Post by John Darnacan on Jan 27, 2006 15:54:22 GMT
Part 6 – Schnitzel Night
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The Doctor looked up to see Faye’s out-of-focus face. He could hear voices murmuring.
“He’s waking up” said a man with a British accent.
“Faye, are you all right?” asked the Doctor.
“Fine, how do you feel?”
“A slight headache.”
The man with the British accent laughed. “Well, here’s some aspirin, old chap” he said, as he helped the Doctor to sit up. “Quite a little bump you have there.” The Doctor recognised him as one of the men with Krueger at the party. “If you’ll excuse me. I’ll be right back.” The grey-haired Englishman stepped out, but they were not alone. A young, strapping blonde man sat in the corner, a Lugar pistol tucked in his belt.
The three men returned.
“I am sorry for your…discomfort. Deiter is overly protective” Krueger explained.
“And you were trespassing” added the man with an American accent. “May we ask why?”
The Doctor rose slowly, and looked among the three men. “I was curious”
“About my cattle? I assure you, I don’t keep cattle in my cellars. A veterinarian would know that.”
“As I said last night, I’m not a veterinarian. I’m a scientist…like you three.” The three men looked furtively at each other.
“I admit I am an engineer. I’ve been consulting on Argentina’s hydro-electric plants.”
“That may be true, but that’s only part of the story.” The Doctor turned to the Englishman. “I recognised you first. You’re Sir Avery Symthe, a brilliant mathematician. You and Alan Turing were instrumental in breaking the Nazi Enigma codes, and did revolutionary work on the ENIAC computer.”
“He must be working for British Intelligence. My work is still classified,” Smythe assured them.
The Doctor turned to the American. “You’re Doctor Richard Lochley. You did extensive fission research. Worked with Oppenheimer and Fermi on the atomic bomb at Los Alamos I believe.”
“I think American Intelligence, perhaps the FBI” said Lochley. The Doctor turned back to Krueger.
“It took me a little longer to place your German host. At Penemunde, Professor Johann Krueger was a colleague of Werner Von Braun, the rocketry expert, an excellent propulsion expert in your own right.” The three men looked stunned. Deiter stood up quietly in the corner, showing he was at the ready. Krueger waived him to sit.
“What do you want, Doctor?”
“I want to know why three world-class scientists are hiding in the Argentinean countryside. Professor Krueger is understandable. Many Germans involved in the war fled to South America. But why have two key scientists from the winning side joined him here?”
“Who are you working for?” asked Lochley.
“No one. I was in Argentina, as a tourist.”
“Why should we believe you? How do we really know you’re a scientist, and not a government agent?” demanded Lochley.
“Would a government agent know how to synthesize a parasiticide for cattle? Or even care? And if I were on a mission for a government, wouldn’t others follow if I were to mysteriously disappear?” he added nodding to the sentinel Deiter.
“If you are on vacation, as you say, why are you so concerned about us?”
“Curiosity, intense curiosity, the mark of a scientist. Especially when I see three fellow scientists, who were involved in the war efforts of their respective countries, gathered together. What am I to think?”
Sir Avery laughed. “You know, we can’t blame him.”
“I suppose not” admitted Krueger. “But what do we do now?”
“First, I think we should confirm that he really is a scientist, not an agent.” The three began quizzing me on a wide range of scientific theories and conjectures. The Doctor answered brilliantly, being careful to couch his answers in a level appropriate 1950’s Earth. In fact, he had to answer one or two questions incorrectly, to be consistent with the current scientific beliefs. He easily satisfied the three of his credentials.
“Looking at the probabilities,” said Sir Avery, “I think it would be best to trust the Doctor”
“Spoken like a true mathematician,” chuckled Krueger.
“In fact, we could ask him to join us” said Lochley. “Especially since Albert won’t be joining us.”
“Well at least, for dinner,” Krueger smiled. “It is schnitzel night.”
