by Td Barnes
He could tell that some carried prejudices that his words would never erase. He decided to lighten by concluding with something upbeat. “I’m sure all of you are aware that we split our leadership into two separate missions. We established a war room to handle intelligence and military operations. I now command the War Center and its activities, whereas Colonel Barlow commands the Command Center, which deals with the management of the mountain, logistics, and everything related to rebuilding., our commands will overlap in some cases and support one another. I give you Colonel Barlow, who will introduce some changes that we feel necessary to ensure survival and continued security for all of us.”
Weak applause followed Bradley’s talk, causing Barlow to exchange looks with him as she walked to his side. “Well, that went over like a fart in church,” he whispered.
“It will be worse when I’m through,” she whispered back.
She started on a light note. “As you can see on the monitors, winter has returned. On the radiation monitors, you will see that it brought with it a massive dose of radioactive fallout., restitution of radiation will coop us up again for a while, but this could be good under the circumstances. We have work to do, and because of the radiation, we will not have to worry about the bad guys while we do it.”
She glanced in Bradley’s direction. “We know that the colonel grew up with shit on his boots on a ranch in West Texas.” Some of the audience laughed.
“We were talking before dinner about how much we would enjoy a roaring fireplace, and he suggested our having one for a winter project. Now some of you will appreciate this because it will reduce one of the smelly farmyard chores where some of you have worked off your naughty deeds.” She looked towards some of the engineers in the audience.
“It will also employ some of you high-paid engineers.” This too drew a short laugh. The people seem to be returning to the gung-ho crowd of before.
“To have a fireplace, we need fuel. Right? Well, we have fuel that you naughty people have been shoveling for the past year. I am talking about dung, cow, horse, burro, cows, goats and, even the chickens. I did not know until the colonel told me about this, but people all around the world have been doing anaerobic digestion since the 1930s. It is a collection of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen to manage waste and at the same time, produce fuel through a fermentation process.” She looked up at the piping running along the top of the tunnel along with the air duct.
She continued, “We will end up with methane gas that we can pipe and use however we wish. All we must do is collect the manure in an adapted shed where the livestock feed, mix it with water and leave it to ferment in a large concrete tank or pit. We collect the gas produced in a simple storage tank and pipe it wherever we want.”
She returned her gaze towards some of the engineers. “It is up to you engineers to design this with what we have available here inside the mountain. Moving on, we have the destruction of the south portal to complete, which involves restoring the air ducts, piping, animal habitats, and salvaging what we can of Dr. Kathy Sanders’ photosynthetic gardens, which will benefit from the byproduct of the anaerobic digestion project.” She glanced over at Bradley.
“Colonel Bradley has always compared our circumstance to space pioneers traveling for years on end in a spaceship. What we are doing here inside the mountain is very like what space travelers would have to do regarding recirculation and recycling everything.”
She motioned for Colonel Bradley to stand beside her. “Colonel Bradley explained our new command structure here inside the mountain, and how it will sometimes overlap. He also expressed how we locked down the mountain while at war and how we will walk out our portal doors to step back into that war. We will also be stepping out of a mountain low of supplies, food for our animals and all of us. But on the other hand, and positive note, we will step out of this mountain organized and prepared for these challenges.”
While she talked, the sounds of ice chunks hitting the air intake traveled through the mountain and now a young child crying made it difficult to hold everyone’s attention.
“Four years ago, we entered this mountain with millions around the world dying because of nuclear war and the EMP attack. Three very distinctly different societies merged into one body here inside the mountain, the military whose mission was to protect the mountain, refugees from Beatty and the immediate area, screened for a contributory role, and a select group chosen by our government for protection because of their knowledge and specialties.”
She saw that this topic grabbed their undivided attention. She continued. “Effective this moment, there are no longer any refugees or a protected group in this mountain. Henceforth, we are one group of survivors. This means everyone inside the mountain must become contributory. Farmers will still be farmers; ranchers will still be ranchers, the military will still be military, etc. the same as they were when admitted to the mountain. Many in one group, however, the protected ones will never again be contributing as in their past specialty. They will pass on their knowledge and talents to prevent loss the same as with the ranchers, farmers, cooks, etc. They, however, must find and learn a new occupation conducive to the continued survival of the Mountain Command. I say Mountain Command because henceforth, every man, woman, and child will hold a position in our military. Conscription into our military will henceforth be mandatory for everyone inside the mountain. If you are a farmer, you will also be a trained member of our armed forces. If you are a woman with four kids, you will also be a trained member of our armed forces. If you are a child, male or female, once you are eight years old, you will receive military training. My office will staff itself to assist in fitting you to your preferred and most qualified new occupation, and with your position in the military. We propose that the Mountain return to the three-shift circadian rhythm. Questions?”
