Upfall

"Correct" said Feldhandler, again in his professorial tone. "The universe is rapidly and continually expanding. The Hubble deep field shows galaxies as they appeared hundreds of millions, even billions of years ago. It is a time machine in a picture, because it shows these worlds as they existed when their light left them and caught up to our man-made telescope. Now suppose within that soup of galaxies in the photo, one of them is our own Milky Way, and that we are looking back at light from when our own galaxy exisited in another time and place."

"Is that possible?" asked Yatom. "Theoretically" said Perchensky.

"Now suppose" continued Feldhandler "a device was invented that allowed someone to instantly shoot back to the time and place you are looking at? Do you suppose having reached there, everything in the world of the observer would instantly change based on changes in causality created by sending something to that remote and distant galaxy—even if it is our own?"

"No" said Yatom cautiously "I guess not. So you are saying, essentially, that this is what has happened to us?"

"Yes" said the scientist.

"So we can get back home without creating a causal paradox!" said Mofaz, his voice now dripping with hope.

Feldhandler rocked his head atop his sore neck back and forth non-committally.

"Yes or no!" barked Yatom.

"Yes. But returning presumes we had control over the device, which we do not."

"But communication could possibly be reestablished" insisted Yatom. "One galaxy—or timeline—to another so to speak."

"Theoretically. But you would need me to do it, and I won't."

Feldhandler quickly raised his hands toward Mofaz, as if to ward of a bad spirit. "Wait.Mofaz!" he stammered as the commando lurched toward him again. Yatom again stopped the Major with a wave of his hand.

"Wait for what" grunted Mofaz, his face contorted in rage.

"I will work on the problem" promised Feldhandler "in return for your continued commitment to your duty in this timeline."

"Meaning." said Yatom.

"Sobibor was only one of three major death camps in eastern Poland in 1942—not counting Auswitz and Chelmo, which were somewhat different in their own ways."

"The others?" asked Yatom, realizing now that he was negotiating a bizarre contract with a madman, for their very lives.

"Treblinka and Belzac. Take them and I'll do what I can to reestablish communication and get you back. No guarantees."

"Get us back. What about you?"

"What do you care, Yatom? I have no desire to return— one way or the other."

Yatom looked at Shapira and Mofaz in turn, and then Perchensky.

He said "Do we all agree in principle to this?"

Shapira shrugged—he didn't seem disturbed by the situation. Perchansky shook her head, and Mofaz said no.

"Looks like we do not have a deal, Dr. Feldhandler" said Yatom.

"Beseder. Let Dr. Perchensky take you home. In English they say this is biting off your nose to spite your face. But if that is what you want, so be it."

"You know" said Shapira "if you all insist on demonstrating Israeli stubbornness, then nothing will be accomplished here. You" he pointed at Mofaz and Perchansky "won't ever return home, and you Dr. Feldhander, will have destroyed one death camp—which won't much slow the Holocaust, much less stop it."

"So lieutenant" said Mofaz in a tone equally smooth and hard "what do you propose?“

"Major, what was it like today when those men from Camp 3 welcomed you when you emerged from the Himmelgang?" asked Shapira.

"Smelly" said Mofaz coldly.

"Do you not see them as real people, as human beings?" pressed

Shapira. "Fellow Jews?"

"Don't try to equate me with the Nazis lieutenant" said Mofaz slowly. "I have a hard time accepting all of this."

"This world is as real as our own" said Shapira. "It is our world, even if it is a different timeline now. You're a Jewish soldier put down in the middle of the Holocaust—by a trick, or chance—whatever. But it doesn't change our present reality."

"What do you want Lieutenant Shapira?" asked Perchensky.

"What I propose is this—the sayeret takes Treblinka. I'll take Belzac myself if I have to. Once Treblinka falls, Dr. Feldhandler does what he can to get everybody home that wants to go. Fair enough Doctor?"

"I agree" said Feldhandler.

"Is everyone agreed to this?" said Yatom.

Mofaz nodded his head. Perchansky said nothing.

"Mofaz, get the men together. Ron, root through the German headquarters for maps and anything else that might be useful." Yatom paused and played with a potato on his plate with his combat knife.

"We also have to divide up the weapons, evaluate the motor pool, develop a plan for ourselves and the refugees from this camp, deal with the prisoners, and get out of here before dawn tomorrow. If possible we should sleep too. Let's get going."