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Atomic Bombers

by Russell Vandenbroucke

In Memory of Arthur Cyril Vandenbroucke, Sr. gentle man, hardware man

"By indirections find directions out"Hamlet

This play is informed by scores of books, articles, and reminiscences, but the author is especially indebted to Richard P. Feynman for his permission to use Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman (New York: W. W. Norton, 1985).

© Russell Vandenbroucke, 1997Please return to:

Russell Vandenbroucke2237 Wesley Ave.

Evanston, IL 60201(847) 864-6431

[email protected] 08.06

02.05

Production

©Russell Vandenbroucke, 1997 Atomic Bombers

Despite the (ultimately) grave subject matter of Atomic Bombers, it should be approached playfully. After the war, Feynman fell into a slough of creative despondency and stagnation. He recovered his imagination and scientific creativity while watching a dinner plate thrown into the air of a Cornell University cafeteria and wondering about the relationship between the rate of spin at the plate's center and its wobble. He soon worked out the relatively simple equations to answer his question and then returned energetically to his work on quantum electrodynamics. He had temporarily lost his creative edge because he had lost his playfulness: "There was no importance to what I was doing, but ultimately there was. The diagrams and the whole business that I got the Nobel Prize for came from that piddling around with the wobbling plate."

Casting: The use of actors should be as fluid as every other production element. Only Fermi and Feynman should not double. Historical anomalies of race and gender are possible, but physics remains a game played by boys. These scientists were young, with Oppenheimer an elder who turned 40 at Los Alamos; Feynman was 27 when the bomb dropped, Fermi all of 43. The play can be performed with a cast of ten.

Design: Choices should gracefully accommodate the fact that Atomic Bombers has many transitions, both between scenes and within them. Scenes should move fluidly from one into the next as opposed to one stopping then the next starting. The characters are involved in a race; they cannot wait for scene changes. Blackouts are deadly. Atomic Bombers does not depend on scenery as much as sound and light.

TimeAtomic Bombers is set during World War Two, 1939-1945, as conjured by the memories of Richard Feynman and his hindsight of the 1960s.

PlaceAct I: College CloistersPrologue: The Prize!, Stockholm Concert Halll: New-Found Land, Columbia University lab2: College Scholarship, Columbia lab3: Princeton Tiger, Princeton University dorm4: Industrial Columbia, Columbia lab 5: Princeton Industry, Princeton dorm6: Chicago Blues, bare stage in New York7: College All Stars, University of Chicago Met Lab8: Love Letters, Princeton dorm and Long Island hospital9: Fermi Courts, University of Chicago quad 10: Beautiful Spacious Skies, Los Alamos mesa11: For Every Action . . . Met Lab squash court

Act II: Purple Mountain Majesties1: Los Alamos Litany, separate domiciles 2: Trained Connections, railway station and train3: Conferring, Los Alamos lab4: One . . . and Counting, Albuquerque sanitarium5: Numeracy, Los Alamos lab6: Literacy, Los Alamos dorm, lab, and Albuquerque Sanitarium7: This Land Is Your Land, Chicago courtroom, Los Alamos lab, Met Lab8: Beloved Letters, Los Alamos dorm, Albuquerque Sanitarium, Met Lab

Vandenbroucke (08.06)

©Russell Vandenbroucke, 1997 Atomic Bombers

9: Wins, Los Alamos lab, Met Lab10: Losses, Los Alamos lab, Presbyterian Sanitarium, Met Lab11: Franck Opinions, Los Alamos lab, Met Lab12: All Hallowed Eve, New Mexico desert, Met LabEpilogue: The Prize?

Characters

Richard Feynman (1918-1988): native New Yorker, a wit in every sense of the word; tells his story in retrospect, but is in his mid-20s in most of the scenes;

Enrico Fermi (1901-1954): Italian-born, dry, cool, and calm;

J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), another native New Yorker, erudite and worldly; also Scientist, helping with first chain reaction at Met Lab;

Leo Szilard (1898-1964): Hungarian, opinionated, strong-willed, politicized; also Los Alamos Man, speculating on mysterious mesa activity;

Robert Wilson (1914-2000): Wyoming-born, pious; slightly older than Feynman, but still his peer;

also Scientist, helping with first chain reaction at Met Lab;

Arline Greenbaum Feynman (1920?-1945): New Yorker, tubercular, a match to Feynman's age and wit;

also Official, voice-over at Nobel ceremony;and Voice, giving instructions at Trinity;

Laura Fermi (1907-1977): Italian-born, highly cultured;also Railroad Clerk;and Los Alamos Woman, speculating on mysterious mesa activity;

Arthur Compton (1892-1962): minister's son from Ohio;also Klaus Fuchs (1911-1988), German-born émigré to England and Feynman's friend;

General Leslie Groves (1896-1970): rigid West Point graduate;

Hans Bethe (1906-): German-born, sensible and down-to-earth as well as brilliant; also Los Alamos Man, speculating on mesa activity;

Also various scientists. Shleppers are optional. Other doubling schemes are possible.

In the three "litanies" of scientists--at Met Lab, buying train tickets, and responding to Trinity--each actor is meant to assume a new persona with each of his or her lines.


1 ©Russell Vandenbrocke, 1997

Atomic Bombers

Act I: Campus Cloisters

Prologue: The Prize!

(In black, the strains of the fanfare of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition.")

Voice of Official To Professor Enrico Fermi of Rome for the discovery of new radioactive elements and for your discovery of nuclear reactions affected by slow neutrons. I ask you to receive the 1938 Nobel Prize. (Lights up on Fermi, formally dressed in a top hat and wearing a medal as he stands beneath a chandelier. Applause builds as he promenades down a red carpet, waving to the crowd comprised of the company of actors. Photographers fire away and his wife, modestly dressed and ready to travel joins him.)

Feynman(Also formally dressed, appearing from the side, a suitcase and teddy bear in his hands. His voice, strongly accented from his native New York accent, stops all other stage action in a soft freeze. He speaks directly to the audience.) Stockholm Concert Hall. December 10, 1938. Quite a day. Enrico Fermi was a scientist's scientist. Only a few years later I, little Ritchie Feynman, would enjoy the privilege of working beside this great man. He had planned his escape from Europe ahead of time. After the ceremony he and his wife, Laura, slipped away, sailed the Atlantic, and waved to the Statue of Liberty in New York, my New York. (He hands the suitcase to Fermi, a teddy bear to Laura. Fermi gives his top hat to Feynman. The Fermis wave goodbye and disappear in a final photoflash.) Like all immigrants, the Fermis had to take an aptitude test. They were asked to add 15 and 27, then to divide 29 by 2. (Mock surprise.) They passed. What Enrico won the prize for was a little bit mistaken. His slow neutrons had actually split uranium atoms, only he didn't know that at the time. Still, given the incredible body of his scientific work, he really did deserve the glittering prize. Not like some of the clowns they've picked.

(Strains of the fanfare of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition” return, accompanied by the faint sound of live drumming as Feynman riffs on the top hat. The crowd comes alive, focusing on Feynman as an official announces.)

Voice of OfficialFor quantum electrodynamics with deep consequences for the physics of elementary particles, I ask you, Professor Richard Feynman of Pasadena, California, to receive the 1965 Nobel Prize.

(Feynman dons the top hat jauntily and promenades down the red carpet. Applause builds until the photographers and their flashes stop him short. He listens to a hubbub of voices, “Over here,” “Hey!” “Please, Professor Feynman, have you got just a minute, sir?")

FeynmanListen, buddy, if I could tell you in sixty seconds what I did to win, it wouldn't be worth the Nobel Prize. (The crowd laughs then departs except for Wilson. With a nod of his head Feynman invites the photographers to strike the carpet. He removes his coat and top hat then passes them to Wilson. These actions will be mirrored in the Epilogue. Lighting also suggests a transition: Feynman takes us back in time as his memories of the past supplant his narration of the present.)



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(Addressing the audience again.) I'm a curious character, ok, very curious. I was born not knowing and have only had a little time to change that here and there. On the way from Stockholm back to Pasadena, I visited my old high school in Far Rockaway. I looked up my records, which was very interesting. My grades weren't as good as I remembered, ok? That was a little disappointing. My IQ score wasn't so great either, something like 124 or 126, but that delighted me. Winning the Nobel Prize was no big deal, but to win it with an IQ of only 124, now that's something.

I'd been back to New York many times during the war and after. When it finally ended, I was the first Group Leader to leave Los Alamos and return to civilization. One day I was sitting in a restaurant on 59th Street. I looked out the window and began to think, you know, about the radius of the Hiroshima bomb damage. . . . How far from here is 34th St? The Empire State Building . . . all those buildings, apartments, businesses, all smashed. Later, when I saw people building a bridge, or making a new road, I thought they were crazy, they just don't understand. Why are they making new things? It's so useless. Fortunately, it's been useless now for decades. So I've been wrong for decades, and I'm glad that those other people had the sense to go ahead and build bridges and roads, and so on.

You've all heard Bob Seger’s lyric, "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then"? It's a nice turn of phrase, but it's utterly impossible. There's no way we cannot know what now we know. Ok? Not so long ago nuclear physics was an amateur game played by a few score professors and their grad students. Einstein was considered a mathematician for crying out loud! Nowadays, people call us what we are if not worse. Society has experienced the power of physics.

I used to walk through incredible Los Alamos canyons and ancient Indian ruins with John von Neumann, the great Hungarian mathematician I'd met at Princeton. He gave me an interesting idea: that “you don't have to be responsible for the entire world that you're in.” I developed a very powerful sense of social irresponsibility as a result, which has made me a very happy man. I'm indebted to Johnny for planting that seed. What do I care what other people think!

Most people who talk about their work on the bomb--people in higher echelons--worried about some big responsibilities. I worried about no big responsibilities. I was always flittering about underneath. I wasn't famous back then; I didn't even have my Ph.D. when I started work with the Manhattan Project. So, imagine March 1939. Germany just annexed Czechoslovakia. I'm close to graduating up at M.I.T, your ordinary undergraduate. (A young woman, Arline Greenbaum, catches his eye as she sashays by. Feynman quickly establishes the Columbia lab by setting in place a stool and blackboard on wheels.) Down in New York at Columbia University are Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard, your ordinary geniuses. (They enter as he exits to pursue the woman.)

Scene One: New-Found Land

Szilard(Hungarian accent, shabbily dressed compared to Fermi. Friction between them is common. Szilard is assertive and direct whereas Fermi tends to be polite, quiet, controlled, and cool.) I know how hard it is to leave Europe, Laura. The history, the culture, the food, but it's safer here for a Jew like you, or like me. You'll love New York.



Atomic Bombers

Laura Fermi(Italian accent.) Eventually, Professor Szilard.

SzilardMuch sooner.

Fermi(Also accented. It diminishes through time, but never disappears.) I tell Laura, we start an American branch of the family.

Laura FermiEventually. Five years to naturalize. Five years as alien. Alienated too.

Szilard(To Fermi.) Niels Bohr told you about the Berlin experiment?

FermiFission.

SzilardYes.

FermiIt excites my curiosity.

SzilardIt excites my concern. Fission means bombs.

FermiDon't jump so fast ahead, Leo.

SzilardThe first step to creating anything, Enrico, is to conceive it.

FermiThere is only a remote possibility that fission of uranium would emit neutrons.

SzilardHow can you . . .

FermiIf it does, then a chain reaction could occur.

SzilardSurely you see . . .

FermiIf a chain reaction sustains, then it might be possible to construct a device that . . .

Szilard(Cutting him off.) You doubt a chain reaction can be sustained?



Atomic Bombers

FermiNot at all. In 25-50 years.

Laura FermiEinstein says turning fission into useful energy "is like shooting birds in the dark--in a country where there are not many birds."

SzilardHe said that about useful energy?

Laura FermiNewsweek magazine.

SzilardWhat do you suppose he says about destructive energy?

FermiI haven’t heard.

SzilardI patented a chain reaction process five years ago.

FermiI heard.

SzilardI assigned the patent to the British Admiralty. You heard that too? (No answer.) To keep it secret from the Germans. We have to withhold discoveries. Ration conversation too.

Laura FermiI go. (She exits.)

SzilardNo one must publish anything significant. That’s part of my plan.

FermiI heard.

SzilardNo public seminars or conferences either.

FermiCensorship I don't like.

SzilardWhat's to like?

FermiPractical applications are not our concern. We leave that to engineers. And businessmen. Science is pure and simple: research is research, knowledge is knowledge.

Szilard



Atomic Bombers

Enrico, our Garden of Eden is on the brink of a war bigger than the last. We have to be concerned with everything. There's more to life than science.

FermiYou sound like a humanist.

SzilardIs that supposed to be an insult?

FermiWe should never censor ourselves.

SzilardWe must always think ahead, think of the future. If we don't government will. You'd prefer our lives controlled again? (No response.) Why don’t you think a chain reaction is feasible within a few months instead of a few decades?

FermiThe chance is too remote.

SzilardHow remote?

FermiTen per cent.

SzilardIf I had pneumonia and the doctor told me there was a ten per cent possibility I might die, I would get very agitated. What if the chance of Germany destroying us is ten per cent?

FermiNuts.

SzilardI think a chain reaction can happen soon; you think it can’t. Should we flip a coin? Let the Nazis decide which of us is right?

FermiYou think maybe they'd put Heisenberg in charge?

SzilardCertainly. (Beat.) What do you think Hitler plans to do in Czechoslovakia? Cruise the Danube? Worship the Infant of Prague? (Beat.) Plunder the richest uranium mines in Europe?

FermiNuts.

Feynman



Atomic Bombers

(Lights crossfade to Feynman entering opposite with a suitcase, reading from a book.) "Two August 1939. Dear Mr. President: Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy. . . . It may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium, by which vast amounts of power would be generated. This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs. . . . Yours very truly . . . (closing the book, toying with the audience to prompt them to proffer the right name, then with a German accent) A. Einstein. Four weeks later, Germany invaded Poland. World War Two began.

