Atoms of Doom: Seconds to Midnight

Fingers on Nuclear Triggers and Nuclear Gambits, Confrontations, Disasters, Tragedies & Almost Apocalypses in the Atomic Age - Part I

By: Rajat Narang

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The development of nuclear weapons by humans with 'Trinity' and their gradual evolution within a decade into megaton-class thermonuclear weapons; capable of decimating entire cities in a matter of minutes with a single explosion; has almost taken mankind onto the verge of a potential nuclear apocalypse & doomsday on multiple occasions so far over the course of the Atomic Age, especially through the bone chilling Cold War years. However, almost all global nuclear powers consistently maintain and still swear by the extremely dangerous & absurd doctrines of ‘nuclear deterrence’, ‘mutual-assured destruction’ and the ‘launch on warning’ strategic posture, despite being acutely aware of the existential threat they pose to the entire civilization.

The ‘Atoms of War’ and ‘Atoms of Peace’ aspects of the Atomic Age have been extensively elaborated upon, demonstrated and effectively propagated by nations, world leaders and other stakeholders since its dawn in 1945. However, the ‘Atoms of Doom’ aspect has barely been discussed, not given its due consideration & has rarely been debated publicly while having been conveniently brushed aside, effectively disregarded & swept under the carpet to ensure continued global acceptability, dominance and reliance upon of nuclear juggernaut as the linchpin of deterrence & national security globally in the geopolitical power games of one-upmanship and relative/overall power calculus.

This effort zooms-in upon and takes a close & behind-the-scenes look, based on recently declassified facts & information, at some of the most pivotal moments in world history when the ‘Atoms of Doom’ had almost effectively brought the mankind onto the verge of a potential doomsday with humanity just minutes away from the onset of a chain reaction to extinction via unimaginable horrors of nuclear exchanges & disasters, which were, somehow averted and humanity managed to be lucky and survive. However, Hibakusha,as the survivors of Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings and millions of other unsuspecting victims of radiation & atmospheric nuclear testing & nuclear disasters globally, are still around with their lives upended & altered forever irrevocably for generations to come. Further, assessments and studies indicate that around 3 million people are poised to lose their lives prematurely over the coming multi-millennia owing to Carbon-14 emissions released cumulatively by the 2,000+ atmospheric & below-surface nuclear tests already conducted through the course of the last century.

The gravity of the threat posed by the ‘Atoms of Doom’ to the mankind has been quite effectively captured by two quotes, by former Soviet premiers, namely, Nikita Khrushchev, with his remark, “the living will envy the dead (following a nuclear exchange)” and Mikhail Gorbachov, who had said, “It is my firm belief that the infinite and uncontrollable fury of nuclear weapons should never be held in the hands of any mere mortal ever again, for any reason.” At this moment, think of Adolf Hitler & the Nazi War Machinery; which were dangerously close to developing nuclear weapons during World War II and, further imagine the likely, ensuing fate of mankind in that scenario, given the unfathomable scale of devastation & human suffering they could have easily & without remorse unleashed at the free world to subjugate it to their evil designs, had they managed to succeed in developing nuclear weapons and launch them, mounted on their V-2 rockets, which were a functional reality for the Nazis, in an era, wherein, missiles were practically non-existent and ballistic missile defenses being stuff belonging to the realm of science fiction…

May God forbid that kind of a situation from recurring & confronting mankind ever again. However, with massive nuclear modernization underway globally and the prospect of 'Fire & Fury' & the 'Little Rocket Man' still around, history runs a serious risk of repeating itself once again...