The Day of Fire

Tomorrow…

Two miles beneath Denver International Airport, inside Phoenix Deep Site Central Headquarters, a phone rang. The phone was on the desk of the Regional Director.

“Analytics. Beckett.”

“Sir, it’s happening.”

“Meyers, I told you not to…wait. You’re serious.”

“Check your email.”

Sam Beckett opened his email. One unread email, titled “EotW - Key Indicators.”

“EotW. Cute.”

“It’s all there—multiple international incidents. We’re at DEFCON 1. It was Viridian, sir. Kicked everything off.”

“Did you run this past Janice?” asked Beckett.

“This is from Janice,” said Meyers. “But I didn’t run it. She just spat this out. I cross-checked it all, and she’s right.”

“Shit.”

“Sir, I can assure…”

“Shut up, Meyers. I believe you.”

“The Brief. Did you…”

“Yeah…I read it. SecDef wrote it himself. Made damn sure everyone knew it, too. Read like some kinda…I don’t know…1950s horror flick, or something.”

“Whatever came out of that portal on Viridian was bad enough that they had to nuke the entire island," said Meyers. "Fuck me."

“Fuck us all,” said Beckett. “And what’s in the brief is only half the story. I thought the thing was a prank, so I called a couple of Admiral friends of mine. Navy and Coast Guard. Both with DARPA assignments and in a position to know. They said the same thing. Whatever they nuked the island to contain…escaped. They were real sketchy on the details.”

“What?!”

“Got on-board a San Antonio class LPD,” said Beckett. “Started killing the MARSOC guys who were running the evac mission. Ran through ‘em like they weren’t even there.”

“Holy shit. Why wasn’t this in the report?”

“I’m getting to that,” said Beckett. “Navy called for backup, but backup came in the form of a nuclear warhead-tipped torpedo from a Los Angeles class sub. Not the standard load-out, for sure, but they had the warhead on hand for emergencies. Skipper on the sub was ordered to fire it danger-close. Now both vessels are sitting at the bottom of the South Pacific.”

“My god,” said Meyers.

“See,” said Beckett, “you can fire off a single nuke and call it a mistake, or training exercise gone wrong. But two in a row? And an hour apart? That’s deliberate. News reporters and conspiracy nuts would run rampant with that.”

“So the report is what? Damage control?”

“A narrative to sell the American public, maybe,” said Beckett. “Russians and Chinese probably knew the truth. They came sniffing around, and we blockaded them. They broke the blockade…”

“And things escalated.”

“Things escalated…and here we are. Midnight on the doomsday clock.”

A digital sign came to life on the wall in Beckett’s office. A red title blinked in 72-point Helvetica. He heard shouting on Meyers's end of the phone.

“Well,” said Beckett. “Looks like it’s coming down.”

Beckett unlocked the bottom right drawer on his desk. He pulled out a rare bottle of single-malt, and a rocks glass. He exhaled as he poured two fingers for himself.

“So, uh? Sir?”

Beckett paused, thinking for a few seconds. “Recall everyone,” he said.

“I’m sorry?” said Meyers. “Everyone?”

“Tell them they have an hour to get here before we lock the place down.”

“And what if they don’t?”

“Not my problem,” said Beckett. “East and West probably won’t come anyway. They’ll shelter in place. Good luck to them, poor bastards. Listen, call an emergency meeting with the department heads.”

“Yes, sir. And uh…the President?”

“I’m sure he’s got a plan,” said Beckett, “and if we haven’t heard from his team by now, I doubt it includes us.”

“But…”

Beckett was losing his patience. “Listen, even if he does come this way, he’ll be on the Executive Express, headed for the west coast.”

“But if he does stop…”

Beckett raised his voice. “He can use the fucking intercom!”

“Yes, sir.”

Beckett took a large gulp of his scotch.

“If you have anyone to call,” he said, “do it now. But do it quietly. No need to panic the others. I’m hanging up now.” He dropped the handset into its receiver.

***

To: Mail Distribution - All Phoenix Personnel

Subject: CRITICAL | SEVERITY 1 | RECALL - Seek Shelter Immediately

Message:

Attention all Phoenix Personnel, This is NOT a test. A series of global events has resulted in a critical breakdown of international diplomacy—world war is imminent. The Pentagon has changed our posture to DEFCON 1, and we have confirmed reports of angels inbound. Time to first impact is estimated at less than one hour.

