My German Empire - Chapter 39:
A small passenger ship let out a dull whistle, and slowly docked.
After a while, a handsome and cute fifteen or six years old boy, with a light whistle in his mouth, bounced off the passenger ship’s suspended ladder, his white face filled with unconcealable excitement.
He was really excited, and never dreamed that he would be lucky enough to receive a personal letter from Dr. Einstein, inviting him to take a trip to Germany. The envelope also included a ticket for a senior suite of the passenger ship.
These days he has been sorting out the questions he was going to ask Dr. Einstein, and he wrote five full sheets of paper.
Just as the boy looked at the map to find the next bus route, a figure walked up to him. “Are you Alan Mathison Turing?”
The boy raised his head abruptly and saw a sturdy figure with a sturdy face, and a sense of fear could not help but rise in his heart. “You, who are you?”
“Ebel, you scared the child. You are Alan Mathison Turing, aren’t you? Dr. Einstein sent us to pick you up.” Accompanied by a moving voice, a beautiful young lady, from behind the big man walked towards him.
Seeing this beautiful sister uttering the name of Dr. Einstein, Turing couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He thought that the first time he set foot on the land of Germany, he met a bad guy. “I am.”
On the way to the nearby airport, Ebel frequently glanced at the rearview mirror reflecting an excited Turing looking at the scenery outside the window, and finally couldn’t help but speak. “Who is this kid?” He really couldn’t see what was so special about this kid, that it bothered his Highness to send them to pick up the boy himself.
Annie shook her head. “I don’t know. But since it’s someone his Highness wants to see, he must be an important person.”
They arrived at the airport, boarded the plane to Berlin, got off the plane and got into a car again, Turing was stunned when the car stopped. “This is the palace?”
Annie smiled at him. “Yes, His Royal Highness wants to see you.”
“Huh? It’s not Dr. Einstein…” Turing didn’t react for a while. Didn’t Dr. Einstein call him over? How did it become the Crown Prince of Germany?
Annie said first. “After seeing his Highness, you will go to meet Dr. Einstein.” After that, Turing came to Wilhelm’s office, a little confused. “Your Highness, Alan Mathison Turing is here.”
Wilhelm, who had only seen Turing’s middle-aged photos in the original time and space, couldn’t help but complain. “Oh, he is still a kid.” Of course he is still a kid. Turing is two years younger than him now.
It was the first time Turing met a member of the royal family so close, and he saluted with a nervous expression. “You, hello, honorable, honorable prince.”
“Go out. I want to talk to him alone.” Wilhelm also saw Turing’s nervousness, walked over and patted him on the shoulder cordially, beckoning him to relax. “Alan Mathison Turing, I won’t go around talking with you. Both Dr. Einstein and I think you are a good seed. I hope you will not return to the UK after this time and stay in Germany to study, live and serve Germany in the future.”
Turing couldn’t help being taken aback, and quickly refused. “How is it possible, I am British, I can only serve the British Empire…”
Wilhelm interrupted him impatiently. “Yes, yes, you want to serve the British Empire, but if the British Empire you want to serve knows that you are gay, what will they do to you?”
Turing’s immature face flushed instantly, his eyes were full of shock, and his words squashed. “You, how do you…”
“How did I know? You don’t have to worry about it. You should think about what kind of inhuman torture you will be subjected to. If I remember correctly, Article 11 of the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment of the British Empire is the crime of ‘serious indecent assault.’ (This law was aimed at physical contact between men, which was to punish homosexuality.) You must have read this law. Have you thought about what kind of punishment you will receive? Will you go to jail? Or will you be imprisoned? Or they will just castrate you?”
In Britain in the 1950s, tens of thousands of people were convicted of homosexuality. Turing, 39, was one of them. Faced with the judgment of “either in jail or accept chemical castration”, Turing chose the latter.
The so-called chemical castration is the long-term forced intake of synthetic estrogen. The consequences of this are hormonal imbalance, impotence, and male breast development. After receiving estrogen injections for nearly two years, Turing admitted frankly that he has become a person he does not know.
On June 7, 1954, Turing was found dead at home, suspected of committing suicide by taking poison, and a bitten apple was placed on the table, at that time it was only 16 days before his 42nd birthday.
Until 2009, following a petition signed by more than 30,000 people, British Prime Minister Brown officially issued an apology to Turing to the people of the whole country.
In 2012, Turing’s 100th birthday, 10 celebrities, including physicist Stephen Hawking, sent a letter to appeal to Prime Minister Cameron, asking the British government to pardon Turing’s so-called “crime” of “serious indecency”.
In 2013, the Queen of England officially announced the pardon for Turing’s crime of “serious indecency”.
This person who was treated badly by history finally waited for the day when he was justly evaluated.
“In the eyes of the people around you, you will be a perverted, mentally ill, and disgusting guy, and they will try to stay away from you. Because of you, your family will suffer the same discrimination. They are originally kind and innocent. Why should they be harmed for no reason? ”
Turing covered his face with his hands and lowered his head deeply, tears overflowing along his fingers.
Wilhelm sighed and patted Turing on the shoulder again. “If you feel you can endure this inhuman torture, you can go back.”
“…” Turing did not respond after a long silence.
Wilhelm saw the play, after all, he was still a child, and his heart was far less mature than an adult. He lowered his voice and slowly induced Turing, who was in a low mood. “Or you don’t have to go back, just choose to stay in Germany as I just said, and you won’t be harmed by anyone.”
Turing choked and shook his head. “But no country in the world allows homosexuality to be legal, even under German law.”
Isn’t it simple? “Yes, but don’t forget my identity. I am the crown prince of Germany, the future emperor, and I can provide amnesty to you. Not only will I be amnesting you, as long as you have a sufficient contribution to the empire, I can even change the law for you, declare homosexuality legal.”
Turing raised his head suddenly, and asked with tears in his eyes. “Really?!”
Wilhelm promised with a serious face. “Of course, I am the future emperor of Germany. How can I speak lies? I will send someone to bring your family to Germany in a few days, and I promise that they can live a life without worry. Anyone else important to you? Friends or relatives?”
Turing’s face was flushed and whispered. “I have a good friend named Christopher.”
Christopher, presumably Christopher Merka, the boy who made Turing fall in love at first sight, was also a genius in mathematics and chemistry. It’s a pity that he drank milk from sick cows when he was a child and contracted tuberculosis. In 1930, he would die. But maybe bringing him over now and throwing him into the hospital for treatment may extend his life by several years.
“No problem, I will invite them to Germany. Are there any other questions? If not, you can now go and see Dr. Einstein. Miss Annie who brought you here just now will arrange accommodation and school for you.” Speaking of this, Wilhelm remembered that Turing was extremely introverted and his social skills were almost negative. “I think the school will not be necessary. I will arrange for teachers of each subject to teach you separately. Do you think this is better?”
Turing accepted his arrangement and left.