"No."

Hans steadied himself. "There is no hope?"

"None."

He nodded and for a moment he stood straighter. Stronger. I was proud of him.

"Do you have a gun?"

"I do. Is there a furnace where we can dispose of the body?"

He nodded, shakily. "Will you accompany me?"

"I would be honored." And I was.

After the funeral, realizing the power and speed of the tote Manner tote Manner and the infection they harbored, the Daimler-Benz engineers were more careful. and the infection they harbored, the Daimler-Benz engineers were more careful.

In a couple of weeks, my part was done and I took the train to Krakow to have a long weekend reunion with my Elsa and Helmut. The following Monday, I drove to Birkenau to address the problem of tote Manner tote Manner production. production.

Elsa had mixed feelings about the rental. While she liked the apartment itself and the proximity of Park Jordana, she found the leftover debris and detritus disturbing. These were obviously Jewish artifacts and Elsa's excitement might have come from a mixture of womanly wariness of another female's territory combined with an aversion to having anything Jewish in the house. I a.s.sured her that the original owners would not be returning and she relaxed somewhat.

Helmut had no reservations about his new environment. Finding small objects of indeterminate origin covered with unfamiliar characters fastened in unexpected places gave mystery to the place. No doubt he observed I was more inclined to answer questions about this or that artifact than I was about the American bombers or air raid drills or what Father did at work. I protected my family as best I could from such things.

For the next several months we were collecting the breath and sweat of subjects into vials, injecting the vial contents into the ma.s.s spectrometer, and determining what was there. Then we concentrated the effluvia and tried it on the tote Manner tote Manner themselves. Immediately, we found that the themselves. Immediately, we found that the tote Manner tote Manner were not attracted to merely any object smeared with the test substances, only when those attractants were applied to a possible host. Weber thought this quite exciting. It suggested that the were not attracted to merely any object smeared with the test substances, only when those attractants were applied to a possible host. Weber thought this quite exciting. It suggested that the tote Manner tote Manner had a means of detecting a host other than smell. had a means of detecting a host other than smell.

In October of 1942, we hit on a combination of aldehydes and ketones the tote Manner tote Manner found especially attractive. I synthesized it in the growing chemistry laboratory we had been using and applied it to a collection of test subjects. Control subjects who had no application of the test attractant were also present in the experiment and were ignored until the test subjects had been thoroughly mauled. At that point, the controls were attacked. We made careful note of this as it would strongly influence how troops would recover an infected area after the enemy succ.u.mbed. found especially attractive. I synthesized it in the growing chemistry laboratory we had been using and applied it to a collection of test subjects. Control subjects who had no application of the test attractant were also present in the experiment and were ignored until the test subjects had been thoroughly mauled. At that point, the controls were attacked. We made careful note of this as it would strongly influence how troops would recover an infected area after the enemy succ.u.mbed.

We had proved our attractant in the laboratory by the end of October of 1942. But the war appeared to us to be going so well, our little military experiment would never be needed. We would win the Battle of Stalingrad in a month and concentrate on the western front.

That changed in November.

The Battle of Stalingrad evolved into what I had feared: a siege over a Russian winter. The Red Army began their counter-offensive along with the winter. Like Napoleon, the German army was stuck.

The Germans lost ground in other places. Willem suggested if I could hurry up the program, I should.

We were in part saved by problems encountered by the Daimler-Benz engineering team. Developing a deployment methodology had been proved harder than the engineers had foreseen. They had broken the problem into three parts. The first, and most easily solved, was how to restrain and cushion the tote Manner tote Manner until they could be released. The remaining two issues revolved around deploying on an advance and deploying on a retreat. In both cases, they resolved into two kinds of scenarios: how to deploy the until they could be released. The remaining two issues revolved around deploying on an advance and deploying on a retreat. In both cases, they resolved into two kinds of scenarios: how to deploy the first first time and how to deploy time and how to deploy after after the first time. If secrecy was kept (and Willem a.s.sured us the enemy did not know what we were working on), then the first deployment would be relatively easy. Deploying on a retreat could be as simple as leaving sealed containers transported by trucks to the target zone to be opened pyrotechnically by remote control. Similar containers, with additional cushioning, could be released by parachute. the first time. If secrecy was kept (and Willem a.s.sured us the enemy did not know what we were working on), then the first deployment would be relatively easy. Deploying on a retreat could be as simple as leaving sealed containers transported by trucks to the target zone to be opened pyrotechnically by remote control. Similar containers, with additional cushioning, could be released by parachute.

