State of Fear

Morton takes a private jet to the NERF banquet in San Francisco, accompanied by several celebrities and Evans. En route, he signs the papers Evans has drawn up, cancelling the grant to NERF. The celebrities, including actor Ted Bradley (who plays the president on a television show) discuss environmental issues and the Vanutu lawsuit. Morton secretly mentions a list of numbers he wants Evans to take to Kenner, though Ted interrupts before he can explain what the numbers are for or share the list.

At the event, Drake gives a speech declaring the catastrophic destruction global warming will cause. He introduces an intoxicated Morton, who at the podium quotes the French essayist Montaigne, saying, “Nothing is as firmly believed as that which is least known” (128). This odd reference, coupled with his drunkenness and mention of a late wife named Dorothy (he was never married to anyone by that name) alarm those around him. Morton shocks the crowd by announcing he is withdrawing his funding for NERF. The raucous crowd drowns Morton out while he criticizes NERF for being misguided.

Morton is escorted offstage and to a limousine. He refuses to get in, opting instead for his Ferrari. Before he leaves, he tells Evans a cryptic proverb, “All that matters is not remote from where the Buddha sits” (132).