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IN THE WARM WATERS of the Persian Gulf, an Israeli submarine rises to the surface, joined a half mile to the east by a second. In both, the same exercise is worked through step by step: confirmation of code, confirmation of source, confirmation of target, confirmation of onward orders. In each submarine, the captain opens the hatch to step out on deck to have a last look at the world before it is bent into a new shape, permanently altered, transmogrified.

After the missiles are launched, both vessels gently submerge beneath the waves for the long voyage home.