Aftermath

by LeVar Burton

  Praise for Aftermath by LeVar Burton

  “Deftly crafted … adds new depth and perspective to the science fiction genre.” —The Denver Post

  “Epic, along the lines of The Stand; spiritual, along the lines of The Seven Arrows. I highly recommend this book!” —Whoopi Goldberg

  “A thoroughly entertaining debut.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

  “I was deeply moved. In LeVar Burton’s brilliantly realized cautionary tale, heroic men and women embody timeless values that will always make a difference—courage, passion, wisdom, and, most of all, love. I recommend this novel to anyone who cares about the human spirit.” —Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within

  “Assured prose, with a well-developed plot … [A] wise, above-average debut.” —Kirkus Reviews

  “Thoroughly readable … [LeVar Burton] has mastered the art of keeping readers turning pages.” —Booklist

  “An entertaining debut.” —The Plain Dealer

  “An amazingly good first novel … builds tension with the best of them … Burton’s characters are believable; his protagonists are likable and his antagonist is one nasty dude.” —Rocky Mountain News

  “Evocative … Adeptly told … Burton’s gift as a storyteller enthralls you.” —South Florida Sun-Sentinel

  Aftermath

  LeVar Burton

  For my wife, Stephanie, who is my beloved and my best friend, and has always got my back.

  For my children, Eian and Michaela, may they never be afraid to be exactly who they are.

  Most of all for my mother, Erma, who gave to me her love for the written word and taught me how to dream.

  Author’s Note

  There have been significant changes, both positive and negative, in America since this novel was first published in 1997.

  Most significantly, at that time, I held neither hope nor belief that there would ever be a black president in this nation, at least not in my lifetime. So the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States in 2008 produced in me the feeling that this country had indeed reached a turning point in the fundamental issue America has grappled with since its inception. The all-encompassing, pervasive, and endemic institutionalized racism that has been baked into our social structures since the founding of these United States was mitigated by the civil rights movement of the ’60s, yes; however, I harbored no illusions that America was anything close to post-racial, as many trumpeted at the time.

  The fundamental flaw embedded by our Founding Fathers in the document that defines this nation has plagued America for the past two hundred–plus years. By affixing their signatures to the Declaration of Independence on that sweltering summer day in Philadelphia, the Founding Fathers doomed Americans of African descent to live, for generations, lives of state-sanctioned terror.

  After all, creating a constitutional federal democracy which claims that all men are created equal is in direct opposition to the enshrinement of chattel slavery, the most cruel and inhumane treatment based on color as a cardinal component of its identity.

  More recently, with the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016, little did we know that his single term in office would result in his purposeful stoking of the flames of some of the ugliest aspects of our American character. The damage he has inflicted on the nation is considerable, and some of the measures undoubtedly inspired by him have already led to dire and dangerous consequences.

  Not since the Jim Crow era have we seen the willful and wanton rolling back of the civil rights of those of African, Hispanic, Asian, and Indigenous heritage, as well as poor people and those who have been marginalized in our society. America, instead, has been obvious and consistent in denying her minority populations the rights and privileges given freely to her Caucasian population.

  Throughout the whole history of our nation, there have been two Americas: one with a different set of rules for the majority white population, while those who have been traditionally othered by the majority have been relegated to a different—and in many cases, a substandard—version of the American Dream in areas such as housing, education, and healthcare, to name just a few. Although there has been an historical disparity in how minorities are treated by the law enforcement community in this country, even those who continue to be committed to denying this reality are being met with evidence of such treatment that has been captured and broadcast—incontrovertible proof, evidence, of what the reality of many has been all along.

  Like it or not, this nation’s demographics are changing. In just a few short years, the majority population will, for the first time in its history, be Hispanic, not Caucasian, which means that the majority population will be brown people, not white. The majority will have become the minority, and the balance of power in the electorate will also shift.

  Given our history, I suspect there to be some resistance to this inevitable shift. The nature and, most importantly, the degree of that resistance undoubtedly will have a major impact on the next chapter of the American story.

  One final note: I invite you, dear listener, to observe how some of the predictions made in the chronology of events which are designed to set the context for the narrative seem eerily prescient. Over the years, I have sometimes been astonished by the similarities between my timeline and unfolding events. You may well be too.

  However, I wrote this novel as a cautionary tale, a piece of post-apocalyptic fiction, and as we all know, the truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction.

  Is there any possibility that this experiment called “democracy” will ever realize its promise—that all of us are indeed equals entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

  Who knows? Certainly not I. However, I do know this: The answer, most likely, will be found in an evolution out of our penchant desire to dominate the Other. That ruthless greed and a lust for wealth and power must give way to an ethos based on compassion, that “E Pluribus Unum” is more than simply a slogan inked on our currency, by remembering that the few are worthy of all the benefits that come with being an American. Further, it is the responsibility of the many to ensure that those rights guaranteed in our Constitution are enjoyed by us all.

