by Ryan King
*******
“Good afternoon, this is Tim Reynolds’ WKPO Voice of the Jackson Purchase with a special broadcast.” Tim’s voice had its usual cheerful quality, but something sounded slightly off as if he were nervous or rushed.
“I will be reading a prepared statement from President Reginald Philips. Any and all questions regarding this statement should be directed to your local government officials.”
“’Dear friends. I regret to inform you that due to the need for long overdue maintenance of the turbines, generators, and electrical systems of the Kentucky Dam, we must institute a JP-wide electrical outage effective immediately. Although it is impossible to know how long the outage will be in effect, it is not expected to go beyond several weeks and could be as short as a few days. I have it on good authority that failure to institute the outage now, and conduct the maintenance, could endanger our ability to generate electricity.’
“’Now, friends, I know this is disheartening, but I ask everyone to remain calm. We have been blessed with a number of things that others around us do not have. Electricity is the most tangible, but it is not the most important. Our spirit of unity is what sets us apart. Remember that we are still together and still a community and still friends, neighbors, and family even without electricity, and we will get through this.'
"'After all, it wasn’t too long ago that our forefathers lived their entire lives without electricity. We can do this. I urge everyone to stay calm, work through issues and problems together as a community, and remember who you are. Even without electricity, we’re different than those poor souls around us. We are the envy of everyone else. We are the JP. Stay strong and stay true to each other. God bless us all.’”
Tim stopped reading and looked at the clock on the wall. He had a few moments left. “This is Tim Reynolds signing off, and until you hear from me again, stay strong, friends.”
Tim flipped the switch to end the broadcast and found that his hands were shaking. He rubbed his face to get himself under control and started to look at the clock again to see how much time was remaining, but that was when everything suddenly went dark as night in the control booth.
