Sudden Silence

[papaof2]

Prolog

Not every "End of My World" event starts with a bang. Some of them occur while you're asleep and tomorrow's world isn't even close to yesterday's world. Others occur quietly while you're awake, with little or no indication of their total impact. This story starts with one of those quiet events.



Day 1

The sudden silence in Eclectic, Alabama at 11:30PM on an August evening isn't deafening but it is suspicious. I had just checked the 1800 mile weather radar on weather.com and there's no storm activity within 200 miles of us. No lightning, no thunder, no 'Thump!' of a tree falling or a vehicle hitting a power pole or the bigger 'THUMP!' of an aircraft hitting the ground. Just the light by my chair going out and the fan on the dehumidifier in the kitchen coasting to a stop - and not the usual flicker of power off, on, off, on, off to stay.

Use the Fenix E12 in my pocket to light my way to get the LED head light off the knob of the door to the basement stairs so I'll have hands-free light to make my way through the house - none of the LED nightlights are on without power but the battery-powered motion sensor lights in the hall and on the basement stairs will still work. Try to check the outage map for the electric co-op and there's no internet connectivity from my laptop. I know the Uverse router and the 24 port network switch still have power as I can connect to the Raspberry Pi web server on my home network, which also means all of the network's UPS units are operational. Try the data link on the cell phone and I get a somewhat slow connection but at least some parts of the internet are still there. The co-op's power outage map has the red fill for "More than 350 meters out" on all of their substations. I'll be back to check the percent out at each substation later, as that many outages swamp their outage server and it could be several hours before they have accurate numbers - if that server's backup power lasts long enough. Right now I need to get my "Wait until daylight" backup power system going to power the fridge and a few lights now and the freezer in eight or ten hours if commercial power is still out in the morning.

Where did "Wait until daylight" come from? It's a small solar-charged system that's good for eight to 20 hours depending on the season but it does provide enough power that there's no need for me to be out in a thunderstorm or in the dark at 30F and shoveling my way through seven inches of snow to get a gasoline generator out of the equipment shed. So it's my "Wait until daylight" backup system.

To the basement. Throw the breaker that connects the 2000 watts continuous pure sine wave inverter to the battery bank and turn on the inverter. It does soft-start, ramping its output gradually up to 120 volts AC, so let it get to full output before putting a load on it. Plug a Kill-A-Watt into the inverter so I can monitor the power used, then plug the 12 gauge extension cord into the Kill-A-Watt and run that cord over to the Gen-Tran transfer switch. For now, just power the fridge and some kitchen counter outlets and the LED lights over that counter. Run an extension cord over to the UPS units that keep the network powered so the network has ongoing power and the UPS units can be recharged for future use, if needed. If Uverse is still down in an hour, I'll turn that router off to save a little power (it's "only" 16 watts, but that's 16 watts times 24 hours = 384 watt hours (WH) or 384 / 12 = 32AH from the 12 volt battery bank, plus turn off the DVR for another 20 watts of savings - you do the math for the 24 hour savings). Lots of small loads can make a big difference in the total runtime of the battery backup.

Set a battery-powered alarm clock to wake my wife in the morning. Then put a battery-powered nightlight (actually another Fenix E12 flashlight at its lowest setting and good for 40+ hours on a single alkaline AA cell) in the master bath and turn it on in case she gets up during the night. There's a flashlight on the nightstand by her side of the bed but that's not something she'll think about getting unless she notices that the clocks in the bedroom are dark. Easier to have the E12 as a nightlight in the bathroom and leave the door open a crack.

Get out a grill lighter and put it by the gas cooktop, plus the LED light with magnetic base that can stick to the side of the microwave oven and light the cooking surface below it. There's a hand-crank plus USB rechargeable area light on top of the fridge and it can provide enough light to get out additional lighting for cooking, if needed. Most of the lower cabinets have battery-powered, door-operated LED lighting so anything there is still easily found. There's a two D-cell LED flashlight on the counter for lighting the upper cabinets if needed and that can provide light for a long time.

Write her a note about when power went off and that the fridge has power but she won't have power for the blow dryer, the curling iron, the coffeemaker, the microwave oven or the garage door opener unless I get out a gasoline generator which can handle that much additional load - and she'll have to wake me in time for that if she's planning to go somewhere in the morning. There are no entries for the day on the calendar on the fridge but not everything makes it to that calendar. Get some things out of the pantry for her breakfast and go back to writing my in-progress book. I'm something of a night owl when writing and it could be in the wee hours before I get to bed. The laptop's battery is good for a couple of hours and I can plug it in at one of the kitchen counter outlets if it needs to be recharged before my muse runs out of words.

---

Stopped writing long enough to refill my glass of decaf tea (it's well after midnight, so I don't need caffeine) and used my phone to check Fox and CNN online. All they have to say is "Massive power outage leaves Southeastern US in the dark" and their maps have everything east of the Mississippi River and south of the Kentucky-Tennessee border affected. No reason given for the outage and no mention of prospects for restoration. Not even CNN's news fabricators are saying anything. Isn't that reassuring?

Checked the Uverse connection and no internet, no TV, no landline phone. It failed like that during a snow-caused outage a couple of years ago and it seems they've not improved their backup power capability. Turn off that bit of the network and the UPS that powers it and plan to check it again in an hour or two. At least I can keep the cell phone charged and hope that the nearest cell tower has plenty of backup power. I know the central office that tower connects to has backup: an autostart diesel generator and several weeks of fuel.

Thinking of fuel. We'll be OK if there's enough sun to recharge the battery bank tomorrow but the usual 20 gallons of treated backup fuel is down to about 16 gallons and we'd need something over a gallon a day to run things and charge the battery bank with the inverter generator if there's little or no sun. However, lack of sun is not likely to be a problem in August. I may need to get the rest of the solar panels outside. My solar backup system is mostly a stealth project, with one 250 watt panel set up behind the house where it's almost hidden. If we need maximum solar power for several days, some of the other 1560 watts of solar panels will need to be added depending on the amount of sun and our usage. The Kill-A-Watt on the inverter will tell me how much power we're using, both instantaneous and cumulative, so I'll know how much solar to add or if a gasoline generator is needed - or both. There's also an amp-hour (AH) meter on the feed from the battery bank so I'll know 1) how much the battery bank has been discharged and, from that number, when to shut down the inverter to protect the batteries and 2) how much power has been put back into the batteries by the sun or a generator or both.

Battery voltage is NOT a good indicator of a lead-acid battery's state of charge (SOC) or depth of discharge (DOD), but the actual AH used and restored are an excellent indicator. Charging any battery isn't 100% efficient, with lead-acid charging being an average of 85% efficient over a full charge cycle but that efficiency drops below 60% when 80% charge is reached and below 50% when 90% charge is reached, so the last few percent of a charge can take "forever". Effectively, the battery needs to be charged with 107-115% of the amount it was discharged; in other words, 100AH used will require 107-115AH of replacement depending on the condition of the batteries.

There's nothing wrong with the battery bank, that's just the way the lead-acid chemistry works. There's an online paper on that from C&D Technologies: www.cdtechno.com/pdf/ref/41_2128_0212.pdf

Knowing how much power was removed from the battery bank, I can combine solar plus generator power to ensure that enough power is replaced before sunset - no generators running after dark here except in rare circumstances. I've had more than one five gallon can of gasoline (and kerosene) "disappear" overnight and I certainly don't want that to happen to a generator when commercial AC is out with neither explanation nor expected restoration time.

