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A Scramble In Time
Chapter 1: The Arrival
By Feldmarshall Edwin Rommel
"Zo Rommel- Ve make you zhis offer- you take zhis demotion, und zhe transfer to ze Funkgerät erpprobungs gruppe- ze Reichs highly secret Radio Research facility, or you will be stripped back to private, und remain in zhis jail forever- zhe choice ist yours"
This conversation took place three days ago. Rommel thought about the offer for three seconds, and then accepted. At least looking after a bunch of scientists developing radios would be more fun than sitting in jail staring at the walls...or will it?
The Ju 52 starts it's descent toward the snow covered field near Braunschweig. Rommel shivers a bit in his Afrika Korps uniform- somehow high command forgot about warm clothes- something they tend to forget a lot. He glimpses the tops of the Harz mountains- his final destination- through the low clouds.
"Hier ist Adler flug- requesting landing clearance at Braunschweig on 27/09--- errrr- make that 36/18-Scheiss- zhat Harz mountains interference mit ze compass ist doing its thing again- May ve land ?"
"Hier ist Braunschweig bodenkontrolle to Adler flug- go ahead- you are cleared on 045/225- err- make zhat 072/252...."
Rommel turns towards the pilot- "Vell make up your bloody minds vill you- vhot direction ist ze runway"
"Ach entschuldigen Herr General- Ze Hartz mountains ist vell know for interfering mit compasses- something to do mit ein magnetic thingmy that flips over every now and then..."
"Sheessssssshhhh- I can zee zhat zhis vill be fun- juzt land so zhat ve can get zhis show on zhe road ja?"
Two hours later after a bumpy ride in the back of an open Kubelwagen a thoroughly cold Rommel sees his new home through the snow clad pines. Some of the pine trees look suspiciously like radio antennas disguised as pine trees, or pine trees disguised as radio antennas. A powerful hum and loud cracks of electric discharge fills the air- Rommel can feel the hair on the back of his neck rising- this is a weird place.
The door of a nearby hut flies open and a man dressed in a dirty laboratory coat comes rushing out- an electric light bulb firmly clamped between his teeth. He runs around the courtyard a couple of times until the light bulb suddenly starts glowing brightly. He stops, and by turning a bit this way and that the intensity of the bulb increases. It reaches peak intensity, and promptly explodes. The madman in the lab coat wipes the soot and small shards of glass from his face and bends down to drive a metal spike into the ground at his feet- Numerous spikes- each with a small label fluttering from it now becomes apparent all around the hut. The man runs back into the hut, and after a couple of minutes the nearby pine trees starts streaming long trails of sparks.
In spite of his frozen state, Rommel manages to shake his head- "Vhot ze hell have I let meinselbst in for?" he wonders.
An hour later the whole of Sonder fungerat eprobungs gruppe (Sfeg) staff is assembled in the largest hut of the complex- Rommel stands in the middle of the group of people- small puddles around his feet testifying that he is finally beginning to thaw.
The "bulb-in-the-mouth" madman steps forward, his face covered in small cuts, and with a distinct ozone aroma permeating the air around him.- He proffers a bruise covered hand- " Guten Tag -Feldmarshall Rommel- Willkommen- It is an honour to have you with us here at Sfeg- and ve hope that you vill enjoy your stay mit us- I am Hanz Kugelblitz- head scientist"
Rommel shakes the hand- actually just holds it for a moment and allows the cold shivers to go out of control- and through clenched teeth mutters " Itz General, und vould somevhon please tell me vhot the hell ist going on here- Und find me somevhot warm to wear!"
Hanz promptly launches into an explanation containing words such as magnetic anomaly, Bermuda triangle, the lost ark, time continuum distortions, extra stellar wave harmonisation, quartz crystal wave emission and several other words that Rommel cannot even manage to remember.
" Yes- shure- good- whatever- go right ahead- write zhat down on paper vould you- und all of you go back to whotever you do und keep on doing it until I tell you to schtop und somevhon get me a blanket und is zhere ein secure radio somevhere here zhat I can use"
A couple of hours later we find Rommel sitting next to a small stove in the Commandant's hut. He seems to be in a better mood- and the pink wooly nightgown that some kind soul gave him has helped to break the worst of the cold. He has not yet come to grips with the appropriateness of wearing the bunny-eared slippers. The two slipper-like animals still hang from the coat hook by the door where the kind donator left them. Rommel is just finishing a conversation on the radio. His life-long friend, mechanic, rear-gunner, general dogs-body and technical expert is talking to him from far-away sunny Afrika, where he is currently giving advice to the Italian expedition in Ethiopia.
"Zo Shultzie- Do I have it right now- Zhese madmen have found a way to listen to random radio waves of transmissions that got trapped in a magnetic field and would happen sometime in the future... but that they do not quite know exactly when in the future?"
Rommel listens to the earphone again
" Zo- zhey can guess roughly when it would be by waiting for sporadic magnetic-electric discharge and then plotting the time the event will happen by plotting the highest intensity of the beam"
Rommel suddenly realises what the madman with the bulb in the mouth must have been doing-
"How acurate vould zhis be..."
He listens.....
"Ach zo- zhey have about a von in ten chance of getting it right- provided zhat nothing interferes mit ze beam- and any electric/magnetic disturbance could throw their predictions out by 50 to a hundred years.. Himmel- Danke Shultz- aus"
"Vhot have I let meinselbst in for"- Rommel wonders for the second time that day. He kicks out the sodden boots and takes the bunny-ear slippers from the hook by the door....
Outside it's growing dark- bright sparks fly in streams from the pine-antennas. A man with a flapping coat is running in circles with a light in his mouth... Inside a small group of men are turning dials on a gigantic radio- listening to tomorrow by some eerie quirk of physics improbability . . .Words like perastroyika, rock and roll and princess Di fills the air around the small huddle of confused looking men . . .