The number of people voicing opinions and concerns over one another surprised both Barlow and Bradley. Objections to militarizing the colony, women and children dominated all the other voicing concerns. Barlow turned to Bradley to pass any response to him.”
He stood rigidly before the crowd, saying nothing until it quieted down when they realized the ineffectiveness of their voices. The alcove became deathly quiet except for the storm noise. Bradley purposely stared at the monitor displaying only black sleet blowing in the high winds. Soon the others followed his stare. No one made a sound. Even the child stopped crying. He shifted his gaze to the digitized radiation level display mounted on the rock wall. The gaze of the others followed him in complete silence. The silence and anticipation of what he intended to say became deafening.
Bradley began to speak, his raspy voice calm and a bit clearer.
“The fuel generating plant that Colonel Barlow described will be one of the first new programs taken by you to move us into the future. We will pioneer that project and then tackle another, and then another one after that under this new occupation program described by the Colonel.”
He paused to shift topics. “This evening, we opened the portal door to welcome home our warriors returning from combat. I stood on the mountain looking at the approaching storm front. The officer of the day joined me as we soaked in the last opportunity to stand outside the mountain for no telling how long. The storm front was the most ominous thing that I have ever seen. It reached into the heavens. Massive lightning strikes showed through the blackness as the storm grew closer. We knew that black mass was deadly radioactive fallout from the bombs. At first, we could see the aurora lights dancing in the heavens above the storm, but as the front grew closer, it blocked out the view of the sky above it. Do you know what? Neither the lieutenant nor I were afraid. We felt free, and we knew safety was only a few steps away on this mountain. The officer said something to me that I want him to repeat for you.”
Bradley considered the crowd for the lieutenant, but could not locate him.”
“Sir, I believe he is still on duty,�
� one of the militaries said.
“Someone go relieve him. I think our people should hear this young man. This young man evacuated to the mountain from Beatty. Two years ago, he graduated from our officer candidate school here inside the mountain and received his commission. He represents our future.”
The crowd shuffled a bit while waiting for the relief of the officer and his arriving at the mess hall to address them. Barlow and Bradley remained silent, forcing the others to listen to their thoughts. Many of them kept glancing at the monitor and radiation reading.
The lieutenant arrived and rigidly reported to Bradley following the routine salute and reporting protocol. “At ease, Lieutenant. Some of the people assembled here tonight seem to question why our women and children should have military training. I would like for you to tell them what you said to me outside the mountain while we watched the approaching front.”
“Yes, sir.”
The lieutenant acted nervous at first, but seeing the entire colony staring at him in silence; he realized that the desires of his generation needed telling.
“Thank you, sir, for allowing me to state my feelings.” Addressing the crowd, he said, “Earlier this evening, Colonel Bradley and I watched the aurora and talked about it defeating our radio capabilities. I joked about it hurting our TV reception as well. That is when it dawned on me our most likely never watching television again. The colonel reminded me that we have thousands of recorded television reruns in the archive library that we can watch on our computers. Imagine that! We are the only ones in the world who have electricity and recorded television shows of the past that we can watch on a computer. That is what we talked about, but I would like to say more.” He looked to the two colonels. Both nodded for him to continue.
“This week, I dug with my hands and prayed to save our loved ones killed in the bombing of the southern portal. I helped bury the enemy who tried to breach the south entrance. I visited Sergeant Griffin in the clinic while he recovered from gunshot wounds sustained during a routine shopping mission to Las Vegas. I attended the funeral of Sergeant Harper after his capture, torture, and execution by our enemy, and just a few hours ago, I opened the doors to the mountain to welcome my contemporaries seated at that table over there when they returned from combat.” He pointed to the commander’s table.
He continued, his voice becoming stronger with conviction the longer he talked.
“We are the luckiest people remaining on this planet. We are warm, protected, and have just enjoyed an excellent dinner. Outside this mountain, any survivors are most likely living like animals. They hole up in the dark with no electricity, their only comfort being a campfire. They cannot bath. They probably do not have doctors or medicine. A great feast for them has a dog or cat to throw in the stew pot. Imagine having to fight off a horde of desperate people trying to steal a cup of rat stew from you. If you are lucky, you might get to grab a share before it gets taken from you.”
He waved his hand, palm up, to encompass the military personnel.
