The Man Who Saved the World

September 26th, 1983. Stanislav Petrov was monitoring Soviet nuclear systems when the

alarms screamed. Five missiles were detected. Protocol demanded a counter-attack,

but Petrov felt something was wrong. He broke every rule, reporting it as

a false alarm, trusting his gut over the computer. It was a glitch.

Sunlight reflecting off clouds had fooled the satellites. He saved billions. Petrov died in

2017, largely forgotten. A hero who decided not to start the end.