The Destroyer of Worlds

"Mr. Chairman, our next scheduled witness, Dr. Lawrence, has apparently come down with colitis." Robb told the board. Garrison and I exchanged glances, wondering if he was actually sick or decided not to testify against me. "So we'll proceed with William Borden instead." Robb said as the door opened, revealing William Borden. "Mr. Borden, welcome. Please take a seat." Robb motioned for Borden to sit down.

"Mr. Borden, during your investigation into Dr. Oppenheimer, did you reach certain conclusions?" Robb asked.

"I did." William Borden confirmed.

"And did there come a time when you expressed those conclusions in a letter to Dr. J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation?" Robb questioned.

"That is correct." Borden confirmed, nodding.

"Prior to the writing of the letter, did you discuss the writing of the letter with anybody attached to the Atomic Energy Commission?" Robb asked as a board member handed out papers to everyone at the table, besides me.

"I did not." Borden said.

"Thanks, and do you have a copy of the letter?" Robb pointed.

"I have one in front of me." Borden looked down at the document.

"Would you be so kind as to read it, sir?" Robb asked.

I was finally handed the same paper as the rest of the room. I skimmed through it, awaiting what Borden had accused me of.

"'Dear Mr. Hoover, the purpose of this letter is to state..." Borden began as he was interrupted by Garrison.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, if I could have a..." Garrison began.

"What is the purpose of the delay? He's simply gonna read the letter." Gray said.

Garrison kept frantically searching through his notes. "Mr. Chairman, this is the first I've seen of this letter, and I see statements here, uh, at least one, of a kind that I don't think anyone would like to see go into the record. These are accusations that have not previously been made. That are not part of the indictment from Nichols. Accusations of a kind that I don't think belong here."

"The witness wrote this letter on his own initiative, laying out evidence that has already been before the board. His conclusions are valid testimony, just like the... the positive conclusions of friends of Dr. Oppenheimer. It cuts both ways." Robb explained.

"How long has counsel been in possession of this letter?" Garrison questioned, looking up at Robb.

"I don't think I should be subject to cross-examination by you, Mr. Garrison." Robb said, slightly raising his voice. I just watched the events slowly unfold.

"Mr. Garrison, given that we on the board have all read the letter, wouldn't it be better to have it in the record? Let's proceed." Gray said, looking at Garrison, then back at Borden.

"'Dear Mr. Hoover, the purpose of this letter is to state my opinion based upon years of study of the available classified evidence, that more probably than not, J. Robert Oppenheimer is an agent of the Soviet Union. The following conclusions are justified. One, between 1929 and 1942, more probably than not, J. Robert Oppenheimer was a sufficiently hardened Communist, that he volunteered information to the Soviets. Two, more probably than not, he has since been functioning as an espionage agent. Three, more probably than not, he has since acted under a Soviet directive in influencing United States military policy...'"

Devastation consumed me. How could years of research come to this fucking conclusion? An agent of the Soviet Union? Nonsense after nonsense, when will it end? Even Garrison is done with the bullshit, he's come over and sat next to me.