Action Required:

Return to your designated regional headquarters facility immediately. If you are unable to reach your HQ, shelter in place at your current facility. If you are above ground, make every effort to get to your nearest Phoenix location. All surface locations are considered compromised.
 Take immediate action, stay calm, and await further instructions.

***

 The surface of the Earth became fire, radiation, and death. Hundreds of nuclear missiles rained down on the United States. Only eleven percent were stopped by an over-saturated missile defense system. Many of the warheads were cobalt salted, which resulted in large areas of extreme radiation. In other countries, it was worse. Most life on land and in the oceans would soon be gone forever.

New York’s saving grace, if you could call it that, was a prototype NRO point-defense system called Lerna. Its engineers simply called it “The Hydra,” due to its 10-by-10 array of kill-shot laser emitters. Even though 63% of its elements failed to fire on that day, none of the ICBMs destined for the state got through. In the end, it didn’t matter much. Wind and extreme weather brought lingering fallout from adjacent regions. Although it didn’t cause much infrastructure damage, it was just as lethal as any thermonuclear detonation.

***

700 years later...

A satellite in geosynchronous orbit took several snapshots of North America. In one image, a small pocket of green showed bright against an ocean of grey and brown. If one zoomed in on this high-resolution image, they would see an area formerly known as New York’s Hudson Valley.

The satellite’s diagnostic software examined the image and detected several anomalies. The terrain did not quite line up with its on-board maps, and there was an issue in the lower-right quadrant.

A patch of uniform grey obscured part of the landscape. The software cross-referenced the area in its database and got a hit. It added annotations and metadata, then encrypted the image and broadcast it.

But its work was almost in vain. The stations the message was intended for were long out of service. But the image was received, decrypted, and viewed—just not by its intended audience.

A bright yellow border surrounded the image. At the top-left, in bold red, was written: TOP SECRET//SCI. Below that: NEW YORK - ULSTER and DUTCHESS COUNTIES. At the bottom-left, there was a black, circular logo of a bird in flight. Under that, the word PHOENIX. An outline of the map of New York is superimposed over the satellite imagery.

In the lower-left section of the area outlined as Dutchess County, is the city of Poughkeepsie. It is covered in a dark grey cloud. The cloud’s outer rim is a lighter shade of grey and is more dense. The image’s metadata concerning this area reads:

Access Level: Archangel or Higher

1.1.1.9.5 - Call Sign: Eternal Taiga [Active Security Detected]

Security Type: Aether

Security Posture: Defense (3 of 5)

Additional active command systems detected. List follows:

1. Miasma: psychological warfare package.

2. Renascent: control and coordination package.

Active Cells: TRUE

Cell Type: REAPER [human remains]

Cell List follows:

Cell[0]

Group Type: Perimeter Defense - Hunt/Kill Formation

Location: Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery

Count: 15

Cell[1]

Group Type: Splinter Cell - Uncontrolled

Location: Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery

Count: 3

Meta: Malfunction Detected. Mesh network processor [Archimedes] failure. Units unable to join group: Cell[0].

Warning: Uncontrolled units may display erratic behavior and/or present an extreme threat.

Summary: Facility 1.1.1.9.5 [Eternal Taiga] is under active defense, but is not connected to DefenseNet. Troop white-listing is not possible at this time. Friendly units are advised to stay clear of the area.

***

 The satellite received, negotiated, and accepted an encrypted connection from a trusted but clandestine terrestrial station. The satellite was put into manual control mode. The main visible light camera was switched to live video and zoomed in toward the Poughkeepsie area. It came to rest over a slowly swirling grey cloud, which lay like a blanket over the city.

A pulsating red light on top of a radio antenna poked out of the cloud. The camera centered on it, then panned west, across the Hudson River, to an opening in a wooded area. A group of buildings was surrounded by an impressive stone wall. The main building was a large square with towers at each corner and a courtyard in the center. It was dusk, giving everything a yellow-orange tint. Long shadows extended from the structures in view. Based on their length, the satellite determined that the building was three stories tall, its towers an additional three.

The camera zoomed in to the main building. On the roof, a woman with short black hair was lying on her side, partially curled. Her breathing seemed labored. The woman had a thin, athletic build, and the satellite calculated her height at about 5 feet, 10 inches or 178 centimeters.

The woman stood. Something caught her attention, and she looked into the distance. The satellite’s camera moved off the woman, tracked east in the direction of her gaze, and came to rest on the compound’s gatehouse. Two large doors swung inward, and a group of twenty to thirty men ran inside. Many were dressed in metal plate armor and had swords in their hands.