Extinction Level Event (35 page)

Manjak decided to fly in to California to help
coordinate the relief effort at the place of origin. Frankly, it
didn't matter where he was; there was hardly any real solution to
the global disaster that one man could make. At least he would be
helping the US authorities cut down in delays, hopefully shelve
disorganization in half, and see if he could get any UN bodies to
help. The US had been staunchly reluctant to allow UN agencies to
intervene on US soil, so far all problems internally in the US had
been the responsibility of national and local US agencies and not
the responsibility of the UN. The government had, as a matter of
fact, strictly prohibited any UN forces, including humanitarian
units, from entering the US.

Which really is not the best approach, considering
that the US wants to be a role model for the rest of the world. We
need coordinated efforts, not stand-alone heroic bullshit
.
Manjak sighs, continuing to look out the window. Thinking about the
state of the world, it is quite surprising, as a whole, that
flights are still flying relatively on schedule throughout the US.
Or for that matter, throughout the world. Yet, in a way it was
quite logical that international air travel had not suffered the
same way as had agriculture, the timber industry, or any other
economic activity that depended on plants. While ecosystems had
disappeared, oil continued to be extracted out of the ground from
Saudi Arabia to Venezuela. There was no correlation between the
number of earthworms present and the quantity of oil in a given
area.
For that matter
, Manjak thought,
in a few million
more years there should be huge new deposits of crude petroleum
from the decaying bodies of the ecosystems lost today. And so the
cycle begins anew.
The petroleum continued to be sucked out of
far-flung deserts and wayward ocean drills to be exported to the
centers of industry and commerce.
So at least our cars, planes,
and for that matter the whole transportation system is still
running. Which has helped FAO a lot these last three
months.

And for the time being, the globe was still held
together by the two forces that have globalized it during the first
decade of the twenty-first century. The Internet still connected
millions of homes and billions of the planets' residents through
trillions of electrical impulses carried out by an innumerable
quantity of underwater fiber-optic carrying wires and Wi-Fi
microwaves. information still flowed across the globe, unhampered
by biological processes that were essentially an isolated system
from the technological forces of globalization. In addition,
international air travel continued to be as safe and reliable as it
had been in the previous year. Airlines continued to receive the
kerosene necessary to keep their fleets in the air from the oil
companies, which in turn kept passengers flying as they always do
for business and leisure activities. The only difference was that
now most major airlines didn't serve food on their flights. The US
phenomenon of "pay-for-your-food" was now copied globally for
short-haul and long-haul flights. And if food on the ground was
thought to be expensive, the airlines thought it fair to charge
totally exorbitant prices in the air to passengers who had no
choice but to either bring their own food or purchase on-board. To
make matters even less entertaining to passengers, the food sold on
board came in even smaller quantities than before and its new form
lowered the already low reputation that airline food suffered
overall. To many frequent travelers, this change in the airlines'
attitudes may have been a bit upfront but it was an understandable
change. To most other people, though, it came as a surprise that
the airlines continued to offer food in the first place. With so
many species of crop dying out, diet variety was one of the first
and foremost things to be disrupted in the lives of people in
developed countries around the globe.

Manjak isn't in California to save the thousands of
dying species. Just one of them. Homo Sapiens Sapiens, that naive
yet supremely capable species that is as weak as any domesticated
cat yet also as hardy as a voracious sewer rat. While the fields of
Californian grapes, lettuce, oranges, and flocks of chickens have
succumbed to the terrible chain of events following that first
fateful day, humanity at ground zero remains as resilient as ever.
However, disorganization and misuse of resources are critical
issues in Manjak's mind that need to be addressed in person. Even
though the UN has no jurisdiction in California, under US federal
law, he may still come over as an advisor to the government. He
hopes that two days will be enough.