(Putting down his suitcase to help establish his Princeton dorm room. He can also push on an easy chair.) I was beginning graduate school at Princeton when President Roosevelt appointed a Uranium Committee whose recommendations led to the first transfer of money and the start of government involvement in nuclear weaponry. $6,000. Washington money began trickling down to Princeton and to Columbia too. F.D.R. set the atomic bomb in motion, but as far as anyone knows, he had a sustained conversation about its political and international meaning with no one.

Scene Two: College Scholarship

(Crossfade to a conversation in media res at the Columbia lab.)

Szilard (A lead pencil behind his ear, he enters in conversation with Fermi.) Then Adamson says . . .

FermiHe's the colonel, Leo?

SzilardThe same. Colonel Adamson says, (Imitating Adamson) "Scientists don't understand the true nature of war." On and on he lectures before concluding, "it generally takes two wars to develop a new weapon. So you see, professors, weapons don't win wars. Morale does."

FermiI did not know that.

SzilardWigner begins (politely, in a high-pitched voice, Hungarian accent), "That's very educational, Colonel. I have always been under the mistaken impression that weapons were essential."

FermiSounds like Eugene.

Szilard"Since they're not, would you be willing to testify before Congress in opposition to the Pentagon's request for increased appropriations?" (Fermi laughs.) Colonel Adamson turns to me, "How much did you say you need for pencils?" "Not pencils, Colonel, graphite to moderate the neutrons, to make them more powerful." "You can have it," he says. And out we go. The three Hungarian conspirators. Enrico, we begin at last! (In his excitement, the pencil falls from his ear.)



Atomic Bombers

Fermi(Picking it up.) What are these rubber ends?

SzilardErasers.

FermiWhy put them on pencils?

SzilardTo correct mistakes.

FermiItalian pencils have no erasers. (Both gaze down the barrel of the pencil. Beat.) The graphite is on its way?

SzilardOne and a-half tons.

FermiPure?

SzilardAs my hands. (Holding them up.)

FermiAnd the neutron source?

SzilardCompliments of the Eldorado Radium Corporation.

FermiThey gave you uranium oxide, Leo?

SzilardLoaned, Enrico. Five hundred pounds. But call it "tubealloy."

Fermi(Misplacing the emphasis.) "Tube a-loy?"

Szilard(Correcting the emphasis.) Tube al-loy! The British code.

Fermi(Tasting the words.) "Tube alloy?" What a name. What should we call our work?

SzilardHmmm . . . (Circling the stage as he thinks, Fermi mirroring his movement, then an inspiration.) How about the Egg-boiling experiment?

Fermi



Atomic Bombers

Hard or soft?

SzilardWe begin uranium-graphite assembly immediately. What should we call it?

Fermi Hmmm . . . (Circling the stage in the opposite direction as before as he thinks, Szilard mirroring, then Fermi’s inspiration.) How about pila. An exponential pila.

SzilardIn English, Enrico.

FermiIt is English, Leo.

SzilardMeaning?

FermiPila! Heap! Bunch!

SzilardPile, Enrico, pile! Your vocabulary is growing quickly, but your accent shrinks slowly.

Scene Three: Princeton Tiger

(Crossfade to Feynman perched on his suitcase beside Arline in his dorm chair.)

Arline Greenbaum(Attractive, auburn hair, slightly younger than Feynman. Also with a New York accent. Frail.) Why did this lady upset you?

FeynmanShe’s a fool.

Arline GreenbaumYou said she’s the Dean’s wife.

FeynmanA pompous fool.

Arline GreenbaumEveryone should have a function in life. Hers is etiquette patrol.

Feynman(He imitates her vocally, and mimes pouring tea.) "Would you like cream or lemon in your tea, Mr. Feynman." "I'll have both, thank you very much, Mrs. Eisenhart." (Laughing hee-hee-hee.) "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman." Pompous fools drive me up the wall. You can talk to ordinary fools. Give 'em a hand. But a pompous fool, a dishonest fool, a putting-on-airs fool. Those I cannot stand!



Atomic Bombers

Arline GreenbaumBy now you should be used to Princeton, tiger. What do you care what other people think?

FeynmanPutsy, I don't care . . . when I'm concentrating. Like last week's seminar. See, my advisor tells Wigner about our work, ok? He's supposed to. Wigner schedules us, then tells Russell . . .

Arline GreenbaumWho's he?

FeynmanAstrophysicist. Then Wigner tells von Neumann . . .

Arline GreenbaumAnd him?

FeynmanMathematician. The greatest. Then Wigner says, "Professor Einstein is going to attend." (Beat.) You know who he is, right?

Arline Greenbaum1921 Nobel.

FeynmanRight!

Arline GreenbaumI thought he was the greatest mathematician.

FeynmanPhysicist. (Returning to his story.) The day before the seminar, I'm kinda nervous. That morning, I start sweating. My advisor says he'll take the hard problems. I'm expecting my first seminar to be worse than Sunday tea with Mrs. Eisenhart, but soon as we start, a miracle occurs.

Arline GreenbaumPretty rare for an atheist.

FeynmanI'm writing formulas, I'm focusing on the physics, and my nerves . . . vanish. I'm a fish slipping down currents, a bird soaring through space. I'm in my element. All I'm conscious of is the physics, the ideas.

Arline GreenbaumFeel better now?

FeynmanEspecially with you here. And you're feeling . . .

Arline GreenbaumLike we're apart too much.



Atomic Bombers

FeynmanNo, I mean, the lump on your neck?

Arline GreenbaumIt comes, it goes--just like my visits.

FeynmanArline . . .

Arline GreenbaumIt doesn't hurt. My uncle said to rub it with omega oil.

FeynmanWhat did your doctor say?

Arline Greenbaum(Avoiding the question.) Finish your dissertation and you’ll be the doctor. (He laughs. Hugs her close. They start to dance, slow and close.)

FeynmanBell Lab came through with an offer.

Arline Greenbaum(Hugging him tighter.) You will be home this summer!

FeynmanMaybe. Frankford Arsenal made an offer too.

Arline GreenbaumYou'd consider an Army outpost in Philadelphia over a private lab in New York?

FeynmanI'm thinking about it.

Arline GreenbaumThink about me! Name one enticement Frankford Arsenal has that I can't match, theoretically of course.

FeynmanCalculating Bessel functions. (Answering her incomprehension.) Improving gun turret engineering.

Arline GreenbaumYou'd prefer that to me?

FeynmanOnly to the extent I prefer peace to war. (She nods. They dance to “Our Love.” Feynman spins her offstage as lights crossfade.)

Scene Four: Industrial Columbia

(Szilard working at the Columbia blackboard.)



Atomic Bombers

Fermi(Down the hallway.) Leo, Leo, Leo! (Rushing in brandishing a letter, full of excitement.) Columbia gets contract!

SzilardHow much?

FermiFirst government contract! (Reading.) "To support research on the uranium-carbon experiment in which a chain reaction would sustain itself."

SzilardHow much? (Turning to the blackboard and its formulae, Fermi writes $10 5.) $100,000 . . .

Fermi(Still reading.) "For metallic uranium and pure graphite for the intermediate experiment."

SzilardWe get more material for egg boiling and the pile.

FermiOf course.

SzilardWe need stronger backs to transport the graphite.

FermiThe dean suggested footballers. (Szilard mimics kicking a soccer ball.) U.S. footballers. (He mimics throwing.) He says they should contribute something useful to the university. Columbia will be first to beat the Germans.

SzilardAnd the Italians.

FermiNot to mention the Berkeley cyclotron. (Pulling another document from his pocket.) This says the President will support us. (Reading.) "Full effort toward making atomic bombs is essential to the safety of the nation and of the free world. If atomic bombs can be made, we must make them first."

Szilard(Fermi remains elated, Szilard reserved.) We have to separate much more . . . (whispering) uranium-235 . . . from the "tubealloy." And we'll need more than minute quantities of . . . (he whispers again) plutonium . . . if we're ever going to reach a critical mass.

Fermi(Still using the letter.) The government also wants theoretical studies at Chicago . . .

SzilardYes.



Atomic Bombers

FermiElectromagnetic separation out at Berkeley.

SzilardOf course.

FermiEngineering studies through Standard Oil . . .

SzilardStandard Oil?

FermiDiffusers through Chrysler . . .

SzilardChrysler!

FermiUp in Hanford, du Pont will . . .

SzilardDuPont! No, no, no, no, no. This will not work.

FermiWhat now?

SzilardI refuse to work with them!

FermiYou enlist me, now you refuse to work against the Nazis?

SzilardI refuse to work with these moneychangers, hand in hand!

FermiGovernment decides now, Leo. It's out of our hands.

SzilardHow do they expect us to work with war profiteers?

FermiCooperatively.

SzilardInstead of working along democratic lines, corporations insist on being authoritative.

FermiDon't you mean authoritarian, Leo?

Szilard



Atomic Bombers

I suppose.

FermiYour pronunciation is good, Leo, but your vocabulary needs work.

SzilardThey'll grab control of everything . . .

FermiWe must think ahead.

SzilardDo anything to make a profit . . .

FermiConsider the practical applications . . .

SzilardAct as if they always know exactly . . .

FermiThere's more to this than science, pure and simple.

SzilardThis is a complete outrage.

Fermi(Shouting.) Leo!!! (Silence.) Czechoslovakia invaded, Monrovia occupied, Slovakia "protected," your Hungary in ashes.

SzilardWhat will I make with du Pont? Nylon stockings!

FermiNo, Leo. Plutonium.

SzilardPlutonium. Pluto: God of the underworld.

FermiGod of wealth.

SzilardGod of the dead.

(Beneath the strains of “Sing, Sing, Sing,” an assistant begins a slow procession upstage carrying a container that is heavy and messy. He chants “graph-ite” as he moves toward the Columbia lab, then offstage as if to deliver his load. A second shlepper, slightly smaller and weaker than the first, begins to cross the stage carrying a similar load with a similar chant. Finally, a third shlepper smaller and weaker still does the same. All three wear goggles and lab coats that grow dirtier by the end of the act. Fermi and Szilard watch them as the lights crossfade.)



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Scene Five: Princeton Industry

Feynman(Also listening to “Sing, Sing, Sing.”) "These principles, at first sight at such variance with elementary notions of causality, do in fact suggest, imply . . . lead . . ." (Lost deep in thought, he drums a pencil in complex rhythms on the desk top. Stops, writes a sentence or two, drums again, this time with two hands to the Gene Krupa solo in “Sing, Sing, Sing.”)

Wilson(Rushing in.) Dick, they want to fund my idea.

FeynmanWho’s “they.”

WilsonI’m not supposed to say “who.”

FeynmanOkay. What's your idea?

WilsonI'm not supposed to say "what."

FeynmanWhy do “they” want to fund “it?”

WilsonI'm not supposed to say “why.”

FeynmanHow come, Bob?

WilsonI'm not supposed to say “how."

Feynman(Raises his hand, palm open, mouths the word "how" as in a Hollywood Western. Wilson doesn't follow.) What are you talking about, Bob?

WilsonIt's a secret. (Beat. Feynman returns to his dissertation.) I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but . . . (simultaneously)

Wilson FeynmanI have to tell somebody! You have to tell somebody!

FeynmanWhy me?



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WilsonI need you. Soon as you know what's going on, you'll have to join us.

FeynmanTo do what, precisely?

Wilson(Taking a deep breath.) Theoretically, there are two ways to create a chain reaction, right? They're trying one at Columbia.

FeynmanThe Pope's in charge. (Responding to Wilson's quizzical look.) Fermi . . . Italian . . . infallible.

WilsonHere's my idea. Instead of slowing down the neutrons so the U-235 captures them like Fermi's doing, we separate the U-235 from the U-238 using my isotron. Enough 235 might constitute a critical mass . . .

Feynman and Wilson (simultaneously) to make a bomb.

WilsonYou know? (Feynman shrugs.) Well, if it can be done, we should do it first. Not the Germans and Heisenberg.

Feynman"They" want to develop your idea?

WilsonThey're recruiting at Chicago, Berkeley, M.I.T, Illinois, here. You oughta come to the meeting.

FeynmanI don't want to do it.

WilsonSeaborg says: "no matter what you do with the rest of your life, nothing will be as important to the future of the world as your work on this project right now." Dick, the war has come to campus even it hasn't been declared by the rest of the country.

FeynmanI don't want to do it. I'm writing my dissertation, I had plenty of war work in Philadelphia last summer, and my sweet girl is in the hospital.

WilsonWhat do they say this time?

Feynman"Say," indeed, doctors never "know." They have no business calling themselves scientists.



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WilsonThey ruled out typhoid?

Feynman(Nods.) Now they're looking at Hodgkin's disease. If not that, then lymphoma or lymphosarcoma.

WilsonLord have mercy. What are you gonna do?

FeynmanGet married.

WilsonCongratulations!

FeynmanThanks.

WilsonArline's a wonderful girl.

FeynmanI think so too. My mother's beside herself.

WilsonJeepers.

Feynman"You have no idea what hardships lie ahead." Blah, blah, blah.

WilsonMothers!

FeynmanYeah.

WilsonI can’t believe someone my age is getting married.

FeynmanYeah. Listen to my special plan. I've noticed--this is very interesting to me--that two intelligent people, clearly in love, sometimes end up angry and fighting once they're married.

WilsonVery perceptive of you.

Feynman



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If Arline and I disagree intensely this is what we'll do: discuss the matter at a later time, okay. Within an hour reason will win out. Therefore, no more argument. Q.E.D.

WilsonAnd when you can't resolve the differences after an hour?

Feynman(Smug. He’s thought of this too.) We calmly, logically, agree to let one of us decide.

WilsonWho?

FeynmanIt should be the older and more experienced one. (Wilson looks puzzled.) That would be me.

WilsonAre you talking about Arline Greenbaum? You'd make a lot more sense if you tagged along with me.

FeynmanI'm trying to write my dissertation. So you see Bob, I won't be coming to this meeting.

WilsonOkay, but it starts at three o'clock. I'll see you there. (He starts from the room as Feynman crosses and calls after him.)

