Armageddon

December 1975

Prologue: A Prophecy
Chapter 1. Chronology of Events
Chapter 2. The Beginning: A Failure of Diplomatic Efforts
Chapter 3. Mongolia Joins In
Chapter 4. Soviet and American Planetary Colonies
Chapter 5. Venebia: A Sight of Annihilation
Chapter 6. Egypt Worries
Chapter 7. Egypt: A Phoenix that did not Rise Again
Chapter 8. Mongolia Invades North America
Chapter 9. Tranquility

A Prophecy

“And he gathered them together in a place called in Hebrew Armageddon. And the seventh poured out of his bowl upon the air, and there came forth a loud voice out of the temple from the throne saying, ‘It has come to pass!’ and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, and there was a great earthquake such as never has been since men were first upon the Earth, so great an earthquake was it…

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the Earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against him who was sitting upon the horse, and against his army. And the beast was seized, and with it the false prophet who did signs before it wherewith he deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and who worshipped his image. There two were cast alive into a pool of fire that burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that goes forth out of his mouth; and all the birds were killed with their flesh.”

Revelation 16:16-18; 19:19-21

Chapter 1. A Chronology of Events

It was a dark and gloomy night in mid-August. The year was 2093AD. Bright lights were pulsating on the horizon. World War IV was on. This would be man’s last terrestrial war.

To set the pace for this world war, let us view the dominant events preceding, during, and following the Third World War. In the year 2050, détente finally fell through when NATO accusations that the Soviets were illegally making nuclear weapons were found to be true. In an attempt to make up for lost time, the “nuclears” of NATO began to build up their strength tremendously. Meanwhile, the Soviet communist regime was having trouble containing the ever-increasing anti-communist activities. Ironically, these activities began in Leningrad. Enigmatic Chinese leaders, whose people also were gaining an anti-communist attitude, just sat back to wee what the imminent war would produce.

First, the United States and its allies, in an effort to prove their first-strike capability, tried to destroy all of the Soviets’ offensive weapons. This backfired, and in the ensuing counter-attack, New York, London, San Francisco, Paris, Washington D.C., and Tokyo all feel victims to nuclear warfare. In another vain attempt to stop the Soviets, the United States dropped 15,000 pound bombs on some strategic Soviet sites. This failed, and within seventy-two hours most of the world was reduced to a cinder. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICSMs) were flying around like birds. But, as soon as it started, it was over. In the victimized cities, only shells of skyscrapers remained. South America and Africa were practically the only places left unscarred. China was physically undamaged, but mentally it was deteriorating.

In 2077, Mongolia, much to the Chinese people’s delight, vanquished the communist regime of China. Of course, there were a few holdouts, but these were rapidly exterminated. Venezuela unified itself with Columbia (hence called “Venebia”) and took over South America in 2080. In the following year, Egypt imperialistically took over Africa and picked up the scraps of World War III in Europe.

By the end of 2092, the world looked like this: Venebia owns South America and adjoining islands; Egypt owns Africa, the Middle East, and Europe (except for French and British Territories); Mongolia owns most of Asia, all of Australia, and the Pacific Oceania; and the Americans claim North America, but, according to latest intelligence reports, live in tunnels under the original continental United States.

As for the planetary colonies that originated from late twentieth century space exploration and mostly populated by post-World War III refugees: The Soviets fled to Venus, even though preliminary reports said it was hazardous to human life. They haven’t been heard of since. The Americans do have identified lunar bases and verified Martian colonies, but contact with their earthly counterparts has apparently been broken.

So, the political stage had been set. Now, after the Third World War, three once small countries control the world. However, their faulty diplomacy has already set their fate.

Chapter 2. The Beginning: A Failure of Diplomatic Efforts

The day was brisk, this day that could be technically termed the first day of the last war. A gentle sea breeze, coming off the Caribbean Sea, was lowering temperatures to a very comfortable zone in Venebia’s capital, Colombia. These moderate temperatures were unusual, for Venebia had a poor climate. But, it was rich in resources. Together with some of the illegal mines in Central America, (American Territory), the Andes were plentiful with uranium and sub-uranium deposits. There were of high trading value, for the world now ran on atomic fusion, (i.e., the synthesis of uranium and sub-uranium, usually lanthanide and actinide, elements to produce trans-uranium elements). The gave Venebia an “energetic” edge over both Egypt and Mongolia. Egypt, whose representatives were there that day, scrounged up some uranium and sub-uranium mines in Europe and central Africa, but still ran mostly on its oil. However, that was going fast. So, Egypt needed some fuel for new atomic fusion plants, and who else to go to but the leader in that category.

Right now, due to the stubbornness of top officials, diplomatic efforts between these two countries have been operating on a shoe-string, and, at any moment, total warfare could break out. The representatives were laughing as they strode into the twelve-story building where they would try to establish an éntente. This éntente would supply Egypt with enough sub-uranium and uranium elements to provide energy for five years, and would give Venebia the equivalent in iron-ore and other precious metals.

Throughout Venebia there were many leftist-extremist organizational armies, holdouts from the countries that Venebia had mutilated. On this day, one of those, the Chilean Liberation Army, happened to be in Colombia in the vicinity of the diplomatic building.

On the twelfth story, the representatives were laughing, telling jokes, talking sports, puffing their big fat cigars, and gulping down beer. It looked more like a sports writers’ convention than a negotiations meeting. The representatives were just making use of their “fringe-benefits.”

