New Dark Age: Ch 4 and 5

Chapter 4


         Syn awoke as the sunlight filtered through the large window in the loft.  He looked over at his wife and daughter who were still sleeping.  He got up and walked to the stairs and flipped the light switch.  When the light didn’t come on he flicked the switch several times before the previous night’s activity came flooding back.  Syn sat down on the top step and started running through their options.  The cars were useless and he would have to walk the five miles to get to work.  They had back up generators that had been installed when the first of the power outages had happened.  Regardless of his situation he had to go to work.  He still had to keep food on the table.  He still had lines to run and other people who had to keep their families fed.  He walked over and nudged Aris awake.
“I guess I’ll have to walk into work.”
“What?  You can’t leave us here.”
“Baby, I have to.  Besides I need to find out what is going on.  I won’t stay gone all day.”
“Ok, but be careful.  There is no telling how bad it is.”
“I will.  I love you and I’ll see you later.”
         Syn went and took a cold shower and dressed comfortably.  He headed down the driveway and turned onto the road.  As he passed houses people peered through windows.  He waved at the first few but the waves were not returned.  When he turned off of his small road and onto the main highway he immediately saw several cars parked on the side of the road in both directions.  He assumed the cars had died during last nights light show.  The closer he got to the small town of Randolph the extent of damage became clear.  Cars were not only parked here but some had crashed into the ditches lining the roads.  The stop lights were dark as were all the houses and business along the road.  A few other people had the same idea as he did, and were walking.  He noticed a line flowing out of the doors at the local grocery store.  It hadn’t occurred to him that he would need food stuffs if this lasted much longer.  He changed direction and headed toward the police station to see if he could get any information on the happenings of the previous night.
         Again, he was not the first to have the same idea.  People were crowded outside the police station.  He saw a couple of officers and a man in a suit and tie standing outside in front of the crowd.  He walked up to the closest person; it was Thomas Jones from the plant.
“What’s going on here,” Syn asked?
“Oh, hey Syn, everyone came down to see if they can find out what is going on.  The officers about to give an official statement.”
“Good, that’s what I was coming to find out.  So, they haven’t said anything yet,” Syn asked.
“Nope, nothing yet, and I’ve been here since the sun came up.”
“Good,” was all Syn said.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” one of the officers began, “I’d like you all to meet Dr. Dobbins.  He is the professor of astronomy at the university.  He is here to explain what we all saw in the sky last night.  Dr. Dobbins, you have the floor.”
“Thank you Officer Rock.  The lights that most of you saw last night were what is know as a geomagnetic storm.  This is caused by what is known as a CME or coronal mass ejection.  This is an eruption on the sun’s surface and expels billions of tons of charged electrons.  These happen fairly often especially this close to solar maximum.  The reason that this particular CME caused so much disturbance here on Earth is because of it’s placing on the solar disc.  Most CMEs travel off into the galaxy but this particular one traveled right towards us here on Earth.  In essence we took the full impact of the blast.  On top of that, this CME was what is known as a “cannibalistic CME”.  What that means is a smaller, slower moving ejection was closely followed by a bigger, faster moving ejection that overtook the first and enveloped it.  This is where we get the term cannibalistic.  As the second, more powerful eruption overtook the first the two combined to make one, awfully powerful, extremely fast cloud of negatively charged ion particles.  When these particles struck what is known as the magnetosphere, which is Earth’s magnetic field, we experienced the geomagnetic storm.
         “A geomagnetic storm causes the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, that you all saw last night.  This is a common occurrence in the northern latitudes, but since the storm was so strong we saw it here last night.  Another normal occurrence is the loss of some power grids and radio frequencies are usually interrupted.  I must be honest with you though, disturbance on this large of a scale is unheard of.”
“What do you mean by that doctor,” Syn asked.
“What I mean is the fact that power all over the area is out.  Luckily I keep a small herd of horses and I left last night after the Northern Lights disappeared to see how widespread the damage was.  All the bordering counties were affected in the same way that you were here.”
“What about the isolated blasts of light that preceded the Northern Lights?  I lived in Alaska for three years and never saw anything like it although I’ve seen the lights on many occasions?”  That was Phil Hughes.  He was an Army veteran whom had left the small town when he was younger and returned in his retirement to the quiet town.
“I can’t answer that.  Like you I have never seen anything like it.  My only conclusion can be that it has something to with the geomagnetic storm.”  The doctor spread his hands to signal that he was finished.  “I’ll take any other questions you may have.”
“How long can we expect this to last,” asked a woman in the back of the crowd.
“Most disturbances last only a few hours, but this storm was strong enough to damage the actual circuitry of many of the machines we rely on daily.  So to answer to question, well, I can’t.  most of the electronics will need to be replaced other will have to be repaired.  That is all I can tell you at this time.  Anyone else?”
