by Parker James
So in 2073 it had come to pass. The apocalypse prophesized almost nine years earlier had begun. Just moments ago President Andrews, in the midst of a meeting with world leaders had been informed by an aide that North Korea had just launched four missiles against the South. For decades now the authoritarian North Korean regime had refused to change despite overtures from the Chinese, seemingly their one and only ally. They lashed out, their people having been literally starving at the expense of the military industrial complex. No doubt those four missiles carried nuclear warheads and detonation was only minutes away. General McCreary immediately was on the phone with NORAD, barking out orders to withhold any and all offensive actions. The world was a tinderbox. The United States alone stood to lose thousands of military personnel stationed in the South as well as many more thousands of civilian support personnel.
Prior to this unexpected development the other world leaders at the conference had been discussing the status of the underground bunkers as well as the suspended animation chambers. The chambers were finally fully functional and ready for full-blown production on a massive scale, with everything in place at the many factories already geared up. Time was needed. If the situation continued unabated to its logical conclusion, all would be lost. And with this sudden development the world leaders attending the conference abruptly left the White House and headed towards their own embassies in order to manage the situation from there. They would be able to communicate their wishes directly and monitor the situation occurring within their own countries.
There was a sudden flurry of activity in the Oval Office; multiple people arriving, mostly dressed in military uniform. The briefcase known as the “football” containing the launch code sequences for the United States’ own nuclear arsenal was brought into the room should it be needed, held tightly by a Major designated with that one single task. General McCreary, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was still on the phone, and even though the conversation was one sided his words were quite clear. Loud and firm, he was speaking directly to General James Meehan, head of NORAD operations.
“Listen, Jim. I want you to hold at DEFCON 2 but have our forces take no, and I repeat, no aggressive moves that could unintentionally be misinterpreted. Let’s see how this thing fleshes out, our preparations for the bunker systems and chambers aren’t complete yet. We need time, get it?”
General James (Jim) Meehan had been head of NORAD for nearly twenty years, methodically having moved his way up through the ranks. He was a rock, an individual who could be counted on no matter what the situation. President Andrews wasn’t able to hear Meehan’s side of the conversation, brief as it was, but he knew the outcome by McCreary’s words and had nothing to add. McCreary was simply reiterating the President’s wishes; postponement of the inevitable.
“Ok then, Jim. Keep me apprised of any international moves. McCreary out.”
And so the conversation ended unless further developments occurred requiring immediate military intervention. It was going to be a very long day for everyone in the room, indeed for every person on the planet, not knowing if there would be a tomorrow. The news had reached the television stations quickly.
“Is this the end?” President Andrews asked.
“I don’t know, Mr. President. Not if I can help it,” McCreary replied.
The television monitors went ballistic. The journalist Eric Massey was still on the air, looking worse than before but somewhat resigned to the situation at hand. Amazingly, the tense standoff occurring in Manhattan seemed to be dissipating as the news had traveled at lightning speed. The entire world held its breath as it was reported that South Korea had responded by launching its own missiles against the North.
The President and multiple military advisors representing all branches of the service descended down the flight of stairs to the Situation Room located in the basement of the White House where events could be monitored properly. The Command Center had the ability to monitor multiple events occurring throughout the world and communication systems were unsurpassed, secured by military encryption codes once only dreamed of. Still, as the President and his staff arrived signals from the monitors momentarily scrambled, which could only have meant one thing, and they all knew it - a nuclear blast. Ironically it was Massey who they turned their attention to.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just received multiple reports of several nuclear explosions occurring in both North and South Korea. Given the relative size of these countries and the sheer destructive power of today’s nuclear weaponry, I fear it quite possible that it is total destruction. Survivors are not expected in any large numbers, indeed if any at all.”
Massey paused.
“God pray for those lost souls as we all should that greater minds keep their wits and caution about them. As I speak, those to the east of the Korean Peninsula are cautioned severely to find a secure and enclosed area, gathering as much food and water as possible. At this moment a tremendously huge cloud of nuclear fallout has begun traveling eastward following the jet stream and is headed towards the Japanese coast. All people in the affected areas are warned to remain inside and if at all possible in sealed areas.”
The remainder of the day continued in an eerily quiet fashion. All of the remaining “great powers” left in the world were on their best behavior, none wanting to see the situation escalate. Apparently the meeting regarding the bunkers and chambers had carried great weight, and all knew that the survival of the human race depended upon their completion, which required time. Japan had dodged the bullet somewhat as the majority of the nuclear fallout drifted slightly south of the main islands, avoiding a direct hit which would have taken thousands of lives within days and tens of thousands more as radiation sickness set in and cancers developed shortly thereafter. The lesser known islands in the southern part of Japan were not quite so lucky. China, normally an ally of North Korea had been propping up the regime for well over a century now and was absolutely livid, but there was no one left to be mad at. Both Korean countries were wiped off the face of the earth in a matter of minutes.
The President and McCreary had been tallying up the American losses, well over 30,000 military and civilian personnel obliterated in one fell swoop. They discussed matters privately as the day wore on and evening set in. The Joint Chiefs continued to monitor events in the Situation Room internationally as well as any potentially threatening events occurring within their own specific service branches, giving orders as directed by President Andrews and General McCreary.
“Mr. President, we need to get our preparations on both the bunkers and chambers completed within six months at the most, I don’t think we have much longer than that. We’ve moved additional military personnel to those bunkers already completed and instructed the factories to double their manpower and begin producing the final chamber design immediately. Additional production facilities are also being constructed within a number of bunkers as a failsafe measure and we’re dispatching personnel accordingly,” McCreary said.
