It was November 1st, 1952. It was hard to believe what I was seeing. The sky began to glow red as mud and rain poured from the sky down onto the Marshall Islands. Ivy Mike, the first hydrogen bomb, had released a force greater than that man had ever seen. The birth of Ivy Mike was the birth of the end. When I first saw what our nation was now capable of I believed that we will win the war. I had seen a lot of things during WWII, but nothing like this. I was Lieutenant Junior Grade George Edwards, I already had 17 years of service in the navy under my belt. However, all of that doesn't make a bit of difference now. Nothing matters now. The only thing that matters is how the only Americans left alive ended up stuck in government bunkers or caves scattered across what was once the United States.
It all began on a Sunday . It was a Sunday like any other, at first. I ate breakfast, went to church with my family, came home and read the paper. It was around noon when I received a call from my commanding officer.
There had been some technical difficulties with communications and I had been called in. I arrived at the docks half an hour later. For some reason the signal was being intercepted but they didn't know why. Like everyone else I suspected it was those commies trying to steal our secrets. I can't stand those bastards. It's because of them we were stuck in that damnable struggle. The rest of the crew and I tried to track down the source of the interruption, but we couldn't find anything. Eventually we gave up and moved on. The enemy was elusive, the commies always were. I never doubted that the problem could be right under out feet. But seeing as how we were on a military base over water that did not seam too likely. I knew there were spy tunnels all over the country. I for one had been in some of our own tunnels. They were cramped, a tangled jungle of cords and hardware, they were keeping us on our toes and helped keep a step ahead of the enemy. I remember the day the soviets found one of our tunnels only a few weeks after I had left it.
The issue was dismissed and I went home. Sitting in my living room I began to watch the news. Propaganda scrolled across the television. Support civil defense! Duck and Cover! Fallout shelter - sign of protection! For once I wished to find five minutes without having to hear about the war. But if you you stop how can you we ever beat back the commie threat? What, are you some commie? Do you want us to lose? TRAITOR! TRAITOR! TRAITOR! The war was the only thing anyone ever payed attention to. Sure I supported McCarthy working to stop the commies infiltrating our nations government. In fact I hoped he found them all, I might have been called in less on my days off. Even so, I'd like some real downtime once in a while. Serving the country hardened me in a lot of ways. I knew we had all of the nation focused on the enemy. Constantly watching for any signs of their movement so they cannot sneak up on us. Then there was the other side. The side that didn't know what to believe. They could be listening to everything we say and we don't know it. They could be listening to me, watching me every day. The bombs could be on their way down and before I realized that they were here I'd be gone. I already saw what we were now capable of after Ivy Mike, how do I know the communists have not stolen our technology and already have a whole warehouse of ten megaton bombs ready to be dropped. Forget it, forget it. It does not matter because that's not true. I went to bed and fell asleep, ignoring all previous thoughts.
The somewhat peaceful Sunday's pleasures were swiftly revoked as all thoughts of tranquility seemed to become a near impossibility as upon waking the following morning to the sound of a thunderous roar ripping across the landscape. I had waken to learn that the United States has lost all communications. All phone lines, television was down. The only thing working was a lone frequency the government managed to get working. We didn't know how, we didn't know when, but sometime in the night the communists made a big movement. All around the world our agents had been swept clean from enemy lines. The signals became lifeless as nothing but a faint buzz echoed on all frequencies. We had lost all knowledge of what the communists were doing. Whatever they did or were doing, it blocked us out completely. The nation scrambled to figure out what had happened and how all frequencies everywhere had somehow been blocked.
To top things off, as the day progressed rolling blackouts plagued the country as all hell broke loose. Looting and vandalism began to take over the city streets as people's worse fears appeared to be affirmed. At first everyone blamed the communists but there was no way to prove it, but like everyone else I decided to join in and blame them. How else could anything like this happen. I headed back to the docks to see if anyone knew what was going on. We had a visit from Vice Admiral Majors. He informed us all of the seriousness of the situation. "Men, as of 0100 the communist world managed to sabotage all communications. Apparently they had a well established and well hidden network not only in our above ground populace walking around in plain sight but below the ground. Combined these two forces rose up and disabled the nation. Not only are communications and power down, but they have stolen everything. Our data, our systems, all our technology is now useless. After they were done, the worst came. The electro magnetic pulse created by the release of a 15 megaton bomb wiped out all electronics. The warhead detonated at an incredibly high altitude reducing initial blast and most of the radioactive fallout. The communist world has attacked the United States leaving it devastated. However terrible this may be, things may be up and running withing twenty-four hours. We can only hope they do not finish their work." I had no idea what to think. I didn't think it was anything. Sure we were having problems the previous day but that was like any other it was nothing new. How could we let this happen? The only thing I could really do at that point was go home. I did what I could to keep my family along with myself calm.
I still remember exactly how it happened. As soon as I came to my senses I knew there was nothing else to do. As fast as I could I grabbed my family and drove us all back to the docks. There was a military bunker. It was fully stocked at all times, and still operational. The backup generators were not on at the time so the EMP never shorted it out. Telephone poles and cars lay strewn across the city streets as if some tornado had blown through but no, it was merely the rampaging fear that had been destroying the country ever since that dreadful day began.
As we neared the gates of the complex I could hear hundreds of planes flying over head. I knew it could only mean one thing. We all dashed through the blast doors and into the elevator. I yelled, "Move! Move!" I pulled the lever down as far as it would go. Right before I saw the sky for the last time I could hear a loud whistling and then a sudden flash of light as if lightening had risen up in all directions. The elevator began to descend faster and faster. The walls began to shake, the lights flickered, and a deafening roar echoed across the nation. The blasts stacked one on another till it was hard to differentiate between them all as they melded together into one great inferno. I jumped off the elevator right as the lights went out. I lay there, sitting in the darkness wondering what next. I could hear the mumbled whimpers of the other people around me.
It all started with the atomic bomb, and it certainly ended with some, not to mention a few of the bigger hydrogen bombs as well. Eventually the roaring died off, and the land lay still. Things were peaceful. Things were quiet. I had always wanted some tranquility, but I never imagined I might get it that way. But I got my time without the war, without worrying. After all, what else could happen?
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