The Bell of Time

Chapter 1: Der Arfang

"The religion is the opium of the People".  Karl Marx

"Dear English gentlemens, shoot first !". Earl of Anterroches to Lord Charles Hay, Fontenoy, 1715

"Fools, ah the fools, if only they knew what's waiting for them...". Edouard Daladier back from Munich where he signed a pact with Hitler, 1938.

The bus ride from Ile de France seems to have lasted forever in my opinion. Perhaps it's due to the comatose state I'm in, half in the world of dreams and half attentive to the road that takes us to our destination, Caen. It is clear that with this year's final year program, the memorial was an essential detour for us other "dear students" according to the name of our History teacher, Mr Pessinito. But thinking about this individual also makes me think of the months that have just passed, of the moments shared with my comrades, whose bonds have all become closer (in the figurative sense, what can you imagine). For my part, my friendship with Matt, whom I nickname Chad, and Kerven, whom I nickname the Brestois (because he is very fond of the local football club, which in itself is a strategic error) has not changed and each of us ( especially me) was looking forward to this release. And why ? Because the Second World War always seemed intriguing to us and even though we knew a little about it, we couldn't wait to discover its artifacts and memories. Same for the others, who had been strangely quiet for some time during the trip. Even with music in my ears the journey time was starting to take a little too long for my taste, and it was in the meantime that Matt said to me: "Wake up, big Mongolian, we have arrived". I responded with a growl worthy of the most ferocious grizzly bears in North America, which startled everyone, who was in the same state as me. It was then that Mr. Pessinito stood up and announced: "Whoever has just roared like a bear can stop doing it because the salmon are not found here I fear!" (This made everyone laugh except me) But for now everyone will have to get out of this four-wheeled motorized vehicle and line up right next to it for the roll call to see if anyone has been abandoned on the highway area haha! » . This caused a chill but everyone went down and the teacher called the roll call when everyone had come down: "Alexis?" : present sir, Nathan? : here ! , Manon? : present ! , Thomas? : here ! , Roman? : here ! , Kerven? : here ! , Noémie? : present ! , Matt? : here ! , Charles-Henri? : here ! , Louis? : here ! , Lucy ? : present ! , Clara? : present ! , Olivia? : present ! , Mehdi? : here ! , Margaux? : present ! , Syndel? : present ! , Gabriel? : here ! , Raphael? : here !, Mae-Lin? : present !, Hector? : here ! , Marzia? : present ! , Valentina? : present ! , Younes? : here ! , Emma? : present ! , Carmen? : present ! , Zofia? : present ! , Elias? : here ! , Alexander? : here ! , Leana? : present ! . "Good!" said the professor, "everyone is here, we can move on, young people forward!" » . And that's what we did. But before we arrive I have time to tell you my first name since we haven't introduced ourselves (no need to tell me your first name I won't hear). My first name is on the list. Come on, it's not difficult! You found it, my name is Charles-Henri! No, I'm joking, it's Hector and I'm a bit the opposite of this individual in terms of character but that's not the point, at least not now. So let's get back to our topic now because we have arrived safely, which is ironic in itself since it is a memorial (sorry I digress and I have the impression of stooping to the level of humor from Mr Pessinito!). After admiring the gray facade of the building, Kerven ordered me to go inside with everyone else, because I was the only one still outside. I come home, and I marvel. In front of me stands a Hawker Typhoon Fighter, an English fighter from the Second World War. Once again Matt calls me to order, telling me that all our classmates were gathered with the professor around our guide. So I approach and start listening to the guide: "Okay, everyone is here and we can start. Let me introduce myself, my name is Serena Dubois, and I will be your guide for this day. As you know, this memorial aims to show people the full extent, both positive and negative, of the Second World War. Certain rooms may therefore offend your sensibilities, particularly that on deportation. There is also a special room which was urgently prepared at the end of the exhibition route due to the recent discovery of a... I won't tell you more! Any questions ladies and gentlemen? ". As no one answered, we all started towards the entrance of the exhibition. So, through video panels and objects that have been used, we immerse ourselves in what this dirty war was, where espionage and low blows were commonplace. In addition to revolutionary weapons invented like the modern assault rifle, penicillin or guided missiles, darker things have been developed. Things such as mass genocides, with concentration camps (which could also serve as extermination camps), where millions of people were exploited, tortured and finally murdered because they existed, or rather because They did not please the National Socialists, rather special individuals. All these things had the same impact on my comrades so that they were all in a hurry to get it over with. But the last room had slipped our minds, so much so that Madame Dubois had to call out to us in order to regroup: "Well, it's time to see the famous room I told you about, here is... the Boche bell! ". Once the astonishment and surprise had passed, Mr. Pessinito pointed out to Serena that if it was a joke it was moderately funny. But she answered him by ordering him to come with her index finger; and began an explanatory speech on the strange object that stood before us. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is a bell"... and Kerven said: "well, I would have leaned towards a tricycle myself". Mr. Pessinito rolled his eyes at her and Serena was able to continue: "So I was saying that the object standing in front of you is a bell, certainly, but a Nazi bell! ". She continued further, seeing that we were all intrigued: "This was found recently, hence the unfinished room, in the condemned basements of the German castle of Hohenzollern to the east of of today's Bad Württemberg region. "It was recovered in poor condition, as if someone had tried to hastily destroy it, in the middle of some partially destroyed documents, and strange graffiti around it, seeming to represent a sort of cosmonaut, a fairly muscular man (like a sort of super soldier Serena thought inwardly) and a sort of half-erased shooting star. We first thought that it was a sort of incubator for soldiers in order to modify them in the desired proportions and..." She was interrupted once again, this time by Alexander who pointed out to her that it was starting to take over a bit. concept of the "Space Goofs" chair, which made Serena laugh a lot. "Haha yes we thought about it but the documents told us a completely different kind of machine because it turns out in reality that it was a top secret project" she said with a highway air. Everyone held their breath: "The documents present told us that it looked like a sort of prototype of a space-time machine developed by the sect present within the German military elite, the SS. This sect, the Anoenherbe, managed to whisper in the ear of Adolf Hitler through the Reichführer of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, and to convince him to finance this project with millions of Reichsmarks. Only the highest ranks of the SS were aware, those of the SA and the Wehrmacht being seen as rivals.The project was so secret that only the scientists and the commander of the castle knew about it, the soldiers then thinking they were keeping a simple stronghold. The leader of this project was a scientist named Hans Mattaus, a brilliant physicist who taught at Germany's leading universities. Furthermore, the latter, even though he was SS, was subject to several rumors of sedition towards the 3rd Reich, notably by transmitting certain confidential documents to the Allies. But this remains to be proven and in the meantime I will let you go and observe it."We all approached the bell and this is what we saw: it was a bell about 8 meters high and about 5 in diameter. It was entirely black and flanked twice by the SS symbol on the sides, with an opening on the side. We saw there was room for three inside, and I went in with Kerven and Matt. We were about to start singing sardines when we noticed that there were electronics installed "on board". Taken aback, we made the remark to Serena who replied that it was done to make the object a little more fun for visitors. We were satisfied with this explanation and began to fiddle with these devices when something unusual happened. Something that would change the course of each of my comrades' lives forever and ever.