Chapter 17 in R.M. Dolin’s novel “The Dangling Conversation“, May 2023.
KYLE: “Not at State or Food & Drug, and no, we never collaborated or even ever met. I only heard of him after his shit went down; it’s so similar to my troubles though, we can’t help but have a shared simpatico. He worked at a place you’ve probably heard of called Los Alamos, it’s a super-secret government laboratory in Northern New Mexico; ironically, not all that far from my cabin. Los Alamos promotes itself as the world’s leading research institute but it’s a narcissistic overreach based more on past performance than anything they’ve demonstrated lately; more accurate to say they used to be relevant. They’ve become part of the world’s lexicon as the birthplace of nuclear weapons; they built the atomic bombs dropped on Japan to end World War II, you know, the whole Manhattan Project thing. Now any grand challenge is called another Manhattan Project; look at the massive collaboration between politicians and big Pharma during COVID to develop that placebo vaccine they forced everyone to take for huge profits; they constantly refer to it as a modern Manhattan Project to market their mistake on a panic-riddled world.
“What’s scary, at least for me, is once you understand what the rat bastards did to him, you’re left with little doubt about the extent they’ll go to silence any dissent; it’s pretty hard to reconcile differences between what happens to him and what’s happening to me. As our former President said when the opposition party weaponized the corrupt justice system against him, “if it can happen to someone like me, it can certainly happen to you.”
“It doesn’t much matter to the oligarchs in charge how a scary place like Los Alamos goes about their business, or even what kind of toxic environment they force employees to endure, so long as it all gets done in secret; at least that’s they’re operating premise because what gets done in secret and couched as “national security,” provides complete impunity. When you toss into the mix that their primary mission is the design and manufacture of nuclear weapons and the potential for catastrophic calamities to downwind communities and water supplies should something go wrong that no one likely ever knows about, it’s as disturbing as it is problematic. They get away with the shit they do because they’re part of a trillion-dollar nuclear weapons industrial complex and a governmental beast that big needs to be fed.
“The tragic thing about this guy getting crosswise with the oligarchs is that before his shit goes down, he’s a prominent intellectual with an international reputation in nuclear weapons policy that takes a career to establish but in one decisive act is forever destroyed. He works at Los Alamos seventeen years when his troubles begin; and it’s not for anything he’s done, they fabricate all the crap you read about him once he becomes problematic. I don’t remember his name exactly, but think it’s Dillon, at least that’s what we’ll call him. So anyway, Dillon’s a sinner, his sin is applying vast years of experience and sophisticated intellect to draw a logical conclusion regarding the production and deployment of nuclear weapons, not just by us, but by all nuclear capable countries, which sadly for him, is in diametric opposition to the necessary narrative needed by not only his management at Los Alamos, but the significantly more powerful global nuclear weapons industrial complex and their overarching oligarchs.
“The irony of Dillon’s dichotomy is that our president at the time is in complete alignment with the position Dillon puts forth in a paper he publishes; the document ultimately leading to his demise. Of course, for the fine folks at Los Alamos, as is the case for all government agencies, the goals and opinions of the President don’t much matter, at least not when they run afoul of the only thing that does; keeping the cash flow spigot wide open at any cost with any requisite collateral damage caused to those caught standing in the way.
“This tragic tale unfolds while I’m on sabbatical from State lecturing at the University of New Mexico, which would make it about ten years ago, long before my troubles take off. Since my cabin’s close to Los Alamos, I frequently interact with people who work there; some at the town’s ski area, others fishing in the nearby Valle Caldera, some playing poker, occasionally at the grocery story, and others attending lectures, which is a pretty popular form of entertainment for a town full of PhDs.
“Locals have a term for what happens to Dillon, they call it getting “Oppenhiemered,” which comes from the way the government viscously destroys, discredits, and disgraces the renowned physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer, when he’s no longer useful to their long-term ambitions. Oppenheimer’s a brilliant intellectual in the nineteen-twenties and thirties; at the start of World War II, he’s a physics professor at Berkeley with considerable baggage being he’s an avowed socialist/communist. Mind you it’s not illegal to join these political parties so much as it’s frowned upon in certain circles. This is of course before the McCarthy Un-American Activities Committee demonizes and actively persecutes citizens for political affiliations in a modern-day witch hunt akin to the Spanish Inquisition and sadly, not much different than our current era of political polarization.
