The machine

It was a cool autumn afternoon and the sun had just begun to dispel the fog over the clearing when we got ready for the test. We had worked until the early morning hours to set up the machine. The scientists and engineers were now sure that it could begin soon. Dark and monolithic, the machine towered up in the middle of the clearing. In front of it stood three scientists in white coats. Like priests they stood before their huge altar of steel and concrete. Like a golem on the verge of awakening, towering almost as high as the highest tops of the trees around us. Man-high cables ran like an umbilical cord to the colossus and connected it to generators and other devices.

I didn't know what the machine actually did. Everything was classified at the highest level and a simple soldier received only orders, no background information. The machine will show the superiority of our people and the Party, they said. Only we would be able to build this one machine and that no one would dare question our supremacy afterwards. That is why it had to be tested and made to work today. I never doubted for a moment that it would work. Our scientists were without doubt the best ever to walk this Earth. Our officers and engineers spoke almost reverently about the Men in White. A tone of voice normally reserved for our beloved party. I had never talked to a scientist before and as a simple soldier I had no great hope that this would change. What did I know that these people did not know?
My thoughts turned back to the machine and I thought that I would be one of the first people to see this masterpiece. The idea filled me with electrifying euphoria, I was fervently looking forward to seeing what would happen. But I had to be patient, it would still take some time. Until then I tried to relax. Leaning against a truck, smoking my cigarette and looking further into the clearing.

In the background technicians and henchmen were running around, carrying boxes or delivering messages. The last cameras were set up, which should record every detail with Argus eyes. They formed a ring around the clearing and could therefore observe the machine and the area completely. At one end of the clearing, the bunkers and facilities of the scientists were set up from which they would observe and evaluate the test. Around the machine, several semi-circular trenches ran at a distance, into which soldiers would later go as observers. Behind them, at a distance of about 50 meters, was the area for all other witnesses of the spectacle. A week ago we had generously surrounded the entire clearing with a 3 meter high barbed wire fence, so that no one could get near it unhindered.

The scientists had apparently completed their task, because they started to walk back in our direction. "I think it's about to start," said one of the other soldiers beside me. Agreeing murmurs came from the round, but nobody wanted to bother to leave the pleasant position first. One of the most important lessons I had learned as a soldier was that one had to learn to wait. Most of the time, nothing happened. I survived countless exercises, guard duties and other actions by coming to terms with boredom.
Another lesson was that you had to resist the nervousness and stress of your comrades. Especially the newcomers radiated their feelings, which seized the whole troop. I had become accustomed to paying attention to the elders and officers. When they became hectic, it was probably appropriate. Otherwise never.
Now was not one of those times. Our lieutenant had still disappeared somewhere, and until then there was no need to get excited in any way. I pulled my cigarette again, this time deeper. The smoke calmed my nerves and a slight, pleasant dizziness moved into my head. The other soldiers smoked, played cards and tried to pass the time with stupid jokes. The youngest of them had perhaps just come from basic training, 18 or 19 years old. Children, that's all I thought. I tried to remember what it was like when I came into the service.

My daydreams were suddenly interrupted by the lieutenant's voice. "Attention!", with one quick leap, everyone was on their feet and on their salutes. "Men!" continued the lieutenant, "the moment has come. Today will be the day when we will make history as the greatest nation that mankind has ever brought forth. We can all consider ourselves blessed that we have been granted the honour of witnessing this spectacle for our fatherland and the Party! All men to their posts. Ring One has group Dieschl, two Millers, three Veltz! Let's go!". He turned to me. "You come with me to the back with the other observers." " Yes, sir" I replied. I flicked off my cigarette and went after him. The other soldiers grabbed their masks and helmets and ran to their positions. Meanwhile the sun began to disappear behind the trees.

Craftsmen had built a flat grandstand from wooden planks in the observation area to give the 50 observers a better view of the area. The bunker of the scientists could be seen far away at the edge of the clearing. They had the perfect overview of all of us.
Before that, the commander had given a short speech saying that we can be proud of our service to the Party and the Fatherland and that absolute discipline is required during the test. We should observe everything closely so that we can later draw a precise picture for the party journalists. A loud horn rang out over the clearing and startled innumerable birds, which rose in swarms over the forest and also darkened the sky. Suddenly everyone turned around and looked at the driveway through which two trucks had just driven. Soldiers jumped from the trucks. "What is this...?" I heard the lieutenant say in a low voice before a man got out of one of the trucks. He was wearing a long gray coat and was walking straight towards the grandstand. "Shit, what are they doing here?" said the lieutenant, looking around among the other officers. Surprise and perplexity were written on their faces. The greycoats were the party's secret police. Nobody officially knew anything about them, but there was a lot of whispering. One thing was clear, in their presence it was best to obey your orders and also keep your mouths shut. Only our commander seemed to have already expected or feared the situation and took big steps towards the Greycoat. They greeted each other formally and talked. The commander seemed tense, while the grey coat was almost demonstratively relaxed and smiled. After a short conversation, the commander said goodbye to the Greycoat and returned to his seat at the bottom of the grandstand. The Greycoat moved on towards the science bunker, while his soldiers mingled with the crowd in the grandstand. One of them stood right next to me, but he didn't even look at me and stared straight ahead at the colossus. In order not to attract any attention, I did the same. I saw the comrades kneeling in the trenches. With their faces covered by helmets and masks, they looked little like the children who were playing cards next to me and making silly jokes about their mothers just a moment ago. It had become quiet on the grandstand. The tension was palpable. I squinted at the lieutenant next to me and noticed that his hand was shaking. Nervousness was appropriate. Why?

