EMP Journey

by Miles Maresh

  Cheryl was happy to be back in a society with power, clean water, safety and some technology. She was always willing to live in the cabin but she much preferred the world she had grown up in. The Air Force base was not as big as the cities she knew, but they did not exist anymore and probably wouldn’t for some time. Back at her high school in Phoenix Cheryl had been a popular student, active in sports and taking advanced classes. She did not have a boyfriend, but she was dating actively and that would not have been possible living in the cabin. The base school had a mixed population as far as genders went. Although it wasn’t the high achieving school she had attended before, and the extracurricular activities were curtailed it was better than being home schooled in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

  Sydney had mixed feeling about living on the Air Force base. She was an excellent student, but was not a social butterfly and preferred studying on her own to hanging out with friends. With society in transition her future was uncertain. She did not know if her plans for college and a career in medicine was even possible any more. The school at the Air Force base was not as advanced as the high performing high school she had previously attended. Emily gave her advanced lessons to compensate for the curriculum being too easy for her. She was very nervous about what was going on with China. She was also worried about her father. He claimed he would be home most nights, and was home more than he had been as a financial planner, but he was wearing a uniform now. She barely remembered his time in the military before, but with North Korea and the China threatening the country she knew her dad was actively involved in missions and the probable war.

  Diane was an attorney by trade, but there was little need for her legal skills in a wartime military society. She had education and excellent organization skills. She was not commissioned, but worked as a civilian adviser for both strategic military and diplomatic endeavors. She had worked with the military planners to execute the mission to take out the Chinese battleship. She knew Mike was probably going to be one of the pilots involved in that action. She had come to like Mike, and Dave had told her what a good person he was. She did not want his family to be alone but knew that Mike’s duty to his country was important to all families. Diane’s job was to plan for the mission to be successful, but that did not mean without any casualties. When she got the report back that the ship went down with no U.S. planes lost she breathed a sigh of relief. Her team went right back to work. They sent the president the results of the action knowing he was trying to work out peaceful relations with China. Although this latest mission did curtail a possible Chinese invasion they would not view it that way and it might hurt the chances of a diplomatic solution.

  Dave was grateful for the military’s assistance in getting his family to a safe area with power and a food supply. He was glad his skills as a pilot and his wife’s organizational ability was of value to the government. Because the military had decided Phoenix was no longer in danger from North Korean missiles they had a long range plan to reopen the city to the now limited number of survivors. About 90% of pre-EMP citizens had not survived in the Phoenix area. Most of the people that perished had died of starvation, disease, or the lack of clean water. In other parts of the country the coming winter with no power would cause the fatality rate to be even higher. The government was bringing in workers and supplies form the rest of the country to retool the Phoenix area factories to make new transformers and relays. Because Phoenix depended on hydroelectric and nuclear power they did need specialists in those areas. Dave was asked to fly a military transport plane to bring some of the necessary workers and their families to the area. Phoenix would become the home to many of the workers that helped to bring back the power.

  Dave’s first assignment was to fly to Pittsburgh to pick up a supply of steel and some technicians to install the new grid. A military contingent traveled with him to provide security. Pittsburgh was completely without power and the only people left in town were some marauding gangs that were rumored to be resorting to cannibalism in order to survive. I had been a year since the initial EMP hit and all food and water is stores and private homes was long since gone. The military had let it be known in northern cities that residents could move south into the restoring cities but some people just did not want to go. At any rate Pittsburgh still had a large supply of steel that could be fabricated in the new Phoenix plants into the infrastructure needed to repair the power grid. They also need some steelworkers to provide the expertise at producing these items. They landed at a military air base that had a limited amount of security. Dave stayed with the plane as the soldiers and steelworkers headed to the plants to gather supplies. The soldiers at the air base dilled Dave in on what conditions were like. Over 90% of Pittsburgh area residents had perished in the WMP and the harsh winter that followed. With no power, many residents simply froze to death even if they had managed to find food and water. Since the military had offered remaining residents transportation south the surviving residents had mostly left. A few thousand gang members were still in town and the military was well aware that they had resorted to eating people starting with bodies that had frozen and eventually turning on each other. Dave was only too happy to get back in the air once the soldiers returned with the supplies and loaded up the cargo plane

