Binary code: Mystery number one - стр. 52

Vasilievich was meaningfully silent.

– This was the World War II generation that had always remembered how Hitler had deceived Stalin into launching the bloody Operation Barbarossa in 1941 under the pretext of conducting exercises. Gordievsky and other KGB officers around the world received urgent telegrams demanding evidence that the exercises were a cover for a real preemptive nuclear strike. Washington was completely unaware of the powerful effect Skillful Archer had on the Soviet leadership. In fact – Reagan was not preparing for war, but doing the opposite. It turns out that he was impressed by the movie he watched. This is the case when the "invisible weapon" turns out to be stronger than any thermonuclear weapon. At the end of the day, it's the brain that controls everything. Therefore, the strongest weapon is the one that affects it. At his presidential residence, Camp David, Maryland, he recently watched a television version of the sci-fi movie "The Day After," which tells the story of the aftermath of nuclear war. The former Hollywood cowboy was more impressed by the movie than all the military briefings and reports. The movie predicted the deaths of 150 million people. Reagan wrote in his diary, "It made a strong oppressive impression on me. We must do everything we can to make sure that nuclear war never happens." The old warhorse changed course and soon began trying to establish friendly relations with Moscow, which led to his first visit to the Soviet Union and the establishment of bilateral relations. But Reagan nearly missed his chance. When the exercises reached their peak, our outrage reached its highest point. During the exercise, their forces nearly fired a theoretical salvo of 350 nuclear missiles. Our military put the nuclear forces on highest alert, when all that was left to do was press the button to launch a massive retaliatory strike. The pilots of our nuclear bombers sat in the cockpits of their airplanes, engines idling, waiting for the command to take off. Three hundred intercontinental ballistic missiles were ready for launch, and 75 mobile SS-20 launchers hurriedly moved to their secret positions. Navy ships hid in shelters, anchored off the cliffs of the Baltic, and nuclear submarines with their missile arsenals cruised under the Atlantic ice and prepared for missile launches. The situation was saved by two spies, one on each side . The Americans reacted instantly, lowering the heat. Moscow took a step back from that precipice. Only later did America realize how close the world had come to the apocalypse. Greater efforts began to find ways to end the arms race. Today, America's relationship with Russia is strained. To some extent this is reality, to some extent it is a spectacle. It is clear that "Zero", meaning us, is in control of the situation. Be that as it may, the person in power, even if he is controlled, always has very great opportunities. And in this case, the risk is deadly. Now, hopefully, you understand better the essence of the mission that we are carrying, the part of it that will be entrusted to you? Some very important events, for people, unfortunately go unnoticed. Amid growing concern about nuclear proliferation, the staff of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has moved its doomsday clock forward, setting it half a minute to midnight. From here on out, you will increasingly realize the gravity and danger of the situation. I hope you pass the tests with flying colors and are invited to the big gathering.