EMP (The Districts Book 1) (3 page)

When Nick pulled into his driveway it was just past three in the afternoon.
What a waste of a day. I guess I don’t have anything better to do while the power is out.

The garage door of the house next door slid up halfway with a violent creek. Nick pushed his car door closed and walked over. He had always thought his neighbor, Mike, was a little out there. He was always going on about how the United States was vulnerable to attacks and how the world was going to end. Nick had always dismissed it as fire and brimstone talk, not really paying attention on the few occasions they had talked for more than a few minutes. He wished he had listened.

“Mike?” Nick said, bending over to call into the garage. There was a brief shuffle of feet inside the garage and then it was quiet. “You in there man? It’s Nick… from next door.”

Nick stood up and turned back to his house. He thought about the time he borrowed a shovel from Mike. The garage had been full of canned food, jugs of water and other supplies. At the time Nick thought it a little strange and wondered what his neighbor was stocking up for. Now, though, Nick was starting to think Mike had been preparing for the end of the world.

He turned around and walked back to his neighbor’s garage. Nick grabbed the door and pulled up on it. Mike was standing next to his pickup. He dropped the gallon of water in his right hand and pulled a 9mm Glock out of the holster on his hip and pointed it at Nick’s head.

“Whoa,” Nick said, as he raised his hands above his head. “Settle down, man. I’m your friend.”

They really weren’t friends, but he was ready to tell Mike whatever he wanted in that moment. Nick started to back away. With each step he took, Mike advanced another toward him. Mike stopped at the edge of his garage and stood there until Nick had reached his front door.

Nick shook his head in disbelief as he fumbled with his keys, eventually finding the one that opened the front door. He risked a glance over his shoulder and didn’t see Mike, but he heard the screech of his neighbor’s garage door being closed.

Nick opened his fridge and pulled out a beer. Just by touching the glass of the bottle he could tell the fridge was warming up and his food wouldn’t be good for much longer. He sat down on his couch, twisted the bottle cap off and tried to think about what to do next.

While sitting on the couch and sipping his warmish beer, Nick remembered reading an article, within the last six months, that proposed the possibility of power outages occurring as the result of a terrorist attack. He jumped off the couch and went into his bedroom. The room was getting dark as the sun dropped lower in the sky. He pulled the curtains open and took the stack of magazines from his bedside table and tossed them onto his bed. He spread the magazines out until he saw the cover he was looking for. It was a map, of the United States, depicting the basic range of fallout as the result of a nuclear attack. Nick thumbed through the magazine until he found the article.

EMP: The Biggest Threat to Our Country

Dr. Richard Howlins

The most common question I get when lecturing is “How safe are we?” The truth is we aren’t safe at all. There are countries across the world waiting for the moment when the United States slips up and they can capitalize on the mistakes of our government.

When the European Union ceased trading with the United States, it was the last step in the gradual decline of a country that once felt it was invincible. That unbridled nationalism has cost this country a great deal—yet the citizens of our nation are not yet ready to accept that reality, just as the government is not willing to acknowledge its missteps that have led us down this path from which there is truly no return to glory.

The scariest thought is that there are countries around the world that have the ability to cripple our country and send us back to the 19
th
century. From this, a return will never take place. The United States will cease to exist and will crumble into factions located near a large enough supply of natural resources to sustain its population.

I foresee this attack coming in the form of an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) within the next five years and if the government, and the people of this country, fail to take proper precautionary measures it will result in catastrophic consequences. The most simplistic delivery system for such and EMP attack is through the detonation of a large nuclear device at least 300 miles from the surface of the earth. Depending on the exact size of the device, such an event could create an EMP capable of blanketing the entire United States. In all likelihood, a large attack could render the entire country without the use of all electronic devices. According to our own evaluations and those conducted by the government indicate that the vast majority of automobiles should still function, but there is currently enough fuel in reserve for four days at current usage rates. This makes modern medical care impossible, transport and growth of food impractical and severely restricts the movement of any supplies.

My colleagues and I at the Howlins Institute in Salt Lake City have conducted extensive experiments and have run computer simulations on the possible outcomes. We believe that within six months of such an attack, if no preparations are made, that there will be a 90% loss of life. This stems from the lack of medical care, clean water and food. Riots will eventually erupt as a result of the human struggle to survive.

Nick put the magazine down. He was stunned by what he was reading—90% loss of life was something he didn’t think he could comprehend. The first time he read the magazine, he read the first few sentences of the article and dismissed the idea as a conspiracy for people who load up their basements with food and guns. He found where he left off and continued to read.