  After the battleship was sunk the rest of the ships off the San Diego coast turned around and headed back to sea. The Chinese government protested strongly and again threatened to use nuclear weapons but the President was sure they were just trying to save face. President Jim Ryan had warned the Chinese to stay out of our territorial waters. The fact that they sent one ship in was a test to see if we still had military defense capabilities. The Chinese still hoped to gain a foothold in the western hemisphere while the countries were still suffering from the solar event, They actually agreed with what Ryan did to North Korea but they used it as a pretext to the moral indignation that justified their invasion of the U.S. The Chinese decided to send their invasion forces to South America. Without U.S. military and economic aid most South American countries would have no defense to a Chinese invasion. The problem was they had not done anything to China that could be used as reasonable justification. The Chinese released a statement to Latin America and the United States that they were helping impoverished nations recover from the EMP. The United States did not believe their story. The ships were military and did not carry enough of the food or water the Latin American countries desperately needed. President Ryan had already ordered the U.S. military that was already in place to try to re-establish cities with power in temperate areas of his own country. The problems with China could be handled later. Ryan knew the closely guarded secret that the new EMP shielding technology would make the United States impervious to any future EMP events whether man-made or natural.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  China had established their foothold in the western hemisphere by taking over some South American counties. The fact that the American military had been mostly operational was not expected by the Chinese and their attempt at invading the United States had been quickly scrapped. The United States capital was moved to Denver, Colorado. When Washington D.C. was hit by the nuclear bomb the president was already on his way to the Cheyenne Mountain facility. Most other residents of the Washington D.C. area had perished in the blast. Even those congressmen who were in government shelters did not escape the blast of the radiation. It was decided that Denver would be a better place for the capital because it was away from coastlines and was more centrally located to where the U.S. cities would be started anew. Other cities where power was restored included San Diego, Tucson, San Antonio, Atlanta and Jacksonville Florida. Surviving citizens from cities in the north were given the option of moving to one of the restored cities. If they wanted to stay in a mostly deserted northern city they were told it would be many years before they would have power or supplies. Smaller town and cities around the county including rural and farming areas were also restored so crops and livestock could again star
t to feed the nation.

  With about 10% of the pre-EMP population it was decided that the power be restored to cities in the American south especially in areas that did not have severe winters or other natural disasters. One of the first cities to be renewed was Phoenix, Arizona. Supplies and technicians from around the country were brought in to rebuild the power grid and restore stability and safety to at least a part of the city. With the new population at about 200,000 a large part of the former city was to remain powerless and mostly uninhabited. All the new cities that were rebuilt would also include shielding from EMPs and spare parts that could quickly be installed if a power failure did happen. A new national currency was set up. Thieves had stolen much American currency during the downfall of society. The president announced clemency for looting and other actions taken to protect ones family, but promised that law and order would be restored and punishments would be swift and final. Conservatives decried the loss of constitutional rights and there was talk or revising the entire Constitution or even writing a new one.

  President Ryan lost his Vice-President, his Secretary of State, and 90% of his country’s population in the EMP and the nuclear annihilations of Los Angeles and Washington D.C. The only thing that kept the United States from being annexed by China was that the U.S. military had been largely unaffected by the EMP. While he was thankful that the military had survived intact, he was furious that the EMP shielding had not been provided to the general population. Now that the county was turning the power back on in parts of major cities, Ryan had issued the directive that al the restored areas had to have as much EMP shielding as possible. He also had backup power grids put in place but kept offline. If a natural or man-made EMP came again the country would not be devastated. Taking cues from the military, the president also directed the recovery leaders to stockpile food and medicine. FEMA running out of supplies and having to shut down operations was inexcusable and responsible for most of the deaths. Because Congress had only a few members who made it to the temporary capital in Cheyenne Mountain, President Ryan was given the temporary right to issue executive orders without congressional approval.

  President Ryan was also nearing the end of his second term as president. Advisors wanted him to stay in office until the emergency had passed. Ryan was a patriot who respected the Constitution, but he realized that these were extraordinary circumstances. Ryan announced that he would serve one more four year term to provide some stability and continuity of government. He sent this information to the military bases around the country who were assisting in the resettlement efforts. He also made a television address to the people that could be played as soon as internet services were restored in the resettled cities.

  Ryan also made plans to restore congress. He though that since the country was so much smaller, a unicameral legislature might be used for a while. Obviously, partisan politics of any type would not help the recovery. As a result Ryan, a lifelong Republican announced that he was leaving the GOP and forming a new party he called the American Party. He encouraged all existing members of Congress to join and would make the case to the new Congress when the capital was moved from Cheyenne Mountain to Denver. Once the new Congress was in place Ryan received endorsement for his 4 year emergency extension of his presidency. There was a lot of grumbling around the country about the unconstitutionality of the act, but no one had a better idea and the grid was not restored enough to allow for organized national elections. Ryan himself swore that it was only for one more 4 year term and he had no intent on extending it any further. He did not want to be king or dictator of America, he just wanted the recovery to progress.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  China had been sending warnings to the new U.S. government complaining about the destruction of what they claimed was a peaceful humanitarian ship in international waters. The president knew that the ship actually was a battleship with anti-aircraft guns and multiple munitions. He also knew the ship was far inside United States territorial waters when it was taken out. He warned the Chinese that any invasions or use of military force including nuclear weapons would be met in kind. As the only country since 1945 to by hit by a nuclear attack, Ryan would not allow the U.S. to be attacked by another country without a matching response. He did not want a nuclear war but he would not allow his country to perish without doing his duty. He hoped his determination would convince the Chinese to leave well enough alone. The more likely act China might use would be to explode a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere. This would not spread radioactivity but it would cause another EMP. China knew the United States was still recovering from the last EMP and they were convinced that another hit while the country was still reeling would bring it to the ground. They did not now that the U.S. military had technology that was now being used to shield not only the military equipment but also the residential and commercial areas. If the country was affected, backup systems were already in place and would be brought online. Vehicles that were disabled by the solar EMP were now being repaired and having new technology installed to ensure that the transportation networks would not be affected. Simply lining the engine compartment with the new technology would enable cars and trucks to act as Faraday cages for the computer chips which were in most late model vehicles. China did not know any of this. Because they had been out of the direct solar flare most of their country did not lose power. Because the U.S had been affected the new technology had been developed as a result of what had happened and they were sure the Chinese had nothing similar in place. Any Chinese EMP attack would likely fail and the response would devastate the Chinese people.