Meanwhile, two guerrillas from the Chilean Liberation Army had crept into the building. One went to the third story and planted a variety of powerful bombs throughout the floor. The other descended to sub-basement level-two, the electrical portion of the building. He wired his explosives and quietly left.

Some stories higher, the representatives of Venebia and Egypt forgot why they were up there. Half of them had so much to drink they were unable to pronounce “trans-uranium.” Unknowing to them, their fun was about to end.

At exactly 1:37pm, August 14, 2093, a bomb exploded on the sub-basement level-two floor in the diplomatic building where negotiations were going on. All electricity in the building was knocked off. The representatives were immediately notified. They were rushed to the rook where helicopters awaited them: one for the Egyptian representatives; and one for Venebia’s representatives. The helicopters lifted off just milliseconds before a series of explosions beset the building. Bomb two had exploded.

As the thick black smoke began to dissipate, the spectators watched anxiously for the helicopters. Suddenly, the Venebian one came out and landed. There was a great cheer from the crowd as the Venebian representatives climbed out of the craft. Anxiety filled everyone as they had suddenly realized that the Egyptian helicopter had not appeared yet. As the smoke cleared, the skeleton of the burning helicopter could be barely seen through the now gray-white smoke. It was hanging half-way out of a broken wall of the sixth story.

Word quickly spread to Egypt. The Egyptian king tried in vain to restrain his people from making hasty decisions. The Venebian embassy was burned to the ground. Anything connected, directly or remotely, to Venebia was said to be “impure” and was destroyed.

As soon as the Venebian people heard of this, they retaliated. Any Egyptian oriented object was “rubbed out.” Although the Venebian leaders made an attempt to stop this, their efforts proved futile.

So, as historians say, the spark had been lit. This was the beginning of what the heads of both countries had feared most,… World War IV!

Chapter 3. Mongolia Joins In

Mongolia, unlike the other two nations, was not belligerent and would not attack out of pure spite. Rather, it only attacked when the country was even the most remotely threatened. It was a highly technologically advanced country, although not as high as the “nuclears” were before World War III. It did, however, possess the most powerful non-nuclear bomb – the 55,000 pound Thermal Destroyer, or, (as more commonly referred to as), the “fire” bomb. Mongolia had experimented with this type of bomb in charred sections of Eastern Europe, formally the Soviet Union. In these experiments, the bomb, exploded in the air at 1800 feet, (this height be could be changed ro varying blast effect and intensity), instantly ignited an area with a radius of 150 kilometers at an energy output of 20,000 joules per second, for ten seconds. Mongolia had heard of the “war” between Venebia and Egypt, but hoped, through its isolating geography, to remain neutral. It wouldn’t.

Further developments in the war showed Egypt to have a slight edge. By attacking the southern tip of Venebia and establishing a beachhead, it could create mass consternation in that portion of South America. But first, Egypt would have to overcome the troubles at home. Pacifists, there were a few, held mass demonstrations, while trigger-happy Egyptians shot at any alien craft. Unfortunately, one was Mongolian.

In the early morning hours of August 19, a young Egyptian anti-aircraft gunner shot at, and downed, what he believed to be a Venebian fighter-bomber. Ass the wreckage crew invested the almost entirely disintegrated craft; they found no remnants of guns or offensive weapons. As they turned over a section of a wing, an insignia appeared. It was Mongolian. The crew stood there frozen.

In Mongolia’s nearest tracking station, Sevastopol, on the Black Sea, a May Day was received. Seveastopol was equipped with Mongolia’s top secret, highly sophisticated, monitoring system. The May Day was from flight 249.067, round trip Ulan Bator to Ascension Island. The message said it was being shot at by Egyptian gunners at 18° 15’ East Greenwich, 28° north latitude. The distress message was abruptly cut short. This flight carried some of Mongolia’s top scientists and technicians for research in the South Atlantic.

By noon, the incident’s news had reached Ulan Bator, Mongolia’s capital, and was then piped throughout the country by the media. This news infuriated some citizens so much that they got together and attacked small towns in Iran Territory in Egypt. The Mongolian leaders made it official by declaring war on Egypt’s monarchy.

At 6:00pm, August 20, a group of Mongolia’s Merchant Class-8 ships were attacked and seized by Venebia in the South Pacific. Without delay, Mongolia’s communist dictatorship was at war with Venebia’s democracy.

This was only the beginning. Soon the world would face its most devastating war. At first, each side didn’t want to fully destroy its opponent; they just dropped small bombs on small towns. But small towns in Venebia were plenty.

Chapter 4. Soviet and American Planetary Colonies

Travelling 23,800 miles from the Earth you find Earth’s closest neighbor, the Moon, an American possession. Here an astrocolonist’s (a name referring to a space colonizer) nearest objective view of the goings on about Earth. The Americans used the Moon almost exclusively for this purpose, and an almost immediate report came from Observation Post TR-10A, located on the Sea of Tranquility, approximately 150 miles from the crater Theophilus. The delicate instruments reported from the spectroscopic readings that the Earth’s magnetic flux was two percentage points above normal. Visual observations verified flashing lights within the boundaries of major land masses. The conclusion was war.

