The Gemini Divergence (45 page)

The Space Race / The
Secret Crusade Of Kennedy’s Camelot

January 1961

While America waited for the inauguration of
their new president, NASA launched a Mercury-Redstone rocket with a
chimpanzee named Ham.

They proclaimed that they were using
chimpanzees instead of human test pilots for safety reasons, but
omitted to say that they were secretly afraid of having human
astronauts shot down by the Raumsfahrtwaffe.

The Soviets were also secretly taking baby
steps into the cosmos.

Listening stations around the globe had
already been picking up human voices from space, speaking Russian.
The U.S. had long suspected that the Russians were using volunteer
pilots as guinea pigs.

Russia, of course, has never admitted to any
cosmonauts before Gagarin.

AFOAT no longer had to modify B-57s into
RB-57Fs because in early 1961 they received delivery of their new
WB-57F versions, which were entirely contractor manufactured. AFOAT
had since discovered that the new WC-135s they had received a few
years earlier were working perfectly on all aspects of their
mission, and they didn’t really need the WB-57Fs anymore, but they
had placed orders for the new aircraft before they came to this new
conclusion, so they eventually would transfer these particular
models over to the control of NASA, for use in prelaunch
reconnaissance.

When President Kennedy was inaugurated, he
was then given briefings about everything of presidential concern,
from the mundane to the absurd.

Of all the briefings, nothing grabbed his
attention more than being made aware of Nazis in space.

Kennedy leaned heavily upon Lemay about the
Raumsfahrtwaffe, since he was the most experienced on the matter,
having dealt with the problem since the end of WWII. He wanted to
know why something so big had been kept so secret.

Lemay explained how many years had lapsed
after the war before anyone really knew what had happened, and how
the sensitivity of the American public’s fear of the Russians, and
the Russian’s fear of the Americans was just a powder keg that
could not handle the stress of letting the world know that the war
was not really over and the Nazis had tricked both nations into the
Cold War and the Space Race.

Not only that, but had tricked them into a
seemingly futile competition using technology that was inferior to
the technology that the Nazis had actually escaped with.

To add insult to injury the Nazis were so
technically advanced, so well defended, and so far away, that we
couldn’t do very much about them anyway.

That, coupled with the fact that the Nazis,
pretty much, just wanted to be left alone and didn’t cause many
public embarrassments for either government, unless provoked;
causing prior administrations to keep the matter secret while
attempting to come to an understanding with the
Raumsfahrtwaffe.

McNamara was stunned, Johnson was in total
denial, but Kennedy vowed to do something.

Kennedy wanted to keep Lemay’s experience
with the matter close at hand, so even though Lemay was a
Republican, Kennedy promoted him to Chief of Staff of the Air
Force.

Kennedy was also lauded for appointing
another Republican, Robert McNamara, to the Secretary of Defense
position.

Almost immediately McNamara and Lemay began
to clash on every subject. Some insiders said that Kennedy used the
twos incessant bickering to siphon out the real truth on any given
matter, and highly regarded both of their opinions, even though
they had very little regard for each others thoughts.

McNamara thought that Lemay was a loose canon
and an over rambunctious cowboy.

Lemay thought that McNamara was an
unrealistic and over idealistic bean counter.

Kennedy floated the idea that he should
contact Khrushchev and the two should re-unite their countries
against the Nazis, exactly what Von Sterbenbach had feared
most.

“If the Nazis want escalation and saber
rattling between the Soviets and the Americans, then maybe that is
what we should give them… or at least the believable appearance of
it.”

February 1961

A lone German Kugelblitzen pilot on patrol
was enjoying the always stunning views of the Earth from space when
he came across a Soviet Lunik space craft in LEO.

The Americans had already been tracking the
Russian craft with radio receivers around the globe, reportedly
hearing an anonymous Russian voice report, “Everything
satisfactory”, from space.

The Raumsfahrtwaffe fighter pilot used his
scrambled frequency radio to contact headquarters and alert them
about the intrusion into space.

