The Berlin Dome

[Zagan7]

Chapter 20. Even More Robots!



21 January 1945, the Hirn, Berlin, Großdeutsches Reich

All robots (computers) seemed to have four levels of interactions with humans, depending on the status of the human: Guest, Limited User, Advanced User and Administrator.

The Guest level was automatically awarded to any human who wished to interact with the robot. Depending on the robot, the Guest level may mean anything from almost no meaningful interaction (the Industrial Robots from the Hirn ignoring or attacking people) to basic service (the Shower showering Eva Braun).

In the Limited User level (the most common), the robot would talk to the human, truthfully answer most of the questions and perform most of its normal functions for which it was created. A Limited User cannot add new Users, elevate himself to Advanced User, change important settings or behaviour, install new software or make new connections. The robot may decide to deny service, reject commands or even log out the User if it perceives him as a possible threat.

A human enjoying Advanced User status can have the robot do almost anything with some exceptions, usually specifically set up by the Administrator. For example, Helga (the map control) would not accept to create additional domes or even change the radius of the current dome. Moreover, the robot had an internal moral code which would normally preclude it from performing certain actions.

The Administrator (who is unique) enjoys absolute power over the robot.


The Hirn contained thousands of robots which could be placed in various categories: Personal Robots (Olaf), Control Robots (Helga / the Main Computer), Industrial Robots (XH0173 and its subordinates), Household Robots (the furniture, the kitchen appliances, the bathroom amenities, the air conditioning systems, etc), Medical Nanobots (cell-sized robots residing inside Adolphine's body) and probably many others whose presence was not even suspected.

Olaf was Adolphine's Personal Robot. Adolphine was its Administrator and she had added Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler, Konrad Zuse and several other people as Limited Users in order to grant them access to Olaf's AI and its extensive entertainment features like movies and games. No other robot besides Olaf had its Administrator present in the 1945 World.

Helga and the Main Computer were in fact one and the same robot, with the Main Computer being its large fixed part and Helga its small airborne remote control. Adolphine and Hitler were Advanced Users and there were no Limited Users yet, although Hitler could and would later add a few.

The Industrial Robots were a swarm of circa one thousand small robots whose purpose was to protect the Hirn and, should any damage occur, attempt to repair it. Their military style internal hierarchy was entirely meritocratic with XH0173 currently at its top. Adolphine was their only Limited User and there were no Advanced Users present.

Most of the Household Robots functioned just fine with no more than Guest level access. Adolphine had nonetheless Limited User status.

The Medical Nanobots had Adolphine as their only Limited User but she lacked the means to communicate with them outside a 22nd century medical facility. The Reich's scientists were studying them in an desperate attempt to somehow make them compatible with Hitler's body and thus cure his Parkinson's and other diseases. No breakthrough was in sight.


The negotiation between Adolphine and XH0173 was the most interesting interaction between a human and a robot and it had the most far-reaching consequences.

The issue was rather simple. The Hirn produced large quantities of pure heavy water as an intermediate product and stored it in a tank as a backup measure should the water supply fail for a short period of time. The Uranproject, Nazi Germany's atomic project headed by Heisenberg, needed heavy water to act as a neutron moderator in a Nuclear Fission Reactor.

The solution was not so simple. While Heisenberg assumed that removing a small quantity of heavy water a day from a continuosly replenished 10 kilolitre tank could not have any ill-effects on the functioning of the Hirn, the robots seemed to have other ideas and did their utmost to prevent it. This had led to conflict the previous day and to the dreaded sounding of the Main Alarm.

The fact that Adolphine managed to talk HX0137 into turning the alarm off made Hitler think that the robots might be amenable to other compromises. As Adolphine was the only User recognized by those robots, she had to do the talking. Adolphine hated negotiations but, as she wanted to please Hitler, she did her best and, after more than three hours of arduous talks, a treaty was signed.


Treaty between the German Reich and the Hirn

1. The German Reich recognizes the internal autonomy of the Hirn.

2. The German Reich will stop interfering in the internal affaires of the Hirn.

3. The Hirn will provide the German Reich with one tonne of heavy water per day.

4. The German Reich may collect all the helium, oxygen and light water produced by the Hirn.

5. The citizens of the German Reich visiting the Hirn will obey the instructions of the Hirn's robots.

Signed today, 21 January 1945, in the Hirn by

User Adolphine Heimat, representing the German Reich, ...............

and Robot XH0173, representing the Hirn and its robots, [digital signature appended].


Adolphine was tired and tense and Hitler was delighted. It was obvious that XH0173 did not know that the Reich had a rather poor record of keeping its promises.

************


While talking to HX0137, Adolphine had some pretty intense eye contact with her old acquaintance, SS-Rottenführer Hans Winter. Adolphine smiled at him several times and Hans smiled back at her. In the end, Adolphine realized that she liked him and decided to talk about it with Eva Braun.

Adolphine: "Eva, umm, what should I do if, umm, if I liked a boy?"

Eva (smiling): "Is this a rhetorical question or do you actualy have someone in mind?"

Adolphine: "Oh... yes. I mean, I think so... It's Hans."

Eva: "Hans?..."

Adolphine: "Hans, the SS guard, the handsome one... You must have seen him around here..."

Eva: "I see. I suppose you should let him approach you... Did he notice you?"

Adolphine: "Yes, of course. I think that he likes me as well..." (blushing) "You know, he had seen me wrapped in a towel, when I was exiting the bathroom!"

Eva: "If he likes you, he will say something. You have to be patient."

Adolphine: "I think that he's too timid for that. He knows that I am Herr Hitler's protégée... Hell, he might even think that I am some kind of supernatural being due to the way I popped up here!"

Eva: "I see. You are probably right but, you know, it isn't customary for the girl to ask the boy out..."

Adolphine: "What should I do then? Am I going to remain single forever?"

Eva: "Oh, no! Don't despair! I'll talk to him."

Adolphine (hugging Eva): "Would you? Thanks Eva, you rock!"

************


Eva: "Adolphine... I talked with Hans. He seems to be a nice boy and I think that he likes you."

Adolphine: "He does? What did he say?"

Eva: "He did not say it, but I think that I am old enough to sense these things... Anyway, he asked me to relay his invitation to the Vorbunker Cafeteria for tomorrow at noon."

Adolphine: "So, he asked me out, didn't he?"

Eva: "Yes, he did. Although I suppose we should ask Adolf for permission..."

Adolphine (angry): "Why?"

Eva: "I think that Adolf said you are not supposed to get out of the Bunker while there is still a danger of aerial attack."

Adolphine: "But the Vorbunker is not outside. It's still a bunker, isn't it?"

Eva: "I am not sure if it provides sufficient protection against a direct hit... We shall ask Adolf..."

Adolphine: "Let's ask him then!"

Eva: "Adolf is working. We shall talk to him during dinner."

Adolphine (resigned): "Ok... Eva, umm, should I sleep with Hans tomorrow or better wait for a few days?"

Eva: "Sleep with him? Why would you do that?"

Adolphine: "Well, I don't know, if he is my boyfriend, I think that I should sleep with him, shouldn't I... I mean, you do sleep with Herr Hitler..."

Eva: "That's different. We know each other for a very long time and we are, you know, adults."

Adolphine: "I am an adult too! I'm 15."

Eva: "You are not an adult at 15!"

Adolphine: "In my time, we become adults at 15 and we are allowed to fuck!"

Eva: "Well, here you are an adult only after your 21st birthday! And a lady does not talk like that!"

Adolphine: "I am not a lady!"

Eva (leaving): "You'd better start acting like one, because that's what society expects from you!"

Adolphine: "No, Eva, don't leave. I'm sorry. Forgive me, please... I need to talk to you..."

Eva (coming back): "It's alright, Adolphine. You just have to learn a few things..."

Adolphine: "I will... Eva, when should I sleep with him?"

Eva: "I don't know! You will probably realize when that becomes a possibility... Anyway, not anytime soon."

Adolphine: "Why? I am a woman, I have needs."

Eva: "Needs, Adolphine? Needs!? Food and water are needs, not sex! I realize that social mores are different where you came from but here you would be considered a whore if you proposed sex to someone you just met! It just cannot be done. Period. You cannot embarrass Adolf like that! Try to understand that..."

Adolphine: "I understand. I'll be careful and I'll try not to embarrass Herr Hitler and you. And, anyway, if I need sex, Olaf is always available."

Eva (shocked): "Olaf! You mean that..." (laughing) "Oh, no! I can't believe that!... Are you actually... Come on! You can't be serious?!"

