by Patrick Shea
It was late when Will reached the ranch, but Sam was waiting up for him. She had the news on the TV in the background and was working with her laptop in her living room recliner. She got up when Will entered the house and asked what she could do for him. He smiled and kissed her and told her he didn’t really need anything. She insisted on making tea for both of them and told him to take his boots off and wait in the living room for her. Will smiled inwardly at this; while he had never been a tea drinker he had come to enjoy the nightly cup of tea Sam always prepared for him. He thought he enjoyed the conversation with Sam more than the tea but at this point he wasn’t ready to give up either.
Sam returned from the kitchen with the tea and a snack for Will and asked him how his trip had gone. He told her about the blue wolf and she was as excited as he had been. She had seen the blue wolf twice, but both times from a distance and only with binoculars.
Sam asked, “Dad did you come to any conclusions while you were on the north ridge?”
Will replied, “Not any real conclusions but some thoughts for the next step. I’ll tell you about them in a minute, but first tell me if there is anything new on the air.”
“A guy from Homeland Security published a couple of bulletins containing information about the Emerald Virus and the role his team is playing, and explaining why the virus affects some and not others. I’ve printed them out for you to read; they’re on your desk. They also set up a web site where they’re going to post all pertinent material for both victims and survivors. I think we’ll get some good information from him, his name is Jack Sweeney and he seems to be a no-nonsense kind of person. One of the bulletins talked about how many survivors he thinks there might be. He’s guessing between 2,500 and 4,000 total in the United States.”
“Good Lord. I don’t even know what to say. How will those folks live?” Will sat in shock for a minute and said, “My thought riding back in was that we need to set up a meeting with ranchers and townspeople to decide how to help any survivors from this area. I’ll start that process first thing tomorrow. Let’s spend time in the morning talking about what the group needs to do.”
“Good idea Dad. It’ll feel good to be doing something, even if we won’t be the beneficiaries.” She smiled at Will, trying to make him feel better in the face of the virus.
Will agreed and headed off to bed. He knew Sam would stay on-line for hours as she had each night since the news of the virus in Europe was first announced.
Chapter Six: Tech Day
Jack’s next meeting was at ten o’clock with a group of senior engineers and officials from the Department of Energy. He had asked Irene to invite experts in petroleum engineering, nuclear engineering and electrical engineering.
He was able to fill in a lot of missing information from this one meeting. The attendees were not only experts in their fields but included an Assistant Secretary of Energy who was highly motivated. They were all anxious to help in any way they could.
These people accepted the responsibility for briefing the senior staff at Energy on what needed to be done and on how quickly that must happen. They were also sure that the Secretary of Energy would brief the President and secure approval for whatever actions they agreed to take.
To start with the group briefed Jack on the national power grid. He learned that the power grid in the northeast U.S. was a combination of coal plants, nuclear plants, oil-fired plants and gas plants. There was almost no hydroelectric power in the Northeast.
Power in the Southeast was also mixed, but with substantially more hydroelectric power, especially in the Tennessee River Valley. The Southeast relied on nuclear power to a greater extent than did the Northeast.
The Midwest had some hydroelectric plants, especially in the northern plains, a couple of nuclear plants and a smattering of coal, oil and gas-fired power plants.
The Southwest, especially Texas, was largely powered by gas and coal. Arizona was powered by hydroelectric and nuclear plants, while California relied on gas-fired plants.
Energy in the Northwest was almost all hydroelectric, with a few coal-powered plants in Wyoming and Montana, and a couple of nuclear plants.
Jack talked to the group about shutting down the coal, oil and gas plants. At first no one seemed to think it possible since plant closures had only been done selectively for maintenance purposes. Once Jack talked to them about the likelihood that all of the people involved in fuel delivery and plant operations were going to die, the group decided that closing the plants could be done. They just needed to get the right people to agree. Jack assured the group that the President would support this effort if asked, and the group agreed to make sure a plan was created and executed.
The difficult piece would be to decide when to shut down the plants. If they waited too long, they risked these plants going off-line unintentionally, due to a loss of fuel, with possibly disastrous results such as fire and explosion. However, if they moved too quickly to shut down these plants, they could cause an overload in the power grid that would shut down power in multiple states. Jack remembered this happening only a few years ago in the Northeast.
The group promised to send Jack and A.J. a copy of the plan as soon as it was complete. The shutdowns would be triggered by Jack’s team who would keep the Energy group updated on the impact of the Virus in the various regions. Energy would then shut down the oil, coal and gas plants on a staggered basis with the hope that they could maintain a balance in the power grid that would allow the nuclear and hydroelectric plants to continue to operate.
If they were wrong and overloaded the grid, the nuclear plants would receive the message from the power grid itself and would automatically shut down. However, the hydroelectric plants would continue to operate until they were manually turned off, or until the equipment failed.