Faye and Doctor looked at one another.
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To Be Continued...
====================================================================
The Doctor looked up to see Faye’s out-of-focus face. He could hear voices murmuring.
“He’s waking up” said a man with a British accent.
“Faye, are you all right?” asked the Doctor.
“Fine, how do you feel?”
“A slight headache.”
The man with the British accent laughed. “Well, here’s some aspirin, old chap” he said, as he helped the Doctor to sit up. “Quite a little bump you have there.” The Doctor recognised him as one of the men with Krueger at the party. “If you’ll excuse me. I’ll be right back.” The grey-haired Englishman stepped out, but they were not alone. A young, strapping blonde man sat in the corner, a Lugar pistol tucked in his belt.
The three men returned.
“I am sorry for your…discomfort. Deiter is overly protective” Krueger explained.
“And you were trespassing” added the man with an American accent. “May we ask why?”
The Doctor rose slowly, and looked among the three men. “I was curious”
“About my cattle? I assure you, I don’t keep cattle in my cellars. A veterinarian would know that.”
“As I said last night, I’m not a veterinarian. I’m a scientist…like you three.” The three men looked furtively at each other.
“I admit I am an engineer. I’ve been consulting on Argentina’s hydro-electric plants.”
“That may be true, but that’s only part of the story.” The Doctor turned to the Englishman. “I recognised you first. You’re Sir Avery Symthe, a brilliant mathematician. You and Alan Turing were instrumental in breaking the Nazi Enigma codes, and did revolutionary work on the ENIAC computer.”
“He must be working for British Intelligence. My work is still classified,” Smythe assured them.
The Doctor turned to the American. “You’re Doctor Richard Lochley. You did extensive fission research. Worked with Oppenheimer and Fermi on the atomic bomb at Los Alamos I believe.”
“I think American Intelligence, perhaps the FBI” said Lochley. The Doctor turned back to Krueger.
“It took me a little longer to place your German host. At Penemunde, Professor Johann Krueger was a colleague of Werner Von Braun, the rocketry expert, an excellent propulsion expert in your own right.” The three men looked stunned. Deiter stood up quietly in the corner, showing he was at the ready. Krueger waived him to sit.
“What do you want, Doctor?”
“I want to know why three world-class scientists are hiding in the Argentinean countryside. Professor Krueger is understandable. Many Germans involved in the war fled to South America. But why have two key scientists from the winning side joined him here?”
“Who are you working for?” asked Lochley.
“No one. I was in Argentina, as a tourist.”
“Why should we believe you? How do we really know you’re a scientist, and not a government agent?” demanded Lochley.
“Would a government agent know how to synthesize a parasiticide for cattle? Or even care? And if I were on a mission for a government, wouldn’t others follow if I were to mysteriously disappear?” he added nodding to the sentinel Deiter.
“If you are on vacation, as you say, why are you so concerned about us?”
“Curiosity, intense curiosity, the mark of a scientist. Especially when I see three fellow scientists, who were involved in the war efforts of their respective countries, gathered together. What am I to think?”
Sir Avery laughed. “You know, we can’t blame him.”
“I suppose not” admitted Krueger. “But what do we do now?”
“First, I think we should confirm that he really is a scientist, not an agent.” The three began quizzing me on a wide range of scientific theories and conjectures. The Doctor answered brilliantly, being careful to couch his answers in a level appropriate 1950’s Earth. In fact, he had to answer one or two questions incorrectly, to be consistent with the current scientific beliefs. He easily satisfied the three of his credentials.
“Looking at the probabilities,” said Sir Avery, “I think it would be best to trust the Doctor”
“Spoken like a true mathematician,” chuckled Krueger.
“In fact, we could ask him to join us” said Lochley. “Especially since Albert won’t be joining us.”
“Well at least, for dinner,” Krueger smiled. “It is schnitzel night.”
Faye and Doctor looked at one another.
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To Be Continued...
