Travelling Salesman Page #3

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I'm sorry?

Come on.

Oh, I, uh, think we should

Wait for him to arrive

before that's discussed.

Perhaps a consensus amongst us

Would be helpful

when he does arrive.

Well, I think it's fairly clear

What he'll say our

responsibility is: Nothing.

Our talents were used

on the chalkboards

In the classrooms,

And ultimately composed here.

And that may be where

they'd like to leave things,

But if history

has an precedent,

We're at the forefront

of a new technocratic reality.

Just like oppenheimer.

We really should be thinking

about mathematicians

As politicians.

But those guys

had no precedent.

And, quite frankly,

after seeing

What oppenheimer

endured after trinity,

I'm not sure any of us

is prepared for that.

Regardless, it's reality.

We've all thought about it,

I mean...

I'm gonna say that I object

to these comparisons.

- Why?

- It's just uncomfortable.

I understand that, but why?

Perhaps it's heartburn,

but who knows?

Come on.

Because, at the penultimate

achievement of his career,

The only thing oppenheimer

could remember

Was the bhagavad gita:

"Now I am become death,

the destroyer of worlds."

I don't know

who's more naive...

The one who believes ignoring

the problem is righteous,

Or the one who believes

this discovery

Is equivalent

to the atomic bomb.

I think you miss my point.

Whereas their work

was built around

Threat, fear,

and ultimately destruction.

Her work was one of discovery

and knowledge... That's it.

You can't overlook the fact

that their research

Blazed the way

for numerous scientific

And medical achievements that

have saved countless lives...

- I understand that.

- And facilitated the growth

Of the global economy

as we know it.

Nuclear power provides

20% of the U.S.'S

And 30% of the eu's

electrical power.

I understand that,

but the aims of their project...

They knew what

their objective was.

It was destructive.

I mean, who are we

kidding here?

No, wrong. It was political,

just as this is.

I'm sorry,

you just said a moment ago

That there was no possible way

They could understand

the consequences

Of what they were doing.

Now you say their ultimate aim

was destructive?

No... no.

There is a massive difference

Between understanding

what you have to do

And not knowing how history

will view your achievements...

Or maybe failure.

If you recall,

there was widespread fear

At los Alamos that an

uncontrolled nuclear explosion

Could set the atmosphere

on fire,

Ending life on earth.

We're talking about

an atomic, fissile

Particle chain reaction here,

right?

Certainly, these men

knew that the device

They were building

was destructive.

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