The Americans had over 150 such lunar bases on the light side of the Moon, each in the most strategic position possible. There were also 60 other bases located on the dark side of the Moon. Each Moon base had an artificially created Earth-type climate and Earth-type gravity, produced by a highly advanced centrifugal system. There is always constant radio communications between the bases themselves and Mars. Electrical power was supplied by 75 variously positioned solar energy stations. As for the dark side, the conventional synthesis of sub-uranium elements to trans-uranium elements produced sufficient energy. Each based covered an area of 10,000 acres and housed 4,000 people. It had recreational and medical facilities, although its primary use was for scientific study of the Earth, Sun, and other astronomical features. Life on the Moon was no less affluent than life in the post-World War II United States.

On Mars, however, all traditional economic classes prevailed, not just a “middle-class,” like on the Moon. The old American cities’ names (such as New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Detroit) were still used. But, the territorial regions had uniquely Martian names, like Alpha Canidapros, which is the main region (it included the capital, Washington D.C., of course). Various areas of recreation dotted the Martian terrain, of which team sports were the most popular. Pool halls, tennis courts, and of the same, were prevalent in this Martian society. There was a decent amount of time to enjoy these activities. However, contrary to old terrestrial beliefs about future societies, machines did not do everything. There were still milkmen, mailmen, insurance brokers, etc… to “consume” the goods of. The automobile and steel industries were still the economic mainstay.

The government of Mars was no different from the United States’ terrestrial government (i.e., still the same bureaucratic systems, Presidents, cabinets, elected Congressmen, mayors, representatives, etc…). About the only thing missing was the foreign minister. The defense budget was cut nearly ninety-five percent, and most of the rest was given to organizations involved with the advancement of science.

As for climatological and geological data concerning Mars, compared to Earth it was almost the same. The rotation of Mar is 24 hours, 37 minutes, compared to the Earth’s 23 hours, 56 minutes, and the axial tilt, the amount of degrees the axis (north-south pole line) tilts from being perpendicular (90°) with the solar place, is about 24° for Mars, 23½° for Earth. The axial tilt is very important as it causes the seasons, and, as you could see, terrestrial and Martian seasons are close to being the same. However, Mars’ seasons are about twice as long as Earth’s because its sidereal period about the Sun is 687 Earth days. The diameter of Mars is 4,215 miles, about 3,500 less than Earth’s. Mars’ mean distance from the Sun is 141.6 million miles, making the surface temperature range from a cool 75° F at the equator to a rather cold 18.5° F below 0° F at the south pole. Couple this with Mars’ surface pressure (about five one-thousands of the Earth’s) and the atmospheric content (90% carbon dioxide, the rest mainly carbon monoxide, with traces of water and oxygen), and you’ll see Mars is a very inhospitable place. So much, in fact, that the cities are under “bubbles” that have atmospheric and gravitational controls. Still, most like on Mars is normal.

So that is how the new Americans look. They are still known on Earth because Mongolian and Egyptian radar has picked up various transport ships and freighters going from the Moon to Mars. But the Soviets have remained a puzzle. They supposedly inhabit Venus, the Sun’s second planet.

Venus is probably one of the best known planets. Its highest magnitude of -4.4 makes it the brightest object in the night sky, aside from the Moon. It is approximately 67,200,000 miles from the Sun, and has a diameter of 7,700 miles, only 100 less from Earth’s. Its sidereal period of revolution around the sun is 225 Earth days, and its day is equal to 584 Earth days. The mean temperature throughout this plant is 497° F. It is constant because the clouds trap in and circulate the heat.

The clouds are what kept many early astronomers from really looking into the planet. These clouds come in two layers. On the top layer, the clouds swirl around at 250 miles per hour. Then there is a small gap as you go to the bottom layer. On the surface, winds average a “slight” 50 miles per hour. As you descend through the clouds, the temperature increases. Old NASA and Soviet satellites clocked the convection currents in these clouds in excess of 1,000 miles per hour. The atmosphere is almost entirely carbon dioxide, with traces of nitrogen, water, methane, and ammonia, but practically no oxygen in the free state. Obviously, Venus us not a very inviting planet, but the Soviets thought it was.

Chapter 5. Venebia: A Sight of Annihilation

As Mongolian strategists had figured, Egyptian infantry units had established a beachhead on the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn. From this point, Egyptian trips destroyed small towns and invoked panic throughout the people. Guerilla warfare tactics were used by both sides in a great battle below the thirty-third parallel. Venebia was pumping troops in this region at an ever increasing rate to protect and maintain possession of the mines of valuable uranium and lanthanide, materials imperative in trans-uranium synthesis. But perhaps a greater toll would be taken, because Venebia’s great forests, and practically their only available wood resource region, were in the area of the fight.

The Great Venebian Offensive worked and the Egyptian trips were fighting a losing battle. Besides the reinforcement troops, there were troops assigned to protect the three major southern cities – Santiago, Buenos Aries, and Montevideo – in the fighting. It seemed like such a great idea of trying to conquer Venebia by invading the south, but the Venebian army proved otherwise. While maintaining strategic holds in the Andes mountains, the Venebians forced the Egyptians to retreat to the Lower Venebian Archipelago, The defensive drive of the Venebian army had been effective in knocking the Egyptians out of South America… or had it?

On the night of October 27, a convoy of Egyptian ships left the Cape Verde Islands. It consisted of 250 ships. Twenty-five of them were aircraft carriers. They carried 150 plans each: 75 bombers and 75 fighters. These planes would play an important part in the upcoming attack. There were 50 battle ships, complete with the most sophisticated radar mechanisms and anti-aircraft guns. There were also 50 destroyers, each equipped with the most advanced guided missile carriages. All but 10 of the rest of the ships carried supplies and men. These ships were powered by sub-uranium/trans-uranium fusion. The other 10 ships were cruisers and were powered by the old, contemporary nuclear fission, which has smaller reactors and is more swift than fusion. This military convoy was headed for one place, the military base at Sao Luiz, Venebia.