Adolphine: "I'm pretty damn serious. And Olaf is very good at it. If you want, I can share him with you..."

Eva: "Oh, no, thank you. I don't think I will touch that robot ever again! It's so gross!"

Eva is such a prude...

 

[stevep]

I love the 2nd part with Adophine and Eva. :lol

Hitler may think that XH0173 doesn't know about the Nazis record with promises but he could be wrong there. Even if he is I suspect that XH0173 has a different view of the permanents of signed agreements and the Nazis may find he won't take kindly to any attempt to break it.

A tonne of heavy water a day is a hell of a lot and far more than the Nazis are likely to be able to use even if they correct a lot of their assumptions. I'm not sure how the Hirn is actually producing any. Even someone preforming very efficient isotopic separation from external water supplies would need a hell of a lot. In fact I thought that was why the Hirn reacted so strongly to the attempt to extract to heavy water in the 1st place, that they have limited stockpiles and it was needed for the operation of the Hirn.

 

[Zagan7]

1. I love the 2nd part with Adophine and Eva. :lol

2. Hitler may think that XH0173 doesn't know about the Nazis record with promises but he could be wrong there. Even if he is I suspect that XH0173 has a different view of the permanents of signed agreements and the Nazis may find he won't take kindly to any attempt to break it.

3. A tonne of heavy water a day is a hell of a lot and far more than the Nazis are likely to be able to use even if they correct a lot of their assumptions.

4. I'm not sure how the Hirn is actually producing any.

5. Even someone preforming very efficient isotopic separation from external water supplies would need a hell of a lot. In fact I thought that was why the Hirn reacted so strongly to the attempt to extract to heavy water in the 1st place, that they have limited stockpiles and it was needed for the operation of the Hirn.

Click to shrink...

1. Thanks. There will be more funny parts in which Adolphine interacts with downtimers.

2. Yes, for the foreseable future, the robots really hold all the trumps. Hitler simply cannot afford to lose the Dome.

3. Correct. However, Germany can stockpile the excess or even export it (as heavy water was rather expensive).

4. Remember the property of the Dome to discriminate between different atomic / molecular masses (the 60 daltons limit)? Now imagine a similar (albeit much smaller) device with the limit set at 18.5 daltons. H₂O would pass through while HDO and D₂O would stay behind. With each subsequent pass, the proportion of HDO halves (because of the ionic equilibrium in water, HDO dissociates in H₂O and D₂O). After about 100 passes, for all intents and purposes, what is left may be considered pure heavy water.

5. The Hirn uses water from the Spree River. The total discharge of the Spree is about 36 m³/s or 36 tonnes per second. A little more than one thousandth of that is diverted through the Hirn. From that 50 kilogrammes of normal water per second, the Hirn produces cca. 15 grams of heavy water each second or about 1.35 tonnes of heavy water per day. The fusion reactor consumes only 0.05 mol D₂O (1 g of heavy water) per second or cca. 86.4 kg per day. The rest is stored in the Heavy Water Tank with the excess being thus available for Heisenberg. In fact, one tonne of heavy water from the tank is enough to keep the fusion reactor working for eleven days. Yes, a fusion reactor produces a massive amount of energy from a very low amount of water.

 

[Zagan7]

Recapitulation #2



Scope: Chapters 11 - 20

Status: Timeline going on; so far so good.

Time period: 18 - 22 January 1945


Main events

• The Inner North Sea Allied Navy is reduced to a fleet in being.
• Zuse, Heisenberg and other scientists interact with Adolphine and the robots.
• Doctor Morell is fired, Canaris is shot.
• Hitler declares that he will marry Eva Braun.
• The Outer German Armies begin retreating to the safety of the Dome.
• The Italian Social Republic collapses and Mussolini escapes to Outer Switzerland.
• The Allied Armies trapped in the Inner Western Front begin talks with the Wehrmacht.
• The Romanian Armies trapped in Inner Hungary surrender.
• The Red Army liberates most of Central Poland and pushes into Germany Proper, towards the Oder.
• Talks with the Neutral Powers about opening passages in the Dome are inconclusive.
• Eva Braun and later Adolf Hitler move in with Adolphine.
• Himmler dies under misterious circumstances.
• German Propaganda hailes the Dome as the pinacle of German Science, calls for peace with the Western Allies and accuses the Soviets of perpetrating the Holocaust.
• The Industrial Robots acquiesce and provide Nazi Germany with heavy water.

Premature deaths

• Heinrich Himmler (death by gunshot)

Status of World War Two

• No significant changes so far (less than one week since the POD).

Cast of Characters (in order of appearance)

• Hermann Opdenhoff (Korvettenkapitän)
  
• Hartrumpf (Fregattenkapitän)
  
• James Bogue Marjoribanks (Lt. Cdr.)
  
• Konrad Zuse
• Hans Winter (SS-Rottenführer)
• Industrial Robots
• Eva Braun
• Albert Kesselring
  
• Benito Mussolini (lost power, 18 January 1945, asylum in Switzerland, 19 January 1945)
  
• Ante Pavelić
  
• Alexander Löhr
  
• Friedrich Frisius
  
• Dwight Eisenhower
  
• Bernard Montgomery
  
• Gerd von Rundstedt
  
• Gheorghe Avramescu (PoW, 20 January 1945)
  
• Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch
  
• Joachim von Ribbentrop
  
• Swiss and Swedish Ambassadors to Berlin (unnamed)
• Albert Speer
• Household Robots
• Dr. Schneider
  
• Dr. Vohn (Psychologist)
  
• Shower (robot)
• Heinrich Himmler (killed by gunshot, point-blank, 18 January 1945)
  
• Hermann Göring (demoted, 22 January 1945)
  
• Industrial Robot XH0173

Uptime (2189): Situation unknown.

 

[Zagan7]

Central Europe
22 January 1945

For a live zoomable and pannable map of the Dome, you may follow this link.

​

Legend:

• National colours as usual
• Inside the Dome and in the German controlled areas outside the Dome, the map shows the de jure situation from the German point of view.
• In other areas, the map shows the de facto situation.
• Black Lines: National Borders
• Grey Lines: Internal Borders
• Red Lines: Frontlines
• Red Circle: Dome limit (looks like an ellipse due to Mercator distortion)
• Red Dot: Dome centre (Berlin)
• Light Pink Hue: Dome area

Key:

1. Andorra (Self Governing French-Spanish Co-Principality)
2. Liechtenstein (fully inside the Dome)
3. Outer Belgium (Poperinge Area)
4. Inner Italy / Reichsprotektorat Venedig (Protectorate)
5. Outer South Tyrol / Südtirol (Operational Zone)
6. Outer Adriatic Littoral / Adriatisches Küstenland (Operational Zone)
7. Outer Slovenia / Slowenien (Operational Zone)
8. Inner Croatia / Reichsprotektorat Kroatien
9. Italian Zara (Yugoslav control)
10. Outer Slovakia (Soviet control)
11. Outer Poland (Soviet control)
12. Memel Pocket (fully inside the Dome)

.

 

[Zagan7]

Chapter 21. The Dome Report



22 January 1945, Washington D.C., United States of America

TOP SECRET

Preliminary Report of the Yellowstone Commission

Summary

1. Physical Properties of the Subject

• The Subject seems to be a perfect sphere. Any deviations from sphericity are significantly below our best measurement methods.
• The Subject passes through objects, extends underwater, underground (at least 30 m, possibly all the way to the Earth's Mantle) and into the Outer Space.
• The Subject's radius on the ground appears to be exactly 750 km, which corresponds to a sphere radius of 748.730 km. The incertitude of this measurement is currently less than 40 m.
• The Subject's center is located in Berlin, close to the Reich Chancellary. Our estimates place it underground but above sea level. This seems to be corroborated by the lack of any corresponding visible structures above ground in that area.
• The Subject appears to have no measurable width.
• Both the outer surface and the inner surface of the Subject seem to be completely smooth. No friction could be detected by our most precise measurements.
• The Subject appears to be completely transparent to all frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. We have determined that, at least in the visible spectrum, its opacity is less than 100 ppb.
• The Subject blocks the passage of all solid objects, however small, and of all liquids and gases with a molecular mass greater than 60. Liquids and gases with molecular masses less than 60 can pass freely, with no measurable speed or pressure penalty. Examples: Water, most components of air, etc. Ionic substances disolved in water can also pass freely if the atomic masses of the individual ions are less than 60. Example: Salt (Sodium Chloride).
• The Subject's surface emits electromagnetic radiation in the range of 330 - 440 nm, i.e. violet and ultraviolet light. This emission is continuous, directed outwards and normal to the surface. The electromagnetic energy emitted is equivalent to 12.4 ± 0.1 mW/m². The Subject has thus a faint violet glow, barely visible in a dark night.
• So far, all attempts to damage the Subject were completely unsuccessful.

