Eschaton: Eschaton exists, institutionally, because it builds lobs
In the game, Combatants’ 5-megaton warheads can be launched only with hand-held tennis racquets. Hence the requirement of actual physical targeting-skill that separates Eschaton from rotisserie-league holocaust games played with protractors and PCs around kitchen tables. The paraboloid transcontinental flight of a liquid-fuel strategic delivery vehicle closely resembles a topspin lob. One reason the E.T.A. administration and staff unofficially permit Eschaton to absorb students’ attention and commitment might be that the game’s devotees tend to develop terrific lobs.
Context
Here's the load-bearing joint between game and sport, stated flat. Warheads "can be launched only with hand-held tennis racquets," so the whole thing turns on "actual physical targeting-skill" — the trajectory of a strategic missile is a topspin lob, which is why Eschaton isn't a board game with protractors but a court sport played with your body. And that's exactly why the academy tolerates it: "the game’s devotees tend to develop terrific lobs." The staff isn't indulging a kids' hobby; they're letting a drill run itself. Eschaton is sanctioned because it's secretly conditioning — a thousand paraboloid warhead-launches wire the same stroke the dawn drills are after.