Title: Prelude - Dead Hand
Summary: In an alternate future, the world has been destroyed by
nuclear armageddon. Two federal agents-turned-scavengers arrive at
a bombed-out military facility to fulfill a mission left to them
by the pre-war government.
Story codes: SciFi, nosex
Pubished 2016 by PiccolaPrincipessa
I ask that you please refrain from reproducing this work without
my permission.
I love reader feedback! Please email comments, questions and
suggestions to: piccolaaprincipessaa@yahoo.com
**********
A chilly November wind howled through the crumbling ruins of a
grey rectangular concrete monolith in the middle of a vast,
cratered wasteland. Grass will never grow again here; trees are
charred black fossils. Horribly mutated creatures with
unnaturally huge fangs occasionally wander across the barren
landscape vainly searching for food.
A pair of dirty but well-armed scavengers paused to read a
pre-war sign, rusty but still legible, informing them that they
were approaching "RICHARDS-GEBAUR LOFT CONDOS RETRO SPACE AGE
LIVING IN GREAT LOCATION. IRONIC VINTAGE. OPENING SUMMER 2022!
UNITS ON SALE NOW! CALL TO BEGIN RESIDENT SCREENING PROCESS."
"Looks like we made it." One of the scavengers, an averagely
built man in his mid-30s with short cropped blond hair and a more or less
permanent smirk, spat out a gob of yellow synthetic tobacco juice.
"Better be on the lookout," advised his companion, a willowy
auburn-haired woman about his age, sliding a new magazine into
her well-oiled semi-automatic pistol. She looked like she'd once
been fairly attractive, ten years, four broken noses and several
facial burns earlier. "Wouldn't surprise me if we find some
mutants in there."
"Wouldn't mind if we did, I haven't fucked or killed anything in
ages." Michael unholstered his own weapon as the two made their
way towards the ruined building. "Nuclear wasteland really isn't
the place for a manwhore with ADHD."
"Get a fucking dildo then."
"Or you could peg me!" A shot from Michael's sawed-off shotgun
sent an unlucky 18-inch cockroach exploding in a shower of green
effervescent guts. "You're straight and I love dicks, everybody
wins!"
"Over my dead body." Jacqui rolled her eyes, crouching against
the cold concrete, pistol at the ready.
"Ah, I love wasteland humor." Michael smiled as he kicked in the
fragmented remnants of the door and sprayed lead into a charging
wolf with dripping eight-inch fangs.
**********
"Ah, I feel alive!" Michael exclaimed, his armor saturated with
blood, skipping gaily over a fourteenth mutant wolf carcass.
"I feel repulsed," Jacqui retorted, shaking her head. "Anyway,
stand back if you don't want your precious cock blown off."
Two well-placed explosive charges sent the heavy iron blast door
crashing to the ground. The pair strode forward through the cloud
of dust and into a cavernous room filled with antiquated computer
equipment. The wall directly opposite them was dominated by an
enormous floor-to-ceiling screen with a glowing map of the
northern hemisphere.
"Woo, how retro!" Michael strode over to examine a console
covered in switches, buttons and dials and blinking colored
lights. "But it can't run 4D VR Sex Romp so it's completely worthless,
I'm bored," he added, giving the box a kick.
"Shut up and take a look at this. It's still logged in. This is
where it happened."
Jacqui indicated a computer terminal humming quietly on a desk in
front of the radar screen, its circular porthole-like display
glowing green.
"Ah, finally, now we can go back to Quarry City and good quality
cock."
Both leaned in to read the flickering screen.
**********
NORTH AMERICAN AIR DEFENSE COMMAND
DETER, DETECT, DEFEND
PLEASE LOG IN TO PROCEED
USER: smith6079
PASSWORD: ***********
******S.A.G.E. TERMINAL OPERATING SYSTEM******
COPYRIGHT I.B.M. CORP. MILITARY PRODUCTS DIVISION 1964-1969
VER. 2.30 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
CURRENT DATE IS: 06-12-2020
CURRENT TIME IS: 23:04:24
YOU HAVE ACCESSED S.A.G.E. FROM: Terminal 074, Richards-Gebaur
Air Force Base
WELCOME TO S.A.G.E. smith6079
EXECUTING MAINFRAME STARTUP SEQUENCE
INITIATING TUBE WARM-UP PHASE..............................done
CONNECTING.............
