"Both the man of science and the man of action live always at the edge of mystery"
Julius Robert Oppenheimer
The test explosion
Buissness Insider
"Have your heard of that new movie, Oppenheimer?"
"Wow, that explosion scene from Oppenheimer was exotic!"
"That movie, Oppenheimer, was so long. Don't you think?"
What about before the movie? How about what happened on the day of that "exotic" explosion? Don't forget about how long engineering that nuclear bomb took, for than four hours that's for sure. You could assume that the new movie describing some of that that happened on the test explosion day could not have included it all. Maybe they even thought to include it all, but realized there was too much. Too many people, perhaps. That has to be true because they left out a few "minor characters". Such as one no one can quite make out. While there is little proof, there's proof of a man or woman who was involved in this experiment. It sometimes seems he or she was never real. I think they were, though.
I'll begin by bringing from the movie to help those who are not as completely pre-informed about the storyline. In the movie, we see an assistant to the experiment preparing to set off this bomb for testing. If this test works, it will be the true invention of the nuclear bomb. So, this man is waiting to press the singular button that would determine our future in battle, which he isn't sure is safe. He waited a moment before pressing the activating button. At that moment, going through his head, he reconsidered his assignment. He was not going to press that button. However, a ghost-like figure spoke to him. We aren't exactly sure what this figure spoke about, but it was convincing. Either that or the phantom pressed his hand into the button.
Of course, the man didn't explain this to others because he would be discredited. We are only aware of this because a stand-by participator saw this shadow whispering behind a not-so-solid hand into the ear of the assigned button presser. This was found out and discussed during the legal matters handled in private discussion rooms. It was not included in the movie because it was found unimportant.
If you don't believe this, you should look at it scientifically, or psychologically. think of it as if you were that man. Pressing that button could've killed all the supervisors, including yourself. You knew all precautions were taken to an extreme measure, but what if it wasn't enough? You would've been reconsidering just the same as he was. You may have even backed out last minute. Yet, possibly all you needed was encouragement (Something you were too pridful to ask for as most men of that day and age were).
We get scared off from things because of our hippocampus and the frontal cortex of our brains. The process of information depending on the outcome can weigh down the amygdala increasing the fear reaction. This keeps us from doing something panic-inducing. This "person" however wouldn't let that happen. It's almost as if they knew it would work. I guess we have them to thank for the correct timing of the trial.
I do not know how to explain a phantom figure assisting an assistant in a global matter, that is for you to believe, but it's interesting to think about how our minds can keep or change the course of history based on fear. Maybe the witness wanted to believe in a higher awakening or justification of this explosive idea. Yet, we could also really see this character. I wouldn't deny it until I could prove it incorrect.
Oppenheimer observing the explosion (from the movie)
Entertainment Weekly
About the Contributor
Scout Howell-Dowd
Orbit Online- Assistant Web Editor-in-Chief/ Opinion Editor/ Satire
I am in 8th grade and love being a part of Orbit. I hope you like my work.