Glimmer of Hope (Book 1 of the Land of Tomorrow Post-Apocalyptic Series)
Page 73
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CONFIDENTIAL REPORT
EYES ONLY FOR: Jackson Purchase Senior Council Officials and Military Commanders - Further Dissemination is Unauthorized Without Written Approval of the Undersigned
SUBJECT: Intelligence Situation Report
FROM: Brigadier General Nathan Taylor, Director, Strategic Security Agency
The Strategic Security Agency over the last month has been monitoring short wave radio transmissions using local trusted volunteers. Each was given particular bandwidths to monitor and report on what they heard of interest. Although my expectations were low, I have been surprised by the amount of radio traffic and the information they gathered.
It is apparent that what we would describe as the civilized world is now limited to the Southeast Asian nations with Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand as the world’s leaders in every area. Although South America and Africa were spared widespread nuclear bombardment, they were behind Southeast Asia in development and production. N-Day appears to have set off a fresh wave of continent-wide violent chaos in Africa which continues even now.
North America, Europe, Northern Asia, China, India, and Southwest Asia are now largely nuclear wastelands where little lives and any hope for recovery is probably unknown decades in the future. Fortunately, the nuclear fallout clouds and debris were limited to the central part of the northern hemisphere and have dissipated more quickly and easily than anyone could have predicted before N-Day.
The majority of the radio traffic we have intercepted is from the Southeast Asia Basin or from Spanish broadcasts in Latin and South America, but there were some other surprising signal sources. Although the southern edge of Canada near the Great Lakes and Vancouver took direct nuclear hits, most of the rest of the country was left untouched. The people there appear to have utilized their natural resources and ingenuity to form communities similar to the JP, despite their obvious disadvantages of extreme weather and isolation.
We are also regularly monitoring transmissions from something called The Alaskan Free State which gives indications of a functioning highly developed government of its own.
I have carefully considered the pros and cons of attempting to make official shortwave radio contact with these elements in Alaska and Canada, but could not see the benefit since we are too far away to help each other or provide practical information. I decided to let our radio operators talk to counterparts in these areas, but any sort of diplomatic relations are unnecessary and probably ridiculous, given the circumstances.
There are also radio transmissions from within the United States, but these are mostly pitiful in their loneness and abject despair. Others are often frightening in their threats of violence or proud proclamations of despicable deeds. There are also some indications of militant organized tribal groups forming to the west. These groups are aggressive and appear bent on conquest and destruction. I have forbidden the radio operators from communicating with any of these sources. We don’t know how dangerous these elements are, but the less they know about the JP, the better.
The radio operators have on occasion picked up bits and pieces of information about something called ‘Continuity of Government,’ possibly in Colorado. We know that before the war, the United States had post-nuclear war contingency plans to save key government leaders and continue the government. We do not know for certain if there are remnants of the American government holed up in some mountain fortress, or if this is a false hope. Regardless, the information is so limited as to make it nearly useless.
The radio broadcasts have further emphasized how fortunate the JP was compared to the rest of the country. All the major cities in the United States took at least one direct nuclear hit, and many more than one. Following the attacks, the nuclear fallout drifted east with the prevailing winds and weather patterns. All the major cities near the JP were to the east, north, or south. The closest city to the west hit by a nuke was Wichita, and it only sustained a smaller strike resulting in almost no fallout settling in the JP.
Although people in the JP still occasionally show signs of mild radiation sickness, this is nothing compared to the reports we've heard of piles of decayed bodies in the streets and cities across America. In short, the situation outside the JP, especially in high population density areas, is dire.
We cannot count on any outside help and may need to be prepared to defend what we have. Fortune has smiled upon us to date, but we cannot gamble the lives of our families on the hope that she will continue to do so.
We are surrounded by enemies and death. Retreat is impossible. We must prepare ourselves for the worst to come.
Respectfully,
ORIGINAL SIGNED
Brigadier General Nathan Taylor