  And when the many become the few, may they enjoy the fruits of the American experience unbound in any manner—contrary to the way those fruits were consciously and continuously denied to those on the opposite side of the color line.

  LeVar Burton, May 2021

  This content is a transcript from the audiobook edition recorded by Hachette Audio in May 2021.

  Chronology of Events Leading to The War of 2015–2018

  2009

  America launches Space Station Alpha. Built and supplied by numerous shuttle launches, the space station houses a crew of sixty scientists and engineers. It is a proud day for the United States, but there is considerable grumbling among members of Congress about the cost of the project. Many think the money could have been better used to provide services for the country’s growing number of homeless.

  Elsewhere in the world, skirmishes, minor wars, droughts, famines and overpopulation have brought global economy to the brink of disaster. Struggling with its own financial problems, the United States can no longer provide financial assistance to other regions.

  2010

  Senator Lawrence Everette, a black Democrat from Ohio, announces his bid for the presidency. An outspoken advocate of racial equality, he vows to increase spending for the homeless and needy, rebuild America’s inner-city areas, and end the stranglehold big business has on government. Although his plans don’t sit well with those already empowered in Washington, he proves to be a popular choice with the people and soon leads the race.

 
2011

  NASA atmospheric scientist Leon Cane publishes a report in Scientific American linking the space program to violent weather patterns throughout the world. His article creates a national scandal, causing Congress to stop all NASA funding, and ground shuttle launches, until a solution to the problem can be found.

  2012

  Lawrence Everette is elected President of the United States. Four days later he is assassinated by a white extremist in a chemical bomb attack. Riots break out in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Atlanta. The U.S. government responds by sending in the National Guard.

  2013

  May—The New Madrid Fault in southern Missouri shifts, causing an earthquake of 9.1 magnitude. St. Louis and numerous other Midwestern cities are destroyed. Thousands are killed, millions left homeless.

  The United States government is slow in responding to the situation in the Midwest, which leads to rioting and looting. The cry of “Remember Everette” becomes the official anthem of the poor, the homeless and the oppressed. In an attempt to stamp out the flames of revolution, the government sends federal troops into the area.

  November—Tensions reach an all-time high as winter sets in. Millions of people are still homeless, many more lack food, fresh water and the other basic necessities of life. St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Nashville and other cities erupt in fighting. Additional troops are called into these areas, but many minority soldiers refuse to fire on their own people. A rift develops in the military ranks.

  2014

  The nation teeters on the brink of civil war. More troops are called for, but the government no longer has the funds to supply them.

  Emergency food and relief efforts grind to a halt as funding runs out.

  Numerous insurance companies file for bankruptcy.

  July 8—The stock market crashes.

  Thousands of banks fail. Many more are forced to close their doors, declaring a bank holiday to prevent customers from making massive withdrawals.

  The U.S. economy fails and the country enters another major depression.

  Stranded since shuttle launches were halted, with little hope of coming home, the crew of Space Station Alpha begins to fight. A fire is started, which escalates in the oxygen-rich atmosphere. Millions watch at home, horrified, as all those aboard the space station die. NASA collapses, and with it dies the dream of space exploration.

  2015

  In a last-ditch effort to prevent a possible race war, General Wyatt Dixon, one of America’s most distinguished black officers, attempts to seize control of the army. His efforts fail and the United States military splits in half, with minority soldiers lining up behind Dixon. Fighting breaks out on military bases around the country. For the first time since the Civil War, American soldiers are fighting one another.

  The public school system fails.

  Social Security and Welfare fail.

  2015–2018

  Race war. Millions die, millions more are left homeless. Food shortages. Nationwide famine. Widespread disease.

  Neighborhoods become walled communities as everyone tries to hold on to what little they have. Many towns and cities no longer have electricity or running water.

  The governments of numerous Third World nations collapse as the United States is no longer able to support them. Mass panic and riots sweep through Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

  2019

  The race war finally grinds to a halt with leaders from both sides signing a peace agreement. People of color have seized control of a great deal of power and land.

  The United States begins the slow and difficult process of climbing out of the ashes. Millions have lost homes and loved ones during the conflict.

  Broke and virtually powerless, the federal government delegates much of its authority to individual state governments. These governments set taxes as they see fit and provide what benefits they can for their citizens. States that are still productive, and suffered little in the war, are swamped by an influx of refugees from neighboring states, forcing some to close their borders to outsiders. Even then, they do not have the money, or the manpower, to stop the flow of refugees.

