The Campfire Trail: One Second After (Part 3)

July 18, 2025

Day 1,386 of the Adventure

www.thecampfiretrail.com

Desperate Measures defines the whole "EMP", "Grid Down" scenario in the book I've been reviewing called "One Second After". In this story, an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) disables the entire electrical grid of the country along with all of the basic electronic systems that aren't protected from the pulse. EMP is a real thing, albeit a remote thing. The actual event itself lasts a mere split second. The most devastating version is designed to originate from space, high above our atmosphere. Unless you happened to see it occur, it's very likely you would know nothing about what happened other than all of a sudden, everything just quits that is electrical or involves electronics. The event itself is not the danger. It's the aftermath of the electrical destruction that poses the threat. Obviously, some of that would be instantaneous such as airplanes in mid-flight losing their power and controls. Most everything else would be a slower, more methodical degradation of systems. Things like medical supplies spoiling or not being able to be delivered. Food supplies running out, especially in highly populated areas with no re-supply deliveries being possible. Even the shutdown of municipal water systems leaving hundreds of thousands without water. It's all very ominous when viewed from the absence of things we normally take for granted. In the book, an emphasis is placed on the on-going desperation people face over the initial impact of the event. The desperate measures people begin to resort to are the sobering effects of society breaking down into basically the haves and have-nots when it comes to essentials such as food, water, medical and shelter. What are the simple measures one can take to mitigate something like this? More tomorrow.