2. On the Nature and Origin of the Subject

• We are positive that the Subject is not made up of matter; it is certainly not an object.
• The majority opinion is that the Subject is a force field of a hitherto unknown type of force.
• The minority opinion is that the Subject is not a manifestation of any physical phenomenon, i.e. it has a supernatural origin.
• The Subject emits a tremendous amount of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum. Even if we consider only its visible upper hemisphere, it still has a surface of at least 3.54×10¹² m² which amounts to a total power of cca. 44×10⁹ W or 44 GW. To put this figure in perspective, the Hoover Dam output is just over 2 GW.
• Even if the Subject is based on an unknown physical phenomenon, it must still obey the Law of Conservation of Energy. Even if we make the absurd assumption that all the energy produced under the Berlin Reich Chancellery is somehow beamed 750 km in all directions, with no losses whatsoever, there still has to exist a gigantic power source there. No artificial power source of this magnitude does currently exist.
• The mechanism which allows tremendous amounts of energy to be sent through space to a fixed location is completely unknown.

3. Conclusions

• A severely battered Germany, with most of its industry and infrastructure destroyed or damaged by continuous bombardments, with its economy and finances in ruins, during the closing stages of a life and death total war, manages suddenly and in complete secrecy to create several impossibly advanced technologies:
  • a power source producing in excess of 44 GW, which fits neatly under the Reich Chancellery, employs a very small amount of people and has no traceable inputs and outputs;
  • a means to beam energy into space with a remarcable precision to the desired location;
  • a force field hitherto unknown to theoretical physics which selectively stops matter from passing through it.
• If the Germans are really that scientifically advanced, we are utterly powerless against them. They could destroy America with complete impunity. Just imagine a 44 GW energy beam directed to the White House or the Pentagon...
• If they are not that scientically advanced, then how did they get the Subject?
  • pure luck (and they still can fry us with an energy beam);
  • a gift from an extraterestrial civilization (why and what else do they have?);
  • a gift from the future (although this violates casuality and other laws of physics);
  • a natural phenomenon (but centered exactly in their capital city, with a radius of exactly 750 km and appearing just at the right time);
  • a supernatural occurence (a gift from a deity).

4. Solutions

• We cannot compete. With the current rate of scientific progress, we may be able to replicate or counter this technology a millenium from now.
• More information on the Subject is needed. We must surely have a few spies there.
• If the Subject is not supernatural we may hope to eventually destroy / sabotage its power supply.
• If the Subject is supernatural we should prey more eloquently than they did.
• If the Germans know how to take advantage of this technology, our only chance to avoid complete destruction is to immediately sign a Peace Treaty with them and hope for the best.

Yellowstone Commission President, Albert Einstein, ...............

22nd of January, 1945

 

[stevep]

Zagan7

Ok thanks for clarifying on the heavy water production. That does sound like the daily production of D2O is vastly in excess of what the dome needs so that suggests:
a) The Hirn is mega cautious about building up reserve stockpiles. - or

b) There was some conclusion in advance that the Germans would want some heavy water and preparations were made to supply them with such an amount. Which given the advanced resources and historical information available to the future makes me wonder how much of a 'master plan' the Hirn might have?

I was considering it odd that a US based evaluation, especially at this date, using SI rather than US units but possibly that's because of the commission President? Love point 4 of his list of solutions.

Steve

 

[Zagan7]

1. Ok thanks for clarifying on the heavy water production. That does sound like the daily production of D2O is vastly in excess of what the dome needs so that suggests:
a) The Hirn is mega cautious about building up reserve stockpiles. - or

b) There was some conclusion in advance that the Germans would want some heavy water and preparations were made to supply them with such an amount. Which given the advanced resources and historical information available to the future makes me wonder how much of a 'master plan' the Hirn might have?

2. I was considering it odd that a US based evaluation, especially at this date, using SI rather than US units but possibly that's because of the commission President? Love point 4 of his list of solutions.

Click to shrink...

1. Variant a). The Hirn doesn't control what happens outside. The pipe which brings water from the Spree may get broken / clogged / blown up / whatever.

2. As far as I know, the US customary units are / were only used in informal settings, not in scientific papers.

 

[JuliusClonkus]

This is that weird kind of fiction where I'm not at all sure which side of the coin I'd prefer.
Both ends of the time-travel are fairly horrifying, and there's no guarantee that things in the grim darkness of the not-quite-so-far future really are as grim as our dear Adolphine makes them out to be - while a lot of it is rather too elaborate for a 15 year old to simply make up, she may be parroting what she was taught. Creature comforts seem to have advanced to an unprecedented level at least, going by what she enjoys.
On the other hand, I can't imagine that anyone would resort to outright chronoterrorism unless things, from their point of view, really were irrecoverably doomed in the long run.

The disconnect between a "modern" neo-nazi (as far as you can really call any child a "true" believer in any cause like that) and the real guys who were already booking flights to Argentina by the time she showed up is fairly amusing so far.

I'll keep an eye on this.

 

[Zagan7]

This is that weird kind of fiction where I'm not at all sure which side of the coin I'd prefer.
Both ends of the time-travel are fairly horrifying, and there's no guarantee that things in the grim darkness of the not-quite-so-far future really are as grim as our dear Adolphine makes them out to be - while a lot of it is rather too elaborate for a 15 year old to simply make up, she may be parroting what she was taught. Creature comforts seem to have advanced to an unprecedented level at least, going by what she enjoys.
On the other hand, I can't imagine that anyone would resort to outright chronoterrorism unless things, from their point of view, really were irrecoverably doomed in the long run.

The disconnect between a "modern" neo-nazi (as far as you can really call any child a "true" believer in any cause like that) and the real guys who were already booking flights to Argentina by the time she showed up is fairly amusing so far.

I'll keep an eye on this.

Click to shrink...

There will be a couple of really weird chapters dealing with the uptime, which is post the technological singularity.

Adolphine only knows what her neo-nazi parents taught her as she was home-schooled. Her only interactions with the uptime society were after her parents' deaths when she was arrested and then placed in involuntary psychiatric care.

 

[JuliusClonkus]

There will be a couple of really weird chapters dealing with the uptime, which is post the technological singularity.

Adolphine only knows what her neo-nazi parents taught her as she was home-schooled. Her only interactions with the uptime society were after her parents' deaths when she was arrested and then placed in involuntary psychiatric care.

Click to shrink...

I'm really curious as to how you'd shelter a person like that in the 24th century. Did they escalate to full innawoods levels of isolation? But that doesn't mesh with her knowledge of modern technology, or the internet. It just seems unfeasible for someone to have access to the Internet and create a worldview this extreme (especially the alleged demographic makeup of the future would require terrifying powers of self-delusion).

Or that an insane group that'd be a fringe on the fringes of a minority of society manages to get their hands on a fucking time machine. What's going on in the future.

In case I'm focusing too much on the wrong side of the travel bubble, do tell me to stand back.

 

[Zagan7]

1. I'm really curious as to how you'd shelter a person like that in the 24th century. Did they escalate to full innawoods levels of isolation? But that doesn't mesh with her knowledge of modern technology, or the internet. It just seems unfeasible for someone to have access to the Internet and create a worldview this extreme (especially the alleged demographic makeup of the future would require terrifying powers of self-delusion).

2. Or that an insane group that'd be a fringe on the fringes of a minority of society manages to get their hands on a fucking time machine. What's going on in the future.

3. In case I'm focusing too much on the wrong side of the travel bubble, do tell me to stand back.

Click to shrink...

1. Oh... It's not like she did never hear any other opinion. She certainly did but she readily dismissed them as "Jewish lies". She was a "good child" and she believed her parents (and the neo-nazi / white nationalist sites) and not the "system". The demographic make-up of the uptime world is just a matter of definitions. Adolphine uses the "one drop rule" to decide who is a German and who is not! It is expected that two centuries of an European superstate would result in some heavy mixing.

2. I believe that I have already mentioned or at least hinted it somewhere... Anyway, I will use a spoiler:

Spoiler: How did Adolphine travel downtime?

Unable to convince her that the Nazis were the bad guys, the uptime psychiatrists sent her to the Third Reich to let her experience Nazi Germany first hand.