The engineers assured Jack that both hydroelectric and nuclear plants were highly automated and could operate indefinitely under the right conditions. They also assured Jack that if something did go wrong, the nuclear plants were programmed to take themselves off-line automatically. There would be only a slight risk of a core failure that would result in a meltdown with released radiation.
On the other hand, when the hydroelectric plants failed, they would simply cease to create electricity; and the waters would flow over the spillways instead of through the turbines. While there was the possibility of dams collapsing and flooding occurring downstream, this would only affect people who chose to live below the dams.
The group agreed that with the limited power requirements of the future there should be enough operating hydroelectric and nuclear plants to provide electricity to a good portion of the country.
While overlap had been built into the power grid, so that if one plant went off-line other plants would cover that area, there were limits to this process. The experts did not think there would be power in the Ohio River Valley or in large areas of Texas, but they weren’t sure. These parts of the country had little or no hydroelectric or nuclear power plants; and all of the coal, gas and oil plants had never been off-line at the same time. Only time would tell what affect closing fossil fuel plants would have.
Jack knew that in addition to the power plants, the delivery of electricity to survivors would depend in large part on the life of the infrastructure beyond the power plants. As storms knocked down power lines, transformers burned out, and transmission stations and sub-stations failed due to mechanical issues, electricity would fail in those areas.
But there was nothing that could be done about that now, and Jack refused to worry about the things he couldn’t control. There were too many other issues to worry about.
Jack followed the Energy meeting with a noon meeting of communication experts. He was especially interested in any information he could glean about ham radios. Jim Bosh and John Needle joined him for this meeting. Jack considered this preparation for the afternoon meeting with Kathy Green, Dale Johnson and Jerry Barnes. Following this meeting Jack was as prepared as he cou
ld be for the meeting with the high-tech group.
When Jack entered the conference room at two o’clock, Jim, Gene and the team members were already at the table and A.J. walked in immediately after Jack.
Jack welcomed everyone and asked Gene if they were ready to start.
Gene said, “Operator, please conference in the other numbers.”
When the connections were complete Jack let the visitors know who was in the conference room with him and then said, “Kathy, can you let us know what progress you and your team have made?”
“Of course, I think our chat translator is ready to go and we believe this will help survivors from different countries communicate with each other. We have been working on this software program for some months and we think it’s ready to go. We’re just completing beta testing and so far it’s working well. In a nutshell this allows anyone who logs onto your web site, and enters the chat room, to communicate by typing in their native language and have the words automatically translated to all others in the language each person selected when they logged on. We have the world’s eight most utilized languages ready to go.
“Another project my folks and Jim’s folks are working jointly is creating a list of what each survivor should possess in terms of technical equipment. We’ll post that list on your web site in the next day or two, and it will include PC and Mac laptops, needed peripherals and cameras that will allow survivors to see each other on the laptop screen as they talk to one another. While seeing one another isn’t critical, we think it is important in establishing relationships.”
“Based on Jim’s comments we’ve included ham radio sets on that list, both base models and mobile models, along with peripheral equipment.
“Lastly, we’ve concluded that cell phone infrastructure, especially cell towers, won’t last long without constant maintenance. Therefore we are adding satellite telephones to our list of required equipment. We will also include peripherals and power needs. I hope that cell phones will last though. Satellite phones are more complicated to use and maintain, they almost never work indoors, and if you are around hills or mountains satellite phones can be fickle.
“Of course handbooks are going to be required for all of this equipment. But, survivors are all going to be alone. They won’t know each other and may not even be close to any other survivor. Getting help to those who don’t understand the handbooks isn’t going to be easy. We think the best hope is to have survivors register their names, locations and cell and satellite numbers on your web site. This will allow people to ask for help from others. It also makes sure that no one feels totally alone. They will have a large group of other survivors to call. Large being a relative term of course.”
Jack responded, “Thanks Kathy. I like your ideas, especially asking survivors to register on the web site. I’ll work on making sure that happens. The tough part will be to make sure those who register are actually survivors. I agree with using satellite phones, and I have a couple of folks working on that now. Since I have some familiarity with sat phones from my field work, I’ve asked my folks to recommend LEO systems with mobile and mast antennas, good pelican cases and solar chargers. I’ll have them send their equipment list to you and you can add whatever else you think is important.”
Kathy responded, “Of course we’ll do that, and we’ll focus on Low Earth Orbit systems. We’re also working on a couple of other ideas, but nothing for sure yet. Most of my firm’s projects are extremely high-tech and won’t be usable in the future world since we want to keep this simple for survivors.”
“Thanks Kathy. Dale and Jerry, can you add anything?”
Jerry spoke up and said, “Everyone we’ve talked to in both the ISP and cellular business has pledged whatever support they can provide. No restrictions at all. The one question I’ve been asked though is what happens if this Virus just goes away or you find a vaccine for it and America ends up being okay?”
