APOCALYPSE 2073 Omnibus

by Parker James

  “Are there any questions?” she asked.

  Absolute silence. Even President Andrews was impressed. Graphically depicted it was obvious that the food supplies would last much longer once the Conyers’ solutions were implemented. He was the only one to ask anything at all. The technology was so new and simply beyond belief that it was even possible that the others in the group had to simply trust in the Conyers’. Each and every single one of their lives depended upon it and in all probability all of humanity.

  “Professor Conyers,” the President asked pointedly. “Are you certain in your ability to accomplish this task?”

  Neither Mitch nor Anya flinched upon Anya’s confident reply.

  “Yes, Mr. President. With certainty.”

  The silence was deafening as President Andrews rose from his chair at the head of the conference table and walked over to the coffee urn, refreshing his cup. Again the showman, breaking the mood as all eyes turned to him. He took his time stirring his coffee slowly and then took a sip as he turned toward Anya, leaning against the serving table as he did so. He spoke in a casual and calm manner.

  “Professor Conyers. Thank you for your presentation. Dr. Pearson is to allocate the appropriate medical personnel in three days’ time and you are to begin stasis operations the following day beginning on a volunteer basis. You are to draw from those pre-designated to the bunkers who are already familiar with the procedure and are confident in its safety. The newer arrivals unless absolutely insistent will be placed into stasis secondarily as they become confident in the procedure as others precede them. I’m fairly certain that there a number of individuals we can draw from who wish to escape this nightmare and awake to a brighter future. And if that turns out not to be the case, then we shall proceed on a lottery based system. Once the suspension operations begin you are to designate personnel to hold seminars three times daily in the amphitheater explaining the procedure in its entirety.”

  “Yes, Mr. President,” Anya replied as both she and Mitch returned to their seats. They certainly had their work cut out for them, which was nothing new considering these past several years. They had not failed in their design of the suspension chambers and had no intention of failing in this effort either. And yet the President still had one more ace up his sleeve.

  One final presentation from Dr. Wilkins of Hydroponics and Bioengineering as the President put the final element of the overall plan into place. The Bunker Site Commanders were already familiar with Dr. Wilkins’ work yet the Joint Chiefs were not. Although they had been periodically briefed on the bunkers, often the more minute aspects had escaped them. Many of the Joint Chiefs had shuttled from country to country, military installation to military installation in the President’s attempts to avoid the nuclear holocaust that had inevitably occurred. President Andrews had poured through all of Dr. Wilkins’ reports the prior morning and was well versed in his operational plans. The final presentation would be for the benefit of the Joint Chiefs.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” President Andrews said. “We shall now hear from Dr. Wilkins, Director of Hydroponics and Bioengineering who is located in bunker five in the secondary ring. Dr. Wilkins began his report, going on to explain the basics of hydroponic food production, expected annual crop yields, and the potential of the project to sustain the bunkers indefinitely. He went into great detail and it was a quite a bit to absorb with many questions being asked by the Joint Chiefs. Truly this was the final element in the future survival of all of those contained within the bunkers. Upon completion of Wilkins’ presentation and the questions that followed it was President Andrews who once again asked the final questions primarily for the benefit of the others.

  “Dr. Wilkins, if I understand correctly you currently have three fully operational production units functioning with expected harvesting of those crops within 6 weeks’ time. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, Mr. President. That is correct.”

  “And am I to further understand that 12 more tiered units are randomly dispersed throughout the bunkers and ready for assembly?”

  “Absolutely,” he replied.

  The President then turned to Professor Enghult. “Professor, upon completion of restart of the power generation unit located within this bunker at 2400 this evening I would like to proceed with restart on unit number 4 located next to Hydroponics and Bioengineering. Would that be problematic?”

  “Not at all, Mr. President,” Enghult replied.

  “Should anything go wrong would bunker number 5 be in any danger whatsoever?”

  “No, Mr. President. Each bunker is sealed and independent for that very purpose, which is why tunneling operations are scheduled upon completion of restart.”

  “Approximately how long would it take if we were to simultaneously begin tunneling operations from Bunker Site 1 to bunker site five despite our prior plans?”

  “Approximately one week, Sir,” Enghult replied.

  “And do you see any other possible dangers should we choose this course of action?”

  “I do not, Sir.”

  “Would it impede you, personally, in any way with your current efforts if we were to begin tunneling operations on a limited basis to this one single bunker?”

  “It would not, Mr. President."

  “Very well, then. I would like you to have the tunneling operations to bunker site 5 begin first thing tomorrow morning. I want to meet with Dr. Wilkins at the earliest possible convenience and I would like you to have Miss McCreary on-site as your liaison in conjunction with your lead damage control team leader. Is that understood?”

  “Absolutely, Mr. President. I see no problem whatsoever.”

  The President then turned to face those sitting at the table and positioned himself so the Bunker Site Commanders could also see him clearly.

  “Are there any additional questions or recommendations?” he asked.