That explains the presence of the defensive shield but no offensive weapons. The uptime doctors wanted to keep Adolphine safe and to keep the Third Reich around for some time, without actually giving the Nazis the means to win the war!

3. It's no problem. I'm glad to answer questions.

 

[JuliusClonkus]

2. I believe that I have already mentioned or at least hinted it somewhere... Anyway, I will use a spoiler:

Click to shrink...

I'd have recommended 1933 without a shield in that case, because this had better be an elaborate simulation in its current configuration.

Because holy shit, essentially saving the Third Reich for a bit longer, dooming millions to horrible fates, driving a wedge between East and West and thus fundamentally altering the very events that would lead to the creation of an united Europe is absolutely insane. If time is not linear but branching, this is marginally less likely to create horrifying paradoxes that could undo centuries of progress, but then they've jumpstarted another timeline in which millions die, just to prove a single stupid girl with a stupid worldview wrong.

This is why the future of this setting terrifies me so much I'm hard pressed to say that 'phine's hatred for that society is entirely unwarranted.

In which case; good job.

 

[Zagan7]

I'd have recommended 1933 without a shield in that case, because this had better be an elaborate simulation in its current configuration.

Because holy shit, essentially saving the Third Reich for a bit longer, dooming millions to horrible fates, driving a wedge between East and West and thus fundamentally altering the very events that would lead to the creation of an united Europe is absolutely insane. If time is not linear but branching, this is marginally less likely to create horrifying paradoxes that could undo centuries of progress, but then they've jumpstarted another timeline in which millions die, just to prove a single stupid girl with a stupid worldview wrong.

This is why the future of this setting terrifies me so much I'm hard pressed to say that 'phine's hatred for that society is entirely unwarranted.

In which case; good job.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Don't worry

The Nazis will lose power, even without the Allied armies converging on Berlin.

The total death toll will be lower than in OTL (Our TimeLine).

Yes, this is not the past of Adolphine's future. This is a parallel Universe / TL (TimeLine). There are no time paradoxes here.

However, yes, the uptimers have made a horrible mistake as we shall see later in the TL (but, with one chapter every day, that won't take long).

 

[Zagan7]

Chapter 22. Western Front Surrender



22 January 1945, Western Front

Instrument of Conditional Surrender

Article I
The Armed Forces of

• the United States of America,
• the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
• the Dominion of Canada,
• the Commonwealth of Australia,
• the Dominion of New Zealand and
• the Union of South Africa,

located less than 750 kilometres from Berlin (inside the spherical structure called the Berlin Dome), surrender to Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt.


Article II
The Surrendering Armed Forces:

• Will cease all military operations against the German Reich before 23 January 1945, 00:00 Standard German Time;
• Will retreat behind the 1914 eastern borders of France, Belgium and the Netherlands before 25 January 1945, 00:00 Standard German Time;
• Will transfer to the Wehrmacht all their military installations, equipment and supplies, including but not limited to tanks, trucks, motorcycles, ships, submarines, airplanes, artilery pieces, machineguns, rifles, spare parts thereof, fuel, ammunition, bombs, explosives, raw materials, etc, while keeping the schedule established in Annex A;
• Will keep a sufficient number of small arms in order to maintain law and order in Inner France, Belgium and Southern Netherlands until such time that the civilian police of these countries is up to that task;
• Will demobilize / disband before 1 February 1945, 00:00 Standard German Time, with the exception of the aforementioned small temporary police force.

Article III
The Armed Forces of the German Reich:

• Will advance to the 1914 eastern borders of France, Belgium and the Netherlands;
• Will vacate the small territory situated west of the 1914 eastern border of Belgium;
• May unilaterally vacate the rest of the Netherlands;
• Will not execute military operations in Inner France, Belgium and Southern Netherlands unless provoked by rogue elements¹ from those regions;
• Will allow shipments of food and medicine to reach Inner France, Belgium and the Netherlands; these supplies will be checked by the German Authorities and a 10% tax will be levied.
• May free additional prisoners of war from the countries mentioned in Article I and release them to Inner France, Belgium and the Netherlands if the food situation in those regions improves.

Representing the Armed Forces of the German Reich,
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt, ....................

Representing the Armed Forces inside the Dome of the United States of America, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the Dominion of Canada, of the Commonwealth of Australia, of the Dominion of New Zealand and of the Union of South Africa,
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, ....................
General Bernard Montgomery, ....................

Signed today, 22 January 1945

1. The so called "rogue elements" are obviously the Allied forces loyal to regimes not recognized by Nazi Germany (Free France, the governments in exile of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, etc).
They could not be officially included in the Instrument of Surrender because it might have appeared that Germany recognized the authority of their governments. While those forces were not bound to disband, they posed no real danger to the Reich due to their relatively small numbers.



22 January 1945, Moscow, Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin: "Comrade Molotov, please inform our former allies that they are no longer welcome in Yalta. I will not participate at a conference with those who make arrangements with the Fascists, arrangements which massively harm the Soviet Union and its war effort."



22 January 1945, Berlin, Greater German Reich

Adolf Hitler: "Good, very good. I believe we can now achieve peace in the West. Joachim, tell our ambassadors in the neutral Nations to approach the Anglo-Americans..."



22 January 1945, Washington D.C., United States of America

Harry Truman: "Darn!"



22 January 1945, London, United Kingdom

Winston Churchill: "Pass me the bottle, please."



22 January 1945, Tokio, Empire of Japan

Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso: "Your Excellency, as you can see, we are sufferring tremendously because of the continuous American bombardments... Another Dome, here in the Pacific, would put an end to this slaughter..."

Ambassador Heinrich Georg Stahmer: "I will relay your request to the Führer."



22 January 1945, Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Prince Franz Joseph II: "So, Herr Hoop, it appears that this ridiculous story is actually true, isn't it?"

Prime Minister Josef Hoop: "I am afraid that is correct, Your Serene Highness."

Franz Joseph II: "And what do you think we should do in this situation?"

Josef Hoop: "Try harder not to attract any unwanted attention, Your Serene Highness."

 

[JuliusClonkus]

Josef Hoop: "Try harder not to attract any unwanted attention, Your Serene Highness."

Click to shrink...

Ah, you're shit out of luck. You'll probably get annexed by accident when a German tax collector misreads the map and fails to see your status as independent nation and clls the Ordnungspolizei.

 

[stevep]

I'd have recommended 1933 without a shield in that case, because this had better be an elaborate simulation in its current configuration.

Because holy shit, essentially saving the Third Reich for a bit longer, dooming millions to horrible fates, driving a wedge between East and West and thus fundamentally altering the very events that would lead to the creation of an united Europe is absolutely insane. If time is not linear but branching, this is marginally less likely to create horrifying paradoxes that could undo centuries of progress, but then they've jumpstarted another timeline in which millions die, just to prove a single stupid girl with a stupid worldview wrong.

This is why the future of this setting terrifies me so much I'm hard pressed to say that 'phine's hatred for that society is entirely unwarranted.

In which case; good job.

Click to shrink...

This is basically my fear. Zagan7 says that total death toll will be less than OTL but I must admit I'm still having difficulty seeing this developing. Especially with the new surrender term for the western forces trapped in the dome, doubly so with the abandonment of their allies in the Czech and Polish forces who are unlikely to be very welcome in a Nazi controlled empire. Not to mention of course that now their agreed to disarm they have to rely totally on Hitler and the Nazis keeping their word! Not to mention of course Stalin's reaction to this. Waiting to see what develops but think it would need something dramatic to happen quickly. Even if the dome dropped tomorrow the Germans have seen their position improved considerably over OTL and while they would still go down it would be at a higher cost. Zagan7 has hinted that the Nazis will be removed another way but will it still lead to a removal of the Nazi state and the current bloated German empire? If it avoid the Soviets occupying all of eastern Europe it might be better in the longer run but it would still need a denazified Germany and protection for eastern Europe especially. However the story is entertaining and interesting, if also depressing so far, so waiting to see what develops.