His dispatcher replied, “We are now notifying
General Schwerig of the matter, please standby for further
instructions.”

NASA telephoned the Russian embassy and
inquired if the Soviets had a manned object in orbit at that time.
Of course, the Soviet Embassy denied any recent space launches.

The German dispatcher was surprised that
Schwerig actually came to the console in person, flanked by his
usual shadow Graff.

“Does your pilot still have the Soviet craft
in sight?” asked Schwerig.

“Yes, Herr General, What is it, that you
would like for me to tell him?”

The radio operator turned to Schwerig for his
response, as Schwerig turned to Graff standing at his side, “I have
never thought of the need before now, but we should have the
capability to capture these craft when we come across them in the
future.”

“Brilliant, Herr General, shall I have a
project started for you?”

“Yes that will be satisfactory Oberst Graff.
Pity, I am not in charge of the Engineering Division anymore. Now I
have to rely on someone else’s inspiration and ingenuity to solve
‘my problems’.”

“I am sure that you are greatly missed down
there Herr General,” replied Graff.

Schwerig grimaced, because of his usual
disdain for overly dramatic patronization. Then, put his hand on
the radio dispatcher’s shoulder and ordered, “Have your pilot
eliminate the Soviet craft. Make sure that he turns his cameras on
first. I want as much information about their assets as
possible.”

“Ja wohl, Herr General,” replied the
operator, as he then turned to his equipment and started to follow
through with Schwerig’s orders, as he relayed, “Pilot. Your orders
are to first turn on your cameras and record the Soviet craft as
you are then to film yourself attack and destroy it.”

“Understood,” replied the Pilot, as he
flipped on his cameras and dove onto the Soviet Lunik with his
Strahlenkanone blazing.

*~*

Kennedy was being secretly briefed by General
Lemay, Secretary McNamara, Senator Symington, and a representative
from McDonnell Aircraft.

Symington said, “Mr. President, the McDonnell
corporation has devised and ingenious system to combat the Nazis.
It is twin system in which one system is for NASA use and the other
is for Air Force use.”

“Why do we need a twin system?” asked the
President.

Symington answered, “Well, Mr. President,
NASA has only been funded for the Mercury program. As you have been
briefed earlier, Mr. Von Braun has been drawing up plans for a new
Apollo project.”

“Yes, I believe that I am scheduled to take a
trip to meet with Doctor Von Braun about that exact subject in just
a few days,” interjected the President.

“Well, Sir, Von Braun has already realized
that Apollo will be some time before it is online and that there
are a few more experiments that need to be done first that can not
be accomplished with the Mercury program. The McDonnell Corporation
had already been working on a solution for Mr. Von Braun and NASA,
when they heard about our secret problem. They were able to use the
same capsule and station system that they were working on for NASA
and then make some design changes in order to design our first
combat space vehicle. We believe that manufacturing the two
simultaneously will mask the production of the military
versions.

Kennedy turned to Lemay, “General Lemay, have
you seen these plans? Do you think that this will work? …Do we need
this?”

Lemay grimaced and reluctantly scowled, “Mr.
President, this is the first damn time I have seen anything about
this, and though I have deep respect for Senator Symington’s former
service to the Air Force, I am highly suspect of how cozy the
Senator and that ‘Whiz Kid’ warrior, McNamara, have become with old
man McDonnell’s Corporation. Since these three have been meeting
behind closed doors, all four military services have been force fed
the new F-4s… First we all needed the same boots, then there was no
reason why we all didn’t have the same damn rifles, now it’s the
first time in American history that all four military branches have
been issued the exact same aircraft, regardless of their obvious
differences in needs.

In simultaneous reaction, Symington said,
“Now wait just one minute, Curtis”, while McNamara slammed his palm
onto the table and said, “There is no reason that all four branches
need their own plane, I have saved the tax payers millions by over
ruling a bunch of childish prima donnas.”

