

## Apocalypse 2073

(Volume 1)

"The Prophecy"

### By Parker James

Volume 1 In The 3-Part

Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Series

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © by Parker James 2013

ISBN Number: 9781301362110

Published by Parker James

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

"Time serves no man.

Make of it what you will

in the time allotted."

( _The Alien Message Received In the Year 2064_ )

### Table of Contents

Episode 1: "The Immortals"

Episode 2: "Apocalypse 2073"

Episode 3: "Into the Bunkers"

Episode 4: "Precipice"

Episode 5: "Armageddon"

Episode 6: "Journey"

Episode 7: "Rescue"

Episode 8: "Arrival"

Episode 9: "Eve of Destruction"

From the Author

Episode 1: "The Immortals"

"Time serves no man. Make of it what you will in the time allotted." That was the alien message received in the year 2064; 155 years ago. In the beginning that was true, as true as anything. Certainly Erin Conyers knew it. The year was now 2219. Against all odds through her many decades of life Erin had survived catastrophe upon catastrophe and somehow despite everything still survived. She was one of the few, most of mankind having been literally wiped off the face of the earth. Yet technology had continued to march on; ever forward. In the late twentieth century mankind had conquered space, or the beginnings of it, if you could call it that. If one were to look back on those early years of exploration it was as far removed today from the first flight at Kitty Hawk compared to the International Space Station. For now, in this year, man had truly conquered the stars.

Mankind was also at a crossroads. Footholds were established on various planets and habitable moons with the ability to support life within the confines of humanities' ability to survive, yet resources were scarce and an ever present problem. Captain Erin Conyers' mission, at least on paper, was a simple one \- "Locate other forms of intelligent life, specifically those encountered in the year 2064." The Alliance had given Erin control over the vessel "Discovery," launched in the year 2167. The ship was technologically state of the art, no expense having been spared. Its primary propulsion system consisted of polarized magnetic drives complimented by a rocket fueled propulsion system. With a small contingent of fourteen, she and her crew embarked upon their journey; the mission directive clear. What the outcome would be was a complete unknown, yet this much was a certainty; the future destiny of mankind depended upon their success.

Once leaving the solar system she and her crew had been travelling in the Outer Territories for more than 50 years, locked away in retention chambers suspended in animation. Despite her many years of life Erin Conyers looked beautiful, having aged only one week for each year spent in the chamber; a slight tradeoff all things being considered. The chamber certainly carried risks, especially in those early years when they were first brought into use one-hundred and fifty years ago, but they were risks that Erin was willing to take. She had taken them many times before. On this journey she would be called Captain for the very first time during her very long career. Recruited into the Alliance in 2137 at the tender age of nineteen, much had taken place during the prior two centuries. Despite being in the retention chambers during most of "The Great Upheavals of 2073," she had personally been witness to much of it only to once again retreat back into the chambers in times of peril. The year of her birth coincided with one of the greatest discoveries bestowed upon mankind; that we are not alone in the universe.

It had been known for some time that intelligent life had existed in the universe, and what was once thought to be a "fluke" of nature was in fact commonplace. Life existed in many forms. Not only was life not a rarity, life was more of a commonplace. Appearing to be perhaps in her mid- twenties, she was in fact 32 years old according to universal adjustment standards. This adjusted for the time spent in the chambers; aging only one week for each year spent in stasis due to the reduced metabolic rate. Technically, in linear years she was 155 years old; perhaps the oldest human being in existence. Often she would hear the words "you look good for your age." She got used to it. For those who came after her it would be difficult for them to fully comprehend.

Mankind would not have been in the desperate situation it now found itself in except for its vast excesses, using up earth's limited resources at an unsustainable rate inevitably leading to a global nuclear holocaust. Where once there had been over nine billion inhabitants on earth alone, only 900 million remained on that planet. On the other planets and orbiting space stations, perhaps another 200,000 souls existed. Somehow mankind had survived the nuclear holocaust and once again gained a foothold.

Although her mission appeared simple on paper after the original short-lived encounter with the unknown alien intelligence, mankind had virtually no contact with them, the original encounter being as brief as possible. A simple message - "Children, we are watching you and our concern is great. Look into yourselves if you wish to avoid the future that is inevitable, for it is upon you." It was an electronic message sent by a circling vessel; human kind not even knowing what the aliens who sent that prophetic message looked like. Their predictions had come to pass, and at this point, this crossroads, mankind desperately needed assistance from any and all sources available; no matter what the risks involved. It was deadly serious business. Over eight billion human beings had been wiped out almost two centuries earlier, what would it take to wipe out the remaining one billion? The best Allied Space Command could hope for was that the Discovery had been sent in the proper direction; that in which the alien vessel had taken upon its departure.

As Erin "slept" in the suspension chamber, she also dreamt. Dreaming was such a rarity; so very few were capable of it. Perhaps it was due to her many times in the chambers, four in all, many having been for extended periods. Perhaps it was due to her original method of suspension. She let her mind wander back to her birth prior to the "Great Upheavals of 2073." The ensuing years were a series of catastrophes the likes of which earth had never before witnessed; nuclear war, famine, and death on such a massive scale that the face of the planet had been changed forever. She had survived the great upheavals due in large part to her parents. She was one of the lucky ones. The retention chambers were a new technology at the time and no one knew what the ultimate outcome of their use would be. Their construction was rushed and fully three out of every ten individuals placed into those first chambers hadn't survived regardless of age, although the younger ones seemed to fair slightly better. Erin had. She hadn't only survived, she thrived. While most lacked the ability to dream, the chambers had the opposite effect on Erin. Her ability to expand her mind and direct her thoughts served her well in the decades to follow. She was thankful for that. Some woke after many decades feeling as though only one single day had passed, while Erin felt as if she had lived every moment. And as she dreamt she often imagined she heard a voice - "Come child, I await you." Was it a dream? She couldn't be sure that it wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her, simply passing away the time in any way possible. Sometimes she felt as if she could even sense the presence of her crew. Including herself there were fourteen individuals in the vast chambers of her ship. While five of the crew members were located in close proximity to her, another eight had been placed lower in the bowels of the ship for the sake of safety. Many improvements to the chambers had been made over the years, and Erin fully hoped and expected that each member of her crew would awake intact and healthy. All were veterans and had survived the rigors of the chambers several times before. She expected no different this time.

Fifty years in deep space could wreak havoc on a ship; time taking its toll on both man and machine. Continuing to dream she thought to herself that "it won't be long now." Was it her own inner voice she was hearing, that they were close to their destination and soon it would be time to wake and continue with their mission? She sensed that the time to wake was close at hand. Yet she dreamt on, back to her youth when it had all began. Had she not been in the suspension chambers during those extended periods of time, she would long ago have been forgotten; a footnote in history. Despite being one of the oldest living human beings in existence, it was not a particular source of pride for her. Born in the year 2064, her parents were terrified when the extraterrestrials' ship first appeared on NORAD'S radar. Her father, Mitchell Conyers, was a Professor at MIT and had been deeply involved in special projects for the military. Together with his wife Anya, they were the ones who for all intents and purposes invented the chambers. Having a young child only fueled their drive to complete a fully functioning chamber; the alien's message having been extremely clear. A catastrophe was coming; one that would drastically change mankind's future, if not in fact eliminate human beings for all time. Their daughter was their primary concern, giving them the determination required to complete their task.

The prototype was simple. With all of its wires and diagnostic equipment, it looked more like a glorified toaster oven in its earlier stages than what in fact it truly was. That would change quickly. Originally their timeframe to completion was 15 to 20 years to produce a fully functioning chamber, complete with testing at minimal risk. At the behest of the military these risks were pushed to the limit.

In her early years Erin had a relatively normal childhood; the only additional knowledge common to all was that mankind was not alone in the universe. Being the age she was that knowledge seemed as normal to her as someone who had grown up with a telephone when first invented; it seemed as though it had always been known. Daycare and then kindergarten at the age of five; only four years and the great upheavals of 2073 would be upon them. But that was unspoken by her teachers. They preferred to talk of other things; basic education and the enlightenment of knowing that humans were not alone in the universe. Occasionally she did catch an inkling of a more dire situation; sometimes her parents would argue about one technical aspect of the chambers or the other, what course of action to take, what might potentially work and what was not working. She was a little ahead of others her age, having possessed a knowledge that they did not.

With over nine 9 billion people on the planet, food, gas, housing, clothing; the cost of anything and everything required to live a basic existence was astronomical. Erin was somewhat relieved of this burden. With her parents' positions at MIT and most especially working on special projects financed by the military, the normal worries of life were somewhat alleviated. Her parents and General Phillip McCreary, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had one goal; the General making his expectations of the Conyers' clear – "get those damn things up and running, and get them up and running fast." That was their objective, made even more imperative over their concern for their daughter and her future survival should the worst occur. They had no desire to have any more children brought into a world with such an uncertain future, especially when told to mankind from a higher authority.

Where testing on live individuals had been originally planned within 5 to 7 years, it had in fact been occurring as early as 2067. First with lower forms of life followed by testing on mammals, and then for those willing live human beings with terminal illnesses; usually at an advanced age. Once told of the implications, many wholeheartedly wanted their lives to have meaning and simply volunteered. They had seen in their youth the growing inability of earth to sustain the sheer number of people on the planet, consuming its resources at an astounding rate. More and more people, with wars developing over food and control. The "third world" was in absolute turmoil. One dictator one day only to be ousted and executed the next. It wasn't about power and control per- se, it was more about the ability to control those limited resources. The top dogs eat first and were privileged to all the extra amenities that came with power, which was only further fodder. In the earlier years the international news stations had a field day as situations escalated worldwide, giving a blow by blow description of each and every day's events. Yet like everything else people's minds eventually became numb to the news, always the same as they retreated back to their own daily drudgery and struggle for survival.

In less than three years full- blown trials were taking place on the chambers. They still had their diagnostic wires and electronic feeds coming out of them but overall the structure was beginning to take shape. Progress, although slow at first was gradually being made. The chambers were even becoming advanced enough to monitor the inhabitant's health complete with pet scans, CT's, magnetic resonance imaging, but that was all secondary to their initial goals. The priority was to have the inhabitants exist within the chambers in absolute health for extended periods of time. Weeks; months; years, and then indefinitely. Erin's parents somehow felt they wouldn't be there to see the ultimate results of their research, but their one overriding goal was the survival of their only daughter.

At first a number of people were lost in the trials for a variety of reasons. Some were simply too ill to survive the physical requirements of the chambers in its early form. But with each and every trial, knowledge was gained and improvements made. Finally a breakthrough was made. It wasn't a single bit of technology that allowed the chambers to function; it was the accumulation of all known technologies brought together in a cohesive manner that enabled them to perform as originally envisioned.

By 2064 medical technology had come a long way. Initially Mitch and Anya Conyers' experiments were simple. First a test of the subject's for overall health. Then, prior to being placed into the chambers the subjects would be induced into an artificial coma. The body temperature was lowered further enabling the patients to survive in the chamber for greater lengths of time by reducing their metabolic rate. Those early experiments were encouraging; they hadn't lost a significant amount of volunteers and the length of survival time within the chambers had begun to approach three months. Though barely noticeable at the time it seemed that the aging process had been slowed slightly, most noticeable in the older patients. In the early trials there were several close calls while resuscitating the patients to full coherence, mostly due to the lowering of body temperature. The solution presented itself in the form of resuscitating the patients in a very slow and methodical fashion. Eventually Mitch and Anya pushed the length of survivability within the chambers to four months for one patient; multiple experiments occurring simultaneously. Once successful the implications for the use of the technology was mind boggling, not only in its potential to reduce the planet's reliance on what limited resources were available, but also to change the course of events and the many wars occurring throughout the globe. Their use could potentially enable mankind, even in the worst case scenario, to survive.

Simultaneously with the experiments occurring at MIT, similar trials were also being held in China, Japan, and the European Union. The Russians were making great strides in space technology, and as were other countries also preparing huge underground bunkers able to support millions. Sufficient food supplies would always be a problem; the chambers would not eliminate that ever present need but would certainly minimize it.

The final breakthrough came in the following manner. The technology well advanced but theoretically still in its infancy; gene splicing. It was well known that certain existing organisms had unusually long lifespans. Where human's lifespans assuming proper nutrition and medical care had approached 95 years, various species could live to be well over 350 years old. If Mitch and Anya could isolate that gene in the human DNA strand, then perhaps it could be turned on and off at will, further enabling long-term use of the suspension chambers. If not, then splicing would simply be a possibility but the less desirable of the two alternatives. NORAD and high-powered government computers were working on the problem night and day for months. And then the solution presented itself. The isolation of the aging gene in humans as compared to that of reptilian species. If somehow human DNA could be manipulated through gene splicing technology, then the human genome would then be able to be modified with artificial modification. Several trials would be run, all taking place simultaneously. One would be to artificially turn off the aging gene, isolated from those with a family history known to have lived unusually long lifespans being used as a control group. The third set of subjects would have the DNA splicing technology introduced into their DNA, and all three groups then placed into the chambers. Unbeknownst to General McCreary, the Conyers' considered a fourth group having both procedures done simultaneously. The group undergoing DNA gene splicing technology risked adverse effects, but if these effects didn't show up immediately, they very possibly could present themselves years or even decades later. No noticeable effects were initially observed and all test groups were prepared and placed in the chambers. Three months passed with all subjects doing well. After a period of several months the subjects were brought out of suspension with no noticeable differences in the outcomes. All survived. It was too early to tell which procedure would best serve the purposes required; perhaps if Mitch and Anya had another twenty years to work on the project all data would become evident, but time was short. The planet was on the verge of catastrophe.

In order to best ensure mankind's survival, all methods would be used if and when the time came. The heartbreaking decision was which method to use on Erin. They would make that choice at the last possible moment. They'd even considered the possibility of using a combination of methods. 2071 and the clock was ticking, internationally things were getting worse by the day. People once again turned to the news, this time ignoring their own problems for a short period. What was occurring in the world was going to affect them somehow, someway, whether they had food on their table that night or not.

Something was going to happen; it had to, and in the not too distant future. Meanwhile an international group of governments and large corporations were continuing to busily work on the completion of the underground bunkers, with the hope of securing over 500 million people. The initial goal was 1 billion, but it was well known that some of the bunkers wouldn't be completed in time, and some would be lost if worst came to worst and nuclear war broke out. Stockpiling food within the bunkers was difficult and only made matters worse than they already were for those barely surviving on a day to day basis. The planet was overwhelmed and the situation seemed to be getting more precarious by the day. The infrastructure, availability of food, water, electricity, medical care; it was all just too much. So Mitch and Anya busily worked away continuously keeping in contact with General McCreary, who effectively held overall responsibility and authority over the project. He was also their liaison to higher authorities. On the one hand McCreary was encouraged by the Conyers' continuing progress, yet overly impatient on the other.

"We don't have forever, folks. Let's get this thing done"

Those words were often heard by the Conyers' on the part of the General.

