The Nightmare Series Part 2

WW3 by Chris Morin

    In early 2003, President Bush's presidency was reeling and it was quite doubtful that he would be re-elected. Late in the year however, it would be a much different story. OPEC meanwhile, had a stranglehold on the American economy, being able to control oil prices at will. It seemed that the oil organization was gaining in power as time went on.
    But Bush's much lauded Alaskan Oil Initiative turned out to be his biggest, and some say worst, political victory of his career. In mid 2003, a vein of oil was discovered in Alaska that would forever change history. The supply of oil, the biggest ever discovered, gave the President what he needed: relief from OPEC's clutches and a political lifeline for re-election. The supply would completely remove the US's dependency on OPEC and the Middle East for its supply of oil.
    Drilling began immediately and in January of 2004, Bush appeared in front of OPEC demanding the organization to dramatically reduce the price of oil to its lowest level in nearly four decades. OPEC refused. They felt that they didn't need to be dictated to by a US President. In response to OPEC, Bush formally announced that if OPEC refused to meet his demands, all of the US's oil needs would be handled domestically and foreign oil purchases would cease on March 1, 2004.
    Thinking the move would force OPEC's hand, Bush stood firm on the promise. The import of oil stopped at 12 AM on March the first. Oil prices went through the roof but as the supply of American oil increased, the prices dropped dramatically. The cost of gas dropped to under a dollar a gallon. The US now had enough oil for the next one hundred years.
    But OPEC along with many other world leaders were outraged. They felt that the US was supporting a policy of isolationism. The President rebuffed their comments by claiming that OPEC wanted to rule the world. Tensions were running high but the US economy blossomed.
    The President's popularity soared and he easily went on to re-election. But in early 2005, his life would sadly end when a Middle Eastern man shot him outside of his Texas ranch. The Vice President took over as President of the United States and openly accused OPEC of having the President killed.
    The downward spiral had begun.
    As the US was taking on OPEC, China's economy greatly improved and began to rival the US. The leaders of China felt that the best way to become a major world power was to take those manufacturing jobs that no other country wanted and do them as cheaply and as quickly as they could. Their economy was driven by child labor, which was another form of slavery. But the money kept pouring into the country. The government of China took the money and invested heavily in their military.
    China was now a major player. It had the cash and the weaponry behind it.
    Meanwhile, Russia was reeling. It had just gone through a major upheaval. Infrastructure decay, high unemployment, breakdowns in the military and a lack of food led to the Twenty-First Century Russian Revolution. The war was costly but was necessary to get the country back on track. The new Communist leaders wanted to restore Russia to its once great world power status. They wanted it done as soon as humanly possible.
    But that would come at a price.
    North Korea was also struggling. The Communists were still in control of the government but famine had ravaged the country. Millions died and the dead littered the countryside. The result was a horrible plague that killed more people than the famine. North Korea needed something to revitalize its nation.
    July 4, 2005 would set the stage for the Red Alliance.
    The private meeting was held in Beijing with the leaders of Russia, North Korea, Viet Nam, and Cuba. The leader of China had gathered the Communist leaders together for what was billed as a "trade summit". But the meeting had very little to do with trade.
"Your countries are in desperate need of help." The Chinese leader said. "What I offer will be costly to some but beneficial to us all. We need to come together and remove the United States as the one true world power. We must form an Alliance and smash the Americans in one swift and precise attack. The attack, if done correctly, will remove America's foreign presence and bankrupt the country. You all cannot afford to say no to this offer. I know how desperate the situation is. Russia is a mess, Korea is starving and Cuba's life is being squeezed out of it from the US. This is what I propose."
    The Chinese leader described the attack in detail and when the meeting was over, the countries were in total agreement. Russia would get Alaska and any other land it could take including Canada. North Korea would get South Korea. Cuba would have its revenge for forty years of trade embargoes and China would get Japan. With any luck, the United States would roll over and die. When it did, the land would go to China.

