The Perseid Collapse Read Online Free PDF Page B

arrived unannounced, and equipment failed—often in the middle of the night, and always at the least opportune time.
    “Are you done?” he asked.
    “You haven’t really answered any of my questions,” she said.
    Alex pulled Kate through the cockpit door and pointed to the bright red and purple aura to the west.
    “What do you think that is?” he asked.
    She stared off into the distance, shaking her head slowly before finally shrugging her shoulders. “Looks like the northern lights, but the wrong color. But that’s not north, is it?” she asked, finally rubbing her eyes and yawning.
    “Southwest,” he stated, gripping her hand.
    “Why did you start the diesel?” she insisted, her gaze captivated by the lights dancing playfully above the southwestern horizon.
    “Because I didn’t think it would start. I’ve seen pictures like that at Quantico. Looks a lot like the atmospheric nuclear tests they did out in the Pacific,” he said.
    “You don’t think that was a nuke, do you?” she asked sharply, stepping off the cockpit bench.
    “I don’t know, but I saw a massive flash of light from the south,” he said, pointing to the island off the starboard side, “then I felt a strange tingling, like I was about to get hit by lightning. Now none of our electronics work. I’d say we were hit by an EMP.”
    Kate pushed his hand away and descended the cabin steps. Alex heard her try to activate the VHF marine radio at the navigation table.
    “The radio is dead. So is everything else at the nav station.”
    “All of the navigation gear is either connected to the radio antenna or the GPS receiver—all located at the top of our mast. An EMP wave would travel right down the wire and fry everything,” he said.
    Kate directed the flashlight at his face.
    “Will you stop blinding me with that damn light?”
    “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Kate said. “Have you checked the portable electronics?”
    “Not yet. I’m going to see if I can restore electrical power to the lights and a few other systems.”
    “I wouldn’t worry about the lights. It’s almost dawn. Get the water pumps and the head working. What about the bilge pump?” Kate said.
    “It’s hardwired to the battery bank, like the engine. Should be fine, but let’s check.”
    Alex waited for Kate to gather the handheld electronics from a cabinet above the navigation table and move to the small couch across from Emily’s bed. Their daughter had begun to stir, but still remained asleep. He really hoped she would stay asleep until they figured out what was going on. They needed a little more time to think before adding a panicky teenager to the mix.
    He illuminated the electrical panel and noticed that all of the breaker switches had been tripped. No surprise there. He flipped all of the switches and tried the light mounted to the navigation table. Nothing. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy. The electrical surge generated by an EMP didn’t give surge protectors or breakers time to react to the change in current.
    Beyond the microwave oven, radio and the navigation equipment, most of the gear connected to the boat’s electrical system didn’t contain any of the sensitive microchips susceptible to an amplified EMP wave. If the breaker mechanism itself had been damaged, they would have to do without the electrical system on the return trip to Portland.
    “I’m pretty sure the breaker is fried. We’ll have to use the manual pumps to draw water. As for the head, I’m not sure what we can do. I don’t think it works without electricity,” he whispered.
    “Not a big deal. We’re not that far from Portland. The handheld stuff seems to work fine. Can you tell if we are getting a signal?” she said, holding up the illuminated GPS plotter screen toward him.
    “Let’s see,” he said, taking the unit.
    The small satellite icon in the upper right corner of the screen indicated that the unit was receiving a satellite signal. He navigated through a