         No one else seemed to have any questions.  The crowd started to dissipate as Officer Rock told them that no other statements would be made.  Syn approached the doctor.
“Doctor, I was wondering if you would be interested in selling any of those horses you talked about.  I was wondering because I have a feeling that we won’t recover from this any time soon, and last night after the light show I went out to drive to a friends house and after checking my cars I came to the conclusion that all the electrical systems on both of them will need replacing.  I assume that almost everyone else’s vehicle will be the same so parts will be hard to come by.  I like to buy the animal and all the tack that would normally be needed for the keeping of one if you have it available.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.  You see I have come to the same conclusion that you have son.  So I better hang on to all of them, because I’m sure that I will have a few stolen from me.  Not that many people keep horses around anymore.”
“Thanks anyway doctor and good luck to you,” Syn turned to leave.
“Same to you, son,” the doctor called after him.

Chapter 5


         Syn made his way to the window of the grocery store and peered in.  The shelves were almost empty.  That was a problem he would need to address soon.  Syn was mad at himself as he walked down the road toward Home in Motion.  He was for not thinking of the food situation sooner.  After all he had a wife and kid to take care of.
         By the time he reached the plant he was getting tired.  He hadn’t been very keen on exercising and it showed after a five mile walk.  Aris would have been better fitted to the walking.  Since they had gotten married she had never missed a day of exercise.  Even when she was nine months pregnant she would climb on the treadmill and do her workout.
         The front doors were unlocked so he walked in and went to see his boss.  On his way he noticed that the lights were off.  He wondered why they had not turned on the generators.  His direct superior was the V.P. of Operations, Dale Hender.  He was also the owner’s son.  As Syn walked into Hender’s office he was not greeted with Dale’s usual smile.
“That bad huh,” said Syn.
“You’re damn right.”
“Why haven’t ya’ll cut on the generators,” asked Syn?
“We did but the goddamn things wouldn’t work.  Maintenance said all the wires are burnt up just like everything else in this place.  They are useless, the generators no maintenance.”
“I hate to bother you but what is the plan of action here, sir?”  Syn was starting to get nervous.  He hadn’t expected damage on this scale.
“Damn it Syn, I just don’t know.  I’ve never been faced with anything like this before.  Dad came in this morning and surveyed the damage and then left again.”
“How did ya’ll get to work,” asked Syn?
“Oh, we rode horses that we keep outside of town.  We had to walk to the stables though.”
“Fantastic.  I need to get one of those horses from you.  I have a five mile walk, one way, to this place everyday.”
“Yeah, you know that’s a good idea.  I could use a man like you around here right now.  Not to mention that you are the only son of a bitch that has even bothered to show up today.”
“How much do you want for one,” asked Syn hoping that it wouldn’t be too much.
“How much, hell man I’ll give you one.  This ain’t the time to be trying to make money off of people in trouble.  Times is gonna get tight for everybody pretty soon and I need some good men around here to help sort this shitpie out.  Just so you know, this doesn’t look like it’s gonna let up anytime soon so I’ll have to let most of the people of the plant go.  Since you showed up and since you’re good in a pinch I’ll keep you on and pay you a salary.  Dad headed to the bank to withdraw all the funds we have so he’ll be able to pay a couple people in cash to keep them on.”
“Well, thank you sir.  For the horse, info and the job.  Have you thought anything about food.  I stopped by the grocery on my way in and that place is probably wiped out by now.”
“You see, that’s why I need you around.  You think of stuff that most would overlook.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t think of it fast enough to beat the crowd in.”
“If you know now to grow a garden I’d suggest you start tillin the ground at your place, cuz if trucks don’t work and tractors don’t work then I’d assume we won’t be gettin any deliveries.”
“Damn, I didn’t think about that.  I’m going back into town to grab some farming tools and what seeds might still be there.  Once we get a garden going we can make our own seeds but I need to get some to start with.  Also I’ll grab some books about gardening because I don’t know a whole lot about it.”
“Yeah, good thinkin.  Do you need any cash to get you started,” Dale reached for his wallet.
“Now that you mention it, all my funds are tied up at the bank.  I guess I’ll need to stop by there, too.”
“Take my horse.  I brought two.  Pick which ever one you like and take it, it’s yours.  Here’s five grand.  Get what ever you think we will need.  Best thing to do is probably let some of us grow some of the things we need and others grow something else.  That way we can trade up, kinda a barter system.”
“Yeah, that sounds like it will work.  You know we may be making a bigger deal out of this whole thing than we need to.”
“I’d rather be too cautious than hungry.  Come back here when you get done and we’ll separate out what you got and then call it a day.”
“Alright.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.”  Syn left and headed to find his horse. 
