He wrote— No bombs. No bullets. No sword fights. Just a few keystrokes on the computer, and we’re done. ”
“Sounds plausible, doesn’t it, Drew?”
The sound of Ripley keying the mic in his earphone interrupted their conversation.
“Go ahead,” said Drew. After listening for a moment, he reached for the handset in his pocket and adjusted the dials. “Let me put you on speaker. Okay, go ahead.”
“We’ve caught a cell tower,” started Ripley. “Rhona can give us an update.”
Drew fumbled for his phone and held it up to observe the display. The signal strength meter gravitated between no signal and a single bar. Abbie stirred awake.
“We have cell service?” she asked in her half-awake state. “Is the power back?”
“Put her on speaker,” said Drew. “Rhona, tell us what you know.”
“Drew, I suddenly got cell reception as we passed the Live Oak exit. I didn’t receive a call, and I wasn’t able to call out. I continuously receive an all circuits are busy recording or a fast busy tone. Everyone in the country must be trying to use their cell phones as a means to get information.”
“What do you have for us?” Drew asked.
“I received almost two dozen text messages from various sources. I guess text messages are less taxing on the obviously overburdened cellular network.”
Drew was aware that Verizon and AT&T went to great lengths to upgrade their tower network with generators after the communications blackout triggered by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. As the storm battered the East Coast, flooding homes, destroying businesses, and taking lives, first responders felt helpless. Communications networks along the affected area were not functioning. As power outages became widespread in New York and Connecticut, cell towers relied on their backup power. As the demand in the region exploded, the backup generators were drained rapidly.
Telecommunications providers came under tremendous pressure to maintain complete service during any future disaster. As a result, Senator Charles Schumer of New York introduced legislation requiring telecom companies to beef up their systems and post-disaster capabilities. The companies banded together and successfully fought off the federal government mandates. Instead, they undertook to invest in more propane-fueled backup generators. They also had regional support facilities capable of erecting temporary cell towers if necessary.
All of this infrastructure upgrade was considered a positive step. However, the cellular companies did not expand their cellular traffic capacities to accommodate the potential onslaught of calls when millions of Americans sought to reach out to family or to gather information. The lines were jammed with attempts to call, which resulted in communications darkness for all.
Rhona continued. “The first messages were from Robby. He told me the plane would be grounded and to locate a safe place for Abbie. He was with Mrs. Clinton in New York for a fundraiser. The city was in utter chaos.”
“Do the messages have timestamps?” asked Abbie.
“They reflect the time they came to my phone,” replied Rhona. “I can only tell you the order in which they were sent.”
“Anything else?” asked Abbie.
“Yes, a couple of things. Your father sent a text that just read en route . I guess he’s on his way, Abbie.”
Drew made eye contact with Abbie, and she smiled. So far, so good .
Rhona continued. “I have some news from my brother, who works at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio. Texas still has power. The rest of the continental U. S. is dark. The informal assessment is a massive, coordinated cyber attack on the grid.”
Jonesy smiled and shook his head as he glanced at Drew.
Quiet settled into both vehicles as the occupants contemplated the magnitude of this possibility. Drew stared into the darkness and then suddenly realized it made sense.
“Have you noticed the amount of traffic headed westbound compared to the
“Sounds plausible, doesn’t it, Drew?”
The sound of Ripley keying the mic in his earphone interrupted their conversation.
“Go ahead,” said Drew. After listening for a moment, he reached for the handset in his pocket and adjusted the dials. “Let me put you on speaker. Okay, go ahead.”
“We’ve caught a cell tower,” started Ripley. “Rhona can give us an update.”
Drew fumbled for his phone and held it up to observe the display. The signal strength meter gravitated between no signal and a single bar. Abbie stirred awake.
“We have cell service?” she asked in her half-awake state. “Is the power back?”
“Put her on speaker,” said Drew. “Rhona, tell us what you know.”
“Drew, I suddenly got cell reception as we passed the Live Oak exit. I didn’t receive a call, and I wasn’t able to call out. I continuously receive an all circuits are busy recording or a fast busy tone. Everyone in the country must be trying to use their cell phones as a means to get information.”
“What do you have for us?” Drew asked.
“I received almost two dozen text messages from various sources. I guess text messages are less taxing on the obviously overburdened cellular network.”
Drew was aware that Verizon and AT&T went to great lengths to upgrade their tower network with generators after the communications blackout triggered by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. As the storm battered the East Coast, flooding homes, destroying businesses, and taking lives, first responders felt helpless. Communications networks along the affected area were not functioning. As power outages became widespread in New York and Connecticut, cell towers relied on their backup power. As the demand in the region exploded, the backup generators were drained rapidly.
Telecommunications providers came under tremendous pressure to maintain complete service during any future disaster. As a result, Senator Charles Schumer of New York introduced legislation requiring telecom companies to beef up their systems and post-disaster capabilities. The companies banded together and successfully fought off the federal government mandates. Instead, they undertook to invest in more propane-fueled backup generators. They also had regional support facilities capable of erecting temporary cell towers if necessary.
All of this infrastructure upgrade was considered a positive step. However, the cellular companies did not expand their cellular traffic capacities to accommodate the potential onslaught of calls when millions of Americans sought to reach out to family or to gather information. The lines were jammed with attempts to call, which resulted in communications darkness for all.
Rhona continued. “The first messages were from Robby. He told me the plane would be grounded and to locate a safe place for Abbie. He was with Mrs. Clinton in New York for a fundraiser. The city was in utter chaos.”
“Do the messages have timestamps?” asked Abbie.
“They reflect the time they came to my phone,” replied Rhona. “I can only tell you the order in which they were sent.”
“Anything else?” asked Abbie.
“Yes, a couple of things. Your father sent a text that just read en route . I guess he’s on his way, Abbie.”
Drew made eye contact with Abbie, and she smiled. So far, so good .
Rhona continued. “I have some news from my brother, who works at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio. Texas still has power. The rest of the continental U. S. is dark. The informal assessment is a massive, coordinated cyber attack on the grid.”
Jonesy smiled and shook his head as he glanced at Drew.
Quiet settled into both vehicles as the occupants contemplated the magnitude of this possibility. Drew stared into the darkness and then suddenly realized it made sense.
“Have you noticed the amount of traffic headed westbound compared to the
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