"General," Mitch often responded, "We're going as fast as we can. We've already cut so many corners and people have been injured; too many. I fully understand the necessity for the immediate and ultimate success of our project, but I also have to sleep at night. Anya and I are doing this for our daughter, conscience be damned."

The General understood completely, yet it was a small sacrifice to pay. Several lives, dozens if need be, in exchange for saving millions. Perhaps even billions. If it came to it, McCreary would trade millions of lives without a second thought; it was simply the lesser of two evils. The entire existence of the human race was at stake, with or without a global nuclear holocaust.

"God forbid this comes to war, Mitch. It will be no holds barred, and I'm talking nukes."

Mitch understood the importance of the ultimate success of the project in the very near future and let the General know.

"General, we're on the same page. I know the odds just as well as you, and I agree. It still doesn't make it any easier; we're talking about the very existence of mankind. If the nukes fly, God help us when it comes to that. We're making progress here on this end and our hopes are in sight. You just make sure the bunkers are ready and factories fully tooled and staffed when we get you the final prototype."

"It's already been taken care of, Mitch. All of the workers in the factories as well as the labs will have a spot waiting for them in the bunkers, if and when it comes to that. That's incentive enough. They'll also be allowed two members of their immediate family to accompany them with the remainder on the lottery system."

"It sure puts things in perspective, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does."

"Mitch, this thing's a powder keg. It could be a week, a month, a year; maybe even two if we're lucky. I'm certain we don't have any longer than that. You keep me up-to-date daily. And Mitch, any additional breakthroughs or pre-production aspects that we can get started on, I want to know about immediately. Got it?"

"Understood. I'll talk to you tomorrow, General. That is assuming that we're all still here. Anya and I have come up with something promising, and if it's possible I'd like to set up a conference with the President and his staff at some point next week once we know a little bit more. Can it be done?" Mitch asked.

"Consider it done, Mitch, and make it good. I want those factories and labs moving as soon as possible with whatever you have up until this point."

"General, I can't be sure yet, but I think Anya and I are very close to the solution, but that's for the conference. We'll know more in a couple of days."

"I'll give you that. McCreary out."

The conversation was over. It was uncharacteristic for General McCreary not to delve further, but he'd worked with Mitch and Anya for so many years now he knew they'd keep him completely apprised of their progress. He trusted them in that they knew the alternatives and he didn't want to push Mitch. If it was 100%, Mitch would have told him so. There had already been enough dead ends; one more week wouldn't make a difference. He'd rather hear something concrete other than another "what if?"

As Mitch hung up the military encrypted phone he thought back to that fateful year, 2064, and the message the aliens had sent.

"How could the birth of my child and the happiness I felt that one single day be so intertwined with the absolute terror of their warning?" he thought to himself.

On that day he made a promise to himself.

"Erin will survive. If it costs me my life or that of a million others, by God I swear she will survive."

Episode 2: "Apocalypse 2073"

2219 and still Erin dreamt, locked away in the suspension chamber invented by her parents all those many decades ago. Fifty-two years in deep space aboard the ship Discovery, headed towards the outer reaches of the galaxy. And so she continued to let her mind wander back to "The Great Upheavals of 2073." She was eight years old at the time.

Her parents, Mitch and Anya, told her in great detail at a later date everything about those terrible years. Through their efforts they were on the cusp of producing a fully functioning retention chamber that would ideally allow millions upon millions of human beings to survive the seemingly unavoidable impending catastrophe that otherwise would not. The planet was overwhelmed by a population exceeding nine billion and wars were breaking out everywhere. Resources were scarce and for reasons unknown the human race had already been forewarned of the coming apocalypse.

Erin dreamt of her parents and what they had told her the first time she'd awoken from the suspension chamber. Prior to being placed in animation and before the war broke out globally, NORAD had been on a DEFCON 2 war footing for months. The United States Government was concerned that if DEFCON preparedness was increased to a higher level of readiness, it just might be misinterpreted as an aggressive move by other nations, further inflaming the situation. Erin's parents met with the President and his staff as well as world leaders the following week as General McCreary had promised. Prior to arriving at the meeting, the President and other leaders had been discussing the status of the underground bunker systems. Thousands had already been completed, with thousands more nearing completion. It was a race against time, and President Andrews was asking some very pointed questions.

"Gentlemen, I don't need to tell you the status of our current situation. People are starving in the streets. Africa and the Middle East are aflame with wars on an unimaginable scale. Tens of thousands dying on a daily basis, murdered even. In my own country I have instituted martial law. Time is of the essence. I shall now let General McCreary take the floor and give you an assessment of our situation here in the United States, for I am certain that our situation is similar to that occurring within your own countries. General McCreary," the President said as he handed over the meeting.

The General rose and headed towards the computer that would display maps, charts, statistics, and theoretical scenarios. This was just a back-drop for the words that he would speak. He cleared his throat as he began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming," he said. "The President has given you a glimpse of our situation here in the United States. It seems unreal; esoteric even. But I assure you, the dire situation that we are faced with is quite real."

He then walked over to a wall panel and turned on a number of news channels simultaneously; the reporters' voices muted. Several of the channels were in the United States, the BBC in the United Kingdom, in addition to a number of stations located throughout Europe and Asia. Again and again without exception each screen displayed chaotic situations occurring around the globe. He then turned up the volume for CNN. The very well-known journalist Eric Massey was normally very composed. He seemed unusually off, out-of-breath and sweating; very atypical to his naturally composed demeanor. He was summarizing the situation that had developed over the last month in the United States and indeed the world-at-large.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Massey began. "Almost a decade ago we first learned definitively that the human race is not alone in the universe. Coupled with this sudden awareness we were unexpectedly forewarned of an impending apocalypse by an alien intelligence that I, as a journalist and human being, wish had remained to guide us in these troubled times. I can tell you that President Andrews has recently instituted martial law, and I would caution all citizens for their own safety to follow these rules explicitly; most especially the curfew. The images we are about to show you come from across the United States; virtually every major city in the country."

And with that brief introduction the picture on the screen turned to Central Manhattan in New York City. Massey first let the images speak for themselves, while the crawler on the bottom of the screen continuously announced the institution of martial law and updates on various events occurring throughout the world. The camera showed an overhead view of Manhattan from high above the city, panning the events occurring below. It was a circling helicopter able to take in the larger picture of unfolding events, and what it showed was a military presence that had never before been seen. Thousands of uniformed military personnel; weapons strung across their shoulders and at-the-ready in a moment's notice. Additionally there were over 4,000 police officers visible. Several hundred military vehicles could be seen including armored tanks, simply overwhelming by their sheer presence. There were even sandbagged barricades. As the camera panned the scene below at least 500,000 civilians from all walks of life were clearly visible. It was a tense standoff as Massey again continued with his report.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I speak to you now less as a journalist but more so as a fellow citizen." As he spoke Massey loosened his tie. "In all my 25 years of reporting I have never been as terrified for the world as I am at this moment. I look back to my youth, growing up, and although things were difficult there was always a hope that things would somehow improve. I could never have imagined that one day it would come to this. Nearly nine years ago you and I were elated to learn that we are not alone in the universe."

The screen momentarily scrambled; most likely a power surge of some sort, yet Massey continued with his report.

"And in that elation of knowledge was also the fear of a dire warning for the human race. I'm not quite sure what steps, if any, we could have taken to avoid this moment in time and those about to come. As I speak to you in this country, you are viewing a tense standoff on the streets of Manhattan. People without food. People without hope. Yet in other cities across this great nation shots are being fired. People are dying for lack of food. In our hospitals and other institutions the sick and elderly are dying for lack of treatment and medication. I fear things are no better across the rest of the world."

Seemingly unable to continue Massey then turned the station over to a lesser known but just as recognizable colleague. His fellow journalist went on to describe similar yet more violent scenes unfolding across the United States as well as Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the general world-at-large. He gave a detailed blow-by-blow description of the multiple situations occurring throughout the world as he continued reporting. General McCreary muted the volume and returned his attention to his international colleagues as he put up yet another set of images on the monitor. The General then continued with his overall assessment.

"As you can see, the United States is on the verge of collapse; catastrophe. I fear that the alien's warning was a prophetic one. As Massey stated, I'm not quite sure what we could have done to avoid this moment either, but I am certain that we, on some level, must ensure the survival of the human race. Towards that end we have been making arrangements for a number of years. Although we must not compromise our morals, I fear that the unfolding situation is spiraling beyond our control and at this point the best we can do is hope to contain it."

With that McCreary went into a statistical analysis of the bunker system preparations. The main alliance in this endeavor hinged upon the United States, Canada, Russia, England, China, Japan, Israel, and a handful of other nations with the resources available to assist in the effort. McCreary then turned the meeting over to Professor Gearhart Enghult, project manager and overall designer overseeing the preparation of the bunkers.

"Professor," McCreary said, "Please give us a detailed status report on our preparations to date."

Professor Enghult rose, not being one big on protocol. Somewhat aloof, he was a genius in his own right and generally to the point. Enghult put up yet another chart on the monitor; it was a map of the entire world with dots all over it. The dots were three separate colors; green, yellow, and red. The professor continued.

"Fellow colleagues, the map you see before you and the dots reflected upon it represent the general locations and current status of the bunker systems. Each bunker is designed to hold 40,000 individuals with the ability to survive, barring a direct hit, a nuclear blast. Throughout the world within our alliance there are 10,000 bunkers in all. Once all are fully completed, collectively they will have the ability to sustain 400 million individuals. As you can see approximately 6,000 of the dots are green, representing 100% fully completed bunkers stocked with a 20 year supply of food for up to 2,000 individuals. The yellow dots, 2,500 in all, represent bunkers which we anticipate will be completed within the next 30 days. And lastly, there are 1,500 red dots representing bunkers which are 60 days away from completion. Needless to say this endeavor has put a tremendous burden on our already overextended infrastructure and food supplies for the general population, but it was a necessary choice that had to be made. In total we had hoped for the survivability of 500 million individuals within the bunker systems. We are 100 million short on our original estimates."

Enghult continued.

"As you also know, Professors Mitchell and Anya Conyers of MIT have been working on suspended animation chambers and will be briefing us shortly. Should an all-out war occur, undoubtedly there will be some survivors left on the surface; the numbers unknown. Assuming fully functioning suspension chambers, 38,000 of the 40,000 individuals in each of the bunkers will be placed into those chambers, thus alleviating the need for additional food stocks. 2,000 individuals will be responsible for the maintenance of the bunkers, continued expansion, hydroponic food generation, and maintenance, repair, and monitoring of the suspension chambers. Needless to say if the chambers do not work as planned, due to food requirements the bunkers will only be able to hold 2,000 individuals. Contingent upon this, production of the lesser aspects of the chambers has already begun, minus if you pardon the pun, the plumbing. By this I mean the more involved electronic and mechanical systems allowing them to function reliably. Though not my area of expertise, through periodic briefings I am told adjustments to the production process will be made as necessary."

After a number of questions directed at Professor Enghult from those within the room, most being speculative in nature, General McCreary once again took the floor as President Andrews listened intently. Looking up at the monitors McCreary continued.

"So there you have it. We shall hear shortly from Professors Mitchell and Anya Conyers on the status of the suspended animation chambers. Ladies and Gentlemen, as I look at these monitors I fear the worst. Without the chambers fully functioning, an extremely limited number of individuals, in fact a miniscule number of the human race will survive. And for how long? I have not spoken to either of the professors in over a week, so what they are about to tell us will be news to us all. We are going to break for the next hour to absorb what we have already heard and then shall continue with the meeting. If you would be kind enough to exit through the door to your left you will find lunch waiting for you as we ponder what we have learned thus far. Ladies and Gentlemen, this meeting is adjourned for one hour," McCreary stated.

The national and corporate leaders exited the conference room as instructed; lunch waiting for them as promised. The benefits of power. General McCreary remained behind to speak with President Andrews privately as they removed themselves to the President's personal sanctuary, the Oval Office. Both of their faces were dour; the President speaking first.

"So General, what's your take on it?"

"Well, Sir," McCreary replied, "It's encouraging news about the bunkers. At least we know the worst-case-scenario if the chambers aren't ready in time. A handful at best. At least it's better than zero."

The President had his elbows resting upon his desk and instinctively placed his head in-between his hands; his eyes closed.

"My God, the sheer magnitude of it. I can almost see it unfold before me. Those chambers, we need those chambers," Andrews stated with simple understanding.

"I know, Mr. President. We'll know shortly."

"How do we stand, General, on the military side?"

"Well, Sir, on an international basis we might be working together on the survivability issue, but nations also have a knife in the other hand. It almost seems like the cold war all over again. All nuclear plants have been retro-fitted with automatic shut-down capabilities; if it comes to nuclear war the last thing we need is an additional few hundred Three-Mile-Islands' out there. But for now the power generation plants have to keep producing, things being as bad as they are. Nuclear subs are on half-staff so they can stay submersed for a longer period of time, while our surface ships are staffed above capacity. We'll need all the manpower we can get should the worst-case-scenario happen. As far as our planes go they're in bomb-proof bunkers, but if the nukes fly on a large scale, excluding our shielded drone fleet the electro-magnetic pulse will keep them out of action for a period of time. Those naval vessels that survive whatever events occur will rendezvous at a point to be designated later. Pardon the phrasing, Sir; after the dust settles."

There was nothing left to be said. For the remaining 45 minutes the President more-or-less played with his food, watching the news monitors of the nation and world crumbling around him. McCreary said a quiet prayer to himself. The President and other world leaders soon reassembled in the conference room next to the Oval Office as Mitch and Anya Conyers were led in. It was McCreary who made the introductions.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we all know the current situation. The bunkers are ready, for the most part; some already partially staffed. The suspension chambers are absolutely key to the improved survivability of the human race should nuclear war occur. Professors Mitchell and Anya Conyers of MIT have been a catalyst for this particular invention. I now turn the meeting over to them."

Normally Mitch would be nervous; such powerful people and so many of them. But he was all business as the stakes were simply too high.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Anya asked him the night before, "They'll have you eliminated?"

He chuckled at Anya's question, but it was his daughter Erin's survival that had consumed the majority of his thoughts. They both stood, although they'd decided it would be Mitch who would make the primary presentation. Before he began he looked at all of the faces about the room, each attempting to be stoic. Despite that the anticipation was palpable. Mitch cut right to the chase.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have been able to produce a fully functioning suspended animation chamber ready for immediate production that will serve the purposes for which it is intended."

He stopped right there and let those simple words sink in. He could sense the relief on everyone's faces prior to the flurry of questions he knew would surely ensue. So he waited a very short period of time and continued his discourse prior to that occurrence. Questions would be for later, and undoubtedly there would be many. As he continued to speak he handed out schematics and diagrams.

