I am often asked how I actually write my fiction stories. As a shot at a response, I thought I would give you an inside look at how it happens by sharing an early “idea” for a story I may or may not end up actually finishing. In fact, this might even work as a “finished” piece as it is…a bit different in format but I think the “story” is there.

The working title is: November 18.

November 18, 2:00 AM EST: Aircraft SAM 29000 lifts into the air from Joint Base Andrews. The flight is unscheduled, but controllers assume it is a routine test flight. Since the plane is not using its other call sign, Air Force One, they also assume the president is not on board.

November 18, 2:17 AM EST: As SAM 29000 exits U.S. airspace, flying East. Other unscheduled flights depart from Joint Base Langley-Eustis Air Force Base in Virgina, Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, and other military and public airports around the country.

November 18, 2:21 AM EST: Gerald Ray Preston is sleeping in his cabin at his compound in the mountains of Idaho.

November 18, 2:35 AM EST: All aircraft are outside of U.S. airspace.

November 18, 2:38 AM EST: The NISTE-F2 Atomic Clock at the Bureau of Standards in Colorado malfunctions.

November 18, 2:40 AM EST: All GPS satellites above the Western hemisphere cease communicating.

November 18, 2:41 AM EST: The phone rings in the president’s bedroom to alert him of the issues taking place. The call is not answered.

November 18, 2:42 AM EST: All United States’ military and government satellites cease operation.

November 18, 2:43 AM EST: Secret Service agents discover the president is not in the White House.

November 18, 2:45 AM EST: Calls are placed to the Vice President, the Chief of Staff, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, National Security … none of the calls are answered.

November 18, 2:46 AM EST: All signals from broadcast communication satellites cease across the country.

November 18, 2:47 AM EST: Internet connectivity shuts down across the country.

November 18, 2:48 AM EST: A small powerplant in West Virginia goes offline after computer code implanted there three years ago is activated.

November 18, 2:50 AM EST: Calls are placed to the ranking member of the Senate and the House.

November 18, 2:51 AM EST: Global military and air transportation communications ceases, losing control of all facilities.

November 18, 2:53 AM EST: Gerald Ray Preston is awakened by a call on his amateur radio as a fellow survivalist warns him that something is happening.

November 18, 2:55 AM EST: All radio and television programming ends.

November 18, 2:56 AM EST: The malicious code from the West Virginia power plant disables network security features and begins migrating throughout the national power infrastructure.

November 18, 3:00 AM EST: Cell phone service stops functioning across the country.

November 18, 3:04 AM EST: Cities on the East Coast go dark as sections of the US powered grid begin to shut down. Backup power systems fail to engage.

November 18, 3:06 AM EST: All communication cables, land lines, and other connections throughout the country are disabled.

November 18, 3:15 AM EST: Hospitals emergency surgery, ICU facilities attempt to function with no power or communications.

November 18, 3:21 AM EST: Amateur radio operators begin broadcasting emergency traffic.

November 18, 3:25 AM EST: Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans go dark as the power grid shut down reaches the Midwest.

November 18, 3:29 AM EST: Airports and control center around the country are helpless as all communication, navigation and flight controls cease functioning. All aircraft currently in the air become gliders.

November 18, 3:37 AM EST: All radio frequencies are jammed, blocking further amateur radio communications.

November 18, 3:38 AM EST: Albuquerque, Dallas, and Billings lose power.

November 18, 3:47 AM EST: With pumps not working, water begins flooding the subways and other underground systems of New York City, Boston, and other Eastern cities.

November 18, 3:58 AM EST: Gerald Ray Preston and other survivalist groups put their emergency response plans into action to secure themselves from what is happening on the outside.

November 18, 3:59 AM EST: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle lose power.

November 18, 4:03 AM EST: Gerald Ray Preston and other survivalist groups find that their generators, solar energy devices, pumps malfunction as the factory-embedded code in various components are triggered.

November 18, 4:11 AM EST: Hawaii and Guam lose power.

November 18, 6:00 AM EST: National infrastructure, even with backup power supplies, begin to shut down as designed bugs in key technology systems activate.

November 18, 6:37 AM EST: As the sun rises in Washington, D.C., SAM 29000 lands at a military airfield near Fuyuan, China, 36 miles SE of Khabarovsk, Russia.

November 18, 6:59 AM EST: Other nations become aware of what is happening in the United States. There is no response.

