ok so the first two parts have been pretty good.
http://theprepperproject.com/aftermath-part-bug/
What Will Life Look Like When The Lights Go Out?
June 9, 2014
Bug Out Bags
Aftermath Series
When it hit, it wasnt like the movies, there were no zombies. It wasnt World War III, and the attack itself was barely visible. The aftermath, however, was far worse than any Hollywood movie could ever portray. A weakened world economy paved the way for what would become known as worst rash of cyber terrorism in the history of the human race. With a crippling national deficit and costly military actions, coupled with a plummeting G.D.P. from the mass exodus of American jobs to foreign markets, the United States government couldnt afford the best and brightest computer scientists anymore. Unfortunately for America, and the rest of the world, the ones who could afford the top minds in computer science were also the ones who wished to cause harm to disrupt the free world, and use the power of technology to their own selfish ends.
Drug lords, terrorist groups, extremists the people who made their money illegally had plenty of it. Shootings and bombings had suddenly become obsolete once the enemies of the free world acquired the power to attack and wreak havoc using computers. It started small enough; identity theft on a mass scale, attacks on credit card companies, border control databases, city surveillance, but then they crashed Wall Street. After that, things got worse and worse, government documents were stolen and sold on the black market, attacks were made on power grids and municipalities, the very infrastructure of America and major cities around the world were beginning to lose stability. By the time they began accessing military operational commands via the Pentagon mainframe, governments around the world had no choice but to take it all out and attempt to start over.
Without warning, the government detonated massive E.M.P. devices in every major city. America first, then most of Europe, Asia, and onward, each continent going dark, city by city, like falling dominoes. Within a week, there wasnt a single inhabited area on the planet that hadnt had its electronics fried by the devices. All of the technology, vehicles, and machines that relied on electricity had become nothing more than empty useless shells of a once prosperous and advanced society, and the world as it was known was completely and devastatingly changed.
Jason Jones was a man who paid attention. A veteran with twenty-two months of service in both Iraq and Afghanistan, he was no stranger to the chaos and violence that existed in his fellow man, no stranger to the atrocities men were capable of when the conditions were right. As each days news reports poured in, telling of the continuing cyber attacks and growing instability around the country in the months leading up to what had been dubbed Dark Dawn, Jason knew better than to trust the talking heads and politicians who assured everyone that everything was under control.
He loved his country, and his countrymen, hed proven that by earning his decorations in combat, including two silver stars for bravery, and the purple heart for taking three shards of shrapnel in his right leg from an I.E.D.. But he also loved his family, and knew that there could come a time when the systems in place to keep them safe would fail. It was this love for his two sons Jim and Dale, his wife Patricia and his young daughter Cathy that pushed Jason to prepare, to become self-reliant, to ignore the mutterings from his neighbors about paranoia and overzealous behavior and to plan for what he hoped would never happen.
He was at work on that steamy morning in early July when the E.M.P. device was detonated in the heart of downtown Chicago. His warehouse supply companys headquarters, which occupied the fourteenth floor of one of Chicagos smaller skyscrapers, was in a frenzy.
Theyd been trying to respond to a lost shipment of forklifts that had been shipped but never received. Jason had suspected cyber terrorists and had put in a formal complaint with the Pentagons new cyber terrorist prosecution department, which was needless to say, unimaginably backlogged with thousands of similar requests from all over the country. All of a sudden there was a great sucking thud from outside, like a blast from a tuba, low and resonant and loud enough to shake the windows of the building. The entire office fell silent. The usual cluttering noise of ringing phones, clicking computer keyboards and whining printers was replaced by a haunting stillness in the wake of the echoing thud outside. The lights, the screens, cell phones, emergency systems, everything had gone dark.
In an instant, Jason recognized the onset of something much larger than a power grid failure. He ran to the window and looked out over the city, the intersections below were jammed with smashed vehicles, not a single car or truck or motorcycle moved, all the other office windows of the adjacent buildings were dark, no planes, no choppers, nothing. Nothing moved outside, except for the people exiting their cars and wandering around in confusion. Around him, his co-workers were cursing the utilities company, and wondering aloud what had happened to their cell phones, and how long it would be until they had the power back on. There was only one word in Jasons mind as he gazed out over the mounting chaos on the streets below, Bug-out.
He turned, and headed for his office, but stopped half way, remembering that as the boss, he was responsible for his employees safety.
Listen up people! he shouted over the rising din of complaints, I dont believe were dealing with an ordinary situation here.