"As you know, over the past several years our trials have been ever more successful. Several test subjects have been lost, primarily due to health related issues as well as several related to mechanical failure of the chambers. The schematics before you have already been sent to the production facilities which are gearing up and beginning to produce the chambers as we speak. I won't go into more specific details. Within 30 days it is expected that we'll have over 400,000 fully functioning chambers; in 6 weeks' time due to economies of scale and factory automation we anticipate 10 million fully functioning chambers. The numbers will only advance from there. Spare parts will also be produced, with production continuing for as long as possible while simultaneously production operations will also be expanded to the bunkers. The medical details of the suspension operations are in the manuals before you. There will be 3 sets of procedures employed. At this point Mitch held back the fourth procedure; it was too risky and only to be used on Erin. But if somehow it worked, the beneficial repercussions would be enormous.

"One set of subjects will be used as a control group. These are individuals with a family history of longevity. They will be placed into an artificial coma and their body temperatures reduced, thereby slowing their metabolic rate to a minimal level. This will slow the aging process on a normal basis, if you will.

The second set of individuals will have their own aging gene suppressed in order to subdue the aging process and therefore increase the length of survivability in the chambers without aging occurring at the normal rate."

And finally, a third group will have modified DNA implanted in them in the hopes of slowing the aging and metabolic processes artificially while they are in the chambers and expanding their overall lifespan greatly. In prior trials we've experienced no adverse effects, but our concern is those that may present themselves at a later point in time. Therefore this procedure will be used on a limited basis. In conjunction with this process these individuals could theoretically survive indefinitely."

Mitch had summarized the three processes to be employed as simply as he could, although in its entirety it was very complicated. What he hadn't told the group was about the fourth procedure to be used on one individual, and one individual alone. The fourth process, unspoken to the group, would be suppression of the aging gene coupled with DNA modification performed simultaneously; two procedures employed at once. Both Mitch and Anya had decided to take this course of action after a great deal of heated discussion. Mitch continued with his presentation.

"We fully expect survivability ratios of 50% or greater for those individuals placed within the chambers based upon proven current results. Research and development will continue unabated, and with anticipated improvements in the process that number should only increase. We fully anticipate minimal aging over a twenty-year period for those placed within the suspension chambers."

An audible sigh of relief could be heard in the room; this was the answer to the hopes of all in attendance, knowing what catastrophes were consuming the world. It was a matter of simple overpopulation and a planet lacking the basic resources to sustain that population. As Mitch and Anya awaited the flurry of questions that they fully anticipated, an aide to the President suddenly burst into the room. He spoke out loud and excitedly, against protocol considering the others in the conference room.

"Mr. President, North Korea has just launched four missiles directed at the South. Detonation is expected in a matter of minutes."

Episode 3: "Into the Bunkers"

So in 2073 it had come to pass. The apocalypse prophesized almost nine years earlier had begun. Just moments ago President Andrews, in the midst of a meeting with world leaders had been informed by an aide that North Korea had just launched four missiles against the South. For decades now the authoritarian North Korean regime had refused to change despite overtures from the Chinese, seemingly their one and only ally. They lashed out, their people having been literally starving at the expense of the military industrial complex. No doubt those four missiles carried nuclear warheads and detonation was only minutes away. General McCreary immediately was on the phone with NORAD, barking out orders to withhold any and all offensive actions. The world was a tinderbox. The United States alone stood to lose thousands of military personnel stationed in the South as well as many more thousands of civilian support personnel.

Prior to this unexpected development the other world leaders at the conference had been discussing the status of the underground bunkers as well as the suspended animation chambers. The chambers were finally fully functional and ready for full-blown production on a massive scale, with everything in place at the many factories already geared up. Time was needed. If the situation continued unabated to its logical conclusion, all would be lost. And with this sudden development the world leaders attending the conference abruptly left the White House and headed towards their own embassies in order to manage the situation from there. They would be able to communicate their wishes directly and monitor the situation occurring within their own countries.

There was a sudden flurry of activity in the Oval Office; multiple people arriving, mostly dressed in military uniform. The briefcase known as the "football" containing the launch code sequences for the United States' own nuclear arsenal was brought into the room should it be needed, held tightly by a Major designated with that one single task. General McCreary, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was still on the phone, and even though the conversation was one sided his words were quite clear. Loud and firm, he was speaking directly to General James Meehan, head of NORAD operations.

"Listen, Jim. I want you to hold at DEFCON 2 but have our forces take no, and I repeat, no aggressive moves that could unintentionally be misinterpreted. Let's see how this thing fleshes out, our preparations for the bunker systems and chambers aren't complete yet. We need time, get it?"

General James (Jim) Meehan had been head of NORAD for nearly twenty years, methodically having moved his way up through the ranks. He was a rock, an individual who could be counted on no matter what the situation. President Andrews wasn't able to hear Meehan's side of the conversation, brief as it was, but he knew the outcome by McCreary's words and had nothing to add. McCreary was simply reiterating the President's wishes; postponement of the inevitable.

"Ok then, Jim. Keep me apprised of any international moves. McCreary out."

And so the conversation ended unless further developments occurred requiring immediate military intervention. It was going to be a very long day for everyone in the room, indeed for every person on the planet, not knowing if there would be a tomorrow. The news had reached the television stations quickly.

"Is this the end?" President Andrews asked.

"I don't know, Mr. President. Not if I can help it," McCreary replied.

The television monitors went ballistic. The journalist Eric Massey was still on the air, looking worse than before but somewhat resigned to the situation at hand. Amazingly, the tense standoff occurring in Manhattan seemed to be dissipating as the news had traveled at lightning speed. The entire world held its breath as it was reported that South Korea had responded by launching its own missiles against the North.

The President and multiple military advisors representing all branches of the service descended down the flight of stairs to the Situation Room located in the basement of the White House where events could be monitored properly. The Command Center had the ability to monitor multiple events occurring throughout the world and communication systems were unsurpassed, secured by military encryption codes once only dreamed of. Still, as the President and his staff arrived signals from the monitors momentarily scrambled, which could only have meant one thing, and they all knew it - a nuclear blast. Ironically it was Massey who they turned their attention to.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just received multiple reports of several nuclear explosions occurring in both North and South Korea. Given the relative size of these countries and the sheer destructive power of today's nuclear weaponry, I fear it quite possible that it is total destruction. Survivors are not expected in any large numbers, indeed if any at all."

Massey paused.

"God pray for those lost souls as we all should that greater minds keep their wits and caution about them. As I speak, those to the east of the Korean Peninsula are cautioned severely to find a secure and enclosed area, gathering as much food and water as possible. At this moment a tremendously huge cloud of nuclear fallout has begun traveling eastward following the jet stream and is headed towards the Japanese coast. All people in the affected areas are warned to remain inside and if at all possible in sealed areas."

The remainder of the day continued in an eerily quiet fashion. All of the remaining "great powers" left in the world were on their best behavior, none wanting to see the situation escalate. Apparently the meeting regarding the bunkers and chambers had carried great weight, and all knew that the survival of the human race depended upon their completion, which required time. Japan had dodged the bullet somewhat as the majority of the nuclear fallout drifted slightly south of the main islands, avoiding a direct hit which would have taken thousands of lives within days and tens of thousands more as radiation sickness set in and cancers developed shortly thereafter. The lesser known islands in the southern part of Japan were not quite so lucky. China, normally an ally of North Korea had been propping up the regime for well over a century now and was absolutely livid, but there was no one left to be mad at. Both Korean countries were wiped off the face of the earth in a matter of minutes.

The President and McCreary had been tallying up the American losses, well over 30,000 military and civilian personnel obliterated in one fell swoop. They discussed matters privately as the day wore on and evening set in. The Joint Chiefs continued to monitor events in the Situation Room internationally as well as any potentially threatening events occurring within their own specific service branches, giving orders as directed by President Andrews and General McCreary.

"Mr. President, we need to get our preparations on both the bunkers and chambers completed within six months at the most, I don't think we have much longer than that. We've moved additional military personnel to those bunkers already completed and instructed the factories to double their manpower and begin producing the final chamber design immediately. Additional production facilities are also being constructed within a number of bunkers as a failsafe measure and we're dispatching personnel accordingly," McCreary said.

President Andrews looked at McCreary distantly.

"Good, General. Good."

It seemed as though President Andrews had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Has the First Lady and my family been moved to the primary bunker site yet?" Andrews asked.

McCreary thought that the President was losing perspective through his seeming detachment, a luxury that couldn't be afforded at the moment.

"Yes, Sir. They were moved to the primary bunker site late this afternoon. They'll be awaiting your arrival if and when the time comes; meanwhile rest assured that they're being well taken care of. You'll have communication with the First Lady shortly."

"Good, good," Andrews responded. "Thank you General."

It was April 14th, 2073. Such devastation on what would otherwise have been a beautiful month; spring. Mitch and Anya headed directly to the main factory in Virginia, which had already begun the lesser aspects of production on the suspension chambers. Their goal was to ensure that production occurred at breakneck speed.

Two weeks passed quickly since that horrific day. No further actions had been taken on the part of the great powers other than containment, while at the factories three shifts were working around the clock as the chambers had already begun to be shipped to the nearly completed bunker systems. The bunkers were Professor Enghult's realm, 2,000 of which were located in the United States alone. Globally the logistics were overwhelming. Enghult oversaw most of it, including their design, construction, installation of operational systems, and storage of food supplies. The eventual goal was to have each bunker system completely self-sustaining, hydroponically producing their own food at some later point in time. After another long and difficult day, Mitch seemed somber as he and Anya prepared for bed.

"What's wrong, Mitch?" Anya asked, sensing his mood.

"So many people to save, Anya. It's just so overwhelming. Who's to be chosen?"

Anya reflected thoughtfully before responding.

"The military has mainly been responsible for that decision; it's out of our hands, dear. Thank God it wasn't a committee, otherwise nothing would get done. Unfortunately no one in poor health. People of power, scientists, military personnel and technicians; generally no one over the age of 40 unless their services or technical skills are required. But it's not completely authoritarian. Children over the age of four will be allocated 10% of the chamber spaces. The food requirements will be less and we don't know how this will eventually evolve. They may just be the only ones to survive."

Erin was with them, not quite nine years old. For the past two weeks they hadn't let her out of their sight. She jumped on her parents' bed, smiling.

"Don't be sad, father," she said.

It pleasantly shook Mitch out of his funk; he'd been working non-stop and had forgotten it was about saving his daughter and as many of the human race as possible. What he and Anya had accomplished in a relatively short period of time was slightly shy of a miracle, inventing technology that would hopefully save hundreds of millions of lives. Those who would inevitably be lost they put out of their minds for now, it was simply too much to absorb and both preferred to concentrate on those who could still be saved.

They decided to take the following day for themselves outside in the fresh air, the three of them picnicking and enjoying a beautiful spring afternoon. Erin with her parents Mitch and Anya, simply to create a memory. All else was put aside and the day was long overdue. Although she didn't realize it at the time, it would be a memory that Erin would retain for the remainder of her life; a very long time indeed.

"How many more days like this do you think we'll have left, Mitch?" Anya asked.

"Not enough, I fear. Not enough."

But for that one single day the world was right. All was well and the terrible things occurring were forgotten. It was the impetus Mitch and Anya needed to continue their work, and in the following days work they did. April turned into May, and May turned into June. The production of the chambers was coming along nicely, by now tens of thousands being shipped out daily. From there the production levels only increased, the original goal of 400,000 chambers within four weeks' time had been exceeded beyond their wildest expectations. It almost seemed as though the production level figures were doubling on a daily basis. By June tens of millions of suspension chambers had been produced and shipped. Professor Enghult had the last of the bunkers completed and all was ready on that end; barring a direct hit the bunkers were capable of withstanding a nuclear blast.

"If only war could be avoided," Mitch thought to himself. "These chambers could reduce the requirements of the infrastructure for decades to come if needed and we could get this thing under control." Perhaps he was dreaming; the situation had gone well beyond the turning point. Maybe it was just his hopes running wild.

By now three more production facilities had been brought on-line as well as many more within the bunkers fully dedicated to the production of the chambers. It was an insurance policy of sorts. On the world front things remained tense yet still eerily quiet. By July over 100 million chambers had been produced and by August the number exceeded 200 million units. Their ultimate goal was to produce 400 to 500 million chambers in total, the maximum amount that the bunker systems could support worldwide. Suddenly that goal seemed attainable.

More and more people were moved into the bunkers, and no one was without work or a specific task to perform. This included completion of the scrubber systems, filtration, hydroponics for the later production of food, and expansion. By now there were over 50 million people living within the 2,000 bunkers located in the United States; the situation was similar in the other allied nations as well.

And then one September morning it happened. China and India, two of the most overpopulated countries on the planet and at odds for years had come to an impasse. The citizens in both countries were rioting in the streets for lack of food. Although difficult, relief shipments had been coming from Russia, the United States, South America, and Canada despite the additional burden this placed upon their own citizens. But the food stocks simply weren't enough. Pakistan also became involved, ironically on the side of India despite their many years of animosity.

Several transport ships were boarded by the Chinese, seized, and redirected to that country. For all intents and purposes this was an aggressive act of war. Military forces were moved to the borders and several naval engagements had taken place with great loss of life on both sides. In response, India attacked China. All three countries possessed vast nuclear arsenals, and again the world held its breath. Other countries attempted to mediate, but to no avail. Beyond that all they could do was sit back and watch as the situation developed.

The prophecy of 2064 was once again coming to fruition. Now it was truly the beginning of the end.

Episode 4: "Precipice"

In mid-September President Andrews, McCreary, Professor Enghult, and a large contingent of top military advisors met in the Oval Office of the White House to assess the ongoing situation. No other world leaders would be invited. It was specifically arranged to assess the status of affairs relevant to the United States and as usual it was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General McCreary who opened the meeting in order to give a comprehensive assessment of the situation at hand.

"Mr. President. At the moment the war between China, India, and Pakistan has continued and our intelligence sources have indicated that as of yet only conventional weapons have been used. Our satellite and intelligence sources have no indications of the use of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons. At this moment fully ten million troops are involved in direct combat operations on both sides with reserve forces advancing, while losses are estimated at over 400 thousand excluding civilian casualties. In short, the situation has no other logical conclusion other than continuation and probable escalation. Due to the prior seizures of the relief ships, the program to the warring parties has been discontinued for obvious reasons. These food stocks and medical supplies have been re-directed to our own people as well as non-involved countries; predominantly European allies with their naval forces acting in a convoy capacity. As of yet the warring parties have been unwilling to attack these relief convoys due to possible repercussions."

McCreary paused, thinking carefully of his next words. There was a great deal of ground to cover and the room was so silent that one could hear a pin drop. All attendees were directing their full attention to McCreary's assessment and had no intention of interrupting him. The General continued.

"Exacerbating events there has been an ongoing drought in the Midwest, devastating our own food production. Our expected crop yields have been estimated to be reduced by one-third. Considering this, mass riots in the United States are expected in short order and in fact have already begun in a number of cities. Supermarket shelves are empty and the National Guard has taken over the distribution of food on a coupon styled system. Mr. President, if I told you the situation was not dire, I would be lying. On a certain level riots have broken out in virtually every city across the United States. Lawlessness is rampant. We've had some defections from the National Guard but as of yet not in any significant numbers. Several cities are, predominantly the larger ones, quite frankly war zones. It's day-to-day survival for our citizens. On the one hand we could use the suspension chambers and continue production in order to reduce to required food stocks within our own country, but to what effect without sufficient space within the bunkers? If general knowledge of this new technology were to get out of our secured production facilities, I feel the citizenry would be untrusting under the circumstances. Further fueling this, the existence of the bunkers, although located in remote locations, has been a more difficult secret to keep. Factoring in the prophecy of 2064 of a coming apocalypse, it seems that the situation has become self-fulfilling.