But once the secret was out and the Allies were looking for tote Manner tote Manner delivery devices, we would need a means to overcome their resistance. This had stalled the Daimler-Benz engineers. I saw presentations of stealth night drops, blitzkrieg raids with tanks carrying large transport carts-one enterprising young man demonstrated a quarter-scale model trebuchet that could catapult a scale model container holding six delivery devices, we would need a means to overcome their resistance. This had stalled the Daimler-Benz engineers. I saw presentations of stealth night drops, blitzkrieg raids with tanks carrying large transport carts-one enterprising young man demonstrated a quarter-scale model trebuchet that could catapult a scale model container holding six tote Manner tote Manner as much as three kilometers behind enemy lines. Not to be outdone, his work partner showed how bracing a as much as three kilometers behind enemy lines. Not to be outdone, his work partner showed how bracing a toter Mann toter Mann could enable it to be fired from a cannon like a circus performer. could enable it to be fired from a cannon like a circus performer.

These issues so dwarfed our own minor problems that we were given, for the moment, no close scrutiny and I had the opportunity to address shortcomings in our own production.

In February 1943, Russia won the Battle of Stalingrad. Willem warned us that we would have to expect to send tote Manner tote Manner against Russian troops before long. I argued against it. It would be foolish to waste surprise in an attack that could not work. At least, it would not work until summer. against Russian troops before long. I argued against it. It would be foolish to waste surprise in an attack that could not work. At least, it would not work until summer.

I went home and spent a week with Elsa and Helmut. Each morning I sat down and drew up production schedules, sc.r.a.pped them, smoked cigarettes, and tried again. In the afternoon, I played with my son. It was cold in Krakow and with the war not going very well, heating fuel was hard to come by. I was able to requisition what we needed due to my position but even I couldn't get coal for the theater or the restaurants. Often, we spent intimate evenings together with just ourselves for company. I didn't mind. Elsa and Helmut were company enough.

All that spring Willem told us of defeat after defeat-I don't think we were supposed to know what he told us. I think we served as people in whom he could confide as his world crumbled. Germany retreated in Africa. The Warsaw Uprising. The Russian advance.

I buried myself in my work. I resolved that if there were to be a failure in the program, it would not be where I had control. Production was, in my opinion, our weak point. Weber's approach to creating tote Manner tote Manner was haphazard and labor intensive. I wanted something more robust and reliable. Something more was haphazard and labor intensive. I wanted something more robust and reliable. Something more industrial industrial.

I came to the conclusion that our production schedule had to revolve around the progression of the disease. For three days there was a strong euphoria. Often, the new hosts tried to kiss anyone who came near them, presaging the biting activity of the fully infected toter Mann. toter Mann. Sometime on the third day, the host fell into a sleep that progressed rapidly into coma. Breathing decreased to almost nothing. The heartbeat reduced to a slow fraction of the uninfected. Body temperature dropped to nearly ambient though the infected were able to keep some warmth above room temperature. Sometime on the third day, the host fell into a sleep that progressed rapidly into coma. Breathing decreased to almost nothing. The heartbeat reduced to a slow fraction of the uninfected. Body temperature dropped to nearly ambient though the infected were able to keep some warmth above room temperature.

The coma period lasted as long as five days, though we saw it end as soon as three. Arousal was sudden, so often precipitated by a nearby possible victim that I came to the conclusion that after three days, the toter Mann toter Mann was ready to strike and merely waiting for the opportunity. was ready to strike and merely waiting for the opportunity.

