Sliders Arturo-Bennish Nuclear Story
In a very early episode of the 1st season title "Last Days:
https://sliders.fandom.com/wiki/Last_Days
What sliders ended up calling "asteroid world":
https://sliders.fandom.com/wiki/Asteroid_World
Introduction
At the heart of Sliders' "Last Days" episode lies one of the series' most compelling moral dilemmas: Professor Maximillian Arturo and Conrad Bennish Jr.'s race to build an atomic bomb to save Earth from an asteroid. This storyline transcends typical action-adventure plotting to explore profound questions about scientific responsibility, knowledge as power, and whether saving the present justifies endangering the future.
The World Without Nuclear Weapons
Einstein's Choice
The foundation of this story begins fifty years before the Sliders' arrival, during World War II's Manhattan Project. On this alternate Earth, Albert Einstein made a choice that would define the next half-century of human history. Recognizing the catastrophic potential of atomic weapons, this world's Einstein decided humanity wasn't ready for such destructive power.
Rather than allowing the atomic bomb to become reality, Einstein deliberately sabotaged the first test. He misaligned the detonator, ensuring the weapon would fail. The scientists conducting the test, unaware of Einstein's manipulation, concluded that insufficient fissionable material existed in nature to make nuclear weapons viable. The atomic bomb project was abandoned, dismissed as "Einstein's Folly"—a cautionary tale about scientific hubris and impossible dreams.
The Consequences of Peace
Einstein's sabotage had immediate and long-lasting consequences. Without atomic bombs to deploy against Japan, President Truman lacked the devastating weapon that, on Earth Prime, forced unconditional surrender. World War II dragged on for five additional years, resulting in countless deaths that might have been prevented by the bombs' terrible swift end to the conflict.
Nuclear research stagnated across all fields. Without weapons research driving innovation, nuclear power plants were never developed. This Earth remained dependent on fossil fuels and traditional energy sources. The economic implications rippled through decades—energy costs remained high, technological development followed different paths, and the Cold War's nuclear arms race never materialized.
For fifty years, this world existed without nuclear weapons. No Hiroshima. No Nagasaki. No Cuban Missile Crisis. No mutually assured destruction holding superpowers in check. Whether this made the world better or worse remained an open question—until the asteroid appeared.
The Crisis: Asteroid 2956 Yeoman
Discovery and Despair
When astronomers detected asteroid 2956 Yeoman on a collision course with western North America, this Earth faced extinction without the tools to prevent it. The Union of Concerned Scientists convened emergency meetings to explore solutions, but every option led to the same conclusion: without nuclear weapons, humanity lacked the power to destroy or deflect an asteroid of this magnitude.
The impact zone would be California, but the consequences would be global. The collision would trigger earthquakes, tsunamis, and throw enough debris into the atmosphere to block out the sun for years. Mass extinction was inevitable. Civilization had perhaps weeks before the asteroid struck.
Society began to fracture. Massive parties erupted as people sought pleasure in their final days. Looting became widespread. Price gouging ran rampant. Yet paradoxically, many long-standing conflicts ended in truces—when everyone faces the same fate, old grievances lose their meaning.
Bennish's Heresy
In this atmosphere of resignation and chaos, one voice insisted survival was possible. Conrad Bennish Jr., a doctoral candidate in physics, had been researching atomic theory despite the field's association with Einstein's famous failure. Bennish believed the original Manhattan Project scientists had been wrong—nuclear fission was achievable, and an atom bomb could be built.
He proposed his theory to the scientific community: construct an atomic bomb, launch it at the asteroid, and destroy the threat with nuclear fire. The proposal was dismissed as fantasy, the desperate grasping of a young academic who didn't understand why Einstein's Folly had failed. Every established scientist rejected Bennish's ideas.
Every scientist, that is, except one visitor from another world.
Arturo's Terrible Knowledge
The Man Who Knows Too Much
When Professor Maximillian Arturo arrives on this Earth, he carries knowledge that makes him uniquely dangerous. He comes from a world where atomic bombs aren't theoretical—they're historical fact. Arturo knows, with absolute certainty, that nuclear weapons are not only possible but achievable with 1940s-era technology.
