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

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It functions as the foil for Bartlet's critique — the embodiment of proportional doctrine he finds inadequate and wants superseded by a more devastating plan.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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