"And what are your suggestions, Mr. Chairman?"

"Sir, we are on the precipice. With the war in Asia escalating and taking into consideration the fact that their situation is much worse than ours, I estimate three months at most before we have a full-scale world war."

Andrews looked down in contemplation, and thinking out loud said "that damn prophecy." Then in an authoritative tone the President spoke.

"Ok, General. Going by your assumptions, I'm in full agreement with your conclusions. With that being said what I want to happen within the next four weeks is the following."

McCreary was encouraged, not by the events occurring but the simple hope of surviving them on some level. It was suddenly the old President Andrews McCreary had known and respected for so many years; firm, concise, and in complete control. It seemed that whatever dark place the President had been in he had come to terms with the events unfolding around him. He was determined to do everything within his power to ensure the survival and best possible outcome for his citizens and country who had entrusted him with their fate. The President continued.

"First, I want all designated personnel allocated to the bunkers moved there immediately. Supplies will continue to be delivered to the sites as they become available. Professor Enghult is to oversee the entire process under General McCreary's supervision. Secondly, I want both Mitch and Anya Conyers moved to the primary bunker site and begin preparations for suspended animation operations immediately. They're too valuable for us to lose, and I want them brought there under guarded military escort. All of their trained teams already in place are to be tripled and then dispatched to the outlying bunkers to begin the process there. Currently there are enough trained personnel at the factories to continue production of the chambers, but I also want two additional bunkers fully dedicated to the production of the chambers as well."

The President paused, as if considering his next move.

"Gentlemen, we're short on National Guardsmen, but the current situation in the cities must be controlled. Right now there is rioting and looting in the streets. Blatant and unspeakable crimes are occurring, so the gloves are off. I will not allow this to be tolerated. The curfew currently in effect is to continue, and anyone breaking that curfew will be detained and incarcerated. As far as the looting and crime is concerned, let it be known perpetrators will be shot on sight."

Some in the room gasped at the implications of the draconian measures President Andrews was ordering, especially in a democratic society, but they also knew the President's directives were necessary. The alternative was absolute chaos and unacceptable.

"I want this written in stone and to go out on every single news station on radio and television continuously. I know these are harsh measures, but now is not the time for weakness. I will not allow this rampant situation to continue unabated. Is that understood?"

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, and each and every person in attendance also knew what role they were to play in the implementation of the orders that the President had just given.

"General McCreary, what is the current status of our armed forces?"

"Well, Sir," McCreary replied, "Generally consistent with our last meeting with the exception that all naval ships currently capable have been put out to sea. As of the moment we've been able to avoid any conflict with warring parties, all ships having been given orders to avoid any contact whatsoever with those of other nations. Excluding the relief convoys none of our fleet is grouped together, even some of our own ship's whereabouts are unknown even to us. The last thing we want is any static targets or another Pearl Harbor on our hands, if and when it comes to that. Our vessels are dispersed over a wide area in order to maximize survivability of the fleet should a general war ensue."

"And the situation in China?" the President asked further.

"It continues, Mr. President, but it has only been made worse by the suspension of relief efforts to the warring parties while the drought in the United States is only going to make matters worse. We simply won't have any available food supplies to continue the relief effort program on behalf of our allies on a significant sustained basis."

President Andrews was rattling off questions at lightning speed.

"And Russia?"

"Well, Sir, they're pretty much doing the same thing we are, which is trying their damndest to remain neutral and minimize any activities that would further inflame the situation. However, they've continued relief efforts to China unilaterally for the simple fact that they don't want to be attacked themselves and dragged into the war. They continue to work on their own bunker systems, although they're slightly behind us in their completion. Their production of the chambers has continued pace with our own, once the final technical schematics were distributed worldwide after our prior meeting. However, they've completed enough bunkers to ensure their own survival on a significant level. They don't want to see their own people wiped off the face of the earth any more than we do, and as far as that's concerned we're of the same mind."

"And Europe?"

"Most of the EU nations have determined to construct the majority of their bunker systems in Australia. It's a big country and if nuclear war breaks out there won't be much of Europe left, if anything at all. They've also chosen to construct a number of bunkers farther north in addition to several extremely remote locations. Excluding their ships assisting the European relief convoys, all other available naval forces have been put out to sea similar to our own efforts."

"Africa?"

"World War III in process, Mr. President. I would add that the Japanese have decided to locate most of their bunkers on the islands; they're determined to stick it out. South America has joined them and together they've constructed additional bunkers throughout the South American continent on a joint venture basis. It increases the Japanese's survivability ratio and allows the South Americans a chance they wouldn't otherwise have considering their limited resources. Our alliance with the Japanese has continued to remain strong."

"General, should nuclear war break out, do we have any estimates on the survivability ratio for those remaining on the surface?"

"It's an unknown, Mr. President. There are simply too many factors to consider, but I assure you this, it will be hell on earth."

President Andrews nodded in recognition; there was no computer, no mathematician, and no scientist who could tell him how this thing was going to end. And with that the President rose with the confidence and determination that had gotten him elected in the first place. He had many plans prior to being elected President to improve the world-at-large and his country specifically. Now he was left with the task of not only saving his own country from total destruction, but in fact all of mankind. And in this one single task he was determined as ever. No more campaign promises never to be kept simply to get elected. His determination was infectious and all in the room knew who was in charge. He'd heard enough. Andrews had come from a military background, and through those many hardships he'd learned a great deal. Because of those experiences, battles fought and friends lost, most in the room respected him for that single fact alone.

"Gentlemen, so there you have it. I want the martial law revisions to go into effect by this evening. He scanned the room, making eye contact with everyone as he did so. You all have your orders. Get it done."

There were no questions from anyone on that fateful day. Those who later survived the events soon to occur would look upon that one single moment and repeat it to whoever would listen. The decisions made would decide the future of the United States. It was an historical moment that would be written about for centuries to come. No one knew it at the time, although everyone who attended the meeting knew that it most definitely was a turning point.

All rose and filed out of the conference room as the President stood there like a rock. General McCreary left the meeting more encouraged than he'd been in a considerable amount of time. It wasn't the devastation being wrought upon the planet weighing upon him, but the simple fact that there was hope for mankind epitomized in this one single man, no matter what was about to occur. He bounded down the stairs to the Situation Room and got on a secured line with General Meehan at NORAD, reiterating the President's directives. McCreary, with all of his many responsibilities religiously made an attempt to discuss events with Meehan several times per day. It almost seemed as though they'd grown up together as they had both gone through West Point all those years ago. And so they spoke, going over each and every event occurring on the national and world fronts, no matter how seemingly insignificant that had any potential to light this tinderbox swirling all around them.

That having been done, McCreary left the White House in his awaiting limousine and headed towards Virginia to meet with Mitch and Anya Conyers directly. During the hour long drive he spoke with his aide Major Hastings.

"Today I've once again seen the President that I voted for, we are of one and the same mind," McCreary stated matter of factly.

After a brief period of silence the General and his aide spoke at great length, discussing the situation at hand. Major Hastings was McCreary's sounding board. They ran through various scenarios like human computers, but for now it was all about containment, securing and staffing the bunkers to full capacity, and avoiding any international incident that would exacerbate the situation. Controlling civil disturbances in the United States was also of utmost importance, especially given the manpower restrictions that they were faced with.

Although some police forces had remained intact, by now most had been disbanded and the remaining few integrated into the National Guard. The civil unrest had caused many losses within their ranks, while others simply left of their own volition in an attempt to save their own families. The police forces were privileged to too much information, with many sensing the impending disaster.

Most military personnel stationed overseas had been recalled back to the United States months earlier, leaving NATO forces to contain the situation in countries too numerous to count. With wars going on in so many nations, NATO could do little more than sit back and watch the carnage. They were outmanned, outnumbered, and under gunned.

Though none knew it at the time, the next several hours would completely and utterly change the world as it was known forever.

Episode 5: "Armageddon"

Erin kept dreaming her dreams and remembering the past, locked away in the suspension chamber aboard her ship Discovery. It was so many decades ago but almost seemed as though it were yesterday. General McCreary and his aide continued the short drive to the factory site at breakneck speed, ready to scoop up Mitch and Anya Conyers according to the President's directives and shuttle them to the primary bunker site. McCreary's phone rang in the limousine; it was General Meehan at NORAD.

"One moment, General," McCreary said as he spoke to his aide. "I have to take this call, Major." McCreary and Hastings had just arrived at the factory and turning to Hastings McCreary said "I want you to get the Conyers' and have them start packing immediately. Tell them fifteen minutes and not a moment more; I'll be along shortly." McCreary then gave his undivided attention to Meehan, wondering what more good news awaited him.

"Jim, how are things on the world front?"

If it were any person other than General James Meehan they would have been out-of-breath.

"General, the war in Asia has escalated. We have preliminary indications that the Chinese have just invaded Russia."

The phone was momentarily silent as Meehan's words sunk in. McCreary was running through so many possible incentives for the actions on the part of Premiere Xintau; the Russians having been the only country still supplying the Chinese with desperately needed food supplies since the embargo first began.

McCreary chose his questions carefully.

"Jim, do we have any indications for the reasons behind the actions on the part of the Chinese?"

McCreary listened intently to Meehan's assessment.

"General, our on-the-ground intelligence is limited to say the least; both the Russians and Chinese have discontinued all communications with the outside world. The only information we've been able to rely upon is our own satellite imagery. Our best guess is that they're after the Russian's food supplies."

"And what's satellite imagery showing, Jim?"

"Imagery indicates massive troop movements, three million in all on the part of the Chinese including massive armored columns as well as mobile missile launchers."

"Any indications where they're heading?"

"It seems that they're trying to do and end run around the Russian defenses, both flanks, headed towards the food storage areas."

"And what's been the Russians' response so far?"

"Premiere Kryshenski has launched massive conventional air strikes against the advancing Chinese columns as well as redirecting two million troops to the eastern borders."

"Any indications that those Chinese mobile missile launchers are armed with nuclear warheads?"

"They are, General. Our satellites picked up residual traces of plutonium. I can come to no other conclusion."

"Jesus," McCreary replied.

Meehan continued.

"For the moment we don't have any indication of large troop losses on either side, but the Chinese have already overrun the limited Russian defenses on the border. The Russians seem to be strategically withdrawing to re-group as they meet up with the advancing troops coming to relieve them. We estimate current losses at 50,000. The number of civilian casualties we're unable to calculate, although I can assure you it's most likely a large number."

"Do the Chinese have any intention of using those warheads?"

"Unknown, General. They could be there solely on a threat basis, but what's the possible outcome? The Russians can't allow what limited food supplies they have left to be taken, so the end result seems self-determined. Someone is going to use their nukes eventually."

"Christ."

Thinking quickly McCreary told Meehan that he'd call him back in five minutes but first had to speak with the President. It was a call he'd always expected to make but thought the situation could be controlled for a little while longer. That hope no longer seemed possible.

McCreary quickly put in a call to President Andrews and was immediately patched through to the Situation Room. After a brief moment he was in direct contact with the President, already aware of new developments and monitoring events closely.

"General," President Andrews said, "It's good to hear your voice."

"Thank you, Mr. President. There's a situation in East Asia that's recently developed."

"That's my understanding, General. We've already attempted to contact Premiers' Xintau and Kryshenski, to no avail. What are your recommendations militarily?"

McCreary was relieved to hear President Andrews extremely calm and completely in control.

"Well, Sir," McCreary responded, "We have nukes involved on both sides. The Russians have been caught off-guard and their ground forces temporarily overrun. They've launched their air forces but up until now have only been using conventional weapons."

"Any indications on the yield of those nuclear weapons within the advancing Chinese columns?"

"No, Mr. President, not as of yet. It's likely a mixture of both low-yield strategic weapons as well as high-yield weapons. I think the Chinese are hoping the Russians will blink, but I don't think that's going to happen."

"Why would the Chinese do such a thing when the Russians were the only ones still assisting them?" Andrews asked.

"Desperation, Mr. President. The communist Chinese regime's hold on power is tenuous at best. They had to make a move before their own citizens overthrew them. The parties hold on power is sketchy at best, why in the world they ever thought a two-front war was strategically within their best interest I'll never know. I think their mindset is that if they're going down they plan on taking everyone else with them. The Russians have little choice other than to respond in like kind."

McCreary paused.

"What are your orders, Sir?"

President Andrews considered their options. It was only slightly more than an hour since this morning's meeting had ended and once again the entire landscape had changed.

"General, continue as planned; total neutrality on this end until further developments occur. Let's keep ourselves out of this mess for as long as we can. We'll advise our allies to do the same from this end. Have you arrived at the factory yet?"

"Yes Sir, we have. Major Hastings is preparing the Conyers' to leave as we speak; we'll have them on their way to the primary bunker site in short order. Sir, may I recommend your departure as well?"

The President was willing to see this thing through to the end at the White House, knowing of its inevitable destruction should factors escalate beyond control and thus his own demise. Andrews had contemplated long and hard, torn over his many responsibilities. His concerns also included his own family as well but eventually concluded, not through cowardice but through courage, that he would remove himself to the primary bunker site where he felt he could do the most good for both his people and country, no matter what remained of it should it come to all out global nuclear war.

"General McCreary, I want you as well as the Conyers' at the primary bunker site as quickly as possible. I'm leaving the White House now and I'll meet you there. I don't want any heroics on your part, is that understood?"

McCreary was also torn but had come to the same conclusion.

"Yes, Mr. President. I understand fully."

"General?"

"Sir?"

"The bunker systems still aren't at full capacity and we have a large number of military personnel at those sites keeping the civilians at bay. I want each and every one of those civilians permitted into the bunker systems immediately. As many people as possible."

It was President Andrews' intention to save as many of his countrymen as he could.

"Yes, Mr. President. I'll contact General Meehan immediately and have the orders issued."

"Very well then, General. We'll meet you at the primary bunker site within eight hours. I'll continue to monitor the situation from Air Force One. Andrews out."

While this conversation was taking place, Major Hastings was already meeting with the Conyers' in the factory.

"Mr. and Mrs. Conyers, you are to pack your belongings and be prepared to leave the facility within fifteen minutes. Take only what you need; time is of the essence."

Mitch, at first hearing his instructions to pack immediately looked at Anya who had a devastated look on her face not knowing what had just occurred. Both knew this moment would eventually come, but the immediate reality of it was an entirely different matter. Their eyes met and spoke an unspoken language in understanding as they quickly headed towards their quarters where Erin was waiting. She was running around with a friend, playing as children often do. Although it broke his heart, Mitch kindly asked Erin's friend to leave, not knowing what would become of her. Erin looked at her father and asked if anything was wrong.