FeynmanBob. Bob! It's all right that you told me the secret because I'm not going to tell anybody . . . (yelling down hall, then to himself) but I'm not going to do it. (He returns to his dissertation.) "These principles . . ." (He begins to drum, rises, checks his watch, and makes a decision.) Oh hell, Bob, wait up!

(Jumpcut as he continues directly to the audience.) By four o'clock I had taken a desk and was calculating the total current you get in an ion beam, and so on. (Conspiratorial with the audience.) Ion beam? I’ll save you the details. But I was working as hard and fast as I could, so the fellows who were building the apparatus to separate uranium isotopes could do the experiment right there at Princeton, okay?

All the boys decided to work on this and to stop their research in science. All science stopped during the war except the little bit that was done at Los Alamos. And that wasn't much science; it was mostly engineering.

(As the lights begin to shift, a tremendous series of explosions.) Pearl Harbor. A day that still lives in infamy.

Scene Six: Chicago Blues

(Crossfade to the Fermis in their darkened basement. They whisper and behave furtively as Enrico reads a telegram with a flashlight.)



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Fermi"Dear Professor. Stop. We need your help. Stop. Arrive Wednesday to consolidate organization in Chicago. Stop. Arthur Compton."

Laura FermiWhy Columbia can't be the center?

FermiWe tried.

Laura FermiNot hard enough.

FermiLeo told Compton how difficult it would be to move 40 tons of graphite.

Laura FermiGood for Leo!

FermiHigh ups say work should not be spread out during a war. Everyone recommended his own institution. One praised Princeton, we wanted Columbia, then Compton argued, "if you come to Chicago, we'll have it by year's end." They decided he was right.

Laura Fermi(Her voice rising.) Chicago is Wild West, Al Capone.

FermiShhhh! Chicago is mid-west. Central, convenient travel, also part of Compton's arguing. Leo's going too.

Laura FermiEnrico, first our homeland at war. Now our new home joins in. American neighbors battling Italian cousins. I switch off radio at news time. I zigzag around newsstands walking children to school. Giulio asks, “Are we fascists, Mommy?” Nella taunted as enemy alien. Enrico, please, something safe and secure in our lives. New York was to be our home. Permanent. You promised, no?

FermiOne last move, Laura, truly. For my work. For the science. If the experiment sustains theory, America must do it first. We live at Chicago temporarily, then return to New York. How long can a war last?

Laura FermiThirty years!

FermiLaura . . .

Laura Fermi



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Or until all West Coast physicists move East, and all East move west. (This is her way of conceding the argument. Fermi smiles wanly.)

Fermi(He hugs his wife.) No one must know where I am going, or why. Say I go on lecture tour. You reach me through the University of Chicago's Met Lab, eh?

Laura FermiMetropolitan Lab?

FermiMetallurgical.

Laura FermiThey turn a Nobel scientist into an engineer?

FermiDepends on the metal.

Laura Fermi(Sighs with resignation.) Find us a nice Chicago apartment, caro. (Retrieves their hidden cache.)

FermiOf course.

Laura FermiWhen Giulio and Nella finish school, we join you.

FermiCertainly.

Laura FermiTake the money.

FermiNot our emergency fund.

Laura FermiYes, no one must freeze these enemy assets. Take them with you to Chicago. (She presents the lead pipe she’d retrieved from its hiding place within a coal bin. With sooty hands, she removes the wad of bills inside.) From Alfred Nobel's hands and guilty conscience to yours.

FermiDynamite. (His hands become sooty in the exchange of money. They kiss deeply.)

Scene Seven: College All Stars



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(Crossfade to the shleppers burdened as before but moving downstage rather than cross-stage since they have now relocated from New York to Chicago. The blackboard is relocated as well. The shleppers again enter one by one, this time to the drum-roll of a football fight song, “Bear Down, Chicago Bears.” They are dirtier than before and continue their procession beneath the introductions that follow.

As soon as the shleppers are established, Feynman marches in wearing the tall hat of a drum major. His baton is a huge slide rule. Each member of the team he introduces wears an identifying jersey or bib with a name on the back. On the front is a large chemical symbol and smaller atomic weight of an element evocative of their specialty or identity. Once a character introduces himself, with foreign accent when appropriate, he or she exits to reappear as another scientist. Litany sections like the following must be rapid-fire.)

FeynmanThe University of Chicago. Metallurgical Lab.

Anderson(Identified with Columbium, 41 Cb.) Herbert L. Anderson.

FeynmanColumbia University.

Groves(76 Os.) Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves.

FeynmanWest Point.

Wheeler(61 Pm.) John A. Wheeler.

FeynmanMy dissertation advisor.

Serber(34 Se. Slight lisp.) Robert Serber.

FeynmanUniversity of Illinois.

Zinn(30 Zn.) Walter Zinn.

FeynmanCanadian.

Breit(101 Md. Looking none too happy.) Grigory Breit.

FeynmanRussian.

Teller



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(1 H.) Edward Teller.

FeynmanHungarian.

Szilard(88 Ra.) Leo Szilard.

FeynmanStill Hungarian.

FranckJames Franck.

Feynman(32 Ge.) German. Nobel, 1925.

UreyHarold Urey.

Feynman(32 C.) Columbia. Nobel, 1934.

Fermi(100 Fe.) Enrico Fermi.

FeynmanYou remember him, right? Nobel, Nineteen . . . (searching for the bright-eyed audience member who knows the answer) . . . thirty-eight. That's right!

Lawrence(103 Lw.) Ernest O. Lawrence.

FeynmanBerkeley. Nobel, 1939.

Seaborg(94 Pu.) Glenn Seaborg.

FeynmanBerkeley again. Co-discoverer of plutonium. Nobel Prize, 1951.

Bloch(97 Bk.) Felix Bloch.

FeynmanSwiss. Nobel, 1952.

SegrèEmilio Segrè.



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Feynman(34 Se.) Italian. Fermi's oldest friend. Nobel, 1959.

Wigner(71 W.) Eugene Wigner.

FeynmanHungarian. Nobel, 1963.

Bethe(2 He.) Hans Bethe.

FeynmanGerman. Nobel, 1967. (Passes his hat and baton to Bethe.)

Compton(Next to last of the remaining scientists.) Arthur H. Compton.

FeynmanChicago. Nobel, 1927.

Oppenheimer(Finally.) J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Feynman(Aside.) Ethical Culture School--my mom went there!--Harvard, Goettingen, and Berkeley. She didn't go there. And I didn't get to go to Chicago, okay. (The scientists--except Compton, Oppenheimer, and Feynman--break from an upstage huddle that had formed after their introductions with the chant, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” and exit.)

ComptonYou sounded perturbed on the phone.

OppenheimerThe man in charge of Met Lab should know, Arthur.

ComptonPrecisely what should I know, Oppie?

OppenheimerOur group theorized a new possibility--a device powered by fusion.

ComptonFusion of what?

OppenheimerDeuterium nuclei.

ComptonA hydrogen bomb. (Beat.) I never thought of that.



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OppenheimerMe either. Its mass can be anything; its potential is . . .

Oppenheimer and Compton (grasping the concept)Limitless.

OppenheimerTeller calls it "Super," concludes we should focus entirely on it. He won't work on anything else.

ComptonIf we've thought of it, so’s Heisenberg.

FeynmanGerman, Nobel, 1932. Heisenberg was working for Hitler. Of this there was no. (Sits in his Princeton chair.)

OppenheimerIf it can be done, we should do it first.

ComptonThe calculations make sense?

OppenheimerThey're still preliminary. It could be 500 times more powerful than fission.

Compton(Taking this in.) How do you create enough heat to burn the hydrogen?

OppenheimerA fission . . . (making a bomb gesture with his hands) at the center of the super (same gesture but bigger).

ComptonAssuming we can make a fission . . . (mimicking Oppenheimer's gesture).

OppenheimerAssuming. Teller got us thinking: If it's hot enough to explode deuterium, wouldn't it be hot enough to explode the hydrogen in a nearby pond or stream? A chain of lakes? The nearest ocean?

ComptonGod in heaven above.

OppenheimerNitrogen isn't much more stable.

ComptonRight . . .

OppenheimerSo it might set the atmosphere on fire too.



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Compton(After a silence.) We'd be better off ruled by Nazis.

Scene Eight: Love Letters

(Crossfade to Feynman at Princeton opening an enveloped and Arline in her Long Island hospital bed. The author of each letter speaks the words as the recipient reads them.)

Arline GreenbaumDearest: Word at last: it's not Hodgkin's, not lymphoma or lymphosarcoma either. Care to guess what? (Beat.) Tuberculosis. At least it's something I can pronounce. Your mother is more distraught than ever--whether with me for having this disease, or me for loving you, or you for loving me, I couldn't say. I miss you terribly. What does our future hold, Coach? Please tell me what's in a name: professor, fiancé, tuberculosis?

FeynmanPretty one: I'm relieved to know the truth at long last, aren't you? As I understand it, we're lucky you've got t.b. It acts more slowly than the others do and its outcome is less certain. We have more time now, so we can stop rushing about so frantically.

Arline GreenbaumRichard--If it's true that "we can stop rushing about so frantically," does that mean we're not getting married? That could kill me too, you know, even if it made your mother the happiest woman on Long Island. I know you hate to write, but please reply soon.

FeynmanPutsy: You're silly when you're irrational. I asked you to marry me a long time ago and want to now as much as ever. We just don't have to run off immediately. I can finish down here, then you can marry a doctor--just like your parents planned the day their princess was born. My mother is . . . my mother. She's writing me heartfelt letters as if I were away at camp. She worries about my career, my health, and my suffering from your illness. I'll quote my favorite parts if you promise to be amused, not upset."

Arline Greenbaum"Arline should be satisfied with the status of 'engagement' instead of 'marriage,' because in such a marriage you are not getting any of the pleasures of marriage, but only the severe burden."

Feynman"I am surprised the marriage you contemplate is not unlawful. It ought to be."

Arline Greenbaum"Since I doubt you sincerely want to marry Arline, I think you are merely trying to please her just as you used to eat spinach to please me."

FeynmanI never ate spinach to please her. I ate it to avoid her ire, which is entirely different. See you for graduation. It won't be long now ‘til we’re married. P.S. Unlike spinach, I like the taste of you.



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(Addressing the audience as he crosses the stage to Arline, Medelssohn’s wedding march fading up.) After receiving my Ph.D., I borrowed a friend's station wagon, put some mattresses carefully in the back, and prepared my Putsy for our honeymoon voyage. (A beaming Arline now wears a wedding veil.) We slipped away from Long Island, sailed the ferry past the Statue of Liberty in New York, my New York . . . (they wave) and married on Staten Island. Husband and wife! (He places a ring on her finger. After a kiss--decidedly on the cheek--he picks her up and carries her off-stage as she throws confetti into the air.)

Scene Nine: Fermi Courts

(Crossfade to Compton crossing the Chicago campus as autumn leaves fall around him.)

Fermi(Rushing on to intercept Compton, brandishing his damaged mail and emotional like never before.) Arthur, look at this! Mail tampering. I could have stayed in Roma for this. Is it enough I learn silly secret names? Surrender camera and binoculars? Have F.B.I. block my short wave radio? Nuts to them and everyone else.

ComptonI'm sorry, Enrico, let me . . .

FermiNo privacy for physicists, no privacy for Italians, no privacy for war workers! If I am trusted to work at Met Lab, why no trust with mail? No rain, no snow, no sleet, no hail--and still no mail!

ComptonMaybe General Groves can fix it?

Fermi(Brandishing the letter.) Maybe he already fixed it: “Professor, do not walk by yourself in evening,” and “Professor, “do not drive without escort to Argonne Lab.” He calls scientists "expensive crackpots." We call him (imitating his girth) "expansive idiot." (Shrugging.) I leave New York to work for what? The Manhattan Project.

ComptonEnrico, please . . .

FermiExcuse me, not Manhattan Project. I work for Manhattan Engineering District. Laura was right. I am treated like engineer.

ComptonBuck up, man.

FermiI'm sorry, Arthur. I'm becoming a monster.

ComptonIt's all the pressure, the building delays at Argonne, the meetings.



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Fermi I prefer to work alone, control every detail personally. If I am meticulous enough, I control the results. I would rather do the physics than pontificate about it.

ComptonEnrico, you're a chairman of the "Tubealloy" Committee. You have to attend meetings, read reports, write others, offer sage advice, guide the neophytes, placate the mandarins, and spur everyone on. (Beat.) The Argonne carpenters decided to call a strike.

FermiAnd I'm behind schedule already.

ComptonCan you wait a few more weeks to begin?

FermiCan the war wait a few more weeks to end?

ComptonWhat do you recommend?

FermiThat I build the pile here.

ComptonOn campus?

FermiYes.

ComptonYou're insane.

FermiIt can be done safely.

ComptonMy administration said, "We will turn the university inside out to win this war." They did not say they would turn it upside down. What if the pile blows up?

FermiIt will not. I build pile up in incremental steps, take control rods out in even smaller ones.

ComptonOur wives live in this neighborhood! My brother told my mother, "If you hear that Chicago has blown up, you'll know Arthur's experiment was a big success."

FermiSegrè told Laura, "Don't be afraid of becoming a widow. If Enrico blows up, you will too."



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ComptonEnrico, we can't do this so close to the Loop. Think of all the other families.

FermiI have. How many have sons in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific?

ComptonPresident Hutchins should decide.

FermiHe understands neutrons?

ComptonLess than our wives, but university protocol . . .

FermiI've planned a controlled chain reaction, Arthur. I'll put a suicide squad on top of the pile to douse it with cadmium-sulfate solutions in an emergency.

ComptonWho'd you draft for that?

FermiGraduate students.

Compton(His antipathy is weakening.) Where are you going to fit 300 tons of graphite?

FermiThree hundred fifty. Plus 40 of uranium oxide and six of uranium metal. You can secure help moving it? University footballers, perhaps? Monsters of the Midway?

ComptonHutchins abolished the team. Know what he told students who believe academic excellence is compatible with athletic strength?

FermiEnroll at Northwestern?

Compton"Nuts." (Beat.) Where would you put the pile?

FermiStagg Field.

