he would begin a nuclear war if the rest of the world did not comply with his demands. The Judges – now led by Chief Judge Goodman – attempted to dissuade him, but to no avail, and the Third World War laid waste to most of the world. Booth had believed that his new "nuclear screens" would protect America from retaliation, but only Mega-City One on the east coast, Mega-City Two on the west coast, and Texas City survived. The rest of America was virtually annihilated, creating the Cursed Earth which became populated by mutants and outlaws. Consequently, another of Booth's aides turned against him and provided Goodman with evidence of Booth's earlier crimes. Goodman made the evidence public, and public opinion turned against Booth. A demonstration outside the White House became a massacre when troops opened fire on the crowd. But the evidence of election fraud was not conclusive, and impeachment proceedings against Booth were too slow for Goodman to protect his position, for Booth had discovered that Fargo was alive and had been revived from suspended animation. Booth sent troops to arrest Fargo, intending to expose the myth of his death and thereby destroy the Judges' reputation for integrity. Joe and Rico Dredd, cadets at the time, managed to rescue Fargo from capture. However Goodman realised that urgent action was needed to defeat Booth, and the constitutional mechanism for trying him and removing him from office could not be completed in time. On Fargo's advice, Goodman deposed Booth, suspended Congress, and usurped the government of the United States. For his crimes Booth was sentenced to 100 years in suspended animation, to let posterity decide his ultimate fate. Goodman became dictator of the United States (which soon split into three sovereign city-states), with Fargo – his existence still a secret – advising him from behind the scenes. However Fargo soon deteriorated again. He also became demoralised, having intended that the overthrow of democratic government should be temporary, and regretting his own part in establishing a lasting dictatorship. Shortly after surviving an assassination attempt by renegade judge Morton Judd, Fargo was returned to suspended animation once more. However, only one month later Fargo's body was stolen by Judd's agents. When Judd was eventually brought to justice and Fargo's body was still not recovered, it was thought lost forever. Conclusion Thirty years later Booth's cryogenic machinery failed, and he was inadvertently