When Arturo learns of Bennish's proposal and the scientific community's rejection, he faces an immediate moral crisis. He possesses the knowledge to save billions of lives. But deploying that knowledge means introducing nuclear weapons to a world that has existed without them for fifty years.
Arturo must quickly weigh impossible options. If he does nothing, he watches an entire world die while possessing the means to save it. If he acts, he potentially condemns this Earth to the nuclear age—arms races, Cold Wars, and the constant threat of atomic annihilation that defined Earth Prime's second half of the twentieth century.
The Decision to Act
Arturo chooses to save the world. Whatever the long-term consequences, he cannot stand by and let billions die when he holds the knowledge to prevent it. He approaches Bennish and confirms what the young physicist suspected: atomic bombs are possible, and Arturo knows how to build one.
This decision reveals Arturo's fundamental character. He is a man of action, unwilling to accept defeat while any possibility remains. He also carries guilt from Earth Prime, where his theoretical work may have contributed to destructive technologies. Perhaps saving this world offers a form of redemption—a chance to see nuclear power used purely for salvation rather than destruction.
But Arturo is not naive. Even as he commits to building the bomb, he begins planning how to limit the damage his knowledge will cause. If this world must have nuclear weapons, perhaps it need only have one—the bomb that destroys the asteroid. If he can prevent Bennish from building more, perhaps he can save this world without fully condemning its future.
Building the Bomb
The Partnership
Arturo and Bennish form an unlikely partnership. Bennish provides the facilities, materials, and manpower, having convinced some colleagues that attempting the impossible beats waiting for death. Arturo provides the critical knowledge—the precise configurations, calculations, and techniques that separate theoretical possibility from practical reality.
The two men work around the clock, racing against the asteroid's approach. They're constructing a World War II-era atomic bomb, the same basic design that destroyed Hiroshima on Earth Prime. No time exists for sophisticated modern designs or safety features. They're building the most primitive nuclear weapon possible, hoping it will be enough.
The work is dangerous. They're handling radioactive materials without full safety protocols, conducting tests that could go catastrophically wrong. Every step forward carries risk—not just of failure, but of accidental detonation that could kill them and everyone nearby.
Technical Challenges
The bomb requires precise assembly. The fissionable material must reach critical mass at exactly the right moment. The detonator must fire with perfect timing. A fraction of a second's error, a slight miscalculation, and the weapon becomes an expensive dud instead of an asteroid-killer.
Arturo draws on memories of Earth Prime's nuclear history. He recalls technical specifications from books he's read, lectures he's attended, and casual conversations with physicists. He's not a weapons designer, but his broad knowledge of nuclear physics proves sufficient. Where his memory fails, his theoretical understanding allows him to work out the solutions.
Bennish proves an invaluable partner. His theoretical work, though dismissed by others, demonstrates genuine understanding of nuclear principles. He asks insightful questions, catches errors in calculations, and suggests improvements to the design. Working together, they accomplish in days what took Earth Prime's Manhattan Project years.
The Moral Weight
As they work, the implications of their actions weigh heavily on Arturo. He's becoming this world's J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. He remembers Oppenheimer's famous quote after the first successful test: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Arturo understands that sentiment with painful clarity.
Every calculation he makes, every specification he provides to Bennish, is knowledge that will outlast his visit to this world. Even if the bomb successfully destroys the asteroid, the knowledge of how to build nuclear weapons will remain. Bennish will remember. Others working on the project will remember. This Earth's innocence—its freedom from nuclear fear—ends the moment their bomb detonates successfully.
Arturo wrestles with whether this constitutes playing God. Who is he to decide this world's technological destiny? Yet what choice does he have? Standing by while billions die is also a choice, and one he cannot morally justify.
Bennish's Transformation
From Idealist to Power Broker
As the bomb nears completion, Arturo observes troubling changes in Conrad Bennish Jr. Initially, Bennish approached the project as pure salvation—a scientist desperate to save his world, willing to pursue ideas others dismissed as impossible. His motivation seemed entirely noble.
