Escape to Canamith

by Richard Friedman

  Taft continued on. “It’s rare when one of the inhabitants of Canamith leaves their city and even more unusual that one of them chooses to speak with us. I have had the pleasure of knowing one of their citizens for a number of years. In fact, he’s their leader, or was the last time I met him. They call him their ‘Chief Elder’. I know him as Rex Templeton. He and I used to meet every six months or so at a small restaurant not too far from their village. His daughter is in the building with us today. Professor Jenkins, your father is a great man. I’ve had long discussions with him in Sanderell about his beliefs. Personally, I think he’s wrong about how this situation ends. He’s very proud of your achievements. I’m sure he doesn’t mention that to you. That doesn’t seem like his style. I’m the same way…that’s probably why we hit it off so well. His belief in your expertise is one of the reasons I insisted that you be part of this team.”

  Lila’s mouth dropped to the floor. Was it true? Could General Taft have been the same man that used to meet with her father when he went on his expeditions into town? Rex never mentioned the identity of the man he used to rendezvous with. Was Taft the man who was there when her mother died and was he the man that saved her father’s life?

  “Lila, what’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost,” Aldo said.

  “In a manner of speaking, I guess you could say I have.”

  “Huh?”

  “I can’t explain it right now. Shhh.”

  Taft continued. “Canamith is located in the mountain region back on the west coast. I lived near there for years when I wasn’t chasing hostiles. I was with my friend Rex when drug-influenced juveniles murdered his wife. That was an awful day. The reason I bring this up today is that the people in Canamith were convinced that our way of life was ruining the world. That’s not so unusual to hear, but what was unusual is that Rex said his people were planning on surviving the end of the world as we know it. When I look around at what’s happening today, his words of warning appear to be dead on.”

  Lila was too stunned by it all. She considered herself a great scientist. She was unable to understand why the world was turning inside out. She believed that all things were explainable, but she was unable to explain anything about this crisis.

  Taft sighed, as if he got the cruel joke the planet was playing on him had sunk in. He brushed away even the scant thought of defeat and went on speaking.

  “I have terrible news. I wanted you to hear this directly from me before there is widespread panic in the streets. The unusual heavy winter snows in the mountain ranges of the country are melting too quickly. Part of the reason for this is the excessively warm temperatures we’ve been experiencing for the last few years. The record-breaking thunderstorms that have ravaged the country recently are adding to the problem. Severe flooding is predicted for many areas and the President has ordered all military personnel to report to duty for immediate relocation to the disaster zones. Our work here must continue. The President has declared a State of Emergency throughout those regions. Citizens have been told to stay in their homes unless they are experiencing a medical emergency. Funds have been reallocated from the Treasury Department to cover the emergency costs involved with this response. More thunderstorms are predicted in these areas and I don’t expect the state of affairs to improve for several days. In fact, my staff tells me that meteorological experts have made rather dire predictions. They anticipate more rain in the coming weeks. That’s not going to help. Wildfires are racing out of control in the western part of the country. It’s not raining at all there and firefighters have been diverted from surrounding states to assist. The Army has authorized the retrofitting of military vehicles to carry water or fire-fighting material to areas in need. Thirty thousand residents were evacuated within the last twenty-four hours and we expect that number to grow. The fires are currently thirty-eight percent contained. If we can catch a break with the wind, I think our boys on the ground can contain the blaze. In addition to the aforementioned flooding and fires, seafaring traffic has come to an abrupt stop. The seaports remain open, however. Many countries, including ours, have signaled our ships to return to port, where they can dock safely until the current crisis is resolved. Money markets around the world are falling.”

  “I can hear the words of my old friend Rex lingering in my ears. I can’t stand up here and make an official statement that says the world is coming to an end. I don’t believe that the world is coming to an end and the people of this great country won’t believe that either. The onus is on us to come up with answers…and soon. I trust you grasp our sense of urgency. The situation has deteriorated since I last spoke to you. I have instructed local security forces to protect this building at all costs. People are scared, and we’re going to have to keep an eye on that. Scared people do dumb things. There are reports of vandalism run amok. Supermarkets have been ransacked. Shoppers are getting into fistfights and in certain cases, committing murder. It sounds apocalyptic. I have faith in you to help us see the light at the end of the tunnel. Keep up the effort and I’ll be in touch soon.”

  With that devastating news, Gen. Taft was escorted from the building and into his heavy armored vehicle.

  Massey grabbed the microphone and added his own final words for the night.

  “Let’s get back to our groups. I’ve sent new surveillance videos to each room. These images came from various parts of the country and they may help.”

  Lila, Aldo, Drake, Goldman, and Morales scurried back to the meeting room.

  Lieutenant Branley shadowed them. Lila asked him “We have you all day?”

  “Yes, ma’am. At your service. Anything I can do, just ask.”

  Lila was about to ask a question, but abstained. Branley could tell she had stopped short.

  “Go ahead, what is it?” he asked.

  “I’d love a cup of coffee. Any chance you could find me one?”

