Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald
Level 7 is a dystopian narrative that unfolds through the diary of a military officer, referred to by the code name X-127, who is stationed in a self-sufficient underground city after being trained for nuclear warfare. The story explores the moral complexities of nuclear conflict against the backdrop of an impending war that devastates the Earth's surface and ultimately leads to the deterioration of Level 7 itself due to a nuclear reactor failure. X-127 grapples with his role as an "executioner of the human race," particularly after confronting the devastating consequences of his actions through reports from those brave enough to return to the surface.
The novella features pivotal characters that influence X-127's moral awakening, including X-117, a fellow officer who struggles with his conscience and ultimately cannot bear the guilt of his participation in nuclear strikes, leading to his tragic suicide. The narrative also includes P-867, a psychologist whose detached view mirrors that of the protagonist, highlighting the emotional toll of their reality. As the situation escalates, the residents of Level 7 prepare for an extended existence in isolation, awaiting a time when surface radiation levels would allow for a possible return. The story culminates in a harrowing depiction of the last human beings grappling with the aftermath of their choices within a sealed environment, ultimately conveying profound reflections on the human condition and the dire implications of war.
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Subject Terms
Level 7
First published: 1959
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—post-holocaust
Time of work: The near future
Locale: An underground city in an unspecified country
The Plot
Mordecai Roshwald’s novel is the diary of a military officer who has been trained to launch mas-sive nuclear strikes against an enemy country. Soon after he is transferred to the self-sufficient underound city Level 7, a war breaks out. The narrator reports both the devastation of Earth’s surface and the gradual death of Level 7 itself when a faulty nuclear reactor releases radiation into the city. The end of the diary also marks the death of the last human being.
The protagonist, who is known only by his military code name of X-127, is a flawed character. Both during his training and during the actual firing of the missiles, he generally fails to display any awareness of the enormity of his actions. It is only after listening to the harrowing reports of a courageous couple who venture up to the devastated surface that X-127 fully realizes that he was one of the “executioners of the human race,” as one of his fellow officers puts it.
Most of the residents of Level 7 remain faceless entities, but several individuals influence the narrator’s moral development. His fellow push-button officer X-117 represents the conscience the narrator clearly lacks. Early on, X-117 shows signs of an inner struggle and has to be treated by P-867, a female psychologist, before he can return to his duty. A crisis comes at the moment when the officers are ordered to launch the intercontinental missiles. Although he pushes the first three buttons, X-117 refuses to launch the last wave of “dirty” radiation weapons and later commits suicide because he can no longer bear the guilt of having contributed to the death of humanity. A counterforce to X-117’s moral skepticism is represented by P-867, the psychologist, who resembles the narrator in her completely detached attitude toward nuclear war. The narrator marries P-867, though she eventually divorces him. R-747 is trained to become a teacher once the first generation of children on Level 7 is born. Her attempts to create stories for children explaining the origin of this subterranean culture not only spark the narrator’s interest but also inspire him to write his own nuclear parables.
After the initial period of adjustment is over, the residents of Level 7 begin to prepare for the long waiting period after the inevitable nuclear war. Level 7, which has been completely sealed off from the outside world, is designed to support its five hundred inhabitants and their descendants for five hundred years, while they wait for the surface radiation created by a nuclear war to decrease to a tolerable level.
When the long-awaited war actually breaks out, it is ironically caused by a technical malfunction in the enemy’s rocket guidance systems. Twelve nuclear rockets approach the narrator’s country, and an anonymous voice orders X-127 to push the appropriate button to start a massive retaliation.
Within a short time, all the residents of higher (and therefore less secure) levels and shelters succumb to radiation poisoning. Soon only Level 7 and its counterpart in the enemy’s country remain.