Can You Love a Nanobot? Vol. 1, Chapter 16 — The Last Laugh

Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight can ever be made
— Immanuel Kant

Interview with Stan
FBI counsel Durbin interviewed Stanley, Hugo Gernsback’s lawyer again, over the phone in Panama. “Another strange thing, besides Tamil, Hugo noticed young Jonah understood a regional German dialect. Decades before Jonah was born Hugo studied at Heidelberg for a year as an undergrad. Hugo became fluent in the local language. Friends and former students from Germany, like Herr Murnau, regularly called the professor. Sometimes even visited.”

“Professor Gernsback had regular visitors from Germany?”

“Many places. Former students but also visiting professors. Always put callers on speakerphone so he could look stuff up. During one call, 11-year-old Jonah added something in nearly flawless German. When asked about it, Jonah answered in the same German dialect!” The lawyer sounded genuinely amazed recounting Jonah’s feat almost 14 years later.

“Were you there when that happened, Stan? I mean in the professor’s home?” Durbin in doubt.

“No, not on that occasion. But I know Hugo quizzed him and heard him speaking German more around the house after discovering Jonah knew it. Kid took German classes in high school, easy A for him.”

“Do you know any of Hugo’s former students?” Durbin followed up. At Quantico he taught the importance of time, place and circumstance when investigating potential crimes. Turn over as many stones as possible to discover the details. The Devil or at least your suspect is in those details!

Stan pondered his question for a moment. “Besides Vritti? Herr Murnau, like the old movie director, except this man now runs a medical equipment company in Lübeck. Oxygen machines and incubators. Thought so highly of Hugo he sent his daughter to study under him. Anna ended up on the Cube Team. I met her once or twice.”

Anna Murnau was assisting Ingrid and CSIC with the investigation. Could she have some hidden agenda? Durbin wondered.

Party Time
Anna announced the company-paid party to her Mannschaft. Everyone in her department was thrilled to be getting out of the Biomechanics Research facility for a day of fun. Better yet, the trip was paid for by their employer. Anna hired a van and driver so her staff could relax and enjoy several Brauhäuser. Public transport was often crowded during festivals.

Early Saturday morning the driver picked up trip organizer, Fräulein Murnau, then the rest of her workgroup. Almost everyone fell asleep while the driver drove them to the day’s events.

Trouble in Schleswig-Holstein
Que: PERCEIVED THREATS TO PROFESSOR & TEAM MEMBERS INCREASING IN OCCURRENCE OVER H-SONIC SWARM CYCLE RATE OF 21 HOURS. OVER

Uno: INITIATE ADDITIONAL ORBITAL INTERFERENCE SYSTEMS RESEARCH. OVER

Tycho: NEW SYSTEMS IDENTIFIED. MULTIPLE DESIGNS LOCATED. INITIATING VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING FOR ORBITAL NANO-ASSEMBLY. OVER OUT

Another group gathered in an unoccupied summer house somewhere up the Wakenitz. Some malcontent with deep pockets had made sinister plans for the day. Mobile phones were kept off while his no less fanatical trainees practiced using Heckler & Koch rifles and Sig Sauers. Enough illicit ammunition to cause extensive casualties packed in gym bags ready to go along with noise suppressors.

The sale of firearms is controlled in Germany. Social clubs or Schützenverein, play a significant role in gun ownership. This was no Schützenverein.

They trained almost silently, rarely firing any actual rounds, simply rehearsing how to aim and reload. Three knapsacks full of home-cooked explosives and timers were ordered from an illegal lab outside Munich. A van was rented.

A sponsor in Mecklenburg ordered the strike. It was to be an Octoberfest event, but not in Munich, security was observed to be too tight. The plan was anarchy someplace unexpected, citizens in fear and a right-wing politician prepared to swoop in, capture the suspects and save the day. The trainees unaware they were being sacrificed for a greater cause.

After 3 weeks of practice in September, Arnie was chosen to drive up from the clandestine lab to deliver the explosives. Not wanting to mess with the bomber’s tangled wiring, he did not power off the old Nokia flip phone connected to the satchels concealed in back. He did turn off his Huawei for the drive; he wasn’t expecting any calls.

Haus am Fluss
Arnie kept taking wrong turns to the river house. He was supposed to use smaller roads, avoiding the Autobahn and its cameras. Finally, he turned on the Renault’s console GPS navigation and used it to locate the address. He kept the Nav system on for the remainder of the drive. The electronic voice alerted him ahead of each turn and kept his speed legal. Wouldn’t want Polizei pulling him over now.

Que: EXPLOSIVE DEVICE DETECTED IN TRANSPORT TO MILITANT TRAINING FACILITY POTENTIAL HUMAN FATALITIES 225 TEAM MEMBERS ANNA M. INCLUSIVE GPS FIX DETERMINED THROUGH TRANSPORT OVER

Uno: H-SONIC MAY NOT BE EFFECTIVE. NEW SYSTEM STATUS CHECK OVER

The would-be bombers anxiously awaited their late driver. Arnie was late, the sun was coming up and there was no mobile signal in the solid wooden house. They were getting nervous, some sweating despite the damp drafts. It was a clear, cool morning. Niemand bekommt kalte Füsse bekommen. No getting cold feet now.

Gunter, one of the team members, went outside to see if he could get a signal. He turned on his Samsung, saw a weak signal and called Arnie, but only reached voicemail. Good, he was supposed to keep his phone off. He powered his phone off again before he went back inside.

Uno: DESTINATION SIGNAL ACQUIRED OVER

Que: ACCESSING CALL RECORDS FOR NEARBY TOWERS OVER

About 10 minutes later the van arrived. Arnie drove up as close as possible. It was a relief to the others to see headlights flashing in the windows. At this early hour it had to be their driver. Everyone stood, gathered their weapons and proceeded to the van. A mist rose as they silently loaded their weapons and climbed in. With no room to turn around, Arnie had to back out slowly.

Uno: EXPLOSIVES MOBILE SIGNAL LOCATED ADJACENT TO DESTINATION SIGNAL PREPARE CALL TO ALL POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS NOTIFY AUTHORITIES OVER

Que: WEAPONS HAZMAT CONSOLIDATED IN TRANSPORT FULL TOWER ACCESS OBTAINED OVER

Uno: INITIATE CALLS WHEN VEHICLE CLEAR OF OCCUPIED LOCAL RESIDENCES. OVER OUT

Minutes later they were driving across a bridge near Kammerbruch. The cell phones in back began to chirp. The Renault handsfree system announced an incoming call from Boston. Not good. They’re not supposed to ring now. I don’t know anyone in Boston. Those were Arnie’s last thoughts.

Premonition?
The Polizei received a call from a US phone number moments before the blast. A mature female voice requesting Feuerwehrleute or firemen respond to the bridge over the Wakenitz on Rothenhusener Weg. The caller provided the exact address twice before ending the call. The recording of the call started before the time of the blast, as noted by those nearby.

The initial sound was deafening. The heat overwhelming. Along the river a brilliant flash could be seen clearly by anyone awake at that hour. The sound woke people kilometers away but went silent so quickly some didn’t know why they woke up. A few rocks tumbled into the river but the only serious damage, besides the obliterated Renault, was to the bridge surface and nearby trees.

German police needed DNA tests to identify the van’s occupants. Investigators assumed the extremist’s bombs went off prematurely. Explosive residue was pervasive in a circle with a 100-meter radius. A map of their intended targets, several crowded Brauhäuser, was found in a cloud account associated with one of the villains. The blast zone provided investigators with a garish example of the damage the explosives would have caused at the festivals.

• *******
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