For those who may think lead-acid batteries are ancient technology and want to know why my battery bank isn't lithium ion or LiFePO4 or maybe LTO, there's a dollars and sense answer. I replaced the previous lead-acid battery bank this year with 420AH of 15 month old AGM batteries that still test as new for $305. I limit the discharge level to 50% (210AH) for maximum battery life. Amazon wants $949 for one 12 volt 100AH Battleborn LiFePO4 battery or about $2000 for almost the same capacity as what I have in AGMs. I don't think that expense makes sense for my purposes, as I can replace the AGMs four more times (or about 20 years' worth) for several hundred dollars less than that and, while the Battleborn has a ten year warranty, they would need to be replaced in less than 20 years. For daily use, the Battleborn's 3,000 charge/discharge cycles would give 8.2 years of cycle life. My AGM batteries would likely only provide 1,000 cycles at the 200AH discharge or 2.73 years of cycle life. That's 33% of the cycle life but at 16% of the cost. The dollars win out in my use for occasional backup power but not for daily primary power. The Battleborn is about half the weight of the AGM (not the "1/3 the weight" often claimed in their ads) which might be important in an RV or boat but not when installed in the basement of a brick house. From my experience with lithium-based batteries in laptop computers, discharging them more than 80% quickly impacts their cycle life so I would only be discharging lithium batteries a maximum of 80% (regardless of the manufacturer's claims that 100% discharge is fine) which means that two 100AH Battleborn batteries would actually provide 160AH of power, which is only 76% of the 210AH the lead-acid AGM batteries provide when only discharged 50%. You need the background information to be able to do the math for YOUR situation when planning backup power. If I used 210AH from the backup system once a week, the lead-acid batteries would theoretically last 19 years. (Do the math: at 1 cycle per week, we get 1000 cycles / 52 weeks = 19.2 years.) However, even well-cared-for AGM batteries (other than the very expensive ones) rarely last more than five to seven years. The ones I replaced were a few months short of 9 years old, so I got much better than average battery life. However, I'm also very careful with my batteries. I replaced the battery in my truck at 5 1/2 years because to my ear the starter was turning a little slow. A year later, that battery is in the basement as a power source for testing inverters and it still tests at greater than 95% capacity. If the new set of AGMs lasts five years, I'll have spent $305 / 60 months = $5.10/month for backup power. If they last nine years, I'll have spent $305 / 108 = $2.84/month. As the ads for other things say, "Just pennies a day". The solar panels and charge controllers are not included in that price as the panels typically have a 25 year life (to 80% of original output) and - barring a lightning strike - the charge controllers are very lightly loaded and should last more than ten years.

---

[sniper69]

Thank you for starting a new story. It will be interesting to see where it leads.

[9idrr]

Waitin'... waitin'... waitin'...

[solo]

'Not every "End of My World" event starts with a bang. Some of them occur while you're asleep and tomorrow's world isn't even close to yesterday's world. Others occur quietly while you're awake, with little or no indication of their total impact. This story starts with one of those quiet events.



Read more: pawfiction.proboards.com/thread/1218/sudden-silence#ixzz6Dfe48pWv'


I've been thinking about something like this for a while.  This should be interesting!

[texican]

pp2,

Thanks for the new story....

Small emp attack??.??

Texican....

[papaof2]

Day 2

Carol hit the snooze button on the alarm a couple of times and then went looking to use the coffeemaker. She found the note I wrote some hours ago and came to wake me (asleep in the recliner is not unusual when I'm writing for hours). While the whistling tea kettle is heating (gas stoves are nice to have), I'll get out the Pyrex measuring cup and the little four cup coffeemaker. There's some recently ground Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend coffee in a container with a tight-fitting lid to keep it fresh and I can brew some very good coffee by slowly pouring boiling water through the filter - just like the normal process with the little coffeemaker except that no electricity is needed. You say that's not as convenient as just plugging it in? True, but there are many more hours of flame heating in the 1000 gallon LP tank than there are hours of electrical heating in my relatively small battery bank. Heating and motorized appliances are poor choices for using stored electricity. If we generated all our own power, the fridge would also be propane to conserve electrical power.

Since the fridge is powered, the milk for her cereal and the creamer for her coffee are both cold. While she eats and gets awake, I'm also having breakfast and checking for any new info on the outage using the slow data on my phone because Uverse is still out. A dozen factions have taken credit for the outage, but their claims are just that: claims that don't ring true - either too few or too many states affected or they are claiming a total EMP event so none of them are sufficiently knowledgeable of the outa…

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

Rare to have anyone knocking on our door this early. Checking through the sidelights, it's our neighbor around the corner and she looks frantic.

"Jack! My power's out and the laptop is running down and I have a deadline to get this program uploaded and I don't have internet! Is yours working?"

"Ginny, power is out across most of the Southeast: everything south of Kentucky and east of the Mississippi River."

"But I must get this in now! My job depends on it!"

"Is your phone working?"

"Battery's dead."

"I have a charged powerbank. We can charge your phone and you can try to contact someone at your company. I doubt that any of them have left home today. If they did, they'll have their phones with them and maybe someone has a charged phone."

"But you do have power! The light under the microwave is on!"

"This light is battery-powered and has a magnetic base so it can be put where it's useful. Coffee? It's still warm."

"You have coffee? How?"

"Gas stove. Grill lighter. Boil water. Pour through ground coffee. You take it black?"

"Yes. How long to charge my…"

Deedleet!

"Ginny, that's the sound of an Android bootup. Don't take the charge cable off! Your phone isn't charged; it's running on the powerbank while it also charges the phone which will take an hour or two. Make your calls."

Ten minutes later she's had multiple "All circuits busy" and similar messages but was finally able to contact her boss' assistant who told her the offices are closed because without power the lights are off and the elevators aren't working so he's noted that she has things ready on time and to keep her phone charged so they can notify her when the office is open again.

"I guess I'm OK on work but I need groceries and cigarettes and I can't get the garage door open!"

"You can't open the garage door with a button, whether on the wall or the remote, but you can open it if you pull the red release cord and manually lift the door. Where do you think you'll be able to buy groceries with the power off? Have you called to see if Kroger or Publix is open? Do you have cash because no power could mean they can't accept credit or debit cards?"

"I can use the ATM…"

"Without power?"

"I should call and see if they're open and whether it's cash only?"

"Correct."

Having never called any of the local grocery stores, the numbers weren't on her phone so I had to look up those numbers for her. Isn't it good that her older neighbors kept a copy of the local business Yellow Pages? The 24 hour Kroger didn't answer, not even voicemail. Publix had a human answering the phone and they're open nine to six today or until the generator runs out of diesel. And it's cash only.

"Jack, can I borrow $400 for groceries?"

"Ginny, we're retired and don't carry much cash. What were you planning to buy?"

"Things that I can fix quick in the microwave…"

"Without power?"

"Maybe not. Fresh stuff from the deli for sandwiches…"

"Where will you keep it?"

"In the fridge, of course… No power means no fridge, doesn't it?"

"Yes. Your cooktop is gas?"

"Yes, but it doesn't light without power!"

"It doesn't light without power unless you have a source of fire or spark. Use this piece of paper to start a list and put 'grill lighters' at the top of it. Get two because 'Two is one and one is none' if there's a problem with one of them."

"What can I eat?"

"You do have fire for cooking, at least as long as the LP in your tank lasts..."

"I was supposed to call about getting that filled yesterday but it got lost in the baby shower for Angie at work."

"Better call the propane dealer as soon as we finish this list. Their office phone is forwarded to Owen's cell phone when there's no one in the office so you might get lucky and he can come fill your tank today. Back to the list: consider things like canned soup, canned veggies and fruits, dried fruit, canned meats - corned beef may not be high on your list of 'likes' but it has a five year shelf life, dry beans, rice, skillet breads cooked on top of the stove because your oven doesn't work without power for the igniter. Beans and rice together make fairly complete nutrition if you add in a few other things."

"Beans and rice? Isn't that peasant food?"

