History shows that certain events precede periods of darkness. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand precipitated World War I and the death of 20 million. The rise of the National Socialists in Germany initiated the trajectory to World War II and the death of nearly 38 million. The attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 led to devastation, destruction, and death throughout Iraq and the rise of ISIS. October 7, 2023, the Hamas massacre in Israel, raised the specter of a regional and even a global war with unthinkable consequences.