| |
OCTOBER 28, 1943
Observation Ship Rainbow,
150 yards off the starboard bow of the U.S.S. Eldridge, Destroyer Escort 173
17:15Hours/ 5:15 P.M.
200 Miles off the coast of the Eastern United States and the Philadelphia Navel Yard
Final Test—Project Rainbow
“Power up to all generators,” Lieutenant Hamilton broadcast the order over the observation ship Rainbow’s radio.
“Yes, sir,” The new crewman radioed back from the radio room of the Eldridge. “Power is up.”
The Eldridge had returned to port after the first experiment and a new crew had been assigned, replacing those who were now reassigned to land-based duties. The previous crew members were separated and placed in positions at bases across the United States, where they were kept under close scrutiny by the Navy’s doctors. They appeared to have had no long term ill effects from the first experiments aboard the Eldridge. And although their daily activities were monitored, they were not encumbered.
The generators aboard the Eldridge had been reset. All the wiring, fuses, tubes, and the ship itself, had been tested and retested for any leaks, cracks or structural integrities. Lieutenant Hamilton and the Navy were convinced all was in order.
“Eldridge. This is Lieutenant Hamilton. We will now begin radio silence. We will contact you again at the end of the experiment.”
“This is the USS Eldridge. Radio silence to begin.”
“Radio silence to begin in five, four...” Lieutenant Hamilton counted down. “Three, two, one.” There was, of course, no confirmation from the Eldridge.
From the observation ship Rainbow, now anchored three hundred yards from the Eldridge—considerably farther away than on the first experiment—and absent most of the crew, sailing with only a skeleton staff aboard, a seaman monitored a panel, showing the building electromagnetic field surrounding the Eldridge. Below deck, technicians listened in as the slow growing groan of the generators built, as they powered up to maximum output.
The monitoring instrumentation clearly showed a mounting magnetic field forming around the Eldridge. The slow build was right on course. “How are we doing?” Lieutenant Hamilton asked a young crewman.
“No anomalies, sir.”
Lieutenant Hamilton smiled and nodded his approval to the crewman. He and the Navy were convinced that they could pull off the experiment without any of the initial scientists along. Secrecy was a key factor to the project, and as far as Einstein and the others who had worked on the first experiment in the project were concerned, the Eldridge had been refitted and was now back into regular service. Its crew had suffered no long-term ill affects from the first experiment and all were back to their original duties.
“Generators reaching half power, sir,” the young crewman monotoned.
The waters surrounding the Eldridge began to smooth out. Waves that approached the ship slowed and flattened, as they neared. The electromagnetic field had already encircled the ship and the green fog seen building during the first experiment had begun to form once again at the water line of the ship.
“Very good,” Lieutenant Hamilton responded with as much enthusiasm as the crewman. “Maintain a slow and steady...” Before the Lieutenant could finish the command, a blinding, bright blue light flashed from the Eldridge, lighting up the day lit sky, as though thousands of flashbulbs had popped simultaneously.
The stunned silence aboard the observation ship Rainbow was broken as the crew’s eyes adjusted from the searing flash to the normal brightness of the day.
Glancing toward the Eldridge, Lieutenant Hamilton saw that the ship appeared to be fine. Nothing, at least on the surface, was out of order. “Status...”
Then a second flash. Blue, bright, and hot.
And when the eyes of all aboard the observation ship Rainbow had once again adjusted, they stared in disbelief, dumbfounded by what they saw.
Lieutenant Hamilton spoke, his voice near a whisper, “Radio the Eldridge.” Before him the sky and the sea spread out. There was no fog. No outline. And no movement in the water.
The Eldridge had vanished.