by Bobby Akart
Tommy continued. “From what we heard on the Denver CBS station before we started up the peak, a curfew is now in effect for the City of Denver. Large public gatherings are prohibited, especially near government buildings and health care facilities.”
Barb finished off her glass of wine and admired a hawk that soared past the deck at eye level. As the sun set over Blue Lakes, she asked, “Where is our President? I don’t see any signs of leadership in this time of crisis, do you?”
Chapter 63
Day Forty-Eight
Oval Office
The White House
Washington, DC
The President began to drink more frequently with each passing day, no longer attempting to hide his frequent glasses of brandy from the rest of his inner circle. Morse, his longtime friend and loyal Chief of Staff, was always tolerant of the President’s imbibing an occasional snifter of brandy. Being the leader of the free world was a stressful job beyond the imagination of any human being. If you considered that every decision, every word uttered out of the mouth of the President was dissected by the media and political opponents, it was a wonder that most of the occupants of the Oval Office hadn’t abandoned their post.
“Andrew, how did this happen so quickly? I mean, the disease was spreading in obscure parts of the jungle at one moment, and the next it was everywhere.”
“Mr. President,” started Morse, who also poured himself a glass of brandy. He felt genuine concern for the well-being of his friend, a man whom he helped propel to the highest level of power in the world. It was time for him to have a heartfelt, honest conversation with President Garcia. “I honestly believe that there was nothing we could do. There were too many outbreaks in remote areas. The modified version of the plague was designed as a weapon, sir. It was the perfect tool for terrorists to bring the Western world to its knees. By the time we connected all of the dots between their social media activity, the movements of their operatives, and the outbreaks, it was too late.”
“What do we do, Andrew? I’ll approve this BALO vaccine, but it’s a real Hail Mary, in my opinion. It hasn’t been adequately tested. The side effects can be just as brutal as the plague. The human trials are going to be undertaken on real people, you know? People who are sick or dying. Lying in hospital beds with their eyes begging a doctor in a full hazmat suit to save their lives. Real people, Andrew. Not lab rats or hypotheticals generated in a computer program.”
The President finished off his third glass and headed to the small bar cart for a fourth.
“Sir, this is not your fault,” said Morse.
“I don’t know, Andrew,” said a defeated President Garcia. “We both know that I had an agenda initially—political self-preservation. Can I honestly look myself in the mirror and say the decisions I made were for the benefit of the country? Or were they made for the purposes of remaining President of the United States for four more years?”
“Mr. President, we have to forget the past and determine our next course of action. Do you know what a black swan event is?”
“You mean the financial collapse stuff?”
“Sort of, but there’s more to it than that,” Morse responded as he took a seat on one of the sofas facing each other in the center of the Oval Office. He became philosophical himself after several drinks. “An ancient poet once wrote of a rare bird within the Roman Empire that was deemed to be nonexistent, yet it appeared in moments of chaos—the black swan. Over the next two thousand years, the black swan became symbolic of the defiance of all logic.”
“Okay,” said President Garcia, who removed his coat and tie before sitting on the sofa across from Morse. The scene was reminiscent of two old friends in a living room, discussing the issues of the day.
Morse continued. “Fifteen hundred years later, Dutch explorers became the first Europeans to observe actual black swans in Western Australia. Philosophers seized on the discovery, developing a belief that even a perceived impossibility, the existence of a black swan, might later be disproven.”
“So how does that apply to this global pandemic?” asked the President.
“With the advent of modern medicine and global organizations like the WHO and CDC, we, I mean humans, cloaked ourselves in a false sense of security about what deadly infectious diseases can do to mankind. A black swan event is comprised of three criteria.
“First, the event itself must be a surprise. Granted, outbreaks like influenza and Ebola have occurred from time to time in recent history, but we’ve been able to control the spread through a quick reaction. When the plague outbreak occurred in Guatemala and later in the Mediterranean, we assumed that our regular methods of containment would work.”
“Andrew,” started the President, “I underestimated the threat while accusing others of overestimating it.”
“Sir, in this instance, I don’t think that mattered. While the magnitude of this outbreak, now pandemic, was unforeseen, it probably came as no surprise to many doomsday theorists. Catastrophic events have occurred in the past, some of which have been extinction-level events. All of us were naïve to think that it wouldn’t happen again.”
“Are you saying this might be an extinction-level event? That’s the stuff of science fiction, Andrew.”
“Perhaps, but look at the facts, which is the second criteria for a black swan event. This is a global pandemic now. To say it’s having a major effect on mankind would be an understatement.”
“But we didn’t know—” started the President before Morse finished his thought.
“We didn’t know the magnitude and quantity of the outbreaks because the plague bacteria had been genetically modified to be the perfect killer. After the first outbreak, in hindsight, we would’ve done things much differently. The perception we had of the situation was that it was no different than infectious diseases in faraway places like Ebola in Sierra Leone or H1N1, the swine flu, in Veracruz, Mexico. Until it touches U.S. soil or directly impacts Americans, it isn’t given the credibility as a threat it deserves.”
