Into The Darkness

Into
The Darkness

A
novel by

Doug
Kelly

Copyright © 2013 Doug Kelly

This is an original work of fiction by Doug Kelly, who
holds the sole rights to all the characters and concepts herein. Any similarity
to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the
author.

All rights reserved.

No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval
system, without the prior written permission of the author.

Edited by Carol Madding

To my children.

They inspire me in all aspects of my life.

PREFACE

The
physical and social fabric of America is sustained by a delicate system of
systems. This system of systems is a complex and dynamic network of interdependent
technological infrastructures whose harmonious functioning enables a myriad of
activity and informational flow that supports the orderly conduct of a civil
society in our highly technologically advanced country. These infrastructures
are vulnerable to a variety of threats. Some of these threats are acts of
nature and some are manmade.

The
subject of this novel is one specific threat, that imposed by an act of nature,
and what could happen to civilization in its aftermath. Specifically, an
electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generated by an enormous coronal mass ejection
(CME).

In the foreword
to this novel, I will define this threat, explain what we know about it,
describe events that have already occurred, and provide my conclusion to its
effect on a civilized and technologically advanced society that is not
prepared.

Coronal
Mass Ejection

Inherently,
hot objects tend to expand and the sun is an extremely hot object. However, the
sun is also large and dense, which provides for a strong gravitational pull.
Additionally, the sun also has an enormous magnetic field around it and the
rotation of the sun perpetuates this magnetic field. The combination of these
forces can cause the sun's surface to change in dramatic and violent ways.

The
currents of gas cause solar magnetic field lines to twist. This can prevent
hotter gases in the sun's core from rising to the surface, in certain
locations, creating sunspots. Sunspots appear darker and are cooler than the
rest of the sun's surface. Hot gas is trapped beneath sunspots and it exerts
pressure on the magnetic field lines that are preventing the gas from rising.
This pressure twists the magnetic field lines into tighter coils. Sometimes the
pressure continues to build until the magnetic field lines snap out suddenly,
ejecting billions of tons of particles out into space.

This
type of solar event can cause particularly strong aurorae in large regions
around Earth's magnetic poles. In the northern hemisphere, these are known as
the northern lights, and in the southern hemisphere, these are referred to as the
southern lights. The northern and southern lights are observable examples of
how a CME can affect the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The colorful lights result
from subatomic particles moving at incredible speed, which causes gases such as
oxygen and nitrogen to ionize. As the atoms in the gases recombine with
electrons, they emit light. This mainly happens where the Earth's magnetic
field lines converge at the planet's magnetic poles. However, a massive CME can
have more sinister effects.

When
the ejection is directed towards Earth, and reaches it, the shock wave of the
ejected plasma causes a geomagnetic storm that may disrupt the Earth's
magnetosphere, compressing it on the day side and extending the night side
magnetic tail. A magnetic shockwave that extends billions of miles out into
space can be produced by a CME. When the magnetosphere reconnects on the night
side, it releases terawatts of power directed back toward the Earth's upper
atmosphere. Since magnetic fields can induce electricity, any conductor could
become an inductor. A powerful CME could induce electricity in large, powerful
conductors. Therefore, this type of event could overload electrical systems and
cause massive damage. Near solar maxima, the sun produces about three CMEs
every day, whereas near solar minima there is about one CME every five days.

Electromagnetic
Pulse

A
CME is the natural precursor to an EMP. An EMP is a burst of electromagnetic
radiation. Once this super energetic cloud of particles hits the upper
atmosphere, it knocks a huge amount of electrons from the gas molecules present
at very high altitude. These super charged electrons then cascade down in a
chain reaction, multiplying on their way down through the atmosphere. The
atmosphere becomes denser at lower altitudes providing for more air molecules
to interact with on the way down, therefore facilitating the chain reaction.
The net result of this cascade of electrons is to produce a huge amount of
electrical current in the air and in the ground. As a result, an EMP can cause
serious problems for both satellites and electrical systems on Earth.