  “I’m on it, professor. But you need to make me one promise first.”

  “Sure, name it.”

  “Don’t go walking around any zoos while I’m gone.” “Deal,” Lila smiled.

  “That smile fits you well, professor.” Branley returned the smile. “Perhaps someday everyone will be smiling again?”

  “I hope that’s true,” said Lila. Her voice said the words, but Branley could tell her heart wasn’t buying it.

  CANAMITH COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT

  Update #388

  Government Official Secretly Worries

  The worldwide panic that had been feared for months has arrived. Food prices were a problem one month ago; today there is little food to be had. Government forces around the world have been hard pressed to stop once law-abiding citizens from stealing food from any source available.

  Speaking under conditions of anonymity, one highly- placed member of the legislature said it this way: ”This is not the world I know. We’re on the precipice of the total breakdown of society. I never thought I’d see this day. It’s almost as if the roles of the world have been reversed. Now it’s Man that must use the phrase that we used to say about the animal kingdom: It’s survival of the fittest.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Roger Drake made things happen. His deep pockets allowed him to purchase access to files, reports, technology, and influence in high places. He detested government bureaucracy, but he was wise enough to know he required government assistance. His cash donations helped grease the palms of legislators who disregarded what was best for the country and only saw what was best for their long term financial portfolios. He had come a long way from an intern at Energy Consultants, Inc. to CEO of RDC, the world’s largest and technologically advanced telecommunications giant. He was twenty-one years old at the time and fresh out of college. His first job consisted primarily of getting breakfast for his boss. It was during that time he learned how the game was played. Big financial deals were not based on what was best for the country. It was all about the money.

  Eyebrows were raised when Drake was asked to joi
n the science team in the Capital. Government officials who had been around longer than eight years remembered the trouble that Drake caused for the Piro presidency. The Department of Defense had been enraged when Drake’s Company, RDE Communications, bypassed governmental regulations and installed underground cables that were not up to code. Drake considered the matter trivial and a nuisance, but in the advent of the recent war and with security at the forefront for President Piro, Drake was forced to remove many of the cables at great expense to his company. It almost cost him controlling interest in the company. The value of the stock plummeted and Drake’s hold as CEO was in jeopardy. He managed to stay in charge by promising to avoid collecting any salary until the stockholders had regained their money. That choice, combined with the development of new products released two years later, elevated the company to new heights, and when President Griggs was elected, he called on his old college fraternity buddy Drake to install an entirely new communication system throughout all government offices. The system worked to perfection, and came in under budget. Drake used this exposure to elevate his own ego and pocketbook to new uncharted levels. Nobody would suspect Roger Drake had seen this worldwide disaster scenario coming and built his own “safety bunker”. He couldn’t have predicted the current state of affairs, but he had sensed a change in the world, and he thought he may be forced to “hide out”, as he called it, for a while.

  His fortress in the desert included several years’ worth of supplies for him and his new wife. It was a hi-tech version of what the Canamithians had built in the tunnels. Rex and his ancestors took 2,000 years to complete the tunnels. Drake built his retreat in twenty-eight months. The cost of building a living environment for the citizens of Canamith was incalculable. The cost of building Drake’s little hideaway: forty-three million dollars. Drake built similar bunkers in strategic places around the world. He was three steps ahead of the curve on this one. He sensed the calamity coming, prepared safe dwellings in case they were needed, and hoarded boatloads of cash figuring that in the post-crisis world, cash would be king. He hoped his mega-million-dollar hideaways were unnecessary, but insisted on preparedness.

  General Taft had outlined the plight of the world in a medium- sized hotel in the middle of the capital. Drake secretly uploaded all the data collected at the capital to his own computers in the desert.

  The government had a special announcement on the Emergency Broadcasting Network. The message hadn’t changed in days. The masculine voice sounded stern, but not angry or panicked.

  “Please listen carefully. There is no reason for alarm. Local and national authorities are doing everything they can to keep you safe. Please stay in your homes if you are frightened of the outdoors. Stay tuned to this channel for further updates.”

  When word filtered out that scientists were making little progress, the thin fibers holding the country together disintegrated like cotton candy in water.

  Drake would never be accused as the person responsible for the leak, but he had the ability, motivation, and technology to do precisely that.

  Massey was completing his last sentence to his group of experts when the lights in the hotel flickered for a moment, then went out. The lights blinked again and then went black. Emergency generators responded and the lights returned at half their normal illumination.

  Massey’s phone rang and he answered it quickly. He didn’t speak for a moment as he listened intently to the caller before replying.

  “I understand, sir. Will do. Thank you, sir.” “Who was that?” asked Lila.

  “That was President Griggs. The entire east coast suffered a major hit to the electrical grid. It knocked out power to millions of people. People are desperate to maintain a level of confidence in their government and this is not going to help. Hot, hungry and broke don’t make for happy campers,” said Massey.

  “What happened?” asked Lila.

