Tom and the Wizard-03

After dinner, Longfellow took Tom and the Wizard to his study in the family living quarters.

"So," Tom said, "you're certain that the Nazis perfected a super-soldier augmentation process."

Longfellow handed Tom a set of papers. "See for yourself."

Tom took the papers, and he saw that they were an autopsy report--not worded so, but it was so--of a slain Nazi stormtrooper. Detailed medical drawings, meticulously annotated, showed the medical interventions done by the Nazi doctors to turn this young soldier into a super-human specimen wherein Olympic athletic ability was normative for him.

"As you've now seen, Thomas," The Wizard said, "Longfellow and his people, while not incapable of handling their own affairs, have the same limits on their actions as you do on the surface."

Tom kept scanning the report. "Fantastic stuff." he said, "On the surface, this is all rumored and otherwised disdained as fiction or worse."

"Conspiracy theory," Longfellow said, "is most often heard. We're able to receive surface communications here, especially with the growth in wireless transmissions. Our crystal-based technologies work very well indeed in interfacing with them. Speaking of which-"

Longfellow took the report and handed Tom a small box. "The ammunition that your firearm uses is not the same caliber used by the Nazis, and while we can make it here, we cannot produce it in the quantities that you would require."

Tom opened the box. Inside were six shells, tipped with carefully-crafted crystals and primed with what seemed to be a dop of dust.

"I took the liberty of examining your revolver while you were incapacitated. These shells will allow your revolver to work without needing to reload. Instead of firing projectiles, they will transform the kinetic energy normally generated by igniting gunpowder in a controlled explosion into energy that ignites a quantum of matter into plasma and propels it forward. You'll feel a slight recoil, so your developed skill will directly transfer over."

The Wizard looked over at Tom. "It's a bodge that makes your revolver into a blaster."

Tom nodded. "I like that."

"While I said that we can't make your usual ammunition in quantity, we can make it, and we're almost finished with what we've been able to produce given the time alloted." Longfellow said, "I suspect that there will be instances where purely kinetic energy will be the best way to deal with a target, so I decided that you should have some made ready- just in case."

Tom looked over to The Wizard. "Definitely your friend." Then he looked back at Longfellow. "I assume that you have some captured weapons?"

"We have far, far better." Longfellow said, "Being outnumbered, we must do quality over quantity."

"Well," The Wizard said, "the rest can be left to me. Time to get this damn foolish idealistic crusade started."