روز چهارم

THE ITALIAN NAVIGATOR LANDS

The chain reaction took place precisely as Enrico Fermi had surmised.

After twenty-eight minutes he curtailed the experiment, giving the signal to replace the control rod.

The normally reserved scientists, unable to repress their excitement, let out a tremendous cheer and gathered around Fermi to shake his hand. Although it was time to celebrate, some of the men remarked soberly that “the world would never be the same again.” On December 2, 1942, the news of Fermi’s achievement was relayed in a cryptic telephone message:

“The Italian Navigator has reached the New World.”

“And how did he find the natives?”

“Very friendly.”

The Atomic Age was inchoate-but truly here!