On June 22, 2001, under the leadership of Randy Larsen and Mark Deyer from the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biological Defense Strategy (CCBS), the Strategic and International Studies Center, and Analysis Services, a nationwide evaluation of bioterrorism ergency response procedures was conducted.
The operation was code-nad Dark Winter. The simulation, which focused on assessing the adequacy of the national ergency response to biological terrorism, was carried out in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The simulation of a localized smallpox attack on the three cities quickly led to the conclusion that within just a few days, the number of civilian casualties far exceeded the U.S.'s ergency response capabilities, and the simulation was halted.
Shortly thereafter, the newly established UPMC Health Security Center released so shocking findings.
Attacking the U.S. with biological weapons would have a profound negative impact on national security and national interests.
The current organizational structure and capabilities are entirely inadequate to prepare for biological warfare attacks.
The U.S. dical and public health system, along with the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries, are critically lacking in their ability to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of patients and manage such a crisis.
In the event of a viral outbreak, handling the dia would beco the most critical challenge for any governnt.
The use of infectious biological weapons would lead to severe ethical, political, cultural, legal, and operational challenges in the process of controlling disease spread.
In a House committee hearing on the fight against bioterrorism, Democratic Senator Sam Nunn, who assud the role of President, warned the Speaker of the House about the results drawn from the Dark Winter simulation.
At the ti, in 2001, the U.S., with a population of 280 million, had only about 12 million smallpox vaccines in stock, and senior officials involved in the National Security Council (NSC) were faced with challenges equal to the number of available vaccines.
What was the best strategy to contain an outbreak? Should new national or state vaccination policies be introduced? Would it be better to implent a rolling vaccination or focus on herd immunity? How many vaccines should be stockpiled for the Departnt of Defense (DoD)?
Priorities for vaccination, the role of the federal governnt in ergency response systems, and whether to activate the National Guard… Among these discussions, several decisions were made.
Provide the public with complete information as quickly as possible.
Implent Vaccine Distribution Policy Option 1 (vaccinate first those in contact with patients, healthcare, and public safety personnel).
Secure sufficient separate vaccines to et the imdiate needs of the Departnt of Defense.
Prepare a presidential statent for the dia, detailing the decisions and actions taken.
As a result of a series of simulations, the participants realized that the leaders were completely ignorant about the nature of a bioterrorist attack, the available policy options, and the consequences of those options.
But it didn’t end there. The amount and breadth of data and expertise available in the dical and public health sectors, the readiness of vaccines and dicines, casualty managent capabilities, and the resolution of conflicts between federal and state priorities all beca apparent.
Many issues erged, beca part of the agenda, and so were addressed. The quantity of reserve vaccines and dicines increased, and a biological preparedness policy for about 10 years was outlined.
While so policies proved effective, the preparation for the coronavirus, one of the largest real-world confirmations of a hypothesis, was not enough on its own.
Since the virus struck, societal structures had changed, and issues such as logistics, food and energy crises, and pandemic inefficiencies arose.
At least the problems were raised, and the necessity to address them beca ingrained in the minds of both citizens and governnts, but the passage of ti was more intense than expected.
A decade passed, and the U.S. faced the unknown January of 2030.
It was when the northeastern U.S. temperatures reached an average of minus 15 degrees.
"…This is why it’s unfortunate to et you, Mr. President. It’s a pleasure. I’m Dr. Cal Redfield from the CDC. I’ve been tasked with explaining the recent surge in viral terrorism."
"Biology class was the last ti I took any kind of class on that in college. There might be a lot of unnecessary questions, so please be cautious."
"I’m here to answer those questions, sir."
January 17, 2030, Thursday. Washington, D.C.
Inside a governnt office with a classic but pragmatic exterior, contrasting with the howling winter winds outside, Henry Michael Brayton, the next president, sat in a chair staring intently at the projector.
Slides passed by his eyes, and at the sa ti, vague mories of his past biology classes flickered in his mind.
Dr. Cal raised an appropriately blurred image of a body and began speaking.
"The subject is a male, estimated to be around 30-35 years old. The ti of death is estimated to be around one day ago, and autopsy results show that the cause of death is multiple organ failure. Currently, the CDC is working with the Health and Welfare Departnt in Kips Bay to implent the ELISA protocol and identify the virus."
"What’s the ELISA protocol?"
"It’s the fastest thod to detect the virus’s antibodies and antigens. We’ve currently narrowed it down to the virus being Ebola."
"…Hmm."
In an instant, Henry’s expression tightened. Ebola, in New York.
However, figuring out who or how this could have happened would be sothing for later. His mind began to thodically think about the next steps. First, contact the Health and Welfare Departnt and allocate isolation zones.
But the next mont, Dr. Cal moved on to the next slide, and Henry added:
"Luckily, it seems like initial asures have already been taken."
"Three hours ago, all people who ca into contact with the individual, including the coroner, dical staff, and police, have been temporarily isolated, and we are monitoring the situation and developnts."
"How did you know it was a virus?"
"We gathered data from the subject’s movent records, hospital patient charts, requested tests, and testimonies from the wife. Unfortunately, no suspects have been identified through this process."
Henry nodded. He knew why Dr. Cal ntioned a terrorist suspect. A virus like this, especially one as deadly as Ebola, would need to be stored with extre caution, and it was nearly impossible for such a virus to be circulating in society.
That was what it ant for such an act to be called terrorism.
Clears throat.
Taking a deep breath, Dr. Cal continued.
