One Second After

[Jamisjockey]

I had been doing some fiction writing and it just plain got stale.  I'm really considering writing an after TSHTF society collapse story.  Again, mostly as a mental exercise, as I have no illusions of being a grand story teller or writer.

[LaserSpot]

Except for all the citizens in hospitals who die with no power, all the citizens in less than temperate places that succumb to exposure etc...

Just because the deaths take days for some, weeks for some and months for many others doesn't make it less of an attack or act of war.

It would be an act of war, but I don't think Iran (for instance) would be too worried about a massive nuclear retaliation, especially if our suffering doesn't come for weeks or months. We would require massive amounts of reconstruction aid from the EU, Japan, Korea, and other developed countries; they would be much less sympathetic if we were to wipe out half of the Middle East in revenge attacks.

[RocketMan]

It would be an act of war, but I don't think Iran (for instance) would be too worried about a massive nuclear retaliation, especially if our suffering doesn't come for weeks or months.

Say what?  Explain, please.

[RevDisk]

How do you figure a couple dozen? I was thinking that 2 or 3 would do a pretty good job, and 5 to 8 countries have the capability.
Any electronic device with a long cable attached would be much more vulnerable; this is because the cable would act as an antenna and amplify the pulse. This effect could mean that cars would still work, but every desktop computer and server in the country would be fried.

Re numerical assessment:  Wave propagation.  And no, 5 to 8 countries don't have the capacity.  They could develop the capacity if they wished, but they don't have it now.

You are aware that most servers do not plug straight to grid, but go through some level of power management?  Most home PC's unfortunately aren't behind an UPS's.  I'd be curious how laptops reacted.

I doubt that the current administration would be willing to murder millions of innocent civilians in retaliation when no Americans have been killed.

They would when they heard the death tolls, and were made to understand that the EMP attack would likely be a preclude to invasion.

[LaserSpot]

You are aware that most servers do not plug straight to grid, but go through some level of power management?  Most home PC's unfortunately aren't behind an UPS's.  I'd be curious how laptops reacted.

I was thinking of the Ethernet cables that are plugged directly into the motherboard of most servers and desktop PCs. They did some tests for this report: http://www.empcommission.org/docs/A2473-EMP_Commission-7MB.pdf
Also, my understanding is that the E1 pulse is so fast (much faster rise time than lightning) that it can go through surge protectors before they have time to clamp down.

They could develop the capacity if they wished, but they don't have it now.

If not, it won't be long. They have the nukes and the rockets; it's just a matter of making the nukes small enough to fit on the rockets.

[Phyphor]

I like Forstchen's writing, generally - for those interested, he has also done several novels in the Wing Commander universe, including the novelizations of the WC 3 and 4 games (for those not in the know, Wing Commander is a space-fighter simulation series for the PC; WC 3 and 4 were interactive films for the out-of-cockpit parts, and the main character in both was played by Mark Hamill, also known as the voice of the Joker in the Batman animated series.  Oh, and he had a little role in a sci-fi movie series by George Lucas starting back in '77, too, which you may have heard of...  ).  Of possibly-more interest to members here, Forstchen ALSO wrote a series of novels following a Civil War Union regiment - IIRC, the series was called, 'The Regiment' - which accidentally stumbled through a wormhole leading to a world populated by humans from various points in Earth's history who'd been enslaved and used as cattle, literally, by a race of 9-foot-tall Mongol-Horde-type aliens. 

Thanks for the link, gunsmith - I'll have to check this one out, too.

Yea, didn't Forstchen do Freedom flight and End Run in the WC series too?

Oh, for those that want to check out the original Wing Commander, it's now abandonware and you can get it and DOSBox with a quick google search.  One little thing though, under dosbox, forget using the mouse to fly the damned ship.... waaaaaaaaaaaayy too touchy.

Keyboard or USB gamepad is the order of the day.

[FloridaEllie]

I read this book too.  From  girl's standpoint, it was kinda corny with the daughters and their dialog.  But it was so scary, that I couldn't sleep after some of the chapters.  What hit home to me was when the college kids, especially the girls had to become the military defense for the town!!!  Don't know if I could ever do that.

[Matthew Carberry]

I'd be interested in a novelization of something like the Argentinian collapse.  No actual "SHTF" just a series of moderately bad events flowing from rational political and economic decisions.

More "S gradually builds up", like a country well-meaningly managing its way into a depression (how unrealistic I know).

That'd open the story to a varety of viewpoints, rich, middle class, and poor, also urban/rural and leave out the obvious good v. evil cataclysmic confrontations. 

Few "heroes", mostly just regular people with regular capabilities trying to get by as best they can.  Some though falling prey to their worse natures, some, better equipped, trained, prepared rising above and trying for something larger.

[Waitone]

Iran seems to developing a class of missiles that reach and apogee and detonate.  Just the profile you'd expect from an EMP attack.

[Balog]

From my limited reading, most "surge protectors" are pretty much useless on the rare occasions the grid sends a significant spike through the mains.

[RocketMan]

From my limited reading, most "surge protectors" are pretty much useless on the rare occasions the grid sends a significant spike through the mains.

Tru dat.  They are limited in the amount of energy they can dissipate.

[RevDisk]

From my limited reading, most "surge protectors" are pretty much useless on the rare occasions the grid sends a significant spike through the mains.

Better than nothing.  Running it through a decent UPS is a better idea.  Most data centers often have more than one level of power filtering.  At least if they're half way smart.

I read this book too.  From  girl's standpoint, it was kinda corny with the daughters and their dialog.  But it was so scary, that I couldn't sleep after some of the chapters.  What hit home to me was when the college kids, especially the girls had to become the military defense for the town!!!  Don't know if I could ever do that.

You'd be surprised what people adjust to.  The most significant SHTF event I personally saw was the Balkans.  Folks went from being quasi Western "normal folks" (college professors, carpenters, librarians, doctors, construction workers, et al) to living in refugee camps with little or no electricity, potable water, sanitation system, etc.  Folks adapt to their environment, or die. 

Hey, if America ever faces a SHTF event, at least we won't have landmines, cluster bomblets and UXO everywhere.   That sort of thing never seems like a concern until you see the results of a kid stepping on a toe popper.

[Gowen]

What bothered me most was the utter loss of life and the knowledge that those fatherless-sons-of-a-donkeys in Washington won't do anything.

[209]

Kind of loosely connected with the thread as they are SHTF "blovels", there are two I found that I try to keep up with.  They are interesting.... and free! 

http://johngaltfla.com/blog3/ has an ongoing one titled The Day The Dollar Died.

http://selousscouts.blogspot.com/ has one called The Cache.

Both are developing stories and I find them intriguing.