In 1861, the Confederate States of American tried to break free from the United States.
They succeeded.
Now, it is 1961, and the Confederacy is on the verge of economic collapse.
Desperate to keep from being re-absorbed into the USA, Richmond's rulers have authorized a secret project to build the ultimate symbol of power and prestige -- the atomic bomb.
But there is a spy in their midst.
Rudy Schweitzer didn't volunteer for this assignment. He was forced. Having lived undercover for two years, he has grown to like the Confederate people and sabotaging the bomb project could get him killed!
Will he be a turncoat to save his own skin?
Who, ultimately, is THE MAN INSIDE?
An alternate history story in the tradition of Harry Turtledove and Ward Moore.
A science fiction story by Eric "Cruel" Cline, whose stories have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, James Gunn's Ad Astra, and other places.