Jack responded, “We’ve actually discussed that. The President has agreed to sign an executive order informing everyone in the country that the government will make good on any money spent unnecessarily. That E.O. should be signed in the next day or so. Do you think that will satisfy everyone?”
“I think that will be more than enough. I’m not sure anyone even needs that level of assurance, but it can’t hurt. Getting back to what Dale and I have found, the experts have assured us they can open their ISP and cell systems to everyone.
“The ISPs will simply remove all restrictions when you tell them to. In the meantime, my team is preparing instructions to all survivors on how to access the internet using each of the providers, starting with the largest system. We’ll make sure these instructions are also published on your survivor web site.
“The only requirements for cell phones are that the person has a cell phone and chip compatible with each system, and that the chip has been activated. That has to be done by each cell service provider.
“We believe that each survivor should be provided at least one activated cell phone from each cellular firm in order to ensure the best coverage. This means that each survivor will need at least ten cell phones, ten numbers, ten chargers and probably at least one back-up for each one. I hate for it to be that complicated but there is simply no way to tell which systems will stay active the longest.”
Jack asked, “Does anyone have a better idea? When no one answered Jack said, “Okay, if that’s what we need to do we’ll do it. Kathy, can you add those components to your equipment list?”
“Of course, but going back to your last question, I’ve hesitated to say anything, but I may have an answer to the ten different cell phones. I need to talk with my folks about this so I can’t make any promises now, but I’ll know by tomorrow.”
“Okay Kathy, anything you can do to make life easier for the survivors will be appreciated.
“It looks like we’ve done as much as we can in terms of making sure survivors can stay in contact with each other using cell phones, satellite phones or email, and will be able to connect to the internet for as long as power supplies remain viable. And of course we hope they will all have ham radios to use when they lose power in their respective areas.
“There should be enough batteries available to last for years. The shelf life of a modern battery is anywhere from five to ten years depending in large part on storage conditions. Cool weather helps.”
Dale asked, “Jack, how are survivors going to get these supplies? Some of them won’t have a clue how to use some of these things. How can we help them?”
“I’m glad you asked, Dale. I’ve asked one of my teams to focus on the supply problem and other related problems as well. As soon as they make their recommendations, I’ll let all of you know. In the meantime, I’d appreciate any ideas this group has about those issues. Let’s talk again tomorrow at the same time. Gene will place the call to these same numbers. Thanks again for your help.”
Jack and A.J. walked back together and A.J. asked, “What are your thoughts about how the survivors get the necessary equipment? That in itself seems almost impossible”.
“I think we need to ask communities to help. I agree asking survivors to do everything themselves isn’t going to work. I think some will be so grief stricken and so distraught that they’ll be fortunate to get through the first week or two by themselves.”
A.J. frowned and asked, “Do you actually think that you can expect people who know they are going to die soon that they should help survivors? That’s asking for an awful lot from folks.”
“I agree it’s a lot to ask; but yes, I think enough people have enough good in them that we will get the help we need for the survivors. In fact I’m absolutely sure of it. I think that has always been the case with people, at least with the majority of people. Just as important is the fact that a lot of people are going to want to do something, just so they can feel useful during the crisis. At least I would. We do have to move quickly though.”
“Jack, I’m still not convinc
ed. Do you have a back-up plan in case your idea doesn’t work?”
“Yes I do, but it requires state governments or the military to get involved. I’m going to put that in place as well, but I’ll do so with the hope that it won’t be needed.
“First, I think we need to ask not individuals but communities to provide the needed help. Individuals will feel overwhelmed, but communities have always worked big issues together. Civic groups are already formed and leaders occupy positions of influence within those groups. I believe if asked they will want to help take care of their own. And survivors all belong to these communities.
“I think one thing that will help us is that no one knows who the survivors will be. Many of them will actually belong to local civic and community groups, or at least be related to members. Of course, others will not. But if we get enough communities to prepare, I think all the survivors will be taken care of.
“I actually think we will have more participating communities than we will have survivors. So we’ll have plenty of extra gear scattered all over the country. This can only help in the long run.”
A.J. smiled and said, “Are you ready to tell me what you actually have in mind? I’m getting the feeling that this is more than a passing thought for you.”
Jack laughed and said, “Yeah, I’m ready to talk to you. I’ve had a couple of folks working on this idea since yesterday morning and I think it’s very doable if we approach it the right way.
“Let’s go to your office and talk. Nancy makes really good coffee and I could use some right now.”
After they had settled into their normal seats and Nancy had brought coffee, Jack slouched back in his chair and closed his eyes. He then said, “Doc, I’ve tried to think about the real impact all of this death will have on survivors. I’ve concluded that no one is going to be able to imagine the horror before it happens. I think many, and maybe most, of the survivors are going to find it impossible to cope with the aftermath. I’ve come to believe that some of them will choose to take their own lives instead of trying to go on. I think some will become mentally unstable, and some will turn to drugs and alcohol as alternatives to a quick suicide.
