Breaking Enigma || The Imitation Game

◈ TEN- Miss Turing ◈

Dedicated to JustJaelyn for always reading, voting and commented. She also made this amazing edit. Thank you so much x

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I thought the figure of the person might have been Commander Denniston or an assistant bringing another bloody stack of encrypted messages. Or even Stewart Menzies, although that appeared to be the least likely option. I was wrong about all three.

A woman entered and closed the door behind her. She was about five foot and three inches in height, had wavy, silky, brown hair with almost golden highlights that was just above her shoulders in length and observing, hawk-like brown eyes that scanned each and every one of us in the room. Her black coat flowed down to her knees, but took it off as soon as she stepped foot into the Hut and she also had a small, tatty, faded light-brown suitcase in hand.

I exchanged glances of surprise and confusion with Hugh and Carlton as John watched her in exactly the same way as she was watching us. He frowned in her presence, but she took no notice.

Hugh opened his mouth to speak, but the woman cut him off with a simple-

"Good evening, gentlemen."

I could tell instantly that this wasn't going to go down well.

"What in God's name is a woman doing in here?" John furrowed his eyebrows in disgust as he spat the words out of his mouth like they were poison. He certainly wasn't impressed by this woman's presence.

"Shouldn't you be with the Wrens in Hut 2?" Hugh asked in a polite manner, looking at her curiously.

"She must be lost," Carlton suggested.

"Well, this is a warm welcome, isn't it? I am in no way lost," the woman replied, setting her suitcase down by her feet. "I definitely should not be with the Wrens in Hut 2 and I'm here to work," she glared at John, matching his tone of voice.

John looked at her with an amused, yet bewildered expression. "Work? So, you are saying that you're a code breaker?"

"I'm just as much of a code breaker as you are, sir. Despite the fact I'm a woman, as you so kindly pointed out... Many other women are code breakers, so I don't see what the fuss is all about."

I was astounded by her confidence, as was Hugh and Carlton judging by their expressions. It came as an utter surprise because women were treated as inferior and should never really stand up to men. But this particular girl wasn't going to accept that place in society.

"Aren't you going to comment on my gender or capability?" The woman looked sternly at me, expecting an answer. I was, in no way, going to insult her. She clearly seemed very intelligent. Something that was of great need and importance to the jobs at Bletchley Park. We needed as much assistance as we could get; whether it was from a man or woman truly didn't matter.

"No," I responded and then shrugged. "Why should I?"

She gave a tiny smile. "There's one man who isn't an arrogant arse," that comment was obviously aimed at John himself, who didn't look very pleased. Carlton smiled at her mild humour. "All my life I've been treated like a piece of dirt and here's somebody who has a bit of decency."

John quickly glanced to me and then back to the woman. "Well, Miss...?" He paused, waiting for her to speak her name.

"Turing. Allany Turing," she answered, with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Well, Miss Turing, I rather we didn't squabble as we have Enigma messages to decipher. And if the codes aren't cracked sooner rather than later, innocent lives will be lost."

"What are you standing here for then?"

"To make a point and if you are who you say you are, then you'd be getting on with your job too," and that's when John turned his back and retreated towards his desk by the window. He picked up a pencil and began to write, ignoring everything else around him.

"Didn't Commander Denniston say 'he' when telling us about the new addition to the team?" Carlton enquired.

Allany Turing rolled her eyes and let out a small huff. "Probably because he was confused. You don't see women doing jobs like this. They're slaving over pen and paper, translating nonsense, non-stop and never have the chance to show-off for real. It's only the men who are offered the better jobs, so I must say that I'm obliged to be working here in this Hut, attempting to break the German Enigma... Does that give an answer to your question?"

Carlton gazed at her, baffled and nodded slowly. Allany flicked her head in satisfaction and she left the room in utter silence for a brief period of time.

"Not to be rude," said Hugh to break the short silence as he looked over to Allany. "But why would you be working with us?"

"Because I'm smarter than all of you and that you have to be taught a few things by somebody with greater experience," she stated as though it was plainly obvious and we were all idiots. This caused Carlton to scoff and John could be heard doing the same. He still scratched away at the paper with his pencil and didn't bother to look up, but he was obviously listening intently to the conversation. I didn't like the way John was treating Allany Turing. It was prejudice and my mother certainly hadn't brought me up that way.

A serious expression remained on Allany's pale face. "There's no point in laughing. One day, you'll see the truth," she paused for a second, making sure she had our attention. "Mathematics has been a passion of mine ever since I can remember; I've always took pleasure in solving puzzles and equations. Just like the four of you, I suppose; I predict that's why you're here. Commander Denniston, whom I'm guessing you all know, personally selected me to come to Bletchley Park and work in deciphering messages and to break the German Enigma machine. So, if your selfish minds and hearts allow it, I shall be staying until those two tasks are accomplished. That, gentlemen, is all I have to say."

Picking up her case, Allany marched from the spot where she had been stood for the past ten minutes of arguing and over to the clean, empty desk in the far corner of the room, heels clicking angrily on the wooden floor. Hugh, Carlton and I stared impressed, amazed and rather shocked with open mouths. There was only one word I could use to describe the paragraph that had come out of Allany's mouth and that word was 'astounding.' She was polite even when snapping out at people, which I found quite amusing.

Hugh gave a light laugh and a smile. "Incredible. Although I wished I had never asked. I don't approve of lectures."

I nodded and chuckled along. "Lesson learned, I say- never judge a book by its cover."

"I agree. Well put Kester," Carlton said with a nod.

"Thank you-" I was then interrupted by a cough that came from John.

"We're on a schedule. The clock is ticking and time is running out," John snapped, tapping his wrist watch with his index finger. "Instead of babbling on, you could all do something useful."

"Yes, sir," I say mockingly. Hugh beamed before the three of us went to sit at our separate desks. As I sat, I glanced over to Allany Turing, who appeared to be drawing instead of writing, which wasn't typically expected of a code breaker. I wasn't quite convinced that she was one.

The pencil in her slim hand glided over the paper as she sketched. I simply couldn't understand what Allany wanted to achieve, but the rest of us had to endeavour on breaking codes and deciphering messages. Which meant staring at endless pieces of paper with jumbled letters upon them until the clock turned to midnight. And that's when the Enigma machine would reset itself and the days work would have been for nothing; most likely accomplishing and cracking zilch.

The settings would renew themselves and we would have to start all over again and slave through another twenty-four hours of exhaustion and frustration. Then, for the next day, the day after that and the day after that, would still lead to nothing. It could last for months. Maybe except for the odd message that was either of no importance or a breakthrough. But the latter was rare. The Germans were being extremely careful and precise with their communications...