Stone Age (7 page)

To:  Maxwell Thompson

From: 
[email protected]

Subject: WARNING - 90% Chance of Carrington-Sized CME Expected

27 June

WARNING

We are sending you this warning because we are now 90% sure that a Carrington-sized event will occur in the next 36 to 60 hours.

At least one CME (and maybe more) is expected to reach Earth within that time

We strongly recommend that you plan on many weeks or months without power or services.  Stock up your food and water.  If you are in the city and you can make it to a more rural area, we recommend you leave now.  Do not wait.  You no longer have time.

Stay indoors when the sun is highest in the sky, as you will be subject to anywhere from 500% to 2000% the normal radiation level that you would receive on a normal day.

All of these and other recommendations are listed in our free downloadable eBook,
The Solar Apocalypse Survival Guide
.

We will continue to transmit bulletins as long as we are able to.

For more information go to
www.CMEResearchInstitute.org
& click on “Bulletins.”

Onboard ISS

6:00 A.M. E.S.T.

The last time they received communications of any kind it was not good.  Both NASA and the European Space Agency warned of sever
e disruptions or worse from the CMEs that were pounding Earth, and the larger ones coming their way over the next few hours or days.  Thankfully, although their communication equipment was useless, their other systems were functioning and were fairly well protected against the coming onslaught.  The other five astronauts were going about their normal duties, as well as double-checking the ISS’s safety protocols and the two escape capsules to make sure that nothing was missed, in case they had to bug out quickly. 

They were about as protected as they could be, with their shielding specifically designed to take massive doses of radiation while in orbit above the protection of the magnetosphere surrounding the Earth.  Otherwise, they would have already left for terra firma now. 

Their larger concern was how Earth would fare in the next day or two.  From what R.T. read from the last CMERI Bulletin, the size of the one or more CMEs headed to Earth were among the largest ever recorded and they were coming fast.  Assuming they are as large as estimated, the devastation would be enormous.  He remembers reading a book called “EMP: The Escalating Threat of an American Catastrophe” which talked about what would happen if an EMP from a nuclear bomb or CME were to hit North America.  All power would be out for months, years, maybe even a decade.  The world as they knew it would be over.   All they could do now was wait and see what happened.  Wait, and pray.

R.T. stared, through the porthole before him, at the seemingly benign colorful clouds below and he felt utterly and completely helpless.

More Prepping

4:30 A.M.

Rocky Point, Mexico

Upon returning from his ranch, Max unloaded Miguel and a few of their supplies at Miguel and Maria’s home in town.  Then Max headed back to his own beach home.  Max never noticed the late model Chevy truck that had been tailing them the whole way down.  He had other concerns. 

About four hours before reaching Rocky Point, Max noticed a tweet on his phone.  It must have downloaded when he had WIFI service at his ranch house, since he didn
’t subscribe to Internet data on his phone.  The tweet was from @1859Storm, one of the Tweeters that he followed whose avocation for following CME data was better than any solar physicists, except perhaps, Dr. Reid at CMERI.  This one Tweet was one of his many daily Tweets reporting each day’s number of CME’s.  It read,
#CME summary: 15 coronal mass ejections in past 24 hours.  (For updates visit:  http://t.co/KlepA5unnr).

“Wow, fifteen in one day
,” he had said out loud, but not loud enough to wake Miguel who was sleeping off the previous day’s work in the front seat.  The sun normally emits anywhere from one to four CMEs during solar maximums and one every other day during solar minimums.  They were definitely in a solar maximum, so multiple CMEs were expected each day.  However, this number was completely unprecedented. 

Max couldn’t open the picture because of his lack of Internet connection now.  He considered this and all the other bulletins, emails, & Tweets he had received the past couple of days as he turned onto Avenita Mar De Cortez. 

He was no scientist, but he knew all the information was pointing to one thing.  He was out of time.  They all were.