After that, a toter Mann toter Mann was mobile for as much as ten weeks, though during the last weeks of infection the was mobile for as much as ten weeks, though during the last weeks of infection the toter Mann toter Mann showed significant deterioration. showed significant deterioration.

Therefore, we required an incubation period of six days, minimum. Effectiveness could not be counted upon after eight weeks. This gave us a target window. If we wanted, for example, to deploy on June first we had to have infected our tote Manner tote Manner no later than May twenty-fifth. This was the time domain of our military supply chain. no later than May twenty-fifth. This was the time domain of our military supply chain.

The first order of business was to synchronize the incubation period. I performed a series of experiments that showed that, as I suspected, once the coma period had been entered the toter Mann toter Mann was ready to be used. However, there was unacceptable variation in the time between exposure and coma. We couldn't reliably produce was ready to be used. However, there was unacceptable variation in the time between exposure and coma. We couldn't reliably produce tote Manner tote Manner in six days. in six days.

The new Chief Medical Officer, Mengele, delivered the necessary insight. Zyklon B was the answer. Though the standard Zyklon B dose would kill the subject quickly, a reduced dose weakened the subject sufficiently to allow infection almost instantly. Commander Hoess was able to supply me with enough experimental data that I could proceed with my own tests. We introduced the gas, waited for ten minutes, then sprayed the subjects with an infecting agent. The remaining three days were sufficient for subjects to recover from the gas just in time to provide healthy hosts for the organisms. This method had the added bonus that the same production chambers could serve two purposes.

By November, when the march up Italy by the Allies had begun and Germany seemed to be losing on all fronts, we could incubate as many as a thousand at a time, six days after exposure. The trains supplying the rest of the camp came in full and left empty so by using the empty trains for transport, we could send tote Manner tote Manner anywhere in Germany or Poland. Delivery to the deployment launch point would have to be by truck. We were ready. Now, it was up to the Daimler-Benz engineers to deliver our anywhere in Germany or Poland. Delivery to the deployment launch point would have to be by truck. We were ready. Now, it was up to the Daimler-Benz engineers to deliver our tote Manner tote Manner the last kilometer to the enemy. the last kilometer to the enemy.

Christmas 1943 was uneventful. Weber and I worked on various refinements to an already prepared system without damaging it too badly. My teachers back in Berlin had taught me the idea of schlimmbesserung: schlimmbesserung: an improvement that makes things worse. At that point, the natural tendency of idle minds and hands to improve a working system into uselessness was our only real enemy. an improvement that makes things worse. At that point, the natural tendency of idle minds and hands to improve a working system into uselessness was our only real enemy.

Given that, we resolutely turned our attention away from the weapons system we had devised to a different problem we had discussed a year before: Why deliver tote Manner tote Manner at all? The worm and virus were perfectly able to create at all? The worm and virus were perfectly able to create tote Manner tote Manner for us. Why did we have to supply the raw material? for us. Why did we have to supply the raw material?

Delivering a disease substance was perilously close to delivering a poison gas-something forbidden us from the previous war. However, we had already made some excursions into the territory with the production and delivery of tote Manner tote Manner attractant-a colloid I had developed that would evaporate into the proper aldehyde and ketone mix the attractant-a colloid I had developed that would evaporate into the proper aldehyde and ketone mix the tote Manner tote Manner found so irresistible. We had also attempted to deliver an infecting gas along with the Zyklon B but the attempt had failed. The worm succ.u.mbed to the Zyklon B before the subjects. found so irresistible. We had also attempted to deliver an infecting gas along with the Zyklon B but the attempt had failed. The worm succ.u.mbed to the Zyklon B before the subjects.

Creating an inhalant that carried both the worm and virus proved to be an interesting problem. The virus was stable when dry and the worm could be induced to encyst itself. However, it took time for the worm to de-cyst and by the time it did, the subject was fully infected with an undirected virus. Rabid humans made a poor host.

We went back to the colloid I devised for the attractant. Colloids are neither liquid nor solid but partake of the traits of both. Gelatin is a colloid. By adding nutrients to the colloid so that the worm could stay alive and not encyst, the virus could be delivered along with the worm when both were at their most infective stage. It was interesting work for a couple of months. Weber was quite elated with it. He called it the Todesluft. Todesluft.