The plane makes a sharp left bank. The view out of
the window gives Manjak another glimpse of the decaying landscape
outside of LAX airport. Although the runways are located at the
waterfront, the few patches of trees that surround the airport are
not the vibrant green that they used to be. The rest of the
landscape is full of rowhouses typical of west Los Angeles. The
plane lands on time, and thirty minutes after jostling through the
airport crowds, which while smaller than before are still sizable
at LAX, Manjak picks a cab and heads downtown. A slow
bumper-to-bumper ride adds another forty minutes before Manjak
arrives in front of FEMA's temporary headquarters in the city's
downtown.

The building being used by the joint FEMA-USDA
emergency administration is no other building than the city hall of
Los Angeles. The gleaming white facade of central tower jutts out
from the building's base, proudly displaying the strength and pride
that most Angelenos feel for their city. Even in the harsh climate
of the last six months, the feelings of intense loyalty and sense
of being able to stand the tide of negative things is still etched
on the faces of ordinary Angelenos along the streets. Manjak gets
out of the taxi, pays his bill, and runs up the stairs to bump into
a cohort of armed LAPD officers who immediately move to prevent his
ascent. A Lieutenant appears inbetween his men as Manjak is stopped
by an open palm to his chest. "This is a restricted area, sir.
Please state your business here.", comes the expected statement
from the detachments' lieutenant. Manjak doesn't even bother
responding verbally. Dressed in a fashionable yet practical
business suit, Manjak simply takes out his diplomatic UN passport
and passes it to the police officer. After a quick scan, the
officer hands the passport back to Manjak and motions him forward.
"Sorry for the delay, sir. A necessary precaution, I'm sure you'll
understand". Manjak already knew the reason. After there had been
several small riots in the city over government food ration
distribution policies, the police presence had been increased to
prevent such disturbances from occurring again. However, beneath
the quiet facade there still simmered a deep heated tension between
many of Los Angeles' poorer residents and the government of
California over the perceived inequity of distribution.

That was partially what Manjak hoped to improve here.
Entering the city hall Manjak is greeted by droves of FEMA and USDA
officials, secretaries, Food agency workers, and others that have
taken up residence in the old masonry building. One of the
government employees waiting at the reception desk comes over and
recognizes him from the news. "Mr. Manjak? Please come this way."
Leading him to an elevator, the receptionist takes Manjak through a
speedy ten floor ascent to the top of the city hall's tower. The
glass windows give an impressionable view of the Los Angeles
downtown skyline, which consists of approximately a dozen supertall
skyscrapers clustered together, surrounded by much lower
development. Michael McCarthy looks up from his phone when Manjak
knocks on his door, motioning for Manjak to enter.

"Hey Trip. Come on in. Give me a minute" as he holds
the phone between his shoulder and chin. After hanging up, McCarthy
asks, "So what made you get on a plane from New York to California
so quickly? You were just in New York, right?" "Hmmm, so what made
you become director of all USDA-FEMA operations for the West Coast
so quickly?", retorted Manjak politely, seeing McCarthy take a
moment to make up answer. Before that, though, Manjak continued,
"well, I thought you might use some UN oversight. I'm here
unofficially, but I am here nonetheless. For about two days, before
I have to fly to New York and then to Rome. Its amazing that we
still have a functioning airline network." "For now. For now."
replies McCarthy. "ok, so while you have been on your world tour,
it has been pretty busy here." "Where is LaJoy? He was in charge
when we put together the International Task Force three months
ago." "LaJoy is dead" comes the somber response. "Killed by angry
rioters in a freak incident." "Sorry to hear that." Yeah, well. In
this world things happen; and because of that promotions tend to
happen even faster." "Shall we get down to it?" "Sure thing".

"Alright. Let me see your relief coordination plans,
GIS maps for sectors hardest hit, personnel deployment, relief
center setup. Basically everything you can get me." "This will
probably work easier if I just show you. You can follow and advise
me for the next day or two, if that is how you wanted to do this."
"Sounds good to me."