"It's simple, basic, inexpensive food that will keep you alive. Splurge on some summer sausage or jerky that doesn't need refrigeration so you can add a little meat - a couple tablespoons - to the pot of beans and rice for flavor. You also need some large containers for storing water. Although we have water now, the pumps used to move water through the treatment plant are electric and I have no idea how much backup power that plant has, if any. I suggest we move one of the barrels I modified as a rain barrel but never used over to your house and you fill it so you'll have 55 gallons of water. If the faucets stop flowing, be frugal with your stored water - no more than two gallons per person per day for drinking, cooking, etc. And check whether you can open a window down low on the shaded side of your house and up high on the sunny side so you get air flow through the house. Without power, today's predicted high of 92 will quickly make an oven of any room on the sunny side."

"You were a SEAL or something?"

"No. I'm a pessimist and I expect things to fail so I try to do things so those failures will have minimal impact on me. This is a serious solar charger for phones and tablets as it can provide more than an amp in full sun. Put the charger on the rail of your deck and your phone down in the shade the rail provides and let it charge an hour or two each day. "

"You have solar power! I can run my fridge and central air if I get a long extension cord?"

"No. I'm not running my fridge and freezer from it at the same time and certainly not the central air. I designed the solar power system as a limited backup so I'm not out in the dark or a thunderstorm or seven inches of snow trying to get a gasoline generator star…"

"Generator? You could run an entire house?"

"No, again. It's a small generator that's frugal with gasoline and doesn't power much more than the solar system. The generator can run a few things and charge the battery bank if there is no sun, but that's limited by the amount of gasoline I have stored…"

"I'll buy the gas!"

"Where?"

"The Kroger is closest."

"Did the store answer the phone?"

"No. So they don't have power and those pumps need power?"

"Yes…"

"We're back in the stone age! We'll die!"

"You're beginning to understand, but maybe not to the point of death if power can be restored in a few days. Notice that our fridge has power but the stove doesn't; neither does the freezer or the TV. The upright freezer is OK for maybe 16 hours if the door isn't opened. Almost everything else that we're using has rechargeable batteries, including the little TV that hasn't found any stations on the air in three scans."

"So it's like living in a cabin in the woods but with a fridge and a phone?"

"Excellent analogy. Is your list complete?"

"I think so. Would you check it?"

"Delete the cigarettes and the wine. Food is more important and alcohol can lead to dehydration when you don't have the cooling you're accustomed to. Here's $80. It will cover the essential food items I mentioned and the grill lighters but that's about all. No more than is on your list, there's no point in driving that half mile. This folding cart has decent size wheels and can handle 400 pounds. The folding crate is to provide a good base for the plastic sacks. Remember, if you don't limit your purchases to food, you will go hungry."

"But…"

"No buts."

"You sound like my Dad."

"Thanks for the compliment."

---

"Our surrogate daughter is now covered for a while, Jack. What about our actual kids?"

"I've spoken and written about being prepared for these things and I did set up a secondary pantry for each of them, consisting of mostly shelf stable and LTS foods or, as one the grandkids described it, 'Eat that stuff?' That will get them through a month or so. One kid is north of the boundary so they should be OK for power but they will experience a lack of fresh foods very soon. No power equals no fuel equals no farming and no trucks delivering food."

"We have two weeks of generator fuel?"

"More or less and very dependent on the sunshine level. Plus what's in our vehicles. Based on when we last filled up, there should be another 30 gallons or so."

"So another month of not sunny days."

"Correct, but remember that this is August and we'll have more sunny days than not sunny days. Hopefully I can do things that make the additional solar panels less obvious when I put them out."

"Do you have enough wire to put them behind Ginny's house?"

"Maybe."

"Could you power her fridge using some of the older panels and batteries? She'd probably be happy to trade yard space for food preservation."

"I need to make some measurements and check my supplies. If there are not enough solar panels or batteries to run her fridge, the counter height fridge in the basement is very efficient and I might be able to power it. The foot powered edger blade can make a narrow trench in the grass that the smallest black sprinkler pipe can go in and the wiring could be in that. That could be class UF direct burial underground wire if I had some and it's much smaller and easier to bury than the pipe. I could do most of that today and tomorrow. Ginny didn't mention David so I'll guess he's on the road this week. Hope he can get enough gas to get home; be nice to have some younger muscle for the outside work."

"Suggestions for lunch since we won't be nuking the leftovers of the onion burgers you grilled yesterday?"

"MRE?"

"Not until I am nearly starving. What else?"

"The potato soup. Just requires hot water and some stirring. Or slowly reheat the baked beans and the burgers on the grill if you'd rather have them. I'll bring up the 10 inch battery powered fan and the 12AH AGM battery so we have some circulation in here. That combo is good for about 24 hours and the battery can be recharged as needed. Tomorrow we might move the 5000BTU window unit from the garage to the bedroom. It can run during the sunniest hours and at least cool the master bedroom and maybe that bath. That side of the house only gets morning sun for a couple of hours, so a few hours of cooling during the hottest part of the day should make it OK for sleeping if the battery powered fan is in the bedroom to keep the air moving a little at night."

"Then I'll go back to my book and you can fix lunch."

"I'll use the side burner on the grill out back for the soup. No point in adding heat and humidity to the kitchen during 20 minutes of simmering."

"What if the natural gas shuts down for lack of power?"

"Remember that we went back to LP when they had the natural gas pipeline problem that left the county without natural gas for almost a week. I had the LP tank filled last month and that's usually more than a year's worth of fuel. If that's not enough, we fall back to the gas grill or to the Coleman camp stove using liquid fuel or the aftermarket LP adapter with either a one pound tank or the 20 pound tank from the gas grill - we also have a spare 20 pound tank - and I have the adapters to refill the one pound tanks from the 20 pound tank. Or use the Sterno stove. Or use the folding backpack stove that burns small wood and I could use it in the basement fireplace."

"We have food for how long?"

"Fridge, freezer and pantry have two to three weeks. Then about six or seven months of beans, rice and the canned LTS foods at 1500 calories a day."

"Water?"

"About 20 gallons in convenient containers. I'll bring one up if the County water slows or stops, which could indicate a backflow in their lines and contamination that will require boiling their water before use. The 'Bathtub BOB' is in the bathtub in the basement. It was filled when power had been off an hour, so we have around 100 gallons there. There is a small siphon pump for filling containers from that storage. Fallback is the 300 gallons of rainwater outside for watering flowers and the like but it needs some serious filtering and cleaning before use. Maybe run a 55 gallon barrel full and let that gravity feed through the Sawyer Point Zero Two filter that even stops viruses? That could go to another 55 gallon barrel in the basement and I can put a 12 volt on-demand pump on that barrel with a faucet at the kitchen sink. The plumbing won't be pretty because I'm not going to drill another hole in the quartz countertop but we'd have water at the turn of a faucet for washing hands and dishes and those should be done in a pan and that water saved in a bucket for flushing. For drinking, cooking and brushing teeth, we may want to use the Brita filter to improve the smell and taste."

"That one downspout will collect enough water?"

"In a year with normal rainfall, we could have two gallons per person per day or 248 gallons/month plus a five gallon sun shower once a week which is four people times five gallons times 4.3 weeks in a month or another 86 gallons for a total of 334 gallons/month.* Might be on one gallon per day any week you want a shower using two of the five gallon solar shower bags. If the rainfall is less, we might be on one gallon per person per day permanently."

"And if we add more storage?"

"Increasing the storage to 750 gallons would allow for two gallons per person per day and a ten gallon shower each week, love. Adding the output from another downspout would have the 750 gallons of storage filled at the end of February if you started with empty tanks on January 1. Probably have everyone happier if showers are available."

"Thank you, Fount of All Knowledge."

"Bad pun, you goof!"

"Our much younger neighbor is almost hysterical but you have us set up to weather most infrastructure glitches so I can be relaxed and maybe a little silly. You done good, Jack!"

"Thanks, love. Should we check on the older people in the neighborhood? Lucy is on insulin and that may need some cooling and I'm not sure about the medication Gus is on now but at one time he was taking something that required refrigeration."

"Keep them in our fridge?"

"If we must. Better if we provide ice for a well-insulated cooler. Maybe that combination of the small flip-top cooler inside the styrofoam cooler frozen hams are shipped in?"