“Once our allies discover the Nazis have undertaken a nuclear weapons development effort led by Heisenberg, they grasp the dire need to achieve this capability first; imagine how different the world would be if those sick demented German bastards got their hands on nuclear weapons, not to mention the dystopian darkness that would encase us all if their far more despotic Japanese compadres obtained such a weapon. Oppenheimer’s asked to lead the super-secret Manhattan Project, located along the eastern edge of the Jemez Mountains on the side of the world’s largest land-based super volcano, which is pretty damn oxymoronic if you think about it. He assembles a team of the free world’s best scientists and engineers who work tirelessly for two years designing and manufacturing two different atomic bombs, one dropped on Hiroshima and the other on Nagasaki. We can spend months arguing over the morality of Truman’s decision to deploy the bombs, but what’s indisputable is that they bring an immediate end Japanese savagery and save millions of American and Chinese lives.
“Post war it becomes clear to Oppenheimer that the Pandora’s Box he and his team opened cannot be closed, there’s simply no appetite among Oligarchs or defense contractors to slow down the plethora of profit potential in a nuclear arms race. His culpability in creating the world’s new reality weighs on his conscience more than other Manhattan Project contributors and when asked about it, he famously says, “now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds,” which is a quote he takes from the Hindu Bhagavadgita, or “Song of God.” From Oppenheimer’s perspective, the world’s far less safe and stable because of his invention and he starts speaking out against nuclear proliferation. As you might imagine, certain politicians and defense contractors don’t much appreciate someone of Oppenheimer’s stature running around talking about cutting off their cash flow.
“They try pressuring him back “on-topic,” but after a powerful mind reaches its logical conclusion, little can be done to sway, shift, or influence outcomes. Once they realize his commitment to disarmament principles can’t be realigned, the only available alternative is to destroy him. Imagine for a moment that the man who does more to end WWII than any other individual, who saves millions of lives by forcing Japan to surrender before Russia enters the theater and the U.S. launches its invasion of the mainland, is himself treated to a traitor’s farewell.
“When you look at what happens to Oppenheimer and how Dillon is subsequently treated for his transgressions, you conclude Los Alamos has institutionalized the practice of destroying anyone and everyone who threatens their existence; they get away with it by exploiting their super-secret mission and the consequences of something going wrong. Dillon’s just one in a long list of persecuted intellectuals who’ve been Oppenheimered; when trillions of dollars are funneled into nuclear weapons annually, descent simply can’t be tolerated regardless of its intellectual validity. There’s a brief moment in history not long ago when the world is woke to the belief science is the pursuit of truth practiced by following facts to logically consistent conclusions. After climate hysteria and the recent pandemic, however, it’s become apparent there’s no room for truth in science when political narratives hunger to be fed. That’s why what happens to Dillon matters and why all of us should be concerned.
“To fully understand my troubles and the shitstorm raining down on me, go no further than the abuses dumped on Dillon and how his life’s forever ruined while the sadistic rat bastards continue collecting six figure bonuses. Sadly, it’s not just limited to Los Alamos and the nuclear weapons complex, it’s the same smear across all government agencies, whether we’re talking about State, the DOJ, or in my case the FDA; you stray from approved narratives, and thou shall be smitten in the most unholiest of ways.”
ISABELLE: “I have limited knowledge about Oppenheimer and never heard of Dillon, we studied the Manhattan project in school but only up to the bomb’s dropping. It’s challenging to listen to you talk about what you call, “the approved narrative,” we’re so brainwashed as kids into patriotically believing whatever we’re told no one ever thinks to question any of it. They never mention what happens to the Manhattan Project team after the war, the government clearly doesn’t want us knowing the shameful saga of how this story ends. I watched part of a public television show once about Oppenheimer while stuck in a Minneapolis snowstorm; they play up his socialist or communist connections at Berkeley, can’t really tell you the difference between the two or even if there is a difference, but do know it’s political taboo as much then as it is now. The government needs his brilliance so bad though, they’re willing to pretend his transgressions can be forgiven.
“Like most public television shows, this one’s painfully slow, and I fall asleep before they get to his post-Manhattan Project life so don’t know what happens. I never give it much thought but once, while reading something about how Einstein helps the Navy solve a problem with their torpedoes in the early days of WWII, I get to wondering why someone like Oppenheimer isn’t exalted to the level of a Newton or Einstein; that though, is really about all the effort I muster. It’s interesting to hear your take on things, if nothing else it explains why he not only gets canceled but erased from history. I see your point about the, what did you call it, “the nuclear weapons industrial complex,” most of what happens in history comes down to politics, greed, and corruption, or probably more appropriate, maniacal oligarchs controlling politicians who can’t get enough power and money.
“I told you about my dad’s troubles, its defense contractors exploiting his tool & die company that ultimately breaks him. They ride him and his expertise until he has nothing more to give, once that’s that, they kicked him to the side of the road like an empty can of tuna; not so much as an attaboy or thank you for your service.