Two-hundred nautical miles from their destination, a merchant convoy spotted something on the ship’s scanning radar. It was a convoy of ships. The merchant convoy was just a total of 150 ships: 100 cargo ships and 50 battleships. This report was given to all other ships and battle stations were taken. The flagship, S.S. Zabril, sent an urgent message to the nearest military base, Sao Luiz, explaining the situation and position.

Meanwhile, the flagship S.S. Cairo of the Egyptian convoy verified the presence of an unidentified convoy. A red alert was issued. It was unneeded, however, for some of the lead ships had visual recognition of the Venebian merchant convoy. The merchant convoy, seeing it was outmatched, attempted to veer out of the way. It was too late. Trying to get some help, they called the Sao Luiz base and asked for reinforcements. The reinforcements would never be on time.

At 3:57am, October 28, the first shot was fired by the Egyptian destroyer Palamez, It scored a near miss. Then the merchant convoy answered with a barrage of return fire. There was a slim possibility of escape from the military convoy, and the merchant ships attempted to attain it. A gigantic sea battle ensued, and, amazingly, the merchant convoy was holding an even stand with Egypt’s convoy. But then, the killer, the bombers from the aircraft carriers took off. The planes caught the fleeing ships. All doors to escape had been closed and locked. The flagship of the Venebian convoy told all the ships to fight it out because the Egyptian ships would only attack the mainland. From then on, it was all Egypt. The merchant convoy didn’t have a chance. In the end, the entire Venebian convoy was destroyed. But the Egyptian convoy did not escape injury: 100 planes were list, a total of thirty ships (battleships and destroyers) were sunk, and effective batter ramming from Venebia’s merchant vessels annihilated thirty-seven of Egypt’s transport and cargo ships. Even though it seemed like a lot to lose, it was only a minor dent in Egypt’s convoy and there was enough power and men to carry out the planned operation.

It was 6:47am, a cool morning for this time of year at 60° F. Dawn was just breaking as the Sun was absorbed by the altostratus clouds. Over on the horizon, one could see the silhouette of the convoy. In the stratosphere, a person could faintly detect the sun exciting the fine lines of crystallized exhaust coming from the planes. The cargo and transport ships then proceeded to sever themselves from the convoy to land the artillery, tanks, and supplies, along with the men, at the Cape of Sao Rogue, about 600 miles from the target of Sao Luiz. These men established a strong beachhead on the unprotected coastline. At 7:00am the bombs dropped from the Phoenix B-20 bombers as they travelled with the Phoenix F-22 fighters at speeds in excess of Mach 3.5. This took the Sao Luiz military base by complete surprise, a la Pearl Harbor. Before they had time to become organized, the men of Sao Luiz had lost all their anti-aircraft guns.

The military base at Sao Luiz was taken over without any needed showing of Egypt’s full potential strength. In fact, the whole area from the Brazilian highlands to the Amazon River was taken over with great ease. The reason that this was taken without a fight was that the troops of Venebia were all down south getting the rest of Egypt’s army out. The objective of Egypt was to push to the other side of the continent and cut Venebia in half; thus, stranding Venebia’s army to the south, away from the capital. Seeing this, the troops of Venebia tried to escape by way of the western side of the Andes Mountains. This strengthened Egypt’s position in southern Venebia. And to this the increasing amount of ships filtering in to create a naval blockade. You can see that Egypt had a “slight” edge over Venebia.

Meanwhile, Mongolia was just waiting. It would not repeat history and have two war fronts, Venebia and Egypt, like Hitler had Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Mongolia saw that Egypt was doing this, while they just sat back and counted their mounting advantages. It let Egypt drain itself by fighting with Venebia. This also gave Mongolia time to build up its forces.

Going back to Venebia, we see the odds are really in favor of Egypt. Egyptian tanks and battalions now roam freely throughout the eastern and southern sectors of Venebia. All of Venebia’s forces had been centralized in the northwest quadrant of South America. Egypt was still trying to take over Venebia by army strength, but just couldn’t. That was the advantage of having your forces centralized. However, there was a disadvantage.

Anxiety began to beset Mongolian officials. What if their plot to let Egypt expend itself on Venebia was discovered? This would be horrible, because, instead of fighting against one nation, it would have to fight against two (i.e., Egypt would probably unite itself with Venebia and attack Mongolia). But the leaders decided to risk it. Then came the latest intelligence reports: Venebia had actually centralized its forces. An urgent meeting took place in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator. The heads of state had decided to use their unique weapon to their advantage. On January 1, 2094, at 12:00pm, to mark the new year, Mongolia would enduce rapid extinction of Venebia by dropping three “fire” bombs. This would let Egypt waste its forces on Venebia for about a week-and-a-half.

Back in Egypt, the leaders and advisors began to worry about Mongolia’s idleness. They thought Mongolia was up to something, but couldn’t put their finger on it. Even if they did, it would be too late. The countdown was on.