The office fell deadly silent again as the fourteen employees all turned to face their boss with looks of concern in their eyes.
I cant say exactly whats happened, but if you look out the window, it seems to be effecting far more than just our building.
A few employees close to the window, looked out and gasped at the stopped traffic and gathering crowds.
Whats going on? asked Brenda, Jasons sales team manager.
Like I said, Jason continued to address the crowd, Im not exactly sure whats happening, but I know its big, so Im shutting down the office and advising you all to get home immediately. What about our families, my cell phones dead, and I cant reach my wife! Chris, from accounting called out over the commotion brewing amongst the employees.
Dont you have a bug-out plan? asked Jason. A what?
A bug-out plan! Jason repeated, A set of protocol to follow in case of emergencies! Jason couldnt believe that he had to explain it.
No Chris said softly, with a look of worry on his face.
Okay, look, Jason said to the agitated workers, The most important thing you can do is to get home, and gather food and water, and secure your house. Jason looked around the room at the astonishment and fear on the faces of his employees and knew that none of them had made bug-out plans, or had any idea what one was until the moment hed explained it. He felt sorry for them, but it was too late now, he thought. Time is of the essence, and each minute wasted, the window for getting home safely could be closing. Remember, he said once more to the crowd, Get home, gather food, water, and lock your doors. It was the best advice he could give to the unprepared group of employees, but he knew there was so much more to be done. Even getting out of the city was going to be difficult, he thought, and Im sure none of them are prepared for whats to come.
Good luck! he said, and walked into his office and closed the door. He reached into the bottom drawer of his desk, and retrieved a compact Kevlar pack, light and durable, and packed to the brim with supplies. Jason pulled the drawstrings and riffled through his Get Home Bag. He pulled out a pair of hiking boots and set them on the desk. Reaching in again, he retrieved his folded map of downtown Chicago, one of the three bottles of water, and the small Beretta 9mm pistol. He double checked the rest of the gear before closing the bag pry bar, medical supplies, a day and a half worth of freeze dried food, window punch, whistle, compass, long sleeve shirt, extra socks and underwear, and a pair of black tactical pants and two red bandanas. The noise outside the office had grown into an uproar as the employees grabbed their things preparing to leave, some still trying the phones in desperation.
http://theprepperproject.com/aftermath-part-bug/
What Will Life Look Like When The Lights Go Out?
June 9, 2014
Bug Out Bags
Aftermath Series
When it hit, it wasnt like the movies, there were no zombies. It wasnt World War III, and the attack itself was barely visible. The aftermath, however, was far worse than any Hollywood movie could ever portray. A weakened world economy paved the way for what would become known as worst rash of cyber terrorism in the history of the human race. With a crippling national deficit and costly military actions, coupled with a plummeting G.D.P. from the mass exodus of American jobs to foreign markets, the United States government couldnt afford the best and brightest computer scientists anymore. Unfortunately for America, and the rest of the world, the ones who could afford the top minds in computer science were also the ones who wished to cause harm to disrupt the free world, and use the power of technology to their own selfish ends.
Drug lords, terrorist groups, extremists the people who made their money illegally had plenty of it. Shootings and bombings had suddenly become obsolete once the enemies of the free world acquired the power to attack and wreak havoc using computers. It started small enough; identity theft on a mass scale, attacks on credit card companies, border control databases, city surveillance, but then they crashed Wall Street. After that, things got worse and worse, government documents were stolen and sold on the black market, attacks were made on power grids and municipalities, the very infrastructure of America and major cities around the world were beginning to lose stability. By the time they began accessing military operational commands via the Pentagon mainframe, governments around the world had no choice but to take it all out and attempt to start over.
Without warning, the government detonated massive E.M.P. devices in every major city. America first, then most of Europe, Asia, and onward, each continent going dark, city by city, like falling dominoes. Within a week, there wasnt a single inhabited area on the planet that hadnt had its electronics fried by the devices. All of the technology, vehicles, and machines that relied on electricity had become nothing more than empty useless shells of a once prosperous and advanced society, and the world as it was known was completely and devastatingly changed.
Jason Jones was a man who paid attention. A veteran with twenty-two months of service in both Iraq and Afghanistan, he was no stranger to the chaos and violence that existed in his fellow man, no stranger to the atrocities men were capable of when the conditions were right. As each days news reports poured in, telling of the continuing cyber attacks and growing instability around the country in the months leading up to what had been dubbed Dark Dawn, Jason knew better than to trust the talking heads and politicians who assured everyone that everything was under control.
