For a link to the quote at the beginning of the book, please visit the NASA’s Solar Physics division at the Marshall Space Flight Center’s page on Coronal Mass Ejections.
This is a work of serialized fiction. What that means is I wrote and published it an episode at a time, like a TV show. Instead of waiting for me to write the entire book, you can read it as each section (or episode) is ready. Some people do not like this, so I released the entire story (episodes 1-11) as five different books. This is an experiment for me, to see if my readers prefer reading shorter installments or longer works, so please do let me know. You can email me at:
marcus@freeholderpress.com
The inspiration for this serialized story hit me after I happened upon a news story proclaiming the northern lights would be visible from my home in Wisconsin late last year. I stayed up half the night trying to spot and photograph the elusive aurora to no avail. That got me thinking about solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and the end of civilization.
I started researching and discovered the horrifying truth that our government not only knows about the threat posed by the sun, but doesn't take it very seriously. Oh, don't get me wrong, they've created task forces and committees and sub-committees…but has anything actually been accomplished other than rule making and defining terms used in said rules?
Nope.
We're just as vulnerable as we were thirty years ago—perhaps even more so as we become ever-more dependent on electricity and electric/electronic devices (you're reading this on an electronic device, aren't you?).
So what's to be done? Other than pressuring politicians to spend the money now to harden our grid, not much. So I hope to—at least in some small way—use this serialized story to raise what awareness I can about the threat we face every day.
For more information, try a Google search for "July 2012 Solar Flare.” Trust me, it's fascinating reading.
Also, check out the government's current response tactics here:
They're moving in the right direction but the question remains: will it be enough and will it be in time?
Some states have taken the bull by the horns and forged ahead, ignoring the glacial federal response. See this article from two years ago:
Maine is leading the charge, proving that something can and should be done, right now. Luckily, New Hampshire and Texas aren’t far behind. With luck, more states will take it upon themselves to harden their grids and services before it’s too late.
After all, the next solar storm could happen any minute, any day, any time. The sun never rests—neither should we.
Marcus Richardson
March 16, 2017