it was a formula for disaster…they all agreed it would be impossible to get up to speed quick enough. Alex is very concerned that the American people would begin to view him as a power hungry dictator…he is anything but that. He and Sandi were right in the middle of packing for their much anticipated return to California, looking forward to a well-deserved retirement when this situation arose. George, I am asking you to help frame the news to portray General Hanken as the country’s best hope for survival. With Alex at the helm...we have a good chance of surviving this catastrophe.”
“You let me handle the PR Mr. President. I can assure you the country is going to want Alex at the helm during this crisis, no offense intended to you of course. Off the record how do you feel our chances of surviving are at this time?” Neff asked.
“Preliminary analysis does point to a very high survival probability for our nation, but without a doubt the nation will suffer severe damage. If we have ocean strikes then our coasts are at risk. There are post event effects to take into account, acid rain, crop and food distribution interruptions, and potential disease pandemics that circle the earth. These things will take their toll as you might expect, but again the calculations don’t anticipate the U.S. to incur as much destruction as the European and Asian countries.
“Well, at least there’s a ray of hope in all of this gloom,” Neff said. “Mr. President might I add, your action to step aside, is not only selfless…it’s an ultimate expression of your patriotism.”
“Alex is scheduled to speak to the UN assembly at ten a.m. Eastern. I’d like to address the nation at seven p.m. with Alex going live to the country after I’m finished. Can you arrange this?”
“No problem sir, consider it done. Mr. President, how will you tell the average American there won’t be enough shelters to house two hundred sixty million people in time? What can they do or what should they do?”
“Let’s reserve that issue for Alex to address…I’m sure he has the perfect answer for that…we need to remind ourselves he has been here before.”
“I need to track General Hanken down to get more details from him.”
“Yes, I’ll call his office at the Pentagon maybe he’s there.”
Alex had just finished a phone call with Brad Cole at Nellis AFB, when his secretary announced.
“Sir, it’s the President.”
“Mr. President.”
“Alex, I have this pesky George Neff guy who wishes to speak to you about upcoming events. I’ve already filled him in on things and the need to maintain secrecy until after you’ve made the announcement.”
“Thank you sir, please put George on the phone.”
“General, why am I getting a déjà vu feeling about all of this?”
“You and me both, can you be at my office at say 2:00 this afternoon?”
“I’ll be there you can count on it.”
“Good, see you then.”
As George Neff approached the massive Pentagon complex his thoughts bounced around in his head like electronic balls in a game—get the story—to get reassurance everything will be okay—to stark terror. Walking into Alex’s office he was met by Alex and Sandi, the now famous Dynamic Duo as they were dubbed, who had put together the far reaching survival plan in reaction to the false asteroid threat. Sandi excused herself.
“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I have a full agenda waiting for me,” Sandi said as she left Alex’s office.
Neff sat down across from Alex and briefly stared at him. Both men’s eyes peering deeply into to each other’s mind then…Neff spoke first.
Alex let him speak uninterrupted; he knew this was a process every American would go through. Several times Neff would start a conversation only to have his emotions pour forth preventing him from speaking. After what felt like an eternity Neff summoned control and asked a coherent question.
“General, what can you possibly say to the American people?”
“George, I’ll tell them exactly what they need to hear, not what they want to hear; and that is they should use their homes as a survival shelter, begin stockpiling two years’ worth of fresh water and nonperishable food. They will need plenty of blankets for the winter months, the Surgeon General’s office will have minimum daily intake requirements published along with guidelines how to meet those benchmarks. Many will not survive; it’s a reality we all have to face. Those who do survive will be met by a world in a desperate struggle to recover from near total devastation. I’ll simply tell them the truth…they deserve nothing less.”
“Hopefully they’ll appreciate that and I’m certain there are those who will simply give up. The religious fanatics will be pouring out of the woodwork to whip people into a frenzy. I can’t speak for all of the media, but my hope is our industry will do our best to debunk those people. Am I right to assume you and Sandi will resurrect your original plans?”
“Yes, fortunately that part is ready. As you’ve aptly observed the movement of men and materiel is already underway it’ll continue unabated until we’re fully prepared. All my commands are on a 24/7 schedule until we’re confident we’ve done everything we can to prepare the nation.”
“General, the President informed me of your promotion. You’re now the only five star sitting General, the sixth in our history, this country is in your hands. I for one couldn’t be more confident in someone other than you. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to get ready for all of these announcements. Thank you for your time and give my best to Sandi.”
“You’re welcome… and George…we will get through this.”
Alex called Pete Cernak in Coeur d’Alene to check on the status of the main facility.
“Hey Alex, how are you?”
“Pete, I’m coming to that facility the first week in January and making it my permanent headquarters. How many of those two room suites do we have in place?” Alex asked.
“Well, there are eight private rooms each one has an office, with an option to build four more. Plus a total of five hundred individual rooms in honeycomb stack formation.”
“Get those options finished, inventory everything in all the facilities and get replenishments if needed according to the punch list for those sites.”
“Whoa, what’s going on here, I thought we were shuttering these facilities?”
“Pete, I’m not at liberty to discuss anything right now, let me say that getting those facilities ready by yesterday is not soon enough. General Monroe is sending two hundred troops to provide security there. They’ll be arriving there tomorrow morning. I want them housed in the other facilities, not the main.”
“Well, we won’t have to replenish anything. Last time you were here you left before any of the supplies were used. The remaining security people were bivouacked down at the new air base here in Coeur d’Alene. I’ll get the construction crew up here right away. I think they already have the modules for those additional suites in inventory. It’ll just be a matter of trucking them up here and bolting them to the floor. I think they built an additional two hundred of those individual units and they’re just sitting there. We have more than enough room to install them, along with another entire shower and toilet unit with sixteen heads each. The plumbing is a simple fix to add if you want.”
“Fantastic Pete, get it done and let me know the cost so I can wire the funds when completed. Pete this isn’t a several week process either, it must be accomplished in just a few days, if they have to work 24/7 in shifts then do it…whatever the cost.”
“Alex, you’re scaring me, something big is up. Can I ask if your plans include me and my daughter?” Pete asked.
“Pete, I’m surprised. Do you think I wouldn’t include my Project Engineer