by Bobby Akart
The class laughed as one of the guys recognized the quote and chimed in, “But, Master Yoda, it is the lightsaber which excites me most!”
Stark continued to play along. “Young Jedis, you must unlearn what you have learned.”
“Yeah!” shouted one.
“Alright!” added another.
“Okay, calm down, y’all.” Stark moved to restore order. “I didn’t mean that literally. The universe is vast. We needed to get an overview under your belt before we start to talk about specifics. Today, young skulls full of mush, I will turn you into Jedi Solar Sleuths.”
This piqued Alex’s interest and she sat up in her seat. Stark wrote the word SUN on the board and circled it several times.
Alex was puzzled. Their homework assignment had nothing to do with the sun.
“It all begins here,” he started. “Without the sun, there is no life on earth. Without the sun’s heat and light, the earth would be a lifeless, enormous ice ball. The sun’s energy warms our seas, stirs our atmosphere, generates our weather patterns, and provides the photosynthesis to grow green plant life, which is vital to produce oxygen and food on our planet.”
Alex agreed. Naturally, it was fun to speculate on the topic of are we alone? One of the first books she read was Contact by Carl Sagan. She lay in bed at night, imagining herself as Ellie, and Jodie Foster, who played the character in the movie. Her imagination would wander to the massive power the sun held, and what would happen if it burned out. The risk of not using sunscreen was minor in comparison to the sun suddenly going dark.
Her mind drifted until Stark brought her back into the classroom with a question. “Alex, what causes an aurora?”
She sat up in her chair and replied, “An aurora is also called the northern lights. Sometimes the sun shoots out particles of energy that collide with our upper atmosphere. The result is a beautiful mix of colors near the earth’s poles.”
“Good start,” he said. “Auroras are produced when the earth’s magnetosphere is disturbed by the solar winds filled with highly charged electrons and protons.”
A hand shot up from the back of the room. “Mr. Stark, why don’t we see the aurora borealis where we live?”
“Good question,” he replied. “Who would like to take a stab at that one?”
No one immediately answered, so Alex raised her hand.
“Okay, Alex,” he said. “Obviously you’re ready to be a solar sleuth. Why don’t we see the aurora here?”
“For the aurora to extend this far south, the solar flare causing it would have to be very strong,” she replied. “It could happen, but I don’t think it’s occurred in recent history.”
“Very good, and you’re right,” praised Stark. “It hasn’t happened since we’ve been around, but it has happened before.” He turned to the blackboard and wrote 1859, then circled it.
“In 1859, the great geomagnetic storm, as they called it, hit the earth. There weren’t sophisticated instruments to record the magnitude of the solar flare that enveloped our northern hemisphere, but the auroras were so widespread and extraordinarily bright that they were seen as far south as Cuba and Hawaii.”
“So there is hope for us, right?” asked one of the students.
“Actually, let’s not hope for a repeat of the Carrington Event, as it’s now called,” replied Stark. “There were no electronics in 1859, but the telegraph operators certainly experienced the power of the sun. From coast to coast, telegraph wires exploded in sparks and the operators received electric shocks.”
Alex raised her hand after contemplating the enormity of what Stark just said. “What would happen if a solar flare like that hit our planet today?”
Stark placed his hands in his pockets and walked through the classroom with his head down. He paused to look through the classroom’s windows at the extraordinarily warm September day.
“If such a powerful burst were to hit the earth today, the energy could zap satellites, fry computer systems, and knock out our power grids. We would be welcomed back to the nineteenth century.”
Chapter 4
35 Hours
Noon, September 7
Ryman Residence
Belle Meade, Tennessee
“Mom, I’m comin’ to Siesta Key where it’s nice and cool,” said Madison Ryman as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. With the cordless phone propped against her shoulder, she turned on the television, and the graphic underneath the image of Meteorologist Davis Nolan at WKRN said it all—RECORD HEAT. She read the closed-captioning while her mother spoke into the phone. One hundred five degrees… ties a record set in 1954… no end in sight.
“Of course we will, Mom. I miss you too. Love you.” Madison exhaled and glanced into the backyard at the rippling, crystal clear water in the pool. No time today. She started separating the bags of supplies picked up from Party City. The informal get-together Friday night was intended to celebrate Colton’s Super Bowl success and would be attended by a couple of dozen friends, neighbors, and business associates. Bobby Bones, a longtime family friend and one of the top on-air talents at WSIX, would be there. He would provide a never-ending supply of humor.
Bones introduced Colton to Madison sixteen years ago during a music video shoot on Second Avenue. At the time, Madison was a graduate student at Lipscomb University, studying film and creative media. Before her dad passed away, he convinced her that being a debutante wouldn’t pay the bills. Once the cotillions were over, it was time to get serious about her future. Lipscomb University provided her an outstanding, faith-based local university that was well respected in her chosen field—digital entertainment.
She loved producing videos. At the age of sixteen, she produced an indie film titled Diary of a Deb, which gained her an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She was proud of her efforts and entered college with the goal of becoming a filmmaker.
During the music video shoot, she snuck away to have lunch with Colton, and they began dating. He was everything she sought in a man, besides his incredible good looks. He was caring and compassionate. He was always honest with her. Above all, he made her laugh.
They were married in a modest ceremony at First Baptist Church in downtown Nashville and immediately started a family. Colton’s career at United Talent was taking off, and she tried to continue her job as a creative director for Ruckus Films. For a while, Madison’s mother helped out with Alex, but after her mom moved to Siesta Key, Madison focused her life on the things that mattered most—Colton and Alex. She never regretted that decision.
Madison focused on raising their adorable daughter and providing the logistical support, as she liked to call it, for Colton’s social engagements. His position at United Talent required entertaining and social gatherings. At least once a month, Madison was organizing a get-together in their Belle Meade home.
Friday night, the center of attention would be on Colton rather than his more famous clients for a change. Her iPhone vibrated on the counter. It was a text from Colton.
C: Miss you!
She smiled as she responded.
M: Miss you more! Call after the concert tonight. Love!
That was all it took—a simple text to remind Madison of how much he missed her. She knew how busy Colton was, especially today, the biggest day of his career. Yet Colton was thinking of her.
The landscape service arrived and began their work. Despite the incredible heat, the primarily Hispanic crew got right to it, and the sounds of mowers could be heard immediately. It was just another day.
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS EXCERPT OF 36 Hours, book one of The Blackout Series. You may purchase 36 Hours on Amazon for $2.99 by clicking here.
Copyright Information
© 2017 Bobby Akart Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Bobby Akart Inc.<
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Dedications
Acknowledgements
About the Author, Bobby Akart
Author’s Introduction to the Pandemic Series
Epigraph
Prologue
PART ONE WEEK ONE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
PART TWO WEEK TWO
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
PART THREE WEEK THREE
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
PART FOUR WEEK FOUR
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Bonus excerpt from 36 Hours, The Blackout Series
Copyright Information