Killing Hitler
A mission with no room for error
Air Force General Philip Woods stands in front of thirty scientists and engineers in the basement laboratory of a university research center in Virginia. Woods has an athletic physique, a shape he has developed from swimming five hundred meters every morning.
“Ladies and gentlemen, today is the first day of 2022, but the last day of Project Butterfly. For the past two years, you’ve labored in this lab to create the most significant scientific breakthrough in history, greater than even the Manhattan Project. Today, we’ll unveil it. Let me just say, I haven’t been this nervous since I had to make an emergency landing of an F-16 on a highway near Las Vegas.” Woods pauses and takes a sip of water.
“In a few minutes, we’ll be sending a man back in time to August 1, 1936, and he’ll attend the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. He will enter the Olympic Stadium, packed with one hundred thousand spectators, make his way to Adolf Hitler’s private box, and assassinate him. Our man knows he’s on a suicide mission. But feels as we all do, that this evil man, Hitler, must be stopped; history needs to be altered to prevent the deaths of millions of people.” Woods pauses, finishes the glass of water, and clears his throat. He scans the audience, takes a deep breath, and continues his speech.
“As you know, traveling back in time changes the future. History will change; some of you will not be born, or may attend different colleges and have other careers or marry other people. After our man has time traveled, a temporal wave will ripple through the universe and reconfigure history. In about an hour, we’ll all feel its effects. Some of you will vanish, and others will be different selves, not remembering this project or the evil man we killed. We know the risks. It wasn’t an easy decision, but the U.S. government thanks you for your dedication to duty, and for sacrificing your current lives for the good of the world.”
The audience applauds.
“Now, I’ll turn it over to Army Colonel Paul Manning, who will introduce our time traveler.”
“Thanks, General Woods,” says Manning. A husky man, he rubs his large hands and stares out over the crowd. “I haven’t been this excited since the Army-Navy Game, when I rushed for over two hundred yards.” He chuckles and then continues, “We conducted an extensive search, and found a military officer of the highest caliber, who we feel will be successful in this mission. Before enlisting, he worked as an engineer for five years in Germany and is fluent in the language. This assignment is personal for him: his grandfather fought in the British army during the Second World War and was killed at the Battle of the Bulge, a death that now can be prevented.”
Manning walks across the room and stands next to a metal door. “I’d like to introduce Admiral George Taylor.” He opens the door, revealing a lanky man wearing a gray suit, blue shirt, red tie, and Homburg hat. He strolls to the front of the group.
“Good afternoon, everybody,” says Taylor. “I’m honored to have this opportunity to save the world from evil. I’ve been in the Navy for twenty years, and have sailed all around the world. I’ve seen many places and met lots of people, from my R&R trips to Hong Kong to those wonderful folks in the Seychelles who helped me when I ran my destroyer aground.” He stops, smiles, and then continues, “With this mission, I’ll be making the world a better place. Let’s get started.”
The audience stands and applauds. The three military officers stand at attention, grinning.
“This way, Admiral Taylor,” says Woods, pointing at a blue door. An engineer opens it, revealing a closet-size room. Before going inside, Taylor turns and says, “May God bless us all.” He enters, and the engineer closes the door and says, “General Woods, permission to proceed.”
Woods picks up the handset of a red phone on a table in the corner of the room and says, “Mr. President, permission to execute Project Butterfly.” He hangs up and replies, “Proceed.”
The audience is quiet as a whooshing sound is heard, followed by silence.
The main door to the laboratory opens, and a doctor wearing a white lab coat scurries in and yells, “Stop! Don’t send him!”
“What’s going on?” asks Manning.
“Is he gone?” asks the doctor, glancing around the room.
“Yes, just now,” replies Woods.
“Oh my God, no,” says the doctor.
“What are you saying?” asks Manning.
“Admiral Taylor's COVID test came back positive.”
Michael Clement was born and raised in San Diego, California. Since 2006, he has made Hong Kong his home. Now retired, Michael writes science fiction as a hobby and has self-published several books on Amazon. You can find him online at http://www.facebook.com/Michael.A.Clement.Books.
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What a story Michael, didn't see that coming 😂