"No, sweetheart, but we have to leave right away. We're going on a short trip."

Erin didn't know where they were going, but having been cooped up in the factory was excited nonetheless. She let her mind run wild, imagining a long vacation and remembering the picnic that she and her parent's had enjoyed not too long ago. Mitch and Anya had sheltered her from the chaos erupting around them, allowing her as best they could to enjoy what little childhood she had left. As Mitch gathered his and Anya's things, Anya helped Erin pack in her small eight by ten foot bedroom. Erin could hardly contain her excitement.

"Where are we going, Mama?" Erin asked smiling.

Anya was at a loss for words.

"We're going on a trip."

"Will there be other children there?"

"Of course."

"Will there be any my age?"

"Oh yes, dear, and you'll be able to play all day long."

Erin, now going on nine years old, collected her most prized possessions with her mother's help. She had passed the age where toys were important, gathering her favorite dresses and assorted keepsakes.

Hastings stood at the doorway, looking at his watch as he did so.

Not knowing specifics but knowing what they knew, Mitch and Anya were ready in less than ten minutes. Though Mitch had gathered sufficient clothing for both himself and Anya, he also filled a second suitcase stuffed to the brim with technical charts, computer disks, schematics, and research results that were irreplaceable.

"Are you ready?" Hastings asked.

"We're ready," Mitch replied.

The four of them quickly exited the building and headed straight to the awaiting limousine. McCreary was still on the phone and never found the time to exit the vehicle. Mitch and Anya both carried suitcases while Erin walked between them. Mitch knew the conversation with General McCreary wouldn't be good and asked Hastings if Erin could ride up front where she wouldn't be able to overhear their conversation. Hastings simply nodded in understanding, and before entering the limousine Mitch leaned down to speak to Erin.

"Sweetheart, Major Hastings just asked me if I could sit up front with the driver, he needs a co-pilot, but your mother and I have to talk with Mr. McCreary. Do you think you could do that for me?"

Erin was amazed that her father would ask her to take on such responsibility and jumped at the chance.

"Of course, daddy, I can do it. I know I can."

"That's my girl," Mitch said as he kissed her on the cheek.

After getting her settled in, Mitch closed the door while Erin was beaming at her father, having such faith and trust in her to take on such a task. Major Hastings held open the rear door of the limousine as Mitch and Anya entered the vehicle. He then got in himself.

"Mr. and Mrs. Conyers, it's so very good to see you again," McCreary said.

"And you as well, General," Mitch replied.

After greeting each other they were all silent for a moment as they looked about stoically, the limousine speeding away at a rather fast clip. Mitch and Anya were sitting across from McCreary and Hastings; the General subconsciously keeping one hand on the telephone. After several more moments had passed it was Anya who broke the ice, the others at a loss for words.

"Where are we headed, General?" she asked pointedly.

"Not far," McCreary replied. "Back towards Washington where a helicopter will be meeting us en-route." He looked down as he continued to speak. "Ultimately we're headed to the primary bunker site."

Both Mitch and Anya knew what that meant. Something terrible had happened; their worst fears come true. Under the circumstances McCreary wasn't even sure they even had enough time to make it, but it was information that the Conyers' didn't need to know.

"And will you be accompanying us?" Anya inquired.

"Yes Anya, I will."

Anya liked General McCreary. She had much contact with him over the last several years and knew that after twenty years of marriage he'd lost his wife in the not too distant past. He'd been orphaned as a child and what biological family he did have was unknown to him, choosing not to use his position of authority to delve any further into it.

"And your family?" Anya asked.

McCreary and his wife had a daughter, his only pride and joy. She was currently enrolled at Yale University. It was the first time in all of her contact with him that Anya had seen a wisp of a smile from the General. It seemed to contain both a sense of pride and relief.

"My daughter Veronica has already been moved to the primary bunker site," McCreary replied.

McCreary didn't go into great detail, but let Mitch and Anya know that further developments had occurred in Asia and that the situation was tenuous at best. Mitch and Anya took this information in stride, listening with strained ears through the glass of the limousine to the muffled voice of their daughter Erin. She was going on and on to the driver how excited she was about her upcoming vacation, occasionally chastising him to slow down because she didn't want to get into an accident, and that her mother and father were "very important people." The driver apologized.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry young lady. I'll try to be more careful."

This seemed to satisfy Erin; after all she took her responsibility seriously.

Up until this point the location of the primary bunker site had been the greatest secret of all. It was in fact located in Utah, far away from population centers. It was a group of twenty bunkers in all, clustered in close proximity that should they survive the coming onslaught, they'd eventually be joined by a tunnel system according to Professor Enghult's continuously developing designs. Enghult was proficient to a fault. The bunker system was to become the hub, a command center of sorts contingent upon what situation developed.

As further backup NORAD had the ability to survive a direct nuclear hit; it had been strengthened considerably over the past several decades and was defended by multiple and highly advanced anti-ballistic missile systems. It was also designated to house the Vice President and many government and military officials should a secondary governing body become necessary. As many thoughts ran through everyone's minds, the limousine suddenly arrived at the landing site where the helicopter was waiting to take them on the final leg of their journey.

Erin was amazed. It was more activity then she'd seen in her entire life. This was going to be the best vacation ever. Before departing the limousine she thanked the driver.

"My name is Erin. What's yours?"

"Ishto," the driver responded with a smile.

"Ishto," Erin repeated. "Thank you, Ishto."

The passengers quickly departed the limousine for their six hour flight to the bunker site. They would not exchange the helicopter for a faster jet regardless of the time constraints as it was essential that their profile remain off the radar system, flying approximately 200 feet above ground level. After everyone was secured, the helicopter quickly departed and was soon approaching airspeeds of 300 miles per hour. Likewise Air Force One was already in the air and would land at a secondary airport, where the President and his Staff would similarly make the final leg of the journey by helicopter to what was now being called "Bunker Site 1."

Shortly after McCreary's contingent was airborne a call was patched through on the General's headset as Mitch and Anya listened intently.

"McCreary here." A slight pause. "Jim, what news?"

Approximately four minutes passed with McCreary remaining completely silent as he listened to Meehan on the other end of the line. Mitch and Anya were staring at the General, riveted.

McCreary then responded.

"And what of the President?" he asked.

The voice on the other end couldn't be heard.

"Good Jim," McCreary said. "No moves militarily until further developments. McCreary out."

The General didn't need to tell Meehan to keep him apprised of any further developments, it was understood. He reached up and turned a switch on his headset.

"Pilot, how fast can this chopper go?"

A voice at the other end.

"Make it happen," McCreary said. Suddenly there was a burst of speed and the chopper was now quickly approaching 400 miles per hour. McCreary reached over and took off Erin's headset so she couldn't hear the words he was about to say to her parents. Looking at her mother somewhat indignantly, Anya simply held up a finger to her mouth, "shush," which seemed to calm her down somewhat. Erin pouted. McCreary then hit another switch on the headset so that Mitch, Anya, and Major Hastings could all hear him and the information he was about to divulge.

"Ok folks," he said, "Time for specifics. The Chinese have attacked Russia with three million troops, including multiple support vehicles and mobile missile launchers. Since the Russians were supporting the Chinese with food supplies they hadn't expected the attack and had insufficient troops on the border. They were quickly overrun with over 50,000 Russian casualties so far. The Chinese are desperate and ultimately after the Russian's food storage supplies. As of this moment the Chinese have advanced 25 miles into Russian territory. In response the Russians have launched their air forces en-masse and we have recent indications that they've dropped a number of low-yield tactical nuclear weapons on the advancing Chinese columns in an attempt to halt their advance."

Everyone was silent.

McCreary again spoke.

"We're six hours out from the primary bunker site."

Episode 6: "Journey"

So now it was a race against time. Another hour had passed since their journey from the factory had begun; McCreary and his contingent heading towards the primary bunker site with the helicopter exceeding speeds of 400 miles per hour. The trip originating from Virginia would be over 2,000 miles in all. As their journey continued soon they had been in the air for nearly two hours, that much closer to their ultimate destination. To a person all were praying to God that the world continued to hold its breath and hoped beyond reason somehow would come to its senses.

The three million advancing Chinese troops had been stopped dead in their tracks the moment the Russians deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the advancing columns. While the Chinese had considered this possibility, they were insufficiently supplied with radiation resistant gear for so many troops engaged in the attack. If they continued with the attack they would have to re-route their troops or otherwise respond by deploying their own nuclear weapons. Two million additional Russian troops were nearing the border, while the Chinese columns were being continuously pounded by the Russian air defenses with conventional weapons. It was now the Chinese who were taking on losses in very large numbers. Although they had been the ones to initiate the attack, the Russians seemed to be getting the upper hand and it left the Chinese with very few options other than to respond in like kind with their own nuclear weapons, but they were ill prepared to make that fateful decision. They had counted on the Russians to blink, but that hadn't turned out to be the case. If the Chinese decided to re-route their troops, there was nothing to stop the Russians from again deploying tactical nuclear weapons which would very likely force the Chinese to respond in similar fashion and quite probably lead to an all-out nuclear war. Now it was the Chinese who blinked.

Attacking the Russians was a desperation move in the first place, now the Chinese were fighting the Russians on one front and India and Pakistan on their southern border. It was an ill-conceived endeavor brought on by the Communist Chinese regime in an attempt to keep from being overthrown by their own starving citizens. All four warring countries possessed huge nuclear arsenals, and with both North and South Korea having been wiped off the face of the earth several months earlier, one wrong move on the part of any one of the four warring countries could potentially be the end of it, literally. It was a temporary hold as the government leaders all headed to the safety of their own bunkers. That perhaps was the only element keeping the situation at bay; they were concerned solely of their own safety.

The phone in the cabin of helicopter again rang, and of course it was General Meehan at NORAD ostensibly to give McCreary a current update on the situation. Since all communications with the outside world had been terminated by the warring parties, all Meehan had to go on intelligence-wise was the latest satellite imagery. It was a conversation that only McCreary would be privileged to, and with the whir of the helicopter's engines, Mitch, Anya, and Major Hastings were unable to overhear the discussion. All they could do was look at him and try not to let their minds run wild. What was occurring was completely beyond their control as they collectively and silently prayed there would be enough time remaining to reach the primary bunker site before it was too late.

It was a somewhat long conversation. McCreary was generally a stoic person, calculating and difficult to read, but the others picked up traces of dire facial expressions on his part and after about fifteen minutes the conversation with Meehan ended and McCreary hung up the phone. While they all looked on in suspense, waiting for some sense of what was occurring, for some reason McCreary turned away and looked out the window. This continued for several minutes until General McCreary oddly let out a slight laugh; perhaps it was the futility of it all. He turned to the others and tapped his headset indicating to them to do the same. They understood his meaning; he was ready to give them the current update. Mitch reached over again switching off Erin's headset, not wanting her to overhear the conversation about to take place. She wasn't as indignant this time around and nodded to her father in recognition as she now began to look out the window; it was the "grown-ups" time to speak. Besides, it was her first time in a helicopter and after all she and her parents were going on a vacation for the first time in a very long time. Without anyone knowing it she discreetly hit the switch on her headset as she continued to gaze out the window at the countryside below; it was all so very exciting. This time though, she would be able to listen in. With everyone riveted on General McCreary, no one seemed to notice what she had just done. Erin simply wondered why everyone was so unhappy when they all had a vacation to look forward to. Perhaps they couldn't decide on where they wanted to go?

"No bother," she thought. Wherever they were going it would be better than the factory. She felt sad for her parents, having to work so hard. She was suddenly in for a rude awakening and would continue to gaze out the window throughout the conversation. She didn't know it yet, but this day she would also remember for the rest of her life. September 18th, 2073; the day her childhood ended and the day she grew up.

McCreary collected his thoughts and then began to get the others caught up on current events.

"No need to hold anything back," he thought. "Well folks, needless to say that was General Meehan at NORAD."

Before he could continue the pilot suddenly broke in. "Sorry to interrupt, General. We're approaching Illinois; slightly over four hours out from our destination point."

McCreary looked at the landscape below; the helicopter still flying at 200 feet above ground level.

"Copy that, pilot."

McCreary repeated the pilot's words to his captive audience.

"Four hours out from the primary bunker site," he said as he immediately went into Meehan's update for the benefit of the others. "So far it seems to be a stalemate. There's been some activity picked up by our satellites of massive Russian troop movements. The Chinese have not responded with nuclear weapons as of yet and their troops are stalled. The Russians are pounding the bejezus out of the Chinese with their air forces; the Chinese haven't been able to match them plane for plane and they're paying for it dearly. The Chinese can't advance any further into Russian territory due to the residual radioactivity. We've picked up traces, but being tactical nukes for the moment it's not our greatest concern. What we are concerned about are those mobile missile launchers in the Chinese columns, not even to mention their stockpiled nukes. We also have the Indian and Pakistani armies on the southern border of China, so now we have two powder kegs and both fuses are lit. Our analysts believe that both the Russian and Chinese leadership is headed toward their own bunker systems, and once they're safe and sound they just might let the nukes fly."

McCreary paused as he chose his next words carefully.

"President Andrews took Air Force One most of the way to the primary bunker site and should arrive there shortly; within an hour most likely. That's somewhat of a relief. Our naval forces have been ordered to disappear and continue to avoid contact with any and all ships. At the moment our main concern is that if and when nuclear weapons do start to fly, and they will, how many are going to come our way and when? Several months ago President Andrews had a large number of our nuclear weapons converted to anti-ballistic missiles, but depending upon what kind of numbers we're dealing with, we're not going to be able to stop them all. I don't need to tell you the level of destruction that will result should that occur."

McCreary again looked out the window, almost as if taking in the view as though it would be the last time he'd be able see the landscape below in all of its beauty.

"I think we have enough time to make it to the bunker site comfortably, but what we're going to have to deal with when we get there isn't going to be pretty. It's the prophecy come true. I'm afraid the United States and the world as we know it won't exist for much longer if the course of this juggernaut isn't changed."

Mitch started to ask questions, which at first were pointless.

"Why would the Chinese attack the Russians in the first place, General, when they were supplying them with food?"

McCreary knew Mitch was in shock over the magnitude of unfolding events. He'd known him for too many years, but under the circumstances was willing to placate him despite knowing the fact that Mitch already knew the answer to his own question.

"I don't know, Mitch; pure desperation on the part of the Chinese. They were about to be overthrown by their own people and the only way to avoid that from happening was to pacify them, and that simply meant more food."

"But the chambers," Mitch said exasperated, "They could have solved the problems that we've been experiencing and avoided this war altogether."

"Yes, Mitch, they could have, but it's gone too far. It's just too late and become a dogfight for survival. There are very few allies we can count on, but there are some."