The President retrieved the bottle of brandy and refilled their glasses. Morse continued. “In other words, it’s impossible to predict the unpredictable. People, myself included, are blind to the catastrophic events that have happened in the past and that can, and will, happen in the future. This pandemic is an example of that.”
“Okay, Andrew, I’m feeling a little less guilty about what’s happening around us. The big question is what do we do next?”
Morse set his glass on the table between them and inched to the edge of the sofa. He looked the President directly in the eye. “If humanity is facing an extinction event, then we have to do something to insure the survival of our species after the plague pandemic has passed or burned itself out.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I believe we need to immediately evacuate the government to Cheyenne Mountain. Sir, I mean it. Without delay.”
“I’ll be perceived as a captain abandoning his sinking ship,” said the President.
“At least you’ll be alive when it comes time to rebuild society.”
The President finished off the last of the brandy, winced, and then nodded. “Andrew, make the arrangements.”
PART FOUR
WEEK EIGHT
Chapter 64
Day Forty-Nine
DTRA/CIA Facility
Fort Collins
Before any society collapses, it experiences early warning signals, a slowing down in its economy, the inability to recover from war or political upheaval, or crop failures due to inclement weather or pestilence.
It has been written that all empires collapse eventually. Their reign ended when they were defeated by a larger and more powerful enemy or when their financing ran out.
In the history of mankind, there have been no exceptions. It was true that on a societal level, some empires and societies showed the ability to survive certain shocks. England, for example, suffered mightily in the twentieth century from the uphea
val of war and the devastation of the Spanish flu, yet they persevered.
A society’s resilience was the key to surviving these types of radically external shocks to its system. Less resilient societies crumbled under the pressure. Societal resilience was measured by the length of time it took a community, or empire, to rebound from these events.
Many factors came into play, including the expectation and assumption that the government that ruled the society would quickly take charge and respond to the people’s needs. If the government was slow to respond, or even failed in its efforts, then collapse was likely.
America had been knocked to her knees before—Pearl Harbor and 9/11 were examples. But many argued that the fabric of American society, its moral compass, began to unravel in the decade of the sixties. It was a nation on the brink. Some said it was a society in decline. Regardless of one’s point of view, most agreed that America was one catastrophic event away from collapse.
Hunter contemplated these weighty subjects as Mac bounced through the satellite radio stations to learn the latest news from around the world. He was firmly convinced America was descending into collapse.
He and Mac got an early start and the sun was rising over the foothills of the Rockies. Interstate 70 spilled out of the mountains like the Mississippi River joins the Gulf of Mexico. All of a sudden the ridges and ravines disappeared and a valley full of three million people was displayed before them.
The local news was filled with vandalism, riots, and looting. Hospitals were moving patients to nursing homes, hospices, and makeshift triage facilities. Disposal of the dead had reached crisis levels. Scientists were accurately quoted in news reports that the plague bacteria was capable of living in moist, humid soil for up to a month. Therefore, public officials were ordering the cremation of all plague-stricken corpses.
However, morgues and crematoriums couldn’t keep up with the demand. The cremation process was not designed for fast service. In addition to the time it took to prepare the body, it generally took around two hours to completely reduce a body to bone fragments by cremation at two thousand degrees Fahrenheit. Following the cremation, a cool-down period of almost an hour was required before the bone fragments could be removed and placed in a special processor to pulverize the remains.
Under the best of circumstances, a crematorium working round the clock could dispose of eight bodies. As a result of the plague spreading through Denver, there were eight thousand deaths a day—per licensed crematorium, which totaled forty-six in the metro area.
Mac received a text from Janie, who advised she was passing Hays, Kansas, which was in the middle of the state. She’d driven eight hundred miles on the first day and got up before the crack of dawn after spending a restless night in Kansas City. She regretted staying near the city, but she knew the bulk of Kansas was deserted prairie and was concerned she couldn’t find a hotel.
Janie expected to be in Fort Collins by early afternoon, ready for work. Mac didn’t have the heart to tell her that their days in the lab were numbered.
“Have you noticed the traffic flow?” asked Hunter, breaking the silence between them while they were both lost in thought.
“No,” replied Mac. “I guess my mind was wandering. I’m going into the lab because I feel the need to do something. But, Hunter, I’m at a loss. The President approved the BALO vaccine, but it’ll be a week before we know if it works. The side effects will happen and they will cause doubt in the viability of the vaccine.”
“The public, and even government officials, are in denial,” added Hunter. “I don’t believe they’ve grasped the probability that a vaccine or cure doesn’t exist.”
A steady stream of cars traveled westbound into the mountains. “Do you think these people have a place to go, or are they just fleeing the city?”
“I don’t know, but when we return this afternoon, we’ll see if there is more activity in Breckenridge and over in Frisco near the interstate exit,” replied Hunter.