“Henry and I got into a huge argument about my dad’s troubles; he says if workers do what they’re told management takes care of them and that’s the basis behind why capitalism works. It’s amazing he can be so myopically naive about stuff. Workers are nothing more than disposable tools for managers; I sincerely wonder what it would take to get Henry to understand that. His drive to rise up through the ranks of his company blinds him so badly I don’t know if it’s possible for him to see anything. So, what’s up with this Dillon dude, does he fight back or just get canceled?”
KYLE: “He tries fighting back, but like Oppenheimer, and even me for that matter, once you find yourself clinched in the overbearing jaws of a government protecting its narratives, you don’t so much fight back as you struggle to survive. I have a theory about the story within the story regarding Dillon, it’s conspiratorial and a touch avant-garde, but if I’m right, the implications are consequentially catastrophic. Based on what I’ve gleaned from news coverage and inferred from Los Alamos folks who ought to know, the saga begins when Dillon’s invited to prepare a policy paper based on his research by a prestigious journal. Before sending it off for publication, he gives the draft to the Laboratory’s classification office for review, which is exactly the proper protocol. Upon review, his paper’s initially deemed classified but after a few minor alterations, it’s approved for publication. This is typically how it goes whenever a scientist or engineer writes a paper; it gets reviewed, minor changes are made, and then the manuscript’s approved for release into the public domain.
“From a legal sense, prior to releasing his manuscript into the public domain, Dillon asks for guidance, is given guidance, and he follows that guidance, which means he does nothing wrong. He then asks management for permission to publish and is given the okay, which further means he does nothing wrong. From what follows though, there’s only two logical possibilities to explain what happens next; either the Laboratory’s classification office is negligent in the conduct of their operations, or they intentionally provide negligent guidance as a mechanism for insuring they can later retaliate should higher-ups subsequently decide the paper’s content runs astray from approved narratives. In other words, and here’s the conspiratorial component, they nefariously weaponize the Los Alamos classification office for political purposes; something that should never be done within the context of nuclear weapons and equally important, greedy corporate executives, like managers at Los Alamos, should never have absolute power over someone’s first amendment rights.
“Journalist investigating the story conclude it’s not until after his paper’s released into the public domain with Los Alamos approval, that politicians and beltway bandits in Washington raise concerns. I believe that it isn’t Washington politicians per say, who belly ache so much as it’s the overlords controlling them and the mighty nuclear weapons complex; you know, the folks behind the curtain that President Eisenhower warned us about.
“I’ve never seen Dillon’s paper because the journal where it was published gets pulled, including on-line versions, but copies do still exist from the initial circulation and apparently it supports the current president’s nuclear disarmament agenda, which as you might imagine coming from a liberal administration, runs contrary to the goals and aspirations of the nuclear oligarchs. The sticky wicket is that once the paper’s in the public domain it can’t be fully retracted, which means the only way to discount the paper’s legitimacy, and by extension the president’s nuclear disarmament agenda, is to destroy, discredit, and disgrace Dillon himself. The way this is accomplished is to first strip him of his government clearance by citing the irresponsible way he handles classified information and then to fire his ass after multiple decades of dedicated service; in other words, to “Oppenheimer” him. It’s similar to what the military calls running a “code red,” on a solider they no longer find useful.
“The sleaze-ball way they decide to discredit Dillon, his paper’s assertions, and the president’s nuclear disarmament agenda, is for senior managers at Los Alamos to overrule the assessments of four separate classification officials who each independently determine the released version of his paper is unclassified. In other words, to posthumously declare an unclassified document classified, which is illegal, but provides them a platform they can then use to accuse Dillon of violating national security, which is also illegal. Los Alamos does as directed by their overlords and the paper’s declared classified without supporting evidence and in a manner that circumvents Dillon being able to defend himself; the poor bastard’s fate’s sealed as soon as the nuclear oligarchs decide the president’s disarmament vision runs afoul of their lucrative multi-trillion-dollar agenda; from there it’s off to the guillotine for poor Dillon.
“Los Alamos likes to promote their high-minded commitment to the country’s national security mission, and it’s probably true back in the day when the University of California ran things as a not-for-profit enterprise; and is no-doubt still fundamentally true at the worker/researcher level. One has to ask themselves though, why after sixty successful years does Los Alamos suddenly become a for-profit enterprise managed by beltway bandits who make billions for doing nothing more than providing a pretense of being busy. Imagine for moment, what it means for a country to produce nuclear weapons for profit. Once you have the answer to that you understand why they view Dillon as an existential threat to their hegemony, and in that context, why it becomes necessary to render him expendable.