  After several moments had passed and being that there were no further questions, President Andrews gave his directives for today’s activities.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attendance today and your very important input. I think we’ve learned a great deal this morning and may very well survive what we have been faced with. Professor Enghult, Miss McCreary and I are going to tour the power generation unit in bunker 1 and restart is scheduled for 2400 this evening unless you are notified otherwise. The Bunker Site Commanders are to proceed to the Atrium within your individual bunkers and make your presence known as discussed earlier. The Joint Chiefs are to remain in this conference room and familiarize themselves with every single aspect of the bunkers under General McCreary’s supervision. Upon completion of my inspection I shall personally tour every square inch of this bunker site while the Joint Chiefs will do so tomorrow. General McCreary is to Chair the 1400 conference; I shall chair the closing meeting at 2000 hours from the control room. Professor Enghult and Miss McCreary are to return to the control room and continue with repair operations upon completion of our walk-thru while Miss McCreary will familiarize herself with tunneling operations under the Professor’s direction to bunker site five, scheduled to begin tomorrow morning. Are there any further questions or recommendations?”

  This time all replied in unison; “No, Mr. President.” All within the group were extremely encouraged by what they had learned. It somehow seemed like a roller coaster to most, global nuclear catastrophe followed by a glimmer of hope if all went according to plan.

  “And so this meeting is adjourned,” President Andrews stated as he, Veronica, Professor Enghult, and his ever present shadow headed toward the power generation unit for their final inspection. President Andrews couldn’t help thinking to himself as they were walking, “today is today, and tomorrow is tomorrow.”

  Episode 18: “The Dome”

  * * *

  Immediately upon conclusion of the meeting the President, Professor Enghult, Veronica, and Agent Phillips headed toward the secured elevator on their way to level 15 where the power generat
ion unit was located for their final walk-thru prior to restart at 2400 hours. Each power generation unit located in all of the 20 bunkers had its own dedicated staff independent of the damage control crews. They were highly trained technicians dealing with nuclear power generation, each having many years of experience to their credit. As the previous decades had progressed so had nuclear technology; less fissionable material was required while the power output had increased exponentially. Multiple redundancies were built-in allowing for vastly increased safety as space requirements became less and less. The technical advancements excluding the computerized diagnostic control systems were primarily in the increased simplicity of the units to the point that space requirements for the unit itself barely consumed 3,000 square feet within level 15. The unit was completely sealed should any unlikely situation arise at any given point in time and needed to be temporarily isolated or shut-down. At a later date the President as well as Veronica would go through all of the operational protocols and schematic diagrams, yet for now Andrews trusted in Professor Enghult who was completely familiar with the systems down to the smallest of details. Many questions were asked by the President during the inspection, not only concerning potential problems that might arise during the restart procedure but he even asked the most seemingly mundane and simplest of questions.

  “And what is this; and what is that; Professor?” were questions often heard by Enghult.

  The lead nuclear operations technician accompanied them on the walk-thru, interjecting only when specifically asked a question directly while the other technicians within the room continued their preparations for restart and simply stayed out of the group’s way. The President’s questions although seemingly simplistic at times primarily revolved around two simple concerns; what were the risks involved with restart and if certain things were to occur what solutions were available to them? Satisfied with the answers he had received final approval was given to Professor Enghult for restart to proceed according to schedule, but the President fully intended to be on-site within the control room throughout the evening as the procedure was performed. It was going to be another very long day and the President soon released Enghult and Veronica to continue with their operations in the control room on level 20. However, before doing so he asked Professor Enghult to assign a damage control team crew member to accompany him and Secret Service Agent Phillips on his comprehensive inspection of the primary bunker site should he have any questions that needed to be answered. Professor Enghult and Veronica departed while the President lingered for a short period of time, simply walking the floor and familiarizing himself with the knowledge he had gained, being very careful to not touch anything. Thanking the lead operations technician for his time both he and Phillips departed for level 20 where the damage control crew team crew member would meet them in the Oval Office. Upon his arrival they would shortly begin their inspection of the bunker site proper in all of its glory. As they arrived, Margaret asked the President; “Sir, may I get you anything?”

  “No thank you, Margaret. How goes it in the conference room?” he asked.

  “There seems to be a lot of talking and schematics being displayed on the monitors and gone over in great detail, Sir. General McCreary has requested a number of individuals be sent in to further familiarize the Joint Chiefs with the bunker system while Dr. Wilkins has remained with the group via video to answer any questions that they may have for him. The Joint Chiefs are quite intrigued by the hydroponic food generation program, and if I may say so, Sir, there have been many questions for the Doctor. Some of the Joint Chief’s wanted one of the Conyers to join them, but the General wouldn’t allow it. They were however able to send over a senior operations technician to answer any questions regarding the suspension chamber operations.”

  “And the Bunker Site Commanders?” he asked further.