The sliding doors began to open and let light on what most world citizens would have hoped to be kept dark – the 55,000 pound thermal “fire” bombs. The bombs were in warhead form, at the top of a majestic intercontinental ballistic missile. From the station’s speaker came the control man’s voice: “Clear the launch pad. All clear the launch pad. Condition red, countdown proceeding at one minute, twenty seconds.” The siren began blowing in order to alert the staff of this silo base in Canberra, Australia. The countdown continued through the hustling of engineers that attempt to clear themselves from the launch area. “T-minus twenty seconds and counting…. T-minus fifteen seconds, guidance control starts, twelve…eleven… ten… nine… eight, ignition sequence states, five… four… three… two… one… zero, lift off! Thirty-seven minutes past the hour, all systems go…” The missiles were on their way. One would fall short and take a dive in the southern Pacific Ocean, but the other two would hit on target. They would burn the continent of South America to a cinder; hence, all life in Venebia would come to an end.

Chapter 6. Egypt Worries

The fears of the Egyptian leaders were proven. The mysterious idleness of Mongolia during the Venebian campaign was shown to be a great display of treachery. The Egyptians had been led like a puppet into corralling up the Venebian forces, at the expense of their own, just so Mongolia could kill however many birds with “one” stone. In this case, that “one” stone was the Fire Bombs. But, to make matters worse, not only did Egypt lose some of its strength while fighting Venebia, they lost a good portion in the Fire Bomb explosions. With this, the Egyptian leaders concluded that Mongolia had a significant advantage over them. They deemed it as essential for the acquisition of outside assistance. So, Egypt then attempted to ally itself with its closest neighbors.

In early March, as tensions were building, a diplomatic force went to French and British territories to ask for some defensive help. They set off from Cairo by plan and were to land in Andorra. From Andorra a small plan would be supplied for transportation to Paris and London. There would be no advanced knowledge of this meeting given to France and Britain. This was done only because Anglo and Franco communications were non-existent. France and Britain were in a period of super-isolation. A small military escort accompanied the diplomats, just in case of any grave “misunderstandings.”

On March 3, 20194, the diplomat corps took off from Cairo and headed for Andorra. It was a nice smooth ride on the luxury plane, and in four hours the Andorran runway was under their feet. The diplomats conferred on last minute strategy before boarding the small twin-engine plane. It was still early afternoon when they lifted off from Andorra and headed, rather optimistically, for Paris and London.

As the pilot flew in the general direction of Paris, the anxious diplomats peered out the small windows like children. What they saw was an unsurprising surprise. Much of the debris of World War III had been left unattended. There was little or no animal life, and it even appeared that vegetation was gaining ground on the little towns they passed. Still, they thought this would be normal and that France and Britain would be more centralized. But this chaos of France did not change as they neared Paris. Finally, the reached Paris and found the indicators of humanoid existence in that the city was apparently in the midst of repairing the damage suffered from the nuclear attack. The landing on the runway temporarily jolted them. As they got out of the place they saw no people there to greet them.

As the diplomatic corps descended the stairs of the plane, they couldn’t help but notice the foreboding stillness. There was no sign of any working machinery. They witnessed that the runway, and all roads, were not “clean.” They were in need of repair because of the large chunks of rock on them. Then, the diplomats saw the airport terminal. It was obvious that it was only makeshift, as the foundation of the old, larger one was clearly visible. As they walked towards the terminal, they saw that crude forms of vegetation were “oozing” their way through the various concrete landscapes.

When they neared the terminal, they immediately began to sense a sharp disgusting odor. It was definitely of human origin. They entered the building hoping to find life, but none was to be seen. They checked throughout the main lobby and offices, and still no life was to be found. Their next initiative was to examine the food stores. They quickly ran to the storage compound to find the food. As they came closer, the odor grew more noticeable.

In a short time, they were upon two doors with the French word for food over them. The, a military guard proceeded to open the doors. They found the source of the smell… definitely of humanoid origin. Instead of food, they saw a mound of just a bit more than a dozen partially decomposed bodies, with rats and other rodents running around them freely. The bodies had obviously been dead for some time. A quick autopsy by the corps doctor revealed the cause of death to be bubonic plague.

The corps quickly exited the airport building with fear of contracting the disease. As they ran through the streets of the city, they found nothing but rats running around, a sight that had previously escaped them. It had appeared that Paris, and possibly of France, had been wiped out by the bubonic plague. They boarded their plan and quickly sped to London while giving a report of happenings to Andorra.

As the corps left France, they saw no humans. The same condition at the airport seemed to prevail throughout France. The head of the diplomatic party had just finished his report when they flew over the English Channel. They had a visible sighting of England.

When they were over England, their foreboding thoughts had been proven true. England was in worse condition than France. London was still levelled from the nuclear bomb that hit it. Their next choice was to go to Liverpool. But this idea was rejected when the pilot informed the party that he had barely enough fuel to make it back to Andorra. So they decided to turn back and give up trying to ally themselves with the “ghost” countries of England and France. The Egyptian leaders would not like this, but they had to accept it.

Chapter 7. Egypt: A Phoenix that did not Rise Again

Seeing that terrestrial help was not to be found, Egypt decided to send a Venus probe to contact their old ally the Soviets. The probe would probably make contact with the Soviets in three weeks. It was now Egypt’s objective to survive for three weeks. To do this, Egypt would have to maintain a defensive hold and lay off the offensive tactics for a while. A defensive stand for Egypt was the logical choice, for Egypt was outnumbered nearly two to one.

In Ulan Bator, Mongolia, officials were still celebrating the demise of Venebia and their strategic victory over Egypt. However, this did not cause Mongolia to shy away from more relevant matters. They ordered all naval fleets to the Indian Ocean so to monitor the goings-on off Egypt. Soldiers, aircraft, and artillery were to be transported to the outskirts of the northeastern sector of the Middle East. Optimism was very high. It looked as though victory was imminent.

