Glimmer of Hope (Book 1 of the Land of Tomorrow Post-Apocalyptic Series)
Page 16
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Reggie walked out of the meeting three hours later totally exhausted, but fairly satisfied. In the end they all agreed on the regimental militia system, although Doctor Stevens insisted on being kept informed of all activities that occurred on Murray State grounds. Anderson grudgingly accepted these terms, much more subdued after Frank Simm had shamed them all with his short speech.
They also agreed to the “raid” on Fort Campbell, as soon as the resources could be gathered and the weather improved. Butch Matthews would plan and lead the operation. Reggie felt very confident he would do whatever was necessary to ensure its success.
Everything had gone as well as Reggie hoped it would until the end. TVA Director John Downing sat silent throughout the heated deliberations; but as the meeting was concluding, he took the opportunity to speak as if awakening from slumber. Reggie initially took his attitude to be indifference or negativity, but he saw with dismay that the man was utterly exhausted.
John looked at them with hallow eyes and spoke almost in a monotone, "We've managed to stabilize the dam’s power output after operating at one-third capacity, and this should extend the lifespan of the dam turbines and generators. The electricity consumption is still beyond the means of the dam to provide given the one third operation. This will continue to result in numerous delays and blackouts. In order to provide consistent service and avoid power outages, 25 to 40 percent of the current electrical output will need to be cut."
Janet asked him in a snippy voice, “And just who do you propose should be cut? Everyone needs electricity!”
John answered without changing his tone or even looking at her, "Frankly, I don’t care. That is your job. Mine is to keep the dam alive and the electricity flowing as long as I can."
After more discussion, they came to the difficult decision to slowly cut off electricity to those areas outside of the JP, unless those outsiders agreed to provide compensation. Although most felt bad about this situation, they thought it only fair since JP Citizens paid taxes to keep the electricity running, and paid the workers, as well as those who protected it all.
Anderson recommended that they attempt to announce their intentions to give people outside their borders an opportunity to comply. All agreed that only General Sampson’s territory to the south had any hopes of really working with them. Everything else was small pockets of survivors surrounded by chaos and death.
John sat quietly through all the wrangling about the electricity, but as everyone appeared to depart spoke again, "My meager staff cannot control or patrol the Land Between the Lakes Park region. Bandits and other settlers have moved in over the months, setting up camps despite the borders around the park. The border is just too long and the park is empty, no one notices when people find their way inside the park. For all practical purposes, we have lost control of all TVA assets and lands except the dam and power plants, which are now my sole and entire focus."
"I appreciate your candor," said Reggie in the stunned silence. "Under the circumstances I think you made the right decisions and settled upon the correct priority. I understand we are also starting to have a refugee problem."
John nodded and smiled humorlessly, "That is putting it rather lightly. There are several settler camps that have sprung up on our eastern border, the largest of which is near the dam, along Interstate 24."
"Yeah, I've heard about those camps," grumbled Anderson, "they grow every day if the reports are accurate."
Butch Matthews cleared his throat, "Our Guard troops along the border have already established systems to screen individuals who are useful or rightful residents in order to allow entry."
“I’m afraid that isn’t going to be enough,” said John. “Rival power groups are establishing themselves in these camps and crime is increasing drastically. Lack of food, sanitation, and disease are only compounding the potential dangers.”
“Don’t you dare say it,” said Anderson, with comprehension suddenly coming upon him.
John ignored him while everyone else looked on without understanding. “We have no choice but to take over these camps across the river and lake. I know we’re stretched thin and these are not JP Citizens; but they will certainly be JP’s problem if we don’t work with them. We need to establish order there, that is, medical support, food, water, sanitation, electricity, tents, and information. We need to bring them in or encourage them to move on, but what we can’t allow to happen is a large, desperate mass of humanity to just sit on our border.”
"Can't we use them all for manual labor on farms or such?" asked Doctor Stevens.
Reggie shook his head, "Maybe eventually, but we're not set up or ready for all of them. Letting them in now would only be taking on more mouths to feed with nothing productive for them to do."
“I feel for them,” said Simm, “but they aren’t really our responsibility.”
“I don’t give a damn if they all die tonight. That would actually be the best thing all around,” said John. “I’ve watched day after day from the dam as these groups grow and the situation gets more and more terrible. We need to fill the vacuum there before someone else does it for us. If they decided to push through the border, or take over the dam, I’m not sure we could stop them.” John went silent again while everyone looked at him with varying degrees of concern.
By the end of the meeting, they decided to take control of the three main refugee camps along the eastern border. They would destroy the other smaller camps after moving the settlers to one of the main camps. Anderson wasn’t happy because he saw before the others that only the National Guard possessed the resources and discipline to perform such a mission. In the end, he didn’t fight the decision because he knew it needed to be done.
After all, Anderson realized bitterly, there is no acceptable excuse for failing to perform one’s duty.