[ WP ] You , an idealistic 20-something college student , offer your soul to the Devil in return for world peace . Much to your surprise , the Devil laughs at what he calls your `` selflessness '' , but says that someone has already made that deal . You ask to see how horrible the world was before .

`` Much to my dismay, you live in the reality of peace already, thanks to an arrangement with with the big guy upstairs. Besides, one soul is nowhere near valuable enough to me to guarantee world peace. I would never take that deal.'' 
 
 The college student stood in his basement, surrounded by red candles and a circle of his own blood. `` The reality of peace? Have you seen the news? Look at Syria, or Somalia, or Iraq! In what reality is this considered peaceful? And what's this arrangement you're talking about?'' 
 
 `` Not so much an arrangement as a bet.'' The devil smirked. `` Three quarters of a century ago, I made a bet with the big guy concerning the nature of man. Whether they were bent on self-destruction or not, whether it was pointless to keep watching over the weakest of all creations.'' 
 
 `` I made a deal with a scientist. I gave him the power to destroy mankind, utterly and absolutely. He claimed it would bring about world peace, and the big guy agreed with him. I only took the bet because I believed it was only a matter of time before the scientist misuses his power.'' 
 
 
 `` He gave the power to his boss, who immediately had it stolen by his rivals. Now every group of men has the power, and I'm still waiting for results. There has been peace the likes of which the world has never seen. Maybe the big guy was right, and maybe I'm wrong, but man is a fickle and unpredictable thing.'' 
 
 The college student was confused. `` Who'd you give that power to?'' 
 
 `` Jeez, they do n't teach you kids anything in school these days, do they? If I remember right, I think he was a American scientist. Oppenheimer, I believe.'' 
 

