Sweetness in the Dark (11 page)

Paul sat and looked at Amanda. He could tell by her facial expression that she was taken aback by the governor’s pronouncement. It was a shock. Already, Americans were turning on fellow Americans in a race for survival.

Paul saw the irony in it all.
Eventually, a people get the government they deserve
, he thought, as he remembered one of his favorite political quotations. And now it played out on steroids.

Political correctness had taken over in places like Portland and Seattle. Along with other big liberal cities around the world, time and money had been wasted on alternative energy, light rail, and other liberal ideas. Now those same people were being robbed and killed by all the criminals on whom they had spent so much energy trying to understand and rehabilitate.

Idaho and the other ISSC states had set a goal that they would not suffer a similar fate. Along with protecting the power grid and transportation system, the states had made plans for securing the nonproductive population of each state.

While an EMP or CME event had spurred on the ISSC states to act, the ongoing financial crisis in Washington D.C. had also motivated many in those states. With the Federal debt out of control, the more conservative states realized that the Federal government would face bankruptcy in short order.

When the latest Federal budget had to borrow half the amount to meet its obligations, the member states knew that their preparations for an EMP would also come in handy if the country collapsed into monetary chaos first.

With over half the population in the country receiving some type of government largess, when the money stopped arriving, many of those people would strike out at their fellow citizens.

The sun had struck first and now the dependent class was striking out at their neighbors. The fabric of civil society had been torn wide open as the criminal class attempted to take over.

“General Gale, I want to emphasis that any outsiders attempting to force their way into Idaho shall be met with as much force as we can apply. Also, we need to support our friends in Eastern Oregon and Washington as much as possible. They are our first line of defense. We need that buffer from the big cities to the west,” the governor instructed.

“You can count on it, Sir. Any word on our overseas troops making it home? We could use those experienced troops right about now,” Ed said.

“I’m afraid the Feds have been non-communicative lately. From reports out of Northern Virginia, Washington D.C. is a burning hulk. The Potomac River is the border now between anarchy and what passes for civilization these days. I’ll keep you informed,” the governor said.

The remaining advisors finished their reports. The advisor for the power utilities received applause when he announced that Idaho Power would be returning electricity to the Boise area on a limited basis today. The other more populated areas along the Snake River would be back on line within a week.

When initial word had been received of the major Coronal Mass Ejection aimed at Earth, Idaho Power had pulled the plug. That is, they shut the system down and disconnected as much as they could. This saved much of the system from the overloads that could destroy components.

Along with equipment hardening, this effort had saved much of the state’s power system. It was kept shut down while the sun continued to throw large CMEs at Earth. The Northern Lights that had illuminated Paul’s journey provided the indication as to when the sun would return back to normal.

Once the Northern Lights had disappeared over Idaho, it was assumed that it was safe to bring the grid back on line. Everyone turned to John for confirmation.

“Not to put you on the spot, Dr. Ewing, but are we safe to start things up? Or is the sun likely to hit us again?” the governor asked.

“Not likely, but no guarantee,” John answered. “The last CME event this large was right before the Civil War. Written accounts report the Northern Lights were visible all the way down into Virginia, but back then the only electrical device was the telegraph. The written accounts don’t mention recurring flares, so we can assume that the sun has released its pent-up energy and will settle into a quiet period.”

“But no guarantee? That’s not encouraging,” one of the advisors quipped. “We could get everything back up, only to go through it all again. And this time without the early warning that the satellites provided. They got fried in all this, too.”

“You want a different answer, get a different science advisor,” John threw back. “If you want total assurances, you could take the state back to the 1880s. Or, alternatively, manufacturers could spend a little more money hardening everyday electrical equipment. We got complacent. We wanted our cheap cell phones and cheap plasma TV’s, not worrying one bit about what lurked out there.”

“Gentlemen, I’m sure we’ll look at all those issues in due time. But right now, we’ll take the chance and get the grid back on line. That will go a long way in getting things under control,” the governor said.

“Governor, we need to discuss one more item.” the state Health Officer said. “The policy of detaining people currently on psychotropic drugs. These individuals are not dangerous to society because of their medication, but those supplies will be running out soon. Are we going to locate and detain them prior to them acting out?”

This had been a touchy subject in the past. People with mental disorders that would have required imprisonment in previous years now walked among the general population, due to mind-adjusting drug therapy. But with a lack of a drug supply, to have a person suffering psychotic attacks loose among society was only asking for trouble.

“Yes, we need to review all drug records. General, work with Public Health in locating all those individuals and placing them in confinement.”

Ed acknowledged the order and looked at the Public Health Officer. Paul noticed the Public Health official was genuinely holding back her desire to protest. In liberal states, such action would never even be contemplated. But in Idaho, reality ruled over political correctness.
Where political correctness had won the day, people were dying violent deaths from those wrong-headed decisions
, Paul thought.

Paul knew that the power couldn’t come back on soon enough for some people. He knew that Type One diabetics were doomed. Once their fragile medicine had gone to room temperature, the shelf life was severely shortened. But that was only one of the issues faced by diabetics. The disabling of factories that had made the medicine meant that once the current supply was gone, diabetics would start dying.

Others that were dependent on modern medicine for continued life would soon follow. Renewed electricity would help kidney dialysis patients, but lack of sterile needles would subject them to infections. Without new antibiotics from those same closed factories, people would die from untreated infections.

In fact, hospitals were generally useless until the whole supportive infrastructure was reestablished. As supplies ran out, doctors were limited to medicine as practiced in the 19th Century. All the modern breakthroughs in medicine were dependent on a highly advanced society. While Idaho and its member states would survive, it would be some time until a modern society could again support such advances.

As the meeting ended, the Idaho governor walked over and shook John’s hand.