"That combination did provide a little over two days with one blue 'cold brick', didn't they?"

"And we have a half dozen or more of those 'bricks' already frozen. That will work as long as we have enough power from solar and/or the gas generator to cool the freezer."

---

"Ginny! Why are you walking instead of driving?"

"David, power is off for unknown reasons and an unknown length of time. I'd have to open the garage door manually and then it can't be locked shut. It's dumb to burn gas when all the pumps are without power. Since you're on your way home, put these things in the trunk and I'll ride the rest of the way with you."

"How do you know this?"

"I was in a panic to get my program uploaded this morning and we don't have power or internet and my phone was dead so I asked Jack. He charged my phone and gave me a solar charger that actually works! He showed me Fox and CNN online and all they know is the Southeast is dark and there are no prospects for power restoration. I was at Publix because they're open until their generator runs out of diesel. Kroger doesn't answer the phone and there's no one at the pumps."

"So how do I upload the work I did on the road?"

"Does your phone do 'hotspot'?"

"Supposed to but I've never been able to make it work."

"Ask Jack. And if you have cash, you can pay him back the $80 I borrowed to buy the food in the trunk. I'll go unlock the front door and we can take it in that way."

---

"What is that blue thing in the floor?"

"Water for two weeks if the power stays off. The county's water treatment plant runs on electricity."

"Can we flush?"

"Wash your hands in a pan and dump that water in the mop bucket. Flush with that water. There's a rhyme: 'If it's yellow, let it mellow…"

"'If it's brown, flush it down' and I've heard that before, just didn't think I'd be living it."

"Me either."

"At least we can flush. If the sewer backs up…"

"I don't want to think about that but Jack said something about a five gallon pail with a toilet seat on top and a doubled trash bag inside - and sprinkle on some baking soda to keep the smell down."

"And put that on the lower level near the back door so we can take it out to the tree line and dump it?"

"Jack said dig a hole and bury it."

"We have a shovel?"

"We do now - and a file to sharpen the edge so it cuts through the grass easier."

---

* Calculated using the known size of a section of my roof and a 300 gallon container using my modified version of a Rainwater Harvesting spreadsheet (originally RWHSystemSizingCalculator.xls posted on the Rainwater Harvesting Group on Yahoo Groups but those files were all discontinued in 2019). My version can be downloaded here:

www.jecarter.us/files/RWH-calc-modified.xls

[9idrr]

Ordered a 2.2K genny for my daughter and S-I-L that was delivered almost 2 months ago. They still haven't added oil and tried it out. During the short outage they've had since then (4-5 hours) they didn't feel they needed power, but I think I've bugged 'em enough that it'll get tested out this weekend.
No matter what you do and say, sometimes folks just don't believe it'll happen to them. Hell, until I sent 'em a pair of 7 gallon water storage jugs all they kept in the house for emergencies was a couple of gallon plastic containers, but at least they kept those full. At least she's fairly resourceful, and I think if he doesn't get the genset up and running this weekend she may just take it upon herself to set the thing up,
I'd like to think we raised her to be ready, but we ain't seen all the signs yet that it took.

[papaof2]

Feb 11, 2020 22:20:48 GMT -6 9idrr said:

Ordered a 2.2K genny for my daughter and S-I-L that was delivered almost 2 months ago. They still haven't added oil and tried it out. During the short outage they've had since then (4-5 hours) they didn't feel they needed power, but I think I've bugged 'em enough that it'll get tested out this weekend.
No matter what you do and say, sometimes folks just don't believe it'll happen to them. Hell, until I sent 'em a pair of 7 gallon water storage jugs all they kept in the house for emergencies was a couple of gallon plastic containers, but at least they kept those full. At least she's fairly resourceful, and I think if he doesn't get the genset up and running this weekend she may just take it upon herself to set the thing up,
I'd like to think we raised her to be ready, but we ain't seen all the signs yet that it took.

I like to think that the girls both took after me (shadetree mechanic and shadetree engineer). One is an engineer (Master's from Georgia Tech) the other has a Master's in Library Science but at one point was covering at least three jobs at the university library. She's the one who diagnosed the dishwasher as having a bad pump (with a little telephone help fro me) and then ordered and replaced it. She also did the 4 foot fluorescent to LED conversion for the overhead light in their kitchen. Maybe she has that gene because she's the pretty version of me? ;-) Neither seems to have much interest in prepping although both would probably be good at figuring the priorities and quantities.

I installed gas logs in the fireplace for one of them (easy, as it was already plumbed for a gas starter) but they've not (yet) had an occasion to use them. But that might change when they're cold enough that the two minute wait from turning on the gas valve on the wall until the gas reaches the pilot light so you can light it doesn't exceed their patience ;-)

[texican]

Thanks pp2 for the chapter....

Happened in August, so no cold weather yet....

A couple of the sheeple are waking up with a little help....

Texican....

[papaof2]

I started this story on an August evening ;-) It's just taken a while to get it to the sharable stage. I have an outline for a tale that begins on an unseasonably cold day in October but it's a long way from primetime. Plus two or three others that are in various stages. Plus "The Care and Feeding of a Fiction Writer's Muse and Other Stories" which might come together in the next month or so. I have a cover even if the content isn't complete...

[solo]

If you have a mind to go ahead and push today's drop, I'd certainly read it....

[9idrr]

Feb 11, 2020 23:10:27 GMT -6 papaof2 said:

Feb 11, 2020 22:20:48 GMT -6 9idrr said:

Ordered a 2.2K genny for my daughter and S-I-L that was delivered almost 2 months ago. They still haven't added oil and tried it out. During the short outage they've had since then (4-5 hours) they didn't feel they needed power, but I think I've bugged 'em enough that it'll get tested out this weekend.
No matter what you do and say, sometimes folks just don't believe it'll happen to them. Hell, until I sent 'em a pair of 7 gallon water storage jugs all they kept in the house for emergencies was a couple of gallon plastic containers, but at least they kept those full. At least she's fairly resourceful, and I think if he doesn't get the genset up and running this weekend she may just take it upon herself to set the thing up,
I'd like to think we raised her to be ready, but we ain't seen all the signs yet that it took.

I like to think that the girls both took after me (shadetree mechanic and shadetree engineer). One is an engineer (Master's from Georgia Tech) the other has a Master's in Library Science but at one point was covering at least three jobs at the university library. She's the one who diagnosed the dishwasher as having a bad pump (with a little telephone help fro me) and then ordered and replaced it. She also did the 4 foot fluorescent to LED conversion for the overhead light in their kitchen. Maybe she has that gene because she's the pretty version of me? ;-) Neither seems to have much interest in prepping although both would probably be good at figuring the priorities and quantities.

I installed gas logs in the fireplace for one of them (easy, as it was already plumbed for a gas starter) but they've not (yet) had an occasion to use them. But that might change when they're cold enough that the two minute wait from turning on the gas valve on the wall until the gas reaches the pilot light so you can light it doesn't exceed their patience ;-)

Yeah, our daughter worked on airframes in USNavy, so she can do stuff, but the sense of priorities isn't the same as ours.

[papaof2]

Day 3

Knock. Knock.

There being no power to watch the Late Show, it seems we have another neighbor up before the sun.

"Yes, David?"

"You're wearing a gun?"

"Power is off. Restaurants and most grocery stores are closed. A number of people live a 'three meals from hungry' lifestyle where they don't stock food or know how to cook and 24 hours without power will cause them to miss three meals. We don't have much lighting, but this house isn't as dark as a lot of them. Would someone think that having light means you also have food? Would that someone ask or try to take? Remember that I have had gasoline stolen and they broke a window in Gus' truck to steal his GPS - and those events weren't related to the power being off for an unknown period of time."

"You're just being practical about keeping your place safe. I should have brought my weapons when I moved here. Back to why I'm here. Ginny said you had a way to brew coffee without power?"

