26 Aug 2010

TSJ #36, Chapter 14: The End of the World

Posted by joncooper

TOM SWIFT JR HAD CONFIGURED HIS time machine so it would appear in New York City about six hours before Irene arrived in the hyperplane. That will give me plenty of time to get set up and allow for a margin of error in my calculations, he thought. After all, if I cut things too close and the trigger turns out to be imprecise then I might miss her arrival entirely.

The jump into time travel gave Tom an abrupt case of nausea. Reality disappeared, replaced by chaotic patterns of dark violet and black. The young inventor was surprised when the atomicar was immediately buffeted by turbulence. Tom fought to keep the semi from turning over. As he traveled further back in time the ride grew increasingly violent.

I don’t remember time travel being described like this! Tom thought with concern. He watched as the semi drew closer to its target date. I don’t remember the trip taking this long either. What’s going on?

When the indicator on the dashboard finally hit zero, the purple lights vanished and reality returned. For a brief moment Tom had a gorgeous panoramic view of New York City. He could even see his father’s reactor in the distance – a sure sign that he had arrived at the correct moment in history.

Then, without warning, time itself seemed to snap. There was a huge flash of light. Oh no, Tom thought with a surge of panic. The time trigger is breaking down! It’s about to-

The last thing Tom heard was a breaking noise, as if someone had violently shattered an entire carton of light bulbs. Then the time trigger erupted, engulfing the semi in a titanic explosion of atomic proportions.

* * * * *

 

A few miles away, Tom Swift’s father had just been rescued from Xanthus by his security detail. They were discussing the events surrounding Xanthus’ plot. Frank Herschell told him that the Navy had let them know there was a Brungarian in their midst.

“The Navy called?” Mr. Swift asked. “How did they know?”

“Apparently your son tipped them off,” Frank replied. “They want to speak with you immediately.”

Mr. Swift nodded. I bet they do, he thought grimly. If Xanthus is telling the truth then we have a huge problem on our hands! If this reactor goes critical and destroys New York City then that will be the end of the world. The United States will interpret that as an act of war and will retaliate.

As Mr. Swift walked out the door Xanthus called after him. “You cannot escape! There is nothing you can do to save them.”

The elderly inventor opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly heard a tremendous explosion. The ground shook beneath them.

“What was that?” Mr. Swift asked, looking at Xanthus.

“I do not know,” Xanthus replied.

“Make sure he doesn’t get away!” Mr. Swift ordered. As the security detail hauled him off Tom raced outside the building. When he made it outside he stopped dead in his tracks. Most of New York City was simply gone. It was difficult to see through the dense smoke, but the city that had once stood there was destroyed. Little remained but broken buildings, rubble, and dust.

“NO!” Mr. Swift cried out. He screamed and dropped to his knees in anguish.

Moments later other people rushed out of the building. They were dumbfounded when they saw what had happened. A few began screaming; others sobbed uncontrollably. Ned grabbed Mr. Swift and helped him to his feet.

“What happened?” Ned asked.

“It must be Xanthus,” Mr. Swift replied weakly. “I guess he was afraid his ploy at the reactor wouldn’t work, so he must have stashed an actual atomic bomb in the city. I guess it was set to go off in the event he was captured.”

Ned looked at the city, aghast. “There were people there,” he whispered. “Millions of innocent people. Why did he do it? Why, Tom?”

“They’re just the tip of the iceberg,” Mr. Swift replied. “This is the end of the world, Ned! Once Washington realizes what happened they’ll deploy their atomic bombs against Brungaria and her allies. My son has already told the Navy that the Brungarians are behind this, so there will be no question as to who was responsible. For their part, I’m sure the Brungarians have already launched their remaining weaponry at us and our allies. By the time this day is over there won’t be anything left of the civilized world.”

“Will there be a world at all?” Ned asked.

Mr. Swift found it difficult to concentrate. His whole life was flashing before him. He knew that all the people he loved were about to die, and there was nothing he could do to save them. His initial sorrow was overwhelmed by terror at what he knew was going to happen next.

“It depends,” Mr. Swift said when he could finally speak. “Under normal circumstances the lingering radiation would be deadly but it would fade with time. The half-lives of the elements used in a nuclear bomb are fairly short. After a few weeks much of the residual radiation would have faded away. The people would be dead, of course, but the planet would survive. Life would go on.”

Mr. Swift paused. “However, both sides have been experimenting with cobalt bombs. The whole purpose of such an awful weapon is to cover an area with radioactivity and make it uninhabitable. It’s the final blow – not only would the targeted nation be destroyed, but no one could ever live there again. The radiation from such a weapon is intense and lingers for many years. By the time it decayed into harmlessness there would be nothing left.”

“But surely no one would build such a thing,” Ned replied, aghast. “They’re just theoretical, right?”

“I don’t know,” Mr. Swift replied. “I have no idea what people in power have been doing. I pray you’re right. I pray no one would be that foolish and short-sighted. Otherwise life itself ends today.”

* * * * *

 

Less than twenty minutes later, a fleet of American bombers were loaded with nuclear weapons. They left their bases in Europe and flew at top speed to Brungaria. The Brungarians were caught completely by surprise. The first wave was devastating and laid waste to most of their country. By the time the Brungarians realized they were under attack there was nothing left to defend themselves with. The second wave of bombers destroyed what little had survived.

Since their nation was in ruins, the Brungarians ordered their foreign bases to deploy against the United States. The Americans knew they were coming, but the United States was a large country with extensive borders. There was no way they could protect everything, and on top of that they were fighting an enemy that was enraged and had nothing to lose.

By the end of the day there was nothing left of the United States, Brungaria, or their allies. Third-world nations and outlying islands were left untouched, but it was only a matter of time before the giant clouds of radiation drifted onto their territories.

Mr. Swift and Ned Newton died when the tomasite reactor went critical, destroying what little had survived of New York City. Tom Swift Jr., Bud Barclay, and Irene were killed when American bombers destroyed Brungaria, taking out the hidden base with one of many nuclear weapons. The rest of his family – and millions of others – lost their lives in the nuclear war.

As it turned out neither side used cobalt weapons, but the damage was done. The few remaining survivors fought each other for what little food and water remained, further reducing their numbers. The world erupted into anarchy and chaos. A planet that had been on the verge of space travel now found itself brought back to the stone age, unable to even feed its population. Night had fallen upon mankind, and things would never be the same.

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