He loved his country, and his countrymen, hed proven that by earning his decorations in combat, including two silver stars for bravery, and the purple heart for taking three shards of shrapnel in his right leg from an I.E.D.. But he also loved his family, and knew that there could come a time when the systems in place to keep them safe would fail. It was this love for his two sons Jim and Dale, his wife Patricia and his young daughter Cathy that pushed Jason to prepare, to become self-reliant, to ignore the mutterings from his neighbors about paranoia and overzealous behavior and to plan for what he hoped would never happen.
He was at work on that steamy morning in early July when the E.M.P. device was detonated in the heart of downtown Chicago. His warehouse supply companys headquarters, which occupied the fourteenth floor of one of Chicagos smaller skyscrapers, was in a frenzy.
Theyd been trying to respond to a lost shipment of forklifts that had been shipped but never received. Jason had suspected cyber terrorists and had put in a formal complaint with the Pentagons new cyber terrorist prosecution department, which was needless to say, unimaginably backlogged with thousands of similar requests from all over the country. All of a sudden there was a great sucking thud from outside, like a blast from a tuba, low and resonant and loud enough to shake the windows of the building. The entire office fell silent. The usual cluttering noise of ringing phones, clicking computer keyboards and whining printers was replaced by a haunting stillness in the wake of the echoing thud outside. The lights, the screens, cell phones, emergency systems, everything had gone dark.
In an instant, Jason recognized the onset of something much larger than a power grid failure. He ran to the window and looked out over the city, the intersections below were jammed with smashed vehicles, not a single car or truck or motorcycle moved, all the other office windows of the adjacent buildings were dark, no planes, no choppers, nothing. Nothing moved outside, except for the people exiting their cars and wandering around in confusion. Around him, his co-workers were cursing the utilities company, and wondering aloud what had happened to their cell phones, and how long it would be until they had the power back on. There was only one word in Jasons mind as he gazed out over the mounting chaos on the streets below, Bug-out.
He turned, and headed for his office, but stopped half way, remembering that as the boss, he was responsible for his employees safety.
Listen up people! he shouted over the rising din of complaints, I dont believe were dealing with an ordinary situation here.
The office fell deadly silent again as the fourteen employees all turned to face their boss with looks of concern in their eyes.
I cant say exactly whats happened, but if you look out the window, it seems to be effecting far more than just our building.
A few employees close to the window, looked out and gasped at the stopped traffic and gathering crowds.
Whats going on? asked Brenda, Jasons sales team manager.
Like I said, Jason continued to address the crowd, Im not exactly sure whats happening, but I know its big, so Im shutting down the office and advising you all to get home immediately. What about our families, my cell phones dead, and I cant reach my wife! Chris, from accounting called out over the commotion brewing amongst the employees.
Dont you have a bug-out plan? asked Jason. A what?
A bug-out plan! Jason repeated, A set of protocol to follow in case of emergencies! Jason couldnt believe that he had to explain it.
No Chris said softly, with a look of worry on his face.
Okay, look, Jason said to the agitated workers, The most important thing you can do is to get home, and gather food and water, and secure your house. Jason looked around the room at the astonishment and fear on the faces of his employees and knew that none of them had made bug-out plans, or had any idea what one was until the moment hed explained it. He felt sorry for them, but it was too late now, he thought. Time is of the essence, and each minute wasted, the window for getting home safely could be closing. Remember, he said once more to the crowd, Get home, gather food, water, and lock your doors. It was the best advice he could give to the unprepared group of employees, but he knew there was so much more to be done. Even getting out of the city was going to be difficult, he thought, and Im sure none of them are prepared for whats to come.
Good luck! he said, and walked into his office and closed the door. He reached into the bottom drawer of his desk, and retrieved a compact Kevlar pack, light and durable, and packed to the brim with supplies. Jason pulled the drawstrings and riffled through his Get Home Bag. He pulled out a pair of hiking boots and set them on the desk. Reaching in again, he retrieved his folded map of downtown Chicago, one of the three bottles of water, and the small Beretta 9mm pistol. He double checked the rest of the gear before closing the bag pry bar, medical supplies, a day and a half worth of freeze dried food, window punch, whistle, compass, long sleeve shirt, extra socks and underwear, and a pair of black tactical pants and two red bandanas. The noise outside the office had grown into an uproar as the employees grabbed their things preparing to leave, some still trying the phones in desperation.