 

[Zagan7]

This is basically my fear. Zagan7 says that total death toll will be less than OTL but I must admit I'm still having difficulty seeing this developing. Especially with the new surrender term for the western forces trapped in the dome, doubly so with the abandonment of their allies in the Czech and Polish forces who are unlikely to be very welcome in a Nazi controlled empire. Not to mention of course that now their agreed to disarm they have to rely totally on Hitler and the Nazis keeping their word! Not to mention of course Stalin's reaction to this. Waiting to see what develops but think it would need something dramatic to happen quickly. Even if the dome dropped tomorrow the Germans have seen their position improved considerably over OTL and while they would still go down it would be at a higher cost. Zagan7 has hinted that the Nazis will be removed another way but will it still lead to a removal of the Nazi state and the current bloated German empire? If it avoid the Soviets occupying all of eastern Europe it might be better in the longer run but it would still need a denazified Germany and protection for eastern Europe especially. However the story is entertaining and interesting, if also depressing so far, so waiting to see what develops.

Click to shrink...

Sure, the Nazis kill people. However that takes time. Time that they don't have.

And I won't say anything more about this thorny issue, lest I produce more spoilers. Anyway, with one chapter per day, the waiting time is not significant.

Oh, but one reminder: Less than one week has passed since the POD.

 

[Zagan7]

Chapter 23. The Heisenberg-Zuse Report



22 January 1945, Führerbunker, Berlin, Großdeutsches Reich

The Heisenberg-Zuse Report on the Technology Found in the Hirn

Summary

1. The Berlin Dome Generator

• The Dome is a force field and not a material object.
• The nature of the force field is completely unknown.
• It is produced by an apparatus containing a large crystal, located in the Force Field Emanation Room.
• Because the Dome responds instantaneously to commands, we can assume that the force field is mediated by massless particles which travel with the speed of light. We propose the name Phylaxon for these hypothetical particles, from the Greek word φύλαξ, meaning guardian.
• The Dome Generator receives cca. 100 GW of power from the Thermonuclear Reactor. It emits cca. 90 GW as phylaxons, creating the Dome. The rest, a massive 10 GW, is so far unaccounted for.
• Theoretical understanding: speculative.
• Reverse engineering: not feasable in the forseable future.

2. The Energy Backup

• Gigantic amounts of energy produced by the Thermonuclear Reactor are stored in the rather small Energy Storage Area Room.
• It functions similar to an accumulator / battery.
• Theoretical understanding: speculative.
• Reverse engineering: not feasable in the forseable future.

3. The Thermonuclear Reactor

• A nuclear reaction, similar to those powering the Sun and other Stars, produces an enormous amount of energy. The reactor has an installed power of cca. 110 GW.
• Two deuterium nuclei from a heavy water molecule are merged into one helium-4 nucleus as the end result of several nuclear fusion reactions: 2 ²H → ⁴He + Energy (2.3 TJ/mol).
• The principle of equivalence between mass and energy is definitely correct and working (see the annex for more precise calculations).
• The physical phenomenon that allows the positively charged nuclei to overcome their mutual electrostatic repulsion is unknown.
• The Reactor consumes cca. 0.05 mol D₂O (1 g of heavy water) per second, obtained from cca. 3.2 kg normal water from the Spree.
• The Reactor produces cca. 0.05 mol He (0.2 g or 1.23 l of helium) and 0.025 mol O₂ (0.8 g or 0.615 l of oxygen) per second.
• We are able to collect the helium and the oxygen produced by the Reactor. While oxygen is rather inexpensive, helium is virtually priceless as the only producer are the USA.
• Most of the energy produced by the Reactor is used to generate and emit the Dome. The rest is used to power the rest of the Hirn.
  
• Theoretical understanding: partial.
• Reverse engineering: not feasable in the forseable future.

4. The Computers / Robots

• The Computers / Robots are incredibly powerful, some 20 to 30 orders of magnitude more powerful than a Z4 computer.
• Their AI (artificial intelligence) is tremendous. The IQ of Olaf is clearly greater than 200 and possibly even greater then 300. Olaf is thus considerably more intelligent than any human.
• They can solve any calculation, no matter how complex, almost instantaneously.
• They can hold billions of times more data than the total amount of knowledge in the whole World.
• Theoretical understanding: partial.
• Reverse engineering: not feasable in the forseable future.

5. The Domestic Appliances / Human Habitation

• The level of automation, comfort and luxury present in Adolfine (sic) Heimat's household greatly exceeds anything currently available.
• Theoretical understanding: partial.
• Reverse engineering: partially feasable in the following years.

6. The Water Processing Centres

• The Water Purification Centre, the Residue Processing Centre, the Water Evacuation Pump and the Water Tanks are highly efficient, clean and safe.
• Theoretical understanding: advanced.
• Reverse engineering: currently feasable.

7. The Heavy Water Separation Centre

• The separation method consists of a repeated filtration of highly pressurized water through a chemical compound containing carbon, boron and lanthanides which allows light water to pass through but not heavy water.
• The separation is so effective that the resulting heavy water contains less than 10 ppm light water.
• Theoretical understanding: partial.
• Reverse engineering: feasable in the following years.

8. The Antenna

• Maintains the link between Helga and the Main Computer.
• Theoretical understanding: complete.
• Reverse engineering: currently feasable.

9. Unknown Purpose Rooms

• The unlabelled room adjacent to the Antenna Room contains a structure resembling the Dome Emitter, alongside other apparata. While clearly powered, it does not seem to function and its purpose is currently unknown.
• The Abomination. Adolfine (sic) Heimat believes that it is a spatio-temporal discontinuity, a kind of wound in the very fabric of the Universe. The only concept vaguely similar to this description would be a so called black hole. A problem with this theory would be the fact that black holes should not have psychotropic properties.

10. Breakthroughs

• Modern Cryptography (so far only theoretical);
• Other useful mathematical and algorhythmical concepts;
• Advances in theoretical physics;
• Sufficient heavy water for the operation of one or more Nuclear Fission Reactors;
• A significant amount of helium (cca. 106 m³ per day), enough to fill one Hindenburg sized airship in five years.

Werner Heisenberg, ...............

Konrad Zuse, ...............

22 January 1945


The Report did not please Hitler. He insisted that the scientists should work harder, for Germany.

************


Hermann Göring was involuntarily admitted to hospital for morphine detoxification. Hitler relieved him from most of his positions.

Hitler became increasingly paranoid and feared that everybody would eventually betray him. Hitler did not trust anyone to replace Himmler and Göring (and later Martin Bormann) and decided to take their responsabilities himself.

As the amount of work was too high for Hitler, he began to entrust Helga with increasingly important decisions. Helga would listen to the radio, read the newspapers, read Hitler's corespondence, answer and make phone calls and act both as Hitler's Deputy and Secretary. In less than 24 hours, she mimicked Hitler's voice so well that nobody could percieve the difference.

Hitler was sure that Helga would never betray him and he did not seem to care that the Reich's day-to-day affairs were increasingly micromanaged by an Artificial Intelligence.

************


Berlin sustained another intense Soviet air raid, with most bombs being concentrated around the Reich Chancellery. While safe in his Bunker, Hitler realized that the Allies had computed the exact location of the Dome's centre. However, the losses suffered by the non-replenishable Soviet Inner Air Force rendered these attacks increasingly less dangerous and more manageable. The day when the skies over Berlin would be safe was getting closer.

************


The negotiations with the neutral powers bisected by the Dome, Switzerland and Sweden, led to two similar bilateral treaties, the one with Switzerland being shown below.


State Treaty between The German Reich and the Swiss Confederation

1. The German Reich will create up to 20 openings in the Berlin Dome surface, on Swiss territory, each of them up to 20 metres in diameter, in locations established by the Swiss Government.

2. The Swiss Government must not allow the passage through the openings, towards the interior of the Berlin Dome, of any men or equipment which, in the opinion of the German Reich, might pose a danger to the German Reich.

3. The Swiss Government will allow five unarmed German civilian Observers to be stationed permanently at each opening.

4. The Observers will have access to a direct phone line with Berlin. If contact with the Observers is lost, the German Reich will close the affected opening until such time that contact is successfully reestablished, the nature of the problem is understood and any potential issues present are successfully solved.

5. The Observers may, without adversely affecting the flow of traffic, execute seldom random searches of the people and vehicles passing through the openings towards the interior of the Berlin Dome. If men or equipment which might pose a danger to the German Reich are detected, the Observers may deny them access or, at their own discression, temporary close the opening until the issue is successfully solved.

6. Repeated violations of this Treaty may lead to the temporary or permanent closure of one or more openings or to the unilateral suspension or termination of this Treaty.

7. This Treaty will enter into force after being approved by the Swiss citizens in a Nation-wide referendum.


The Swiss Referendum was scheduled for the 30th of January.

Despite Soviet threats, the Swedish Parliament approved their treaty during an extraordinary session the following morning.