  Along the nation’s highways, shantytowns and tent cities have been erected. Many are home to impoverished refugees and victims of the war, a place to start over for those who have lost almost everything. Others are the domain of prostitutes, bandits and those who prey on weak and weary travelers.

  PART I

  “We have to keep in mind at all times that we are not fighting for integration, nor are we fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as free humans in this society.”

  —Malcolm X

  “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

  —John F. Kennedy

  Chapter 1

  Leon Cane lifted the lid of the metal Dumpster and peered inside. He wasn’t looking for food; he still had a few cans of tuna stashed away in the wooden crate he called home. Instead he was searching for reading material—books, magazines, newspapers—something to relieve the boredorn that came with being homeless. On a good day he might come across a discarded newspaper or a dog-eared novel. Once he had found a copy of Scientific American, but he had thrown it away, the bitter memories too much to endure. Luck wasn’t with him today, however, for the Dumpster was empty.

  Disappointed, he lowered the lid and continued down the deserted alleyway, the soles of his oversized shoes clopping loudly on the pavement. Like the books he read, the shoes had also been found in a Dumpster. They were two sizes too big, and rubbed his feet when he didn’t remember to line them with newspaper, but he couldn’t complain. A lot of people he knew didn’t even have shoes. They went barefoot, risking cuts and infections, or wrapped their feet in plastic bags and strips of cloth.

  Aware of the noise he was making, Leon slowed his pace. The back streets of war-ravaged Atlanta were dangerous enough without letting everybody know you were coming. Silence was the rule if you wanted to survive. Stealth. The thieves and murderers knew it. They waited like spiders in the shadowy darkness of doorways and burned-out vehicles, setting traps for their victims. Mercy and compassion were never offered, only pain and sometimes death.

  But for every thief and cutthroat that skittered about in the blackness, there were a dozen people who had survived the riots and race war and wanted nothing more than to put the hurt behind them and begin the healing. For the poor and homeless, race was no longer an issue, no longer a reason to hate. When a person was cold and starving it mattered not if the helping hand offered was white, black, yellow or red.

  In the months following the war, thousands of shantytowns and tiny tent communities sprang up across the country in fields and city parks, and along deserted highways and country roads. Noisy, crowded affairs, often lacking fresh water and sanitation facilities, these new communities were a mixture of refugee camp, flea market and carnival. They were a place to go when companionship was desired or supplies needed, a place to share a joke, have a drink or find a shoulder to cry on.

  At these makeshift communities, everything one needed could be had for a price: food, clothing, drugs, even sex. Some of the ones run by gangs offered guarded sleeping quarters where a person could enjoy a good night’s rest without fear of being robbed. Others featured gaming tents and casinos, where robbery was a way of life. Either way, the same rule still applied: no one was ever turned away because of the color of their skin.

  Leon wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up. The afternoon sky was a hazy gray. To the south vertical towers of cumulonimbus thunderclouds rose like snowcapped mountains high above the horizon, threatening rain. He stood and watched the clouds for a moment, lost in his thoughts, feeling a twinge of the same joy and wonder he had once felt as a much younger man.

  Leon had grown up in the town of Millvat, Pennsylvania, just across the Ohio River from the city of Pittsburgh. His father worked in a steel mill. His mother was a seamstress, baby-si
tting on the weekends to supplement the family income. With three growing boys to feed there never seemed to be enough money. But his parents scrimped and saved, sacrificing so that Leon and his two older brothers never had to do without

  His mother, Jewel, instilled in Leon a strong sense of self and her passion for learning. She impressed upon him at an early age that in order to compete successfully with white men he would need to be similarly educated. By scrimping and saving, Leon’s parents set aside enough money to send both him and his brother James to college, while Leon’s older brother Richard followed in the footsteps of their father and went to work in a steel mill.

  Leon graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in atmospheric science. After graduation, he had gone to work at the Center for Clouds, Chemistry and Climate, nicknamed C4, in La Jolla, California. He and a team of university, government and industrial researchers worked side by side to study the radiative effects of clouds upon the earth’s surface, gathering their information from satellites, sensors and spy planes.

  He had been working at the Center for a little over two years when he met Vanessa Campbell, a registered nurse at the La Jolla Medical Center. She was tall and slender, extremely beautiful, with a smile that could melt glaciers and cause a lion and a lamb to lie down together. They dated, sharing a passion for the theater, old movies and moonlight walks along the beach.

  They also shared a love for creating amateur works of art. Vanessa’s speciality was watercolor paintings of wild-flowers. She was very talented, several of her paintings winning awards and honorable mentions at local art shows. On picnics together in the park Leon would carry the food and drink, while she brought along a fresh canvas and her sketch pad. After eating, he would lie on the grass and watch her paint, or close his eyes and listen to her hum different songs. She always hummed when she worked, usually something lively and flowing like the images she captured on canvas.