An attack capable of crippling the country could come from, in my opinion, any six of these countries/terrorist organizations. I will discuss each one and rank their potential threat on a scale of 1 to 10, with one being least likely and ten being most likely. This list is only to show what countries and terrorist groups have the capability to execute an attack in magnitude that would threaten the future of America. This is not meant to be a direct assumption that any of these groups will conduct an attack now or at any point in the future.

People’s Republic of China- Currently the largest source of trade for the United States, China really only poses a minor threat. Should the current relationship between the two countries deteriorate over the course of the next few years, then they should be reevaluated as a potential threat due to their current nuclear capability. Next to the United States, China has the largest supply of nuclear weapons of at least one megaton. Leaked documents show that the government currently has an arsenal of at least 10 devices over one megaton. They could easily cripple the United States by detonating their devices in the atmosphere in strategic locations. China is not a threat at this time simply because they need the trade income from the United States. I see China as a level 1 threat currently.

Russian Federation- Still sour about the Cold War, the Russians have continued to rise as a world power even as they drift back toward a communist regime. The increased trade they have received after the European Union cut ties with the United States has bolstered their economy. There are still some 300 nuclear weapons unaccounted for after the fall of the Berlin Wall in Eastern Europe. These weapons are, however, of a smaller size. It would therefore be unlikely that Russia has a weapon with the capability to knock out the United States with one blow. Essentially, Russia would be forced to detonate multiple nuclear devices in the atmosphere, which would be much more likely to detect and therefore prevent. All in all, I see Russia as a level 3 threat.

Islamic Republic of Pakistan- Islamic leaders of the world are still angered by the United States’ decision to outlaw Islam and banish roughly 8 million Muslims from US soil in 2015. The nation of Pakistan is still reeling after the decision, saying that it was an act of war against all Muslims. There has been major strife between the United States and Pakistan for years, which intensified greatly as Pakistan began developing their nuclear program. Current estimates place them five years from developing weapons large enough to create an EMP capable of harming the United States. There is also no evidence to suggest that Pakistan possesses a long range delivery system for any of their nuclear weapons. A nuclear attack from Pakistan is a possibility, but I firmly believe they are wary of retaliation from the United States Navy, which currently has two aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean. Pakistan ranks as a level 4 threat.

Al-Qaeda-The focus of American distrust and hate since 9/11/01, al-Qaeda still has a large member base that yearns to destroy the United States. They do, however, lack the weapons of mass destruction needed for carrying out a large-scale attack. I have no doubt they will continue to perpetrate acts of terrorism on American soil as time goes on. However, these attacks will most likely be on a much smaller scale than a large EMP. Al-Qaeda is a level 4 threat.

The Korean Republic- When Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, invaded South Korea and reunified the country into the Korean Republic, he created a world power capable of attacking anyone at anytime. A leader of a country that has nuclear weapons and shows no remorse for their potential threat should be seen as one of the most prolific threats to the American way of life. As a result of the Korean Republic’s border control, there is no way of knowing what type of weapons they currently possess, but given tests they have conducted in the past few years as a projection, it is possible that they currently possess a missile capable of launching a nuclear device into the atmosphere over the United States. It is also unknown at this time if they possess any nuclear devices in the over one megaton range. As long as the Korean Republic is lead by Kim Jong-un, they are a level 7 threat.

The Islamic Freedom Army- This is the greatest threat to America currently. The Islamic Freedom Army, like the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is angered by the United States stance on Muslims and is willing to retaliate. They have claimed responsibility for numerous attacks around the world, against American citizens, and were also behind the foiled attempt to bomb Times Square in 2015. While they may not currently possess a weapon capable of a large EMP, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Islamic Freedom Army is able to beg, borrow or steal such a device from any of the countries/groups listed above. Their lack of respect for life, especially when it comes to Americans, makes them extremely dangerous and should such an attack come at any point in the future, they should be considered the most likely to be responsible. It is also impossible to pin down members’ locations and they have a large, worldwide, network that helps them execute their attacks. I believe the Islamic Freedom Army is a level 9 threat.

Nick set the magazine down. A feeling of devastation passed through his body as his hands started to tremble. If he thought about it, the events of the day fit perfectly with an EMP attack—no technology, with the exception of cars, seemed to work.
That explains the airplane falling out of the sky
, he thought. Nick threw the magazine against the wall and climbed under the covers of his bed.

His mind spun as he thought about what he was going to do. His thoughts drifted to his parents—he hadn’t spoken to them for over a week and they were still at their winter home in Florida. There was no way to contact them until the government could get the power back on, if that was even a possibility. Nick worried that until that happened, his parents could be in danger and not able to take care of themselves.

