James Morrow - This Is the Way the World Ends

‘And after the Perfect Exile?’

‘More explosions – though of course they cannot touch the church. So destructive are these bombs that the survivors succumb to a man who promises peace. But who is he? The Antichrist, that’s who.’

For the first time in his life, George realized what an intrinsically boring religion Unitarianism was.

‘I’m not sure where all this is leading us,’ said Justice Jefferson.

Sparrow responded by raising his voice. ‘For seven years the Antichrist provokes a series of major nuclear conflicts, including the hundred-thousand-megaton Battle of Armageddon! But then the Son of Man returns in time to prevent total annihilation!’

‘Is that pretty much it?’ asked Justice Jefferson.

‘The present world vanishes, the Last Judgment occurs, and a New Heaven and Earth appear!’

‘Anything else?’

‘Eternity,’ said Sparrow quietly.

‘Last week,’ said Bonenfant, ‘former Vice President Mother Mary Catherine accused you of measuring a nation’s Christianity by the size of its thermonuclear arsenal.’

‘There’s no such passage in any of my writings.’

‘But you do advocate peace through strength.’

‘If you study the Scriptures with an open mind’ – Sparrow tapped his Bible – ‘you will realize that they urge the United States to regain nuclear superiority over the Soviet Union, a nation that the prophet Ezekiel calls Magog.’

‘When I read your books, I saw immediately that you regard nuclear war as a threat that all Christians must work to overcome.’

‘Yes, but we shall succeed only through a willingness to bear the sword of God. The Bible teaches that, in a world of fallen men, military force is essential for social order.’

‘Well, it shouldn’t be a crime to want social order. No further questions.’

‘I’ve never heard that “world of fallen men” hypothesis before,’ said Randstable as he inflicted a fool’s mate on George. ‘Intriguing.’

‘We could have used this guy at SAC,’ said Brat. ‘Our public relations director was a washout.’

Are we going to become fallen men? asked George’s spermatids. I don’t know, he replied.

Aquinas approached the stand without enthusiasm. The Devil’s advocate, the Lord’s prosecutor – equally thankless jobs. ‘Leafing through your books, I’m struck by all the charts comparing American and Soviet military strength. Don’t these statistics take us pretty far afield from theology?’

‘I wanted Christians to understand that the enemy had acquired the edge in every category – throw-weight, conventional forces, you name it. We had to save America while there was still time.’

‘Given that America’s demise had already been revealed to the prophets, wouldn’t it be blasphemous to try averting it?’

‘God has a plan for us,’ the evangelist explained.

‘The title of your last book, Deals With the Devil: A Christian Looks at the STABLE Treaties , speaks for itself. Obviously you do not believe in arms control.’

‘I do believe in arms control. What I don’t believe in is appeasement.’ Sparrow’s smile was so sweet it threatened to rot his teeth. ‘After all, Mr Aquinas, the Soviet Union is a police state, isn’t it? There is no way to tell what agreements they’re breaking or what bombs they’re building.’

‘If it was impossible to know exactly how many weapons the Soviets had, why did you publish charts showing exactly how many weapons the Soviets had?’

‘Those statistics were compiled by the Committee on the Incipient Evil.’

Aquinas went to a document pile, fished out two paperback books, and opened the one with the mushroom cloud rising over Golgotha. ‘Now, on page one hundred forty-three of God’s Megatons you say, “The approach of Armageddon should cause not fear but joy. For Armageddon is the Lord’s war to cleanse the earth of wickedness.” I wonder how many Christians read this passage and found themselves hoping for a nuclear exchange?’ He consulted the second book. ‘And then, in Christians Will Come Through the First Strike , you quote Zephaniah 1:15, “A day of wrath is that day, a day of thick black clouds, a day of battle alarm against fortified cities, against battlements on high.” You add, “Doesn’t this sound like our second-strike weapons defeating the antiballistic missile system of the Soviet Union?”’

‘I wanted to reveal that, if America were wise enough to avoid the disarmament trap, then the Son of Man could use our arsenal to bring violent judgment against those in Magog who reject the free gift of salvation.’

‘Jesus would do that?’

‘His First Coming was as the Lamb of God, His Second will be as the Lion.’

‘Oh,’ said Aquinas, rolling his eyes into his huge skull. ‘No more questions.’

‘Knows his Bible, doesn’t he?’ said Wengernook.

‘I always liked the Sermon on the Mount,’ said George. ‘Job has some memorable parts too.’

‘I thought you were a Unitarian,’ said Brat,

‘Jesus was ahead of His time,’ said Randstable.

At nine o’clock the next morning, Bonenfant called Wengernook to testify.

‘Well, men, here we go,’ said the assistant defense secretary, nervously saluting his co-defendants.

‘Just remember, history is on our side,’ said Brat. ‘Strength made the Soviets move cautiously.’

‘Watch out for Aquinas’s left hook,’ said Randstable.

Once on the stand, Wengernook pulled cigarettes and matches from his scopas suit. Justice Jefferson gave him permission to light up.

Bonenfant said, ‘The prosecution has introduced several documents authored by you, including an address titled “The Soviet Plan for Nuclear Victory” delivered to the Massachusetts Medical Society. Were the Soviets really planning on victory?’

‘The evidence was overwhelming,’ said Wengernook. He struck a match, missed the cigarette by inches. ‘Their arsenal was geared to a protracted nuclear war, and they also had an extensive civil defense program. By the time I joined the current administration, Russia had fully embraced the ugly concept of a winner.’

‘So America had to configure her own deterrent accordingly?’

‘Not only was mutual assured destruction immoral, it had outlived its usefulness. We needed a policy of damage limitation and force modernization, plus a menu of realistic strategic options. In short, a transition from MAD to MARCH.’

‘Some people were troubled that MARCH necessitated a large increase in warheads.’

‘Under MAD, you could get away with, oh, I don’t know – a couple hundred bombs.’ At last Wengernook made match and cigarette connect. ‘But when your goal is damage limitation, you require a much larger arsenal.’

‘I’m not sure I understand this “damage limitation” business,’ said Justice Wojciechowski.

That makes two of us, George thought. That makes four hundred million of us, his spermatids added.

It took Wengernook most of the morning to clarify the various meanings of damage limitation. ‘So you see, your Honors,’ he concluded, ‘in the awful event that deterrence fails, you want to remove targets selectively. Your missiles must send the right message.’

‘What message is that?’ asked Justice Yoshinobu.

‘“We’re not trying to annihilate you, we’re trying to save ourselves. That’s why we’re hitting only your silos, bomber fields, submarine pens, and warhead factories.”’ Wengernook took a prolonged drag on his latest cigarette. ‘Hence, the enemy is inspired to refrain from a massive attack.’

‘So in its early phases such a conflict leads to better communication between the superpowers?’ asked Justice Gioberti.