Mitch needed a moment and became quiet. He and Anya had such hopes that they could have changed the outcome of what they knew was coming, but also subconsciously knew it was futile. It only seemed to double their determination in the same fashion as it had President Andrews, to save as many of the human race as possible. He looked over at Erin. "Thankfully she wasn't hearing all of this," he thought. But that wasn't the case. Erin continued to look out the window but had listened to every single word. It was the first inkling of the person she would become. Erin had heard enough and discreetly switched off her headset without the others noticing, nor the tear that suddenly began to fall from her eye.

Anya had been silent throughout the discussion; perhaps also in shock at the reality of events. Yesterday now seemed like a century ago, but she had also known what was coming. Major Hastings, being a military man kept his cool, even though he was unnerved as much as the others. His thoughts wandered to his immediate family, already secured within the primary bunker site, but his parent's weren't there and never would be. Anya looked at Erin, saddest for her of all. "What world would be left for her to live in?" she thought.

The cabin of the helicopter became quiet and remained that way for the next two hours as their journey continued, all lost in their own personal thoughts.

Although many things were running through her mind, Anya took solace in that her daughter would have a little more time left of her childhood, short as it would be. If she could get her to the bunker site perhaps she could shelter her somewhat from the larger picture, difficult as that would be. She was surprised when Erin looked over at her and smiled, grabbing her hand as she did so. Anya could do nothing else but smile in return. If this were to be the end, if they didn't make it, at least they would be together. She was very proud.

McCreary, also lost in his thoughts was thinking strictly in military terms. He could have turned on the television to see what was occurring on ground level in the states, but towards what end? Meehan and the President were handling the situation and according to his last conversation with them the situation was not good. Due to the limited communications within the Asian theater the U.S. Military was only able to rely upon satellite imagery and extremely limited intelligence. The rest was speculation on the part of analysts. The media was even more in the dark, but the war between India, Pakistan, and China had been common knowledge and was fodder enough to keep the airwaves jumping. What they did know was that something extremely serious had occurred in Russia, enough to put the entire United States on edge. Speculation had run rampant, and journalist Eric Massey was determined to stick it out no matter what. He'd also become a rock that people could count on. McCreary snickered as he thought "that is one man with chutzpah." Smiling, he was thankful that he'd been raised in a country that produced such brave individuals.

Almost four hours into the trip with approximately 900 miles to go, the pilot again came over McCreary's headset and gave him an update on their position. They had been continuing along their flight path while maintaining an altitude of slightly over 200 feet.

"Approaching Colorado, General. A little more than two hours to destination."

"Copy pilot,"

Approximately twenty-five more minutes passed and the General had again been looking out the window. As he did so, off in the distance he could see smoke rising and immediately got on the intercom.

"Pilot, what's our location?"

"Approaching Denver, Sir."

"I'm seeing smoke ahead."

"We're seeing it now too, Sir."

"Pilot, get us up to 1,000 feet immediately."

"Copy, General."

Everyone in the helicopter felt a bit heavier as the pilot pushed it to the limit, attempting to gain altitude as quickly as possible. He'd reached six-hundred feet but they'd already approached the outskirts of the city limits. Without any warning the helicopter was suddenly strafed by ground fire. There was a "plink, plink, plink" sound as the chopper took on a number of hits and began to shudder. Erin cried out in pain. Buzzers began to go off as everyone in the cabin grabbed anything and everything that they could to hold on to as the helicopter became erratic.

McCreary looked over at Erin, and as far as he could tell she had a graze wound on her leg but otherwise no visually obvious life-threatening injuries. Anya held on to her for dear life as the chopper continued to rock back and forth. Two minutes passed before the pilot was able to regain control, but the damage had already been done. Major Hastings grabbed the med-kit as McCreary got on the intercom.

"Pilot, status report."

"Ground fire, Sir; small arms. I think they got part of our tail rotor. I can keep her in the air for another twenty minutes, but I wouldn't push it any much more than that."

"Copy that. Radio ahead to the bunker site and have them dispatch a relief chopper immediately. I want you to skirt the city limits and get us to a safe landing zone in an unpopulated area."

"Copy, General."

The co-pilot quickly radioed ahead for the relief chopper as the pilot continued to fight for control. The pilot was a veteran, which is why he was sent for the General and his very important passengers in the first place.

Hastings checked over Erin's wound as Mitch and Anya looked on, unable to speak. She was a trooper and had been through a lot for one single day, but bearing the pain she was in was a different matter.

Seeing no other injuries, Hastings quickly injected her with a local anesthetic which seemed to quiet her down a bit as it began to go to work. He cleaned the wound with an antiseptic ointment, and applying direct pressure stemmed the bleeding. It seemed to do the trick, so he dressed the wound and tightly wrapping it in gauze got it to the point where the injury could be properly treated once they reached the primary bunker site. It was a grazing wound that would leave a scar, but barring any infection was not life-threatening. Certainly this wasn't the vacation that Erin had planned on. Major Hastings gave Mitch and Anya his assessment of the wound which also calmed them down considerably.

True to his word the pilot found an appropriate landing site; the relief helicopter already having been dispatched with the exact coordinates of their position. Immediately upon landing the chopper the pilot shut down all systems and addressed McCreary.

"General, we have confirmation that our relief chopper is on the way; it'll be here in approximately one hour. I suggest we get clear of the landing site; there's still quite a bit of fuel on board."

McCreary confirmed the recommendations of the pilot; completely composed. It almost seemed as though this was something that happened to the General on a daily basis. As they all removed their headsets McCreary addressed the others with him in the cabin of the helicopter.

"Our relief chopper's on the way. Major Hastings, I want you to grab the med-kit and any food and water on board. I'll take the hand-held radio and mobile location finder. We're going to evacuate the landing site and wait for our relief in that clearing over there. He was pointing to an area about 100 yards away as the pilot and co-pilot looked on. Hastings nodded as Mitch scooped up Erin with Anya close behind.

McCreary then turned his attention to the pilot and co-pilot.

"Pilot, do you have any weapons on board?" he asked briskly.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Get them."

Without hesitation both quickly went about their task and shortly reached the clearing where the others were waiting. McCreary looked at the pilot dead eyed; pointing.

"You, over there at the ready."

Then, turning to the co-pilot he pointed to a hill overlooking the clearing.

"You, over there. Unseen."

Almost in unison they responded, "Yes Sir, General."

They both knew their mission. Now it was time to wait.

Episode 7: "Rescue"

The first fifteen minutes since landing passed quietly, Mitch and Anya attending to Erin who despite her newly acquired wound was relatively calm. The local anesthetic had done its job and she wasn't in a great deal of pain.

General McCreary thought it better that they position themselves closer to the tree line bordering the clearing so that the group would be slightly out of sight should anyone with otherwise bad intentions cross their path. Although they were armed, there were only four of them including Hastings who had been carrying his Beretta. The pilot had found a relatively unpopulated area, but with the chaos happening in Denver and most likely the rest of the country as well, until their relief arrived McCreary wanted to make certain that their profile was kept to a minimum. According to his conversation over the hand held with the relief chopper (three in all had actually been dispatched), assuming all went well within forty-five minutes they would again be on their way to the primary bunker site and arrive in slightly under two hours. Their best course of action for the moment was to simply remain quiet and out of site.

Despite being strafed by ground fire and taking on damage, the pilot had kept control of the chopper fairly well. With the tail rotor damaged it was a bumpy ride and somewhat risky, but it wasn't the first time he'd been in this position. It was a balance between remaining airborne versus totally losing control and risking the possibility of a crash landing versus putting distance between themselves and the chaos occurring in the city. Twenty more minutes in the air had done the trick despite their airspeed being greatly reduced. With a bird's eye view of one-thousand feet allowing the pilot to find a relatively unpopulated area, there was no telling who they might come across, and if they did there was no knowing what possible intentions might be in their minds. A helicopter landing from one-thousand feet and flying in an erratic manner wasn't generally considered low profile, and there were a lot of desperate people out there. McCreary's mission was clear; Mitch and Anya Conyers' being his true cargo had to be delivered to the primary bunker site safe and sound; both of them were deemed absolutely indispensable.

Fifteen more minutes passed and again General McCreary touched base with the relief choppers now only half an hour out from their position, and was assured that they had their coordinates pinpointed exactly.

"Good," McCreary thought. "Half an hour more and we'll be on our way." He hadn't thought to ask the pilot what was occurring in the United States, and even if he did there was little if anything he could do for now. It would be left up to the President and Meehan at NORAD to decide what actions to take. All seemed well until unexpectedly several vehicles could be heard off in the distance. This was their worst fear, not knowing who was approaching, how many, and what they were ultimately after. McCreary quickly radioed the relief pilot and updated him on the sudden turn of events.

"McCreary to relief chopper one, over."

"Pilot here, go ahead, General."

"Several vehicles approaching landing site, intentions unknown, over."

"Copy that, General. We're at top speed, twenty-five minutes out from your location. Suggest maintaining a low profile; we'll do a three pronged recon upon arrival. Keep us apprised, over."

"Copy that, McCreary out."

The General had to think quickly. He was fairly troubled at this unexpected development and waved over the pilot who was twenty-five yards away.

"Can you see them yet?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir. Several pick-up trucks with an estimated twenty plus individuals, all visibly armed."

"Well," McCreary replied, "They're either on their way to help us or take everything we have. I'm guessing it's the later, so we'll have to prepare for the worst. What kind of weapons do you have?"

"A semi-automatic assault rifle with two-hundred rounds and a pistol with another forty-five rounds, Sir."

"And the co-pilot?"

"A scoped rifle and pistol as well, Sir."

"How far out are they?"

"I'd estimate that they'll be here within the next five minutes. They'll probably head straight for the chopper. Slowly at first if they have bad intentions, but even if they're here to help us, which I highly doubt, they'll still be at the ready not knowing what our intentions are either."

"Agreed," McCreary replied.

"Sir, we made it pretty far from Denver after we were strafed, but it's been half an hour. It may very well be the same group."

The General had considered this fact and concluded that in all likelihood it was. His first inclination was to remove The Conyers' further into the woods with Major Hastings where they would be better hidden, but if there were twenty or more armed civilians on the way with intentions of taking whatever food and weapons they had, it wouldn't be long before they were discovered. That wasn't an option that the General would allow. Knowing this he ordered Hastings to remove the Conyers' slightly further back behind the tree line and find cover as best they could, also directing the Major not to engage unless absolutely necessary. As an afterthought the General directed the pilot to give him his Beretta and whatever ammunition he had, which excluding Major Hastings would put the numbers at three against twenty. But the General and his fellow colleagues were professionally trained, and that would even up the odds somewhat. As the pilot handed over his sidearm and ammunition, he had a thought of his own.

"General, may I ask how far out the relief choppers are?"

"Twenty-five minutes or less, pilot; twenty-five damn minutes. There's actually three choppers coming and they've already been advised of our situation; they'll be coming in hot. If we remain out of sight I calculate another ten minutes for our new friends to arrive and look over the chopper before they begin looking for us; for real. If they start firing, we'll have to keep them occupied for at least another ten minutes before our relief arrives. That should hopefully keep them away from the Conyers' long enough."

"General, they've probably got scoped rifles as well as semi-automatic weapons. It's a hell of a task we'll be faced with. With twenty or more of them they'll be able to flank us in short order."

McCreary knew that if they were forced to return fire, their positions would quickly be exposed. Although the co-pilot had a scoped rifle and could snipe a few of them, the numbers were still skewed. The Conyers' had to be protected at all costs. The relief choppers had airborne troops onboard and once they arrived the situation would change dramatically, no matter how many they were up against.

"Ten damn minutes to keep them away from the Conyers'," McCreary said loudly. "Well then, I suppose that's what we're going to have to do, numbers be damned."

The General was ready to give up his own life solely to protect the Conyers'; to buy them those ten precious minutes that were absolutely critical. What they had to offer the world was much more important than anything he ever could, despite what he'd already accomplished these past ten years in a deteriorating global environment. Through military non-intervention, implementing international relief efforts and sharing technology, he'd saved more lives and contained an otherwise uncontainable situation longer than it should have been. Yet still he felt himself replaceable. There was Meehan, the President, Professor Enghult, the Conyers', and many others who could perform the same tasks as himself, not to mention the other members of the Joint Chiefs. He was somewhat humble, and although he wouldn't admit it, irreplaceable in his own right. Even more than he knew in the coming months and years ahead; assuming of course he survived the next twenty-five minutes. But for now the Conyers' were his only concern.

"Sir, may I offer an alternative?" the pilot asked.

"I'm listening," McCreary replied.

Time was short and the pilot spoke quickly.

"Sir, we pushed to chopper to the limit, but I think I could squeeze a few more minutes out of the old girl. She's armed to the teeth; rocket launchers included. Give me three minutes and I'll have her up in the air and stop those trucks dead in their tracks before they get anywhere near the clearing. That'll buy us the time we need. If I hear one gun go off I'll eliminate the threat altogether."

The General thought about it for a moment. What the pilot was offering was to risk his own life for that of the others. It wasn't anything McCreary wasn't prepared to do himself and quickly agreed.

"Copy. Green light to go, pilot."

The pilot handed over his rifle and ammunition just in case things should go south, and even if they did it would still allow enough time for the relief choppers to arrive. It was almost a guaranteed solution, except now there was only one life at risk. The pilot quickly turned and headed towards his bird when the General spoke to him.

"Pilot, what's your name?"

"Captain Hodges, Sir."

"No, Captain, your first name."

"Bill, Sir. My friends call me Bill."

"See you in twenty minutes, Bill."

Hodges smiled. "Twenty minutes, Sir," and then continued his sprint to the chopper. Bill had no intention of this being a suicide mission, he was going to stop those trucks from approaching the group now completely in his charge and make it back in one piece. As McCreary looked on, the pilot was now in the chopper and pushed a number of switches in quick succession. The main rotors started to turn as he put on his helmet and buckled himself in. Hodges then turned on the radio and quickly apprised the relief choppers of the current situation, confirming that they did in fact have a full contingent of airborne troops on-board.

"Relief chopper one, twenty plus armed civilians approaching landing site from the east, repeat, from the east. Three vehicles currently visible; intentions unknown. Transport chopper going airborne; I'm going to keep them occupied for a little while, over."

"Copy pilot. Twenty minutes to rendezvous. Coming in hot, over."

"Copy that, pilot out."

In two minutes the main rotors were at the proper rpm, and with a quick glance and a thumbs up to the General, Hodges was airborne. As he gained altitude and approached 250 feet he spoke out loud.

"Ok, Gentlemen. For the next twenty minutes you belong to me."

The chopper was a little wobbly and Hodges had difficulty controlling it, but he got her up none too soon. The three pick-ups were only half a mile out along the main road leading to the rendezvous site and would have been on top of them in about two minutes. He did a quick fly by to assess what he was up against, and although he was fairly certain that they were the same group who had strafed the chopper earlier, as of yet he wasn't certain. One press of a button and he could have taken them all out, but he wasn't a murderer and didn't plan on taking the first shot, in fact it was his intention to hold them at bay. They were most likely after food and water, and despite everything occurring and their probable desperation, they were his fellow countrymen after all was said and done. But his mission was to protect the General and his very important passengers waiting at the clearing regardless of the cost. On seeing the very intimidating helicopter approaching, all three vehicles stopped abruptly.

