Ernie walked into his office at Cibus. Meagan, his secretary, handed him his schedule for the day.
"Well," Ernie remarked, "it looks like today is less busy than most."
"I believe they let you take a small break because you had to go to that store. They don't make people travel that often anymore. I heard something happened on your way back."
"Yes. I was riding in the automatic car when it hit a slippery patch and spun out. It h—"
"The car spun out by itself? Are you sure autopilot was enabled? I haven't heard such a thing in years. Autopilot never failed for me."
"The car hit the snowbank and st—"
"I wonder why the car spun out? You might want to look into that. You might win a lawsuit."
"No thanks. So anyway, the car stopped dead, stuck in the sn—"
I can't believe this happened with all the new technology they've developed. There must be somebody that is to blame. Did you see any rogue drivers then?"
Ernie sighed and went to his desk. He looked at his schedule again, then started fielding calls. It was Cibus's policy to require managers to complete a portion of the work his or her employees did. He was the manager of the customer service department in the Boston-Maine District of Cibus, a chain of supermarkets and food distributors. His area stretched across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Because he supervised the customer service department, he took the complaint calls from the worst of the worst.
Warning sirens went off. The PA system for the building sent out its programmed warnings. Its generic, pre-recorded voice called the attention of all the workers in the building.
"A rogue plane has been detected in your area. Please descend to the lower floors until the threat has passed. A rogue plane has been detected in your area. Please descend to the lower floors until the threat has passed."
The inhuman voice repeated its unemotional message many times. Ernie and Meagan, along with the other workers in the building, scurried toward the stairs. Cibus only rented a few floors in the building. The building owner's protocol required a quick, quiet, and orderly exit of the upper floors. Because it was built to the latest building codes, its stairs were wide enough to fit the mass exodus of people from the upper floors.
"55th floor, you may exit," the dry, robotic voice stated. Ernie and Meagan went down the stairs, along with the rest of Cibus's staff. They soon reached their section in the ten floors which were built underground. Meagan began to talk. Ernie guessed it was to allay her worry.
"What do you think it was this time? Did one of those Christian fanatics get a plane? Or is it from the Muslims? I don't like religion; it drives people to do crazy things. One guy said 'Religion is the opiate of the masses.' Who was that?"
Ernie grumbled, "Karl Marx."
"Didn't he have a comedy show? A really early one? And aren't those funny glasses made like him?"
"I don't think so. Karl Marx started Communism."
"I don't like Communism. Hitler killed a lot of Jews. That's why we have Israel."
"Meagan, Communism was in Russia and China. Fascism was in Germany."
"Maybe it's just a false alarm. Maybe it's a test. You know, we haven't had a test in a long time. This is probably a test. Yes, it's only a test."
Ernie himself was too busy worrying to be able to assure Meagan. The hoped the warning was only a test. Ever since the E22 scare, rogue planes were treated like fires, earthquakes, or tornadoes. Each had its own thought-out plan.
E22 was as defining for America in its third century as the Civil War and World Wars combined was for the rest of its life. It caused the secession of Silicia, extensive ecological damage, and the downfall of the Republicans. E22 began on March 11, 2022, as a simple — compared to all that it became — oil spill. The circumstances were not unlike the Deepwater Horizon blowout. The event that set it apart happened two days later.
On March 13, 2022, two oil rigs were almost simultaneously hit with suicide planes. Without knowing this tragedy, a panel of researchers determined the cause of the first rig's explosion was a bomb, planted by a worker on the rig. Terrorists had never hit the U.S. so hard. Three oil rigs were now spewing their black mess over the West Coast and beyond. The international community knew very well how Deepwater Horizon had been taken care of. Now these rigs were deeper, larger, and farther from shore. Kane Roberts sure had a problem on his hands.
To be fair, very few presidents could have handled such a disaster. The first error President Hudson made was to require government control of the cleanup. The various oil companies already had a plan for quickly cleaning up a spill similar to the Deepwater Horizon. The plan existed not because a law was passed, but because the bad publicity BP received, once applied to the next oil company at fault, would smother its business.
The new technology the oil companies had developed for the purpose of cleaning up oil spills was not available to the government. Washington only had booms, burnings, and detergents to save wildlife, and even less experience on capping the wells. Coupled with a shortage of money, Hudson's administration could do little against the spill.
The three wells were still flowing, unrestricted, over five months past the attacks. Oregon, Washington, and northern California were enraged at Hudson's handling of the problem. Oregon took action first. On September 5, the General Assembly started a plan to cap the oil rigs and clean the shore. This plan had the advantage of Olivet, a regional oil company, helping with the cleanup.
Kane Hudson didn't like Oregon's action. He gave them one month to stop everything before he would take steps against them. Oregon continued with its plan. Washington, aided by Oregon, joined the cleanup on the 23rd of September. Newspapers and blogs recorded the tension increasing by the day. Would President Hudson finally accept help? Would Oregon give in? Would Oregon's defiance cause a second Civil War?
Gender:
Points: 1910
Reviews: 12