    The attack was quick. On July 4th 2006, the Chinese hacked into the US's computer systems and disabled the country's missile defense shield. It then rendered America's satellite communication systems inoperable. The Red Alliance took full advantage of the US holiday and struck all of the US's foreign bases simultaneously. Cuba got into the act by launching a dozen nuclear warheads left over from the Cuban Missile Crisis at the lower eastern seaboard. The attack decimated Texas, and with it America's second major supply of oil.
    The North Koreans spilled over the border into South Korea and launched everything they had at their unsuspecting neighbors. The Russians crossed the Bearing Strait and attacked the US oil supply in Alaska. Within hours, the US was rendered practically defenseless while members of OPEC smiled at the US's folly.
    The President rallied what was left of his staff and evacuated Washington DC on Air Force One. Once in Colorado, the Government's secret nuclear safe underground city, the President conducted a meeting with his remaining leaders to discuss their options.
    "Okay, tell me what happened and why!" said the President.
    "Mister President," started the Joint Chief Chairman "the lower eastern seaboard has been obliterated. Early reports indicate that the missiles were launched from Cuba. Numbers are only preliminary but the estimates say that there are at least forty million dead. The Russians are advancing south through Alaska. They will cross the border into Washington State sometime tomorrow."
    "Cuba? How can that be?" asked the President.
    "Reports are coming in from all over the globe Mister President." said the Secretary of State. "We have been hit in every corner of the globe. Every foreign base has been hit and all communications to those facilities have been cut off. We can only fear the worst. We also have a report from Korea. The North has invaded the South. I can only assume they took out our base their as well. There are also reports that China is about to invade Japan."
    "Where's the Vice President?" asked the President.
    "Sir," answered the Press Secretary "he was at his home in Atlanta this weekend. Considering it was one of the first cities hit, I am not too confident that he is still alive."
    "I want suggestions," said the President. "What do we do now?"
    "I suggest we launch our nukes at once Mister President. Let them know that we aren't taking this lying down!" answered the Secretary of State.
    "Jim, can you honestly with all your heart give the order to kill billions of people?" replied the President. "What you are suggesting will result in the death of every man, woman, child and animal on earth. I know our enemies feel this way too or else we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."
    "Sir, the latest satellite report suggests that the Russians tried to launch their nukes but something went horribly wrong. Due to the age and relatively poor condition of their weaponry, most of their missiles either exploded in the silos or barely made it off the ground. At this moment, half of their country is dealing with what we are going through right now in the south. Sir, Russia is in nuclear chaos," answered the Secretary of State.
    "And the Chinese are waiting to pick up the pieces." said the President. "If they take Japan, they'll be on Californian soil a week later."
    "Sir there is an alternative," said the Joint Chief Chairman. "We have developed a new biological weapon that will kill within twenty fours hours. It only affects humans and could end this war by the end of the week."
    The President looked cautiously at the Chairman. "What are you getting at?"
    "Sir, all we need to do is deliver this virus and we can end this war without losing many more people. It's crude, but in times like this Mister President, we may not have any alternative."
    "You have my complete and undivided attention." said the President. "Let me know how we implement this plan of yours."
    "What I suggest" continued the Chairman "is to equip a fleet of our new stealth bombers with missiles containing the virus. They will fly over targets of our choosing and drop their bombs. There is a danger that we could lose all of our planes but the result will neutralize our enemy."
    The room of people looked around at each other in awe.
    "Mister Chairman, what you are suggesting, how will we be immune to this virus?" asked the President.
    "We can disperse the vaccine to our military within twenty-four hours. Since the virus will be released overseas, our civilian population should be fine. We can disperse the vaccine to them at a later time if necessary." replied the Chairman.
    The President looked around the room and then at the Chairman. "We are in a desperate situation Gentlemen. It requires desperate measures. Although our only other alternative will result in the destruction of the entire planet, I have no choice but to agree to this plan."

    But what the President hadn't taken into consideration was an accident. Two of the planes carrying the virus launched out of Colorado and collided in mid-air. The planes exploded and the virus was spread throughout the landscape. The virus was now free to spread on American soil.
    "How far has it spread?" asked the President.
    "It is moving like wildfire Mister President. The military will be fine but the civilian population; sir we can't distribute the vaccine fast enough." answered the Chairman. "We stand to lose many millions of people."
    "And the rest of the bombers?" asked the President.
    "All but two were shot down over the Pacific." The Chairman replied. "The remaining two bombers launched their missiles at China. One of the missiles exploded over Beijing. The other exploded over central China. Reports of deaths already number in the millions."
    "What about the rest of the world?" The President asked. "What else is happening?"
    "Russia is in chaos and have retreated their military to take care of their domestic problems. The North Koreans are pounding the South and that area is still a mess. Cuba hasn't done a thing since launching the missiles at us. Britain, Mexico, Canada, Israel and even France, if you can believe it, are rallying behind us. They each back us one hundred percent. Mister President, what do we do now?"
    "Get as much of the vaccine to the eastern and western seaboards as fast as we can." ordered the President. "We have to try to save as many people as possible. Then, prepare to launch a full-scale nuclear attack. After you take care of that, send China, Cuba, North Korea and the Russians a message. We want total surrender. Failure to comply will result in their demise. Our missile defense shield is now functional so if they decide to launch any more missiles at us we will be ready this time."
    "And what do we tell the public about the virus?" asked the Chairman.
    "Tell them nothing. The less they know the better. Better yet, tell the public to pray for America. She needs it now more than ever." said the President.

    The Red Alliance had no choice but to surrender to the United States but the virus went on to claim a billion more lives.
 

About WW3

    I guess politics were on my mind the night I had this dream. It is pretty scary that on the day I finished writing this story, Congress voted in favor of drilling for oil in the Alaskan Wild Life Refuge. Let us hope history doesn't follow the rest of the story.

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