  “They’ve all returned to their respective Atriums per your directives and are answering any and all questions on the part of our citizens regarding the bunkers as well as the cities that we know were specifically hit during the attack. Dr. Pearson has kept the grief counselors on-site while Father Emmet has continued with prayer services in the amphitheater. We’ve had no reports of any incidents of significance, so thankfully your desk is clear,” Margaret replied.

  “Will you be interviewing today, Margaret?”

  “I have several scheduled for later in the day, Mr. President.”

  “Good, then. May I ask a favor of you?”

  “Absolutely, Mr. President.”

  “I have a mission for the First Lady. I’d like Linda to visit the hospital facilities on level 19 but I don’t want her to bring Marissa and Rebecca along. I think they’re a little too young to absorb what they might see. Would you mind terribly if I temporarily added babysitter to your job description?” he asked politely. Margaret smiled, having performed that particular function in the past many times before.

  “Oh no, Sir, not at all. It wouldn’t be the first time. You know how much they love playing in the Oval Office; they think it’s their own private playground. I think we’ll just park them in there for a little while; they won’t be a bother. To be honest I think I’d rather enjoy the company.”

  “Thank you, Margaret. Linda’s more astute at these things than I am and at the moment my time would be best spent familiarizing myself with bunker. There’ll be a Mr. Joseph Maxwell arriving shortly from the damage control crew team to assist in my walk-thru of the bunker site. Please have him wait here while I retrieve Linda and the children.”

  “Yes, Mr. President,” Margaret replied.

  It wasn’t ten minutes after departing Margaret’s office outside of his own that the President returned with his wife and children. As First Lady Linda had performed these functions many times before and was glad to offer her services to comfort those in need within the hospital facilities knowing that her husband had more pressing matters to deal with. She would have been ready sooner, only having taken a short period of time to dress appropriately and gather up some toys for the children to play with during their stint in the Oval Office. As they arrived damage control team crew member Maxwell was already sitting quietly against the wall in the row of seats facing Margaret’s desk, seeming somewhat nervous. Both of the children sprinted to their playground as the President said his goodbye’s and thanked Linda for her meet and greet mission to comfort those in need. The President looked at Agent Phillips and gave a subtle nod which in turn Phillips mimicked to another Secret Service Agent standing outside the doorway to Margaret’s office. The point was made. The President wanted the First Lady accompanied on her mission and protected at all costs. As The First Lady and the Agent accompanying her departed with their given task, President Andrews then turned his attention to damage control team crew member Maxwell sitting against the wall, sensing his nervousness. Maxwell rose as the President approached and quickly put him at ease despite his position as Commander-in-Chief.

  “Mr. Maxwell, glad to meet you,” the President said as he shook his hand. “Jason Andrews. Do you mind if I call you Joe?”

  “Not at all, Mr. President,” Joe replied.

  Maxwell had relaxed considerably.

  “Joe, I’d like to tour the bunker site and learn everything I possibly can about it. I’m slightly behind on the learning curve. We’ll skip the hospital facilities and Atrium for now; I’m more concerned with the operational aspects on levels 11 through 20 as well as the Dome above us. Would you mind terribly giving me the grand tour?”

  “Certainly, Mr. President, it would be my pleasure,” Maxwell replied.

  And so the three of them departed as they headed to the elevator, Maxwell now somewhat relaxed despite accompanying the undisputed leader of what was now left of the free world. They were just two individuals touring the facilities that was now to become their new home. Maxwell however was mindful of who he was with but would attempt to impart every bit of knowledge within him knowing the importance of doing so.

  �
��May I ask you, Mr. President, if you’ve had the time to go over the schematic diagrams of the bunkers?”

  “I have, Joe. Thank you.”

  “Well, Sir, I’ve brought you a single page schematic of Bunker Site 1 which I think would be very helpful as we tour the facility. It’s rather large and quite intricate.”

  Maxwell laughed slightly.

  “I’ve been here six months now myself and I still find it helpful at certain times. I’ve also brought a tablet should you require more detailed information. It contains everything you’d ever want to know about Bunker Site 1 as well as the other 19 bunkers within the grouping. Forgive me, it’s only security level 5, but of course you could override it if you wish. Voice command is currently inactive; touch the screen and you’ll get schematics; double tap the area within the bunker and you’ll get real-time visual. Detailed reports regarding every single aspect of this specific bunker and the other 19 within the grouping are also available down to the smallest of details. You’re directly connected to the mainframe.”

  President Andrews quickly double tapped the screen visualizing the Atrium and seeing that everything was under control decided that the tour would continue. Surprisingly though archaic for the time the laminated paper schematic diagram displaying Bunker Site 1 was very helpful to the President as Maxwell began his tour with a verbal overview of the facility itself. The President listened intently as Maxwell apparently had been the right man to send for this particular task, determining right then and there that he would also be the same individual who would accompany the Joint Chiefs during their tour the following day. Maxwell had gone from being initially nervous upon meeting the President to being completely in control of his emotions and quite at ease. The President sensed his pride in the design of the bunker and the role that he had played in its final completion.