The Man Who Saved the World

Stanislav Petrov saved the world. September 26th, 1983, a Soviet officer

in a bunker. Alarms screamed: America launched five nuclear missiles. Protocol demanded he

report, triggering World War Three. His finger hovered. But something felt

wrong. Why only five missiles? Petrov defied orders. He reported it

as a malfunction. Turns out, sunlight reflecting off clouds fooled satellites. No missiles existed.

His reward? Reprimanded for paperwork. Petrov died in 2017, forgotten and broke,

having saved eight billion lives. Sometimes, the greatest heroes are punished for

doing the right thing, their names lost to history.