How we cite our quotes: Chapter name.(Chapter Number).Paragraph
Quote #7
"Naturally, we were very jubilant over the outcome of the experiment," Rabi later said of the mood among scientists that morning. "We turned to one another and offered congratulations—for the first few minutes. Then, there was a chill, which was not the morning cold."
It was the chill of knowing they had used something they loved—the study of physics—to build the deadliest weapon in human history. Oppenheimer was feeling the chill too.
"It was extremely solemn," he recalled. "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent."
Oppenheimer thought of a line from the ancient Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita, a dramatic moment in which the god Vishnu declares: "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." (Test Shot.(31).74-77)
Even though the scientists knew what they'd been creating, they probably had a bit of cognitive dissonance while they were doing it. They could focus on the science, beating Hitler, winning the war, and so on, but once they succeed, the reality of what they've made sets in and all of that dissonance fades. In this moment, they're realizing they've used their significant intellectual powers to create something awful.
Quote #8
"We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces… The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction." (Little Boy.(32).26)
Can you imagine being able to say something like that and mean it? It sounds like something a super villain would threaten, not something a government would issue to another country—but that's the power of being the only nation with an atomic bomb.
Quote #9
"We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city… Let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war… If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth." (Reaction Begins.(34).13)
Surprised/scared emoji.