Chaos Ensues
A short story of Apocalyptic Nuclear Annihilation for This Week's Sci-Friday
As the doors are sealed to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, personnel retreat deep underground, seeking refuge behind the 25-ton blast doors, where they feel safe.
The President of the United States has been escorted to the National Airborne Operations Center aboard a Boeing E-4B, commonly referred to as the "Doomsday Plane." This airborne command center will remain high above the earth’s surface, refueling mid-air until it is deemed safe to land.
The first strike targets one of our many military weapons installations, a small portion of our nuclear arsenal. The incoming attack falls on empty silos as we’ve already fired back. The world seems unusually quiet, not an air raid siren to be heard.
The initial explosion acts as an EMP, causing the electrical grid to collapse, bringing life to a sudden stop. Vehicles are scattered along the roads, rendered inoperable by the EMP's effects.
With the nationwide internet shutdown, banks, businesses, and online operations grind to a halt. Navigation systems fail, ships run aground and planes plummet from the sky. Amidst the chaos, confusion reigns as people struggle to comprehend this sudden turn of events.
From the airborne command center leaders attempt to make contact with the rest of the world, all the while wondering if this is the real thing or some kind of uncomfortable drill. After making contact with our allies, the five-eye nations agree that this is no joke, mutually assured destruction has begun.
By the time the public realizes what’s going on, it’s already too late, and as the doomsday preppers take to their bunkers, and the panicked masses begin to flee in search of a safe place, chaos ensues.
For this week’s Sci-Friday I decided to do something different and try out a bit of apocalyptic fiction. For more Sci-Friday fun check out these fantastic authors,
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Nice! I love apocalyptic stuff, and thinking about what could happen with an EMT pulse is endlessly fascinating.