“It’s obvious to journalist investigating the odd string of events surrounding Dillon’s predicament that something’s wrong in the state of Denmark. They quickly conclude Dillon’s paper was never classified, and it’s not just the opinion of Los Alamos’s own classification experts, but several independent experts outside the control of the nuclear weapons complex, which is a scandal of epic proportions when you consider not only the context, but the consequences. Here though is where the Dillon saga takes a bizarre turn that proves my conspiratorial hypothesis; given Dillon asks for and receives approval to publish his paper means he’s done nothing wrong, so why, one asks, is it necessary to Oppenheimer him when his only sin is supporting the president’s nuclear disarmament agenda? Why is he fired after years of loyal service and his security clearance revoked so he can never find meaningful work again? The obvious answer speaks for itself, Dillon’s sin is failing to recognize that feeding the beast matters more than serving his country, his conscious, or his president.”
ISABELLE: “Wait a minute cowboy, you need to slow your pony down. As fascinating as this yarn your spinning is with all your conspiratorial theories and plot twists, I must be missing something; what does anything you’re saying about Los Alamos and this Dillon dude got to do with you and the FDA? How do we go from the government nefariously destroying Dillon by obfuscating the classification process to them crapping all over you for a report they pressured you to publish based on faulty data?”
KYLE: “Ah sweet Clementine, your answer’s detailed in outgoing president Dwight Eisenhower’s ominous warning to the nation to beware of what he calls the “mighty military industrial complex.” It’s directly related to why I was compelled to quit State and to what’s happening to me at FDA. If Eisenhower were alive today, he’d caveat his warning to extend beyond the military complex to include far more powerful industries, like big-pharma and nuclear weapons. The way the nuclear weapons complex, which embodies Los Alamos, comes down on Dillon to protect their cash flow is exactly the way the powerful pharmaceutical complex, which embodies the FDA, needs to protect their self-interest. If my report’s allowed to be rightfully legitimized, it’ll send shock waves through the nation like this country’s never seen. It’ll destroy our sense of food security and medical safety, the very soul of how we survive, and will no doubt cause mass hysteria.
“It matters little if we’re talking about national security, health security, food security, or whatever, it’s all secondary to the preservation of entrenched institutions that depend, demand, and expect, government money to never stop flowing. Neither Los Alamos nor the FDA can risk being held accountable for their reckless abuse of power; for abusing the classification process in Dillon’s case or the way more scary sequestering of information vital to health safety in my situation. In both instances, government’s willing to destroy loyal, internationally respected, researchers whose only crime is following established protocols and allowing scientific inquiry to challenge falsetto-truths; whose only sin is inadvertently threating the sanctity of necessary narratives.
ISABELLE: “Sometimes Diego talks like that, only it’s about the real world of restaurant operations, while I admire him for achieving so much, it hasn’t been without a cost. He’ll get going about brides he has to make in order to pass inspections or get food delivered on time, or about employees he’s forced to hire, many of whom he knows are trafficked. He wants to help them, but they’re too afraid of what might happen if they try something. They plead with him that as long as he lets them work, they’re alive and that’s all that matters in their short-order world. It’s horrible the way we’ve been conditioned, when Diego tells these stories I feel sad for the victims and then forget about them once he finishes. I did look it up on the UN website though, there’s more than twenty-five million slaves in bondage world-wide and every year seventeen thousand more are exported into our country, the supposed land of the free. Does the government do anything about it? No. In fact, Washington has more slaves than any other city. Do protesters so concerned about past grievances ever take up their cause? No. It sometimes seems bad shit is everywhere and the only solution is to keep your head down and focus on the crap in your little orbit of the universe.”
KYLE: “Thinking about all the dreadful stuff going on in this world, the shit-show happening to me, makes me think about this line from Casablanca when Rick says to Ilsa, “I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the troubles of little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.” It’s true, all the troubles I’m dealing with don’t amount to squat in a world turning on troubles, but they matter a helluva lot to me just as they did to Dillon and do to Diego; beyond that we’re all just forgettable statistics, which is exactly what evil counts on. I honestly don’t know how I keep from drowning if not for Nadia; with darkness encasing my soul and the quietness of night defenseless against despair, she’s my solid footing, my one tether against forces wanting to wash me away; she keeps me buoyant as I bounce about the rageful restlessness of water.
“I’ve tried discovering what became of Dillon, but he seems to have just fallen off the face of the earth, which is uber-scary on all kinds of levels. I hope for his sake he hasn’t been condemned to live out his days on a dusty park bench in some obscure nether region. But at least here, “mon ami” I have you, and that matters more than words can muster.”
