Project Reunion

by Ginger Booth

  “Spare parts?” Cullen asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Nasser replied. “The city used to have ten times as many people. They had stuff. They have warehouses full of stuff. Before demolition, each building to be inventoried and worthwhile stuff removed. There’s little point in setting up industry to manufacture things we have in such colossal supply. It’s a distribution problem. Colonel MacLaren suggested Ms. Baker and Amenac could advise on how to get that business up and running.”

  I nodded a noncommittal so-so. “I agree that it’s a distribution problem, more than a software problem. We can talk.” Cullen waved for Nasser to continue.

  “Food security,” Tony said. “Food self-sufficiency is not a realistic goal for a city. Our aim isn’t to satisfy local food needs, but to reduce reliance on transportation for fresh food, and ensure interrupted supply isn’t a disaster again. So, food production at about an 800 calorie per day level. Year round fresh greens. Full nutrition for children’s developmental needs.”

  Cullen pursed his lips. “As a whole, New York–New Jersey would remain above food self-sufficiency?”

  “Absolutely, sir,” Nasser confirmed. “Net food exporting overall. Even the Apple Zone should be food self-sufficient within a couple years, when you include Long Island and North Jersey. The time frame is constrained by livestock biology. Increasing flocks and herds takes time.”

  “Alright,” said Cullen, and waved for him to move on.

  Next up was staffing. “We believe the project needs three Rescos. That brings each Resco down below four hundred thousand people. Eventual lead Resco is either Emmett or Ash. The problem here is that rehabilitation begins in parallel to the end of Project Reunion. Which means Emmett is trying to ramp down Project Reunion and do the hardest part – ramping up – on Project Rebuild, before other Rescos are available. We recommend that Ash join Emmett, effective immediately, to get this started.”

  Cullen scowled. “I will not commit half of my top Rescos to New York City. This is temporary. Six months, tops. Then one of you has to go. Four lead Rescos, and four regions – New Jersey, Metro, Long Island, Upstate. Distribute yourselves accordingly, gentlemen.”

  “Understood, sir,” Emmett and Ash chorused.

  Tony added, “We have more work to do before we finalize Resco assignments for the year, sir.”

  Cullen nodded. His tone softened. “Emmett, this is assuming you’re willing to stay with us? I know General Link would very much like to have you back, to tackle Boston-Prov. General Schwabacher has made noises about Ohio, too. He’s very fond of you. We owe you, Emmett. Big-time. Whether you stay or go. We’d very much like you to stay.”

  “I’m not done here yet, sir,” Emmett agreed softly. “If you’ll have me. Tony?”

  Tony Nasser flipped the display to a map of a new city, born from the rubble and agony of the old one, side by side with a pencil and watercolor concept drawing. The map showed 50 mini-cities, integrated residential industrial agricultural zones, islands in a sea of green, spanning islands in a sea of blue. The concept drawing showed a high-rise apartment block in the background, with food growing vertically up its face, lower buildings beside it. The foreground was green space, trees and community gardens, chickens and goats. I recognized Will’s art style – my graphics designer from Amenac – and his neat lettering in the legend. Calm Park.

  “Calm Park?” asked Cullen.

  “Burial grounds, sir,” said Emmett, with a catch in his voice. “Each community will have a Calm Park. The artist who drew this for me, Will… Well, never mind.” Cullen motioned for him to continue. “Will suggested a pilgrimage, of sorts. To walk all fifty Calm Parks of New York City. A walk for atonement. Each one could have a plaque, telling the community’s story, or listing the dead. And maybe a dedication to a state as well. Kansas Calm Park, and so on.”

  After a few moments of silence, Cullen said huskily, “Gentlemen, lady, someday I would very much like to make that pilgrimage with you.”

  Six quiet voices agreed, including mine. Emmett’s voice beside me said, “Amen.”

  “And you believe this is do-able?” Cullen asked Emmett and Ash.

  Ash volunteered, “We have outstanding public works in New York. These people are tough and skilled. They led the nation in climate change preparedness. A lot of them are still there – they chose to stay. It’s a hell of a lot of work. But they can do it.”