After his initial fly-by Hodges did a quick banking maneuver away from the vehicles and kept the smallest profile possible, but he could clearly see that they were heavily armed. Upon seeing the helicopter approaching a number of the occupants jumped out of the vehicles and ducked for cover. No shots were fired as of yet; the group had been caught completely off guard.

"Every second counts. Let em' stew on this development for a few minutes," Hodges thought.

So to buy time he circled the three trucks and again performed a banking maneuver as he brought her up to 500 feet.

"I must have watched too much football," he thought.

Another five minutes passed and McCreary had found a perch overlooking the scene unfolding before him. He was in contact with the relief choppers who were now just ten minutes away. Suddenly McCreary could hear random gunfire going off in the distance. It seemed that several of the group having found decent cover had also found some courage.

"Plink, plink, plink," Hodges heard as several of the shots found their mark. There was no time to assess the damage, he was still airborne and simply went to work. He pressed a few buttons on the joystick and headed straight for the three vehicles. They hadn't yet been fully abandoned so he decided to give his new found friends a gentle lesson. He let his onboard machine guns rip slightly ahead of the vehicles and then let loose a rocket, finding its mark fifty yards past the vehicles. It was quite a sight. The few who still remained in the vehicles panicked and quickly scattered, some of them dropping their weapons as they did.

"Well, Gentlemen, that should raise your blood pressure a few points," Hodges said.

McCreary was in constant contact with the relief choppers, now only five minutes away. He kept them up-to-speed moment by moment.

Hodges' helicopter was smoking badly at this point, so he banked once more and headed back towards the clearing. Lowering it to an altitude of 150 feet he then leveled off in a stationary position directly facing the three vehicles, unmoving. It was a challenge of sorts. Two more minutes passed without any more shots being fired, and from behind them the group in the vehicles could hear even more helicopters approaching. They had enough and scattered, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

Hodges got on the headset with the approaching lead chopper.

"Setting her down, relief chopper 1. Unfriendlies scattering, repeat, unfriendlies scattering, over."

"Copy pilot. We have you in sight, over."

Once the engine was hit, Hodges had kept a close eye on his oil pressure gauge. Although losing pressure he knew he had some time left in the air, and those few minutes were all he needed. When the time came he set her down as gently as possible, hitting all of the switches on the electronic systems to minimize the risk of a short circuit that could very likely ignite the fuel system and turn the helicopter into a fireball. Wasting no time he disconnected himself from his harness and exited the chopper, dashing away as quickly as possible. Hodges didn't even take the time to remove his helmet or communications gear dangling from his side; he was a courageous man but by no means a martyr. He reached the General in short order.

"You put on quite a show, Bill," McCreary said.

"Thank you, Sir. I do my best."

The General felt very lucky to have Hodges with him. It was only a matter of moments until the other three choppers arrived, one landing immediately in the clearing while a second landed one-hundred yards away from the three vehicles. A number of airborne troops exited swiftly in a 360 degree "secure or assault" posture and immediately took control of the situation. The third helicopter circled above; reconnoitering. There would be no more shots fired, the tables had turned. This particular short lived battle was over, yet others of a more serious nature would soon begin.

Hastings quickly got the Conyers' and McCreary on-board the first helicopter while Hodges and his co-pilot approached the second. Their mission accomplished; they'd hitch a ride with the airborne troops once they were ready to depart. Two medical personnel had also been dispatched to see to Erin's wound, which all in all to them was relatively minor. Although a major life event for Erin, the med-team determined that there would be no lasting injury as they again cleansed and dressed the wound, comforting her as they did so.

The primary and secondary helicopters departed, this time General McCreary giving explicit instructions that they maintain sufficient altitude to avoid any possible ground fire. They initially departed in a circuitous route to avoid any of the remaining civilians on the ground who still might be inclined to take a pot shot, and once at a safe distance the third helicopter containing the airborne troops as well as Hodges and his co-pilot followed suit and caught up to the two helicopters ahead of them. They were at an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet and headed straight for the primary bunker site.

The remaining two hour flight was uneventful and passed quickly. Mitch and Anya had been attending to and consoling Erin, while General McCreary had for the most part spent the entire time on the phone with both President Andrews and General Meehan at NORAD, catching up-to-speed on matters on both the national and international fronts. There had been a number of developments during McCreary's interlude, and as they approached "Bunker Site 1" the President and other members of the Joint Chiefs were waiting. President Andrews greeted General McCreary as he exited the helicopter, while at the same time another group of medical personnel with a gurney were waiting on Erin, whisking her away with Mitch and Anya following close behind.

McCreary was somewhat surprised; the President seemingly overly relieved at seeing the General in person.

"General, so good to see you. You had us slightly worried."

"Good to see you too, Mr. President. All's well that ends well."

"Let's get inside, Phil. We have a lot to talk about. With all of these developments it's time to make some serious decisions."

"Yes, Mr. President."

Episode 8: "Arrival"

By now it was dusk and shortly the sun would be setting on what had turned out to be a very long day for all involved. After the President and General McCreary greeted each other, the President glanced over at the Conyers', also with a great sense of relief. While many teams had been trained in the proper operation of the suspension chambers, the Conyers' were in fact the ones who had invented them in the first place, and without a doubt in the coming months their continued efforts would be indispensable.

Mitch and Anya were thankful to see a full array of medical personnel awaiting the arrival of Erin, who despite having been injected with a local anesthetic as well as a mild sedative was completely coherent; the pain having subsided to a bearable level. Erin had learned a lot this day, perhaps more than she deserved.

"Where are we, mommy?"

"This is going to be our new home, dear," Anya replied.

"And who are all these people?"

"They're going to take care of your leg."

"Will I have a scar?"

"No, sweetheart, it will be very small. You won't even notice it."

Anya's words calmed Erin down even further. She was more enthralled with the bunker site with its huge metal doors and all the people around her paying her so much attention, almost feeling spoiled. The group entered through a small doorway off to the left of the main doors; completely made of metal. They were so large in fact that a large plane could fit inside if both were opened simultaneously. The smaller doorway to the left almost seemed like those that she'd seen on the television that were used on ships. The primary bunker site was carved into the side of a hilltop with what seemed to be a large dome above it, but other than the visible main entrance doors one would be hard pressed to know what a vast complex truly lay below. As she again glanced at the huge entranceway, upon entering Erin viewed yet a second set of metal doors; the color seemed to be very unusual. Again they entered through another small doorway off to the left and now were inside the Dome.

"Why do they look like that, mommy?"

"Because they're made out of a very special kind of material; it's called lead."

"Why'd they do that?"

"It will help protect us."

Soon Erin, her parents, and the medial team entered one of several visible elevators. There were armed guards stationed in front of it which didn't escape the Conyers' attention; the inner room beyond the second set of doors was absolutely huge. Except for some equipment off to one corner it otherwise appeared empty. Anya and Mitch could also see a number of military personnel stationed about the room, with even more weapons than she'd seen earlier when the airborne troops arrived. Erin suddenly felt herself descending, and although happy to have so much attention being paid to her was hard pressed to keep her curiosity at bay.

"Are we going down?" she asked.

"Yes, dear," Anya replied. "We're going to the hospital."

Although Anya and Mitch hadn't been overly involved in the design of the bunkers other than to advise Professor Enghult of their logistical requirements for the suspension chambers, they had been well versed in its overall layout. Professor Enghult apparently hadn't overlooked one single aspect of the bunker's design, no matter how seemingly insignificant it seemed at the time. He was proficient to a fault. In his younger years his classmates had made it an ongoing joke about this particular aspect of his character, but now it served him well. He had risen very quickly in his chosen career, having written many articles in the Engineering trade publications. In a relatively short period of time he was a leading figure in his field and was known worldwide by his fellow colleagues before he had even reached the age of thirty. Now forty years of age he was largely recognized as a genius and had been for some time. Although Enghult was in charge of all bunker sites located within the United States, according to President Andrews' directives his designs had been disseminated internationally in the hopes of greater world unity. Enghult made many trips overseas to troubleshoot problems that occasionally arose, however "Bunker Site 1" had been his main base of operations for the past several months. Under the current circumstances he was no longer permitted to leave the site; world events continuing along a path that had little chance of changing.

In short order the Conyers' arrived at the hospital, and although Erin's wound was relatively minor both the doctor and her parents thought it best that she be put under a general anesthetic; there was no need for her to witness them work as they cleansed, sealed, and stitched the wound. It had been decided that she'd seen enough for one day. After a slight pinch from the needle going into her arm her thoughts became fewer and fewer as she mumbled yet another question, incomprehensible at this point. A mask was gently placed over her face and soon she was in a deep sleep as the doctors went to work. Mitch and Anya, relieved at the knowledge that her wound was minor in nature, decided to remove themselves to the waiting room. Both sat quietly engulfed in their own thoughts, unable to even muster the strength to discuss the day's events. It had been a whirlwind of a day and soon it would again be time for them to play their role in the grand scheme of things; should they survive the coming weeks. Despite everything that happened during their eventful journey, ironically both felt a sense of relief and comfort.

At an earlier date, when they had the time, they visited the bunker during its construction phase to make certain that the suspension chambers were allocated the proper amount of space required. But that was nearly eight months ago, prior to the final modifications that allowed them to become fully functional. At the time the primary bunker site was almost complete but still obviously required a great deal of work. North and South Korea had not yet gone to war and it was unknown if the bunker would ever be needed. Now the hospital in which they sat actually looked like any other that they'd ever been in; for all intents and purposes they wouldn't have noticed any difference. And so such thoughts ran through their minds, unable for the moment to fathom the larger issues.

While this scene was unfolding in the lower levels of the bunker, President Andrews, General McCreary, and the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff continued their discussion outside of the bunker regarding events occurring within the United States as well as the world-at-large, and now were themselves preparing to enter. Before doing so Captain Hodges suddenly ran up to General McCreary as the Secret Service Agents guarding the VIP's immediately went into protective mode and began to reach inside their jackets for their weapons. General McCreary stopped them with a simple wave of his hand.

"At-ease, Gentlemen. This is the pilot responsible for getting us here in one piece."

The Agents relaxed.

Hodges was slightly out of breath, having sprinted to the General before he and the President disappeared out of sight and into the safety of the bunker.

"Sorry to interrupt, Sir," Hodges said to the General.

Looking over at the President, who he'd never met before in-person, he was now more intimidated than when he was facing death just several hours earlier. "My God," he thought, "I've just interrupted the President of the United States and Joint Chiefs who are currently facing a probable nuclear catastrophe."

"Mr. President, my apologies for the interruption. General, may I have a moment of your time?" Hodges asked with the utmost respect.

Despite everything occurring and the events requiring immediate attention, General McCreary granted Hodges his wish.

"Captain Hodges, a moment and no more. Do you understand?"

McCreary said it in a tone expressing the urgency of the situation, yet not in the sense of being indignant. McCreary was thankful for what Hodges had done, and realized in all likelihood he'd was responsible for saving all of their lives not three hours earlier.

"Yes, General. I'll make it as brief as possible. Sir, my wife and family are located at the bunker site in Kansas."

Hodges didn't need to say anything more. He looked at the President who was well aware of what occurred in Colorado and the role the Captain had played in it. McCreary turned to President Andrews.

"Mr. President," he said, "With your permission?"

President Andrews simply nodded as McCreary then turned to one of the Secret Service Agents.

"Agent, you are to see that one of the relief choppers is fully fueled and turned over to Captain Hodges. Also, you are to immediately contact the bunker site located in Kansas and advise them of Captain Hodges impending arrival by my orders. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir," the Agent replied.

Hodges was stupefied; he'd just broken so many protocols that under any other circumstances he may very well have put himself up for military court martial. He could barely utter a word.

"Thank you, General. Thank you, Mr. President."

That was all he was able to say in response. The group started to walk towards the entrance to the bunker when McCreary inexplicably turned; Hodges still standing there somewhat dumbfounded.

"Good luck, Bill," McCreary said.

"Thank you, Sir," Hodges replied.

McCreary once again turned, and as quickly as that the entourage was on its way, soon arriving at the entrance to the bunker and disappearing out of sight. They followed the same route the Conyers' had several minutes earlier and entered the elevator, which quickly began its descent to the lower levels. They were headed towards the "Control Room" where much would be discussed, but during their descent all was silent. Including Major Hastings and the President's security detail, there were perhaps twelve of them in total. It had only been ten minutes since the President and McCreary's last communication with Meehan at NORAD, so they both rightfully were under the assumption that nothing "new" had occurred in the overall course of events.

Once departing the elevator the group was located at the lowest level of the bunker; "Bunker Site 1 - Level 20." The President directed Major Hastings to "gather up the Conyers''" and escort them to the Control Room where the others would be waiting, but first he wanted to speak to General McCreary alone. That being done the two of them entered what would now become the new "Oval Office," the new "White House." General Phillip H. McCreary, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America, fifty-two years old with an entire lifetime spent in the military took a seat 400 feet below ground level as the President of the United States quietly served him a cup of coffee, both seemingly needing this brief moment of undisturbed peace.

"Black if I remember correctly, right Phil?"

"Yes, Mr. President. That would be fine."

The President handed McCreary his cup, and after raising it to his lips and taking a sip he asked about his daughter, Veronica.

"She's all settled in, Phil. I notified her once you arrived, safe and sound of course. I only told her what she needed to know, when she needed to know it. If it's any consolation, Margaret told me she fell onto her bed and started to cry when she found out."

The General laughed.

"Is that a good thing?"

"I'd say yes, Phil," Andrews replied.

McCreary didn't even know he'd spoken out loud, but the President heard it quite clearly as he said "She's all I have."

"Yale?" President Andrews asked. "Veronica goes to Yale, doesn't she?"

"Why yes Sir, she does."

"Good school. What year is she in?"

"Sophomore year, Mr. President."

"It's a good age to be, Phil. Don't you think?"

"No doubt," McCreary replied.

What General McCreary didn't say was how unfortunate it was that in all likelihood she'd never see it again. They continued this banter for another ten minutes; President Andrews' basic goal being to allow General McCreary a few moments to clear his mind knowing what he'd just been through, prior to discussing matters with the others patiently awaiting their arrival. The President rose abruptly.

"Well, General, let's get to it."

"Yes, Mr. President," McCreary replied, also rising as they departed the Oval Office and headed towards the Control Room.

Major Hastings did have a bit of difficulty tearing Anya away from Erin, but being that she was still under sedation and with some gentle nudging from her husband and further reassurance from the doctor, she agreed. It was ironic that Veronica passed her in the hallway, and seeing that she was crying asked her what was wrong.

"My daughter's in the hospital and I wanted to be there when she wakes up, but I have to attend a meeting," Anya said.

Veronica knew who she was talking to. Although her father had with great effort throughout her childhood and formative years attempted to shelter her as best he could, Veronica was too close to the loop and knew events were spiraling out of control throughout the world. The apple had not fallen far from the tree.

"If it's not too forward of me, would you mind terribly if I looked after her for a while?" Veronica asked.