The Egyptian army was just as unorganized as Mongolia’s army was filled with confidence. The Egyptians who were organized and knew what they were doing, were overcome by anxiety. On the first line defense, which was almost like a curve varying from 79 miles, in Turkey, to 138 miles in Saudi Arabia, (these figures are relative to Cairo’s position), the men were uneasy. They did not know when, or how, they were going to be attacked. The heads of Cairo were having a tough time with their propaganda tactics with the censoring of “unpleasant” facts. The citizens of Egypt were worried, too. They didn’t know what to believe, the rumors or the government releases.

On the Mongolian side, however, confidence was reinforced by the latest intelligence estimates on the strength of both nations. Mongolia was clearly ahead. The reports showed that Mongolia had approximately 400,000,000 men ready for action. Egypt had only 297,800,000 men ready. It was estimated that Mongolia’s navy number 1,755 ships: 500 battleships; 500 destroyers; 250 aircraft carriers; 500 transports; and 5 light-armed cruisers. Egypt, on the other hand, had only 976 ships: 355 destroyers; 275 battleships; 120 aircraft carriers; 223 transports; and 3 light-armed cruisers. As for air potential, Mongolia had 5,670 aircraft, while Egpyt only had 5,500 available planes. Egypt’s only high point, and probable alternative, was to control some of the “ground game.” It was obvious that Mongolia, who only had 749 tanks, would have trouble with “traditional” land combats because Egypt had 1,500 tanks in operation and another 473 being built. Because of its advanced technology, though, Mongolia did not need an effective offensive ground attack. Rather, it just needed to maintain some sort of stable ground combat. These impressive figures showed that Mongolia had great reason for being so optimistic.

The Egyptian officials’ reaction to these figures were mixed. They were happy in that they led in tanks, but wondered if Mongolia’s sea and air advantage would make up for it. The concluded that the air would be their worst enemy since, in a defensive position (land being protected), a ship would do less damage, in most probability, than a plane.

On March 14, 2094, Mongolian troops attempted to bulge through the Egyptian defense in Iranian territory. The Mongolians wedged slowly in the Egyptian first line. This was due probably to the suddenness of the attack, and the Egyptians soon regained their hold. The Egyptians, who were given orders no to advance, did not attempt to conquest any unnecessary land. The conservative warfare kept Egypt on its toes.

The terrain of the battle was mainly steppe, with periodic masses of sandstone jutting from the Earth. The Egyptians camouflaged their anti-aircraft guns as these “hulks” of rock. This disguising proved a great advantage for Egypt in that it was some time before Mongolia realized the presence of the eighty millimeter guns. These guns helped contribute to the stalemate of the first week of fighting by knocking off the attacking planes. Rolls of barbed wire were strewn across the area of the fight in order to stop advancing enemy soldiers. Man made “quicksand” and mine fields helped the Egyptian efforts. So, after a week of fighting, neither side was able to gain any ground; and the Venus probe was only four-and-and-a-half days from its destination.

Then it happened. The two fire bombs that were detonated in Venebia caused grave geological disturbances. These in turn caused monstrous tidal waves and radical climatological changes. On March 22, 2094, a series of tidal waves, accompanies by fierce typhoons, pelted the Mongolian coastline, halting all military production in that area. Manchuria, the leader of such production, was declared a disaster area. The Southeast Asian archipelago was ravaged by towering tidal waves and earthquakes. Because of this, Mongolia’s bauxite ore mines were shut down. Bauxite ore was the chief raw material mined in that area and is the principle ore of aluminum. This hurt the production of all land, see, and air vehicles.

The King of Egypt received word of this happening. They were overjoyed, yet they decided to keep the defensive position because the Venus probe was only two days away from its target. Then word came in that stated Ulan Bator was being hit by the same storm that utterly destroyed the province of Manchuria. Seeing that this would be the most logical time to stake a bid for victory by expressing a totally overpowering offensive, the Egyptian king issued orders for a sharp and immediate attack.

As Ulan Bator was being crippled by a fierce typhoon, some provincial capitals were also being crippled, although not in the same way. The Egyptians were bombing nearby cities at an alarming rate. Capital cities such as Kabul, Karachi, New Delhi, and Kiev, together with chiefly military cities like Odessa, Sevastopol, and Kazalinsk were all reduced to ruins. Things began to look brighter for Egypt, as its probe was only twenty-three hours and fifty-six minutes from Venus.

But then a sudden turnaround occurred. Mongolia switched all military operations from Ulan Bator to Urumchi in the adjacent province of Sinkiang. Mongolia’s air advantage began to show. All territory that was slowly gained by Egypt was quickly regained by Mongolia. Soon, all lost land was back in possession of Mongolia. After the victory, Mongolia launched a major offensive in, and captured, the Saudi Arabian peninsula. It also took control of all of the west coastline areas of the Red Sea. This let Mongolian ships come knocking on Cairo’s door.

With two hours and thirty-nine minutes until contact with Venus would be established, Cairo was trying to get all its men in Asia back to defend the city. But the Mongolian offensive had cut Egypt’s army in two. The king of Egypt, from his palace, had visible sight of Mongolian troops that were storming in from the east, and the Mongolian ships that were coming, unchallenged, from the Red Sea. He received word that the Mongolians had just overtook Alexandria and were coming down the Nile River.

