cent chance the comet will splinter as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. What does all of this mean to you? It means we don’t know what the extent of the damage will be to other parts of the world, but we do know that millions of people will likely die within days of the strike. Millions more will succumb to injuries, starvation, and disease. If the comet should splinter striking the Middle Eastern and Asian areas of the world, then those fatality numbers could triple in magnitude. At this time the residents of the southwestern and southeastern United States are in the path of the comet and it is expected to pass right through that region of the country. Expect possible air bursts of smaller jettisoned portions of the comet. These airbursts can produce ground temperatures of six hundred to eight hundred degrees; I urge you to take precautionary measures to protect yourselves from the potential effects. In the coming weeks FEMA will be disseminating to all citizens survival pamphlets that will help you prepare in advance of the comet striking the planet and steps to take after the event.
“Now for the hard part. Given the circumstances we are faced with it was suggested that I remain in charge of the country, the Chief Justice along with the U.S. Attorney General met with both the current President and President-elect. Congressional leaders were also consulted; all agreed that the upcoming inauguration and the reconvening of Congress should wait until after the comet strike. We’ll then assess exactly where things stand. Accordingly, I am declaring martial law effective immediately. All military personnel will have shoot to kill authority if anyone is caught breaking the law. Price gouging will not be tolerated and will be met with swift on the spot punishment. The punishment for this offense will be death by firing squad. Unscrupulous individuals taking advantage of this situation for personal gain is completely unacceptable. All municipal workers who manage the water delivery and sewage treatment systems from this point forward are hereby federalized, and must report for work as usual. If they abandon their duties, they will be tracked down and shot for treason. Both systems are basic to maintaining the integrity of our cities and towns. The same rules will apply to all power generation employees, police, fire, hospital personnel, and trash removal workers .
“Unfortunately many of you will not survive the comet’s strike, but not because you simply gave up. If you are to lose your life then so be it, but as God is my witness I promise you, you will go out kicking and fighting to your last breath. You should continue to go about your daily activities as usual, you must not give up. Everyone in some way has a stake in regenerating this country, this is not the end. We are going to survive this. The day prior to the comet’s expected strike everyone is to take shelter wherever possible and when it is deemed safe, we’ll emerge and begin the rebuilding process together.
“At this time, I’ve agreed to a question and answer session to be conducted by the panelists who previously reported my news conferences. Ladies and gentlemen, you have the floor.”
Neff began the questioning. “General, it is obvious that the time period needed to build shelters for two hundred sixty million people has passed what would you suggest the people do?”
“George, it’s important for everyone to know we have a website established to outline detailed information for what you’ll need to do based on your zip code. The website is www.survival/2017.gov. If you don’t have a computer or access to one, your local newspapers and post offices will have packets available with the same information. But as I mentioned before, FEMA will mail out survival guides to every household.”
“General, once people will find out there are survival bunkers for key government and military personnel, how do you explain to the ordinary citizen, these people will be allowed preferential treatment?” Carol Downey of ABC asked.
“Carol, your question pinpoints the most difficult of all decisions I have to make. It’s not just government and military people I have to consider, there are critical civilian personnel who must survive in order to restart the country too. Scientists, doctors, dentists, engineers, environmental specialists, and agriculture experts just to name a few. The survival bunkers you mention can only house approximately ten thousand people, the majority of military personnel will be exposed to the outside and in regular barracks no better off than the houses of an ordinary citizen. I’m determined to see this nation survive; my decisions will be based solely upon that one driving force.”
“General, I understand you are shutting down the White House and moving your command headquarters,” Tom Azner of CBS said.
“Yes Tom, after this broadcast I’ll leave tomorrow for a survival bunker in Idaho, the White House and all the Capitol Hill offices will be mothballed. Various Cabinet officers will stay on duty until the nation stands down which is scheduled for the day before the comet hits. There will be no interruption of government services of any kind including any payments. My command headquarters are deep within a mountain, I’ll be able to run the country with full communication capability from that location. Washington D.C. is located too close to the coast, I can’t endanger myself or my support team, it would leave the country with no leadership; this is the logical thing to do.”
“General, you mentioned the severe repercussions of anyone caught price gouging. What if oil exporters to our nation double or even triple the price of crude oil?” Lester Keller of CNN asked.
“Lester, all the money in the world won’t help individuals, companies, or countries for that matter, in fact post event I imagine that the world will institute a standard currency much like the Euro. I’ll go so far as to say any country that imposes a premium on oil is acting in a provocative manner and our response will be with equal disdain toward that country. With the U.S. being the number one food producer in the world, we would be the last one any country would want to raise prices to, my final word to that question is…what comes around goes around,” Alex warned.
“General, you spoke of the need for the average citizen, who is not assigned to one of the survival sites, to stock up on dry goods and water. What does your plan call for to address that?” John Vanity of Fox news asked.
“John, thank you for asking that question, because it is very important for our citizens to understand how this process will unfold. First, every street in the country has been indexed and assigned a unique number based on the block address number. Every household will receive in the mail that unique number. Local grocery stores will be assigned for that block to utilize for everyday grocery needs. In addition, survival necessities such as empty water bottles, batteries, and survival rations for storage will be issued from FEMA established centers throughout the country. The closest FEMA center to a person’s address will he highlighted and again assigned to them based on their unique number. Let me stop at this point and caution everyone, there is no need to panic, do not, I repeat, do not run out to the store and begin hoarding food. Grocery stores across the nation have already been put on notice to restrict such activity. There will be National Guard troops at every location, a zero tolerance policy is in place toward anyone creating chaos or inciting riots. We have massive amounts of food and survival supplies in the pipeline coming to all our citizens…be patient and don’t panic, I have not forgotten you, follow instructions as you receive them and you’ll do fine.”
“General you and I talked about this, the fact that we run the risk of religious fanatics espousing an ‘end of the world’ scenario driving people to commit mass suicides, essentially giving up. How do you respond to that eventuality?” Neff asked.
“George that is of great concern to me, but the doctrine of separation of church and state does not apply in this case. Any religious leader or an official of any organized religion who attempts to lead his or her flock toward mindless suicide, convincing them that there is no use in struggling to survive—and I stress this point to all those who fall into this category… will be shot for treason! I assure you God is not riding inside the comet Sedna/Kern and He will not appear in the nick of time to save the faithful. Our God gave each of us a brain to think, do good deeds, and treat your fellow man with respect. It was never His intention for us to act like a mindless animal and lay down before a semi-truck to be run over. He instilled in us a desire to survive; this will be one of the toughest tests He will put us through. If you have faith in God, then you owe it to Him to preserve your life… it was the most precious gift He gave to each of us,” Alex concluded the interview.
“Thank