Surprised, Anya not even knowing who this young woman was hugged her and said "Would you mind?"

"No, Mrs. Conyers. As a matter of fact it would be my pleasure. By the way, my name is Veronica McCreary, General McCreary's daughter."

Anya had never met her before, although she knew who she was. Greatly relieved she collected herself as she and Mitch continued to follow Major Hastings towards the Control Room. Although it was out of character for Major Hastings, he appeared somewhat impatient as this conversation was taking place; after all the President of the United States was waiting.

They arrived in a matter of moments, slightly ahead of the President and General McCreary; all of the players now in place.

Episode 9: "Eve of Destruction"

As the President and General McCreary entered, those in attendance, most of whom were military personnel, all rose in unison in respectful recognition of their arrival.

"Well, I'm glad to see everyone is in attendance," the President began. "It seems that for reasons beyond our control two days has changed the entire landscape. Our preliminary plans for the coming weeks have taken a sudden turn; I fear our time for decision making and altering the course of events has run short. There have been a number of developments on the military front, the most serious of which has occurred in Asia. General McCreary and I have been in constant contact with General Meehan at NORAD, while the Vice President and the Secretary of State will both be leaving the White House shortly; assigned to the bunker site in Ohio. And so everyone here today is on the same page, I shall now turn the meeting over to General Meehan who will give us an up-to-the-minute status report on current events."

A Corporal manning the main console flipped a number of switches and within seconds General Meehan's visage appeared upon the monitor, seemingly larger than life. The professional that he was, despite the serious nature of events, had a calmness about him that was almost disquieting.

"General Meehan, so good to see you," the President said. "At the moment we have all members of the Joint Chiefs in attendance as well as Professors' Enghult and the Conyers'. Will you please bring us up-to-speed on our current international situation as well as that of the Unites States?"

"Absolutely, Mr. President," Meehan replied.

Behind Meehan in the Command Center of NORAD could be seen a flurry of activity; military personnel scurrying about in a multitude of directions while others still were glued to secured communication lines with one player or another, all capped off with a huge monitor that consumed the entire back wall. It displayed a map of the world with dots and blips and blinking lights of various colors, the meaning of which was otherwise incomprehensible to anyone other than a trained professional. While others in the room didn't pick-up on it, Professor Enghult immediately recognized the location of almost each and every bunker site in the United States; glaringly obvious to him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Meehan began, "At the moment we have two critical situations going on, one being the war in Asia and secondly the chaos erupting throughout the United States. For those of you who are not aware, the Chinese out of desperation have severely overextended themselves and are now fighting a war on two fronts; one with the Russians in the region of Mongolia and the second being that with both India and Pakistan on their southwestern border. Just one hour ago our satellites picked up a number of low-yield nuclear blasts occurring in southern China. Our radar did not detect any ballistic missile activity, so we can only assume that they were delivered by the Chinese air defenses. It seems that the Chinese, learning a severe lesson from the Russians' response and being between a rock and a hard place have decided to use their own nuclear weapons to stem the advance of the Indians and Pakistanis. Based upon our imagery as of this moment we have only detected the use of low-yield tactical nuclear weapons. None of the countries involved have as of yet deployed high-yield ballistic nuclear weapons or missile delivery systems, however, our analytical teams anticipate that the leadership of all four warring countries have retreated to their bunker systems. This is speculative in nature, yet we have had some confirmation to this effect from our allies located within the region. While communications have been sparse, our imagery has also detected widespread chaos erupting in virtually all major cities in the region."

Meehan paused, knowing that this was a situation that logically out of sheer necessity could only escalate. With the total destruction of North and South Korea several months earlier as well as the recent use of multiple nuclear weapons, be they tactical or not, it was a precedent set that could not be reversed. Food supplies, especially once the embargo was implemented against the Chinese due to their confiscation of relief ships as well as the drought occurring in the Midwestern United States had severely depleted all available food supplies worldwide; the crop yields recently gathered in the U.S. alone had been fully reduced by one-third. Simply put, there were too many people and not enough food.

Meehan continued.

"Currently we are experiencing widespread rioting and chaos erupting in all of our own major cities. People are panicking due to world events and quite frankly, literally starving. Despite intermittent power outages our electrical grid has generally remained functional, but this is wholly dependent upon the continued support of our personnel at these sites; whether or not they panic and abandon their posts or see things through. Should the worst occur, we have our automatic shutdown systems at all nuclear power plants on standby, and this can be accomplished at a moment's notice thus avoiding potential multiple nuclear catastrophes. Despite the implementation of martial law and the presence of the National Guard in all of our major cities, our manpower is insufficient to contain the situation on any reasonable level."

Mitch and Anya hadn't been privileged to this information and were unaware of how serious things had become. Hearing these recent developments for the very first time, both turned pale and whispered between themselves; generally ignored by the others who were devoting their complete attention to General Meehan.

Upon hearing this there was suddenly a flurry of discussion amongst the members of the Joint Chiefs who began to envision various scenarios and strategies, however, the room quickly quieted down as the President by and large ignored them and continued his questioning of Meehan. The President valued Meehan's opinion greatly as he was in the "thick of things," and due to his location at NORAD had the greatest amount of intelligence available to him, perhaps more than any single individual involved.

"General Meehan," the President said, "I would very much like to hear your personal opinion on what we can expect and our possible responses to both of these situations."

The President greatly appreciated Meehan's insight and had for quite some time. President Andrews' question was very broad. General Meehan paused to gather his thoughts, not so much in that he hadn't worked out what the possible outcome would be or the appropriate response on the part of the U.S. and its allies, but developments were occurring at such a rapid pace and the situation was an extremely fluid one. After a brief period of silence General Meehan began to let his opinions be known.

"Mr. President, you ask a very complicated question indeed," Meehan replied, again pausing.

He stoically awaited the President's reaction despite the fact that not only was he willing to give his opinions fully, it was simply that he needed to hear the question asked one more time. Tensions were running high, and although Meehan didn't outwardly show his deep concern he was not immune to the gravity of unfolding events.

President Andrews never had to overtly threaten anyone in his entire career, neither during his time spent in the military nor that spent in Congress and then ultimately the White House. It had always been his tone that changed people's minds and attitudes.

"General Meehan," the President said somewhat indignantly at first yet quickly softening. "I have asked you a direct question. All opinions are valued at this conference, most especially yours. We are facing an unprecedented situation, so I shall ask you once more. What is your opinion on the matters at hand?"

Perhaps it was Meehan forcing the President to again ask the question despite knowing he was out of line. When the President asks a direct question, a direct answer is expected. That was the rule. Fully aware of the disrespect he had shown the Commander-in-Chief, for all of his strength and reliability General Meehan needed to hear it again, for he had a great deal to say.

"My apologies, Mr. President," Meehan said, now all business. "I have many thoughts on the matters at hand, as difficult as it is for us all."

The General quickly became the person that he'd always been, and the President would soon understand Meehan's initial reluctance to express his views fully, as he would hold nothing back. It was surprising that McCreary was quiet throughout this confrontation, yet he had known Meehan for most of his career and although above him in rank, held him in the highest of regards. He'd rarely known the General to be wrong in his interpretation of things, even during their time spent together as they went through West Point. McCreary had too much contact with Meehan over the years to form any other opinion, and so he remained silent and listened as Meehan began his discourse.

"Mr. President, within the next three days, if not sooner, it is my personal opinion that the world as we know it will cease to exist. What I am about to say is based upon the facts as we know them peppered with a degree of speculation on my part, yet also based upon the assessment of our analytical teams here at NORAD."

"And I put myself in the mindset of the Russians, Chinese, Indians, and Pakistanis. They are at war and their citizens starving. A number of nuclear weapons have already been used in this war which is occurring on multiple fronts. The Chinese as well as the Indians and Pakistanis have little or no choice other than to attempt to secure what little food stocks are left available, most of which is located in Russia. The leadership of these countries have removed themselves to their secured bunker sites. Escalation is inevitable; the widespread use of their full arsenal of high-yield nuclear weapons likely. It may be a matter of hours or days, but I believe it will happen in very short order. Although we have little or no communication with these countries, according to your prior orders we have broadcast our intentions that the United States and our allies will remain neutral and not respond in like kind. We shall defend ourselves with interceptor ballistic missiles and drones only and will under no circumstances use our own offensive nuclear weapons. If we do, it would be absolute suicide on a global scale, and our allies agree."

"Most of our bunker systems, thanks to Professor Enghult, have the ability to withstand a near direct nuclear hit, and possibly even a direct hit on any single one of these facilities. Our drone fleet will be used in an interceptor capacity only, and has been outfitted with EMP resistant guidance systems that we believe will also be able to withstand high levels of radiation, but that is uncertain. Despite disruptive electro-magnetic pulses, they should be able to continue their mission on an automated basis, but again that is not a given. Regardless of our transmissions indicating non-interference, we have as of yet heard no response from the warring parties. If and when nuclear war occurs, I anticipate a large number of nuclear warheads will be headed in our direction, and although we have the ability to intercept a number of them, we won't be able to stop them all. Our major population centers will likely be heavily targeted as well as our offensive nuclear ballistic missile fields in the Dakotas. NORAD will also be heavily targeted. If it comes to all-out war, using our own offensive weapons would utterly devastate the planet and we would be cutting our own throats."

Meehan paused as the President and Joint Chiefs took in this harsh yet realistic assessment. During the course of their careers each and every one had attended numerous roundtable discussions concerning various possible outcomes resulting from the use of nuclear weapons on such a massive scale, and truly knew it could quite possibly portend the end of mankind. The President was solely in listening mode and didn't take the opportunity during the General's brief pause to ask any further questions.

General Meehan again continued.

"Fully 50% of our citizens in this country alone will be lost within the first half hour when this inevitability occurs. We can only hope that our bunker systems are not targeted, yet the only thing holding back those inclined to do so is the threat that we will out of necessity respond accordingly, targeting their own bunkers. What citizens are not killed should this scenario come to its logical conclusion will be exposed to vast amounts of radiation which will take millions of more lives in a matter of months. There will be pockets, areas in the world that will not be targeted, but plant and animal life will be equally devastated. It's the "nuclear winter" scenario. While there is always the hope that the warring parties have received our non-interference transmissions, I am most certain that they will target our major cities knowing that their own citizens will be decimated by those who they are currently fighting. Couple this with the fact that the nuclear genie has been out of the bottle for a number of decades now and the hatred of the United States by countries too numerous to count, most especially those located in the Middle East, we will without a doubt be targeted. The Middle East, with its long-standing history of inter-tribal hatred as well as that of the Israelis will go the route of Korea; it will simply cease to exist. Most of the Israeli citizenry has already been evacuated over the past several months and allocated space within the bunker systems located in Australia."

"All global satellite communications will be down for three to six months unless adjustments are made; our satellite imaging systems will be unavailable. We will be completely blind for a period of time. Assuming the bunker systems work as planned, our only source of reconnaissance and communications will be our drone fleet, which is why it is imperative that a significant number be kept in reserve should this scenario come to pass. Forest fires will break on a grand scale and will continue unabated for months. Although most plant life will be decimated, it will not be completely so. There will be mass extinctions of various animal species. South America as well as Africa will not be as severely targeted since they do not represent a significant nuclear threat, but the radioactive fallout as well as lack of food will absolutely decimate the population on these continents, with losses estimated at well over 95%."

This was quite a bit to take in. All who were listening were well aware of the implications of nuclear war and the outcome of such should Meehan be correct. Theoretical discussions were one thing; staring it straight in the face was another. The room became completely silent as Meehan's words hit home.

After a brief period of time the President spoke.

"General, do you envision any other possible outcome or an ability on our part to prevent this scenario from occurring?"

"Mr. President, if we had more time perhaps that could be the case. But to directly answer your question Sir, no, I do not."

"Suggestions, General?" the President said.

"Mr. President, other than the steps we've already taken, none. We can only hope to ride it out as best we can and pray for the survival of what plant and animal life may remain in the southern hemisphere; assuming they're targeted on a limited basis. The continued survival of mankind for the foreseeable future will be underground for years to come, if not decades."

The President turned to Enghult.

"Professor Enghult," he asked. "How many of our 2,000 bunker sites have reached completion?"

"All of them, Mr. President."

"And have they been sufficiently stocked with food supplies?"

"Not completely, Sir, but sufficiently enough taking into consideration the suspension chambers which will minimize food requirements and hopefully further progress in the area of hydroponic food generation."

"All sites combined within the States have a total capacity of 80 million individuals. What are our current levels at, Professor?"

Enghult had to think for a moment. When the President had recently ordered that all citizens swarming the sites be permitted into the bunkers, the occupancy numbers had changed significantly.

"Approximately 68 million, Sir."

"And will this extend the overall length of our survivability? We had planned on more people within all bunker sites."

"Assuming the full functionally of the suspension chambers, which has already been confirmed, it will add an additional twelve to twenty-four months at the most. Assuming hydroponics lives up to our expectations, our overall length of time will be determined at a later date."

President Andrews then turned to the Conyers'.

"Professors, are there a sufficient number of chambers within the bunker sites as well as qualified staff?"

Mitch took the lead as he looked at Anya.

"There are a sufficient number of chambers within the bunkers, Mr. President; however, staffing levels need to be increased significantly."

"And in order to extend the available food supplies within the bunkers, how long will it take to place the individuals designated into those chambers taking into consideration our current limitations?"

"With current staffing levels, over two years allowing for sufficient medical preparation time for the subjects."

Mitch suddenly caught himself; he was speaking of living human beings as subjects and thought how odd it was that he'd chosen that word.

Professor Enghult had been looking at the monitor that General Meehan was on, the map of the world clearly visible behind him while the others in the room were glued to the President and his line of questioning. Enghult's eyes suddenly looked on in utter disbelief, and what he saw was startling; several red lines appearing out of nowhere from central China. Seeing Enghult's change of expression the others in the room looked towards Meehan and saw the main screen behind him in the Command Center while an aide ran up to the General and whispered in his hear. A commotion could clearly be seen. It almost seemed surreal as first dozens and then hundreds of red lines appeared. To a person everyone in the Control Room gasped; mouths agape. President Andrews looked over as General Meehan interrupted.

"Mr. President, our satellites have just picked-up multiple, repeat, multiple intercontinental ballistic missile launches emanating from the Asian continent in the number of hundreds, if not more."

President Andrews understood clearly; time had run out.

"General Meehan," he said, "Launch all ballistic missile intercept systems immediately and advise our allies to do the same."

"Understood, Mr. President."

Meehan turned and picked up a secured line.

It had begun - The Prophecy was upon them.

From the Author

Thank you for your purchase of APOCALYPSE 2073 (Volume 1) "The Prophecy." **I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed it, and if so please recommend it to a friend**. Once again, thank you so very much and best wishes.

APOCALYPSE 2073 (Volume 1) "The Prophecy"

APOCALYPSE 2073 (Volume 2) "Darkness Falls"

APOCALYPSE 2073 (Volume 3) "Redemption"