In May of 1944, Willem paid us another visit. This time, he took both Weber and myself aside and spoke to us privately.

"It is clear the Allies are preparing a counter-invasion. The likely location is somewhere across from England on the coast of France." He held the cigarette to his lips thoughtfully.

"We're ready," I said boldly. "We've been ready for months. What do the Daimler-Benz engineers say?"

Willem breathed out smoke. "They have made several methods available to us. Since this is to be the first deployment, we have chosen the retreat scenario. We will place the tote Manner tote Manner in a bunker in the path of the Allies and detonate it when they come." in a bunker in the path of the Allies and detonate it when they come."

"Are we expecting to be overrun?"

Willem shook his head. "Of course not. The tote Manner tote Manner are a backup plan only. We will deploy them behind our own lines and only release them if we are forced past them. If the front line holds, we will not release them at all." are a backup plan only. We will deploy them behind our own lines and only release them if we are forced past them. If the front line holds, we will not release them at all."

I nodded. "How many?"

"We estimate six thousand."

I thought quickly. "It takes six days for each group. Six thousand will take us thirty-six days."

Willem smiled at me. "Did you know of the expansions of Birkenau commissioned early last year?"

"Of course," said Weber. "They were a dreadful nuisance."

"They are about to pay for themselves," retorted Willem. "I developed Max's original plans for Birkenau beyond his conception. The new facilities can serve as incubator."

"How many?"

"At least forty thousand at once. Six thousand should not be a problem." He pulled from his briefcase a set of plans.

I looked them over. I was impressed with the innovations I saw. "This is better than I had hoped."

"I'm glad you are pleased. When can the first squad be ready?"

I looked over the plans again and did some figuring on a piece of paper. "May 12, if Daimler-Benz can provide the bunkers and the transportation."

"I've been a.s.sured this will not be a problem."

"Then we will be ready to deploy."

Willem pulled a map from his briefcase. "Our sources say we will be struck here." He pointed to the map. "Pas-de-Calais. That is where our defenses are located and just three kilometers behind them, our tote Manner. tote Manner. The Allies will not know what hit them." The Allies will not know what hit them."

This was by far the largest group of tote Manner tote Manner we had ever attempted to create. Weber took a fatherly approach to them. When the hosts entered the euphoric stage and called to him with affection, he responded, calling them his "children" and other endearments. I found this unnerving. When the we had ever attempted to create. Weber took a fatherly approach to them. When the hosts entered the euphoric stage and called to him with affection, he responded, calling them his "children" and other endearments. I found this unnerving. When the tote Manner tote Manner were finally ready and installed into their transportation containers I was glad to see them go. Weber watched them leave with a tear in his eye. I went home to my wife and son. were finally ready and installed into their transportation containers I was glad to see them go. Weber watched them leave with a tear in his eye. I went home to my wife and son.

But, of course, the Allies did not strike at Pas-de-Calais but at Normandy, over three hundred kilometers to the southwest. The tote Manner tote Manner were in their bunkers. The Daimler-Benz engineers had packed them like munitions. There was no way to extract them without releasing them. were in their bunkers. The Daimler-Benz engineers had packed them like munitions. There was no way to extract them without releasing them.

It was terrible timing. All of the available tote Manner tote Manner were in Calais and the next squad would not be ready for deployment until June 9: three days! were in Calais and the next squad would not be ready for deployment until June 9: three days!

Willem conferred with his staff and said that if we could drop enough bunkers in the Cerisy Forest and fill them with tote Manner tote Manner, we would let the Allies overrun the forest and open the bunker.