"And you need your morning three cup fix?"

"You are so right! Tell me how and here's the $80 from yesterday. Do you still have water?"

"Haven't checked the faucets this morning, as we've been using water I collected immediately after the power failed. Let me check…"

Sploosh! Gurgle!

"I didn't think we'd lose water pressure this fast but apparently it has happened."

"We'll die without water!"

"You need to learn about the Three of Life…"

"Tree of Life?"

"No, 'Three of Life', as in one, two, three. The Three of Life is three minutes without air, three hours without shelter in extreme weather, three days without water and three weeks without food."

"But we only have the water in that blue barrel…"

"Plus the water in the pipes in your house and the water in the water heater's tank - and you need to make a note to go turn that gas water heater off. You don't want to evaporate away part of your water supply or waste propane you may need for cooking."

"Where will we get hot water to shower if I do that?"

"You'll have two options. These boxes contain two solar showers. You fill them with cold water and leave them in the sun until the indicator changes color to tell you that they're warm enough to use or you can use a burner on your gas stove to heat a large pot of water and mix it with enough cold water to get warm water for the bags. The bags are five gallons each and a practiced user can actually wash and rinse an adult body with one bag. You'll want to start with both bags filled with warm water so you're not rinsing off with cold water. You might have enough water to wash your hair on your first solar shower attempt but Ginny won't. She'd need another bag of water for her long hair and someone to help her rinse it."

"Where will we get more water when the water we have is gone?"

"It rains here frequently, so I'll loan you a couple more 55 gallon barrels and show you how to collect water from a downspout. It won't be drinkable without treatment, but I can give you a ceramic filter and a couple of five gallon buckets to do basic filtration of the water. You'll need to add a little chlorine bleach and/or boil the water at least five minutes before using it."

"I think I can do that. So we should shower with a friend to save water?"

"Maybe after you've both practiced solo a few times so you can actually shower two people with just two bags of water."

"I thought showerheads produced two and a half gallons a minute. There's some special way of washing and rinsing to do an entire shower with ten gallons?"

"There are a couple of how-to videos about using a sun shower on this thumb drive with a micro-USB connector for the OTG port on your phone. I loaned Ginny a charger yesterday."

"And I used that charger yesterday afternoon. It really works! Thanks. You mentioned coffee?"

"This is a stovetop or campfire percolator. You may find your phone useful as a timer as it needs to perk about five minutes. There are short instructions in the basket."

"What basket?"

"The basket in the percolator that you put the ground coffee in."

"We only have pods."

"Slice the top of the pod open and dump in one for each cup of coffee. Put that many cups of water in the pot and then put the basket in place. Put the burner on medium-low - probably '3' or '4' on the knob on your stove. Listen for the pot to start perking and time it for five minutes."

"What about toast?"

"Think grilled cheese sandwiches. Warm a skillet while you butter the bread then brown both sides of the bread - buttered side first so there'll be some grease in the skillet for the second side of the bread."

"What about air conditioning? Isn't the heat bad for your heart?"

"We won't be running the central air as I never included that as part of the backup power design - a big generator would go through my stored fuel in just a couple of days and a generator that runs on natural gas or LP was not in the budget. If the days aren't too hot, we'll be opening a window on the east side of the basement and the south side of the upper floor to get convection air flow through the house. It won't actually cool the house but it will prevent heat build-up and hold the inside temperature about where the outside temperature is. If we need cooling, I'll move the 5000 BTU window unit from the garage to the master bedroom and we'll be able to run it from solar power a few hours during the sunniest part of the day. We'll be using a battery powered fan to keep the air stirred up at night."

"What about the dust and pollen those open windows will bring in? Don't you have a problem with ragweed?"

"Actually, both of us have problems with ragweed so we have a good stock of OTC antihistamines and decongestants. However, that basement window has a mount for a 20" x 25" x 5" air filter - same as the central system uses - to trap the dust and pollen before they enter the house. We need the ventilation but not the extra hassles of bringing in dust and allergens."

"It works without power?"

"Once the convection flow is started, it continues to work by simple physics. I do have a small fan that can be placed in the upstairs window to get the flow started, if needed."

"You've thought all this out."

"Over time, particularly while writing some of my 'The End of Civilization as We Know It' stories. There are copies of some of those books in this box as I don't think you'll be watching much TV. Those books are a loan - other people may also be looking for entertainment that teaches."

"Thanks. We discovered how little non-electronic media we had last night… Wait a minute! You said you learned stuff while writing your books - they'll tell us how to wash clothes without power?"

"Among other things."

"What about growing food?"

"The absolutely shortest grow cycle is certain salad greens but that's still measured in weeks."

"But… but…"

"Scary, isn't it? You do have good space for a garden behind Ginny's house. I have seeds, shovels and a small tiller. However, since I saw that you have cash I think you should call Publix and see if they're open today. Then go buy as much shelf stable food…"

"Shelf stable?"

"Things that keep without refrigeration. Flour; cornmeal; canned veggies, fruits and meats; pasta. To make bread, you'll need flour or cornmeal, plus baking soda and salt or vinegar - or baking powder - plus milk and/or eggs and a recipe. Include powdered milk and powdered eggs on your list - they keep for a long time without refrigeration. There are lots of simple recipes on the thumb drive. You might want to write them down for the rainy days when you can't charge your phone."

"So paper and pencils should be on my list if there are any left?"

"Probably pencils and pens. If you have one-side-only printed matter, you can write on the back side of those sheets."

"Ginny is right - you do think outside of the box. That's a good thing for those of us trapped in the box and looking at starvation."

"Go call Publix to be sure they're open - the number's on Ginny's phone - and then go get food. If you have cash to buy more than will fit in the cart that Ginny used yesterday, I can bring a garden cart to you and help you get things back here. Remember that the cell phones are still working - at least for a little while."

"Little while?"

"The cell towers are running on battery backup or a backup generator that uses gasoline or diesel, although a few may have solar power. The cell towers go through a telco office that's currently running on a diesel powered backup generator. When the fuel runs out at either place, the cell phones die and we have no way of knowing how much fuel either location has. Go buy groceries. If you need help getting them back, call me. If you need protection for the groceries, ask for Marshal Dillon when you call and I'll bring a shotgun for you to use."

"I will."

---

Fox and CNN still have nothing more than today's fancy graphics and yesterday's "Dark east of the Mississippi and south of the Kentucky-Tennessee border" reports. I need better information. It's been a long time since I was active in Air Force MARS but they're probably still using the same frequencies - just with the names shuffled again. Fire up the battery powered ham rig and tune to the frequency that should be in use this time of day. It was called Sierra Tango when I was an active member. Regardless of name changes, this was the primary frequency for the daytime network. Yes, there's activity. Some of the messages are official, not just the usual health and welfare traffic. Do I still have the digital decoder I built back then? Yes. I'll see whether they mention the packet radio frequencies being in use before I go dig that decoder out and make up the proper cables for this radio. I'm only hearing one side of this conversation but it's from a station near Savannah. Need to turn on the digital audio recorder. Done. In addition to the generally poor propagation conditions of a low in the 11 year sunspot cycle, there's a lot of static today - there's certainly not much other electrical activity in the area so maybe the static is from the thunderstorms in today's forecast?

'#%*&@…Chinese container ship… %#%*&@ …Savann… %$#*& … shore power… #@$%#$# …complaints of noisy … %#$#&^% …Chinese ship disconn… %$#%#%$ …power out…'

My suspicious mind translates that to "a Chinese ship connected to shore power at Savannah and noised up the power for other ships and the Chinese were disconnected just before the power outage." Did the Chinese hackers finally find a way to put a virus on the SCADA control network for the power grid? Did someone monitoring the grid detect that virus and shut down all the links in and out of the Southeast to keep the virus from propagating to the rest of the grid? How long to find and clean the infestation and restore power? That station's speaking again.

