by Parker James
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”