‘Robert?’ Frederick said fondly. ‘You could say he is responsible for making the organisation what it is today.’
Tom looked confused, but let Frederick continue. ‘What most people don’t know about Robert Oppenheimer is that, not only was he a brilliant scientist, but he was also a deeply religious man. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, you know,’ he added, seeing Tom’s frown deepen. ‘He was a devout follower of Hinduism. When he was a young man, he memorised the entire seven hundred verses of the Bhagavad Gita, or The Song of the Bhagavan, in its original Sanskrit form, after learning the language. Years later, on seeing the flash the first time he tested the atomic bomb in the desert in New Mexico, he was heard to say, “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst into the sky, that would be like the splendour of the Mighty One”. And when the huge, sinister, mushroom-shaped cloud rose into the sky, he quoted another line from the poem, “I have become death, the shatterer of Worlds”.’
Tom gave an involuntary shudder, as though somebody had walked over his grave.
When there was still no sighting of the Professor, next came known associates. An officer was dispatched to check on the apartments of Serena Mayer and Anjit Bose, whilst the inspector and his associate re-ran the tapes looking to see if Serena had left the accommodation block. They found her on three separate occasions on the morning tapes. One was at exactly 8.55 am when she was seen leaving. The next was six minutes later when she was returning with a bag, and the third was seven minutes after that when she was spotted leaving again, but this time in the presence of a security guard.
When questioned about the identity of the man she was with, the Chief Security Officer wasn’t able to offer any assistance as he couldn’t recognise him because his face was obscured by the collar on his jacket. But he did inform the inspector that it was against company policy for a member of his staff to fraternise with a CERN employee and, when he was able to establish who it was, he would be disciplining them.
It was of no concern to Gervaux, who brushed off the comment and asked to see the camera footage that would track Serena’s movements. She was seen getting into one of the buggies at the front of reception with the security guard and driving off. Another camera picked her up driving down the main boulevard, which then switched to another camera as she drove out of its range. She was last seen reversing into an alley between two buildings by a fourth camera.
All eyes were on the screen, waiting for her to emerge, but several seconds passed without an appearance. And then the security guard walked out, crossed the road and entered a building on the opposite side. They watched the footage for several more minutes, but there was no sign of her.
‘But how could his conscience permit him to be involved in such a project that was clearly against his faith?’ Tom challenged.
‘Robert was given a job to do, which you could argue went against all religious ethicalities. He could have turned it down, of course, but he believed that, in creating the ultimate weapon, a weapon so powerful that it could destroy entire nations, the enemy would recognise the futility in continuing the conflict and lay down their arms, thus saving countless lives. What he didn’t know about at the time was the huge chasm that existed between the two sides’ attitudes to captivity. It was driven into the psyche of every Japanese soldier and citizen that death must be preferred to surrender. It took two physical demonstrations of the bomb’s capabilities for the Japanese to acquiesce, an act that Robert had no part in, but the consequences of which plagued him for the rest of his life. The fact that only eight countries in the world today have nuclear weapons capability, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only times the bomb has ever been deployed against an enemy, is testament to the achievements of Robert and the organisation over the years.’
‘So how does one man prevent nuclear arms proliferation?’ Tom queried.
‘Not one man, but one organisation,’ Frederick corrected. ‘After the war, Robert became head of the organisation. He gave it an identity and a purpose. The skills he had used in coordinating an interdisciplinary project that involved not just physics, but chemistry, metallurgy, ordnance and engineering to build the world’s first atomic bomb, he channelled into ensuring that the world would never have to witness the aftermath of another one being detonated in an act of aggression. He realised that scientists by themselves wouldn’t have the authority to prevent such a catastrophe happening, so he surreptitiously recruited influential figures from the world of politics, the militia and the private sector. He managed to get himself into the position of chief advisor to the newly created United States Atomic Energy Commission and used his influence to lobby for international control of nuclear power to avert an arms race.’
Frederick paused for a moment, gazing out of the window, then continued.
‘Whilst working publicly on President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace campaign, which sought to encourage countries to use nuclear technology for energy purposes, his real influence was as a cohesive force in a clandestine organisation committed to the prevention of the development of nuclear armaments. The two roles went hand in hand. Whilst the former gave him legitimate access to countries aspiring to develop their own nuclear programmes, the latter enabled our organisation to infiltrate the facilities to ensure that the technology was being used appropriately. Ironically, the first nuclear reactors in Iran and Pakistan were built under the programme. SHIVA managed to impede the transition of Pakistan’s nuclear energy to missile capability until the mid-1980s, as we are still doing in Iran, although I fear we are losing control in that particular facility.’
‘Shiva? As in the statue at the entrance of the main building?’ An image of Ajay suddenly flashed through Tom’s mind.
Frederick gave a wry smile. ‘I thought you may have guessed by now. I mentioned earlier that Robert had given our organisation an identity. He chose SHIVA from his Hindu teachings — the transformer or destroyer. He thought it appropriate at the time, because of the mission we were embarking on. If successful, we would transform the world into a better place by producing cheap nuclear fuel that would benefit the whole of mankind. If we failed, then…’
‘But why are you telling me all this?’ asked Tom.
Frederick was just about to answer when the phone on his desk rang again. He held up his hand in an apology to Tom and took the call. ‘Volker here.’
There was a pause as the person on the other end of the line asked a question.
‘A security guard?’ Frederick repeated, looking puzzled. Then he glanced up at Tom and realised what the inspector was alluding to. ‘Er… yes, I asked him to come to see me because I wanted to know if there had been any news on Ajay.’
Another pause.
‘Over an hour ago. Why?’
A longer pause this time. ‘I see,’ said Frederick. ‘Well, if I spot him on the base, I will let you know immediately.’
Frederick replaced the handset in the receiver and turned his attention to Tom. ‘I think we should get you out of here. That was Inspector Gervaux. They’re looking for you in connection with the bombing.’
‘That’s ridiculous!’ Tom replied indignantly. ‘I’ll go and speak to him straight away.’