At this point the new squad was just entering the coma stage. We'd found the tote Manner tote Manner were vulnerable to jostling during this period and had always transported them towards the end of the coma. But desperate times require desperate measures. Willem and I led the crew that took the newly comatose were vulnerable to jostling during this period and had always transported them towards the end of the coma. But desperate times require desperate measures. Willem and I led the crew that took the newly comatose tote Manner tote Manner, eight thousand strong, and trucked them to the forest. Meanwhile, three large prefabricated bunkers were erected on the sites. I barely had time to phone Elsa to say I would not be home that night. Weber, affectionate to the tote Manner tote Manner as before, elected to stay and incubate the next squad. I was just as glad not to have him along. as before, elected to stay and incubate the next squad. I was just as glad not to have him along.

The bunkers were not particularly explosive-proof but would stop bullets. They looked more like officers' quarters than anything else. We locked them and moved away to nearby Trevieres. This was June 8th. By the afternoon of June 9th, the tote Manner tote Manner would be alert. When fired, the bunker would first explode a smoke bomb containing the colloid and attractant we had devised to mask the area. A few minutes later, small explosives would release the would be alert. When fired, the bunker would first explode a smoke bomb containing the colloid and attractant we had devised to mask the area. A few minutes later, small explosives would release the tote Manner tote Manner and break the outside walls. The and break the outside walls. The tote Manner tote Manner would have to do the rest. We hoped the smell of nearby prey would waken them to fury as we had observed in the lab. would have to do the rest. We hoped the smell of nearby prey would waken them to fury as we had observed in the lab.

The time pa.s.sed slowly, punctuated with small arms fire and a few large weapons. The wind moved back and forth, sometimes bringing us the firecracker smell of the battlefield and then replacing it with the pine smell of the forests.

The afternoon came. An odd aircraft I'd never seen before, called a Storch Storch, was made available to us. The pilot, Willem, and I boarded the airplane along with the radio equipment. The heavily laden craft took off in an impressively short distance and in a few moments we were high enough to see the bunkers and, worse, the advancing Allies. Willem pressed the b.u.t.ton.

Smoke poured out of the three buildings. I could not hear the reports as the internal explosives ignited but there was motion-furious motion-through the smoke. Seconds later the advancing Allies were running down the hill away from the smoke. Directly behind them were the tote Manner tote Manner.

The tote Manner tote Manner were much faster than the humans they pursued and more clever than ever I would have guessed. One were much faster than the humans they pursued and more clever than ever I would have guessed. One toter Mann toter Mann leapt from human to human, biting and clawing, not even pausing to enjoy the "meal." Eight thousand leapt from human to human, biting and clawing, not even pausing to enjoy the "meal." Eight thousand tote Manner tote Manner poured over the Allies. Guns didn't stop them. They were in and among the soldiers so quickly none of the supporting artillery or machine guns could fire. The smoke switched over them and we could no longer observe. poured over the Allies. Guns didn't stop them. They were in and among the soldiers so quickly none of the supporting artillery or machine guns could fire. The smoke switched over them and we could no longer observe.

"Fly over them," Willem ordered, "so we can look down."

"Sir, we will be shot."

"Fly over them, I say," Willem shouted and brought out his pistol. "Or I will shoot you myself."

We flew over the churning ma.s.s of tote Manner tote Manner and humans. They took no notice of us. All of their attention was focused on the horrifying apparitions among them. and humans. They took no notice of us. All of their attention was focused on the horrifying apparitions among them.

"Good," said Willem grimly. "Return."

It was a safe bet that each of the tote Manner tote Manner had likely managed to bite at least three soldiers. a.s.suming an overlap of twenty percent, that meant better than thirteen thousand Allied had likely managed to bite at least three soldiers. a.s.suming an overlap of twenty percent, that meant better than thirteen thousand Allied tote Manner tote Manner would be awakening in a week. This was a conservative estimate, a.s.suming the infected soldiers would not infect others during the euphoric period. would be awakening in a week. This was a conservative estimate, a.s.suming the infected soldiers would not infect others during the euphoric period.

We landed, and General Marcks himself joined us. Willem told him of the adventure and the anti-tote Manner equipment-mostly flame throwers and protective jackets-waiting in trucks not ten kilometers distant. The Allied invasion would not succeed. equipment-mostly flame throwers and protective jackets-waiting in trucks not ten kilometers distant. The Allied invasion would not succeed.