The
EMP would also induce electricity in any large conductor. That includes power
transformers and the power grid itself. The power grid in North America
operates at near capacity. Therefore, it would not be able to tolerate the increased
electrical load from a solar super storm. Once this super high current contacts
manmade structures, from power transmission lines to computer chips, the
massive current will overpower the circuits, in particular anything with micro
circuitry. Microchips are very sensitive to electrical current and only need a
small electrostatic shock to be damaged. This will result in massive and long
lasting power outages.

There
are more than 200,000 miles of high voltage transmission lines in the United
States looping from electric grid to electric grid. These long transmission
lines are natural collectors of the atmospheric energy delivered by a CME.
Unfortunately, these long transmission lines are also quite efficient at
feeding this energy to transformers. NASA acknowledges a solar EMP could induce
electricity at ground level that could destroy transformers in power grids.

A
transformer takes very high voltage and reduces it to a lower voltage, accomplishing
this task by passing the electricity through coiled copper wire. The wire coils
get very warm when transforming electricity. When hit by excessive voltage, for
instance during the resulting EMP from a CME, the coils get too hot and begin
to melt. The coolant, which is a type of oil, then catches fire and destroys
the transformer.

Very
large transformers can take up to three years to replace and they are no longer
built in the United States. Small telephone pole mounted transformers will also
sustain major damage. In 1992, after Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida, every
spare small transformer in North America was used to restore power in South
Florida. This was followed by a one-year worldwide shortage of small
transformers. The world is distressingly unprepared to restore even a tiny
portion of the world’s electric supply following a massive solar EMP.

It
Has Already Happened

The
real long lasting danger comes from the storm’s effect on modern technology.
The flurry of magnetic activity and induced electric currents has the potential
to severely disrupt and destroy power grids, satellites, communication
networks, or anything that uses electricity. When the sun aimed a CME at Earth
in 1989, the resulting solar storm collapsed the Hydro Québec power grid and six
million people were without power. But the 1989 storm is nothing compared to
the geomagnetic storm of 1859, the largest in recorded history.

CMEs
have affected the Earth in the past. We were not as technologically advanced,
nor did we depend upon technology as heavily the last time a massive CME
collided with Earth. In 1859, an enormous CME caused massive magnetic
fluctuations in the Earth's magnetosphere. People living as far south as Cuba
and Jamaica witnessed the northern lights. Compasses and telegraph systems
failed. The solar storm of 1859, also known as the Carrington Event, was the
most powerful solar storm ever recorded. It produced the largest known solar
flare, which was observed and recorded by amateur astronomer Richard C.
Carrington. From August 28, 1859, until September 2, numerous sunspots and solar
flares were observed during this event.

On
the morning of September 1, 1859, Richard Carrington began to sketch a cluster
of enormous dark spots appearing on the surface of the sun. Just before noon on
September 1, the British astronomer observed the largest flare, after which a
major CME traveled directly toward Earth. Carrington spotted what he described
as "two patches of intensely bright and white light" erupting from
the sunspots. Five minutes later, the fireballs vanished but, within hours,
their impact would be felt across the globe. It only took seventeen hours to
arrive from its journey. Such a journey normally takes three to four days.

That
night, telegraph communications around the world began to fail; there were
reports of sparks showering from telegraph machines, shocking operators and
setting papers ablaze. All over the planet colorful auroras illuminated the
nighttime skies, glowing so brightly that birds began to chirp and laborers
started their daily chores, believing the sun had begun rising. Those over the
Rocky Mountains were so bright that their glow awoke gold miners, who began
preparing breakfast because they thought it was morning. People who happened to
be awake in the northeastern US could read a newspaper by the aurora's light. Some
thought the end of the world was at hand, but Carrington's naked eyes had
spotted the true cause. It was a massive CME with the energy of billions of
atomic bombs.