The duo of agriculture specialists make their way out
of the high-rise office back into the elevator. Descending four
floors, they exit the elevator to enter a control-room full of LCD
screens, monitors, map images, dozens of workers on phones,
technicians running displays, and in general a sort of organized
mayhem. "This is our control room for all West coast relief
operations," explains McCarthy. "Every major city has multiple
relief centers set up where we distribute food rations based on
coupons which are also given to people at the centers. This way
security only has to worry about the centers." "Where do you get
food from?", inquires Manjak, although he suspected he already knew
the answer. "Farms out in the midwest and Northeast have been
completely isolated by the Mississippi River and a huge
decontamination program undertaken last month. You may have heard
of it. After the Secretary of Defense recommended it we took to
"decontaminate" the Mississippi by pouring a huge amount of
antibacterial solution into the river. That barrier has allowed
prime farmland in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and so
forth to remain isolated from the virus. Thus we still have a food
source, although it is just not enough to sustain us". "The point
is you still have half the breadbasket intact and are making good
use of it". "We were following your ideas; such as your isolation
scheme of the Nile River Valley. We just followed the example, more
or less."

"I'm flattered. No really. But you know, I made sure
every government around the world got a copy of FAO's
recommendations last October." "We did receive a copy. Way back. I
read the entirety of it. And put it to good use, naturally."
McCarthy pauses, while leading Manjak around a massive 100-inch
monitor displaying a myriad color image of the west American coast
with geopolitical boundaries. "This is our comprehensive map of the
West Coast and Mexico. The green represents remaining forest and
chlorophyll plants." Manjak sees that most of the screen is a blot
of brown, with only a few pockets of green lining the northern
border with Canada.

We are losing ground so rapidly. Gaia is winning
this war.
Manjak walks over to a smaller monitor where a FEMA
worker is issuing instructions over his headphones. The FEMA
employee's voice betrays frustration and irritation that he is
trying failingly to contain. Manjak steps closer to listen in to
the conversation.

"Just make sure they don't get within twenty feet of
the containers.", he repeats for the third time to the headset.
Manjak leans closer, asking softly to avoid his voice going over
the air as well, "What seems to be the problem?" The man looks up
at Manjak, a paradoxical combination of annoyance and relief on his
face; annoyance for being distracted, yet relieved to find someone
else to handle the situation. "Sir, we have people blocking the
traffic on East Alondra Drvie in Compton. One of our convoys can't
get through", replies the man. "What do you mean, is blocking our
convoy?", asks Manjak. "Three vans have halted traffic at the site,
and have blockaded the road," explains theoperator, "Our guys say
they can't continue to deliver their supplies-- hold on". The man
puts the headphone closer to his ear, his face palling even more
than its natural state as he tries to make out the situation at the
other end of the line.

Manjak hears a lot of commotion and shouting over the
headphone line, but due to his two feet of distance between him and
the controller, as well as the controller's head, it comes out as
garbled and hardly recognizable. The operator's face has become
ashen at this point, as the radio static confirms his initial
fears. "They've been hijacked. We need to get Director McCarthy
here immediately!", he cries out as he reaches for another phone.
"Are you sure?", asks Manjak, "We don't want to be making errors
here." "He said they had Ak-47s right before the line went out, and
I heard them being told to get their hands in the air and
everything. The convoy is in the crosshairs of a gang or
something!"

McCarthy, being only a few cubicles away, walks over
faster than the Flash when Manjak calls out his name. "What is it?"
"Sir", replies the operator, "We've lost contact with Convoy 6A as
they were going along East Alondra Drive in Compton. Thats to the
south of here. Their lead vehicle was ambushed by several grey GM
vans, they got out to find out that the men in the vans looked like
gang members. I told them to stay back, when the men got out with
what are probably Ak-47s and other small arms and told our guys to
get their hands in the air. I heard some yelling and scuffling
after that, and the line went out" The man swallowed hard before
continuing, "Their GPS is still working though" "Where are
they?"growls McCarthy. "At the intersection of East Alondra and
South Harris. It's located in a residential neighborhood" replies
the operator.