But success begins to corrupt. As the bomb takes shape and Bennish sees his theories vindicated, his perspective shifts. He starts to recognize the immense power he's acquiring. Knowledge of nuclear weapons will make him one of the most influential people on Earth—perhaps in human history.
Bennish begins to envision his post-asteroid future. Governments will seek his expertise. Military forces will want weapons. Rival nations will bid for his knowledge. He could reshape global power structures, determine which countries possess nuclear capability, and position himself as the gatekeeper of humanity's most destructive technology.
The Moral Slide
Arturo watches Bennish's transformation with growing alarm. The young physicist hasn't become evil, exactly. He still wants to save the world. But he's also begun to see himself as uniquely qualified to manage the nuclear future he's creating. Bennish convinces himself that the world needs his guidance, that he must ensure nuclear knowledge is used responsibly.
This rationalization disturbs Arturo because he recognizes it. Throughout history, those who acquire great power convince themselves they deserve it, that they'll use it wisely where others would not. Bennish isn't planning to become a tyrant—he's planning to become a benevolent guardian. But history shows such guardians rarely remain benevolent once power is truly theirs.
The question becomes: Is Bennish's moral slide Arturo's fault? By providing nuclear knowledge, has Arturo corrupted a good man? Or has he simply revealed what was always latent in Bennish's character—the hunger for significance that drives many scientists?
The Theft
Arturo's Counter-Plan
As the bomb nears completion, Arturo formulates a desperate plan. He cannot undo his decision to build the weapon, but perhaps he can limit its legacy. If he removes a critical section of the bomb's schematics and takes it with him when he slides, Bennish won't be able to construct additional weapons.
The plan is ethically complex. Arturo has already interfered massively in this world's development. Now he's contemplating a second interference—stealing technology to prevent its proliferation. He's making decisions that will affect billions, all without their knowledge or consent.
Yet what alternative exists? Leaving complete nuclear knowledge in Bennish's hands seems irresponsible given what Arturo has observed of the man's changing character. Stealing the schematics at least buys time, forces this world to rediscover certain techniques rather than having them handed over complete.
The Critical Component
Arturo selects a specific section of the schematics to steal—detailed specifications for the detonator mechanism. Without this information, replicating the bomb becomes significantly harder. The general principles of nuclear fission would remain known, but the precise engineering required for a functional weapon would be lost.
He waits for a moment when Bennish is distracted, then carefully removes the relevant pages from their shared documentation. He folds them and secures them in his jacket, planning to destroy them before sliding or take them to another world where they can do no harm.
The theft feels like betrayal. Bennish trusted him, worked alongside him, and together they achieved something remarkable. Now Arturo is sabotaging their partnership to prevent what he sees as inevitable misuse. It's a lonely decision, one he cannot discuss with anyone.
The Asteroid Strike
Launch and Detonation
Despite Arturo's moral reservations, the technical work proceeds. The bomb is completed, loaded onto a missile, and prepared for launch. The targeting calculations are triple-checked. The detonator is armed. Everything is ready.
The launch is successful. The missile arcs into space on a trajectory that will intersect the asteroid. Thousands watch from the ground, hoping against hope that Bennish's mad theory and the stranger professor's impossible knowledge will somehow save them.
The bomb reaches the asteroid and detonates. For a moment, a new sun appears in the sky—brief, brilliant, and terrible. The nuclear explosion tears into the asteroid with unimaginable force. Rock that has traveled through space for billions of years is vaporized in milliseconds.
When the light fades, telescopes confirm what everyone hoped: the asteroid has been destroyed. Fragments remain, but none large enough to cause extinction. Some will burn up in the atmosphere. Others will impact harmlessly in the ocean. The threat has been neutralized.
Victory and Its Price
Celebration erupts across the world. Humanity has been saved. The parties that were somber farewells become joyous festivals. The looting stops. Society begins to rebuild even before all the debris has fallen.
Bennish is hailed as a hero, the man who saved the world. His vindication is complete—atomic bombs are not Einstein's Folly but humanity's salvation. The scientific establishment that dismissed him now begs for his knowledge.