SEMI-AUTOMATIC GROUND ENVIRONMENT
RADAR TARGETING INTERFACE
1956 I.B.M. CORP. MILITARY PRODUCTS DIVISION
CONNECTING TO DIGITAL RADAR
RELAY..................................D.E.W. STATIONS OFFLINE
TESTING RADIO COMMUNICATIONS...MICROWAVE RADIO OFFLINE
CONTACTING TECHNICIAN...TELEPHONE OFFLINE. PLEASE CONTACT
SUPERVISOR
ENTER ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD
*****
ACCESS DENIED.
ENTER ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD
*******
ACCESS DENIED.
ENTER ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD
****
ACCESS DENIED.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED. ALARM WILL SOUND
TESTING EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SYSTEM.......OFFLINE
TESTING SURVIVABLE LOW FREQUENCY RADIO SYSTEM...done
CONTACTING COMBAT OPERATIONS CENTER.............................OFFLINE
CONTACTING STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND................................OFFLINE
CONTACTING PRESIDENTIAL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER....................
.......................................................................
.......................................................................
.......................................................................
................................................................OFFLINE
INITIATING EMERGENCY PLAN R
TESTING INTERNAL MEMORY...done
TESTING TAPE DRIVES...done
ACCESSING TAPE 82052A...done
RUN DEADHAND
**AUTOMATED ATOMIC DELIVERY SYSTEM**
1960 NORTH AMERICAN AIR DEFENSE COMMAND
******TOP SECRET - RESTRICTED DATA******
INITIALIZE CIVIL DEFENSE WARNING SYSTEM...OFFLINE
LOADING SIOP-63
ACCESSING TAPE 82052B...done
ACCESSING TAPE 82052C...done
ACCESSING TAPE 82052D...done
ACCESSING TAPE 82052E...done
ACCESSING TAPE 82052F...done
CONNECTING TO LAUNCH SITES.............1370/3456 ONLINE
COMPILING PRIMARY TARGET LIST...done
TEST MINUTEMAN LAUNCH CIRCUITS.........done
PRELIMINARY LAUNCH SEQUENCE...done
1370 MISSILES SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED AT 23:29:29 ON 06-12-2020
ACCESSING TAPE 82052G...done
ACCESSING TAPE 82052H...done
CONNECTING TO LAUNCH SITES.............491/1201 ONLINE
COMPILING SECONDARY TARGET LIST...done
TEST MINUTEMAN LAUNCH CIRCUITS.........done
PRELIMINARY LAUNCH SEQUENCE...done
491 MISSILES SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED AT 23:32:17 ON 06-12-2020
BROADCASTING SOS ON 27 KHZ..............................................................
.......NO RESPONSE 06-12-2020
BROADCASTING SOS ON 27 KHZ..............................................................
.......NO RESPONSE 07-12-2020
BROADCASTING SOS ON 27 KHZ..............................................................
.......NO RESPONSE 08-12-2020
BROADCASTING SOS ON 27 KHZ..............................................................
.......NO RESPONSE 09-12-2020
BROADCASTING SOS ON 27 KHZ..............................................................
.......NO RESPONSE 10-12-2020
BROADCASTING SOS ON 27 KHZ..............................................................
.......NO RESPONSE 11-12-2020
**********
Jacqui held the "PG DOWN" key; the line at the bottom of the
screen read "NO RESPONSE 02-11-2031."
The muted beeps and boops of the computer as it executed its
final instruction in an infinite loop began to make the
silence uncomfortable.
"Well, looks like we sent the Russkies a nice thick nukeyaler
dildo up the ass." Michael aimed his shotgun at the terminal
screen.
"Don't shoot it, dumbass!" Jacqui shoved Michael out of the
way and bent over the keyboard.
