'I know nothing about this,' Kammler said, looking upset.

'No,' Wilson said, 'you didn't, but now you do... Because now is the right time.'

'Please explain,' Kammler ordered icily.

'The Feuerball is an armoured object powered by a special turbojet engine that's radio-controlled at the moment of takeoff. Then, attracted by the enemy aircraft's exhaust fumes, it will automatically follow that aircraft, automatically avoid colliding with it, and automatically shortcircuit its radar and ignition systems. During the day this device looks exactly like a shining disc spinning on its axis or a silver ball but by night it looks like a burning globe. This is actually a fiery halo around the armoured device, caused by the exceptionally rich chemical mixture that over-ionizes the atmosphere in the vicinity of the target and so subjects it to extremely damaging electromagnetic impulses.'

'And if this Feuerball is faced with the guns of the aircraft its pursuing?' Kammler asked.

'It will fly away automatically,' Wilson replied.

'How come?'

'A thin sheet of aluminium has been inserted under the armoured plating of the Feuerball, and this acts as an automatic defensive switch. A bullet piercing the armoured plating will automatically establish contact with that switch, trip a maximum acceleration device, and cause the Feuerball to fly vertically out of range of the enemy aircraft's guns.'

'Sounds wonderful,' Kammler said. 'But what's the difference between the small, so-called Feuerball and your large flying saucer, the Kugelblitz?'

'Schriever's saucer is in fact a crude form of flying saucer, constructed from ordinary metal and using primitive propulsion. The Kugelblitz, on the other hand, is a piloted version of the Feuerball. It has the advantage of being constructed from a special metal and also using the most advanced form of jet propulsion that's yet been invented.'

'I'm not an engineer,' Nebe complained.

'The Feuerball,' Ernst explained, directing his words to Kammler, who like him was an engineer, 'is a perfectly symmetrical disc, devoid of all surface protuberances. Nevertheless, even with the Feuerball, the boundary layer limits its speed. In order to get rid of the boundary layer completely and in order to make use of the dead air, not only for acceleration, but for manoeuvring as well what Wilson required was a porous metal that would act like a sponge, remove the need for air intakes altogether, and create what our famed engineer Schrenk called frictionless airflow. Such a metal was recently created by our scientists at Gottingen and Volkenrode: a compound of magnesium and aluminium, called Lujtschwamm, or aerosponge. Wilson used it for the construction of all his flying saucers, thus solving the problem of the boundary layer and, thus, all previous limitations on speed and manoeuvrability. The Feuerball and the Kugelblitz, then, are extraordinary aircraft.'

'You've already described the Feuerball,' Kammler said, looking more interested. 'So apart from its size, why is the Kugelblitz even better?'

'The Feuerball,' Wilson said, 'not only spins around its vertical axis, but automatically follows its target, makes its target's radar and ignition malfunction by filling the immediate vicinity with a gas that, when burning, creates a damaging magnetic field, and also flies away automatically when attacked. Yes?'

'Yes,' Kammler agreed.

'Now let us enlarge this flying fireball,' Wilson said, as if giving a lecture in a cla.s.sroom. 'The larger disc, the Kugelblitz, will also spin on its own axis, but with the addition of gyroscopic stabilization, a pilot's cabin can now be placed on that axis, with the main body, or engine, of the disc spinning around the steady cabin. We then add to the enlarged, pilot-carrying disc a form of radio that can cancel at the pilot's discretion the return signals, or blips, from the enemy's radarscope and so render our flying saucer undetectable. Next, we have electromagnetically or electroacoustically controlled firing weapons, we have cannons that spit ignition-damaging gas instead of sh.e.l.ls, we possibly have various laser or pulse-beam weapons in development right now and we have devices that ensure that our flying saucer will automatically retreat from enemy attacks. Add to all this the fact that the disc is made of an alloy courtesy of the Riva del Garda complex that can withstand enormous pressure and a temperature of one thousand degrees Centigrade and that, being porous, can take the air in like a sponge and then use it to increase its own propulsion to almost unbelievable speeds.'

Still an engineer and unable to hold in his excitement, Ernst found himself leaning forward in his chair to say excitedly: 'Add it all up and what have we got?'

'The Kugelblitz,' Nebe said quietly.

'Yes!' Ernst exclaimed. 'The enlarged and enhanced offspring of the Feuerball. A piloted machine in which a single ma.s.s of wing, tail, and fuselage has been formed into the one gyroscopically stabilized, vertical-rising, soon-to-be supersonic flying disc.'

'That's our strength,' Wilson said.

'So how do we protect it?' Kammler asked.

'We're back to Schriever,' Nebe said.

Yes, Nebe enjoyed intrigues they were food and air to him and Ernst looked into the dark light of his gaze and saw the blood that had formed it. Nebe would take new life from this conspiracy and become its strong arm.

'Yes,' Wilson said, 'we're back to Schriever. Now that Himmler trusts Schriever more than he trusts me, we must confirm him in his faith by telling him that I'm trying to impede Schriever's progress, that for that reason we should be parted, and that Schriever should be given his own research centre elsewhere somewhere less accessible either to me or to the Allies to enable him to continue his work without interference.'

'Which in fact means that you'll be able to continue your work without interference,' Nebe said, enjoying this, 'and that the escape route to the Antarctic can be organized out of sight of Schriever's spying eyes.'

'Precisely,' Ernst said, surprised to hear himself sounding so enthusiastic, but unable to help himself. He had wanted to be a scientist, after all, and this was pure science.

However, Kammler simply stared coldly at him, before turning to Wilson. 'I'll do it,' he said. 'Clearly there's no choice. It will be your task, over the next few weeks, to let Schriever steal for want of a better word the credit for the Feuerball and to convince him that its basic principles can be used to enhance his own saucer. When you've done that, he'll undoubtedly take the Feuerball to Himmler and I, being in charge of the project, will be informed. I will then do as you've suggested and recommend an area near Prague, in Bohem, as the new location for Schriever's project, which will ensure that he's not in Berlin when the Allies arrive here.'

'And if the Allies arrive here,' Wilson said, 'they'll also get me.'

'Correct,' Kammler said. 'So, since I'm also in charge of the rocket program at Nordhausen, I will also request that your project be transferred to Kahla, a small village near there, where, as I'll tell the Reichfhrer, I can keep my eye on it, ensure that any innovations you may come up with are pa.s.sed on to the more important rocket program, and protect both projects more easily from the Allies as they advance. I think he'll fall for this.'

'So do I,' Wilson said.

'And from there, in the Harz Mountains,' Nebe said, 'we can make our escape when the time comes.'

'So be it,' Kammler said.

Ernst glanced at Wilson, saw the shadow of a smile, and knew in that instant, beyond doubt, that he would get what he wanted.