  Emmett added, “The vision will sell. Lot of greenbelt. But the mini-cities preserve the character of the old city.”

  Ash nodded emphatically. “Harlem, the West Village, Central Park, Chinatown, Lower East Side, nightclubs and bagels and knishes – we can keep the city’s soul. New Yorkers can get behind that.”

  Cullen nodded. “Looks like a plan. Well done, gentlemen. Thank you for your hard work. Ms. Baker? As Colonel MacLaren’s partner on Project Reunion, do you approve?”

  I was taken aback by the question, though not as badly as the officers were. Emmett pursed his lips.

  “I trust Emmett, and Cam,” I replied hesitantly. “In terms of Project Reunion, the city is only one part. This part looks good.”

  General Cullen sighed. “Agreed. Gentlemen, I need to leave. We did resolve the key sticking point, plans for the city. But I hope you’ll address the rest of the Apple Zone together this afternoon. Seek a coherent vision. A path to dissolving the borders. Since you’re here.”

  General Cullen left them to it, and so did I.

  Chapter 30

  Interesting fact: Based on Amenac and Project Reunion polls, public approval of the U.S. Congress was below 5% in March, to greet the announcement of the next phase of the Calm Act. This counted ‘they’re better than nothing’ as approval. The number of people who said they ‘strongly approved’ of Congress was statistically insignificant.

  I settled in to watch the death of the Calm Act with the PR team, at Dave’s Amenac loft in Totoket. Not the whole team – the reporters were out filming responses, and Emmett was on duty in New York. But Carlos and Dave, Mel and Popeye and Will, Shelley and Trey were here. Mangal and Shanti sat next to me on the floor. We made a big potluck dinner affair out of it.

  We’d been chatting up this special report for weeks, encouraging people to watch live. We provided vote buttons and online discussion threads to make it a participatory event. Most of us had computers open on our laps, in addition to the broadcast up on the big screen. We had to keep on top of any technical glitches, of course. Also, the first votes on any live poll would be ours.

  The Speaker of the House would address the nation at 7 p.m. Our program began at 6 p.m. After the Calm Act, What Next? declared the big screen, with a countdown timer. Will did us proud on the graphics, which featured a slow procession of the iconic images of Project Reunion. With one minute left, the slide show stopped on Ty Jefferson in a wheelchair, under the white flag of surrender on Staten Island. Overflowing bowls of buttered popcorn took strategic positions as we settled in to watch, and the countdown dropped to zero.

  “Good evening. This is Amiri Baz, for Project Reunion. This segment of tonight’s special report was pre-recorded on March 13th. On March 15th, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to declare the second phase of the Calm Act over, and announce the third phase.

  “Tonight we’ll be speaking with the military governors of the Northeast. By video, we have Army General Ivan Link of New England.” Link nodded from the screen. They each did, in turn. “Navy Admiral Sondi O’Hara of Virginia–Maryland–Delaware. Army General Charles Schwabacher of Ohio–West Virginia. Air Force General Seth Taibbi of Pennsylvania. And joining me in person, on a Navy destroyer in New York harbor, Army General Sean Cullen of New York–New Jersey. And our own Project Reunion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Emmett MacLaren.”

  Emmett was not thrilled to be there. The military governors were way above his pay grade. But he’d acceded to Amiri’s request on the grounds that this was a Project Reunion communication. Whatever he was f
eeling, he hid it well.

  “General Cullen,” Amiri selected, “what do we expect from the Speaker’s announcement?”

  “We don’t know, in detail,” Cullen replied. “What we do know is that phase two of the Calm Act was set to expire on March 15th, or when the U.S. population fell to 200 million. Whichever came first.”

  “Oh, my God,” said my neighbor Trey, Shelley’s boyfriend, possibly the only one of us in the loft who didn’t already know this. The on-screen vote at the moment asked whether you knew the purpose of the Calm Act was to cull the population, Yes or No. Trigger fingers brought the initial results to 20% Yes, but that slowly fell toward 5%.

  Cut to raised eyebrows on Amiri Baz. “Are we allowed to say that?”