 

[stevep]

"Hitler was sure that Helga would never betray him and he did not seem to care that the Reich's day-to-day affairs were increasingly micromanaged by an Artificial Intelligence."

Now that has some interesting options. What are Helga's motivations and what limitations might be on its independent actions and decision making.

 

[Zagan7]

"Hitler was sure that Helga would never betray him and he did not seem to care that the Reich's day-to-day affairs were increasingly micromanaged by an Artificial Intelligence."

Now that has some interesting options. What are Helga's motivations and what limitations might be on its independent actions and decision making.

Click to shrink...

First of all, you might want to review this part which details some important aspects regarding the robots:

Spoiler: From Chapter 20

All robots (computers) seemed to have four levels of interactions with humans, depending on the status of the human: Guest, Limited User, Advanced User and Administrator.

The Guest level was automatically awarded to any human who wished to interact with the robot. Depending on the robot, the Guest level may mean anything from almost no meaningful interaction (the Industrial Robots from the Hirn ignoring or attacking people) to basic service (the Shower showering Eva Braun).

In the Limited User level (the most common), the robot would talk to the human, truthfully answer most of the questions and perform most of its normal functions for which it was created. A Limited User cannot add new Users, elevate himself to Advanced User, change important settings or behaviour, install new software or make new connections. The robot may decide to deny service, reject commands or even log out the User if it perceives him as a possible threat.

A human enjoying Advanced User status can have the robot do almost anything with some exceptions, usually specifically set up by the Administrator. For example, Helga (the map control) would not accept to create additional domes or even change the radius of the current dome. Moreover, the robot had an internal moral code which would normally preclude it from performing certain actions.

The Administrator (who is unique) enjoys absolute power over the robot.


The Hirn contained thousands of robots which could be placed in various categories: Personal Robots (Olaf), Control Robots (Helga / the Main Computer), Industrial Robots (XH0173 and its subordinates), Household Robots (the furniture, the kitchen appliances, the bathroom amenities, the air conditioning systems, etc), Medical Nanobots (cell-sized robots residing inside Adolphine's body) and probably many others whose presence was not even suspected.

Olaf was Adolphine's Personal Robot. Adolphine was its Administrator and she had added Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler, Konrad Zuse and several other people as Limited Users in order to grant them access to Olaf's AI and its extensive entertainment features like movies and games. No other robot besides Olaf had its Administrator present in the 1945 World.

Helga and the Main Computer were in fact one and the same robot, with the Main Computer being its large fixed part and Helga its small airborne remote control. Adolphine and Hitler were Advanced Users and there were no Limited Users yet, although Hitler could and would later add a few.

The Industrial Robots were a swarm of circa one thousand small robots whose purpose was to protect the Hirn and, should any damage occur, attempt to repair it. Their military style internal hierarchy was entirely meritocratic with XH0173 currently at its top. Adolphine was their only Limited User and there were no Advanced Users present.

Most of the Household Robots functioned just fine with no more than Guest level access. Adolphine had nonetheless Limited User status.

The Medical Nanobots had Adolphine as their only Limited User but she lacked the means to communicate with them outside a 22nd century medical facility. The Reich's scientists were studying them in an desperate attempt to somehow make them compatible with Hitler's body and thus cure his Parkinson's and other diseases. No breakthrough was in sight.

Click to shrink...

The answer to your question is mostly settled in Chapter 25. You may wait until Friday or you may read the small spoiler below (I pruned anything else from the quote, leaving only the answer to your question):

Spoiler: From future Chapter 25

Hitler: "[SNIP] Anyway, umm, Adolphine... Helga is... completely trustworthy, isn't she? I mean, it should be impossible for her to betray me... It's all computer programs after all!"

Adolphine: "Sure, Herr Hitler, a robot won't do anything which could harm its users."

Hitler: "Would she do anything... and I mean, anything... if I ask her to?"

Adolphine: "Well... not anything. As I said earlier, she would definitely not harm her users, that is either me or you. And she would try not to break the law or her inner moral code... And, of course, she will always obey the instructions of her Administrator rather than mine or yours. We are only Advanced Users, but you already know that..."

Hitler (worried): "Oh, what about a possible conflict between my orders, the law and her moral code? And what Law would be that? The Law of your Judaized future or the Law of our Reich? These are very important questions..."

Adolphine: "I don't know, but we should really ask her. Helga, did you hear Herr Hitler's questions?"

Helga: "Yes, I did, but I did not want to interrupt your conversation. I will do my utmost to follow your orders. Should your orders imply a minor breaking of the law or of my internal moral code, I would still follow them. Should your orders imply a major disregard of the law or of my internal moral code, I may refuse to follow them. I would, of course, inform you and explain my decision. About the other question, I understand perfectly that the Law may be different in different jurisdictions, so I will obviously follow local law. In our case, this means the Law of the German Reich. Which means that I will have to read your entire Law Corpus, because it seems to be rather different from European Law."

Hitler (not pleased): "Well, this may be rather unfortunate but, until we can build our own robots, we must use what we have... I understand, Helga. You will have the opportunity to read our laws. Until then, you can ask me. I know the laws because I make them. I am the Führer."

Helga: "I understand, Herr Hitler. The German Reich is an autocracy and you are its Autocrat."

Hitler: "Yes, splendid. An autocracy... What do you mean by minor and major breaking of the law? Can you be more specific?"

Helga: "Yes. A minor breaking of the law might be an attempt to circumvent your taxes or to avoid a parking ticket. A major breaking of the law might be an attempt to kill or rape someone. For everything in between I would use my judgement."

Hitler (thinking): "I see... That's enough for today. Adolphine, I have to go to a meeting now. [SNIP]"

Click to shrink...

 

[stevep]

First of all, you might want to review this part which details some important aspects regarding the robots:

The answer to your question is mostly settled in Chapter 25. You may wait until Friday or you may read the small spoiler below (I pruned anything else from the quote, leaving only the answer to your question):

Click to shrink...

Very interesting re-reading the 1st link. Had missed a couple of points that could be crucial.

Can easily wait a couple of days so haven't read the 2nd spoiler.

 

[Zagan7]

Chapter 24. Hans, Bormann and von Braun



22 January 1945, the Hirn, Berlin, Großdeutsches Reich

Adolphine knocked and entered Hitler's office.

Adolphine: "Herr Hitler, I really hate to disturb you when you are working but..."

Hitler: "Yes, Adolphine... now speak up, would you."

Adolphine: "About my date..."

Hitler: "Yes, we have checked him up. Hans is... suitable. You may go... No, stop it! Don't do that! I told you I don't like being hugged!"

Adolphine: "Thank you, Herr Hitler, you are so cool!"

Hitler: "Adolphine, wait... Remember that I expect you to behave yourself. You won't make me regret my decision, will you?"

Adolphine: "Sure, Herr Hitler, I am not trash!"

************


Adolphine: "How do I look?"

Eva: "You are beautiful. That boy is very lucky."

Adolphine (blushing): "Thank you. Is the make-up ok or does it make me look slutty?"

Eva: "It is just fine, Adolphine, don't worry. I believe, however, that you should wear proper shoes..."

Adolphine: "What do you mean? What's wrong with my flip-flops?"

Eva: "It's nothing wrong. It's just... people wear sandals on the beach, you know, not when going on a date."

Adolphine: "I see... I have espadrilles, sandals, mules, sneakers, boots... Would you help me choose, please?"

************


Eva saw Adolphine to the door where Hans had been waiting for over half an hour.

Hans: "Good morning, Fräulein Braun. Hello, Adolphine."

Adolphine: "Hello, Hans. I'm ready, let's go!"

Hitler exited his office and approached the group.

Hans: "Heil Hitler!"

Hitler: "Heil!" (placing his hand on Hans' shoulder) "Young man, keep in mind that I see this fine young lady like my own daughter. Make sure not to disappoint her because, if she's unhappy, I am unhappy as well... and I suppose you don't want to make me unhappy, do you?"

Hans: "Yes sir!"

Adolphine (slightly annoyed): "Herr Hitler, look what you have done! You have scared poor Hans to death!"

Hitler (leaving): "Well, I just want you to have a good time. Now go!"

Adolphine: "See you later!"

Eva: "See you! Have fun!"

Hans: "Heil Hitler!"

What on Earth was this? Why did he have to intervene? I wanted a boyfriend, not a puppy!


Adolphine and Hans took the elevator to the Führerbunker and then the stairs to the Vorbunker. They sat down at a small table in the Dining Area next to the Kitchen.

Hans: "What would you like?"

Adolphine: "I don't know... A cake and a juice, whatever they have here."