'…weeks to 3 months… %$#&@%# …martial law if… #%$&@# …FEMA unable… #@$%# …more tomorrow …'

I've learned just enough to know that most of the Southeast is in deep trouble - weeks to months without power means no communications, no fuel, no food transport, no water or sewer, no natural gas. If you live out, are on a septic tank, use LP or wood for cooking and heating, grow most of your own food, have a hand pump on your well or adequate solar power for an electric pump and have the means and training to defend what you have, you probably have a good chance of surviving. Less so for the suburbs and possibly near zero for the cities if power - which affects all the other utilities - is off for months. The cities may all be like LA with feces in the streets and people fighting over moldy bread. Need to tell my better half. Not sure if most of the neighbors can handle that kind of news.

BEEEEEEEP!!

That's the NOAA Weather Radio alert tone. It's a recorded message from the President.

---

Other than adding a few missing words, it's what I just heard from MARS - the estimated power restoral time is two weeks to three months, martial law can be invoked for an area if any of a half dozen circumstances apply, FEMA is unable to provide aid due to lack of fuel over such a large area. Good thing that the audio recorder was still running. And the message repeats and it will repeat every hour on the half hour. Which is fine until the batteries in those radios run down from repeated alarm tones and full volume broadcasts. Good that I have a stock of rechargeable NiMH AA cells for things such as the weather radio, the FRS handie-talkies and the battery powered clocks. An AA battery can last a year or more in most of those clocks so no problem keeping track of time without power.

Brrt! Brrt!

A text. From our daughter here in the southeast.

[Evening shift said library computers went bonkers just before power died. Related? Time frame for restoral? If more than a week, can we stay with you?]

Seems the virus might have affected things other than just the power grid's SCADA controllers. Was that intentional or just shoddy work? Need to tell her what I know so they can decide whether to come here.

[Power out over entire Southeast. President says 2 weeks to 3 months for restoral. Remember that we won't have central air either but the house has trees for shade and we can open windows for convection flow up from basement so cooler than where you are. No gasoline being pumped here because power is out - unless someone I know is at the Kroger kiosk and we can trade generator time for fuel. Be certain you have enough gas to get here - plus at least ten percent - before you leave. Bring food or you'll be eating our usuals plus beans and rice.]

That text took an unusually long time to send. Does that mean the cell phone network is already overloaded because the home routers for the all-in-one services such as FIOS and Uverse no longer have AC power for the landlines they serve and most phone calls are now going over the cell network? The best Uverse-provided backup is about three hours and we've now been without power many times that.


"Jack, did I hear the weather alert tone?"

"You did, love. The President spoke. Here's what I recorded."
---
"We're OK for three months but most of our neighbors won't be. Do we take in the surrogate kid next door?"

"No. Our nearest daughter and son-in-law are headed here. Whatever malware took down the power grid also affected the computers at the library there."

"You mentioned food to her?"

"'Bring your own or eat beans and rice' covered that, but then I like your beans and rice - and there is Beano in the medicine cabinet."

"Then that's covered. What about the extra water we'll need?"

"About 100 gallons in the bathtub BOB downstairs, 20 gallons or more in the water heater plus 20 gallons in movable five gallon storage containers adds up to 140 gallons. At two gallons per person per day, that's 140 / 8 or 17+ days for the four of us. I don't think the powers that be can get everything working again in two weeks, so I need to spend time getting the rainwater filter and pump system in place. I did provide temporary power to the top-loading washing machine and start the 'Clean' cycle but I unplugged the washer as soon as it filled. We have about 25 gallons there but it will need processing to be drinkable. I have a 12 volt submersible pump to make getting that water out of the tub easier."

"We'll have running cold water only."

"Correct. I need to get another large rainwater container in place so we'll have enough water for everyone to shower once a week if there's enough sun to warm the bags or we heat water over some source of fire. At least for the first month or so, it's generally warm and sunny enough that we can heat those bags in the sun."

---

[texican]

pp2,

Getting real or not since most do not know how to deal with real....

It appears that America and the world will be living with a virus SHTF condition which will worsen as the days pass.... China is finally putting out better lies as to infected and deaths....

Get what you need before the sheep wake up....

Thanks for the chapter....

Texican....

[papaof2]

Day 4

Talked with David about a garden behind their house. That's the best place because of low trees and fences that block the view and access on three sides of that space and their house blocks the view and access from the front. They're both onboard for some of the solar panels being mounted to the outer side of their deck railing and he'll do the hard work of slicing dirt for running cables back here.

He'll also do the sod removal back there. I called a friend who works at the home center to find out whether they're open. They are, but it's cash or their credit card only. I made arrangements to rent a sod cutter and maybe a large tiller but he had an off-rental rear-tine tiller for $250 that just needs paint and a tuneup - that model is usually about $500 used and we may be doing garden for a while so it's a good investment. We'll go pick things up, including fertilizer, specific weed killers, hybrid seeds (while they're available, so I can save my heirloom seeds) and a number of other things needed for a serious garden. While we're there, I'll check for some UF electrical wiring as it's much easier to place in a slit in the ground and I won't worry about the proper 18 inch burial depth unless this solar configuration becomes semi-permanent. Also need some pest control chemicals as the usual company isn't likely to be making their quarterly rounds. And a solar powered fence charger to keep small animals - and the larger two-legged ones - out of the garden. And some window screening to make drying racks. Not sure about their stock of Mason jars, lids and rings but check it while we're there. If the home center doesn't have the fence charger, Tractor Supply normally does - even multiple solar versions - but I'll need to verify that they're open. Or I could build the junkbox version using a 555 timer chip, a power transistor and the ignition coil from an older vehicle. I may have a spare coil in the basement for the '80 Olds we once owned and I'll bet Gus has a wiring diagram for a fence charger. I can prove that he's not 'old and useless' by having him build the fence charger for me. Small box for the parts I have and I'll drop that off at his place later today.

David mentioned seeing a damaged bag of potatoes behind the Publix, so we'll get those while we're out and Carol and Ginny can cut the usable ones into pieces for planting. Those can be left in the ground until needed if we don't have room to store them elsewhere when they're ready for harvest. Potatoes usually produce well here and the price is excellent.

---

Ring! Ring!

Area code 202? I haven't had any dealings with people in DC since I retired five years ago. Wonder what's going on?

Ring! Ring!

'This is Jack Wilson.'

'Jack, it's General Baxter. We need…'

'Sorry, but I'm retired. The last official words I heard were "We don't need stupid old farts like you! You can retire or you can be fired." We're without power for possibly three months, much of the rest of the infrastructure will be gone by the end of this week and I'm probably not interested in what YOU need.'

'Sorry, but I'm running frazzled. Let me try again in something other than a command tone of voice. Jack, we need to apologize to you. Everything you had in that last white paper on power grid security was spot on: the source of the malware, the method of injection and the time required to shut down the country. The only reason it didn't spread further was a monitor the Corps of Engineers had set up as a part of a training exercise at one of their little plants in south Alabama. One of the trainees recognized the unusual command patterns as being forward-propagating shutdown commands - the ones that tell a circuit 'Tell your boss to shutdown, then you shut down'. An alert went up the chain of command and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs issued the isolation orders in less than two minutes from the start of the event.'

'My place in this?'

'Your analysis on recovery was also accurate. Almost all the older people are gone and knowledge of how to do a massive manual grid restart went with them. The whiz kids are tapping keys and clicking mice but nothing happens. How do we restart this?'

'You want the happy answer or the answer that prevents this from happening again?'

'The whiz kids would take the happy answer. The Chairman wants a permanent fix.'

'The permanent answer will cost billions and take months or years. However, there is an answer that will work in the interim but ONLY if all ships are denied shore power at all ports for the duration. That denial will require overriding the pollution regulations at most ports so the ships can produce their own power or finding enough large rental generators to provide that power.'

'I'm making notes. Consider denial of shore power a completed item. If power is off where you are, how do you charge your cell phone?'