“Thanks for volunteering under these circumstances. My Chief of Staff will fill you in on what we need you to do.”

The governor’s Chief of Staff took Dr. Ewing aside and began outlining his new duties. The governor walked to where Paul talked to Amanda.

“Dr. Kendall, I was hoping that you could help me with another matter,” the governor said. “I’m afraid that my liaison for local governments isn’t going to make it back from her vacation. She took a vacation to Peru and was there on P-Day.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. She was one of my students at ISE,” Paul recalled.

“Yes, I hope she finds assistance to survive. But I’m in need of someone to take her place until she makes it back to us,” the governor lied. Paul knew the chance of his assistant ever being seen again were slim to none. “I had hoped that you had a bright young person that could fill in.”

“Governor, let me introduce Amanda Savage. She is one of my former star students who just happens to be the assistant to the Meridian mayor at present. We were just about to give her a lift out there.”

“Ms. Savage, a pleasure. If I clear it with the Mayor, can you switch your duties and help us out?”

“Governor, if my mayor says fine, it would be an honor to serve the state in whatever function you need,” Amanda responded.

The governor was buttonholed by another advisor and was led away on another pressing problem.

“Thanks, I think,” Amanda said to Paul as they headed to the exit.

“I’m sure the transfer is just a formality. Meridian is not about to say no to the governor in this situation,” Paul said.

Paul and Amanda met up with John and all three headed to the old Chevy. As they walked toward the car, Paul and John fell behind Amanda. Paul quietly said to his brother, “John, before heading back to Bruneau I want to check on my ex-wife. I need to be able to tell the kids she’s OK.”

They left the secure parking lot of the State Capitol Building and headed up 8th Street toward the Boise Hills Drive. When Paul’s ex-wife had left for greener pastures two years ago, she had almost immediately hooked up with an investment banker from one of the big firms out of New York City.

Susan had finally reached the wealth threshold that had eluded her from being married to a college professor. The big house on the hill overlooking Boise was her new perch to survey all that she had accomplished.

Paul gave directions to John as they climbed the hill through homes of ever-increasing size and opulence. They finally reached a quiet cul-de-sac built on a ridge high above the city. Paul motioned to pull into a driveway.

A large stucco palace of a house with a tile roof loomed over them. A four-car garage was open and the cars were still in their place. Susan’s boyfriend collected vintage cars and the two extra spots held a 1968 Mustang almost identical to the fastback model that Steve McQueen had driven in the movie ‘Bullitt’. Right beside that was a 1957 Thunderbird that could have been a copy of the one from the Steven Spielberg movie with Harrison Ford.
What was the name of that movie?
Paul thought as he climbed out of the car. Paul looked in both cars and realized that they must have both been updated with new electronics, otherwise they would be gone.

His mind avoided the coming encounter with his ‘ex’. Thinking about old movies helped with the transition, as Paul walked up and noticed that the front door was open. It had been busted in, the casing hanging where the dead bolt had torn the wood off the wall.

Paul hesitated.
This wasn’t good
, he thought. He called for anyone as he stepped into the large two-story foyer. He froze.

Hanging in front of him was the bloated body of Susan’s boyfriend.
At least it looks like him
, he thought. From the look of things, he had been put into a noose tied to the chandelier and tossed off the upper balcony.

He had definitely been tortured before being thrown off the second floor.
Someone very angry had taken care to inflict as much pain on this guy before ending it
, Paul thought.

Then Paul saw the scrawling on the walls. ‘Blood sucker’, ‘scum’, ‘thief’, ‘where’s our money?’, ‘Helter Skelter’, ‘die scum’ and ‘bastard’ were some of the less profane words written in spray paint. Obviously some of the clients of this investment banker had sought revenge from the 2008 economic collapse that had taken the United States closer to the brink.

Then the smell hit Paul. The decaying body fouled the whole house. Paul pulled his shirt up over his nose as he carefully moved further into the house. He was scared of what he would find in the further recesses of the large house.

Paul checked the first floor and found no more bodies. He headed up the rear stairs to avoid the grisly sight in the front. Checking the numerous bedrooms confirmed that all the rooms had been trashed. Broken debris was strewn everywhere.

Entering the master suite through two large French doors, Paul held his breath. The stench was overpowering as he walked into the massive room overlooking the magnificent view of Boise. Paul paid no attention to the sights and focused on following the smell emanating from the bathroom. He pushed the door open and suddenly wished he hadn’t.

The woman that he had once loved and that had given birth to his two children was barely recognizable. Paul turned and vomited on the floor as the disturbed flies buzzed around him. He almost collapsed on his knees as the strength in his body left him shaking.

He stepped into the hallway to an open window to take in some fresh air. He stood and thought about the people that would do this sort of thing. Paul had also been outraged at the Federal bailouts given to Wall Street in the wake of the supposed ‘banking crisis’. As a trained economist, Paul knew that the Federal government had set the banks up to fail by allowing them to change from highly regulated banks into high-flying investment banks.

Wall Street had taken greed to an extreme. When their house of cards had begun to collapse, they had run to Washington, D.C. to get handouts for their excesses. Hardworking Americans lost billions while Wall Street recovered their losses. It was criminal what had been done in the name of ‘saving the banking system’.

Paul had spent many days explaining to his students that the basis of ‘capitalism’ was that it was a system of rewards and punishments. If someone had a better idea and succeeded wildly, they were entitled to keep the majority of their earnings. But on the other hand, if someone acted on stupid ideas and lost, they should be forced to accept their losses.

That was what kept everyone honest and careful. The risk of losing everything was the key to capitalism. When that risk was removed by interfering governments, then people naturally extended their risk out to infinity.
At least the big, well-connected risk takers continued
, Paul thought.
No one helped out the small investor with their losses
.