[ssf] Progressive Infantilism

[adam bashid]

"In fact there is a resilient theme of infantilism throughout the 
history of nuclear management. Trinity, the first bomb ( nick-named 'the 
Gadget' ), was winched up into position on a contraption known as 'the 
cradle'; during the countdown the Los Alamos radio station broadcast a 
lullaby, Tchaikovsky's 'Serenade for Strings'; scientists speculated 
whether the Gadget was going to be a 'girl' ( i.e. a dud ) or a 'boy' ( 
i.e. a device that might obliterate New Mexico ).

  The Hiroshima bomb was called Little Boy. 'It's a boy!' pronounced 
Edward Teller, the 'father' of the H-bomb, when 'Mike' ( 'my baby' ) was 
detonated over Bikini Atoll in 1952 ... It is ironic, because *they* are 
the little boys; *we* are the little boys. And the irony has since 
redoubled. By threatening extinction, the ultimate anti-personnel device 
is in essence an anti-baby device. One is not referring here to the 
babies who will die but to the babies who will never be born, those that 
are queuing up in the spectral relays until the end of time."

-- Einstein's Monsters :: Martin Amis