Part 2: Act 5, Scene 5 Summary

This scene takes place at the council of angels, at the Hall of Upper Orders in Heaven. The angels are all seated around a large table, which is strewn with old writing tools and tablets, books and a succession of objects invented by humans through the centuries. They are listening to an old crackling radio, which is broadcasting a story about the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Belarus. It has not happened yet in reality. The angels are discussing what the human response to the disaster will be. They will die in multitudes, recover, rebuild and repeat the process. The council is chaotic, and the angels argue over how to fix the radio - their means of watching over humanity.

The Angel of America arrives with Prior, who holds out the book. Prior says humans must have...