Robert Oppenheimer - Direct & Cross Examination

When were you born?

April 22, 1904.

How did you feel when reflecting on the test at Trinity years later?

Ashamed. I had given humankind a weapon capable of destruction on an unseen scale. Aghast at what I had done, I remember the moment thinking: "Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds."

Why do you describe societal moralities as a veil?

Because that is precisely what it resembles. Humans are nothing but raw, primeval instincts until society acts as a sort of wrapping paper and channels those energies into different civilized activities. This veil is lifted when society in removed. This is precisely what happened to the inner circle of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. We were so removed from society that we let our instincts take control and we pushed away the societal moralities that fought against our work.

How did you feel when first seeing the test at Trinity?

Elated. Initially, there was the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment at a job well done. We'd worked so hard and to see that work pay off was fantastic.

Date of death?

Febuary 18, 1967

How do you connect to The Lord of the Flies?

Golding makes it clear that the removal of civilization is what caused the boys to turn savage; additionally, when society was reintroduced, they were aghast at what they'd done and burst into tears. This is exactly what happened with me. Us inner physicists dwelled in an environment where we were not influenced by society, but when we were reintroduced into the American community, we found ourselves horrified at what we'd done.

Who did you frequent while you developed the bomb?

Hardly anyone. Los Alamos had a very small, boring community. I was nearly constantly surrounded by the small inner circle of physicists who were working to develop the bomb.

What did you learn about human nature?

Human nature is primitive. We act civilized due to the veil that has been imposed upon us. Life is less of a finding of one's true personality, than a stashing of one's true self.

What is your education?

I attended Harvard and Cambridge, and got my degree at Göttingen University in Germany.

How did your discovery influence the rest of your life?

I was permanently traumatized by what I'd committed and I went on to advocate against the development of the Hydrogen Bomb, a weapon three times stronger than the atomic bomb.

What did you do at Los Alamos?

I was the leader of the Manhattan Project, a secret government project to develop the atomic bomb before the Nazis.

Who are you and where were you born?

My name is J. Robert Oppenheimer and I was born in New York.

What motivated you to develop the bomb?

The fear of the Nazis developing the bomb before us and, by extension, the will to live.

You mention a kill-or-be-killed mindset. What do you mean by that?

The kill or be killed mindset is one of the oldest animalistic instincts there are and it pivots on the will to live. Everyone has it. War revolves around this mindset. In a war, you don't have time to think if your enemy has children, a family, or a favorite food, if you don't kill him that he is going to kill you and you have children, a family, and a favorite food! The kill or be killed mindset is what keeps many people alive in times of war and it is what emerged within us as we developed the bomb.

What is your profession?

Theoretical physics.

What was unique about the inner circle of scientists?

We were completely cut off from the rest of society due to the amount of secrecy needed to conduct the experiment.

How did your perspective change between your time developing the bomb and the time afterwards?

While developing the bomb, I gleefully tallied how many people we had the capability of killing. In the following years, we bowed our head in shame as we tallied the people whose blood littered our hands.