Telegraph
lines across North America were rendered inoperable on the night of August 28
as the first of two successive solar storms struck. A telegraph manager in
Pittsburgh reported that the resulting currents flowing through the wires were
so powerful that platinum contacts were in danger of melting and "streams
of fire" were pouring forth from the circuits. In Washington, D.C., a
telegraph operator was severely shocked as his forehead grazed a ground wire.
According to a witness, an arc of fire jumped from his head to the telegraphic
equipment. Some telegraph stations reported that telegraph paper caught fire.

On
the morning of September 2, the mayhem resulting from the solar storm created
even more chaos for telegraph operators. American Telegraph Company employees
discovered the atmosphere was so charged that operators could unplug their batteries
and still transmit messages using only the auroral current. Later that morning,
the magnetic disturbance abated sufficiently for stations to reconnect their
batteries, but transmissions were still affected.

On
September 3, 1859, the Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser reported:

“Those
who happened to be out late on Thursday night had an opportunity of witnessing
another magnificent display of the auroral lights. The phenomenon was very
similar to the display on Sunday night, though at times the light was, if
possible, more brilliant, and the prismatic hues more varied and gorgeous. The
light appeared to cover the whole firmament, apparently like a luminous cloud,
through which the stars of the larger magnitude indistinctly shone. The light
was greater than that of the moon at its full, but had an indescribable
softness and delicacy that seemed to envelop everything upon which it rested.
Between midnight and one o'clock, when the display was at its full brilliancy,
the quiet streets of the city resting under this strange light, presented a
beautiful as well as singular appearance.”

When
telegraphs did come back on line, many were filled with vivid accounts of the
celestial light show that had been witnessed the night before. The sky was so
crimson that many who saw it believed that neighboring locales were on fire.
Newspapers from France to Australia featured glowing descriptions of brilliant
auroras that had turned night into day. One eyewitness account from a woman on
Sullivan's Island, in South Carolina, ran in the
Charleston Mercury
:

“The
eastern sky appeared of a blood red color. It seemed brightest exactly in the
east, as though the full moon, or rather the sun, were about to rise. It
extended almost to the zenith. The whole island was illuminated. The sea
reflected the phenomenon, and no one could look at it without thinking of the
passage in the Bible, which says, ‘the sea was turned to blood.' The shells on
the beach, reflecting light, resembled coals of fire.”

Ice
core samples have determined that the Carrington Event was bigger than any
other solar storm in the last 500 years. According to a 2008 report from the
National Academy of Sciences, the impact of a similar storm today could cause
"extensive social and economic disruptions" due to its impact on
power grids, satellite communications, and GPS systems. The potential price tag
is between $1 trillion and $2 trillion. Further, the International Journal of
Research and Applications reports there is a one in eight chance that a “massive
solar storm” will occur within the next decade.

Today,
we depend much more heavily upon electronics and electricity than we did in
1859. If a similar solar super storm were to hit us now, our electronic
infrastructure would be devastated. A repeat of the Carrington Event in today’s
far more interconnected and technologically dependent world would be
apocalyptic. Cascading failures could quickly shut power down to millions of
people in a matter of minutes. Communication networks would fail and GPS
satellites, upon which the entire air traffic system relies, would also shut
down.

The
Shield Act

The
Secure High voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act
(SHIELD Act, HR 668), aims to protect America’s electric grid against an EMP
event. There are essentially only two events that could cause significant EMP
damage: 1) a CME or 2) a nuclear attack. The SHIELD Act attempts to protect
against these two events by hardening facilities and by having replacement
parts available. Obviously, a massive CME could cause severe damage to
America’s electric grid. Add to that the threat of a nuclear attack by a rogue
state or terrorist organization looking to cause extreme damage with only one
nuclear weapon. If a nuclear weapon was detonated at the proper height, about
300 miles altitude above the Midwest, it would cause widespread EMP damage
across a large part of the nation. Because our electric systems are
interdependent, it could bring virtually the entire electric grid down.