By March 25, 2094, the only significant portion of the Egyptian empire was reduced to the city of Cairo itself. In three minute, Egyptian officials would see if they had a future. At that time the Venus probe would make contact with the surface of Venus. They could hear the panic-stricken citizens screaming as they saw the enemy soldiers on the outskirts of the city. Enemy ships began shelling the city from the Nile River and the Suez Canal.

Bombs were exploding throughout the city as technicians crowded around the blank screen at the Cairo Space Control Building. At 1:57pm, contact with Venus would be established. Suddenly, an ear piercing whistle was heard, and a bomb destroyed a neighboring building; a near miss. The gray-white screen began to look snowy as highly contrasting white dots filled the glass. The probe was starting to work. Again, a high-pitch whistle was head, immediately followed by a huge explosion, obviously closer. Then, with a sudden beep, came the picture. The officials, who had just arrived, and the technicians began to stir anxiously. The picture formed, showing the gray clouds over a sharp, distinct horizon. Seeing this, the men were stunned. After all, this had been the exact coordinates of the Soviets’ landing. They decided to let the camera take a 360° sweep around, in search of a Soviet city. The camera slowly turned around. Then something was picked up on the screen and focused in. They didn’t know what it was. A technician pressed a button and the zoom-lens went into effect. As the object grew, they could see it was big and metallic. The metal was crumpled up as if it hit, or was hit by, something travelling at a great speed. The camera then turned to the “nose” of this vessel. The men turned to stone. They saw the initials “CCCP” with a red star outlined in yellow under them. Then a whistle of ear-shattering intensity began to grow in frequency and amplitude…. This one wouldn’t miss.

Chapter 8. Mongolia Invades North America

Mongolia now had the whole world, except North America. The Mongolian leaders knew that the “Americans” still lived there, but they also knew that these “Americans” were in no wat to be compared to the pre-World War II type. They were more like the Indians; crude, superstitious, and unable to comprehend a high technology. SO the Mongolians sent a large convoy to America’s west coast to begin the colonization of North America. They were equipped with a “light” arsenal, just in case trouble would arise.

After three weeks of travelling, the Mongolians finally landed on what used to be the California coastline, specifically, the Bay Area. They know of this place for old legends, but it was not the splendid place as described in the books. World War III had changed that.

All signs of suburban civilization were gone. The nuclear bomb annihilated the small wooden structures. It changed everything. The soil was crystallized to a point where it looked like sand. In fact, the whole area, from coastline to horizon, looked like a desert with a few erratic boulders here and there. The only sign of a past civilization was the city’s skyscrapers. The bomb had given the sturdy ones the “leaning tower of Pisa” effect. They were all tilted a different way. Weathering had given the metal a blue-gray color. As for the relatively weak metallic buildings, the blast-effect of the bomb had tangled their metal into weird designs. Traveling through the city, the Mongolians could detect the Golden Gate Bridge. The blast-effect had blown it into the ground, and the presence of water had given its overall blue-gray color patches of rust. After this view of the environment, they decided to set up camp.

In the morning, the Mongolians searched for vegetation and found nothing, except moss and algae. Then the Mongolians discovered, right in the heart of the city, an entrance to one of America’s various tunnels. The commander of the expedition decided to go against the government’s orders and destroy all of the Americans. They got some “light” artillery and loaded the troops on the troop carriers. Then, in convoy looking like a military parade, entered into this huge tunnel; jeeps first, tanks next, and finally the troop carriers. They were going in on the assumption that the tunnel was to remain big and that the Americans were not far off.

After three hours of swift travel, the “hunt” only produced a dozen Americans who were promptly shot. Then the tunnel opened up suddenly like a hallway opens up into a lobby. This “room” was an underground city. It was the sub-city of Reno. It so happened that after the conclusion of World War III, most non-astrocolonists congregated in this area. The commander of the Mongolian force issued an order not to attack until all troops were organized.

The city itself was a splendid thing (considering this society was crude) and was five miles in diameter. The “ceiling” was supported by a maze of lengthy steel beams. These beams were covered in white polystyrene fibers. The strategically placed lights, with a twenty-four hour one and off cycle, gave the impression of day and night. Probably the only set back to this is that when the light was reflected from the fibers, it cage an effect of an overcast day. The walls of the city were the native rock, with many air filtration systems and water pipes embedded in them. All buildings were just small wood frame houses, except for one which was implanted in the wall. It was a small, thirty feet by thirty feet in size, but the walls were made of fiberglass and the door was iron. Only the “aged ones” could enter this room. It was a place of hold worship. As for the people of this society, they were the results of nuclear warfare. Radiation had many detrimental effects on these humanoids. It had made their minds regress almost to the point of Cro-Magnon man. This was a dying race in that all of its being had been sterilized by radiation. However, the effects had not all been bad. The longevity of the race had nearly tripled. The race worshiped an enigmatic god, with the “aged ones” being the leaders of this religious sect. The aged ones had the highest knowledge in that they knew the workings of all the machines. They were usually old and didn’t know why the machines worked.

Back outside the city, the Mongolian troops were now organized and were being briefed on the method of attack. It was “high noon” when the order was given to attack the city. The Americans went down without a fight, like a group of monks praying while they’re being shot at. This surprised the Mongolians.

