The following is an excerpt from Dr. F. Raud¹s wonderful book, Secrets from 
the Cold War , latest printing in 2045 A.D. from CBS publishing.  Available 
to download for only $5.50 from the WELL.

	Safety.

	And both civilizations lived in mortal fear of each other, and believed 
that the other wished to wipe-out every plant and animal on the face of 
the earth...
	And so, both societies built a large number of missles to protect 
themselves.  And the missles numbered in the tens of thousands.
	But the people were still afraid.  ³What is to keep the missles safe?² 
they asked.  And many scientists worked to make the people feel safe.  
And so each missle had a code placed within it, so that no-one could 
sabotauge it.  And the codes were written upon paper, so that they could 
not be forgotten.  This was important, since the codes could not be easily 
changed.  And the people felt safe.
	And the codes for several missles were given to reliable officers.  In 
this way among a large number of officers, each controlled a few missles, 
but not many.  And the number of officers was one thousand.  And the 
officers knew what was in their possession, and kept the missles in perfect 
order.  In this way, the missles were safe.
	And the officers, being junior in rank, felt heavy with the 
responsibility they had been given.  And they gave the codes unto their 
commanders, so that fewer but wiser heads would have them.  And the 
commanders required many years of schooling to keep the codes.  And the 
number of commanders was four hundred.  And the officers felt safe.
	And the commanders, realizing that the codes belonged to the 
government which built and purchased the missles, gave them back unto 
the government.  And the government leaders numbered a hundred and 
two, and were reasoned to be most wise.  And the commanders felt safe.
	And the leaders felt uneasy possessing the codes.  And being wise, 
they constructed a large concrete bunker to house them safely.  Within the 
thick walls, thirty heavily armed soldiers protected the coded papers, and 
in time of need, would dispatch them to the neccessary people in an 
instant.  And the leaders felt safe.
	And the soldiers selected two among them, the bravest and the 
strictest of them all.  And these two were given the codes to protect, with 
their lives if need be.  And all the soldiers felt safe.
	And the two soldiers each had a key.  And they placed all the papers 
containing the codes within a steel vault.  And the vault needed both keys 
to open.  And since the codes were not needed except in time of war, the 
vault remained closed for many years.  And the guards felt safe.
	And within the vault was a mouse.  And the cute little rodent made a 
nest out of all the papers it found there, totally ruining the writing upon 
them.  And within the nest of torn numbers, the mouse felt safe.