  President Ryan along with the rest of the government had moved to Denver. Replicas of many of the buildings destroyed in the Washington D.C. attack had been constructed in Denver. Ryan was at work in the Oval Office in the new White House. When his Chief of Staff John Lightman and two Secret Service men came in. Lightman said “We need to go to the Situation Room. China has just launched two ICBMs. They are in the atmosphere and are projected to his the Western United States within 30 minutes.” Like the original White House the new one in Denver had an underground situation room. Unlike the original it was also connected to massive underground city which had been built many years before to protect the citizens of Denver from a nuclear holocaust. Only 20,000 people lived in the Denver area now and the evacuation to the tunnels was underway.

  Ryan and his aides were in the situation room. His newly appointed Vice-President was in another bombproof secure location as were the Speaker of the House, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Secretary of State. Having each of the first 4 people in the line of succession in different locations should ensure that the office of president will still be filled if one or more locations became compromised. Like Russia, and the United States itself, China was thought to have nukes that could penetrate many bomb proof structures. It was not thought that China would precipitate nuclear Armageddon since they had to realize now that the U.S. still had the ability to launch their own missiles, but they had to prepare just in case. Ryan and his aides watched a computer simulation of the missiles in flight. The president had the United States missile silos ready to launch on China When they got over Phoenix and San Antonio the Chinese missiles detonated while still in the atmosphere. The intent of the Chinese was what Ryan had suspected all along. They were just using the nukes to cripple the United States with another EMP before they recovered from the first one. However, like before, the military knew in advance and had shielded their power systems and machinery. Because of Ryan’s insistence of this same technology going to the restored cities in progress, he had assurances that the EMP strike had failed to achieve the harm the Chinese had hoped for. If the EMP had failed to devastate Americans again, the United States would respond as the president had promised. The response would not leave the Chinese people as fortunate as the Americans.

  Diane was put in charge of coordinating the attack on China after China’s attempted EMP attacks on the United States.
The idea was not to provoke a nuclear response by China. If we immediately responded with EMP designed nuclear warheads, China might mistake the missiles for a conventional nuclear attack and would respond with their own WMD arsenal. Diane and the military planners instead worked out a plan to cripple China’s nuclear capability with conventional weapons. It was risky because they left one silo untouched it could still have a devastating impact on the slowly rebuilding American cities. However leaving China with a nuclear capability when they were attempting worldwide domination was not an option. It was decided that China did not have EMP shielded missile silos because they apparently though it was not possible. The United States refusal to use nuclear weapons even when North Korea attacked, apparently convinced China that the EMP had knocked out our nuclear capability. For this reason, Diane and the military planners did not think the Chinese knew it was possible and had not shielded their own nuclear missile silos.

  Because China had tried to shut down the power in 2 areas of the United States, their intention was the same as mass murder in the eyes of Ryan and his staff. Because all the restored cities were in the south the missiles were designed to harm the new cities. The Joint Chiefs of Staff all wanted to hit China hard and fast with enough EMP nuclear bombs to put the country completely dark. However there were still almost a billion people in China who had lived through the solar EMP. If Ryan followed through with the reprisal most of those people would die. Ryan could not reconcile himself to ordering an attack that would kill almost a billion civilians. He told the Joint Chiefs he wanted a report from the resettled cities on how they had fared. If the EMP shielding had mostly worked, the Chinese objective, while still abhorrent. had not been achieved. As the reports came in, it was obvious the shielding had been as effective as they had hoped. On the advice from his tactical team in Arizona, President Ryan chose to order massive conventional strikes on all military targets in China. All military bases and missile silos were utterly and completely destroyed with massive and repeated bombardments. This would be followed by targeted EMPs on all nuclear silos. Any nuclear sites that were destroyed by the original bombings would be rendered inoperable by the targeted EMPs. The U.S. also launched a small EMP missile which they calculated would knock out the power to Shanghai. With the rest of China untouched the local response from other cities would limit the loss of life. After delivering on these actions President Ryan gave an ultimatum to the Chinese rulers. They had to agree to pull their military out of the western hemisphere and cease all hostilities with the United States. Ryan told them if they failed to follow through we would hit them with more EMP strikes that they would not able to recover from.