  “He wasn’t exactly sure, but it seems that animals are digging at underground cables and chewing at the ones on ground level. There are scores of reports of dead birds seen around the power stations.”

  “You don’t think that the birds were trying to—”.

  Massey wouldn’t let her finish her sentence. “I don’t get paid to think.”

  “This is one case where people would say you do indeed ‘get paid to think’.”

  “I’m not going there, professor. Let’s get back to work.”

  The men and women assigned to fix the power grid couldn’t do much until the damage was identified. Emergency crews were sent to key power transfer stations and within an hour they isolated the cause of the power failure. Thousands of birds had infiltrated the exhaust fans and clogged them to the point where the fail-safe systems within the plants automatically shut the system down. Twelve different plants were affected, which forced the Department of Energy to shut the system down throughout the Eastern part of the country to avoid any more domino-effect closing of power stations in the Midwest.

  Energy Director Nathan Barron predicted that it would take close to a week to fix the damage caused by the invading flocks. Coupled with rising food costs, and shortages throughout much of the country, people would soon be dealing with the crisis without the comforts of air-conditioning or an ice-cold glass of water to quench their thirst.

  The trickle-down effect of the crisis was beginning to show up in unexpected places.

  Tankers hesitated to enter harbors to unload their goods. The freighter named Scruthers was a flash point for ships entering the country. As she was safely tucked away in her designated dock, the Scruthers’ load sat unloaded for four days because workers failed to show up for work. The entire ship, filled with fresh fruit, now was a total loss. Dockworkers had been attacked by millions of flying, biting insects the previous week and many of the men were incapacitated from their injuries. Port Authority administrators had tried in vain to find temporary workers instead of the union workers, but the union leaders filed a restraining order at the local courthouse and that appeal to prevent the Port Authority to replace the ill men was upheld, forcing the Port Authority into a no-win solution. They couldn’t hire scabs, but the union men were too ill to unload the boat. The ship and its well-traveled riches were left to rot.

  Not all ships entering the country were infected by flying, biting insects, but union workers were staying home in droves to stand united with their fellow brothers. This led to other workers failing to report to their jobs too, starting a spiraling chain of people too fearful of attack or too loyal to the union to go to work. Either way, the shipping business was grounded. Roving gangs searched out the wealthy and ransacked homes, stealing everything that could be readily consumed or bartered for other useable goods on the growing black market.

  These new reports were detailed on the monitors at the conference.

  “We must give people a reason not to panic. That’s the biggest problem we face,” said Dr. Morales.

  “Lila replied, “people are a hairsbreadth away from panic all the time. They never think about it because there is always food and water and shelter. Take any one of those out of the picture for a week, and boom: stand back and watch the explosions. But this is different. I believe people have accurately identified that their leaders are clueless to help them. When the terrorists attacked us on own soil, that radically changed the way we lived. It changed how we traveled and the way passengers were inspected. Now the government can listen to any conversation they wish to hear, under the auspices of ‘Protecting the People’. This is different. How can the government stop birds from flying into a power plant? Can the government explain the crop failures? Did you know that our insecticides have become useless against sixty-three percent of those little buggers that ruin our food? I could go on and on. Do you think I’m nuts? Dr. Goldman does. I’ve spent my entire life believing that science has an answer for every problem and I accepted that challenge. What if this time we’re not up to it?”

  “Do you have a better plan?” asked Morales.


  Lila began to think about Canamith. Lila had questioned the entire “two-thousand-year-old promise to the ancestors” thing. That was a large factor in her decision to leave Canamith in the first place. Now, what Rex had been saying didn’t seem so farfetched.

  Lila grabbed her ever-present notebook and scribbled a sentence that she would ponder until she left the capital.

  Theory: science can’t explain it because it’s too unbelievable for the rational mind to allow the idea that the planet can identify man as a threat.

  She turned back to Dr. Morales. “Yeah, I do have a better plan. I’m calling it Plan B.”

  CANAMITH COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT

  Update #432

  Electricity Grid in Danger

  Jacob Burke, a spokesman for the International Energy Regulatory Commission commented yesterday. “While I’m not at liberty to discuss the reasons for it, continued disruptions at power plants and sub-stations around the world are becoming a problem. If we can’t provide a safe work environment for our employees, we’ll be unable to continue to sustain the high volume of energy that our customers demand through the electric grid on a daily basis.”

  Burke was responding to concerns that the unusually high number of sick days that employees have used during the most recent fiscal quarter. Two months ago Burke had been asked if employees were afraid to come to work, to which he stated: “What in the world do they have to be afraid of?”

  CHAPTER 25

  Mathis stared back at the mountaintop where his people were now safely nestled in their tunnels, waiting for the world to collapse. He trusted the note he left for his father and brother would give a satisfactory explanation for his sudden departure and violation of village rules. His plan was tight on time. The tunnels would already be sealed if he returned home too late.

  Rex hadn’t mentally recovered from Lila leaving the village. He wouldn’t be happy knowing his son had bolted the confines of the Canamith too.