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Thread: [H.F.] Hiroshima

  1. #1
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default [H.F.] Hiroshima




    The B-29 bomber flew high above the clouds, the sun flinging its shadow onto the white bed of fog below. The captain of the Enola Gay, Colonel Paul Tibbetts, checked the altitude meter: They were 31,000 feet above sea level. By the navigator’s orders, Tibbets cautiously adjusted the plane to the new bearing towards the target. The heavy metal beast turned slowly.

    The plane shook violently as they flew through a dense formation. The crew were already incredibly anxious, and they didn’t need turbulence to add to it. There was so much that could go wrong with this mission. The crew’s adrenaline drained away as they continued towards their destination.

    The city was in view now. They were in range. At 0815 local time, the Enola Gay released its 9,700 pound payload. The aircraft immediately dove away and headed home.

    ***

    The siren rang out at seven that morning. Radar had spotted three high flying aircraft heading towards the south, but after a short while, the All Clear was sounded; three planes did not constitute a bombing formation. “Mr B” was not visiting them today.

    The citizens of Hiroshima went back to their work, which consisted mainly of tearing down buildings to create fire-breaks for the expected air raids. Fire had been catastrophic to Japan’s other cities, destroying half the buildings in a city in one night. The citizens of Hiroshima did not want to suffer the same fate, so they dug, picked, pulled and pushed endlessly to protect themselves from the incendiaries.
    Soldiers of the Japanese Second Army were doing calisthenics on a small parade field, which consisted of various stretches and light exercises. Upon hearing a loud droning noise, several members of the unit looked up to the sky. 1,900 feet above them, the Heavens tore open.

    In a blink of an eye, 70,000 souls were turned to ash. Those that weren’t killed instantly, saw an incredible flash of light above the city, which was followed by a soaring heat, which in turn was followed by the horrifying blast, a blast which threw homes and hospitals like a child threw his toys. Those that weren’t killed in the immediate explosion were either blown to pieces or burnt to death. The heat had been so immense that roads had retained the shadows of passers-by at the moment of detonation. Those within the city heard nothing, but the fisherman on his sampan twenty miles away heard a colossal booming thunder, as if the world was coming to an end. Within minutes, nine out of ten people within half a mile of the explosion were dead.

    Numerous fires had erupted around the city, and they eventually combined into one huge firestorm, which engulfed the city, igniting anything and anyone in its path. Nearly every structure within one mile of ground zero was destroyed.

    Survivors staggered through the ruins of the city, eyes and ears bleeding, clothing burnt through by the initial flash. Many survivors lay under fallen masonry, bones crushed. They would die an agonising death. Thousands more would fall to radiation sickness. Another 80,000 would die in the bombing of Nagasaki three days later. It is thought that in total 200,000 people lost their lives as a result of the two explosions, and this included several American, Dutch and British POWs. On the same day as the “Fat Man” fell on Nagasaki, the Soviets invaded Manchuria. Six days later, after much discussion with the Allies, the Empire of Japan surrendered. The atomic bomb had worked.

    The Second World War was over.

    Last edited by Katsumoto; December 16, 2009 at 10:12 PM.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
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  2. #2
    René Artois's Avatar Dux Limitis
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    Wow. Just wow.
    Bitter is the wind tonight,
    it stirs up the white-waved sea.
    I do not fear the coursing of the Irish sea
    by the fierce warriors of Lothlind.

  3. #3
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    Glad you like it.
    Last edited by Katsumoto; December 16, 2009 at 04:11 PM.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  4. #4
    abbews's Avatar The Screen Door Slams
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    *picks up my jaw from the floor*

    *slow clap*

  5. #5
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    Thanks Abb, I didn't think it was that good.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  6. #6

    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    This was amazing, though I do suggest expanding on it. Perhaps from the point of view of a Japanese child or even a disabled man struggling to survive in the ruins and reach support from the Japanese state?

  7. #7
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    Thanks, but it's just a short story really focusing on the detonation and the immediate aftermath, not really going into how it affected the people in the long term.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  8. #8

    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    Ah, I see.

    It is incredibly well-written, though. Keep it up.

  9. #9
    Nazgűl Killer's Avatar ✡At Your Service✡
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    It's nice, I like it, sounds more like a history lesson than historical fiction however.
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  10. #10
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    Well only the last paragraph, and that's just to sum up how much crap was piling up against Japan and why they had to surrender. It is historical fiction after all, you still need to provide historical facts.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  11. #11
    Monarchist's Avatar Civitate
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    In accordance with the wishes of the author of this story, I declare it complete!

    It shall be displayed, ad infinitum, in the Gilded Hall of the ages, per custom.
    "Pauci viri sapientiae student."
    Cicero

  12. #12
    Frederich Barbarossa's Avatar Protector Domesticus
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    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    Quote Originally Posted by GrouchoMarxist JohnLennonist View Post
    This was amazing, though I do suggest expanding on it. Perhaps from the point of view of a Japanese child or even a disabled man struggling to survive in the ruins and reach support from the Japanese state?

    There was a film about that ;P with a German Priest... and American POWs...
    His highness, ţeţurn I, Keng of Savomyr!

  13. #13

    Default Re: [H.F.] Hiroshima

    It really is good. I know how you feel though. You are always your own greatest critic.

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