**********
TERMINATE DEADHAND
ACCESSING TAPE 94512A...done
RUN POSTNUKE
_ _ _____ _ _ _ _ __ _
|_)/ \(_ |__/\ |_)/ \/ /\ |\_/|_)(_ |_
| \_/__) | /--\| \_/\_/--\|_| | __)|_
__ _ ____ _ _____ _ _ _ ___ __
(_ / \/ | /\ | |_|\ |/__ | |\ ||_|_|_) | |\ |/__
__)\_/\__|_/--\|_ |_| \|\_|_|_| \||_|_| \_|_| \|\_|
This program was written at the Department of the Interior's
Social Justice Bureau and inserted into the tape banks of all known
surviving S.A.G.E. computers in July 1988, during the decontamination
of former NORAD military bases by Apple Environmental Division. When
the 44 S.A.G.E. systems were powered on in 1956 they were the largest
computer systems in the world, designed to automatically read input
from radar stations in the high Arctic for nuclear targeting purposes.
NORAD bases were decommissioned in 1969 after the collapse of the
MacArthur military regime, but due to military budget constraints and
the machines' aesthetic value the systems were never demolished. If
this program is running, the following conditions have been
fulfilled:
1) S.A.G.E. emergency protocol has been triggered
2) Base communications have either been disconnected or are
obsolete, and have not been received
3) S.A.G.E. has completed Attack Plan R and launched a nuclear
assault against SIOP-63 targets in China, North Korea, Vietnam,
Cuba, USSR and the Eastern Bloc
4) This facility has survived nuclear retaliation
PRESS ANY KEY
ABOUT ATTACK PLAN R
Emergency Attack Plan R was approved by the Department of Defense
in March, 1958, in response to fears that in case of a sneak attack that
disrupted the normal chain of command, the United States would be unable
to launch a retaliatory strike against the Soviet Union and China.
According to the plan, S.A.G.E. computers would continuously run through a
checklist of indicators that a nuclear attack was underway, and if certain
conditions were fulfilled, automatically launch a nuclear strike. Multiple
layers of redundancy ensured that second strike capability would survive a
surprise attack. The Automated Atomic Delivery System was programmed by
NORAD and installed in 1960. After the fall of the Second Communist
International in 1968, S.A.G.E.'s operating system was modified to only
launch the AADS program in case of a security breach.
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
As outlined in the Social Justice Bureau Nuclear Contingency Plan,
circulated 6 March 1987, this program was created to provide information
about important Bureau objectives to be carried out in the aftermath of a
possible nuclear war. Due to the inadequate nature of current data
encryption technology, it was decided to conceal this Field Guide within
the decommissioned S.A.G.E. computer after it was disconnected from the
telephone networks. This guide contains Bureau directives for the
implementation of anarcho-feminist post-socialism in America.
June 26th, 1988
Tanisha Bryant
Social Justice Bureau Chief
Jazmeen Al-Mustafi
Secretary of the Interior
Steven P. Jobs
President of the United States of America
CEO of Apple Inc.
MAKE A SELECTION:
1 BACKGROUND
2 STATELESS SOCIETY
3 THE END OF GOD
4 SEXUAL LIBERATION
5 WASTELAND SURVIVAL
6 [CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET: SENIOR PERSONNEL ONLY]
7 APPENDIX A: MILITARY FACILITIES & WEAPONS DUMPS
8 APPENDIX B: CIVILIAN FALLOUT SHELTERS
9 APPENDIX C: HOMEMADE BOMBS AND FIREARMS
**********
"Whoop, there it is," smiled Jacqui as she selected number 6 with the
terminal's light pen.
"CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET: SECURITY CLEARANCE OMEGA. PLEASE CONFIRM
CREDENTIALS," the screen flashed.
Jacqui reached into a lead radiation-proof pouch around her waist
and pulled out her Social Justice Bureau identification badge. She
carefully scanned her Ally Code with the light pen. She then slid
her pants down an inch and scanned the barcode tattooed on her
right hip.
The screen went blank for a moment.
**********
ACCESSING TAPE 94512F...done
Temporal Engineering Program
Revision 1.0. 23/08/2044.
Falcinelli Memorial Laboratory, Fort Upton
Greetings, ALLY 0005. Please see radar display for worldline
information.
PRESS ANY KEY FOR MISSION PROFILE
**********
"So they manage to do it," Jacqui muttered to herself, smiling. "Now,
time to do what I get paid for..."