Word of an attack by outsiders reached the other end of the city quickly. The aged ones heard this and rejoiced, for in the revelations that they preached and read from the “old books,” which were found in the “holy” room, this was to happen. The books insisted that an invasion from the west by “a race whose eyes were slanted and faces round,” at least this was the impression the aged ones received. Unknown to the aged ones, however, the books were describing the Mongolian race. The books also stated that if the invaders threatened the security of the nation, the leaders were to go to the “room.” It then went on and gave instructions of what to do. The Americans, thinking that this was the fate given to them by their creator, accepted death without question.

As the fighting got closer, a group of aged ones began conferring and then decided to go to the “holy” room. With the Mongolians five hundred yards away and closing in fast, five aged ones started making their way towards the room. A sharp shot rang out, one aged one fell dead. The Mongolians were getting closer. By the time they got to the room, only three aged ones were alive. They entered the room, turned on the light, shut the door, and began reading the instructions.

When the aged ones finished reading the instructions, the Mongolians had wiped out the entire population of the city, and were literally knocking at the door. The room was full of blinking lights and switches, and the aged ones had trouble recognizing which switches to push at first. The book said the process would take about two minutes. On the other side of the door, the Mongolians were blasting the iron door with artillery and tanks, but it wouldn’t budge. Inside, the aged ones were flicking switches, without much interference from the noise outside. Then, the door suddenly moved, the Mongolians threw it open and shot a few rounds of ammunition into the room. The aged ones had all been killed, but not before the last switch was flicked.

High above the Earth’s exosphere, three far apart satellites, possibly the last remaining evidence of the United States’ existence on Earth, began to move in unison. These post-détente satellites carried intercontinental ballistic missiles, (ICBM’s). They were exact replicas of each other. As these tubular, almost cigar shaped, satellites moved simultaneously, the open end pointed towards the Earth, and the ICBM’s came pouring out in a flurry of fire. Each ICM was equipped with a 55,000 megaton cobalt-salt nuclear warhead. The missiles came down into the Earth at the proper angle so to not burn up in the atmosphere. No one knows exactly where they hit, but they did.

Chapter 9. Tranquility

On May 29, 2094, at 10:42am, a report came from Moon Base TR-10A, and was later verified by all other observation posts. It state that the old ICBM satellites were in functioning order. At 10:43am, the ICBM’s were fired. Then came the strange report at 10:45am, the approximate time of ICBM detonation, the Earth turned to a bright blue-white color, fluctuating like a water drop in free space, then vaporized.

The lunar scientists were stunned. They check the files and found that the ICBM’s were equipped with 55,000 megaton cobalt-salt nuclear warheads, theoretically capable of destroying the Earth. The old interpretation to this theory was that it meant the destruction of superficial life, not literally the complete annihilation of the Earth. The scientists were befuddled.

The scientists hypothesized that the entire Earth was converted into pure energy, but the energy scanners reported the true energy output was far less than would be expected in such a hypothesis.

They then synthesized the possibility that the Earth was turned into a black hole. A black hole is the theoretical condition of an object when its gravity is so strong that light cannot escape its grasp. One might call it a “universal” vacuum cleaner in that its gravity “sucks” in everything. They first calculated the Schwarzschild Radius, (i.e., how much the Earth must be compacted to be a black hole), and then, through many calculus and physics formulae, found it possible that the three bombs could have crushed the Earth to its Schwarzschild Radius, To prove this theory, they sent a high speed craft to the last reported position of the Earth. According to the black hole theory, the craft, in being sucked in, would turn quickly to the infra-red side of the spectrum, and give the appearance that it is forever falling into a black pit. In reality, it would be annihilated completely. As the craft grew closer to its destination, it began to report back normal readings. The readings remained normal throughout the trip. Obviously, the black hole conclusion was false.

The scientists then decided that it might be possible that the earth was broken into tiny particles, but again a quick spectroanalysis showed that this was wrong. It reported no mass particles in the vicinity of the “Earth.” Checking the tapes from the time that the Earth disappeared, the Earth’s mass reading went from normal to zero.

Then it finally hit the scientists that the Earth was “bounced” into another space-time continuum. When the ICBM’s exploded, the Earth vibrated at a speed greater than that of light. (The moon was only slightly effected by this.) Einstein said it wasn’t possible, but it was the only logical conclusion that remained. Einstein’s formula:

Where T∆ equals your relative time period (e.g., hour, minute, etc…); v equals the velocity; and c equals the velocity of light, states the change in your time period when one nears the speed of light. If velocity (v) is greater than the speed of light (c), the number under the radical sign is negative. Some scientists interpreted this as a negative time period. That is, one is going backwards in time. There were no tests for this theory, although proof may be in the spectroanalysis of the Earth during its last micro-seconds. The analysis showed that the Earth’s light rapidly fluctuated from ultra-violet to infrared. Still, no one knows what really happened to the Earth.

* * *

Travelling back to some far, distant, space-time continuum, there is a young class G-2 star. In orbit about this yellow star are nine planets. In travelling to a land mass on the third planet, one finds that its climate is hot and humid. The air is heavy with hear. The planet’s sun appears red-orange because of the volcanic dust and mist, making visibility near zero. The soil is a moist, fertile-looking peat. The soil is hot, and a thick mist is coming from the nearby swamp. The vegetation is almost an unearthly exotic type. Strands of long, thin leaves sprout from the swamp, as the water itself is tinted green by the various forms of algae. Huge ferns trees, with a hard bare bark, and massive bushes are the only forms of vegetation on the land. Suddenly, one hears a thunderous noise, as the ground is violently shaken. Then, as the smoky mist clears, through the exotic ferns one can detect the silhouette of the neck and head of a brontosaurus…