That Lenin Prize? That was after we developed the hydrogen bomb. A great achievement, technically. And it gave us parity again with the Americans. I confess to you, we were proud to receive it. And after? Back to work, make it bigger. I think that was the first time I started thinking—what were we doing? It was already big enough. To destroy everything. But now, even bigger. A madness. What if they actually use it? And who’s to stop it? They want a bigger bomb, but they don’t make it. We do. So what is our responsibility? They won’t stop. But what if we stop?” “What if,” Martin said quietly.