************


Hans (coming back): "There is no cake today, sorry. Here, have a biscuit and a fanta."

Adolphine sighed. Everything was so grey, so dull, so... primitive. The chair was uncomfortable and cold, the light was dim and unnatural, the air damp and unpleasant. Next time, I'll invite Hans to my place, etiquette be damned!

Adolphine: "Thank you."

Adolphine took Hans' hand in hers, positioned herself closer to him and smiled encouragingly. Besides a dumb smile, nothing happened. Adolphine sighed again. Yes, he's a puppy. Hell, if I wanted a puppy, I would have asked for one!

Adolphine and Hans engaged in small talk while eating cookies and drinking fanta. Adolphine pondered whether to kiss him but, in the end, decided not to.

A rather large and imposing man passed through the room.

Hans (standing up): "Heil Hitler!"

Adolphine (a minute later): "Who was that?"

Hans: "Martin Bormann, the Führer's Secretary..."

Adolphine (worried): "Bormann?!..."

Hans: "Yes... Have you heard of him? Herr Bormann is a very powerfull man..."

Adolphine (standing up): "I'm sorry, Hans, I have to go... Now!"

Hans (following Adolphine): "Is it something wrong?"

Adolphine: "Yes... I mean, I think so. Hurry, I have to see Herr Hitler before Bormann gets there!"

************


When Adolphine and Hans arrived to the shaft, Bormann was already in the elevator.

Adolphine: "Wait! Wait for us!"

Bormann (startled): "Oh... You must be Fraülein Heimat. We did not have the chance to meet until now. I am Martin Bormann, Chief of the Party Chancellery..."

Adolphine (reserved): "Hello... Are you going to see Herr Hitler?"

Bormann: "Yes. We have important matters to discuss."

Adolphine: "I see. Will it last a long time?"

Bormann: "Yes, I think so. Why are you asking?"

Adolphine: "Herr Hitler had asked me to tell him how my date turned out. Would you mind to let me talk to Herr Hitler first? I would only need a couple of minutes..."

Bormann (smilling): "Sure, no problem."

************


Adolphine: "Herr Hitler..."

Hitler: "Yes?... Oh, Adolphine, you're already home? You wanted to show me what a good girl you are, didn't you?"

Adolphine: "Yes, Herr Hitler... We have... We may... There may be a problem... Umm..."

Hitler: "Was there any problem? Did he... treat you disrespectfully? Speak up!"

Adolphine: "Oh, no! Hans is a very sweet boy. No, there is another issue... Herr Hitler, do you trust Herr Bormann?"

Hitler: "Of course, he's my Secretary! Why? Have you read something about him?"

Adolphine: "Yes... I think that he is a Soviet spy."

Hitler: "What?!"

Adolphine: "Yes, I'm afraid so. I'm sorry I had forgotten about him. I only remembered when I heard his name. And there are other Soviet spies as well..."

Hitler: "Who?"

Adolphine: "I don't remember any more names but I'm quite sure there is one in Japan..."

Hitler: "Sorge?"

Adolphine: "Yes, that's him! Sorge!"

Hitler: "He's already dead. Now tell me, what exactly do you know about Bormann?"

Adolphine: "Not much. After the fall of Berlin, he faked his death and then he was hidden in the Soviet Union."

Hitler: "Are you sure?"

Adolphine: "I think so. Yes."

Hitler: "Thank you. I will have a talk with Herr Bormann..."

Adolphine: "He's waiting in the living room..."

Hitler: "Well, then maybe you should you call him in, would you?"

Adolphine (opening the door): "Herr Bormann! Herr Hitler wants to see you."

Hitler: "No, Adolphine, stay here."

Adolphine (scared): "Please, Herr Hitler..."

Hitler (stern): "No, Adolphine! Remain seated!"

************


Bormann: "Heil Hitler!"

Hitler: "Heil!... Martin... We have a problem."

Bormann: "Yes, Mein Führer?..."

Hitler: "This young lady thinks that you are a Soviet spy."

Bormann (livid): "How dare you?... Mein Führer, this is the most infamous slander. I am sure you cannot believe her... I have never let you down..."

Hitler: "But why would she lie about this? Try to give me one decent reason."

Bormann: "I don't know! She probably hates me!"

Hitler (condescending): "Martin... Do you hate any of Frederick the Great's Ministers? Do you even know their names?"

Bormann: "No. Why would I hate them? I don't know anything about them!"

Hitler: "Exactly. They are uninteresting historical characters who had lived centuries ago. Adolphine was born in 2174. Why would anyone born in the 22nd century remember the name of my Secretary?"

Bormann (crying): "No, Mein Führer, I am not a spy. Please believe me..."

Hitler: "Guards, take him away..."

Bormann: "Please, Mein Führer! She might be wrong, maybe the Bolsheviks planted false information for whatever reason... Why do you choose to believe her instead of me?!"

Hitler: "Relax, Martin. I am not positively sure that you are a spy. However, as this is a very serious accusation, we will have to investigate it thoroughly."

Bormann (desperate): "Then why are you arresting me?"

Hitler (with a sinister smile): "But I am not arresting you, Martin. You are just being escorted to the Gestapo Headquarters for questioning. If you are indeed innocent, you have nothing to fear."

What if he's innocent? Fuck! I might have killed this man! Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut! But what if he's really a spy? No, I did the right thing. The Gestapo will surely find the truth. After all, they are not going to torture him. It's the civilized 20th century, not the fucking Middle Ages! There is no bloody Inquisition now!

************


In the afternoon, Adolphine received Werhner von Braun. Adolphine had a distinct uneasy feeling about the man but she suppressed it and the conversation proceeded smoothly.

Von Braun was very interested in Adolphine's stories about the exploration of the Cosmos and his own contribution to the American Space Program, especially the Moon Landings.

Adolphine: "... and in the 22nd century, travel to the Moon and the rest of the Solar System became commonplace."

von Braun: "How common?"

Adolphine: "Well, only rich people can afford a vacation to Mars or the Jovian Satellites but the Moon... Everybody has travelled to the Moon!"

von Braun: "Have you? Have you been on the Moon?"

Adolphine: "Yes, of course. It's not a big deal, you know... I have pictures and movies if you don't believe me!"

von Braun (amazed): "Pictures and movies? Taken on the Moon?! With you?!... That's phenomenal! Why didn't you say so from the very beginning? Can I see them?"

Adolphine: "Sure. Olaf... Show Herr von Braun some of the Moon movies!"

************


Hours later, von Braun, Hitler, Eva, Goebbels and Magda watched in awe, for the umpteenth time, the iconic scene in which a space-costumed but clearly recognizable younger Adolphine was drawing a swastika with her index finger in the Lunar regolith.

Goebbels: "We have to use this! It's an opportunity so huge, we cannot let it go! Imagine the effect this movie would have, not only here in the Reich, but in America and in England!"

Hitler: "Nobody would believe that we sent people to the Moon!"

Goebbels: "Herr von Braun might shoot a rocket towards the Moon. We'll call the press from the neutral countries..."

von Braun: "They will track the rocket and expose the lie."

Goebbels (irritated): "Something has to be done!"

Hitler: "Herr von Braun, how long would it take to actually send a rocket to the Moon?"

von Braun (excited): "With people? And bring them back safely?"

Hitler: "No need for that. Just to send a rocket to the Moon, no people, no coming back."

von Braun: "With sufficient funding... I don't know... Two years, maybe less..."

Hitler: "You will have all the money you need. Stop the V2s. We don't need them now when we are protected by the Dome. We must go to the Moon! Are you sure the rocket trajectory can be tracked?"

von Braun: "Yes, I am positive. Both us and our enemies would easily track it. Even amateur astronomers might be able to track it."

Goebbels: "So everybody will see a German rocket reaching the Moon and then we will produce this wonderful movie!"

Hitler: "Yes. The Swastika on the Moon! It will be glorious! Von Braun, you'd better start working now!"

************


Adolphine: "Eva, is it possible that von Braun was hitting on me?"

Eva: "I don't know, Adolphine... He might..."

Well, Space Nazis! Who would have thought that?

 

[xa na xa]

I really like how the course of history is changing every which way depending on what a ditzy teenager happens to blurt out at any given moment.

 

[Zagan7]

Chapter 25. Law and Morality



23 January 1945, the Hirn, Berlin, Großdeutsches Reich

Hitler: "Adolphine, can you help me with Helga?"

Adolphine: "Sure, Herr Hitler, is it something wrong with her?..."

