Part 91 (1/2)

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

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

'Please explain,' Kammler ordered icily.

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

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

'It will fly away automatically,' Wilson replied.

'How come?'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'Yes,' Kammler agreed.

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

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