President Andrews looked at McCreary distantly.
“Good, General. Good.”
It seemed as though President Andrews had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Has the First Lady and my family been moved to the primary bunker site yet?” Andrews asked.
McCreary thought that the President was losing perspective through his seeming detachment, a luxury that couldn’t be afforded at the moment.
“Yes, Sir. They were moved to the primary bunker site late this afternoon. They’ll be awaiting your arrival if and when the time comes; meanwhile rest assured that they’re being well taken care of. You’ll have communication with the First Lady shortly.”
“Good, good,” Andrews responded. “Thank you General.”
It was April 14th, 2073. Such devastation on what would otherwise have been a beautiful month; spring. Mitch and Anya headed directly to the main factory in Virginia, which had already begun the lesser aspects of production on the suspension chambers. Their goal was to
ensure that production occurred at breakneck speed.
Two weeks passed quickly since that horrific day. No further actions had been taken on the part of the great powers other than containment, while at the factories three shifts were working around the clock as the chambers had already begun to be shipped to the nearly completed bunker systems. The bunkers were Professor Enghult’s realm, 2,000 of which were located in the United States alone. Globally the logistics were overwhelming. Enghult oversaw most of it, including their design, construction, installation of operational systems, and storage of food supplies. The eventual goal was to have each bunker system completely self-sustaining, hydroponically producing their own food at some later point in time. After another long and difficult day, Mitch seemed somber as he and Anya prepared for bed.
“What’s wrong, Mitch?” Anya asked, sensing his mood.
“So many people to save, Anya. It’s just so overwhelming. Who’s to be chosen?”
Anya reflected thoughtfully before responding.
“The military has mainly been responsible for that decision; it’s out of our hands, dear. Thank God it wasn’t a committee, otherwise nothing would get done. Unfortunately no one in poor health. People of power, scientists, military personnel and technicians; generally no one over the age of 40 unless their services or technical skills are required. But it’s not completely authoritarian. Children over the age of four will be allocated 10% of the chamber spaces. The food requirements will be less and we don’t know how this will eventually evolve. They may just be the only ones to survive.”
Erin was with them, not quite nine years old. For the past two weeks they hadn’t let her out of their sight. She jumped on her parents’ bed, smiling.
“Don’t be sad, father,” she said.
It pleasantly shook Mitch out of his funk; he’d been working non-stop and had forgotten it was about saving his daughter and as many of the human race as possible. What he and Anya had accomplished in a relatively short period of time was slightly shy of a miracle, inventing technology that would hopefully save hundreds of millions of lives. Those who would inevitably be lost they put out of their minds for now, it was simply too much to absorb and both preferred to concentrate on those who could still be saved.
They decided to take the following day for themselves outside in the fresh air, the three of them picnicking and enjoying a beautiful spring afternoon. Erin with her parents Mitch and Anya, simply to create a memory. All else was put aside and the day was long overdue. Although she didn’t realize it at the time, it would be a memory that Erin would retain for the remainder of her life; a very long time indeed.
“How many more days like this do you think we’ll have left, Mitch?” Anya asked.
“Not enough, I fear. Not enough.”
But for that one single day the world was right. All was well and the terrible things occurring were forgotten. It was the impetus Mitch and Anya needed to continue their work, and in the following days work they did. April turned into May, and May turned into June. The production of the chambers was coming along nicely, by now tens of thousands being shipped out daily. From there the production levels only increased, the original goal of 400,000 chambers within four weeks’ time had been exceeded beyond their wildest expectations. It almost seemed as though the production level figures were doubling on a daily basis. By June tens of millions of suspension chambers had been produced and shipped. Professor Enghult had the last of the bunkers completed and all was ready on that end; barring a direct hit the bunkers were capable of withstanding a nuclear blast.
“If only war could be avoided,” Mitch thought to himself. “These chambers could reduce the requirements of the infrastructure for decades to come if needed and we could get this thing under control.” Perhaps he was dreaming; the situation had gone well beyond the turning point. Maybe it was just his hopes running wild.
By now three more production facilities had been brought on-line as well as many more within the bunkers fully dedicated to the production of the chambers. It was an insurance policy of sorts. On the world front things remained tense yet still eerily quiet. By July over 100 million chambers had been produced and by August the number exceeded 200 million units. Their ultimate goal was to produce 400 to 500 million chambers in total, the maximum amount that the bunker systems could support worldwide. Suddenly that goal seemed attainable.
More and more people were moved into the bunkers, and no one was without work or a specific task to perform. This included completion of the scrubber systems, filtration, hydroponics for the later production of food, and expansion. By now there were over 50 million people living within the 2,000 bunkers located in the United States; the situation was similar in the other allied nations as well.
And then one September morning it happened. China and India, two of the most overpopulated countries on the planet and at odds for years had come to an impasse. The citizens in both countries were rioting in the streets for lack of food. Although difficult, relief shipments had been coming from Russia, the United States, South America, and Canada despite the additional burden this placed upon their own citizens. But the food stocks simply weren’t enough. Pakistan also became involved, ironically on the side of India despite their many years of animosity.
Several transport ships were boarded by the Chinese, seized, and redirected to that country. For all intents and purposes this was an aggressive act of war. Military forces were moved to the borders and several naval engagements had taken place with great loss of life on both sides. In response, India attacked China. All three countries possessed vast nuclear arsenals, and again the world held its breath. Other countries attempted to mediate, but to no avail. Beyond that all they could do was sit back and watch as the situation developed.
The prophecy of 2064 was once again coming to fruition. Now it was truly the beginning of the end.
Episode 4: “Precipice”