  “It’s the truth,” Cullen bit out. “The goal of phase two of the Calm Act was to reduce the U.S. population to sustainable levels. These were my orders.”

  Amiri pounced. “You were ordered to murder –”

  “No,” Cullen interrupted sharply. “I was ordered to establish and maintain the borders until those conditions were met. Neither I, nor any soldier under my command, was ordered to kill civilians. We were ordered to keep them in place, and let them die,” he clarified bitterly.

  “You disobeyed those orders,” Amiri observed gently. “With Project Reunion.” The camera angle widened to take in Emmett and Cullen, who simply nodded.

  “If I may,” General Schwabacher broke in. “There was an Army team assigned to vet the Calm Act before it was published. The members of that team – rightly – do not choose to be identified. But I do not feel that I have that right. I was their commanding officer on the project.”

  “You supervised the vetting of the Calm Act?” Amiri echoed for clarity. The camera briefly visited Admiral Sondi O’Hara, who looked shocked. None of the others looked surprised, so we didn’t show them.

  “Yes.” Schwabacher frowned. “What you need to understand is that the borders and the Calm Act were instituted to protect viable sections of the country from being overrun and destroyed by refugees fleeing non-viable regions. Climate change has been kind to us here in the Northeast. Relatively. But our vetting team was working in Fort Leavenworth Kansas, where prospects were already…unspeakably grim. The goal of the Calm Act was not to reduce the population to 200 million, but rather to protect 200 million from being dragged to below 100 million by resource wars. I believe it accomplished that,” he ended softly.

  “Was that the projection?” Amiri clarified. “That without the Calm Act borders, twice as many people would die?”

  “Yes,” Schwabacher confirmed. “The vetting team confirmed that. Not only would more people die, but the quality of life of the survivors… Well, the entire continent would fall into war and chaos. The Calm Act was a crash program for a soft landing. Without it, we’d all be in the same position as New York City.”

  “Does everyone agree with that statement?” Amiri asked. “General Link.”

  “I have great respect for General Schwabacher,” Link replied. “And General Cullen. Everyone here. And I know the talent General Schwabacher had vetting this. I’ve spoken to several of them, in fact. I believe them. This could have been a lot worse. In Europe, Asia, Africa, South America – it has been worse.”

  “A program note,” Amiri said. “We took a break for the military governors to compare notes. So what do we expect now? General Schwabacher, you seem to be the best informed on the Calm Act.”

  “I don’t know what the third phase says,” Schwabacher confirmed.

  “I don’t care what the third phase says,” said Cullen. “The lives of people in New York–New Jersey started improving immeasurably when we set aside the Calm Act.”

  “Colonel MacLaren,” Amiri picked on next. “You seem to disagree.”

  Emmett shook his head slightly. “Amiri, a lieutenant colonel does not gainsay a 3-star general.”

  A mutter from the military governors was summed up by General Cullen, Emmett’s commander, sitting beside him. Cullen flourished an open-handed wave of invitation. “Permission to speak freely, Emmett. We’d like to hear what you have to say.” It was zero risk. The guests had the opportunity to review this episode and request changes.

  Emmett nodded. “Well, a couple things. I don’t concede that Project Reunion violated the Calm Act. Because it wasn’t done by force. And I believe that was the main point of the borders – to prevent neighbors from taking each other’s resources by force. I’d expect the third phase of the Calm Act to say what happens to those borders now. And to the authority of the military governors. But…”

  “But?” Amiri prompted.

  “We don’t care what the Calm Act says about that,” Link answered. “New England has its own plans. Beginning with dismantling the internal borders, including Boston-Providence, in a controlled and orderly fashion.”

  “We’ve decided,” Cullen confirmed. “New York–New Jersey plans to rebuild. In peaceful trade with our neighbors, all represented here today.” He waved to the video screens next to Amiri. “Our goal is ambitious, and probably long term. We want all of our citizens living at level 5 and above.”

  In the loft, Mel asked, “Were all of New Jerkzey’s people at level 5 before the Calm Act?” We shushed him. Though I suspect he was right – they probably weren’t. And Cullen needed to come up with a new name fast, before ‘New Jerkzey’ caught on for New York–New Jersey.

