Centurions

In Stephen King's Insomnia, the term "Centurions" emerges as a central, paranoid designation within the delusional system of Ed Deepneau, a research chemist who descends into violent madness. For Ed, the Centurions are the supposed foot soldiers of a vast conspiracy—the servants of a figure he calls the Crimson King—who are engaged in the wholesale murder of unborn children and the trafficking of fetal tissue. This label transforms ordinary people, including the novel's protagonist Ralph Roberts, into targets of a holy war, and it becomes a key driver of the plot's escalating violence and supernatural conflict.

Origin and Meaning in Ed Deepneau's Delusion

Ed Deepneau first introduces the concept of the Centurions during a confrontation with Ralph Roberts on the day he beats his wife, Helen. After ranting about the "Crimson King" and quoting the biblical story of Herod's slaughter of the innocents, Ed explains his worldview: "These creatures . . . Centurions . . . servants of the Crimson King . . . will stop at nothing. They are relentless" . He elaborates that the Centurions are not merely anti-abortion activists but are engaged in a far more sinister operation: "They're taking the unborn from all kinds of mothers, not just the junkies and the whores . . . The harvest goes on day and night. The slaughter" . Ed claims to have seen the corpses of infants on roofs, under hedges, and floating in the sewers . This elaborate conspiracy theory, which Ed says was revealed to him by "the little bald doctor" , provides the ideological justification for his subsequent violent actions. The Centurions, in Ed's mind, are the enemy in a cosmic battle between good and evil, and anyone who opposes him is one of them.

The Centurion List and Its Targets

The Centurion label is not a vague accusation; Ed compiles a specific list of people he designates as enemies. This list is revealed by Gretchen Tillbury, a counselor from WomanCare, who warns Ralph that he has been targeted. "He's given his nuttier friends a list of these so-called Centurions," she explains. "We don't know everyone who's on it, but I am, and Helen is, and Susan Day, of course . . . and you" . The list thus includes Ed's estranged wife, Helen; the feminist activist Susan Day, who is coming to Derry to speak; and Ralph Roberts, who had intervened to protect Helen. The only other male Centurion they know of is Mayor Cohen . This list transforms the political and personal conflict into a direct, life-threatening situation for those named. The Centurion label is used by Ed's followers to justify violence, as when Charlie Pickering attacks Ralph in the library, calling him a "fucking Centurion" and a "baby-killer" .

The Centurions as a Tool for Violence

The Centurion designation becomes a direct incitement to violence. Ed uses the label to manipulate unstable individuals like Charlie Pickering, convincing him that Ralph is a Centurion who must be eliminated. Detective John Leydecker later explains this dynamic to Ralph: "Ed spent a lot of last week with him . . . I imagine Ed was giving Charlie the lowdown on the Centurions . . . explaining how you were the devil's righthand man and how only a smart, brave, and dedicated fellow like Charlie Pickering could take you out of the picture" (E02064-E02066). This manipulation directly leads to Pickering's attack on Ralph in the Derry Public Library. The Centurion label thus functions as a rhetorical weapon, transforming abstract paranoia into concrete, murderous action. It is a key mechanism by which Ed's madness spreads and endangers the lives of those around him.

The Centurions and the Abortion Debate

The Centurion concept is inextricably linked to the novel's central political conflict: the abortion debate in Derry. Ed's delusion is a grotesque, supernaturalized version of the most extreme anti-abortion rhetoric. He believes that WomanCare, the local clinic, is a front for the Centurions' operations. When Ralph first sees a "WANTED FOR MURDER" poster of Susan Day in a shop window, he is reminded of Ed's chant: "Hey, hey, Susan Day, how many kids did you kill today?" . This chant, a perversion of a Vietnam War protest slogan, directly connects the political protest against abortion to Ed's personal vendetta. The Centurions, in Ed's mind, are the people who run and support WomanCare, and his crusade against them is a holy war. This conflation of political activism with paranoid delusion is a central theme of the novel, showing how extreme ideologies can become a vehicle for madness and violence.

Ralph Roberts as a Reluctant Centurion

Ralph Roberts is thrust into the role of a Centurion against his will. He is not a political activist; he is a grieving widower struggling with insomnia. Yet his simple act of helping Helen Deepneau after she is beaten by Ed marks him as an enemy. Gretchen Tillbury gives him a can of "Bodyguard" spray, calling it "a little present from all your grateful friends at WomanCare" , and tells him he has been "officially designated a Centurion" . Ralph's response is one of bewildered acceptance: "Okay," he says, "I've got it now. Ed talked about people he called Centurions on the day he . . . assaulted you" . Ralph's journey from a passive, insomniac old man to an active participant in a supernatural and political conflict is defined by his reluctant acceptance of this label. He becomes a Centurion not by choice, but by circumstance, and his ultimate sacrifice is a direct consequence of being drawn into Ed's war.

The Supernatural Dimension of the Centurions

While the Centurions are a product of Ed's madness, the novel suggests that his delusion has a supernatural basis. The "little bald doctors" that Ed claims revealed the truth to him are real entities in the novel's cosmology: Clotho, Lachesis, and the rogue Atropos. These beings are agents of death, and their conflict over Ed's fate is the true engine of the plot. Ed's belief in the Centurions and the Crimson King is thus a distorted perception of a real, higher-level struggle. Ralph himself comes to understand this, realizing that the forces behind Ed's madness are real, even if Ed's interpretation of them is insane. The Centurions, then, are not merely a delusion but a human-scale manifestation of a cosmic conflict, a way for ordinary people to become entangled in forces beyond their comprehension.