ComptonYou can't conduct this experiment in the middle of campus.

FermiUnder the stands, Arthur. Squash courts.

Compton



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(Looking.) When would it be ready?

FermiDepends when President Hutchins decides to start.

ComptonAnd if I decide?

FermiThen you would disprove my theory that handsomeness is inversely proportional to intelligence.

ComptonWhen would it be ready, Professor.

FermiOne month, Professor.

ComptonYou'd finish by year's end?

FermiWe work two shifts, a day team and a night team.

Compton(Long beat.) You're the coach, Enrico. Be sure none of the players gets injured. (Starts to exit, but stops.) None of the spectators either. It's critical.

FermiI hope it will be. (They exit separately.)

Feynman(With a different kind of energy than ever shown before.) The Princeton team grew to thirty. The isotron was supposed to vaporize and ionize chunks of uranium. Once the uranium gave up an electron, it became electrically charged. As it began to move through a magnetic field, the 235 and 238 would accelerate differently, and then . . . is anyone following this? Anyone really interested in the details? Let's just say it was . . . complicated. Then it was shut down. Another approach was supported instead. At Berkeley. We all took it pretty hard. There was nothing to do. (Without a project, Feynman has become listless. Any drumming, pencil tapping, or physical movement has become decidedly legato until, he conspires with the audience.) Then we heard rumors of a secret lab for secret work in a secret place. (He puts a finger to his lips, utters "shhhhhh," and tip toes off the stage.Scene Ten: Beautiful Spacious Skies

(Sound of Copeland’s “Mexican Dance and Finale” from “Rodeo” and crossfade to two men using binoculars to study the horizon above the audience.)

GrovesYou're sure this is the best place to build the lab, Oppenheimer?



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OppenheimerNo General Groves. Not sure at all. That's why I brought you here. It's your decision, after all.

GrovesDamn straight!

OppenheimerAnd with all your experience, I thought you'd know how to make the right choice.

GrovesAffirmative.

OppenheimerStill, there's a lot to recommend it.

GrovesWhat's the biggest problem you foresee?

OppenheimerRelocating twenty-some homesteaders.

GrovesMexicans?

OppenheimerMostly.

GrovesThat’s your biggest problem?

OppenheimerWe would also displace the Los Alamos Ranch School, assuming they're willing to sell.

GrovesOppenheimer, it doesn't matter a good God damn what they're willing.

OppenheimerThey've been here twenty-five years. Parents who enroll their sons are plenty rich.

GrovesSo's government. It condemns whatever it wants, then grabs it for a price. This Los Alamos has possibilities. It’s secluded . . .

Oppenheimer(Cutting in) Your guidelines certainly emphasized that, General.

GrovesFor safety, Oppenheimer. I don't want anybody adversely affected by unforeseen results.

OppenheimerWe're 35 miles from Santa Fe.



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GrovesWhat will the prima donnas think?

Oppenheimer(Puzzled.) There's no opera nearby.

GrovesI'm talking about your people. Scientists, longhairs, largest collection of eggheads I ever saw.

OppenheimerThey know there's a war on, and the foreign ones have a personal stake. They've been a lot closer to the front than me, General, or you.

GrovesI didn't volunteer for this assignment, Oppenheimer.

OppenheimerSo you've said, General.

GrovesThat Pentagon I built is the world's largest office building.

OppenheimerYou've told me that too, General.

GrovesWhen it opens, it will be ahead of schedule and . . .

Oppenheimer(Beating him to the punch line.) Under budget. So you've said.

GrovesAffirmative. We'll have to build an entire town. Roads, electricity, telephone lines, water . . .

Oppenheimer(Pointing.) The Rio Grande.

Groves(Taking it in, then pointing.) And there?

OppenheimerThe Sangre de Cristo Mountains. (Explaining for Groves.) Blood of Christ.

GrovesUh-huh. (Pointing another direction.) And there?

OppenheimerBandelier National Monument. (Explaining again.) Ancient ruins of the Pueblo Indians. Cliff dwellings that date back 1,000 years.

Groves



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How many workers you need now?

OppenheimerTwo hundred . . . (afterthought) and fifty, including scientists and support personnel.

GrovesYou're sure?

OppenheimerWell . . . sure.

GrovesFirst you said a nucleus of six scientists supported by technicians and services.

OppenheimerYes, but . . .

GrovesThen it was thirty scientists for three months.

OppenheimerWell, it's much clearer now that . . .

GrovesNext I heard a scientific staff of 100 and . . .

Oppenheimer Two hundred fifty should be enough.

Groves(Beat.) Figure $300,000 for construction. We need dormitories, offices, labs . . .

OppenheimerClassrooms . . .

GrovesI thought they already had Ph.Ds?

OppenheimerYes, but some have children.

GrovesChildren!

OppenheimerEven scientists put their slide rules up now and again.

GrovesWell, I hope the Chicago boys don’t ease up their slide rules.



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OppenheimerEnrico’s working non-stop.

GrovesThat thing he’s building better work.

OppenheimerIt’s an experiment, General, and theory has propounded that . . .

GrovesTheory, shit! We need results. If it fails, we won’t need a lab here or anywhere else.

OppenheimerI’m quite sure “the thing” will work, General.

GrovesYou seem so damn contented, Oppenheimer.

OppenheimerI spend summers on a ranch over there, but I never thought I'd be able to combine the two things I love most all year 'round.

GrovesNamely . . .

OppenheimerPhysics and the desert.

GrovesNew Mexico is beautiful country, I'll grant you that.

OppenheimerThe Land of Enchantment. (Crossfade.)

Scene Eleven: For Every Action . . .

FeynmanDecember 2, 1942. The Allies await a German counter-offensive in Africa. In the Pacific, marines battle on Guadalcanal. On the home front, gas rationing continues its second day. And in Chicago, the Bears remain undefeated and preparing for a rematch with the cross-town Cardinals. Down on the Midway, Enrico Fermi and his team are poised as well. (Feynman exits as Fermi leads his team into the squash court. Steve Reich’s “The Desert Music,” Fifth Movement, plays beneath the scene and periodically builds to enhance the tension. A single light bulb hangs from the ceiling. A telephone is affixed to a wall. The pile is off-stage with only its control rods visible. The less seen of it the more “believable” it will be. Scene light seems to derive from the pile. The scientists huddle, as if in a football game, and evince the Chicago cold. When not specifically engaged in action or conversation, they are hypnotized by what is transpiring around them, their focus split between the pile and Fermi. He remains calm, in complete control. Tension derives from anyone but him.)



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Fermi(The experiment resumes with a voice from the middle of the huddle.) Zip out all safety rods on your side, Wally. Herb, same on yours. George will handle the last one . . .

(Under the scene, two shleppers wearing goggles remove the rods extending through the entire pile. They are as long as possible; their manipulation evokes the beauty of Chinese Opera. The shleppers become increasingly dirty due to ferrying the graphite bricks. When they later appear without goggles, their faces are smudged, their eyes in stark contrast like the mask of raccoons. After each rod is removed, the increased clicks, ticks, whirs and flutters of the offstage gauges are evoked by a shift in the music. The third shlepper, George, is dressed the same as Wally and Herb. The huddled scientists separate until Fermi is revealed with his 6-inch slide rule intent, as always, on his calculations. He repeats these throughout the experiment, marking numbers on slips of paper he holds dear. Throughout this scene it is as if he were the conductor of a great orchestra. His slide rule is his baton.)

ComptonI'm freezing.

FermiThe rate should rise from 600 to 1200 per minute. (A noise escalates.)

Compton(Stomping his feet.) Just our luck, coldest day of the year.

SzilardYou'd prefer the egg hard-boiled rather than soft?

FermiI'll give orders to George on the last rod.

Scientist/Leona Woods(Referring to her clipboard and calculations.) Look at its sensitivity to atmospheric pressure.

FermiAdd another layer on top, Wally. (He calculates and is pleased with the results, as he is throughout the scene. Some scientists plot the exponential curve. Others refer to their notes, clipboards, and various gauges, but frequently glance at Fermi. Here and below he is pleased by the results of his calculations.)

ComptonYou trust him implicitly, don't you?

Scientist/Leona WoodsHe's the pope.

SzilardEnrico the First.

Fermi



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Two more feet, George. (Sounds intensify. The tension is driven to its highest level yet by a noise loud as a thunderclap. Everyone is scared by this--jumping, shrieking, freezing, stock still--except Fermi, who looks surprised at the others.)

ComptonWhat the hell!

FermiEverything is fine, Arthur. One of the neutron absorbing rods fell. Herb, move it to the other side. Now, zip out another foot. (The sounds intensify.) More graphite bricks. Keep them coming until I say stop. Zip out one more foot, George. (Noises and tension escalate.)

ComptonI can't stand this cold.

Scientist/Leona WoodsPretend you're in a warm climate.

SzilardNorth Africa, say. With a gun in your hand to keep warm. (Compton exits.)

Fermi(Pointing to one of the dials or gauges.) It should level off right . . . here. (It does.) We're getting closer. More graphite and uranium oxide bricks, Wally. (The noises rise. Fermi calculates.)

Scientist/Leona WoodsWhen do we become scared, Professor?

FermiNever. (He calculates. Compton has retrieved a raccoon coat to ward of the cold.) Take up hunting in the Argonne Forest, Arthur?

ComptonI found it in one of the old football lockers. Want me to get you one? (But Fermi is back to calculations, gauges, and meters.)

Fermi(Calling out.) One more row of graphite bricks! At the 51st layer, the pile will be critical.

OppenheimerSo calm . . . even for Enrico.

BetheSo calm for anyone under this kind of pressure.

FermiThis should do it. The graph will rise without any leveling out. Ready everyone? George, one more foot . . . now! (He waits. The loudest and most pleasing sound yet.) The chain reaction has begun. The graph is exponential. The reaction is self-sustaining.



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(Fermi's calm demeanor gives way to a broad smile. He closes his slide rule emphatically and returns it to his pocket. The response of others is utter stillness. The naked light bulb sways just enough to be noticed. After what seems like an eternity, Fermi continues.)

Zip in! Lock the rods in safety position. We'll come back tomorrow morning.

(Compton produces a bottle of Chianti from the folds of his coat. It is passed about with paper cups. Only then does the tension of the day, the Manhattan Project, the War, explode in enormous cheers, shrieks, and cries. Fermi enjoys the collegial moment as much as a reclusive man can.)

ComptonTo commemorate the occasion, Enrico, congratulations. We were confident of your success.

FermiOur success, Arthur. Let's hope we got here first--and will get there first.

ScientistHow much power did it produce, Professor.

FermiOne watt. Enough energy to light up . . . (pointing) a single bulb.

Compton(He picks up the telephone.) Mary, get me Conant and the Committee, please. (Back to Fermi.) Two weeks ahead of schedule, Enrico. They'll be surprised by the news. (Into phone.) Jim? Arthur here. The Italian Navigator has just landed in the New World. The earth was not as large as he had estimated, and he arrived at the new world sooner than he had expected. (Listens.) "Were the natives friendly?" (Pause. He looks at the others grinning.) Everyone arrived safe and happy. (Hangs up.)

Scientist/Leona Woods(Toasting Fermi.) Cheers.

FermiSalute!

Szilard (Approaching Fermi as if to shake his hand.) Enrico?

FermiYes, Leo?

SzilardThis will go down as a black day in the history of mankind.

Scientist/Leona WoodsProfessor, you have unlocked the door to the atomic age.

Fermi



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For every answer there is always at least one more question.

(The squash door opens. A bright and inviting shaft of light flows in as “The Desert Music” resumes. The scientists look at one another uncertainly and then turn to Fermi for guidance. He responds to the siren song of the future by leading the group on a serpentine procession that noticeably accelerates in pace, through the door, into the light, and on to Los Alamos.)

Feynman(Entering in time to observe the tail end of the exodus.) Chicago was no Second City that winter. Especially to physicists. Through the door opened here, everything important was heading west. Manifest destiny. (He hesitates a second, then rushes to catch the end of the chain. He stops in the doorway and waves “goodbye” to the audience. Blackout.)



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Act II: Purple Mountain Majesties

Scene One: Los Alamos Litany

(The Feynmans sit opposite the Fermis. The blackboard, now in profile, separates the couples but the two conversations interweave logically. Spanish music heard during the Oppenheimer-Groves visit to Los Alamos returns.)

FeynmanThey gave me an orientation sheet.

FermiThey gave me an orientation sheet.

Laura FermiOrientation?

Arline FeynmanGoody, Let's hear.

FermiAnswers to questions.

Laura FermiHmmpf.

Arline FeynmanLet's start with housing.

Laura FermiWhat it says about housing?

Fermi"Two and four-family units . . ."

Laura Fermi(Interjecting.) Tenements.

Feynman"Single rooms for bachelors and bachelorettes."

Arline FeynmanBachelorettes?

Fermi"Three, four, and six-room apartments for families.

Feynman "Housing assigned on family size."

Laura Fermi and Arline Feynman



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Heat?

Feynman"Hot air."

Laura Fermi(Double take, then.) Electricity?

Fermi and Feynman(Impressed.) Yes.

Arline FeynmanFurnishings?

Fermi"Shelves, cots . . ."

Laura FermiCots?

Fermi". . . kitchen table, chairs . . ."

Feynman"Electric refrigerator!"

Laura FermiRent?

Fermi"Pro rata of salary."

Laura FermiSounds like socialism.

Arline FeynmanUtilities?

Feynman"Pro rata of salary."

Laura FermiMore socialism. Maids?

Fermi"For occasional help, depending on need."

Arline Feynman"Workers from nearby Mexican villages and Indian pueblos."

Laura FermiLaundry?



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Feynman"Public."

Fermi"Small charge."

Laura FermiPro rata? (Beat.)

Arline FeynmanHospital?

FeynmanRun by doctors!!!

Laura FermiUniversal coverage?

Arline FeynmanCost?

Feynman"Free to everyone."

Laura FermiFrom socialism to communism.

Arline FeynmanLocation?

Feynman"P.O. Box 1663 . . .

Fermi"Sandaval County Road . . .

