Object

Pericles One (Retaliatory Strike Plan, printed brief)

A named, classified retaliatory strike package invoked and briefed in the Situation Room: manifested as a slides packet, maps and plotted target coordinates, and a terse operational order labeled 'Pericles One.' Characters handle the printed pack and point to mapped targets while military counsel reads calibrated options; the plan carries explicit casualty estimates and appears as a sealed, executable package that the President can authorize or withhold.

3 appearances

Purpose

To serve as a pre‑scoped, executable military retaliation plan—a coordinated strike package identifying targets, recommended force apportionment, and expected collateral effects—prepared for rapid authorization and operational execution.

Significance

Functions as the narrative fulcrum that transforms grief into action: the name anchors the President's decision to escalate, crystallizes the moral rupture between civilian leadership and military prudence, and propels ensuing political and ethical consequences tied to large‑scale civilian harm.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments

S1E3 · A Proportional Response

From Coffee to 'Total Disaster'

Pericles One is presented as the primary, prepared retaliatory package: slides, mapped targets and an operational framing. It functions as the foil for Bartlet's critique — the embodiment of proportional doctrine he finds inadequate and wants superseded by a more devastating plan.

Before: Briefing packet/slide set ready on the table, described and explained by Fitzwallace.

After: Remains the starting point but is explicitly challenged; staff are ordered to devise an alternative within sixty minutes.

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S1E3 · A Proportional Response

Rejecting Proportionality — Bartlet Demands a Disproportionate Strike

The Pericles One strike packet is the central operational object: a coded plan detailing targets (two ammo dumps, a bridge, Syrian intelligence agency). It is the briefing's focal point and the object against which Bartlet measures the sufficiency and predictability of proportional responses.

Before: Filed and presented on the table as a ready, executable scenario awaiting presidential authorization.

After: Remains on the table as the baseline plan; its adequacy is publicly questioned and it becomes the benchmark for the demanded disproportional alternative.

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S1E3 · A Proportional Response

Reluctant Launch — Pericles One Authorized

Pericles One appears as the specific retaliatory strike package under discussion and the operational object that crystallizes the President's decision; Fitzwallace names it, requests the 'go' order, and, when granted, instructs staff to start the clock and stand by for a confirmation code, turning plan into imminent action.

Before: Prepared and briefed in the Situation Room as a sealed/rehearsed option with maps, casualty estimates and operational steps.

After: Clock started; operation placed 'underway' with staff standing by for confirmation code — the plan transitions from paper to active execution.

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