He pulled into his other house across t
he street from his beach house, what he calls – to himself - his
beach warehouse
.   It was on a double lot between other lots already graced with two and three story edifices, all outfitted with many windows and terraces designed to afford sweeping views of the ocean over the on-the-beach homes, like those owned by Max and the Kings.   These weren’t technically beach lots, because they were on the other side of the street and their views were obstructed by the beach houses in front, so all were half or a third of the price of similar sized homes on the beach.  This made beach living affordable, or for many, with the lower cost labor and materials in Mexico, the ability to build big without the hefty price tag of a lot right on the beach.

Max’s lot and structure were built for a wholly different purpose, but were designed to look similar to all the other homes on either side of him.  His structure was three stories as well, but instead of a typical
second-story master bedroom with furniture positioned to take advantage of the stunning sunrises and sunsets, the large room contained the top of a 2-story 100,000-gallon gravity fed water supply tank.  It sat on a reinforced concrete pad, hefty enough to support a 15-story building.  Built around this, the rest of the house was an enormous warehouse, a two bay garage which were reinforced in case of attack, caged against an EMP, and insulated to protect its contents from the extreme heat of the Sonoran Desert summers.  In the warehouse, he stored enough foodstuffs and supplies to feed and outfit an army, or in this case, enough for two years of survival for him and his only family, the Kings.

The master bedroom, besides having two feet of a water tank protruding through most of what would be the floor, had a spiral staircase leading up from the ground floor and going up to the roof terrace.  Inside, the only furniture in the few
unused square feet was a lounge chair placed in front of the sliding glass window and balcony, which faced the beach and ocean.  Sometimes, when the Kings weren’t in their home, Max would park himself in this chair and enjoy the views and peace its isolation offered him by not being directly on the beach.  Some nights, he found himself sleeping in what was probably his most comfortable chair.  Then he would wake up with the window open to the sounds of the ocean, and the lively aromas brought in by the breeze.  He also felt safe here, even though it wasn’t as protected as his safe room in his beach house, but he loved the ability to see miles in each direction, especially from the terrace above.

The terrac
e on the roof provided the best views of everywhere surrounding their homes.  There were two chairs underneath a canopy for protection against the sun, where they could see any approaching combatant.  Others around him built their top-floor terraces to soak up the sun and the ocean, whereas Max built his terrace specifically to afford the best vantage point if someone or some group attempted to take what he and the Kings had.   Elevated above everyone else’s terraces for protection and secrecy, Max’s terrace had reinforced walls that could withstand bullets and an inside threshold on which the bipod of his new sniper rifle currently rested, with a special weather-proof cover, mostly protected from an unknown enemy below.

Darla

6:40 A.M.

Clear Lake, Michigan

A light breeze blew.  One by one, the sounds of morning, announced the coming day.  The flapping flags flying from their flagpole, signaled homage to the US, the state of Michigan, and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame; the calls of sparrows going through their morning rituals; the approaching roar of a jet ski, slicing through the calmness of the lake; the water lapping against the seawall from the newly created waves.  These sounds were part of the melodic music Darla King knew as summer at her grandparent’s lake home in Michigan.

Like her parents, when she was able, Darla loved spending the first part of the morning by the water.  When visiting
Mammie and Poppy, it was on one of the wooden Adirondack chairs, with coffee in hand, taking in the view and smells of the lake. 

At the last minute, she decided to make the quick journey to
Clear Lake Michigan, figuring it would be good for her and Danny.  He was off, plus she was done with her schooling until next semester and her aerobics class was finished for the summer as well.  She thought, why not get the vacation started right away, visit the lake and then back to Chicago late tomorrow before flying to Tucson to meet up with Mom and Dad and hang at the ocean at Rocky Point.  She would make any excuse to visit the water.

She loved the water so much that when she graduated from University of Illinois in Computer Science, she was going to get a job in California or Florida or any place she could be by water all the time and be warm.  Like her mom, she hated the cold.  Michigan was beautiful during the summer, but it sucked during the winter, and so did Chicago.

The sound of an older throaty engine echoed on the lake, then grew louder as the old girl announced its approach with pride.  A classic Woody promenaded by, with its occupants happily waving at Darla.  She didn’t recognize them.

