Andrew let his mind stroll down the 2012 memory lane, recalling headlines and stories from that December when the world was, according to some, supposed to come to an end. Ever since, the growing strength of solar flares had played havoc with communication systems and power grids. While not taking them totally out, phone and TV reception was spotty at best and black and brown outs were everyday occurrences. For a while, the military went nuts. Not just the U.S., but any military that used advanced technology. They lost track of planes, ships, missiles, satellites, and even units of men. Fortunately for the U.S. and several other larger nations, they had standby systems that were less tech-based, so at least a degree of communications was established, albeit at World War II levels. Many retired generals and officers had to be called back to duty because the new crop of soldiers couldn’t function in the absence of modern technology. It would have been funny, he reflected, if it wasn’t for the early fears that everyone was going to attack each other, thinking some new electro-magnetic disruption weapon was being used against them. With many parts of the world involved in conflict or near conflict, that concern was not at all out of the question. In fact, China had made an incursion into Russia until they discovered that Russia, too, had lost their sophisticated technology. The U.S. had to back pedal when many of its drones stopped working and crashed into civilian populations, nearly starting new conflicts in the Middle East. If it wasn’t for the U.N., war with Iran and Pakistan would have been a reality.
What was really amusing was the weather service. With the loss of weather satellites, they had to return to reading gauges and relying on rotary phones to predict the weather. Phone companies scrambled to produce the old-style phones and make them available to the government. The loss of GPS navigation had ship captains taking courses to update their skills working with sextants. Students were at a loss with only very intermittent of use of iPhones, texting devices, internet games, laptops and other electronic devices. It was a boon to libraries, as rebellious students were now resigned to looking up information in books. And with the collapse of the economy, techno-production, and the scarcity of personal computers, often they were burdened with the archaic task of writing reports by hand.
Basically, society returned to the 50’s as far as technology use was concerned. The level of stress-related cases grew rapidly, approaching pandemic levels. The impact of the solar flares affected doctors, automobiles, social interaction, publishing, family life—every aspect of society touched by technology, which was all of it. People were not having a good time. Millions of cars were stranded everywhere when the electronics gave out. Ah, for good old-fashioned points in the distributor. It cost untold millions to clear vehicles off roads and highways. People were grateful for one military secret: its fleet of hydrogen gas powered trucks developed in case of massive power losses and pulse attacks.
“Is it getting warmer, or is it just me?”Andrew said. Then he noticed the sweat beading on Nico’s forehead.
“Yeah, not just you. No breeze to speak of, and it’s damned hot,” Nico said.
A sudden splash and both men, as well as Mara and Nilaihah, turned toward the front of the yacht. The anchor had dropped. They had assumed that they were going to pull up to one of the docks, but the skipper informed them to, “Wait until dark, then take small boat in.”
Nilaihah went to the rail. “Oh, my,” she said, as the group became aware of the rows of people looking into the harbor, staring at them.
Nico said, “I guess that’s why we’re waiting until dark.”