McNamara then turned to Kennedy and
proclaimed, “Mr. President, he is deliberately belittling us and
changing the subject in a conniving attempt to gain control of the
meeting.”

Kennedy leaned back into his chair and put
his hand on his chin in a thinking position as he grinned at the
two, already bickering, “General Lemay, the F-4s aside, do you
think that we could use these proposed McDonnell craft to combat
the spaceborne Germans?”

Lemay answered sternly, “Mr. President, I
think that it is high time that we are actually doing something,
and as of this moment, I believe that these are the only plans we
have, even though these craft have no obvious weapon at this
time.”

“If we can develop an adequate space weapon…
then do you think that you would have any problem finding volunteer
pilots?”

Lemay chuckled, “Mr. President, we didn’t
have any problem finding volunteers for certain death bombing
missions during the big one. Every fighter pilot I know would crawl
across a desert of broken glass to get a chance to fly combat in
space.”

The President added, “It would all be totally
secret, they couldn’t brag to anybody.”

“That just makes it all the better,” assured
Lemay.

“Well Gentlemen,” announced Kennedy, “I have
been talking with the CIA about arranging some seemingly realistic
but fake confrontations with the Soviets for the watching Nazi eyes
above. They have been trying to arrange some meetings for me to
accomplish these things… If there are no objections, I would like
for you all to start working on this right away, I’ll have to find
a way to fund it somehow, of course.”

The President paused for a moment, then told
Lemay, “Oh, I also have been presented a plan from a paper clip
scientist that knows you, named Volmer, to build an underground
base in Cheyenne Mountain Colorado, to track every object in space
bigger than a baseball. He claims that he has developed a system to
track them. Do you think that he is credible?”

Lemay confidently stated, “Mr. President, if
Mr. Volmer told me he was Jesus, I would believe him. He has never
lied to me, and everything that he has ever built for us worked
perfectly the first time.”

“I concur,” interjected Symington, “the man
is a miracle worker.”

Kennedy, looking very impressed, relented,
“Well then, I would like for you to see it through for me
please.”

Lemay instantly responded, “With pleasure
Sir.”

Kennedy then quipped, “I think that the
Germans are going to start salivating while watching the Soviets
and us, seemingly go at it... Aren’t they going to be
surprised?”

Lemay answered, “I wish I could be there to
see their faces when they realize that we’ve ambushed them a second
time.”

7 April 1961

A Red Army search and rescue team had just
discovered the crashed remains of Vladimir Ilyshin’s Vostok
spacecraft. It was rumored that he was able to orbit 3 times before
crashing to the earth in China.

Once again the Soviets announced nothing to
the world in a vain attempt to veil their failure.

As the crew landed their helicopter and
started to inspect the craft, they were stunned to find blast marks
and holes all over the capsule.

They realized that this damage could not be
from normal gunfire, but must be from some type of directed energy
weapon or ‘DEW’, because it appeared as though the craft had been
struck by lightning several times.

They decided not to tell their young
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who was scheduled to fly the following day,
in fear that he may not go through with his space flight.

*~*

Schwerig was inspecting one of his newly
constructed capture craft with Graff, again at his side.

A young engineer that looked up to Schwerig
like a rock star, was gladly giving him a tour of the young
engineers prototype.

Schwerig commended him, “Hauptman, I must
admit, I am very impressed with your work. At first I had
reservations about turning my work over to somebody else, but you
have proven your worth quite well.”

Graff looked stunned at Schwerig’s praise;
not accustomed to ever hearing any of it himself.

Schwerig continued, “We must deploy it at
once, to be ready for the next unsuspecting Soviet or American
craft that we find in orbit.”

The Hauptman responded, “I am honored Herr
General, but we still have some tests planned for the coming week,
before we had planned to deploy this version.”

“Are the tests related to crew survivability
or to the capture mission?”

“To the capture mission, Herr General, the
craft is a converted freighter, so there really should be no
problem with the space travel aspect of the craft.”