Apocalypse Now

Every literary child of the Cold War must have read “On the Beach” – Nevil Shute’s ripping good 1957 novel about what the world would look like after the northern hemisphere was devastated in a nuclear conflagration and residents of the southern hemisphere waited stoically for the fallout to come along and kill them. (Instead of Rosebud, think Coke bottle for that “Aha!” climactic moment. But enough hinting at a spoiler…)

So what does a post 9-11 post-apocalyptic novel look like? There are two good examples making the rounds right now: “One Second After” by William R. Forstchen and “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. Both are worth reading – but for very different reasons.

Forstchen’s book is truly an updated take on nuclear devastation. Instead of radioactive fallout – the greatest fear of every old Cold Warrior – “One Second After” deals with the possibility of a rogue state’s “asymmetrical warfare” unleashing an “electromagnetic pulse.” No fallout, but three well-placed nukes launched from a cargo ship detonate at high altitude and fry every computer chip in America.

The story-telling in “One Second After” is a bit contrived. (Do we really need the hero noticing the tightness of a nurse’s blouse?) And the prose dances a bit too close to the partisan. (Do we really need a foreword authored by Newt Gingrich?) But the scenario played out by the author is fascinating. It forces the reader to consider just how tenuous our modern society’s very existence is. Our dependence on modern medicine and supermarkets that teeter on just-in-time supply chains will shock you. Readers will come away feeling vulnerable.

“The Road,” on the other hand, is fine literature. It is the story of a man and his son walking through an ash-covered post-apocalyptic terrain. The author makes no attempt to describe how it happened or even exactly when. It’s a story of love, faith, persistence, hardship, and occasionally unspeakable horror. And it’s written by Cormac McCarthy, who can describe desolation with eloquence unmatched by any other author living or dead. Readers will come away feeling… well, like they’ve read a great book.

All of this thinking about what happens after The Big One gets dropped can’t help but stimulate the human planning instinct. How should a person prepare?

Stash money in the house? Smart. To a degree. Cash will be very valuable in any emergency where the cavalry can be expected to ride in within a week or two. (Of course, it becomes worthless once the looting starts and the economy breaks down.)

Store food? Also smart. To a degree. But if you get too much, the people with guns will probably just come take it away. And if you have to move, you can’t take more than will fit in a shopping cart anyway. (Shopping carts, apparently, being the most durable vehicles in any new New World Order.)

Be the people with guns? Possibly also smart, but a zero sum game. You’d have to be willing to use the guns against real people and good enough at it to win all the time. And eventually you’ll run out of bullets. (All those people who rushed to buy ammo after Obama was elected already found that out.)

The best apparent strategy: Stockpile cigarettes. They’re light and universally desirable as barter.

You’ll be the most popular fellow around when the Fourth World War, as Einstein predicted, gets fought with sticks.