The horn sounded twice in quick succession, tearing me away from my thoughts. In the distance, I could hear the generators howling. The test had begun. Eyes straight ahead was the order. I stared at the colossus. The smoke from the diesel generators crept across the clearing and into my nose. Shortly afterwards, a deep whirring sound came from the direction of the machine and white mist hissed from valves, which hardly touched the air and disappeared again. The whirring became louder and louder and I felt the vibration in my stomach and on my feet. A metallic hammering and rattling alternated with it. The ground began to shake. Gradually the whirring increased and became an ever louder, higher screeching. The machine emitted more and more white mist and the air around it began to burn red. In the corner of my eye I saw something at the edge of the forest. But that was not allowed, there were civilians there! They must have come from the village and fought their way through the fence under cover of dusk. The glaring red light unveiled the group of men in working clothes, staring spellbound at the colossus. One of them, a boy, perhaps 15 years old, turned his head and fixed me with his gaze. He had short, blond hair that looked flaming when bathed in the red light. He grinned at me.

I wanted to turn to the lieutenant and report when suddenly everything became dull and the screeching degenerated into a loud beeping. All around me people began to stagger, some fell down. My vision became blurred, my feet escaped. All I could see in front of me was a blurred, blood-red column of blazing air, from which diabolic lightning struck the surroundings. I heard distant cries and screams that penetrated through the beeping. I tried to get up to get my bearings and get a better overview. The earth was completely scorched up to over the first row of trenches, the soldiers inside had completely disappeared except for their helmets. The soldiers in the second row lay motionless on the ground, one of the comrades behind them was walking around aimlessly and dazed. He was struck by lightning, which instantly transformed him into a cloud of pink mist. Fragments of him flew around and ended up somewhere in the grass. A staccato of lightning hammered relentlessly into the clearing, leaving nothing but burnt earth and mist. One of the soldiers in the third trench lay on the ground, desperately trying to get up, but he was missing his legs, which were only visible as a dark, shiny mass on the ground. Another ran aimlessly forward, his face melded with the mask into a shapeless mixture. A lightning bolt struck him and his entrails spread over the floor like thick mustard. The air smelled burnt and metallic. Next to me, one of the officers vomited. Blood spilled from his eyes as he collapsed with a blank stare. I looked around, the grey coat next to me had disappeared. All around me, dazed figures staggered around and bumped into each other. The lieutenant stood up from the floor next to me and turned to me. He opened his mouth to shout something to me that I could not understand. Suddenly incredible heat hit me, it became glaringly bright, and where the lieutenant was standing just a moment ago there was only a pink haze. The heat ran stickily and fluidly down my face. Like paralyzed, I stopped, unable to process what had just happened. I tasted blood. I reflexively wiped my face. I looked at my hand and at the lumps of bones, hair and brain that had gathered in it. The beeping had given way to the loud screeching and I could hear the screams even louder. I was seized by a migraine that was driving me mindless. I had to get away from there. I turned around and ran to the edge of the grandstand.
An arc buzzed above me, cutting down a group of trees as if they were matches. I stumbled over bodies on the boards that lay there curled up or staggeringly bent and vomiting. I jumped over the handrail and landed in the bushes, looking up at the sky. The woods lay there, blood red. My heart was racing, I could feel my pulse. What was that? What was going on here? Get out of here! But where to? The villagers must have come through a hole in the fence! I turned on my stomach and jumped up. I had to go to where I had last seen them. A bright red arc ran behind me across the clearing, vaporizing everything in its path. A vehicle exploded and a group of burning soldiers ran around. Mercilessly the machine continued to hammer at the clearing with its lightning bolts, the thunder and screeching covering the screams of the men at its mercy. My lungs were burning. Blood splatters on the leaves, burnt flesh. The machine had raged here too. I ran on to the fence. When I got to the fence, I panicked and searched up and down to find the hole. It had to be here somewhere! The headache felt like my skull was about to burst. I walked back and forth while the shining colossus in the clearing turned the whole forest into a ghostly twitching blood-red nightmare. At last I found it, a hollow under the fence, just big enough for a man to get under. I took off my helmet and pistol belt and pushed my way through the hollow to the other side. I quickly pulled them under the fence and ran as fast as I could. The branches of the pine trees whipped me in the face, the bushes cut into my uniform and hands. Anyway, go on. It turned dark.

I awoke from complete darkness at the forest floor. My muscles burned and the cuts on my arms itched. My fingers felt the cold, damp earth beneath the crust of blood and dirt that clung to them. I took a deep breath and had to cough. It was night, I could see the stars through the treetops. Without moving my head, I looked around. My forehead was on fire. I touched it with my fingers, only to regret it immediately. I must have fallen and hit my head. The wound burned like fire, but the headache was gone. No helmet would help there, I thought to myself and had to laugh involuntarily. I kept laughing and could not stop until my phrenic hurt and there were tears in my eyes. My laughter turned into a convulsive crying. This incredible powerlessness and the horror of what I had just experienced overwhelmed me and I screamed. I screamed until I had to cough and throw up. Completely thoughtlessly I lay there gasping and spitting. The taste of the vomit was corrosively sour and slightly metallic. And then I just stared up at the air. Suddenly I noticed that there was silence in the forest. There was no sound coming through the trees, no wind, no chirping, nothing. Above me, only the stars in a sky bathed in red. From the direction of the clearing an infinite column of red light stretched out into the night sky. I took a deep breath and smelled a pungent, metallic smell of ozone and nosebleed. I wiped my nose, but nothing came. Again I looked into nothingness, crouching on the forest floor.
I began to think what I should do. I had left my post AWOL during the test. But probably everyone who would have noticed was dead anyway. What if they weren't? What if there were survivors? I had to go back and save them.

I hoisted myself up on both legs and slowly and unsteadily raised my upper body. I was hurting all over. As I took my first step, I realised that I had probably pulled some tendon in my thigh. Half limping, I walked towards the big red column.