Excerpt of The Great Collapse by Jeff W. Horton

P r o l o g u e

It is the third decade of the 21st century, and man has achieved by far the most technologically advanced civilization in human history. Countries have launched satellites outside of the solar system, have established the first permanent base on the moon, and have even sent people to Mars.

It is the period of humanity's greatest technological achievements, a time commonly referred to, as "the Golden Age." Indeed, man has mastered the modern world through his technology. From almost any perspective, it truly is a Golden Age.

Very few scientists and politicians however, have considered the significant downside of this complete and irreversible dependence that humanity now has on technology, or its inherent weakness.

During the waning years of the Golden Age, the United States Congress commissioned a study of the impact of an electromagnetic pulse attack against the United States' critical infrastructures and the aftermath of such an attack. Included in the report was an assessment of how deeply electronic components had become imbedded in the country's critical infrastructures ranging from aqueducts to power plants.

Scientists studied the likely aftermath of an EMP attack against the United States, and its impact on society. What they found terrified them ...

C h a p t e r 1

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. Edgar Allen Poe, "The Raven"

A magnificent, brightly colored flash of light exploded silently and without warning in the night, quite unlike anything he had ever seen before. The explosion of light gave birth to something new in the heavens. The strange and new phenomenon consisted of many colors including green, yellow, purple, and blue. It moved through the night sky, traveling in a wave. As he gazed upon the strange dance of lights in the heavens, the spectacle reminded him of something he had seen somewhere before. As he continued watching the inspiring evening performance, it finally came to him, the aurora borealis. He had come across a science program on television as he had been flipping channels one evening a year or so earlier. The narrator explained that the spectacular display is created when a coronal mass, or solar flare, from the sun collides with the earth's magnetic field. He had no idea what the light show was that now danced across the heavens, but one thing he knew for certain, it was definitely not the aurora borealis; this was something else, something new, something different. While pondering the brilliant display of lights in the night sky, he felt his heart stop in his chest and the blood freeze in his veins as he looked down from the sky for a moment to find only blackness. The streetlights, the neon signs, the lights in buildings and homes all over the city had suddenly and inexplicably, vanished. As he pondered what he had seen, he heard a deep voice like the voice on the waters say to him, "Behold and remember all that you have seen."

Then, there was a brilliant flash of white light, and he found himself walking the streets of a great city. Everywhere he turned,he witnessed horrific scenes. People of all ages roamed the crowded streets, begging for food and water. Fights, even murders were commonplace as competition over food, water, and supplies, grew increasingly fierce. Again, he heard the voice say, "Behold and remember."

As he wandered around the city, he found doctors working feverishly to save as many people as they could, while trying to determine who among the sick and the walking wounded were most likely to survive. James White began to sob as he witnessed the death, starvation, and disease. Again, he heard the voice say,"Behold and remember."

Everywhere he looked; all signs of technology had disappeared. There were no artificial lights shining in the night. Instead, he saw only candles, oil lamps, and torches, providing light in the darkness. Again he heard the voice say, "Behold and remember."

There was another intense flash of light, and he found himself standing at the edge of the city, where he watched as people fled the metropolitan area in massive numbers, heading for the countryside in search of food and water.

A few minutes later the scene transitioned once more, and he found himself in a jungle, surrounded by ancient ruins. He soon realized however that he was not in a jungle at all, but still at the edge of the same great city, only at some point in the distant future. Nature had taken back much of the city, with trees breaking through concrete and grass growing through the sidewalks. The landscape had changed significantly and there were no people anywhere in sight. Then without warning, it was night once more as darkness flooded the landscape, and he found himself looking up at the night sky. His eyes fixated on the strange ribbon of light, which now looked very different. It was dimmer, weaker, and nearly impossible to see anymore. He continued watching as it started to flicker and fade, before disappearing altogether. Once more he heard the voice say, "Behold and remember."