Bible Ritual Interrupted by Khundu Massacre
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet abruptly shifts the conversation to the ongoing genocide in Khundu, revealing his preoccupation with the crisis.
Bartlet and Charlie briefly discuss the safety of Americans in Khundu before Bartlet requests a meeting with Bob Slattery, indicating a move to address the crisis.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calm, procedural, and supportive—he shields the President from procedural friction while delivering bad news bluntly.
Enters with a phone message, delivers Cravenly's refusal and conservation rationale, supplies the Jefferson Bible alternative, confirms evacuation of Americans in Khundu, and follows Bartlet's order to summon Slattery; efficient and unobtrusive.
- • Convey accurate, necessary information to the President with minimal fuss.
- • Resolve or advance the Bible logistics quickly to satisfy ceremonial needs.
- • Confirm and communicate the status of Americans in Khundu.
- • The President should receive clear, unvarnished information quickly.
- • Operational and ceremonial tasks can be managed in parallel by staff.
- • Doing the small administrative tasks well preserves the President's focus.
Not directly shown; implied relief at evacuation but the broader crisis implies trauma and displacement.
Referenced collectively when Charlie confirms that American embassy staff and citizens were evacuated from the violence in Khundu; they are the human stake that reframes the President's priorities.
- • Survive the immediate violence and reach safety.
- • Be evacuated and repatriated by U.S. resources.
- • Receive governmental protection and assistance.
- • U.S. citizens abroad can and should expect protection from their government.
- • Their situation will compel White House action and attention.
Starts amused and mildly indignant about the Bible; immediately shifts to concerned, sober, and operationally focused when briefed on Khundu.
Seated and reading, Bartlet toggles between wry, proprietorial banter about his family's Bible and instant, sober command when news of mass killings arrives; he confirms evacuation and orders Bob Slattery called.
- • Secure an appropriate Bible for the inauguration and preserve the ceremonial ritual.
- • Obtain accurate, immediate information about Khundu and ensure American lives are protected.
- • Delegate and mobilize National Security resources by summoning Slattery.
- • Ritual objects matter to the legitimacy and continuity of the presidency.
- • Protecting American citizens abroad is a primary presidential duty.
- • Institutional politeness cannot trump urgent operational needs.
Regretful but resolute—he upholds preservation protocol despite personal sympathy.
Acts off-screen as the institutional voice refusing the loan: via Charlie, he explains the conservation requirement and politely denies the President access to the Bartlet family Bible.
- • Protect the physical integrity of the historic Bible through conservation measures.
- • Maintain institutional policy and professional standards for handling artifacts.
- • Offer plausible alternatives (e.g., the Jefferson Bible) to mitigate disappointment.
- • Preservation obligations outweigh ceremonial requests, even from prominent borrowers.
- • Institutions must resist exceptionalism to safeguard collections for the long term.
Implied readiness and professional focus; likely to shift to activated crisis mode upon arrival.
Not present in the room but directly summoned by the President to provide national-security counsel and briefing follow-up on the Khundu situation.
- • Arrive to brief the President with actionable intelligence and options.
- • Coordinate an appropriate U.S. response to protect citizens and assess intervention.
- • Explain policy constraints and force posture in Khundu.
- • Rapid staff-level coordination is required after reports of mass violence.
- • The National Security Advisor must translate field reports into White House decisions.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Bartlet family Jefferson Bible is the ceremonial object at issue: its availability, provenance, and physical vulnerability catalyze an intimate exchange that reveals presidential ritual needs and personal ownership conflicts before the conversation is overtaken by a security emergency.
The climate-controlled vault is invoked as the reason the family Bible cannot be moved: its conservation function interrupts President Bartlet's plan and stands as a physical manifestation of institutional limits against personal ceremonial desires.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Republic of Equatorial Khundu is the distant but driving locus of crisis: reports of mass killings there redirect the Oval Office conversation from ritual to rescue and policy, forcing instant operational choices about Americans and intervention.
The New Hampshire Historical Society functions off-screen as custodian: its policies and staff (represented by Mr. Cravenly) enforce conservation rules and deny loaning the Bartlet family Bible, provoking the President's irritation and exposing tensions between public institutions and private legacy.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Arkutu-directed mob is the actor responsible for mass killings in Khundu: its actions create the emergency that interrupts Oval Office banter, shifting presidential attention to evacuation and national-security response.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "I can't?""
"BARTLET: "You know, a couple hundred people got killed today in Khundu.""
"CHARLIE: "Yeah, I saw, Mr. President.""
"BARTLET: "Ask Bob Slattery to come over here.""