“Colonel Bradley and the other military leaders, officers and NCO alike, saved us from a war raging around the globe. We know now that the bombs did not end the war. It will be waiting for us when we come out of the comforts of this mountain. It could be my generation who assumes responsibility to continue protecting all of us. We know our numbers are few, and we do not know how many bad guys are out there who survived the war and the nuclear winter. We do not know how many will be chopping their jowls to take what we have when we open the portal doors. You can imagine how the American Indian felt when the white man showed up in their covered wagons. They were few as we are and the white man, our ancestors, consumed them, taking their land, placing them on wasted land called reservations, and took away their freedom to speak for themselves. Today our enemy is Islamic Jihadist terrorists known as the Muslim Brotherhood. As the white man did the Indians, they will want to consume us, make us slaves to their beliefs, and murder us if we object. To survive and remain free, we must be strong and prepared.”
He turned to look at the Colonels. “I understand that some oppose being part of the military.”
Barlow nodded.
He scanned the crowd. Let me tell you what to expect if you choose to remain passive like a flock of sheep. The extremists will overwhelm you. You will live by their religious beliefs as interpreted by them. Their mission in life is to convert everyone to Islam. Many of you will resist. Here is what you can expect if you oppose. To these radicals, women are chattel, nothing but a slave to their warped beliefs. You will become their comfort women, service 50, maybe 75 men a day. Many of them are perverts who prefer children for their sexual fancies. Some prefer young girls and others prefer young boys. In any case, they will take your kids from you. Do not expect your man to save you. His tortured body will be lying in a ditch with his decapitated head jammed onto a spiked pole for display. They will, of course, castrate and blind him before executing him. That is before they cut his throat from ear to ear before chopping off his head. You must decide whether you want to be able to defend yourself and your family. You owe it to your children to teach them about the bad guys waiting outside and danger. They must know how to avoid both. Everyone owes it to themselves and everyone else here to be efficient at escape and evasion. We live by martial law, but we do still believe in democracy. Our colony is as strong as its weakest link. You do have a choice of how you want to live or die. If you are our weakest link—if it is your choice to surrender to the enemy, I would hope you do it now and free the rest of us to focus our care for those who want to live in a free world.”
The lieutenant’s voice resonated with strength and conviction. The question remained as to its resonating with the people inside the mountain.
“We inside the mountain are all young,” Bradley thought. “At what point will age make one a weak link? How will the colony deal with that at that point? Ronald Reagan once said that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We do not pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
***** Continued in Book 3: EMP - Nuclear Summer*****
About the Author
Thornton D. “TD” Barnes, author, and entrepreneur, grew up on a ranch at Dalhart, Texas. He graduated from Mountain View High School in Oklahoma and embarked on a ten-year military career. He served as an Army intelligence specialist in Korea and then continued his education while in the US Army, attending two and a half years of missile and radar electronics by day and college courses at night. Barnes deployed with the first combat Hawk missile battalion during the Soviet Iron Curtain threat before attending the Artillery Officer Candidate School, where an injury ended his military career.
Barnes’s career includes serving as a field engineer at the NASA High Range in Nevada for the X-15, XB-70, lifting bodies and lunar landing vehicles; working on the NERVA project at Jackass Flats, Nevada; and serving in Special Projects at Area 51. Barnes later formed a family oil and gas exploration company, drilling, and producing oil and gas and mining uranium and gold.
Barnes currently serves as the CEO of Startel, Inc., a landowner, and is actively mining landscape rock and gold in Nevada. He serves as the president of Roadrunners Internationale, an association of Area 51 veterans, and is the executive director of the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame.
Two National Geographic Channel documentaries feature Barnes: Area 51 Declassified and CIA—Secrets of Area 51. Numerous documentaries on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, and others also feature him. The Annie Jacobsen book Area 51 Declassified documents his career.
Barnes lives in Henderson, Nevada.
Connect with the Author Online
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ThorntondBarnes
Blog: td-barnes.com/blog
Website: td-barnes. com
LinkedIn: www. LinkedIn.com/profile/edit?trk=tab_pro
Twitter: twitter.com/ThorntonDBa
rnes
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Other Books by Author:
Fiction
EMP - Book 1 - Nuclear Winter
EMP - Book 2 - Nuclear Spring
EMP - Book 3 - Nuclear Summer
The Wildcatter
The Senator
The White Hats
Non-fiction
Soaring with the Eagles
The Secret Genesis of Area 51
THE AREA 51 CHRONICLES (The CIA AT AREA 51 1955–1979)
Book 1 - The Angels
Book 2 - The Archangels
Book 3 - The Company Business
Books available on CreateSpace, Smashwords, Apple, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Sony.
eBooks are available at Smashwords, Nook, iTunes, KOBO, and Amazon with distribution in the USA, UK Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Japan.
Available in paperback at Createspace, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon with distribution in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Mexico, Australia, India, Brazil, and Canada.