'Same way we power the fridge: a small solar backup system. Next item for you is a procedure in the manual at each power generating station of any type. It's under the red "Emergency Restart" tab, the one that has "Contact Regional Manager for key to locker A17." Most of those Regional Managers were canned when I was and all of them took that key home with them.'

'But…'

'Part of the job requirement was that they held the key until their replacement was identified and sworn in. No one was ever replaced so there was no one to receive that key.'

'We must now locate a dozen people in an area without power and with communications failing?'

'You had a timely warning and it was ignored.'

'You're right. So where do we find those keys?'

'I have the master keys for those lockers…'

'Chopper on it's way in five minutes!'

'Only if you're planning to take me to all those sites. You don't have anyone qualified to receive the key.'

'Tell me where we start - and what your time will cost us.'

---

"You're going where, Jack?"

"On a grand tour of the Southeast US, love."

"For how long?"

"Between three and eight hours at each electric generating plant and a few of the bigger distribution hubs. The plants can't pass information until they're powered up and they normally get limited power and some communications over the lines to the rest of the grid."

"But all power is off and they're all isolated from the grid so you're one of the very few who knows how to do an isolated manual restart or a manual total shutdown. How much is this knowledge worth?"

"Today, it's worth a year of high end military LTS foods for four people, a couple hundred MREs, 10,000 gallons of water plus Berkey black filters for that much additional water and 1000 gallons of treated gasoline, which would run the inverter generator a very long time at one gallon per day. We also get military patrols around the area - some on foot, some in vehicles and some by drones."

"And that's worth?"

"With the security, it's about three or four years' salary at what would have been my current GS rate - but tax free."

"Reasonable, when they can't get the answers anywhere else and they could have had them for the asking before you were forced out. How long?"

"Maybe three or four weeks? That will also depend on whether I can find new Regional Managers among the available employees - need to text Baxter about some personnel files. In addition, some things will have been damaged by the incorrectly sequenced shutdowns and many plants may come back up at less than full capacity. I told the General to plan on sequenced startup, with there being rolling power availability early on - maybe four hours a day to multiple areas - and increasing as the plants get back to fully operational."

"What about your expectations of riots in the streets?"

"The military will be powering police and fire locations and hospitals plus providing additional communications capabilities for them. Having the military in the communications loop will mean that serious firepower will be available immediately, if needed. This area will have military patrols, although I suspect more by satellite and drone than people walking or driving through, but there will also be some level of eyes on the ground."

"So you want me to feel safe while you're gone?"

"General Baxter wants you to feel safe while I'm gone. He still has visible scars from the one time he didn't keep you as safe as I felt was appropriate."

"His wife once asked me if you were always that violent and I told her 'Only in defense of me'. She responded 'Must be nice to have a man love you that much' - and it is."

---

"General Li, all US ports have now turned off shore power. We cannot continue shutting down their power grid."

"'The Shining Lotus' is in Seattle?"

"Yes, General."

"Order Captain Chen to offer his younger daughter, the ten-year-old, to the Port Manager in exchange for power."

"Yes, General."

"Same for Kwan on 'The People's Star' at the Port of Virginia. They are deeper into the country there and the nuke can do more damage, possibly even to the Naval facility at Norfolk."

"Yes, General."

"If these fools insist on taking their children onboard ship with them, those children will also serve their country."

"Yes, General."

---

[9idrr]

Than you, kind sir. Feel free to drop more chapters any time.

[papaof2]

I think this one runs 16 chapters so you get a few more days of it.

I'm working on another story (aren't I nearly always?) and I added 2600 words to it today. Not even close to ready for primetime but there is more in the pipeline. Just not with a timeframe...

[papaof2]

Day 5


"Jack, why are we starting at the tiny little power plant at Miller's Ferry, Alabama?"

"Because that's where a very sharp tech noticed an inappropriate string of system commands and sent an alert up the chain of command which got the Southeast isolated from the rest of the grid."

"You'll be swearing in the next Regional Manager for that region of Alabama."

"Correct. That's why we stopped at a very specific locksmith's shop. It's one of the few places that can duplicate this key."

"Lead on, Jack. I'm just here for logistics: transport, security, food and lodging."

---

'Sergeant Thomas White to the Control Room.'


"I'm Sergeant White, sir."

"Sergeant, this is Jack Williams, chief of grid security."

"Very pleased to meet you, sir."

"Sergeant, you're about to receive the best and worst news of your career. First, you'll be assisting me with the manual startup here which will make you one of a very few who know how to perform a computerless startup or shutdown. If you're successful, you'll be appointed the Regional Manager for Region 23 and you'll have the responsibility for this plant and the others in the region."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"As sure as I can be. You are obviously aware of the not-quite-right on the fringes of power plant operation and that's the best trait for a Regional Manager - someone who notices when things aren't exactly right and takes immediate action to resolve the problem. Grab your tools."

"Sir."


"This is the key to that locker. Open the locker and get out the bag inside."

"Sir."

"Now get the red binder out of the bag and remove the key from the front cover."

"It's marked 'Storage 13'. I didn't know we had anything numbered 13."

"It's not obvious. In the wall between Storage 12 and Storage 14 there's a faint outline of a door. Find the outline of the lock then insert and turn the key."

"It opens."

"What do you see, Sergeant?"

"A small and very basic control panel with analog meters, a few switches and an exercise bike!"

"Open the binder and start reading. Do the steps after you read them."

"OK. 'Mount bike.' 'Strap on pedals.' 'Pedal up to 48 volts on meter 1.' 'Operate "Local Backup" switch.' There are lights on the control panel! 'Operate "Boot Sequence 1" switch.' I hear relays and the lights are operating in sequence as listed. 'Operate "Boot Sequence 2" switch.' The little LCD screen has 'Place key in reader'. Done. Screen has 'User verified'. Do I hear the startup diesel running?"

"You do. Thirty seconds for it to warm up before it powers the control room. You're needed there for the rest of the sequence. Take the key."


"The gen started, Jack! We have power for the control room but nothing works."

"General, the Sergeant is still working through the startup. He's needed at this position."

"Screen has 'Key in Override Switch and turn to Start'. Done."

"The gates are being opened! Status lights show 'Cold Start'."

"Turbine 1 is spinning up!"

"Generator 1 has output. Waiting for full voltage."

"Sergeant, watch the line amps when you cut the generator in. There could be faults we didn't see as we drove by."

"Yes, Mr. Williams."

"Full voltage."

"Generator 1 online."

"Power at 3MW."

"Sergeant, repeat after me…"

---

"Thomas, your copy of the key. Per your oath, it stays with you until your replacement is sworn in. General, let me introduce you to Regional Manager Thomas White. Thomas, just a handshake for the general. You're a civilian now and I think you'll find the pay is better at your new GS rating."

"Congratulations, Thomas. Thank you, Jack. You were correct about the time, as we've been here four hours. Do bigger plants take longer?"

"Only in waiting for the boilers to produce steam or for more generators to come online."

"We can get the other plant on the Alabama River today?"

"If the Regional Manager is available. Thomas, you ready for another one?"

"Yes, Jack."

---

Ring!

'Hello, love. We made our goal today.'

'So you got two small plants online, Jack. Will I benefit from that?'

'Not immediately, but we have a new Regional Manager who can be off starting other plants in Alabama while I continue on with the sequence I showed you.'

'So you in Atlanta tomorrow and a new Regional Manager there who can do the other plants after he or she does the first one under your guidance and then you're on to Savannah the next day?'

'Correct. We could go directly to Savannah but better if the military goes through the docks and ensures that no shore power is available before we restart that plant.'

'So when do I see grid power?'

'Three more days if all goes as planned. Is everyone managing to get along?'