Laura Fermi"Santa Fe, New Mexico . . .

Both couples"U.S.A.

Arline Feynman Laura FermiThat's reassuring. That's not reassuring.

Laura Fermi and Arline FeynmanWhen would we go?

Feynman FermiRight away! In a year or so?



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Laura Fermi and Arline FeynmanWhy would we go?

Feynman and FermiCan't say.

Arline FeynmanWhat an adventure . . .

Laura FermiWe've had enough adventure.

Arline FeynmanLike heading west in covered wagons . . .

FeynmanTo study intimate secrets of Mother Nature.

Arline FeynmanLiving outside New York for a change . . .

Laura FermiI've lived too many places to change.

Arline FeynmanNo kids to hold us back . . .

Laura FermiThink about the kids.

Arline FeynmanGreat for your career . . .

Laura FermiBad for la famiglia.

Arline FeynmanLet's go. Right now.

Laura FermiLet's not go, Enrico, ti prego.

Fermi(Beat.) No . . . not yet. (The Fermis exit.)

Arline FeynmanI'll just stay in that hospital instead of this one.

FeynmanIt's not so simple, Arline. The altitude is lots higher than New Jersey's. The air’s lots thinner to breath.



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Arline FeynmanMy head will be as light as the rest of me.

FeynmanIt'll be too hard on your lungs.

Arline FeynmanWell then, what's the game plan, Coach?

FeynmanOppie found a sanitarium in Albuquerque. (Answering her look.) J. Robert Oppenheimer. He's Scientific Director, the wonderful man who recruited me, and he’s worried about your tuberculosis.

Arline FeynmanHow far will I be from your magic mountain?

FeynmanA hundred miles, but I'll hitchhike down every weekend. Honest Injun.

Arline FeynmanI'm ready, pardner.

FeynmanGiddyup.

Scene Two: Trained Connections

(At the end of intermission before house goes to half, the audience hears Rudy Vallee singing unfamiliar lyrics about Einstein that precede the familiar melody of “As Times Goes By.” In black, the music shifts to “On the Trail” of Groffé’s “Grand Canyon Suite.” As lights establish, the assembled scientists are seen doing of out-of-synch pliés as if they were riding horses. Some affect Western wear: boots, cowboy hat, and bandanna)

WilsonThat's all for now, but remember: Princeton is a small station. It'll look suspicious if everyone buys a ticket to New Mexico, okay?

ScientistsOkay, pardner!

(The music and riding stop as another company line-up begins. Each actor is a different scientist. Each carries a suitcase or briefcases. A clerk stamps a ticket, the sound providing a button to each request. Feynman waits in line too.)

ScientistOne-way to Dallas please.

Scientist



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One-way to Denver, please.

ScientistOne-way to St. Louis, please.

FeynmanWith everyone buying tickets for somewhere else . . .

Fermi(On a different part of the stage, entering from an entirely different direction and carrying a suitcase and tennis racket.) Roundtrip to Knoxville, Tennessee, please

ScientistOne-way to Kansas City, please.

FeynmanI figured it wouldn't be suspicious if I just went to the Princeton depot and simply purchased . . . (he approaches the clerk)

ScientistOne way to Tulsa, please.

FeynmanTwo tickets to Albuquerque, please. One-way.

ClerkAlbuquerque?

FeynmanAlbuquerque.

ClerkNew Mexico?

FeynmanNew Mexico.

Clerk(Gesturing toward blackboard and offstage boxes.) So, all that stuff is for you?

FeynmanChristmas presents.

ClerkIn March?

Feynman(Beat.) Passover?

ClerkUn-huh.



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Fermi(Re-oriented again, carrying suitcase and hiking boots.) Roundtrip to Yakima, Washington, please. (“On the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe” marks the start of the train trip. The scientists sit on their suitcases in a row that suggests a train. Feynman sits next to his wife. They lurch away from the station.)

FeynmanMy first trip west of Chicago.

Arline FeynmanMine too. (Feynman drums both to and against the sounds of steel wheels against steel rails.)

Listen to this: (Reading from a pamphlet.) "The Los Alamos Ranch School is located near the largest extinct volcano in the entire world." (He pays closer attention.) "Countless volcanic explosions blasting the earth's epicenter high into the prehistoric sky." (They exchange looks.)

"Such a tumultuous past makes this an ideal place for geologists to unearth the secrets of nature." (Shared double take. Feynman stops drumming.) "It is our philosophy that the adolescent period is the crucial one in the life of a boy. If he has every opportunity to build up his health in the most safe and scientific manner he is not likely to suffer breakdown later. . . .

Feynman"Safe?"

Arline Feynman"Scientific?"

Feynman"Build up?" You think that maybe they anticipated us?

Arline FeynmanThere's more. "The Los Alamos Ranch School is a place where boys become men." (Another blast of the train's whistle then the sound of airbrakes as it stops. Feynman rises and pushes Arline across the stage. She has been sitting in a wheelchair.)

FeynmanI'll be back next weekend.

Arline FeynmanWe could cook steaks.

FeynmanYou think the doctors will let you leave?

Arline FeynmanAt the sanitarium. A backyard barbecue on Route 66.



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FeynmanSurely you're joking, Mrs. Feynman?

Arline FeynmanWe could pretend we're a normal married couple.

FeynmanYou expect me to barbecue steaks outside a sanitarium while everyone in downtown Albuquerque stares at me?

Arline FeynmanDope, what do you care what other people think? (She's got him)

FeynmanTime to go. I’ll hitch back after work Saturday. (Starts to hug her.) Kiss?

Arline FeynmanSure. (Gives him her cheek.) Someday I'll be better. (An orderly wheels her away. As Feynman sticks out his thumb to hitchhike, he is met by an enormous blast of a truck horn. Crossfade.)

Scene Three: Conferring

(Feynman joins the assembling scientists, all sitting on their suitcases and facing the blackboard in its new position, which denotes a Los Alamos lab.)

OppenheimerWelcome to Shangri-la, gentlemen.

Feynman(Furtively.) Bob, I thought we were supposed to call it Site Y?

OppenheimerWe've looked forward to this blessed day a long time, fellas. I thought we should get going with an introductory conference to review both the progress made so far and the challenges ahead. We’re all disappointed the lab construction is a little behind schedule (scientists react to his understatement), but some equipment is already on its way in boxcars.

FeynmanIs anything ready to use?

Oppenheimer(With a piece of chalk in his hand.) There's this . . . (pointing to his head) and this . . . (points to blackboard) Now, let me intro . . . (starting to point to Groves, but Fermi arrives, suitcase in hand.) Enrico! I wasn't sure you'd arrive in time.

Fermi(Shaking his head as he takes a seat.) Trains. American trains.



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Feynman(To Wilson.) Bob! Look who's here.

OppenheimerGentlemen, before turning to the hard science, General Leslie Groves would like to say a few words.

GrovesWelcome to Los Alamos, men. We have an important job to do here and I want to impress every one of you with just how inter-dependent we are. That's why you must be vigilant--every day in every way--about what you say and who you say it to. Now, just to help with security the perimeter is being strung with barbed wire.

FeynmanTo keep strangers out or us in?

GrovesBoth. Furthermore because of the grave importance and sensitivity of your work, I’m sure you’ll understand why your mail will be censored.

FermiYou can't censor civilians!

GrovesWhich is why you'll have to agree to it. Voluntarily. You’ll be restricted to the mesa except for one visit to Santa Fe per month . . . (Feynman stands to appeal to Oppie, but is mollified when he hears) unless special arrangements are made. I also want you to start using code. Physicists will be called "fizzlers;" chemists are "stinkers." "Top" means "atom," and "topic" means . . . anyone?

Wilson Atomic?

GrovesCorrect. "Boat" means "bomb," and "topic boat" . . .

Scientists(En masse, a class without much enthusiasm.) Atomic bomb?

GrovesRight again. An "igloo of urchin" is an isotope of uranium, and urchin fashion means . . .

Scientists(As before.) Uranium fission?

GrovesYou boys are sharp. Plutonium will be referred to as "copper," and uranium 235 may be called "magnesium" or “Ten . . . “ Class? (No response.) Tenure! (Still no response.) No, not because you're professors. (He laughs.) Two plus three plus five equals ten, and "ure" is the first syllable of "uranium." Ten-ure.

Feynman



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This ought to give fits to the Nazi code-breakers.

GrovesSome of you get code names. Enrico Fermi?

FermiPresent.

GrovesYou'll be Eugene Farmer. Arthur Compton?

OppenheimerHe's in Chicago with Szilard.

GrovesWhich is precisely where Szilard’s staying. Hans Bethe?

Bethe(Correcting the pronunciation.) Bethe.

GrovesYou're Hank Barker. Klaus Fuchs?

FuchsJas.

GrovesNow you're Ken Fox.

FeynmanHey, Groves!

GrovesGeneral Groves!

FeynmanWho's the Army gonna fool? Illiterates or the deaf and dumb?

GrovesWho're you?

FeynmanBob Wilson.

WilsonDick!

FeynmanRichard Feynman.

Groves



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(Consulting his list.) Richard Feynman? (Can't find his name.) You're so important Feynman we'll call you . . . Dick. (Beat.) That's it for today, men. (Starts to exit.) Now that I'm leaving, you can all start talking like fizzlers and stinkers. (Laughs and exits.)

Oppenheimer(Reassuring his troops.) His bark's worse than his bite. (Doubtful grunts, growls, and barks.) Really it is. He can listen to reason. (More groans.) I got him to change his mind about putting us in uniform. (Responses.) And another thing: the military wanted all information compartmentalized, which would have meant keeping secrets from one another. I convinced them it would slow us down, make it less likely we'd get there first. We need to share our ideas, our theories, and our imaginations. (Moving to the blackboard.) Wives and parents, however, cannot be told the true purpose of our work.

ScientistWhich is precisely what, oh finest fizzler?

OppenheimerA practical military weapon that releases energy in a fast neutron chain reaction. It should be small and light enough to be carried in an airplane. (Hubbub and murmurs, which occur periodically throughout the scene. He uses the blackboard.) Since the energy release in T.N.T. is 3.6 x 1016 erg/ ton, we calculate that a bomb . . . er, let's call it a "gadget" shall we? . . . that a one kilogram uranium . . . (reconsidering) "magnesium" gadget should yield the equivalent of 20,000 tons of T.N.T.

WilsonHow much damage will it do?

OppenheimerDepends on its efficiency and energy release, Bob, so our aim is to get as much energy . . .

Wilson(Persisting.) Oppie, how much damage?

OppenheimerSevere pathological effects within 1,000 yards. (Murmurs. A new direction.) We need to calculate cross-sections. Different configurations have different critical masses. We also need to learn more about "magnesium" and "copper" metallurgy. Science hasn't before, but it will now ask you to think about explosives. (More murmurs.) We also need to study radiation medicine. We don't know much about radiation’s effect on individual human beings, let alone groups.

FermiBob will volunteer for those experiments. (General laughter.)

OppenheimerWe've also got to figure out how to make it small enough to transport safely. Instead of Enrico's huge slow pile, we need a small fast gadget.

BetheHow much fission fuel exists today?

Oppenheimer



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About one-millionth of what we need, Hans. That establishes our deadline: we create the technology to produce the gadget while Site X (pointing in its direction) enriches the "magnesium" and (pointing) Hanford produces the "copper." We should have enough "magnesium" in twenty-four months.

BetheHow much is enough?

OppenheimerEnough for one gadget.

FermiYou think one can end the war?

OppenheimerWe'll find out, won't we. We must discover answers to question that have never before been asked. Now that we're all up to date, I plan weekly colloquia to stay that way. We'll distribute the notes on these conferences when new recruits arrive.

FermiHow many more are you expecting, Oppie?

OppenheimerOne thousand five hundred. (In response to murmurs.) That includes families and support personnel. Gentlemen, please remember this above all else: we have to be as efficient as possible. Wasted hours mean wasted lives. If successful, our work will end the war. See you tonight on Bathtub Row. Eight o'clock for martinis with Kitty and me. (Applause. Feynman moves towards Fermi to introduce himself, but Fermi charges off and another scientist buttonholes Feynman. When Feynman breaks free, Fermi and Oppenheimer are speaking intimately, so he respects their privacy.) Why are you rushing off, Enrico?

Fermi(Exiting with Oppenheimer, Feynman within earshot.) Another train.

OppenheimerNorth to Hanford?

FermiEast to Oak Ridge. You know, Oppie, I believe your people actually want to make a bomb. What if we poisoned the German food supply with radioactive by-products instead? Think about it. (They exit separately.)

Feynman(Retrieving a package from another part of the stage.) I respected Fermi enormously. He was a generalist, the last physicist who didn't specialize. He was inspired equally as a theorist and experimentalist. What's the difference? Theoretical physicists know why and how a widget works; experimental physicists make sure that it does.Most of what had to be done at Los Alamos, had to be done for the first time and with materials that were practically unavailable. Every day I would study and read, study and read about all these things I didn't know very much about. The weekly colloquiums felt like a magnificent final exam with a senior faculty of experts from around the world. Never before--or since--had physicists formed such a critical mass.



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Scene Four: One . . . and Counting (Crossfade to Arline in a wheelchair, listening to "Moonlight Serenade.")

Arline FeynmanDarling! (She sits up. They hug and kiss on the cheek.) I could smell you coming down the hall.

FeynmanIs it me or this? (He moves a package from behind his back.)

Arline FeynmanSteak! Just what I've been craving.

FeynmanNo extravagance is too much for my Putsy.

Arline FeynmanHow much?

FeynmanEight-four cents for two pounds. (Arline whistles.) Happy anniversary!

Arline FeynmanOne and counting. (They blow a kiss to one another. She takes his package and hands him hers.)

Feynman(He unwraps a chef's hat, apron embroidered “Bar-B-Q King,” and glove. The following lines are meant to cover the business of Feynman opening and using his presents. First on is the apron.) To protect me in the lab?

Arline FeynmanA perfect fit.

Feynman(The hat.) Do I look French?

Arline FeynmanWhat a mug. Bernaise sauce too, please.