The community surrounding Clear Lake was a close one, so it was not surprising that every third or fourth boat or jet skier waved at Darla.  Most remembered Darla, her sister, and brother from her parents bringing her here over the years. 
Just like her parents, everyone seemed to know her grandparents.  That meant lots of people would be coming by to visit, even during her short stay.  Darla never minded.  In fact, she thought it was pretty cool that so many people cared about her and her family.

Another engine sounded.  This one was testosterone-filled, its pistons pumping more rapidly.  Within a couple seconds, it floated into view.  This time, its driver was someone she recognized.  It was Steve-Something.
Cute
, she thought to herself, as Steve Something drove by waving.  She couldn’t help herself. Grabbing her Droid phone, she surreptitiously snapped a photo of him and his boat with her right hand, while waving with her left.  For just one moment, her eyes locked into his, her heart fluttered, and then Steve passed out of sight.  She opened her mail app, started a new email, selected Sally’s email address from her contacts and started typing out her message.

OMG, I just saw Steve-I-Can
’t-Remember-His-Name…  You remember him, my knight in shining armor who saved me many summers ago.  I also don’t remember him being that cute.  Of course, we’ve both grown up since then.

Darla added the picture to her e
mail.  

He just boated past me in a
…

She squinted at the picture, trying to remember the model.  Holding her thumb on the picture, an app popped up with choices.  She chose Google Googles and then Search.  About a second later, a search result page appeared with an exact match, a Cigarette 3
9 Top Gun.  Returning to her email, she pressed her forefinger to the last letter of her email and selected paste.

… Cigarette 39 Top Gun.  Not sure which was hotter.  Wish you were here.  See you in a few days. 

Love, D

She pressed the Send button and a
swoosh
sound announced its sent status.

“Can I join you?”  Her grandpa announced, still wearing his pajamas, but looking stylish in them.

“Sure.  Good morning, Poppy.”  She pushed up from the chair, making a smoochie-face and accepting his kiss on her cheek.

“Was that Steve Parkington who passed by in the boat?”  He asked, taking the chair next to Darla.

“Parkington.  I forgot his last name.  I don’t remember him being that good looking.  I hope we’ll get to see him while I’m here.”

“You will tonight,” Fred King grinned at
granting his granddaughter’s wish.  “Steve and his parents, John and Uta, will be here.  They’re all coming over for tonight’s barbeque.”

“Really?  Awesome.  I’m glad I brought a proper swimsuit ensemble with me.  I remember Steve, of course, but I don’t remember his parents,” she
declared, trying to take her Poppy’s knowing looks off the subject and taking the last sip of her coffee.

“You might recall they were over two summers ago when you were here, although Steve was probably in school at UM then.  He has since graduated and runs his own company full time.  John & Uta live here, but work in Detroit.  She is a manager at the large power plant there and John owns some sort of computer company that has something to do with sharing pictures on the Internet, I think?”

Oh yeah… Picshare.  I love that app on my phone
, she thought, really glad she made the trip.

“Your old friend Stacy Jenkins is coming over too.”  You ought to talk to her about sharing a ride with you to O’Hare
tomorrow night.  I think she’s flying out around the same time as you.

“I haven’t seen Stace in a while.  I don’t know if we will be able to share a ride, unless she can get one back, because Danny has to get to school when we get back after the holiday.  But maybe we can at least caravan and share a beer at O’Hare.  This trip is getting better and better.” 

“Oh and there’s a surprise,” he said with a smile, letting the suspense build, until Dar was practically bouncing of the chair, “Tonight is Clear Lake’s fireworks show.”

“Wow.  Awesome, I love fireworks,” she said gleefully, clapping her hands.

“I know.”  He couldn’t wait to tell her this when he heard she was coming to visit them, knowing how much as a kid she loved
oohing
and
ahhing
the fireworks displays on the fourth.

“Speaking of fireworks,” she furrowed her brow, “did you see the funny colored lights last night?  I thought maybe it was fireworks, cause my bedroom was lit by all these colors and lights, but I didn’t hear any sounds.  I was half asleep and was trying to figure out what they were, when I fell back to sleep, thinking how beautiful they were.”

“I’m sure it must have been the Woo’s next door.  They always have great fireworks.  They were probably shooting them off last night, but it’s weird that I didn’t hear them either.”