November 18, 7:14 AM EST: The last plane from the U. S. lands in China.

November 18, 7:16 AM EST: Hospitals, nursing homes, industries struggle to function without power, transportation, fuel, or the ability to control or shut down out-of-control infrastructure.

November 18, 7:38 AM EST: The passengers from the flights from U. S. flights gather in a large hangar to be welcomed home after completing their missions.

November 18, 7:44 AM EST: Gerald Ray Preston and other survivalist groups fully secure their compound and prepare to defend themselves from the pending attack.

November 18, 7:56 AM EST: Erosion from the underground flooding in cities across the country begins to cause some streets and buildings to collapse, disrupting any remaining transportation or infrastructure.

November 18, 8:01 AM EST: The passengers from the flights gather for a group photo and to receive formal recognition of their success.

November 18, 8:03 AM EST: Leaders of the government remaining in the United States struggle to gather and address the situation without communication and transportation.

November 18, 8:05 AM EST: People awake to find their phones, television, radio, internet and all infrastructure services not functioning.

November 18, 8:06 AM EST: As the President of the United States, the Secretary of State and other former leaders of the United States stand together on the platform, a group of Russian and Chinese military in full-dress uniforms enter the room, march to the front of the platform, and salute the group. They raise their weapons and open fire.

November 18, 8:09 AM EST: Rumors and accusations begin spreading as people become aware of the situation. In contrast to the unifying national reasons to 9/11, the past efforts to divide the national mindset now result in divisions within now isolated communities leading to anger and panic.

November 18, 8:11 AM EST: A moment of silence follows the gunfire as the recording is played of Nikita Khrushchev’s promise during his speech to Western Ambassadors on November 18, 1956: “It doesn’t depend on you whether or not we exist. If you don’t like us, don’t accept our invitations, and don’t invite us to come to see you. Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!”

November 18, 8:14 AM EST: Across the United States, roadways remain empty, businesses remain closed, normal infrastructures are down, there is no news, no information, each person in the country understands only what they can see and hear around them and no more.

November 18, 8:16 AM EST: The presidents of Russia and Iran, the Premiere of China, and the others, laugh at the foolishness and blind egos of those from the planes. They shake their heads at the blind egos, the outright ignorance, and the way they were handled like little girls play with their dolls.

November 18, 9:28 AM EST: Federal and state government leadership across the United States are confused and divided, leading to their taking no effective actions.

November 18, 10:00 AM EST: Broadcast signals return, all with the same program announcing the cessation of the United States of America. The message announces that there will be no invasion, but what is taking place is a “reallocation” of property now owned and controlled by those now in power. There is no call for “surrender”, but for a simple acceptance of what has taken place. Broadcasts again go dark.

November 18, 10:30 AM EST: People react to the broadcast. With no invasion or clear enemy to attack, the response is wide protests, riots, and attacks across the country focusing on the random rumors and suspicions.

November 18, 10:40 AM EST: Individual law enforcement agencies attempt to respond to the actions in their communities but are quickly overwhelmed because of lack of communication, the numbers of groups, and by the growing divisions within the agencies themselves.

November 18, 10:53 AM EST: Across the country, groups armed with a range of weapons fight among themselves. Destruction increases with the anger and fear.

November 18, 11:05 AM EST: Local law enforcement agencies begin to collapse, and groups begin raiding armories. Where available, efforts are made to activate local National Guard forces, but lack of communication and transportation makes it difficult.

November 18, 11:30 AM EST: Cities and towns across the country begin activating Martial Law. It is ignored.

November 18, 2:47 PM EST: Local National Guard efforts collapse. Because of established procedures for mobilizing without full communications, full military forces begin to appear in some areas.

November 18, 4:04 PM EST: Military responses are met with strong resistance, leading to division within the forces.

November 18, 6:29 PM EST: The military collapses.

November 18, 10:13 PM EST: Government of the United States officially ceases functioning.

November 18, 11:57 PM EST: The former United States is quiet and dark except for the increasing internal violence and self-destruction.

November 19, 5:54 AM EST Day Two: The sun rises on the mountain. Believing the broadcast to be a lie, Gerald Ray Preston and the others are prepared and wait for the attack. But no one coming. No one now in control cares about Gerald Ray Preston or any of his fellow survivalists. Gerald Ray Preston and the others will remain walled-off and ignored, to be removed later by the formal property-reallocation companies.

<END>

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