Feynman(Glove.) What, I only get one?

Arline FeynmanPretend you’re playing first base.

Feynman Just what I've always wanted. Where'd you get this stuff?



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Arline FeynmanI made it.

FeynmanHow'd you find time?

Arline FeynmanWaiting for your letters.

FeynmanOne’s in the mail? (Arline doesn’t buy his lame suggestion.) How do I look?

Arline FeynmanGreat. And me?

FeynmanPeachy keen. Albuquerque's Presbyterian Sanitarium must be treating you well. How do you feel?

Arline FeynmanLike an alien. (Responding to his look of "I don't understand what you mean.") Wouldn't any New Yorker feel out of place here? Sometimes I look out the window and pretend I've returned to the primordial Jewish home. The desert. (Beat.) How's the physics sanitarium treating you?

FeynmanGuess how my driver's license identifies me?

Arline FeynmanBoy genius.

FeynmanNope.

Arline FeynmanRenowned professor.

FeynmanGuess again.

Arline FeynmanAll-American heartthrob!

Feynman(Pulling out his wallet.) My name is "Number 185." I reside at "Special List B." My signature is "not required." We're non-entities, the place isn't marked on maps, and we can't vote . . .

Arline FeynmanF.D.R. needs yours?

FeynmanCan't get divorced . . .



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Arline FeynmanI like it here . . .

FeynmanCan't adopt children.

Arline FeynmanAnd natural ones, Dope?

FeynmanWe can't even probate a will.

Arline FeynmanAs long as we don't leave we're immortal!

FeynmanAnd when the work stops--though it seldom does--there's nothing to do.

Arline FeynmanYou could write more often.

FeynmanPutsy, I'm more of a talker, you know. I hate writing. Hey, wanna see my new toy. (He pulls a drum out of his rucksack, and beats a tattoo on it.) It siphon's off nervous energy.

Arline FeynmanYou can't think of other ways?

FeynmanI play outside and dance around a tree pretending I'm an Indian. (Demonstrating with whoops and hollers--a crazed and impromptu dance--until he and Arline dissolve in laughter.)

Arline FeynmanYour neighbors appreciate the . . . music?

FeynmanI seem to amuse the cowpokes at the dude ranch.

Arline FeynmanAnd the dudettes?

FeynmanGuess so.

Arline FeynmanWhen will your dorm be finished?

FeynmanNext week. (Thinking.) Can I have some of your powder?



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Arline FeynmanSure.

FeynmanAnd some hair pins.

Arline FeynmanWhy not.

FeynmanAnd one of your nightgowns.

Arline Feynman(Lifting her arms or opening her robe.) How about this one?

FeynmanI have a serious affliction, Putsy.

Arline FeynmanWhat's that?

FeynmanLoving you forever. (They embrace.) See you next weekend.

I was assigned to the men's dorm as soon as it was finished. Bob warned me the dorm would remind me of college: two men per room. But if Arline couldn't be my roommate, I didn't want any roommate, okay, so I opened the top bunk, messed up the sheets, laid out Arline's nightgown, and threw her powder on the bathroom floor. When I got home that night, everything was back in order and nobody was sleeping in my room. I kept this up for four nights until everybody was settled in and there was no more danger of a roommate being assigned.

Scene Five: Numeracy

(Sounds of insects, birds, and wind--a desert night. “Blues in the Night” creeps in as Feynman beings to speak and lights fade to black.)

FeynmanElectrons intrigued me. I wanted to understand those little charges so their motion around the nucleus would be less mysterious, though just as beautiful. (He switches on a flashlight. There's another light, then another, yet another, a ballet of light in motion swirling gracefully across the stage and auditorium. Then, as the dance of light concludes . . .) But these? Ordinary flashlights. (As lights fade up slowly, the dancers are seen for what they are--Los Alamos residents trying to find their way through the dark of a moonless night.) Los Alamos had no streetlights so if you had to walk somewhere at night. . . . Scientists don't keep regular schedules. When you love your work, it isn't really work is it? It's just part of everyday life, every hour life, okay? New ideas can develop over coffee, or during an argument. When physicists get together, ideas hop back and forth, up and down, in and out. You start in one direction and end in another. It's like a . . . chain reaction.



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(His perambulations take him toward the lab.)

BetheI've been thinking how boron bubbles could make the gadget more efficient and thought of the following idea . . . (starting to write on the board).

Feynman(Cutting him off.) That's crazy, Hans. Boron isn't fast enough. It's got this damn flaw, you see. You're wrong.

BetheI'm wrong? You're crazy! It would work if I tried it this way . . . (He writes a formula, which initiates a duel with chalk. This one calculates the particle density of boron divided by that of uranium:

B 6 2 93 19 1 2 1 U 10 235 7.5 6

FeynmanThe particle density of boron divided by that of uranium? That couldn't possibly work, either. You're mad. But have you considered lithium. (He adjusts Bethe's formula for the particle density of lithium:

Li 4 3/4 93 19 0.5 1 U 6 235 7.5 15

BetheThe particle density of lithium? That's ridiculous, but it makes me wonder if this might . . . (Further alteration, now computing the time for a bubble to collapse, equaling the velocity of the neutron divided by the velocity of matter:

Collapse Vneutron 1 10 Vmatter √f

Feynman

Time for a bubble to collapse equals the velocity of the neutron divided by the velocity of matter? No, no, it's more like this. (Thus, now considering the radius of lithium over the change in the radius to make it sub-critical:

Collapse RLi 2 0.8Expansion ∆R 1/4 10

BetheThe radius of lithium over the change in the radius. Yes. Yes. Yes! (Both are ecstatic at first over the apparent progress they have made. They jump, hug, dance. Beat.) Even so, it's got nothing to do with my original problem. (Puts chalk down.)

Feynman(Putting his chalk down, sheep-faced.) Sorry Hans, I got a little carried away. I'm always dumbthat way: If the idea looks lousy, I say it looks lousy; if it looks good, I say it looks good. Simpleproposition. I forgot I was talking to the head of the entire Theoretical Division.



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BetheI need to push ideas against someone, Dick, someone to find flaws. Und so, I want you to be a group leader.

FeynmanI can’t lead, I’m only 25.

BetheYou’ll be the youngest.

Feynman(Curiosity weakening his reluctance.) Which group?

BetheTheoretical Computations.

FeynmanEveryone calculates around here. What are we supposed to figure out?

BetheThe gadget's energy release.

FeynmanStarting with what?

BetheHydrodynamics of implosions and explosions.

FeynmanSounds like fun.

BetheSo . . . the pressure squared of 48 . . . (Feynman starts to multiply long-hand) is 2304.

FeynmanHow'd you do that?

BetheYou don't know how to square numbers near 50?

FeynmanNo.

Bethe(Fast and totally self-assured.) Say your number is 47, which is three less than 50. Then the answer is about three hundred less than 2500, so that's 2200. And to find out exactly how much is left over, you square what's residual. So for 47, that's three, squared is nine. So 47 squared is 2209. Got it?

Feynman(Beat.) You know arithmetic pretty well.



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BetheYou have to notice the numbers. (He releases a characteristically booming peal of laughter.)

Fermi(Striding in with a suitcase, wearing a fishing vest, joining with Bethe's familiar words.) "You have to notice the numbers."

Feynman(Rising, half to himself.) Professor Fermi.

FermiHans, mein Freund.

Bethe(Shaking hands, then embracing.) Enrico, wie gehts?

FermiSehr gut, sehr gut.

BetheDick, you've met Enrico before?

FeynmanNo, but I've wanted to for a long time. (Shaking hands.) It's a great honor, Professor.

FermiLikewise. Hans has told me about his prodigy.

BetheYou're just in time, Enrico, the calculations we're doing are very difficult. Dick here is our expert. He's a magician.

FeynmanWhen I notice the numbers, I can usually tell what the answer is going to look like, or when I get the answer, I can usually explain why, but this thing is so complicated, I can't. Let me describe this problem, Professor Fermi, then . . .

FermiWait! Before you tell me the result, let me think. Boron, huh. (Using blackboard.) It's going to come out like this. (He draws on the board: QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressorare needed to see this picture.



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Feynman

Right.

FermiThere's a perfectly obvious explanation. Boron has the largest absorption cross-section for fast neutrons.

Feynman You're doing my specialty, but doing it ten times better.

BetheDick, nothing Enrico does should surprise you.

FeynmanWill you be staying long this visit, Professor Fermi?

FermiI consult with Oppie on a few problems, then back to Chicago.

BetheYou travel too much.

FermiTell me.

BetheYou should move here.

FermiTell Laura.

BetheHow's Leo?

FermiBaiting the brass hats more than ever.

BetheThat's Leo, always challenging authority.

FermiLong hairs and short hairs.

Bethe



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Eggheads and flat heads.

FermiHe calls Groves an engineer, and treats him like one.

FeynmanHe is one.

BetheYou’re a team player, Enrico, Leo’s not.

FermiArthur had to dismiss him from Met Lab temporarily.

BetheDismissed?

FermiThere’s more. We’re no longer authorized to discuss our work or other secret matters with him.

BetheBut Leo’s the one who initiated all the security. Enrico, life’s calmer here. Stay put instead of constant traveling.

FermiMaybe next year.

BetheLaura would like the mountains.

FermiYes.

BetheAnd so many interesting people.

FermiThat too. What about culture, Hans?

BetheEnrico, have you heard this song? (Starts singing "Home on the Range." Fermi joins in as Feynman steps aside.)

FeynmanFermi always fathomed the whole. He was concrete, direct, even simple. When he lectured, the clarity of exposition and the perfection with which everything was put together made it look obvious and beautiful. I liked being called a prodigy, but I wanted Fermi to see for himself that I was capable of numerical magic. (Colleagues enter with mugs for coffee break, handing ones to Bethe and Fermi.) Okay friends, or are you suckers today? Instead of poker, I hereby challenge everyone to a new form of gambling. I bet that I can solve in sixty seconds any problem you can state in ten seconds--to within ten percent accuracy. Any takers? Step right up.



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FuchsYou expect us to soil our brains with humble numbers instead of symbols, abstract and pure?

OppenheimerOkay Princeton, for a buck. What's the sum of the series 1 + (1/2)4 + (1/3)4 + (1/4)4 + . . .

Wilson(Serving as timekeeper.) Go!

Feynman(Beating rhythmically on the table to induce the numbers from his being.) One point zero eight.

WilsonHow accurate is that?

OppenheimerCouple of percent margin of error.

FeynmanWhere's my buck?

OppenheimerDouble or nothing: give it to me exactly.

Feynman(Thinks.) Pi to the fourth over ninety. (Applause as Oppenheimer groans, surrenders another dollar.)

OppenheimerYou win this time. (Pays up.)

WilsonOk bongo boy, for five bucks: what's the tenth binomial coefficient in the expansion of (1 + x)20? Go!

Feynman(More drumming, a different rhythm for a harder problem, then triumphant again.) 1.8 x 105. (More groans. Wilson pays a dollar.)

FermiFor the pot, plus a buck. What's the tangent of ten to the hundredth?

WilsonGo!

Feynman



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(Begins his drumming again, his rhythm slows, then slows further still, finally rolling on the floor. Long beat as he is knocked out.) Nuts.

Fermi(His colleagues laugh as Fermi collects his winnings.) Repeat after me . . . (conducting the others to join in) you have to notice the numbers.

Scene Six: Literacy

Local Man(Crossfade to three Los Alamos townsfolk conversing as “Hoe-Down” from Copeland’s “Rodeo” is heard.) I hear it's a home for pregnant WACs.

Second ManNope. They're doing submarine research. Making windshield wipers for 'em.

Local Woman(Reading her letter in local newspaper.) "To The Editor: Since I live right on the highway, I am fully aware of the stream of trucks heavily loaded on their way up the Los Alamos mesa, but empty on their way down. This is clearly yet another New Deal boondoggle wasting the taxpayer's money!" (Crossfade.)

FeynmanSecurity affected everything! Where we could go and how often. We got used to it. We could write only to relatives and to friends who would otherwise be alarmed by our silence. And we got used to that. So did they. Soon after arriving, mail censorship began. I never got used to that.

Arline Feynman(In her hospital bed, finishing a letter.) "Richard, the least you can do is send your family a letter regularly even if you hate to write. Your dad and your sister have devised a plan to entice you into corresponding. Count me in." (Feynman shrugs, the telephone rings.)

Groves(Lights up on him, stationed between the two Feynmans.) Please come down. (Feynman crosses to him.) Mr. Feynman, what's this?

Feynman(Examining a letter.) A letter from my father.

GrovesYes, but what is this?

FeynmanThe dots around different words?

GrovesYes.

FeynmanThat's a code.



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GrovesWe know that. What does it say?

FeynmanI don't know. (Beat.) It's in code.

GrovesMr. Feynman, do you know regulation 4 (e)? "Codes, ciphers or any form of secret writing will not be used. Crosses, X's or other markings of a similar nature are equally objectionable." Now, what is this letter?

FeynmanThat's from my wife.

GrovesWhat's this?

FeynmanTWZ TX3Q?

GrovesYes.

FeynmanThat's a code too.

GrovesWhat's the key to it?

FeynmanI don't know. It's a game. My family is writing me in codes that they think I can't decipher.

Groves(Thinking this over. Looking him up and down.) They'll have to send the key inside their letters.

FeynmanBut I don't want a key!

Groves(Very quickly.) We'll take it out of the letter before you get it.

FeynmanI'll inform her immediately. (Crossing back to his lab.) "Dear Arline: It's a long story, but if you could write me differently, the censor would be a lot happier. (Just as he is about to sit, his telephone rings.)

GrovesPlease come down. (He does.) Regulation 8 (z), Dick: "information concerning censorship regulations or discourse on the subject is prohibited."



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FeynmanYou wanted her to write different letters.

GrovesYou can't write her about censorship. It's against the law to censor civilian mail. You'll have to tell her in person.

FeynmanSoon as I can.