"According to our tracking, the subject was a supplier who delivered goods to a restaurant in Manhattan once a month. He was in Manhattan during the incubation period, but it’s confird that Ebola does not transmit during the incubation phase."
"That’s completely beyond my expertise, but Ebola usually appears in hot regions. It could be sothing entirely different. You should focus more on isolating and preventing potential patients from spreading the virus."
"Understood."
"I recall that during the Dark Winter operation, there was an emphasis on closely monitoring social dia... I’ll take care of that myself. You just stick to your task."
Before his term even officially started, he was already facing an unprecedented crisis.
But this was just the beginning, and Henry sighed, watching Dr. Cal leave. His next call would be to the Departnt of Holand Security, the Public Health Service (PHS), and the Departnt of Defense.
He might have to request additional funding from Congress for this terrorist response.
Endless political maneuvers, backdoor deals, countless debates, enormous financial costs, and more... After going through all that, he was granted the glorious opportunity to steer the world’s most powerful country.
But at the end, and at the beginning, he felt a deep sense of unease and burden.
"Share the current situation with the DoD Cyber Command. We need to monitor public opinion trends, and if possible, gather disease-related data from other countries."
"I will inform them."
The die was cast.
As his term began, he had to do everything he could to avoid falling into the worst kind of la-duck scenario, or perhaps to prepare for the worst-case scenario that had not even arrived yet.
However, unfortunately, he could not prepare for what was coming. A catastrophe far beyond what he had imagined was already on its way.
Most importantly, a long, dark winter was approaching.
What is life?
A person’s way of living, and the security and safety guaranteed by the individual’s actions or the societal systems in place to support them.
But no one knew that the life of a single person was fundantally based on the fragility of society.
As ti passed, the world’s systems beca so complicated that it proved that a single person’s knowledge could never sustain it, and now no one even knew how to control it anymore.
Oil.
Power.
Shipping.
Transportation.
An international supply chain was ford to ensure that necessary goods were delivered on ti, becoming the foundation of society. This was the dawn of the so-called global age.
However, people’s minds didn’t scale with the systems they created. With their complacency, they failed to prepare for a catastrophe capable of shaking or shattering the very foundation they had built.
And soone created that catastrophe with their own hands, while soone else beca the harbinger of that disaster.
Thus, on Black Friday, 200 million people flocked to the nearest supermarket.
They beca the spreaders.
Contrary to many experts' predictions, this virus seems to be an extrely dangerous, unidentified variant of the flu.
On January 20, President Henry Michael Brayton, having just taken office, rushed the Public Health Service Command (PHSCC) into Central Park, setting up large health centers and triage facilities to handle the crisis.
Just days into his presidency, Henry Michael Brayton wielded unprecedented power.
Even though the exact number of confird cases was unknown at this early stage, biochemical response teams were deployed to the virus’s origin, and ergency supplies and gas masks were distributed before people even finished preparing to evacuate.
He did everything he could and spared no resources, pushing for the analysis of the unidentified viral strain and the production of vaccines.
But what he hadn’t anticipated was that what he was facing was not just a virus.
...This can no longer be called a virus. It’s more like infectious nanomachines based on nanotechnology. The virus's lethality and infectivity should never coexist, but this virus satisfies both.
Based on the ergency situation, SCATANA (aviation traffic contingency plan) has been declared. The president will announce to the public that the situation has escalated from an epidemic to a global pandemic...
All cities in the U.S. are now under lockdown. The Air Force is doing its best to drop supplies into Central Park, but this has only caused large crowds to congregate at its center...
There are widespread power outages, gas leaks, and reports of fires, and large-scale looting is anticipated.
The chaos far surpassed any previous predictions.
The temporary Oga virus, as it was called, exhibited lethality and infectivity that could not naturally occur, and it did not lose its contagiousness even in the harsh, minus-10-degree weather.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Unusual-colored clouds and lightning have been sighted across the world...
So individuals are exhibiting bizarre behavior, resembling animal forms.
Ergency responders are presud dead or missing, and due to inexplicable interference, communication with the health centers in Central Park is intermittent...
The president must be evacuated! To the military complex in Cheyenne Mountain... Aaaagh!
Boom.
At the dawn of the pandemic, the U.S. Capitol and the remaining mbers of Congress were reduced to ashes. Whether it was a gas explosion, a terrorist attack, or sothing else, no one knew.
However, it was a grim reality that, amid the chaos, highly flammable gases and explosives had been planted along the railway lines connecting to the Capitol.
The news that parts of Washington D.C. were ablaze reached the White House, just 2.5 kiloters away, without delay.
Marine One, the presidential helicopter, was hastily deployed, and those aboard it, along with the first family, hurriedly boarded Air Force One, which had been quickly brought in.
Two planes took off simultaneously, but before they could reach Colorado, the President and his family were hijacked.
It wasn’t until then that Henry realized that all the events that had occurred were part of a planned terrorist attack. But by that ti, the plane was not heading to Colorado. It was flying toward New York for an ergency landing.
In the midst of what had already turned into a chaotic hellscape at JFK International Airport, Henry prepared for the landing.
How had things co to this?
But it was too far from the past now.
He raised his hand and signed electronically.
[Executive Order No. 51 // Approving the activities of Information Control and Regional-Uniting Support System (ICARUS).]
[Purpose: To preserve vital facilities such as information communications, power, gas, banking, transportation, water supply, and ergency dical systems, and to prevent terrorism.]
[Electronic signature verified. The activities of ICARUS are hereby approved.]
[May God bless Arica.]
When society collapses, the Phoenix rises.
It was the mont when a light was lit in the long darkness.
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