         He walked around to the backside of the plant and spotted the horses.  They were stabled in the old lumber shed, the one they used to store hardwood and plywood before they made the change to use synthetic wood, which was one of Syn’s ideas.  He walked up to the horses and realized that he really didn’t know the first thing about them.  Luckily they were already saddled and he wouldn’t have to do much.  The first horse was a beautiful paint.  It’s back stood at about Syn’s shoulder.  Syn was about six feet tall which made the horse a little bigger than he wanted to deal with.  The next horse was a Palomino and was decidedly shorter.  He didn’t know which one was the better horse but the Palomino looked calmer so he chose it.
         He slowly approached the horse, rubbing its neck and talking softly.  It was something he had learned somewhere along the way.  The horse responded with a dip of his head and nothing more.  Syn climbed onto its back with little difficulty but had forgotten to untie the halter.  He climbed back down and freed the animal and once more climbed onto its back, being careful not to drop the reins.  He had only ridden a horse once in his life and that had been when he was only eight years old.  Hopefully the ride back into town would be educational. 
         He kicked his heel into the horse’s rear and the horse leaped away throwing Syn off its back.  Cursing he stood up and walked over to where the horse had stopped.  Syn could have sworn that the horse was smiling.  He grabbed the reins and climbed back on to the beast’s back.  He clucked this time and shifted his weight forward.  The horse started walking this time instead of sprinting.  Good, Syn was learning.
         The ride into town was indeed a series of lessons.  The first lesson of the trip was that he did not like to run the horse.  Second was that the horse liked it even less.  He rode up to a small feed store named Tim’s.  The place catered to the small, hobby farmers of the area.  Those men and women who had little gardens or small herds of cattle, horses and goats.  He found a good place to tie up the horse and walked inside.  He was greeted by a man with a protruding belly and wearing a cowboy hat.  He had his pant legs tucked into his boots.
“Heyya bud, what can I do ya for,” the man asked?
“I need to buy some stuff.  I need what ever hand held implements that I can grow a garden with.  Also I need some seeds for starting that garden and maybe some books on how to go about using all the stuff I’m buying,” Syn was a little embarrassed by the time he got through.
“Hell, you think it’s that bad, do ya?  Well follow me and we’ll round up all ya need.”
         The man led him through the store to the back wall.  Explaining the along the way that he was Tim and this place had been built by his great-granddad.  He asked if Syn thought all this would blow over and Syn told him all he knew about the situation and that no, he didn’t think it would pass over very quickly.
“Well, to start off you will need a hoe, shovel.  Then you’ll need an automatic planter.  If you plan on planting any beans or tomatoes then you’ll need some stakes for the vines to grow up,” said Tim.
“I’ll take four hoes, two shovels and one of the automatic planters.  I’ll cut my own stakes.  My house is surrounded by trees but I guess that means I’ll need an axe.  I don’t guess you would happen to have a small wagon that can be pulled by a horse,” Syn didn’t really expect him to.
“As a matter of fact I think I just might have something that I can fix you up with.  Follow me.”  The man headed outside and went around back.  As Syn turned the corner of the building he was surprised to see exactly what he needed.  It was a very small wagon that would fit perfectly to the horse’s saddle.
“I’ll take that and all the other stuff from inside.  What about those seeds,” asked Syn?
“I have a few.  Let’s go see what I got.”
         Back inside the building the lights were off but the place had fiberglass coverings over two dozen sky lights so seeing was not a problem.  Tim led him to the front of the store, stopping along the way to talk to a young man who would gather up all the things that Syn needed and load them in the small cart and bring it all around front.  Tim approached a small stand holding a plethora of small seed bags.
“I’ve got tomatoes, black eyed peas, purple hull peas, butter beans, cabbage, turnips, radishes, carrots, corn, lettuce, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers, and onions.  What do you want?”
“I’ll take four of each.”
“Good, help me gather all of it up and we’ll get you on your way.”
“What about the books,” Syn asked?
“I don’t have anything like that but I bet you can find some at the library.”
“Also, I’ll be stopping back by later today to get some feed and hay for my horse.  I’m kind of new to all this so I have to stock up before the crowds come in.  I guess I’ll go ahead and buy whatever you think I’ll need and then stop back by and pick it up.”
“In that case you’ll need about five bags a week worth of feed and probably two square bales of hay.  I’ll tally you up.”  Tim did some writing on a piece of paper.  “$1300 dollars.  I can’t figure up all that tax without a cash register so $1300 will have to cover it.  I’ll hold all that feed and hay out back separate from the rest.  I appreciate the business and good luck to you.  I’ll be seeing you again I guess?”
“Yeah, I appreciate all the help and I’ll be back for feed and hay.  Thank you Tim and good luck to you, too.”
         Syn walked out and thanked the young man profusely for he had already strapped the small wagon to the horse but Syn made the young man whose name was Ivan, show him how to secure the wagon to the saddle.  After thanking Ivan again he headed back to the plant.