One Second After

One Second After by William Forstchen

I want everyone I know to read this book. Even though it's a work of fiction, what it talks about could very well happen.  The book is sobering to me because I have had two waking visions of the future this book forshadows and have pondered the implications of it throughout my adult life.

This book is about the aftermath of an EMP attack on the United States. It has been known since the late 1960s that a nuclear bomb, exploded in space, creates an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that knocks out electronics. Basically, a couple of nuclear bombs exploded in space would "fry" every electronic circuit in the country that wasn't properly shielded.  

This would not only knock out the power grid throughout North America, it would shut down all communications. Your computer, cell phone, I-pod and every other electronic gadget you own would be instantly inoperable. All new cars use electronics, too, which means that all new cars would stop running. In short, in just one second, we would all be thrust back into the 1800s.

Communications would shut down completely. Your radio, TV, phone, computer and cell phone wouldn't work. You would have no communications with the outside world. You car would stop running. Your ATM card wouldn't work.  In less than 24 hours people would panic and the stores would all be looted and there would be no food or supplies available and this situation would not end in a few days—it would last for months and perhaps years.

It's a scenerio I've thought about many times, because I was shown a vision of this happening twice.  Once when I was 15 and again when I was 20.  So, I've lived with the idea that this could happen for 40 years. You can read more about this in my article - Wake Up Before the Light's Go Out.

I happen to like my I-phone, my computers and my electronic gadgets, but my concern is that we've become way too dependent on technology. In doing so, we've lost our connection to the earth and are rapidly losing our connection with each other.  For forty years, I've observed how fragile our technological society has become and what concerns me the most is how dependent I've become on it.

Read One Second After and ponder the implications of it. Do some things to be prepared. Have some food, water and other supplies on hand to tide you over during the first critical days after an emergency.  Have enough not only for your own family, but also to help others. 

More importantly, acquire some practical skills.  Learn how to garden, how to identify edible and medicinal wild plants, how to purify water, build shelters and otherwise take care of yourself in an emergency.  In the long run, skills wil be even more important than supplies.

If you'd like to learn more about this, I've hosted some webinars on emergency preparedness.  They can be viewed on my personal website: www.stevenhorne.com.