Arline Feynman(Lights up on Arline, reading a newspaper advertisement.) "Send your boyfriend a letter on a jigsaw puzzle. We sell the blank, you write your letter, take the puzzle apart, and mail it." (She grins at the audience. Beat. Across the stage Groves has the puzzle package in hand, then pours out the pieces. Long telephone ring buttons the beat.)

Feynman(Crossing downstage to address the audience again.) Having fun? See how much easier it is to seek a little amusement that to remember where it’s all going? It’s lots simpler to stop thinking than to keep thinking, okay. We had some fun. We were surrounded by a fence, obligated to wear security badges, forced to live with censorship--all so we could save the world from totalitarianism.

(Crossing back to his room, his chair now occupied by Klaus Fuchs playing a tentative paradiddle rhythm on Feynman’s Indian drum.) You said you’d been practicing. (They laugh.) Klaus, you think we got too much security around here or not enough?

Fuchs(German accent, but some English inflections since it became his home after emigration.) What are you suggesting?

FeynmanSeen the hole in the fence behind the Tech Area?

FuchsYa, sure. Kids been climbing through it for weeks.

FeynmanMe too.

FuchsYou play ze cowboy or ze Indian?

FeynmanMore like cops 'n' robbers. I sneak in that way in the morning and then go home by the front gate.

FuchsUnd so?



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FeynmanThe guards get a little confused. They want to check me off for leaving, but have no record that I ever arrived.

FuchsHow you explain zis to zem?

FeynmanThe usual blithe innocence. Until yesterday.

FuchsJa . . . ?

FeynmanThey confronted me, "You can't leave, you're not even here."

FuchsUnd you replied?

FeynmanListen, buddy, you're giving me an existential crisis.

FuchsNext time, tell zem you're a spy.

FeynmanYou think Groves could snoop 'em out?

FuchsI zink we solve mysteries better zan ze Army.

FeynmanYeah. Who would you suspect around here as a spy, Klaus?

Fuchs(After a moment.) You.

FeynmanMe? Little Ritchie Feynman, a spy? Some friend.

FuchsAnalyze ze facts. What it would take to be a good spy?

FeynmanSuch as?

FuchsSomeone who gets letters in code.

FeynmanRight.



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FuchsSomeone involved in many different parts of the work.

FeynmanSo are others.

FuchsSomeone free to come and go at will. (Beat.) Visiting Arline again zis weekend?

FeynmanYeah.

Fuchs(Holding out his keys.) Want to borrow my Buick again?

Feynman(Taking the keys.) What about you? Klaus Fuchs . . . you sound like a Nazi.

FuchsIf I loved Hitler, you think I would have fought in ze underground, left my family, and fled to England? I think you’re a spy!

FeynmanMe? Little Ritchie Feynman, a spy? (But Fuchs is gone in a gale of laughter. Sound of a huge explosion. Feynman is unfazed.) Ordnance testing. Down in the valley.

Scene Seven: This Land Is Your Land

(Ives’s “Variations on ‘America’” establishes in the crossfade. A group of immigrants marches on, stops, faces center. They simultaneously raise their right hands to begin the oath of citizenship)

New CitizensI hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen . . . (As the Fermis break through the group the others continue their naturalization oath quietly in the background: “that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.. . . I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign, and domestic.”)

Fermi(Laura Fermi breaks from the group amidst their oath and her husband pursues her.) You’ll like the mountains, desert too. (Responding to her glance.) Really. Without my shuttling



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to and from Chicago we’ll be together more. (Laura Fermi harrumphs.) I can help with the children too. (Even louder response.) I think that you'll like it there.

Laura FermiI know that I love Chicago.

FermiYou didn't want to move here.

Laura FermiThat was then. Now is now.

FermiTwo years from now you won't want to leave New Mexico.

Laura FermiYou expect emotions to behave logically? Expecting me to go is one thing; expecting me to be happy about it is entirely different. New Mexico is too remote, too few people.

FermiThe population doubles every nine months.

Laura FermiSuch a round number.

FermiThey have a library, chamber music, square dances . . .

Laura FermiYippee!

FermiWe can ski again.

Laura FermiJust like the Alps.

FermiIt’s so safe the children can roam wherever they want. There’s a fence surrounding the whole place.

Laura FermiFrom the madhouse of fascism to a concentration camp in the desert. We're not even Japanese.

FermiPresident Hutchins is holding my position. We'll return to University of Chicago after the war.

Laura FermiPromise?



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Fermi(Raising his hand as at the beginning of the scene.) Like George Washington, I cannot tell a lie.(He kisses her. She raises her right hand too as they conclude the oath in synch with the other citizens.)

EveryoneSo help me God!

(Jump cut to Los Alamos and Laura leading the singing of “Happy Birthday” by the scientists who enter with a birthday cake as they welcome the Fermis and new citizens. The song concludes in a cacophony of accents and greetings in foreign languages that evokes the Tower of Babel. "Happy birthday, Enrico." "Long live his eminence," "Happy Welcome to Laura," and so on. Fermi blows out the candles. Oppie hands him a fishing pole with a bow.)

BetheA fission pole!

FermiSo many friends make it feel like home already.

Laura Fermi(Her perspective has transformed.) It does, it really does. The incredible views cover a multitude of limitations like no . . .

WilsonPaved streets.

BetheNo traffic jams either.

OppenheimerNo street names.

Scientist/Leona WoodsNo street lights!

Laura Fermi(Joining the game she has unintentionally begun.) No . . .

OppenheimerIn-laws.

FeynmanNuclear families only.

Laura FermiNo . . .

Fermi



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Unemployed.

OppenheimerNo idle rich.

BetheNo starving poor.

WilsonNo vagrants either.

Laura FermiNo . . .

OppenheimerBathtubs.

FeynmanShowers only.

BetheThe Black Holes of Calcutta.

Laura Fermi(Pointedly.) These showers are safe.

FeynmanLos Alamos is like summer camp for boys, year-round.

Laura FermiBoys and girls. I hear we are on pace to break maternity records for a community this size.

OppenheimerOne-fifth of the married women pregnant at any given time.

WilsonHalf the hospital used as a nursery.

FeynmanRural Free Delivery.

OppenheimerAll those birth certificates, "Place of Birth: P.O. Box 1663 . . .

Others "Sandaval County Road . . .

Still OthersSanta Fe, New Mexico . . .

Everyone"U.S.A!" (Laughter.)



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BetheOppie, is it true Groves ordered that something be done about all the pregnancies?

LauraEnforced separation?

FeynmanNope, the Army’s goes to pull out.

(Groans and laughs are cut short by a huge explosion. For a split-second it is mistaken as the gadget going off. The Fermis, as newcomers, are especially startled.)

OppenheimerNight shots. Testing the explosives is all.

(But the mood has changed and Oppie cannot keep the party spirit alive. Guests exit quietly with their flashlights and Feynman returns to his dorm.)

Szilard(Crossfade to Szilard in Chicago, in a pinspot opposite his scientific colleagues, reading from his memorandum. He could be entirely off the stage, in an aisle say, to emphasize his ostracization.) 6 March 1945. Dear Mr. President: Secrecy has prevented adequate contact between scientists and those responsible for formulating policy. The very existence of these weapons will adversely effect the postwar position of the United States and make urban centers vulnerable to surprise attack. International controls should be considered involving Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Our demonstration of atomic bombs will precipitate a race between the United States and Russia. Yours very truly, (signing) L. Szilard. (He folds the letter, places it into an envelope, and seals it as lights crossfade.)

Scene Eight: Beloved Letters

(Arline in bed writing, frailer than before, listening to Fred Astaire sing “Let’s Face the Music and Dance." Feynman is in his Los Alamos dorm.)

Feynman"Dearest Putsy: It just snowed up here, but it's not as cold or depressing or ugly as New York. Clouds roll in across the valley and dissect the mountains. The exquisite vista stirs in me irrational, ineffable feelings. (Beat.) Jeez, maybe I'm getting an aesthetic consciousness or something. Please don't report me to any scientists. I'm still loving you."

Arline Feynman"Dearest Coach. My new stationery just arrived so I'm trying it out. Hope you like it 'cause I ordered a duplicate set for you. No, it is not engraved 'Mrs. Richard P. Feynman.' I thought you'd prefer 'Mr. Arline Greenbaum.'"

Feynman"Dear One. My handwriting isn't as pretty as yours, not my hands, hair, or face either. But now my stationery is. You're silly and cute and lots of fun."



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Arline Feynman"Darling. The blank sheet enclosed is not written in invisible ink nor is it a code. Mail it back with a fresh piece of your stationery. I'm dying to see what friction between the sheets creates. Call it an experiment in spontaneous combustion. Or the yearning of separated spouses. Come soon. I'm light as a feather. Your Putsy, always. P.S. Having any fun?"

Feynman"You must drink your milk and get your weight back over 100 pounds. Don't worry about my social life either. I love only you. P.S. My chest x-ray is clear."

Arline Feynman"Sorry I'm moody. I'm drinking so much milk I've grown horns and started chewing a cud; udders are in the usual place. Darling, I think the restlessness I feel is pent up emotion. I think we'd both feel happier if we released our desires. Come soon. Dance with me."

Feynman(Crossing the stage.) "You are a beautiful woman. Your strength rises and falls like the flow of a mountain stream. I am a reservoir for your strength--without you I would be empty and weak. See you Friday evening." (Arriving at her side, he awakens her with a kiss.)

Arline FeynmanThe music, Coach. I've reserved my special place for you on my dance card. (Gets out of bed slowly, Feynman supporting her. They begin to move to “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” but Arline is exhausted almost immediately and falters.) Make love with me.

FeynmanOh, Putsy?

Arline FeynmanI want to; I need to. (They return to the bed, continuing to move to the music and begin at long last to consummate their marriage. There is a huge explosion, another night test.)

Szilard(Crossfade to Chicago and Szilard gleefully opening an embossed envelope.) "Dear Professor Szilard: Thank you for the copy of your memorandum to the President, which I have read with great interest. I would be happy to discuss these matters with you in my Manhattan apartment next month on May. 8. Sincerely, Eleanor Roosevelt."

(The largest explosion yet suddenly eradicates Szilard’s elation and hopefulness over this response. His joy turns to sorrow. He begins another letter.)

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Add my deepest condolences to those of a grieving world. Your husband served men and women of every nation who yearn for a world at peace. I am thinking of you and your family every moment and look forward to re-scheduling our meeting at your earliest meeting. Nothing is more important to me. With profound sorrow, Leo Szilard.”



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Scene Nine: Wins

(Crossfade to the Los Alamos lab where Bethe, Oppie, and the Fermis listen to Truman’s radiobroadcast announcing the surrender of the Nazis, which leads to shrieks of joy and cries of relief as they celebrate.)

Bethe(After pouring champagne as he listens to the radio announcement, he offers a toast, his German accent stronger than ever.) To Eisenhower and all the Allied Victors! To V-E Day!

OthersTo V-E Day!

BetheFor more than a decade I worried the Nazis couldn't be defeated. You know, until the little man stripped me of my post, I never thought of myself as a Jew. But in ‘33 I was one of the first out the university door, then a hundred physicists more followed, wandering with me in exile. Many landed here. The Nazis handed us a moral purpose for our lives. Now we need a new one.

OppenheimerWe still have to finish the job, Hans.

BetheWe have, Oppie. Western civilization is preserved. The enemy has been vanquished.

FermiOne enemy.

BetheThe enemy.

OppenheimerThe Japanese have more tenacity.

FermiAnd fight to the last breath.

BetheThey can’t stay stubborn forever.

FermiBataan?

OppenheimerIwo Jima.

FermiOkinawa.

Oppenheimer



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Kamikaze.Laura Fermi

(Absorbing all she has just heard, she moves a few steps away from the men.) Enrico? What do you think we should tell the children when this is over?

FermiI don’t know what to think.

BetheOppie, you think we go ahead the same as before? First we test the gadget, then we . . .

Oppenheimer(Eyeing Laura.) I think now is not the time to discuss the future.

Laura FermiI go. (She does.)

FermiAlamogordo will only be an experiment, Hans.

BetheThe largest ever attempted.

OppenheimerAnd likely to prove unsuccessful if problems keep out-pacing solutions.

BetheAnd if it succeeds?

OppenheimerWe report through proper channels up the chain of command.

FermiHans, we’re depending on your calculations. All of us.

OppenheimerThe test date’s been set.

BetheHow soon?

FermiEight weeks . . . and counting

BetheJuly.

OppenheimerYes, Groves targeted the Fourth of July.



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(Bethe turns to the blackboard as lights crossfade to Feynman in his Los Alamos dorm and Arline at her sanitarium. She is singing the last few bars of “Happy Birthday” as he opens a package from her. He reads the headline of a mock newspaper.)

Feynman“Entire Nation Celebrates Birthday of Dick Feynman.” (He reads the accompanying card as Arline speaks its message.)

Arline Feynman"Happy 27, Coach. Hope you enjoyed my latest mail-order extravagance. Please come soon to celebrate our anniversary.

Feynman(Whispering.) Two years . . . and counting.

Arline Feynman"How about Donald for a boy, Matilda for a girl?"

(Crossfade to Chicago.)

ComptonLeo, I do appreciate your concern about policy after the war.

SzilardWe shouldn’t conduct so much as a test explosion until that is settled.

ComptonWhat’s wrong with a test to see if the gadget works?

SzilardAnd if it does, where will that lead? We were motivated because we feared the Germans; it's not clear now why we're working.

Compton(Walking into Szilard's light.) President Truman will decide, Leo.

SzilardHe can't understand what we do.

Compton That's why a scientific panel will hear your concerns--and your colleagues.

SzilardWho's on it?

ComptonLawrence, Fermi, Oppenheimer. (Beat.) Me. We're willing to consider whether the war can end with a show demonstration instead of using the gadget against a live target.

SzilardYou know what I think.

Compton



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Yes, but Los Alamos may not.

SzilardNobody could think straight in a place like that. I'll go down and tell them myself.

ComptonLeo, Groves won't let you set foot in the state of New Mexico! When the scientific panel meets June 16, I'll take the recommendations of you and your Met Lab colleagues with me. You've got ten days. (Starts to exit.).