Arturo participates in the celebration, but his emotions are complex. Yes, they saved billions of lives. Yes, a world survives that would have been destroyed. But at what cost? This Earth now knows nuclear weapons work. The genie cannot be returned to the bottle.
The professor reflects on the burden of knowledge. Before he arrived, this world was innocent of nuclear capability. Now it has witnessed atomic fire, seen what such weapons can do. Even if Arturo's theft prevents immediate replication, the knowledge that such power is achievable will drive research. Eventually, others will reconstruct what Bennish built.
Historical Parallels
The Manhattan Project Scientists
Arturo's dilemma mirrors that of Earth Prime's Manhattan Project scientists. Men like Oppenheimer, Fermi, and Szilard knew they were creating something that could end civilization. They proceeded anyway, believing the alternative—letting Nazi Germany develop atomic weapons first—was worse.
After the war, many of these scientists became advocates for nuclear arms control. They'd seen what their creation could do and wanted to limit its proliferation. Some, like Oppenheimer, were persecuted for their efforts to control what they'd helped create.
Arturo finds himself in a compressed version of their journey. He creates the bomb, recognizes the danger, and attempts to limit proliferation, all within the span of the episode. His attempt to steal the schematics parallels the scientists who tried to advocate for international control of nuclear weapons after World War II.
Einstein's Actual Regrets
The real Albert Einstein never worked directly on the atomic bomb but did write the famous letter to President Roosevelt that initiated the Manhattan Project. He later expressed deep regret about this letter, saying if he'd known Germany wouldn't succeed in building a bomb, he never would have recommended the American program.
This episode imagines an Einstein who acted on those regrets preemptively, sabotaging the bomb before it could be completed. The story asks whether Einstein's regrets were wisdom or shortsightedness. Yes, atomic bombs enabled terrible destruction. But they also ended World War II and, arguably, prevented World War III through mutually assured destruction.
The episode suggests that even Einstein's genius couldn't have anticipated all consequences of his choices. Some knowledge, once pursued, takes on a life of its own that its creators cannot fully control.
The Proliferation Problem
Arturo's attempt to steal the schematics mirrors real-world nuclear proliferation challenges. Once nuclear weapons were developed, controlling their spread became a primary concern. Treaties like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty attempted to limit which nations possessed atomic weapons.
But knowledge cannot truly be contained. Nuclear weapons secrets have steadily spread despite intense efforts at control. Arturo's loss of the schematics illustrates why: knowledge, once created, has a tendency to escape any attempts at containment.
Conclusion: The Burden of Saving the World
The Arturo-Bennish nuclear storyline in "Last Days" represents science fiction at its most philosophically rich. It uses its premise—time travelers who possess knowledge others lack—to explore profound questions about scientific responsibility, the nature of knowledge, and whether salvation justified by saving present lives can also be condemnation of future generations.
Professor Arturo saves an entire world but cannot feel simple pride in his accomplishment. He knows he's potentially doomed that same world to a nuclear future with all its dangers. He tried to limit the damage and failed, losing control of the very knowledge he tried to contain.
The story ends without resolution. Arturo slides away, never to know whether Bennish becomes a responsible guardian of nuclear knowledge or a tyrant who enables mass destruction. He never learns whether this world develops a sustainable nuclear future or destroys itself in atomic fire. He saved billions and may have condemned billions more, and he'll spend the rest of his sliding journey never knowing which outcome occurred.
This uncertainty is the true burden Arturo carries—not just the weight of what he's done, but the knowledge that he'll never know if he was right to do it. He acted according to his conscience, made the choice he believed was necessary, and must live with consequences he cannot witness or control.
In this, Arturo represents anyone who has possessed knowledge that could help or harm others. The scientist who discovers a technology with dual uses. The leader who makes decisions affecting millions. The individual who faces moral choices with no clearly right answer. His story asks: when you possess knowledge that could save or destroy, what do you do? And can you live with your choice, knowing you'll never know if it was right?
The episode offers no comfort, no easy answers. Only the reminder that some burdens cannot be escaped, only endured. Arturo saved a world, and for the rest of his sliding journey, he'll wonder whether he should have.
Comments
Post a Comment