WHAT is desperately needed now is breathing space. Unless there is a pause, one further short step may bring us from mob law to gun law.
As the North reels on in the direction of chaos, the relentless bouts of violence dominate the pubic agenda daily and nightly.
The upwards spiral - climbing steadily for over a week - has afforded no chance for the political stage to regain primacy. That can only be achieved when there is a lull in the violence.
The confusion and uncertainty have been compounded by the apparent involvement of fringe republican groups in the violence. This could be the factor that tips the situation back into full scale warfare.
The Enniskillen bomb represented a grave escalation. Before that there was the traumatic death of a man in the Derry riots, and the INLA's dangerous raising of the stakes in bringing gunfire into the street violence equation.
This latter action has helped create a situation where the security forces will be prepared to open fire in public places (and can vaguely justify doing so) with obvious great risk for the civilian population and risk also of provoking republican use of weapons.
The firing of a large number of shots at the heavily fortified New Barnsley RUC station in the darkness could have had little purpose except to demonstrate machismo" superiority over the IRA and grab headlines.
As a reckless action, it was only matched by the RUC's equally pointless return of fire. Neither side could have had clear targets - if they had, with the amount of shooting that took place, the marksmanship involved was strikingly inexpert. But civilians could have been killed.
An onerous responsibility lies with the loyalist paramilitaries to refrain from breaking their ceasefire and thereby, inevitably drawing the IRA back into open conflict in the North. And that would be the final step back into the bottomless pit of terror.
If there is a pause in the hectic rush of violence and there is evidence that Sinn Fein and the IRA have been trying to damp down the rioting - the greatest responsibility will fall on the political parties to demonstrate that they are willing and able to salvage the peace process.
The British and Irish government will, we must assume, set about healing their relationship. But that may take time, in the nature of monolithic institutions which have collided.
On the ground in the North, the first opportunity for local politicians to try to restore public confidence and stability will when the multi party peace (which now seems almost a misnomer) resume at Stormont.
The temptation to pursue further recriminations over the ill starred events of the past week will be enormous. It will be up to Senator George Mitchell, if he is permitted, to steady the ship.
The SDLP, one must presume, will be receptive to any amelioration he can bring to bear. But the noises from the unionist camps are not propitious. They will be infuriated by the SDLP's decision to leave the forum, and it will take considerable discipline and vision on their part to refrain from further stirring the deep animosities and distrust which have been generated.
There are such momentous consequences at stake that the scoring of political points should be shunned. The demeanour and conduct of the so called constitutional politicians will be carefully observed, and can certainly be influential in calming matters on the streets.
The minority party delegations at the talks can play a part in urging restraint and moderation, even if the immediate prospects for the talks look bleak.
If ever there was a time for imagination and courage it is the present. There is little indication that such resources will be found among the bickering major parties, but at least they should show themselves receptive to fresh initiatives from outside.
The Rev Roy Magee, the Presbyterian minister who helped broker the loyalist ceasefire, has suggested that the two "military commands" on either side must meet to save the peace process.
He said yesterday that there should be, and there had to be at some stage, direct contacts between the "military people" on both sides of the divide: "The active terrorists have got to sit down and talk at some stage."
This is one of several radical ideas beginning to circulate. It may seem far fetched, but the situation is increasingly desperate and who among the established political leaders is demonstrating any concept of a genuine way forward?