SzilardJim Franck will help. (Compton stops, turns back to Szilard.) The other boys are confused about what a moral issue is.

Scene Ten: Losses

Feynman(Crossfade to Feynman at Arline’s bedside. “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” plays quietly.) My Wife: I am always too slow. I understand at last how sick you are. It is a time to comfort you as you wish to be comforted, not as I think you should wish to be comforted. . . . This time will pass--you will get better. You don't believe it, but I do. I adore a great and patient woman. Forgive me for my slowness to understand. I am your husband. I love you. (He holds her hand and kisses her a last time. Crossfade to Chicago.)

Szilard(Handing over a copy of the report.) The panel should pay special attention to the sections I marked.

Compton(Reading.) "These considerations make an unannounced attack against Japan inadvisable. If the United States were the first to release this destruction upon mankind, she would sacrifice public support throughout the world, precipitate the race for armaments, and prejudice the possibility of reaching an international agreement on the future control of such weapons."

Szilard(Reciting from memory.) "More favorable conditions could be created if nuclear bombs were first revealed to the world by a demonstration, before representatives of the United Nations."

Compton"We urge that use of nuclear bombs be considered a problem of long-range national policy rather than military expediency, and that this policy be directed to international control of the means of nuclear warfare." I promised the advisory panel would consider your report, Leo. And we will.

Szilard(They lock eyes.) We're sending a copy to Secretary of War Stimson, too. (Crosssfade to Feynman, in the same position and light as his last visit to the sanitarium. Arline and the hospital bed have disappeared.)



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Bethe(From a void, or Feynman’s memory.) Dick, you need a vacation.

Feynman(Crossing slowly back to his Los Alamos dorm where lights reveal Bethe.) I'm fine, really.

BetheGo back to Far Rockaway. I'll get in touch when we need you.

FeynmanHans, humans figure how to live despite knowing that death is going to come: we laugh, we joke, we love. The only difference for Arline and me was quantitative--five years instead of fifty--the psychological problem was just the same. We had a hell of a good time together. (Bethe exits one direction, Feynman starts off in another then stops. As he addresses the audience a pretty dress flies in upstage.)

I must have done something to myself psychologically. I didn't cry until about a month later when I was walking past a department store and noticed a pretty dress. I thought, "Arline would like that." Then it hit me. (Crossfade to the Los Alamos lab. Dim light also up on Szilard in Chicago, a ghostly presence whose shadow reaches places his words and physical presence cannot.)

Scene Eleven: Franck Opinions

FermiPhysics has never been Leo's life.

OppenheimerHe's as passionate about politics as science.

FermiMaybe more so.

ComptonWhat if he and Jim Franck are right? A demonstration on an uninhabited island might save lives.

FermiAnd if it fizzled?

OppenheimerEven if it didn't, we'd lose the advantage of surprise.

FermiWhen will Oak Ridge have enough "magnesium" for a gadget?

OppenheimerNext month.



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FermiWasting it all on a demonstration makes zero sense.

OppenheimerLeo's no team player. He thinks he's Cassandra.

FermiHe's wasting time thinking about the future.

ComptonWasting?

FermiThe Chicago boys finished their assignments months ago. They don't live in the present anymore.

ComptonAnd here?

OppenheimerComplete absorption in immediate tasks.

FermiThere's no time to think.

OppenheimerThe gadget will save lives.

ComptonYou sure?

OppenheimerWasted hours means wasted lives. How much worse can it be than the firebombing of Tokyo?

FermiEight-six thousand killed. Premiere Suzuki says his people will never surrender unconditionally.

OppenheimerAn invasion would cost tens of thousands of American lives, hundreds of thousands of Japanese. Don't we have a responsibility to prevent that?

ComptonLeo thinks we're responsible for opening the door to an era of destruction.

FermiSome of us feel responsible for opening the doors of science. No one stops its progress. If there's fault to find, it lies with those who want war, not those who want knowledge. (He wads the Franck report up and throws it in a wastebasket.) That's my Franck opinion.

Oppenheimer



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Here's my recommendation: "We can propose no technical demonstration likely to bring an end to the war; we see no acceptable alternative to direct military use." (He signs. Fermi nods agreement and signs immediately. They turn to Compton.)

FermiArthur, if the test next month fails, this recommendation is meaningless anyway.

OppenheimerWe’re already had to delay the test date.

ComptonAnd if it succeeds?

OppenheimerReports up the chain of command through proper channels. President Truman has a big decision to make.

Compton(He signs. Szilard slumps then buries his head in his hands.) Do you think there’s any stopping the momentum of two billion dollars? (Compton exits.)

Scene Twelve: All Hallowed Eve

(Crossfade as the desert at night comes to Fermi and Oppenheimer. The stage becomes more open and spacious than before through use of a star drop or by flying out walls. Winds, distant thunderstorms, and lighting put everyone on edge. Szilard, still seen faintly in Chicago, is composing yet another document. Bethe and Wilson join Fermi and Oppenheimer.)

FermiWhy name the test shot Trinity, Oppie?

BetheA holy experiment that reveals a mystery?

WilsonDeath followed by resurrection?

OppenheimerSomething like that.

WilsonShould a chaplain attend? (Dead silence.)

OppenheimerEveryone relax. Teller says the chance of igniting the atmosphere is one in three million.

BetheEdward's calculations always put me at such ease.

Wilson



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(Staring out.) What's this place called?

OppenheimerMcDonald's.

BetheFarm?

OppenheimerRanch.

FermiHow far are we from Los Alamos?

OppenheimerTwo hundred miles due south.

Wilson(Looking afar.) What's the area over there?

OppenheimerJornada del Muerto.

BetheMeaning?

FermiJourney of the dead.

WilsonJornada del Muerto indeed. This wind could lift the debris and shower the entire region with radioactive dust. Maybe we should postpone.

OppenheimerThe weather has to change! (Loud crack of lightening and thunder. Other scientists enter.)

BetheWhat if the gadget fails to fire?

OppenheimerBainbridge climbs the tower to check it himself.

FermiAnother Ph.D. serving science. (Beat.) Let's guess the size of the explosion. I've got a simple little test in mind. We'll have a betting pool. Oppie, collect everyone's dollar, any number between 100 and . . . 20,000 in equivalent tons of T.N.T. Gentlemen, place your bets.

(Each scientist puts a dollar into Oppenheimer's pork-pie hat and announces his number. Another presentational litany with actors assuming new personae as needed. A round robin.)

Bethe



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Eight thousand.

WilsonOne thousand, four hundred.

OppenheimerThree hundred.

ScientistForty-five thousand.

FermiEdward, it's only supposed to yield 20,000!

ScientistI'm an optimist!

ScientistI'm not. Zero. (Whistles all around.)

OppenheimerSuch confidence, Norman.

ScientistTwo hundred.

FermiIsador?

ScientistEighteen thousand for me.

Fermi(Looking around.) Where's Dick?

OppieFar Rockaway. Still recovering from Arline.

BetheDick depressed is just a little more cheerful than other people are exuberant.

WilsonThink he'll make it back in time?

BetheI sent a telegram, "the baby is expected any day."

WilsonHans! What's that going to make him think?

FermiGet his bet when he arrives. I say 10,000. I'll announce the winner afterwards.



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WilsonI hope you can.

Fermi(As the group breaks up, he whispers to Bethe.) Hans, a side bet on whether or not we incinerate New Mexico? (Compton and Groves enter upstage, confer with Oppie, and gaze at the sky as if to alter the threatening weather. Sounds of wind, lighting, and thunder are overtaken by the sound of a celestial harp-- "Waltz of the Flowers." Puzzled, the scientists look to one another.)

FermiTchaikovsky?

OppenheimerThe Nutcracker?

ComptonIn July?

GrovesMust be radio interference. (He crosses down center as the scientists break into groups of two and three. Groves cranks his field telephone.) Governor Dempsey? General Groves here. Sorry to wake you in the middle of the night. Monday, 16 July 1945. (Listens.)

Wilson(Pouring lotion from a bottle, then passing it around. He assumes a kneeling posture.) Here, Teller says it will protect against sunburn.

BetheSunbathing at Alamogordo, in the middle of the night. (A similar bottle is shared among Oppenheimer, Groves, and Fermi. Under the speech that follows, everyone applies it. Each scientist then dons special goggles, dark as welders'.)

Groves(Continuing from above.) No, I can't say where I am. Listen closely now. You might have to declare martial law later today. (Listens.) No, I can't say why. I wanted to prepare you just in case. (Listens.) That's right, martial law. Go back to sleep now.

Official (Voice-over) (Affect-less. Only Groves follows instructions precisely and immediately.) At a long siren, two minutes to zero, all personnel whose duties do not require otherwise will lie prone, heads away from Ground Zero. Do not, repeat, do not face Ground Zero. (One or two scientists lie down, facing upstage. Others follow and turn off their flashlights once they do.) Face and eyes are to be directed toward the ground. (Some turn over.)

BetheBe on the alert for snakes!



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OfficialAt Zero, do not watch the flash directly. Turn over after it has occurred and watch the cloud.

(Some of the men play with their dark glasses and realize the difficulty of seeing one another. Stay on the ground until the blast wave has passed. At two short whistles, indicating the passing of hazard from light and blast, all personnel will prepare to leave.

WilsonAssuming the chain reaction stops.

OfficialRemember, injury by ultraviolet light is best avoided by wearing long trousers and shirts with long sleeves. (One scientist rolls down his sleeves. Another pulls up his socks. Everyone is prone except Fermi. All wear dark glasses. Beat. Loud siren.)

WilsonI am determined to look the devil in the eye.

Wilson pivots on his stomach like a beached whale. Others follow his lead, determined to see what they have created by facing the blast downstage, the "wrong" way. One covers his mouth, another his ears, a third his eyes. Szilard exits wearily across the entire stage, threading his way past the prone scientists. He does not see them; they do not see him. “Waltz of the Flowers” fades away as eerily as it arrived. The stage is silent for the only time in the scene.

Feynman enters just in time, toying with dark glasses, which he decides not to wear. He has missed out on the suntan lotion. After an all but interminable silence--ten seconds, say--darkness gives way to a primordial, blinding explosion of light and the sensation of heat that moves inexorably from the audience to the stage before disappearing into the ether. This holds as long as psychically possible. Each scientist expresses his or her amazement in a tableau that includes wonder, fear, loathing, piety, patriotism, ambition rewarded, prayer fulfilled--or denied--and so on.

As Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” begins, the scientists rise to their feet slowly, focused still over the heads of the audience at what each of them helped create. As the light of the blast diminishes, the desert returns to its pre-dawn inkiness. The final litany is presentational, ceremonial, measured. Actors again assume as many personae as necessary, different accents too. Each exits deliberately after his or her final line)

ScientistWho would have thought it would be so beautiful.

ScientistLike the halo in a medieval painting of Christ's ascension.

ScientistBright as the light to be seen at the end of the world--and at its beginning too. Light that preceded the word that preceded the god who now seems dead.



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GrovesI no longer consider the Pentagon a safe shelter. (Imagining his major general's two stars.) Brighter than two stars!

ScientistIt blasted; it pounced; it bored its way right through you. It was a vision that was seen with more than the eye.

FermiA very intense flash of light and a sensation of heat on the parts of my body that were exposed . . . the countryside became brighter than in full daylight.

ScientistProspero ignored the affairs of state for his love of books and magic . . .

ScientistPrometheus condemned to perpetual torture for giving the fire of the gods to humanity.

ScientistEpimetheus ignored the consequences of actions, both his own and his beloved wife's, Pandora's.

WilsonIn the last millisecond of the earth's existence--the last man will see what we have just seen.

OppenheimerNow I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

Epilogue: The Prize?

(As the Schubert ends, Wilson crosses to Feynman to return the coat and top hat they had exchanged in the prologue. Feynman dons the coat, but carries the top hat, now collapses into a disk. Lighting gradually takes us back to Feynman’s Nobel ceremony. His memories are over. He’s back where we met him.)

FeynmanMonday-morning quarterback is the easiest position on any team to play. It has led me to question von Neumann's idea that “you don't have to be responsible for the entire world that you are in.”

When you're doing science you enter a different world, ok? You're using what you know to imagine what you don't know. You look at possibilities and filter some of 'em out. The wrong ones, the ugly ones, but not at first--this is very interesting—not the impossible ones. Solving a problem is a beautiful experience. Like all beauty, it gives pleasure. Original theory is absolutely beautiful because it is unsullied by experimental proofs, only as finite as your imagination's ability to grasp a possibility, a possibility of possibilities. In the ether of pure science, for finite moments--unexpected and exquisitely profound--a scientist can discover truth.

We were children, then students, grad students, teaching assistants, fellows, docs, post-docs, and full-fledged scientists. But not necessarily adults. Rabi called physicists Peter Pans of the human race: They never grow up, they always keep their curiosity. They get carried away too: You see, what happened to me--what happened to the rest of us--is we



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started for a good reason, then you're working very hard to accomplish something and it's a pleasure, it's excitement. And you stop thinking, you know; you just stop thinking. Leo Szilard was one of the few who kept on thinking, and he was ostracized for it.

When I was young, when I was single, I thought science would make good things for everybody. It was obviously useful; it was good; it was fun. After the war I worried about the bomb. I didn't know what the future was going to look like, and I certainly wasn't sure we would last until now. Therefore one question was--is there some evil involved in science? Put another way--what is the value of the science I had dedicated myself to, the thing I loved, when I saw it could do such terrible things. Have you ever done something wrong in your life? And you didn’t realize it ‘til afterwards? (After taking in whatever nods or response he gets from the audience.) Well, worse that being wrong is the belated awareness that you didn’t even bother to consider the possibility that you might be wrong.(“Death and the Maiden” fades in.) Atomic bombers and their bomb--our bomb, my bomb--ended the war. Peace came to the world around me. And to the world within me--head, heart, conscience, consciousness? Yes. And no. (He puts on the top hat.) Is Mr. Feynman joking? I wish I were.

(Feynman slowly walks upstage beneath the Stockholm chandelier, which fades away. The darkness envelops him.)


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