He was watching television, a program about the new bright people coming up.
``There are children in the suburbs with untouched faces,'' he thought. ``Some are grown now and they see the world through a perfectly clean window and they see more clearly than any of us. Something must be done.''
Random car bombs were his solution. They really changed untroubled lives.
There weren't many bombs. Three the first week. None the second. Two the following week then none for a month. Weeks would then go by before a car exploded at the mall or in the garage.
Bicycle manufacturers were happy. People who sold remote starters couldn't keep them in stock. All over the country, all over the world, people stopped breathing for a moment when they turned the ignition key. And the untouched children of the suburbs thought twice before going to soccer practice.
He watched the story on his television and he smiled a little.
``We are a different country now,'' the President said, ``we are under seige. The enemy will die. He cannot defeat us.'' But no one knew who the enemy was, and fear lived close to the surface in every place.
Measures were taken. Identity cards issued. The right to random search and seizure expanded. The right to arrest without cause. If you did not have an identity card you would be immediately arrested. Those who muttered about civil rights were silenced, and rightly so, most people thought.
Never underestimate the power of technology. Bomb sensing mechanisms were installed in every vehicle, and they worked. One sensed a bomb in Indianapolis, another in Denton Texas.
In a year people began to relax. The new security rules were accepted. ``They make sense,'' people said.
The clear eyed children of the suburbs resumed their perfect lives.
The man at the television set marked down a small progression in his plan.