upcoming meeting. Had he read any popular psychology textbook or even an article in the popular press he would have known the difference between "general intelligence" reflected in a high IQ like his own and "interpersonal intelligence" that shows the ability to understand and interact effectively with other people.
Fathi was now going over the presentation he had prepared for the Supreme Leader one last time, as the door to the conference room opened. The first to enter was the General Aslawi, the head of the IRG. He gave Fathi a contemptuous look and scrutinized the room before giving a hand signal that all was safe. The Supreme Leader walked in and took his place at the head of the table, facing the large screen, and motioned to his entourage to take their seats on both sides of the table. Fathi and his two senior assistants, a theoretical physicist and an engineer with a doctorate in material science, stood by his side near the screen. Fathi introduced them and the Supreme Leader acknowledged them with a small smile and a slight nod of his head.
The head of the IRG, General Aslawi opened the meeting "With the grace of Allah we have assembled a small elite group to defend our Islamic faith against the infidels. Dr. Fathi has headed this group from the start and devised the action plan to fulfill the tasks the Supreme Leader has assigned to the group. He has done a relatively reasonable job and he will now present the plan, the progress that has been made and outline what additional steps are needed to accomplish the aims of the project."
Fathi began his presentation by reiterating the objectives of his group. His first slide was projected on the screen "First let me outline the plan. We have adopted a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, with some assistance from our allies, we have made all the necessary steps for the construction of a nuclear bomb. On the other hand, based on our own expertise we have drawn out the blueprints to build a radiation dispersion device, an RDD in short or what is colloquially called a "dirty bomb". There are three main steps involved with each of these objectives: design the device, get the necessary materials and actually construct the device. I am ready to continue with the description of the work, unless there are some questions."
Imam Mourtashef, who was seated next to the Senior Assistant on the right of the Supreme Leader, raised his hand "Dr. Fathi, when you talk about allies, to whom do you refer?"
Before Fathi could answer, General Aslawi stood up and said "You know that common enemies make good friends. The North Koreans regard the Americans as their dire enemies who keep trying to impose on them unacceptable things like democracy, openness, international supervision of their nuclear ambitions, and worst of all, economic sanctions. We view the Great Satan exactly in a similar way. The North Koreans have agreed to supply us with a small amount of fissile material, that the Americans call special nuclear material or SNM for short. This is vital for building an atomic bomb. They are also willing, for a considerable price, of course, to give us their blueprints. However, we think that their design is very primitive and requires a large amount of fissionable materials. Our other ally is Pakistan, or more precisely a faction within the Pakistani nuclear community, who is as anti-American as we are. They are working clandestinely as their government's official policy is to adhere to the non-proliferation treaty, the infamous NPT, and not export any prohibited materials or information that may serve in the construction of nuclear weapons. Both these countries are also no lovers of the Little Satan, Israel. The North Koreans have helped the Syrians, before the troubles started there a few years ago, to build a small nuclear reactor that was designed to produce weapon grade plutonium. We all know that this reactor suffered the same fate in 2007 as the damned Iraqi reactor suffered in 1981. You may recall that during our bloody war with Iraq, from 1980 to 1988, our air force tried unsuccessfully to destroy the Iraqi reactor. The Israeli air force did the job for us, unintentionally of course, because they were concerned that Saddam Hussein would build a bomb and use it against them. The Israelis may have saved Tehran from the fate of Hiroshima but they deserve no laurels for this because they were only worried about Tel-Aviv."