“Please excuse me, but I just got off the line with the Prime Minister. Great Britain is coordinating efforts to send over every transmitter they can get their hands on to replace ones damaged during this attack. The Government of the United States has purchased them and will be distributing to strategic stations throughout the affected areas. The transmitters may not be the same power, but at this point we can’t be choosey. The Germans are working closely with them. We should have a couple of hundred here within a few days. These will primarily be radio, since television requires larger sets. But we need to be back up across the country within two weeks. I’ll leave the distribution recommendations to you. They are also sending over new receivers to spread around. I hope to have at least a few television and radio sets in each community in a short period of time,” he said as he sat down.
“That brings me to another point,” said the President. He stood at his place at the table. “This is not going to be welcomed by many here, but it has to be said. When we get the broadcasting stations back up, I will be instituting censorship on the media until further notice,” he said. Arguments began around the room. The President’s hand went up to quiet them. “I know, freedom of the press and all, but we have a problem.” The men fell silent. “Whoever did this is expecting the United States to be offline for a period of time. For some reason, I believe they will be watching to see what we do and when we do it. I don’t want to give them any free information. Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war. Not some sort of incident, but a full-scale war. I am addressing the Congress this evening to request a declaration, and I am sure you know what the answer will be. What I am asking is that the American media systems not give anything of value to our enemies. By necessity, live remote broadcasts are off. We simply don’t have the ability to support it right now. Plus, live broadcasts can leak information that aids an enemy. Let’s not take that chance. Local news is fine, and some information about what the government is doing will be approved and sent out. But we are going to be very watchful of what is said to make sure whoever did this is in the dark about us. We are going to have to do this together or nothing will work. I’m not asking you to give up your freedoms. I am just not going to tell you very much, and hope you will respect that. Then I request that you ask first before you bring some things up. If it has to do with the military, ask first. If it has to do with the government, ask first. If it’s something someone sees us do locally, ask first. In every case, I will explain as necessary, or just say no until the event is over with. If any of you have questions, come to us and ask. I will tell you and trust the information will go no further. If it does get out, however, I will not divulge anything further to you or your organization. On this point, I am firm. Break my confidence, and you won’t get another chance.”
“We have to be a team here. Not just the people in this room, but throughout our entire nation. Together, we are going to win this war. Everything you and your company can do to help us will benefit everyone as a whole. So, just as I trust you, I am asking you to trust me,” he said to the men and women around the table. “If there are any questions, please ask them now.”
It was silent for almost a minute as each person thought through what was just said. The representative from Time Warner raised his hand. “Mister President, may we contact your office if we have a problem with something?” he asked haltingly.
“Yes, sir. If you want an answer to anything, contact us. I will tell you — and I mean the individuals at this table — anything you want to know. In that way, you will know what is being done and why. If we lose a battle, or win one, I promise I will work with you to get it out. I will let reporters report from the battlefield and from our units — just not live. If you are concerned, let’s talk. We’ll make the decision together, as a team.
The man nodded. “Mister President, I’ll add to the pot. I trust you are being sincere. As a former military man, I know how sometimes a reporter’s words have messed things up. So the influence of my company is going to back you. Anyone abusing this trust, will have a tough time getting a contract with us when it’s over.”
“Same here,” said the CEO of DirectTV.
“Me too,” came from DISH.
With the three major cable and satellite companies teaming up, the rest could read the tea leaves and lined up as well. A few more questions were asked on coordination issues and the President left for another meeting in the state dining room. This one was with transportation systems. Ford, GM, Chrysler, even Toyota, Honda, and Nissan were there along with major airlines and the train systems. Within an hour that meeting adjourned and things began to happen very quickly. The big event would be later in the evening.
“Mister Speaker, Mister President, Members of the House and Senate. It is with great regret that I find myself before you tonight. Just over 72 hours ago the United States was a nation at peace. For the first time in many years we were in conflict with no one. Yet, an unknown nation state, without provocation or warning, launched a premeditated, cold and dastardly attack against the United States using weapons of mass destruction,” the President said beginning his speech.
The chamber was more than three quarters full and not a sound could be heard. The men and women hung on everything the man was saying. He had already laid the groundwork. The leadership had been rounded up and meetings held. Butler had even set up a luncheon that day in a private room where the President could sit down with key representatives and give them the whole unvarnished truth about what happened. The President had even given them the “secrecy speech” to stress the dire situation they were all in. It had worked. He already knew there was a bipartisan swell of support for his ideas and actions. This was a mere formality.
He continued his speech. “This cold premeditated attack was well planned and executed — designed to cripple this nation. It used nuclear weapons to create an energy pulse high in our atmosphere. This pulse expanded out at the speed of light completely obliterating any electronic circuit and most electrical systems. In all, 79 of these weapons were exploded in our atmosphere. We lost all communications, phones, radio, television, our satellites, computers, automobiles and other forms of transportation. If it has a circuit, it was utterly destroyed. In some parts of our nation, electric power was temporarily interrupted. Our military has been crippled, since most of their equipment is based on computers and sophisticated electronics. I won’t get into why this happened. It did, and we must now deal with it.”
“But the worst part was actually an accident. These weapons were designed to go off high above us where no radiation and no blast effect would kill people or destroy buildings. Yet two of these devices failed to detonate in our atmosphere. They went off when they struck the ground in Dallas, Texas, and Memphis, Tennessee. I sent a task group into each city to determine the damage and casualties. They should arrive shortly. We estimate that casualties exceed 1.7 million of our citizens. We will do everything we can to bring relief to survivors and help those cities in this recovery effort.”
“At the same time, we lost another 24,800 people who were flying in aircraft at the time of the bursts and, as a result, lost control and crashed. Others were lost in accidents due to the same cause. But the reason for these deaths is all due to the aggression of the nation that launched these weapons. I tell you now, these deaths will not go unpunished,” he said emphasizing the last four words.