– What is it? – Ruthra dared to ask.
– It's a general concept of the problem of humanity," Zhidkov replied calmly, looking at the opposite wall. – It's not just a fantasy. A thermonuclear dirty bomb could fill the atmosphere with radioactive substances, destroying all life on the planet. Sometimes a doomsday machine is also referred to as a system that is supposed to launch an automatic nuclear salvo if a nuclear attack is detected, like the Perimeter system.
– I understand. But, uh.
– So listen up. A key feature of the doomsday machine is its publicity, designed to prevent a preemptive strike that would result in the automatic destruction of all warring parties. In the movie Dr. Strangelove, the Soviets fail to announce the machine's existence in time, thus destroying all of its positive effects. Have you seen it?
– Watched it," Rutra replied a bit stretched out. – There, American General Jack Ripper, obsessed with anti-communist paranoia, initiates a nuclear attack on the USSR, which is carried out by means of strategic bombers. It is only then that Soviet ambassador Alexei Sadetsky reports the existence of a doomsday machine. Despite the joint efforts of the U.S. and USSR, and thanks to the courage and determination of the bomber crew, one plane, whose radio communications have been damaged by the Soviet air defense system, drops a bomb on the Soviet military base in Kotlas.
Vasilievich nodded in understanding and added:
– The doomsday machine works. But the movie "The One" shows a different scenario.
Ruthra looked at his superior, smiled slightly, and began to quote:
– If we have ten million megatons for each other, what difference does it make where they come from? Everyone will die! Why spend billions on missiles and control computers? As soon as we detect the first Soviet missile fired at us, we'll blow up New York, Texas and Florida. You're doomed!
Vasilievich liked the fact that Rutra was entering into a dialog. He began to talk more animatedly:
– In Chapter 11, Richard discovers the "major American secret": it turns out that American missiles have no control systems, not even engines. Only the warheads on these missiles are real, and the rest is "cardboard and paint". Their simultaneous detonation will cause a doomsday machine effect, no matter whether they explode on their own territory or on someone else's.
In the movie War Games, the term "doomsday machine" is not directly used, but a fully automatic nuclear strike response system is described. An experiment conducted showed that many missileers were not prepared to launch missiles in response to a nuclear strike. Believing that they have selected "quite reliable people" and that "the problem is not in them, but in what we require of them," the U.S. Army leadership decides to replace the people on the launchers with automatic devices. The attack is to be ordered by the president. Did you watch it?
– No," Ruthra answered honestly.
He had already realized that the chief would cite all cases that described variants of the apocalypse, and pre-programmed ones at that.
– In the movie, high school hacker David Lightman, trying to infiltrate the network of a computer game company, makes successive phone calls looking for modems with the terminal input of Joshua, an artificial personality inserted into the Crystal Palace's mainframe. Coincidentally, "Joshua" is the call sign and slang designation of the North American Joint Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD. Thinking that he has safely penetrated the company's computers, David launches the program "World Thermonuclear War", which is actually a simulated training and debugging program that creates a complete illusion of a Soviet nuclear attack on the terminals in the Crystal Palace. The military decides to hold off on launching a retaliatory strike until there is direct confirmation of the attack, i.e. the destruction of the first military base, which of course does not happen. However, Joshua is seriously carried away by the process of the "game" and intends to go through it to the end, launching real American missiles at the USSR. He manages to stop him thanks to the fact that he is a joint program, able to extend his experience gained in one area of activity to other areas. David forces Joshua to play countless games of tic-tac-toe with himself, thus leading the computer to the conclusion that some games are fundamentally impossible to win. Generalizing his newfound experience, Joshua tries it on the game "World Thermonuclear War" and, analyzing countless variations of strikes and counterstrikes, becomes convinced that in this game both sides are always destroyed. With the words "Strange game! The only winning strategy is not to play at all," Joshua abandons his original intention.
Vasilievich stopped talking, and looked at Rutra. Rutra understood what all this story was about, but he still didn't understand what it had to do with the past videoconference. The chief was silent, so he decided to ask about the essence of the story.
– Do you believe there is a realistic possibility of such a program?
– It's called Perimeter. Let's go, you must thoroughly understand the subject and know it thoroughly. It's gonna be a big job.
One could guess from the expression on Vasilievich's face that he was pleased that Rutra had asked the question.
They got up and went to the elevator, took it up and went out into the courtyard of the research institute. A service car came to pick them up. The license plates bore the code 39 – the vehicle code of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Its functions include control over the maintenance, development, and operation of Russia's nuclear arsenal. Everyone in the car was silent, as if that was the way it was supposed to be.
At last we arrived at Bolshaya Znamensky Lane, house No. 19.
Two junior officers met them, calmly, dryly, and led them through the gate without checking their documents. The officer on duty looked carefully at the monitor, the system beeped, then he nodded to the escorts, and everyone went through.
The guests were led into a small office where a thin man with the rank of lieutenant general sat behind a long desk.
– Fyodor Ivanovich Sukhov," he introduced himself.
– Yury V. Zhemchuzhny, Senior Inspector at the UN of the Main Department of Control and Oversight Activities of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.
Ruthra was a little taken aback that he had to come here so soon and unexpectedly, and in a role he did not know. He had already heard about Vasilievich's methods of work and yet he did not know which name to use. His boss saved him. At that, he looked sternly at Rutra.
– My deputy," he said, pointing to Rutra.
– Paskhovsky Artur Lvovich," Rutra introduced himself.
In the car, he was handed fictitious documents. Due to the rush, he was a bit disoriented, but deciphered the situation.
They said hello and settled into their chairs.
– Now my assistant will tell you a little about our department," the general said, pointing to his assistant.
The young captain, electronic pointer in hand, stood at the wall with the telepanel and began to narrate, while at the same time moving the pointer across the panel, on which various images appeared that related to his story.
– A little general information," he began. – The tasks of the 12th Main Directorate are to study the destructive factors of nuclear explosions and to develop means and methods of atomic defense for troops and the population. Nuclear munitions were assembled in the following military units. We have prepared a printout for you.
"Claimed the news," thought Ruthra.
– The number of central nuclear weapons bases doubled in the ten years following their transfer to the Department of Defense.
– Excuse me, excuse me," Zhidkov interrupted him. – All these objects need to be checked?
– According to the topic you are interested in and the way the question is posed, in any regime point, especially those related to nuclear weapons, a hidden, disguised signal source can be installed. I mean, there is a technical possibility,