And it did not.

The Allies, so demoralized by the Reich's new weapon, were unable to advance. German bombers were able to sink support craft in the channel. The war stalled in western France all that summer.

When I returned to Krakow in July to see my wife I still smelled of burning diesel and gunpowder. She made me bathe before I could kiss her.

The Daimler-Benz flying barges were deployed. These, I had not known about. They were gliders filled with forty or fifty tote Manner tote Manner, towed overnight by bombers and released near the front to land where they would. The crashes released most of the tote Manner tote Manner but mechanical relays released the remainder. Willem informed us that there were now highly localized but mechanical relays released the remainder. Willem informed us that there were now highly localized tote Manner tote Manner infections in Britain, where wounded men had been returned before they had turned completely and before the Allies had realized what they were dealing with. infections in Britain, where wounded men had been returned before they had turned completely and before the Allies had realized what they were dealing with.

But the Russians continued to advance. They were no less ruthless than the tote Manner tote Manner and had devised a simple but effective defense. Any group of and had devised a simple but effective defense. Any group of tote Manner tote Manner they found they slaughtered without regard to coincident casualties. We estimated they were killing as much as 10 percent of their own men with this technique. But it was effective. It was only a matter of time before they reached Germany. they found they slaughtered without regard to coincident casualties. We estimated they were killing as much as 10 percent of their own men with this technique. But it was effective. It was only a matter of time before they reached Germany.

The Allied advance had not been routed as we'd hoped but only stalled as they tried to cope with their own problems. Had Germany remained the fighting force it had been at the beginning of the war, this would have been enough. However, now the Allies had a foothold in France and would not give it up. Antiaircraft batteries were brought over the channel and the bombers could no longer eliminate the shipping. Soon, the Allies would figure out a method of containing the infection just as the Russians had done. A stalemate in this war would inevitably lead to an Allied victory.

Willem created the todeskommandos. todeskommandos. These were the last paratroopers still left in the Luftwaffe. They were infected without their knowing and dropped far behind enemy lines. Their mission was to spy on the enemy and return in two weeks' time. Of course, they transformed in less than half that time and infected the Russians. These were the last paratroopers still left in the Luftwaffe. They were infected without their knowing and dropped far behind enemy lines. Their mission was to spy on the enemy and return in two weeks' time. Of course, they transformed in less than half that time and infected the Russians.

I refused to partic.i.p.ate in this activity. I would not be a party to infecting unwitting German soldiers. Willem did not press me at that point though I knew a day of reckoning was coming. Knowing this, I persuaded Willem to loan me one of the Daimler-Benz engineers-preferably Joseph Bremer, a friend of Hans Braun and the engineer who had later proposed the trebuchet. I liked the way his mind worked. Willem sent him to me with the warning that something needed to be done about the Russians.

Bremer, being a mechanical rather than a chemical engineer, immediately saw solutions to the issues we had not solved. We had to maintain the environment of the worm and virus for the duration of delivery and then spray it out into the surrounding area without shredding either. Weber and I had already determined that inhaling inhaling the inoculum would not infect the host unless some portion was swallowed. The worm needed to actually enter the digestive tract to enter the blood stream. The only result from a purely pulmonary inoculation would be a sterile partial infection. the inoculum would not infect the host unless some portion was swallowed. The worm needed to actually enter the digestive tract to enter the blood stream. The only result from a purely pulmonary inoculation would be a sterile partial infection.

It was Bremer who devised an irritant to be added to the mixture. The irritant would not be poisonous in any way but would cause a mucous flow from the nose. The subjects would be forced to swallow. It worked in Birkenau experiments with great success.

By this time, Hitler had been sending V1's against Britain for a few weeks. My purpose was to be able to replace the explosive in the V1 with a Todesluft canister and infect the Allies in their home territories.

Once we had the Todesluft device perfected, we approached Willem with it. Willem at once saw the possibilities but denied us the chance to try it out in a V1. Instead, he told us of a new rocket, vastly more powerful and accurate. It was to be called the V2.