J.E. Bright - The Riddlers Battleship Blitz

Look, Batman! said Robin. He leaned forward in the passenger seat of the Batmobile and pointed upward.

Batman peered up at the purplish dawn sky above Gotham City. Instead of a yellow Bat-Signal, a green question mark beamed against the top of Wayne Tower. It was the citys tallest skyscraper and the headquarters for Wayne Enterprises. Dr. Arkham warned us only ten minutes ago that the Riddler escaped his cell tonight, he said. Hes already causing trouble.

Somethings weird about the Riddlers signal, noticed Robin. Its flickering.

Batman put the Batmobile on as he stared up at the glowing projection. Hmm, he said. I recognize those flickers.

Maybe theres a short-circuit? Robin guessed.

No, replied Batman, its a pattern. Short and long pulses. Its Morse code. The message is repeating.

Im recording it, said Robin. The Batcomputer can figure out what it means.

Batman tapped the side of his head. I already translated the code, he said. Its a riddle, of course. It says The war of the world had come again and gone, but its brains were as important as its brawn. What have I stolen to switch on?

The war of the worlds? gasped Robin. Is the Riddler talking about an alien invasion?

Thats not how I read it, said Batman. The Riddler wrote world, not worlds. Weve had two major international conflicts called world wars in our history.

The Batmobile rumbled across a bridge into the outskirts of Gotham City. The light was getting brighter as the sun began to rise.

So which world war is the Riddler riddling us about? asked Robin.

The war of the world had come again and gone, repeated Batman, thinking about the villains words. The Riddler may be referring to World War II.

The Batmobile turned onto the back roads behind Wayne Manor. The entrance to the Batcave was hidden in a thicket of trees.

World War II was a global war between the Allies and the Axis powers in Europe and Asia, said Robin as they zoomed through the woods. That much I know. The Axis powers were Germany, Japan, and Italy. The Allies were mostly everyone else, including Robin ticked the names of the countries off on his gloved fingers. Poland, England, France and eventually the United States, the Soviet Union He ended up on his thumb again. And China.

Good, Robin, said Batman. Those are the basic facts. There were a lot of shifting sides in the war, which lasted from 1939 to 1945. Its all extremely complicated. But Im glad to hear you listened to a little of your history lesson.

Hey, I listened to all of it, protested Robin. Remembering is the tricky part.

Batman smiled. Lets work on the riddle inside, he said. Im hungry after our night on patrol. I hope Alfred has breakfast ready.

Indeed I do, said his butler Alfred over the Batmobiles radio.

The Batmobile blazed toward a cliff wall covered in leafy bushes. The self-driving car didnt slow down. Collision with the cliff seemed impossible to avoid.

CHOOM! At the last moment, a wide trapdoor opened at the base of the cliff. Inside was a ramp heading underground, which the Batmobile roared down smoothly. The trapdoor closed behind them.

It only took a few minutes for the Batmobile to rumble down the tunnel to the main section of the Batcave. The Batmobile parked in a big garage between the Batcycle and Robins Redbird motorcycle.

After exiting the Batmobile, Robin peered into a scanner on a panel beside a vault door. The scanner analyzed his eyeball. The steel door slid aside, letting Batman and Robin into their secret headquarters.

Alfred waited for them on the other side. Efficient patrol tonight, sirs? he asked.

Yes, Alfred, replied Batman. Mostly petty crimes. One minor rescue of a woman trapped in an elevator.

Then on the way home we spotted the Riddlers riddle, added Robin.

Yes, I saw the Morse code recording on the computer link, said Alfred. A most perplexing brainteaser. I set up breakfast by the Batcomputers central workstation so you may continue solving the puzzle.

Thank you, Alfred, said Batman.

Alfred bowed and led them to a changing area. There Batman and Robin swapped their uniforms for comfy lounge wear, slippers, and warm robes. The cavernous Batcave was chilly deep under the ground.

Dressed in their casual morning clothes, Batman and Robin preferred to think of themselves as their true identities, Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake.

Bruce headed through another set of steel sliding vault doors into the main cavern of the Batcave. The enormous stone chamber had been carved out by an underground stream over many centuries.

Against the caverns far wall were souvenirs from Batman and Robins adventures. The keepsakes included a giant Lincoln penny, a huge joker playing card, and a life-size robotic Tyrannosaurus rex.

In the middle of the cavern loomed a huge freestanding media tower covered in monitors. The screens showed Bruce video feeds from around Gotham City and the world beyond.

A ring of control panels around a hi-tech chair made up Batmans command center. From there he could run his incredibly powerful Batcomputer. On Bruces right, Tim had his own computer terminal, set up as a long desk with no chairs. Tim preferred to stand so he could be active while interacting with the system.

While Bruce ate breakfast, he called up the riddle on his main screen. It floated in green letters in front of him:

The war of the world had come again and gone, but its brains were as important as its brawn. What have I stolen to switch on?

Bruce had already figured out the first part: that was World War II. But he wasnt sure what the Riddler meant by the second line. What or whose brains were famous at that time? he asked.

Albert Einstein? guessed Tim.

He was alive then, but not directly involved in the fighting, said Bruce, tapping his lips. Perhaps J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped develop the atomic bomb.

Kaboom and kablooie, Bruce, said Tim, almost choking on a waffle. You dont think the Riddler stole a nuke, do you? If thats what hes going to switch on

Dont panic, said Bruce. I would have heard if a nuclear device had been stolen. And an atomic bomb isnt the Riddlers style.

So whats he talking about, then? asked Tim.

Hmm, said Bruce. Batcomputer, make a list of important brains of World War II.

The Batcomputer beeped. Bruce scrolled through the list of results. He passed by listings for scholars, political thinkers, and writers.

Then he read the name Alan Turing.

Ah, said Bruce.

Alan Turing? asked Tim. Oh, he kind of invented the computer!

Turing was a British mathematician, said Bruce.

A personal hero of mine, said Alfred in his English accent. His computer science theories led him to create an thinking machine.

Alfred typed on a keyboard at a workstation, calling up more information.

Here it is, the butler continued. He used that machine to , from the Germans during the war. By doing so, Turing helped end the war and saved millions of lives.