They rode in silence for a few miles and Hunter pointed out the long lines at the gas stations. “I’m gonna address that issue today. We need gas cans and extra fuel. I hope it isn’t too late to find the cans. I should have thought about it earlier.”
Mac reached across the console and squeezed his hand. “Honey, I’m amazed at the things you have included in your shopping runs.”
Hunter nodded, but grimaced at the same time. “Seriously, I wake up in the morning and ask myself, ‘If I couldn’t leave the house ever again, is there anything I wish I had to survive?’ Whatever that item is, that day, I try to get it.”
“Well, you’ve done fantastic. I love you for taking care of us.”
“Mac, I’m not afraid of our ability to survive this plague. I worry about how people are going to react and how their level of desperation will cloud their judgment. Being isolated is a big help, but there will come a time when we have to venture out to resupply our food or to gather information. It will be dangerous.”
On the westbound side of the divided highway, three cars were pulled onto the shoulder after rear-ending one another. Two of the drivers were pushing and shoving while their wives clawed at each other’s hair.
“It’s already dangerous,” said Mac.
Chapter 65
Day Forty-Nine
Denver Quarantine Center #1
Coors Field
Denver
After attendance at the Olympics began to vanish into thin air during the second week of competition, the Games were cancelled and the competitors returned home. Likewise, major sporting events, including Major League Baseball and NASCAR, were cancelled. Some states passed emergency declarations prohibiting large public gatherings.
Denver was one of the first major cities to utilize their sports venues as quarantine centers. Following the quarantine orders in New Mexico, the governors of Texas and Arizona followed their lead along the southern border with Mexico where the outbreaks of the plague first surfaced.
California refused to establish mandatory quarantines, opting for a less onerous volunteer system. In Los Angeles County, patients who were concerned they might have the disease were admitted into the quarantine center for testing, but could later leave on their own accord if they wanted to. President Garcia, through the White House Press Office, issued a statement condemning the practice, stating California’s revolving-door quarantine policy only served to infect more of its citizens.
The CDC continued to operate its twenty stations around the country at airports, seaports, and near border crossings. On several occasions, their quarantine facilities were so overwhelmed that unless the traveler was highly symptomatic, they were released. In some international airports, like Atlanta, the travelers were quarantined in a tent city surrounding the airport.
Inbound passengers could see the tents on the flight’s final approach, which caused many of them to look for a means to circumvent the customs and immigration process. Eventually, the governor called in the National Guard to secure Hartsfield’s exits to prevent airline passengers from escaping the screening lanes.
The hospital system in America barely functioned. The entire staff at Albuquerque’s Presbyterian Hospital became infected with the plague by a team of nurses on loan from Memorial Medical, Dr. Okoli’s hospital in Las Cruces. Obviously unaware they were stricken with the disease, they’d come to Presbyterian to deliver a liver for a transplant patient. The liver was not infected, but they were.
The first quarantine center established in Colorado by the governor came by way of legislative decree, which seized Coors Field and its seventy-six-acre grounds under an emergency eminent domain theory. The Colorado Rockies ownership group protested and threatened legal action, but they were unable to find a clerk’s office open to accept their pleadings. Both the state and federal court system had closed down until further notice.
From the dugouts to the foul poles, from home plate to the center field wall four hundred and fifteen feet away, white tents were constr
ucted under the watchful eye of the 89th Troop Command, a brigade-level command element of the Colorado National Guard.
The 89th was deployed by order of the governor to maintain a base of operations at Coors Field, now known as Denver Quarantine Center #1, or DQC1. The 89th consisted of infantry, Special Forces, and specialized relief units that had seen tours of duty after Hurricane Katrina in downtown New Orleans and during Operation Jump Start, a military operation announced by President George W. Bush in 2006.
Operation Jump Start deployed National Guardsmen from around the country to secure the border with Mexico and begin construction of a border fence. After two years in the summer of 2008 and a cost of 1.2 billion dollars, Operation Jump Start came to an end. Thirty-eight miles of fencing had been constructed and one hundred seventy-six thousand illegal aliens had been apprehended.
The 193rd Military Police company were actively involved in securing the temporary holding facilities for the apprehended migrants before they were released in 2009 prior to their Immigration Court appearance. Captain Kevin Hoover, a veteran of several relief missions with the 89th, was placed in charge of DQC1.
“Sir, the Denver chief of police and an entourage of local politicians are requesting access through gate D,” announced a private who acted as Captain Hoover’s aide-de-camp.
Captain Hoover and his leadership team maintained an operational headquarters in The Rooftop, an open-air party deck in the upper deck of right field. From that vantage point, Captain Hoover had a complete view of the tents and the patients who inhabited them. Further, he could also see the rooftops of lower downtown Denver.
“Thank you,” started Captain Hoover. “Tell them to walk around to gate A, below us. They will need to be medically cleared and then make them aware they will not be allowed to enter any part of the facility except the elevator that leads them here. Understood?”
