Two to Twelve

Ryan Dear, Year 9

In the year 2018, the Doomsday Clock read two to twelve. The Age of Man appeared to be drawing to a close and world peace seemed further away than ever. The Doomsday Clock symbolised the chance of a man-made global catastrophe, ever more likely as the clock drew closer to midnight. Conceived by Martyl Langsdorf and her husband, physicist Alexander Langsdorf, who worked on the Manhattan Project and helped found the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock was first depicted on the front cover of the Bulletin in 1947. It has featured on the Bulletin’s cover ever since. The Doomsday Clock was conceived in response to the threat to world peace brought about by the development of nuclear weapons during WW2. As the Clock draws nearer to twelve, it raises the obvious question. Is world peace ever achievable?

It is now 2072, the world is not a pretty place. Human avarice triggers war after war. Nuclear weapons aid human greed, allowing nation after nation to be pulverised. The Doomsday Clock has been forgotten by most; however, a select few like me still believe that the clock has merit. My name is James Wilfred Einstein and I am the great, great, great, great grandson of Albert Einstein, one of the most the brilliant minds of all time. Like my distant relative, Albert, science is a passion of mine and time travel is a specific field I have been working in for many years. Ever since 2018, when I was 20 years old, I have dreamt that world peace would occur. Unfortunately, recent events have destroyed this dream. The Doomsday Clock now reads one to twelve, suggesting that a global catastrophe is imminent.

Bursting with excitement, I pull up at my laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico. I enter the laboratory’s restricted area. My time machine, shaped like the Doomsday Clock, sits waiting for me. I first constructed this particular Doomsday Clock at the age of 20, in an attempt to alert people to the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe. Now, in 2072, as a result of technological advancements in cosmic string theory, I have finally been able to create my time machine.

Darcy Waugh - Year 7

My time machine may be the key to world peace. After much consideration, I have decided to travel back in time to December 6, 1941, four years before the first nuclear weapon was tested by the United States in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. My objective, after initially entering this time period, is to prevent the development of nuclear weapons. To facilitate this, it is necessary for me to infiltrate the top-secret Manhattan Project, located in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where nuclear technology was developed. Unlike my distant relative Albert Einstein, who aided the development of nuclear weapons by signing a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt urging the atomic bomb be built, I will attempt to do the opposite. My aim is to prevent the invention of nuclear weapons.

In order to travel back in time, I will have to wind the hands of my time machine clock back to the exact time the Doomsday Clock read in 1941. However, in 1941, the Doomsday Clock hadn’t been invented! As a result, in order to pin-point the exact time, I will need to predict what the Doomsday Clock would have read in this particular year if it had been in existence.

I sit in front of my time machine, praying to God, pleading for my prediction to be correct. I take a very apprehensive step towards my time machine, as this is my first foray into time travel. I grasp the minute hand, forcing it from its position at one to twelve, to four to twelve. Everything turns silent. Thirty seconds pass then an excruciating sound pierces my ear. The process seems to take hours.

Then finally, the whirling begins to cease, the excruciating sound begins to fade, and I find myself lying face down in what feels like hot sand.

I dizzily bring myself to my feet. I take twenty seconds or so to gather myself, finally glancing around. I breathe an immense sigh of relief, eventually realising where I am. Fortunately, I programmed the time machine to bring me back in time to the exact location of my laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, which is where the Manhattan Project was situated in 1941. However, no obvious signs identify the year in which I currently find myself.

I strike out in search of information. The town of Los Alamos is, not surprisingly, in better shape, than the Los Alamos of my time. The buildings are intact and everything appears to be peaceful. I round a corner and spot what seems to be a newspaper on the ground. I quickly snatch it up and read the date located under the title. It reads December 3, 1941. I breathe a deep sigh of relief. My hard work and persistence has paid off and maybe, just maybe, my dream of world peace would become reality. All I have to do is sabotage the entire Manhattan Project, which will prevent the development of nuclear weapons. I laugh cheekily to myself: ‘How hard can it be?’

The Manhattan Project’s exact location is secret; however, it is believed to be situated at the northern end of town. After a good 40-minute walk, I reach the northern end of Los Alamos. After searching for many hours, something peculiar catches my eye. A commotion is taking place, 50 metres down the road, near a rather large building. A small group of people is yelling, screaming and physically abusing one individual. ‘Why you bastard? Spilling our information to one of your Japanese friends, you scoundrel!’ Then they start kicking what appears to be a small East Asian man multiple times in the stomach until he is almost unconscious on the ground. The group then leaves by entering the large adjacent building.

I follow the group of men into the building and hide behind what appears to be a large cupboard. I peer around the corner. The four men who viciously attacked the Asian man are discussing with a scientist how to start the process of creating nuclear weapons. I sneak past the wardrobe, into a large room. My heart drops as I see the men and the scientist heading towards the room in which I am currently located. I sprint around, frantically attempting to find a decent hiding spot. I slide under a table with a long table cloth; I am out of sight. At this very moment, the group of men enters the room. I reduce the sound of my breathing and listen to their conversation: ‘Now this piece of machinery in the centre of the room is most significant to the entire project. It splits atoms.’ The scientist went on to give a brief summary of how the machine works. Fifteen minutes later, the five men exit the room. I take a deep breath to compose myself, carefully moving from my hiding position to the centre of the room. I stare at the machine, trying to devise a plan to destroy it. I look around the room, searching for anything that could produce considerable force. The only thing that could be of use is a fire extinguisher. I seize the heavy metal object, raising it high above my head. I aim for what looks like exposed mechanisms. I bring the fire extinguisher down with huge force. Immediately sparks fly. I smash it against the machine, 10 maybe 20 times. Suddenly, an alarm begins to ring. This, I realise, is my cue to get out fast!

I sprint as fast as my legs can carry me, not looking back once. I reach my time machine, grasp the minute hand, moving it back to one to twelve. After what feels like hours of pure pain, I arrive back home. I am buoyed by the hope that nuclear weapons have disappeared; however, when I open the door of my laboratory to look outside, I witness the eerie image of empty streets and silence. Not a soul in sight. I wander down the main street, bewildered. A newspaper, floats in the air, as if it has been waiting for me, ready to confirm my worst fears. The newspaper is dated May 5, 2072, making the news four months old. It is titled ‘Man-Made Plagues’. I flick through the newspaper, which lists all the cities affected by the man-made plagues. I turn to the last page and unfortunately, my worst fear has come to fruition. The town of Los Alamos has been wiped out. I may have stopped the invention of nuclear weapons, but another, equally potent threat to world peace has emerged. Biological weapons have spread disease and destruction across the planet. Man’s self-destructive nature cannot be altered. Is world peace achievable? I rush back to the time machine…

Chase Cai - Year 8