Nick had a feeling that the United States was about to become a very dangerous place as people scrambled for the last supplies.

As the sun dropped behind the Rocky Mountains, Nick rolled over in bed and did his best to fall asleep. He didn’t feel tired, but he knew the next day was going to be a long one as he figured out what to do next.

Sandra sat on her porch, sipping her morning tea while she waited for the sun to show itself. Farming was in her blood and she expected that she would keep tending the land until the day she died. She still remembered her mom telling her to get married. She wanted her daughter to do something else with her life. Sandra tried… she went to college, met a man and got engaged.

Her parents died in a car accident during her junior year of college. They were driving home from the store in February when their car slid off the road and rolled down an embankment. It happened three miles from the farm and they both died before help could arrive. Sandra dropped out of school and moved back to the family farm. Her fiancé, who was in his senior year of engineering school wanted no part of the farming life, so Sandra broke it off with him and moved home.

She had run the farm, located thirty miles northeast of Boulder, Colorado, for the past seventeen years largely by herself, only hiring farm hands when she could afford it. Even though it wasn’t the life her mother had wanted for Sandra, she had no regrets. She loved being with her animals and loved the reward the earth provided her for her devotion and hard work.

As the first rays of light finally crested the horizon, she finished her tea and set down her cup, closed her eyes and welcomed the warmth that cascaded over her face. Sandra opened her eyes and stood up from her porch swing and looked toward the sun. The days were finally starting to warm up and she was right in the middle of her spring cleaning. She had too much to do and not enough time, just like every year, but she always managed to get it all done before she had to start planting.

She was looking forward to fresh vegetables again. The garden yielded enough that she was able to make some money at the farmers’ market and canned any leftovers from that.

Sandra walked across the porch and down the front steps. She looked toward the sun as the sky seemed suddenly brighter. Confused by what she was seeing, Sandra raised her hand to block out the sun as it continued to slowly creep higher in the sky. Above the sun, where it would be in the sky around ten, there was a large glow. As she watched, it rapidly expanded and got so bright she had to look away. She had no idea what it could possibly be, but she had a sick feeling in her gut.

The sky lit up as she ran to the back of the house and yanked the cellar door open. The door creaked as she pulled it closed behind herself. She turned around when she reached the bottom of the steps and looked up. Light forced itself through the crack in the door and she slowly backed away from the stairs. Sandra had no idea what was happening or what she could do. The last time she felt so overwhelmed was the day she buried her parents.

Sandra took another step back and felt herself fall as she tripped over her father’s rocking chair. It had been a comfort to see it in the cellar each time she went down there. It that moment, however, she was cursing herself as she toppled backward. Everything went black as her head collided with the floor.

~~~

As she rubbed her head and sat up, Sandra looked to the door of the cellar. The light coming through the crack was gone and she was in total darkness. She stood up and walked to the wall. It was a dizzy trip for her and she paused to make sure she didn’t lose her balance. Sandra flipped the light switch and nothing happened. She turned it off and on again and still nothing happened.

She felt around the shelf closest to her for her battery-powered lantern. Sandra pulled it from the shelf and turned it on and nothing happened. She wrinkled her forehead. She didn’t know why it wasn’t working, there was no logical explanation for it as far as she was concerned. Unsure about what had happened outside, Sandra was hesitant to go out just yet, but she also didn’t feel like sitting in the dark.

Sandra sat down in the rocking chair and pushed her feet against the floor as she thought about her father. He would sit in the chair for hours reading the paper every Sunday when she was little and she would sit on the floor in front of his chair with her coloring books.

She sat for some time before climbing the cellar stairs and cracking the door. The light was starting to fade. Sandra pushed the doors open all the way, climbed out of the cellar and looked to the sky where she had seen the burst of light. There was nothing now, the sky was normal and she started to question what she had seen.
Maybe my eyes were playing a trick on me
, she thought. There was a part of her that hoped that’s all it was.

She climbed the porch steps and opened the front door. Sandra took a deep breath as she reached for the light switch. Nothing happened when she flipped it. She let out a deep sigh and found her way to the kitchen as the sun dropped behind the mountains. In her junk drawer there were two flashlights, she had used them a week earlier so she knew the batteries should still be good, but nothing happened when Sandra tried to turn them on.

Living in a place where wind and snow could bring down branches, Sandra was no stranger to power outages. It wasn’t the lack of electricity that concerned her, but rather why her lantern and flashlights had also stopped working at the same time.

As the sun disappeared behind the Rocky Mountains, Sandra conceded there was little she could do in the dark. She grabbed a granola bar from the cabinet and headed upstairs.