'More or less. Ginny got drunk yesterday and tried to make up a power cord for the central air so she could plug it in on the 2000 watt inverter powering the small fridge, their laptops and some lights. She smoked the inverter and I don't know about anything else. I told David that inverter was your backup for the inverter here and there was nothing I could do for them other than providing a few ice bricks for a cooler. General Baxter heard about it and there's a bigger inverter coming for us so we'll still have a spare, but it's a few days out.'

'And by then you might not need it. Status of the garden?'

'David says he can't keep up with Will and Sarah in the garden. They did have enough gas to get here and we can fill them up to go back home because that 1000 gallon trailer of gasoline arrived today, along with the first of several truckloads of food and other supplies. The space for the new garden has been de-sodded, fertilizer tilled in, seeds planted - that old mechanical seeder still works fine - and all the rows have the seed packets at the end in plastic bags to identify what's planted there. We even had a half inch of rain overnight so things are going well.'

'Talk to you tomorrow. Love you.'

'You too.'

---

[9idrr]

Uh... central air plugged into a 2K inverter, huh? Kinda like trying to fit a size 9 butt into size 3 shorts, isn't it?

[papaof2]

But you've probably seen similar lack of common sense...

[texican]

pp2,

Jack off to the rescue....

The Chinese still trying to sabotage the power grid.... Now what will happen to the Chinese??.??

Thanks for the chapter....

Texican....

PS: Up late with the DW and I are watching "Outlander" series and the DW really likes the "Outlander" series which we are also recording....

[papaof2]

Day 6


"An Abrams for transport, General?"

"Jack, people are shooting at anything that moves near Plant McDonough. As though some don't want power restored."

"Some probably don't want commercial power back because they collected generators, fuel and lots of wiring or long extension cords and can be in control of at least some of the people as long as they control the power in an area. That's why there are such tight restrictions on public utilities and the various states have their own utility regulating groups. Second Abrams for the new Regional Manager I find today?"

"Even using an Abrams, I don't want to have all our eggs in one basket. And I certainly don't want Carol coming after me for not keeping you adequately safe. I don't think I'd survive that."

"You could be right. The one that got through your security didn't survive her."

"And one of my sergeants with extensive combat experience lost his lunch for the first time in 20 years. An ax is a terrible weapon to face when you're armed with a knife."

"Even more so when the female wielding the ax has been in lumberjack competitions and her calmly explaining that it only required three strokes of the ax: one at the shoulder to remove the threat, one at the knee to prevent escape and one at the neck to prevent recurrence."

"That still gives me chills, Jack. I can see why you're such a faithful husband."

"That could also be because she's the love of my life."

"Having seen the two of you together many times, I can't argue that. We're here. Surprised that we didn't take any fire along the way. Wait until the guys from the APC have checked the area before you make a high target of yourself as you exit the tank."

"I'm waiting."

---

"Mr. Williams, I'm Brad Jenkins. Welcome to Plant McDonough. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I want to meet with Kelly Greene…"

"But we have other…"

"Jenkins, he said Kelly Greene! I'm certain you can be replaced!"

"Yes, General."


"You wanted me, Mr. Williams?"

"Yes, Miss Greene. You got your MSEE with honors and seem to have done better on all the practical tests than anyone else here, regardless of age, sex or political connections. I need help doing a manual restart of this plant and you're it."

"Thank you."

"Get the emergency binder and start reading. Jenkins, I saw you trying to hide that binder. General, arrest him on suspicion of treason and detain anyone else that gets in the way of restoral."

"Yes, Mr. Williams."

"Kelly, here's the binder."

---

"I'm the only one here that knows how?"

"You are the first of perhaps three in this state to know how. Remember the level of security this entails."

"My Dad was CIA. I did a paper on security levels and the reasons for them when I was at Georgia Tech. Am I the only one here with a TS4 or higher clearance?"

"You're the only employee here today with that clearance."

"And I take the oath before I get a key?"

"Correct. You can bring the plant back without outside power and you can take it down to a place where can only be restarted by what you learned today. The oath ceremony is public and requires certified witnesses. General Baxter and Major Mason fulfill that requirement."

"This is deep stuff."

"It is. Even some of the people here don't understand where you'll be in the hierarchy. Jenkins or his replacement - because I expect Jenkins to be jailed and fired or fired and then jailed - will be saying 'Ma'am' to you."

"But…"

"Strictly based on ability and clearance. There's a trail of documentation that will withstand any level of scrutiny. Welcome to the position of Regional Manager for Region 14 and we'll make that official when we're back in the Control Room."

---

"Congratulations, Kelly! Finally a promotion to someone who deserves it."

"Thanks, Keith. It's a little overwhelming to have responsibility for a third of the power generation in the state."

"You can do it. After all the crap you've put up with from less-than-competent people who were 'friends' of Jenkins, I'm almost surprised you didn't start by firing people."

"That needs proper documentation. Some of which I have and there are other pieces that I will be collecting."

"So no changes for a while?"

"Probably not, but that 'while' will be a time of my choosing."

---

'Are you sure, Keith?'

'She said she had some documentation and would be collecting more.'

'Then we gotta get rid of her.'

'Good luck with that, E-Man. The last thing you tried ended with one of your wanna-be shooters as her shield and he took six bullets from your other guys - and all on the good surveillance cameras she had installed. All three of them are up for murder one and you'll be lucky if Dingo doesn't start singing.'

'Jenkins said he'd take care of them if needed. He has a couple of the guards in his pocket. Kelly needs to have an accident today.'


"You were right, Jack. The bug Kelly placed on Keith was a good option. The team from the APC should be there about now."

"From the sudden increase in noise, they're there."

Pop! Pop!

BRAAP!

"Nothing quite like the effectiveness of an automatic weapon to discourage those with hide-out .22s and .25s."

'Status, Carmody?'

'Three patched up and in custody, Major. One to be bagged.'

'See to it.'

'Sir.'


"You OK, Kelly?"

"Yes si… Jack. It's been a few years since I had anyone planning to kill me."

"You could encounter more of that. Here's a Federal Concealed Carry permit and a Glock 9mm that I know you're familiar with. The backpack has a shoulder holster, an IWB holster and 500 rounds of JHP."

"You are deadly serious."

"So are the people behind the grid shutdown scheme. We need Regional Managers who can take care of themselves to a degree. Decorated soldiers always seem to fit that requirement. Ready for your first ride in a position other than behind the controls or the weapon in an Abrams?"

"Yes."

"Your ride to Morgan Falls awaits you. The team from the APC will tell you when it's safe to move out."

---

"We'll make Savannah before dark?"

"Yes, Jack. We'll be staying in temporary quarters brought in from Moody AFB earlier today."

"Your 'temporary quarters' is a very broad term."

"This time it's the self-contained 20 foot RV the Moody base commander owns. You get one bed and I get the other. Tents and cots are in place for the troops and they'll be taking four hour watches."

"You're expecting trouble in Savannah?"

"Too many days with no surveillance on the docks and too many ships with unverified registration history in port when this started."

"You expect sabotage we'll only find when power is back on."

"Correct. Plus whatever 'surprises' may have been left in or around the nuclear plant. Phone records show Jenkins on the phone a lot with several burner phones in the dock area and near the plant."

"Then I go in visibly armed tomorrow, in addition to the always present concealed carry and backup."

"Same for me."

---

[9idrr]

Feb 15, 2020 0:03:43 GMT -6 papaof2 said:

But you've probably seen similar lack of common sense...

What, you mean the size 9 butt and size 3 shorts? Hell yeah. I don't live but 25 miles from a WalMart.
Oh, you're talkin' about tryin' to get more outta something than it'll give. Kinda like puttin' a quarter into the Coke machine and expectin' to have it give you a magnum of Dom...

[9idrr]

Thanks for the chapter. Don't wanna get to #16 too quickly, do we?

[papaof2]

Feb 15, 2020 21:55:02 GMT -6 9idrr said:

Thanks for the chapter. Don't wanna get to #16 too quickly, do we?

Well, I could have posted it all at once in "Completed Stories" but one dose a day lets you enjoy it longer ;-)