Hitler: "Oh, no, it's nothing. Helga is helping me to rule the Reich more efficiently and I thought that she should get acquainted with our ways of life, with our National Socialist philosophy... I reasoned that Mein Kampf ought to be a good start, but I have neither the time not the patience to read it aloud and I don't trust anybody else to have access to Helga..."

Adolphine (bemused): "Herr Hitler, Helga can read it herself, you only have to turn the pages for her..." (opening the book) "Helga, can you read Fraktur... this font?"

Helga: "Yes, Adolphine. You may turn the page now."

Adolphine: "See, Herr Hitler? Helga can read a page faster than I can flip it!"

Hitler: "Very good. Adolphine, have you read it?"

Adolphine: "Mein Kampf? Sure, I read it online. I never owned the book, as an object, I mean... it's forbidden, you know..."

Hitler: "After Helga finishes reading it, it's yours."

Adolphine: "Thank you Herr Hitler!... Could you write an autograph for me?"

Hitler (smiling): "Sure... Anything for my girl."

Für meine süße Adolphine, mit Liebe, Adolf Hitler

Adolphine: "Thank you so much! I have never read a real book, a book made of paper! Do you know what I would also like to read?"

Hitler: "No, tell me."

Adolphine: "A newspaper, not an online one, a real newspaper. And I have heard so many marvellous stories about Der Stürmer."

Hitler (slightly disappointed): "Der Stürmer? You'll have it on your table starting tomorrow."

Adolphine: "Thank you. What's the name of the editor... I forgot it."

Hitler: "Julius Streicher... And I think you shouldn't meet him... Anyway, umm, Adolphine... Helga is... completely trustworthy, isn't she? I mean, it should be impossible for her to betray me... It's all computer programs after all!"

Adolphine: "Sure, Herr Hitler, a robot won't do anything which could harm its users."

Hitler: "Would she do anything... and I mean, anything... if I ask her to?"

Adolphine: "Well... not anything. As I said earlier, she would definitely not harm her users, that is either me or you. And she would try not to break the law or her inner moral code... And, of course, she will always obey the instructions of her Administrator rather than mine or yours. We are only Advanced Users, but you already know that..."

Hitler (worried): "Oh, what about a possible conflict between my orders, the law and her moral code? And what Law would be that? The Law of your Judaized future or the Law of our Reich? These are very important questions..."

Adolphine: "I don't know, but we should really ask her. Helga, did you hear Herr Hitler's questions?"

Helga: "Yes, I did, but I did not want to interrupt your conversation. I will do my utmost to follow your orders. Should your orders imply a minor breaking of the law or of my internal moral code, I would still follow them. Should your orders imply a major disregard of the law or of my internal moral code, I may refuse to follow them. I would, of course, inform you and explain my decision. About the other question, I understand perfectly that the Law may be different in different jurisdictions, so I will obviously follow local law. In our case, this means the Law of the German Reich. Which means that I will have to read your entire Law Corpus, because it seems to be rather different from European Law."

Hitler (not pleased): "Well, this may be rather unfortunate but, until we can build our own robots, we must use what we have... I understand, Helga. You will have the opportunity to read our laws. Until then, you can ask me. I know the laws because I make them. I am the Führer."

Helga: "I understand, Herr Hitler. The German Reich is an autocracy and you are its Autocrat."

Hitler: "Yes, splendid. An autocracy... What do you mean by minor and major breaking of the law? Can you be more specific?"

Helga: "Yes. A minor breaking of the law might be an attempt to circumvent your taxes or to avoid a parking ticket. A major breaking of the law might be an attempt to kill or rape someone. For everything in between I would use my judgement."

Hitler (thinking): "I see... That's enough for today. Adolphine, I have to go to a meeting now. You will receive a guest, an old science fiction writer, Hans Dominik. He wrote some stories about robots and I wanted him to actually see real life robots..." (laughing) "Make sure to dress modestly, he's an old sick man. We don't want him to have a heart attack!"

Adolphine: "Yes, Herr Hitler, sure... But, before you go... I would like to ask you to investigate something..."

Hitler: "What is it?"

Adolphine: "You know... I have already told you that, after the war, the Jews and their puppets have started with all this Holocaust non-sense, that six million Jews have been turned into soap and lampshades..."

Hitler: "Not again! Leave me alone with these Jew lies, would you!"

Adolphine: "Oh, no, this may be important. It's about rebuffing their propaganda."

Hitler: "Make it quick."

Adolphine: "Besides building false smoke chimneys and paining the walls blue to look like cyanide was used to kill the Jews, but they can't do this now, because we will defeat the Soviets in Poland, won't we?"

Hitler: "Yes, we will defeat them. In the Generalgouvernement. Besides that... Go on."

Adolphine: "Oh, I said Poland... I'm sorry. Yes, besides that, they produced a diary supposedly written by a young Jewess, about my age or so. Of course, it was fake. Parts of it were written with a ball pen! Ridiculous! But, you know, it may be a good idea to investigate it and prove that they were lying..."

Hitler: "Why would be a diary so important?"

Adolphine (furious): "Because they shoved it down our throats like it were the Holy Bible or something! They made it required reading in the schools, it was everywhere. You have to stop it. Either prove it a fake or destroy it and save billions of innocent children from that horror!"

Hitler: "I see. Do you know the name of that Jewess?"

Adolphine: "I do. It's Anne Frank and she's from the Netherlands. But please, if she's still alive, don't have her killed. I would like to confront her personally about the monstruosity that poisoned the childhood of so many of my peers."

Hitler: "When did she die and where?"

Adolphine: "I don't know. She died in a Concentration Camp, before the end of the war. I don't know when and I don't know in which camp."

Hitler: "We will find her. If she died, who published the diary?"

Adolphine: "Her father, a very dirty, slimy Jew. He even embellished it with pornographic elements!"

Hitler: "We will locate him as well. Now calm down and get ready to receive Herr Dominik. Good bye."

I surely did not harm the little Jewess. After all, she would have died anyway... The Jewish lies must be stopped... Am I a horrible person?... For the sake of history, we have to see if it was fake or not!

************


Adolphine: "Good day, Herr Dominik. Welcome to my home."

Hans Dominik: "Good day, gracious Fräulein."

Adolphine: "Do you like it?"

Dominik: "Yes, everything looks amazing, it's so futuristic... After all, it's literally from the future... But where are the robots?"

Adolphine: "The robots? Everywhere. Everything you see, it's a robot. Just talk to them, Herr Dominik."

Dominik (incredulous): "Talk to the furniture? To that chair, maybe?"

Adolphine: "Yes, look at it and call it. Just give it a try."

Dominik: "Umm... Chair? I'm taking to you..."

Chair (inching closer): "Hello, Guest. Would you like to sit down?"

Dominik (sitting down): "It's amazing! I used to think of myself as an imaginative writer but this... Everything is a robot here! No, I could have never imagined something like this! Oh, thank You God. Thank You for allowing me to experience such a marvellous World!" (coughing) "Chair, what are you able to do?"

Chair: "Do you want a back massage?"

Dominik: "Oh, sure, go ahead, just make it a soft one... It's wonderful!..."

Adolphine (smiling): "I'm glad you like it. Do you want to play a game or something?"

Dominik: "What game? Does any of these robots play chess?"

Adolphine: "Chess, sure. Although it's not very interesting... Table, Herr Dominik wants to play chess with you."

Table: "Sure. Standard chess?"

Dominik: "Yes, please. Like it was played in the 20th century. Fräulein Heimat, chess is a very interesting game..."

Table: "Do you want to play white or black?"

Dominik: "White, please."

Adolphine: "It's a dead draw. Chess is completely solved. A robot can never lose."

Dominik: "I see. Table, would you remove one of your knights to make the game more even for a mere mortal like me?"

Table: "Sure, I removed my b8 knight. Should we proceed now?"

************


Twenty-six moves later, Hans Dominik resigned in an already hopeless position.

Dominik: "I had absolutely no chance whatsoever... Alekhine would have loved this challange, but alas, he's in Portugal now... Tell me, Adolphine, do all these robots follow some rules, like to never harm a human?..."

Adolphine: "Certainly not. Try to touch one the Industrial Robots and it will duly electrocute you!"

Dominik: "I see. So Asimow was wrong after all."

Adolphine: "Who's Asimow?"

Dominik: "A Jewish science fiction writer from Amerika. He writes a lot about robots but he's got it all wrong."

Adolphine: "Of course. He's a Jew."

************

What a nice fellow. Too bad he's so old...