Alea Jacta Est: A Novel of the Fall of America (Future History of America Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Marcus Richardson
Another plus for leaving Florida. The bugs.
He hated bugs. Especially spiders and fire ants. Florida was crawling with
both and many things in-between. He shuddered at the thought and looked at the
computer screen.
Something
new…from someone named Transplant . Looked like a new guy in Florida.
“Well…let’s see what you’ve got to say, Transplant,” said Erik thoughtfully as
he clicked his way to the new message, entitled Can’t shake this feeling …
“Twenty-five
replies already…this must be good.”
Erik read
the message. Transplant was a Georgia boy who had just moved to
Florida. He had been reading the boards for about a year, never posted.
Prepping for disasters since Y2K and September 11th…the usual intro. Erik
skimmed down and looked for the meat of the message.
Evidently, Transplant got a little spooked after the Blackout and looked over his supplies again and
again, trying to optimize everything. He had been at it for years. Erik
chuckled. This guy must be looking to get flamed by the old pros. Don’t
you know, trying to get the perfect kit is a never ending battle?
Transplant went on to
explain his irrational, or so it seemed to him, fear that something —he
wasn’t sure what—was just over the horizon and it wasn’t going to be pretty.
There were
the usual suspects who replied right away that they’ve been worried about
TEOTWAKI for years; even some nut that said the Jews were behind everything.
Another added something about building a tactical assault-wheel barrow. Erik
rolled his eyes.
From peak
oil, to a depression, to the devaluing of the American Dollar, to famine, two
overseas wars, and the rampant spread of diseases, and terrorism, most of the
members of the forum had a healthy respect for the unknown. Many of the
replies were from people scattered all over the country who agreed with the
newbie and were glad to know they weren’t crazy. The general theme was—except
the real screwballs—that no one really knew what was coming, only it was
something bad. No one wanted to say it was TEOTWAKI.
Erik sat
back with a sigh and backed out of the message. That hadn’t helped at all .
Now his imagination was running wild. He moved on to other topics he’d been
following lately.
There was a
lot of concern about how dry the western states were. Some talk was about the
current hurricane season and how strange it was to be in July and only have one
storm so far. It was eerily reminiscent of the disastrous ’04 and ‘05
seasons. Erik looked up at the framed Hurricane Tracking Map that showed the paths
of all four monsters that hit Florida in 2004. The most powerful: Charley.
The largest and slowest: Frances. The corkscrew path that looped back on
itself: Jeanne. And then Ivan the Terrible flattened the Panhandle cities.
Where the storm paths converged was a star. That was where he and Brin had
lived then. It was his constant reminder to be ready.
He sighed
and glanced over at to his video game station. He slid the rolling desk chair
over to the TV and powered up Modern Warriors , one of the most popular
military simulation first person shooter games on the market.
Erik felt
confident that if 'the end of the world as we know it' happened, his education
would get him through the rough waters. After all, there have been many Dark
Ages in history. Man survived all of them. History was a great teacher, Erik
knew. And great teachers sometimes have to repeat themselves.
That was
the future, though. For now, the online world was buzzing, he saw. He
selected a match and joined in the virtual mayhem. After a few moments to warm
up, the kills began to rack up in his favor. Bullets shrieked across the
digital landscape and opponents around the world began to curse as their
virtual representations were shredded by Erik. He focused everything on the
game and slowly his fears and anxiety began to
He hated bugs. Especially spiders and fire ants. Florida was crawling with
both and many things in-between. He shuddered at the thought and looked at the
computer screen.
Something
new…from someone named Transplant . Looked like a new guy in Florida.
“Well…let’s see what you’ve got to say, Transplant,” said Erik thoughtfully as
he clicked his way to the new message, entitled Can’t shake this feeling …
“Twenty-five
replies already…this must be good.”
Erik read
the message. Transplant was a Georgia boy who had just moved to
Florida. He had been reading the boards for about a year, never posted.
Prepping for disasters since Y2K and September 11th…the usual intro. Erik
skimmed down and looked for the meat of the message.
Evidently, Transplant got a little spooked after the Blackout and looked over his supplies again and
again, trying to optimize everything. He had been at it for years. Erik
chuckled. This guy must be looking to get flamed by the old pros. Don’t
you know, trying to get the perfect kit is a never ending battle?
Transplant went on to
explain his irrational, or so it seemed to him, fear that something —he
wasn’t sure what—was just over the horizon and it wasn’t going to be pretty.
There were
the usual suspects who replied right away that they’ve been worried about
TEOTWAKI for years; even some nut that said the Jews were behind everything.
Another added something about building a tactical assault-wheel barrow. Erik
rolled his eyes.
From peak
oil, to a depression, to the devaluing of the American Dollar, to famine, two
overseas wars, and the rampant spread of diseases, and terrorism, most of the
members of the forum had a healthy respect for the unknown. Many of the
replies were from people scattered all over the country who agreed with the
newbie and were glad to know they weren’t crazy. The general theme was—except
the real screwballs—that no one really knew what was coming, only it was
something bad. No one wanted to say it was TEOTWAKI.
Erik sat
back with a sigh and backed out of the message. That hadn’t helped at all .
Now his imagination was running wild. He moved on to other topics he’d been
following lately.
There was a
lot of concern about how dry the western states were. Some talk was about the
current hurricane season and how strange it was to be in July and only have one
storm so far. It was eerily reminiscent of the disastrous ’04 and ‘05
seasons. Erik looked up at the framed Hurricane Tracking Map that showed the paths
of all four monsters that hit Florida in 2004. The most powerful: Charley.
The largest and slowest: Frances. The corkscrew path that looped back on
itself: Jeanne. And then Ivan the Terrible flattened the Panhandle cities.
Where the storm paths converged was a star. That was where he and Brin had
lived then. It was his constant reminder to be ready.
He sighed
and glanced over at to his video game station. He slid the rolling desk chair
over to the TV and powered up Modern Warriors , one of the most popular
military simulation first person shooter games on the market.
Erik felt
confident that if 'the end of the world as we know it' happened, his education
would get him through the rough waters. After all, there have been many Dark
Ages in history. Man survived all of them. History was a great teacher, Erik
knew. And great teachers sometimes have to repeat themselves.
That was
the future, though. For now, the online world was buzzing, he saw. He
selected a match and joined in the virtual mayhem. After a few moments to warm
up, the kills began to rack up in his favor. Bullets shrieked across the
digital landscape and opponents around the world began to curse as their
virtual representations were shredded by Erik. He focused everything on the
game and slowly his fears and anxiety began to