HEAP

Excerpt from Chapter 46 of the Cryptonomicon (HEAP)

Randy says, "You asked me earlier what is the highest and best purpose to which we could dedicate our lives. And the obvious answer is ‘to prevent future Holocausts."

Avi laughs darkly. "I’m glad it’s obvious to you, my friend. I was beginning to think I was the only one."

"What!? Get over yourself, Avi. People are commemorating the Holocaust all the time."

"Commemorating the Holocaust is *not*, not not not not *not*, the same thing as fighting to prevent future holocausts. Most of the commemorationists are just whiners. They think that if everyone feels bad about past holocausts, human nature will magically transform, and no one will want to commit genocide in the future."

"I take it you do not share this view, Avi?"

"Look at Bosnia!" Avi scoffs. "Human nature doesn’t change, Randy. Education is hopeless. The most educated people in the world can turn into Aztecs or Nazis just like that." He snaps his fingers.

"So what hope is there?"

"Instead of trying to educate the potential *perpetrators* of holocausts, we try to educate the potential *victims*. They will at least pay some fucking *attention*."

"Educate them in what way?"

Avi closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Oh, shit, Randy, I could go on for hours—I have drawn up a whole curriculum."

"Okay, we’ll get into that later."

"Definitely later. For now, the key point is that the Crypt is all-important. I can take all of my ideas and put them into a single pod of information, but almost every government in the world would prevent distribution to its citizens. It is essential to build the Crypt so that the HEAP can be freely distributed throughout the world."

"HEAP?"

"Holocaust Education and Avoidance Pod."

"Oh, Jesus Christ!"

"This is the true meaning of what you are working on," Avi says, "and so I urge you not to lose heart. Whenever you are about to get bored stamping out those license plates in the Philippines, think of the HEAP. Think of what those Nahuatl villagers could have done to those fucking Aztecs if they’d had a holocaust prevention manual—a handbook on guerilla warfare tactics."

Randy sits and ponders for a while. "We have to go and buy some water," he finally says. "I’ve sweated away a few liters just sitting here."

"We can just go back to the hotel," Avi says, "I’m basically finished."