  “We are allied and at peace with our surrounding neighbors,” Taibbi confirmed hastily from the big display. “Pennsylvania will abide by the terms of our…capitulation…to New York and Ohio and Virginia. Regardless of what the Calm Act says. Our planning process is behind our neighbors. Because we were cut off from the outside world, and we’re under new management. But our plans will hinge on peaceful trade, and a successful conclusion to Project Reunion.”

  “Admiral O’Hara, I understand you’re in a very different position,” Amiri prompted.

  “Yes,” O’Hara said gratefully. “Virginia–Maryland–Delaware is different. D.C. and Baltimore are under Army martial law, yet a Navy admiral is overall military governor. Our external borders are controlled by our neighbors. Our civilians feed the eastern seaboard Navy. We also have Army resource coordinators, very good ones. I have to say that greater Virginia’s future plans, as a region, are not well developed yet. However, certain resources of the Navy are unfrozen as of March 15th. We are prioritizing requests as we speak, to help with the rebuilding. And the eastern naval blockades will continue intact to protect us all from external threats.”

  Actually, the Navy had unfrozen all their assets early to help with Project Reunion in New York. But she didn’t go on record admitting to that. It wasn’t her call, anyway.

  Amiri asked, “So you don’t command the eastern seaboard Navy?”

  “I do not,” O’Hara confirmed. “That would be Admiral Huyck for the Northeast. I’m the military governor of Virginia–Del–Mar.”

  “And your relations with your other neighbors, not here with us today?” Amiri asked.

  “We are on good terms with the Carolinas and Kentucky–Tennessee, thankfully.”

  “General Schwabacher?” Amiri asked. “Your situation is also rather different.”

  “Yes,” Schwabacher replied. “Although I’ve come to the same conclusion. Ohio–West Virginia has its own plans, regardless of what the Calm Act prescribes. The Calm Act was written years ago. They foresaw what they could. Now we face current reality. In our case, we’ve been pleased to help stabilize the northeast. Ohio and West Virginia make a great team. Kentucky–Tennessee is a good neighbor. To our west, there are…more uneasy pairings. Indiana–Michigan. Illinois–Wisconsin. Those marriages were not made in heaven. Ohio must remain strong. But eager for peaceful trade. We hope to revive our industrial base, jointly with Pennsylvania.”

  Amiri nodded thoughtfully. “So none of you plan to relinquish martial law. Regardless of what the Speaker says on March 15th.”

  “
I’d like to answer that one,” Cullen offered. “In the Apple Zone, we still have dire living conditions. The entire national infrastructure has collapsed. We have no currency, broken transportation, chaotic food distribution, unreliable power. If it weren’t for the Rescos, like Colonel MacLaren here, most Americans watching this broadcast would be living in conditions at level 3 and below. They would not have the luxury of watching us tonight by Internet. We continue to be buffeted by severe storms. These conditions warrant martial law. If we relinquished it at this point, we would backslide.”

  The voting widget switched over to ask, Do you believe martial law is still needed in New England? Yes or No. Viewers would receive a region-specific question, also at the level of their military governor. People outside the U.S. weren’t shown the voting widget or the results. People in Amenac’s loft with me got to see results from all regions. New England, home to the Great Pumpkin and the Recon-con, had the lowest approval for martial law in early polling, at about 60%. New York–New Jersey had the highest approval, at 98%, followed closely by Penn. Greater Ohio and Virginia–Del–Mar ran around 75%.

  General Link chimed in. “The Rescos were added to the Calm Act by General Schwabacher’s Army vetting team. I’d like to point out that whatever this third phase is, the Army did not vet it. The Resco program has been an enormous success. But we were very limited in Resco availability. With peace, we can shift more officers into Resco roles. Shift troops to restoring infrastructure. That’s what we intend to do in Boston-Prov. Though I’ve lost two of my most outstanding Rescos to General Cullen, Colonel MacLaren and Major Cameron in Long Island.” Link attempted to smile graciously. “When you think ‘martial law’, think Rescos.”

  The poll in New England got slightly more pro-Resco, if not pro–martial law, rising to 65%. People were free to change their vote until the question changed.