Word: pena
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Sergeant Joe Pena knows the way, and because of that he has been released from Leavenworth, where he was imprisoned for sleeping with an officer's wife. His assignment is to be Oppenheimer's driver and liaison with the native American population. As a well-traveled boxer and musician, Pena straddles two cultures. Oppenheimer calls him a "bebop Indian," though this is not an adequate description. But then, Los Alamos is a breeding ground of misapprehensions. Captain Augustino, the project security officer, is convinced that "Oppy" is passing information to the Soviets, while Klaus Fuchs, a real spy, fails...
...Pena, Augustino, Weiss and most of the other major characters in the novel are purely fictional. Oppenheimer, Fuchs, Edward Teller, General Leslie Groves and other walk-ons bear the names of actual people. The author is conspicuously selective about players who are not wholly owned subsidiaries of his imagination. For example, there is a part for Harry Gold, a confessed spy and Government witness in the case against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. But missing from the book is David Greenglass, Ethel's brother and an Army machinist on the Manhattan Project who later testified that he had provided Gold...
Strictly speaking, there are no sins of omission in fiction. A novelist can leave out whatever he wishes. But having dealt with Los Alamos espionage, Smith risks breaking his illusion of authenticity by neglecting key figures. He is far more effective with Pena, racked between his heritage and his ambitions. The sergeant is a winning creation, even though he stretches belief by conducting a lot of personal business as a noncom assigned to a supersecret project: trysting with Fraulein Weiss, trying to buy a nightclub, getting into shape for a high-stakes boxing match, taking care of Indian affairs...
...Helio Pena (acrobat) -- Originally from Portugal, Pena has travelled by way of Canada to juggle fire for the kids. He usually performs on Sunday on the raised area in front of Paperback Booksmith...
CHICAGO --Tony Pena hit a grand slam homer to highlight Pittsburgh's six run sixth inning and Johnny Ray knocked in the winning run as the last-place Pirates routed the Chicago Cubs 11-6 last night...