"Charles L. Harness-Quarks at Appomatox" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harness Charles L)

"Please do."
 "Very well, then. It appears that quarks have at least five flavors: up, down, strange, charm, and
bottom. But we'll skip all that. The point is, General, that in my birth year, two thousand and thirty, a
means was discovered to de-sensitize the gluon associated with the so-called down quark, which exists
in neutrons of the structural metals. Since neutrons are made of one up-quark and two down-quarks, the
consequence was that such metals could readily be caused to disintegrate. Your napoleon is-- was--
brass, an alloy of copper and zinc. Brass is quite susceptible. But so are musket barrels, swords, all the
iron and steel instruments of war. Even the harmless things yield to it: belt buckles, buttons, stirrups, mess
kits, telegraph keys, telescope barrels, spectacle rims..."
The general patted his jacket pocket uncertainly.
Von Mainz laughed. "Your glasses are safe, General. The weapon never backfires."
Lee studied his visitor in silence. Finally he said, "The demonstration was indeed a success. Quite
remarkable. I accept is as proof that you are from another time and place. But that simply raises
additional questions. How did you get here from the future? What is it to you whether the South wins or
loses? Why did you select me for your presentation?"
"Not so fast, dear General. Good questions, all valid, and there are answers. Why you? You are the
commander-in-chief of all the armies of the Confederacy, and your army has a very pressing need for the
weapon. You were therefore the logical choice.
"Now then, how did I get here? Not quite so easy to answer, but I can try. There is a device-- really
an entire cellar room-- in Berlin. It is associated with an immense power source, all very accurately
calibrated. In the center of the room is a sort of plate, a machine, actually, very cleverly constructed. A
person stands on that plate, together with certain things he may wish to bring along, even including a
horse. Then the dials are set to a specific time and place in the past, a compatriot pulls a switch, and the
plate is empty. If the warp is accurate, the person in the chair moves from Berlin twenty sixty-five to...
wherever, whenever..."
"I... see," murmured the general. "I think I see." He put his fingers to his forehead. "So here you are.
But why? What difference does the outcome of this war make to you... to the NSS... to the Germany of
the twenty-first century?"
"Why? Because I-- my group-- we want to change the past, and hence the future fate of the German
people. You and I together can do this."
"Go on."
"I'm sure you realize, General, that in the history about to be written the South loses the war. The
Union is reestablished. The United States spreads across the continent 'from sea to shining sea,' as your
hymn says. Very quickly America becomes rich and populous. But she is not done with war. There will
be a great war in nineteen fourteen to nineteen eighteen: at the start, Germany against England, France,
and Russia. We would have won this war, except that America came in against us. Germany rose from
the ashes and in nineteen thirty-nine tried again, against almost the same enemies. Again, we almost made
it. Our armies lay on the outskirts of Leningrad-- oh, St. Petersburg to you. We could see the church
spires of Moscow. But once more America came in against us. America sent Russia immense quantities
of war materials; shipload after shipload through the Persian Gulf, and in the north by Murmansk. These
weapons you would find quite incredible. Self-propelled cannons with iron plating, called 'tanks.'
Machines that flew through the air, capable of dropping terrible bombs. And big horseless carriages for
moving troops rapidly. Our German armies had these things, too, of course, but in nowhere near the
numbers the Americans were able to furnish our Russian enemies." He sighed and took a deep breath.
"In nineteen hundred three and forty the Russians began a general counterattack across the entire eastern
front-- some twelve hundred miles long. For us it was the beginning of the end. We gave up two years
later."
"But you speak of history. All that will happen whether the South wins or loses."
"No, we think not. Our forecasters have made a number of studies on great machines called
computers. The results agree as to several essential points. If America exists in two countries, North and