the Event: Chapter 1

I am lost in thought walking in a fast gait toward the conference room when it dawns on me I am about to tell the leaders of the world the most important news they will ever hear. A strange calm, like the eye of a storm, encircles me as the seriousness of the situation settles onto my shoulders. I am ready for this--eager, in fact. My intention is to keep the presentation short and concise. After all, time did not appear to be on our side.

I enter the conference room and I advance to the podium prepared for me. Several cameras stand on tripods in the back of the room. They are pointing directly at me with red dots showing they are live and already broadcasting. Most of the world's leaders are now watching me over the Internet. The President of the United States, however, sits in the front row with a group of generals and aides clustered around him. I didn't voted for him in the last election. In fact, I personally disliked his policies, but he seemed like a likeable enough guy. I watch him perk with interest as I enter the room. Good, I thought, you better be listening to what I have to say...

Stepping behind the podium, I tap the mic, shuffle through some papers, inhale a breath of air into my lungs, push my glasses back onto the bridge of my nose, and then... I sigh.

"Okay, let's get to the point, shall we?" I begin. "Five years ago nanobots were discovered inside the United States' fresh water drinking supply. Nanobots are robots that are so small they require the assistance of an electron microscope to visualize. These nanobots are self-powered and self-replicating. The kind of technology needed to produce them is… well… it’s beyond anything the United States presently has in its capabilities. We can't even backwards engineer them.

"Regardless, we started a search to discover the source of the nanobots. In doing so, we found we aren't the only ones dealing with these things. In fact, every nation on every continent has them floating around inside their fresh water supply. More shockingly, we realized the nanobots are actually inside every single living human being. I'll say that again: the nanobots of unknown origin, design, and purpose are inside your body right now as we speak."

At this point, I pause to assess the mood in the room. My eyes shift to the President. His brow furrows with interest, but he maintains his usual calm demeanor. Nothing about the atmosphere in the room had changed. But that's only because I haven’t gotten to the real nuts-and-bolts of the issue. Like a good joke, I am waiting to deliver the punch line. I clear my throat, and continued...

"Our drinking water is the source of the nanobots. Because all human beings need water, we are now all infected with the nanobots. At first, we thought the nanobots were terrestrial in origin. Perhaps, a drug company made them. Perhaps, they had gotten out of control or they were released by accident. Nanobots would be a major medical breakthrough, after all. But, it wasn't until this morning that we discovered the true purpose of the nanobots. Right now, in every single person around the world, the nanobots have clustered around the limbic system in the brain. We are not sure what will happen next, but this appears to be coordinated, and I consider it to be a hostile move. The limbic system controls several functions. Of particular importance is the fact it controls anger, aggression, and fear.

"My colleagues disagree with me, but I believe the nanobots are extraterrestrial in origin. The technology to make them and to program them just doesn't exist on Earth right now. It's funny actually, we all thought an alien invasion would be filled with gun battles and explosions, but it turns out we won't even get the chance to see our invaders. If what I think is about to happen actually does happen, we will all be dead by the time they get here. But, there is a silver lining to all of this. There are a select few who do not have the nanobots inside them right now. That group of people is: cancer patients. Anyone who is currently going through chemo and radiation therapy has successfully destroyed the nanobots circulating in their bodies. I happen to be such a person. I just finished my last round of chemo--hence, the reason I have no hair."

Reaching up with my hand, I pat the top of my bald white head. Somehow, a smirk forms at the corner of my mouth, but I quickly press my lips into a frown. There is nothing funny about this.

"Anyway," I continue, "it is my advice to you that you start rounding up the world's elite, give them chemo and radiation as quickly as you can, purify fresh water for them, and put them some place safe where they will have the tools and the know-how to retake this planet when the invaders come. As for those who are currently undergoing chemo and radiation, it is your duty to let them know what is going on... because in their victory over cancer... they will become a new breed of soldier on the front lines of a war humanity has never seen or experienced before. You have to help them. They are humanity's only hope. Now, whatever questions you have I will turn them over to my staff. Good night. And, good luck."

Trailing off, I sidestep out from behind the podium. I return to the hallway from whence I had come. My thoughts go to my family. I have to get home… now. The lavish building I had been in disappears as I enter my car and I speed toward the suburbs of Washington, DC. After a hour long commute, I reach my home and I park in the driveway. The freeway had been an immensely uncomfortable journey. At any moment, I suspected the world would come crashing to an end before I had the chance to prepare the ones I love.

When I enter my home, a two story white house from the 70's with a chimney and fenced-in back yard, I spot my wife Laura in the kitchen and our two children (Jake--who's 12; and Samantha--who's 16) in the living room finishing up on homework. It isn't exactly a Norman Rockwell painting, but it's pretty darn close. My kids wave to me and my wife casts me a smile. I gratefully return their greetings with a nod and a "hello" before I disappear into my bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, my fatherly demeanor is replaced with feverish movements. I snatch up my chemo medication and I check to see how many pills I have left: 5. I have enough to save my family and two others... but who? I push the thought aside. No one is safe yet, I realize.

"Jack! Samantha!" I shout from the bathroom. "Come here a sec!"

It takes them awhile to respond; but, they're teenagers, so what do you expect? When they finally join me in the bathroom, I hand them each a pill and I offer them their own plastic cups of water. "Don't ask what it is," I say, "just take it, now." Because they're still young and impressionable, they do what I say without question. "Good," I say, "thank you. Now go get ready for dinner."

Convincing their mother will be a much more difficult task. Time is of the essence, though. So when the kids run off to the dinner table, I venture into the kitchen with another chemo pill in my hand. I'm ready to force the medicine into her mouth, but she's a strong Italian woman and physical confrontation won't be pretty. I give diplomacy a chance.

"Honey," I begin carefully, "I gave a speech to the President of the United States about an hour ago."

Her eyes widen in surprise.

"What? Really?" she asks. A concerned look flashes across her face. "Is something wrong?"

I gravely nod my head.

"You know those nanobots we were investigating? As of today, they started migrating into everyone's limbic system. I think it's a threat." At this point I stick out my hand and I offer her the pill. "For the sake of our children, take this... so you can survive."

She already knows the chemo kills the nanobots. But she also knows, from what I've been through, what the chemo can do to a person.

"I'm not taking that," she says in disgust. "It's poison!"

"Rachel, please," I press. "You must or I fear you're going to die. Our kids need their mother, and this is a matter of national security."

National security? Wow, I just showed her my hand. I should have tried to flush the argument out a little more instead of going right to the point. Laura isn't someone who blindly takes orders. And yet, for reasons I can't understand. She reaches out and she takes the pill. My eyebrows raise in surprise.

"Thank you," I say slowly. And then my thoughts return to the invisible clock floating over the world. Doomsday is at hand and I have so much more to do. "Don't drink any water unless you boil it first," I say as I advance to the front door. "I'll be back shortly with supplies. Don't open the door unless it's me. Not for anyone, okay?"

My kids overhear my remark to their mother.

"Dad?" Jack asks. "Is something wrong?"

When my hand reaches the door knob, I pause. I turn and look back over my shoulder to my children and to my wife. If I had time to cry, I would... but, I don't. "Yes, something is wrong," I simply say. "Jack, you're the man of the house until I get back. Do what your mother says and help your sister. After you all finish dinner, turn out the lights and make the house appear as vacant as possible. This is serious. Now... I'll... I'll be right back."

Without another word, I skirt out the front door. I'm back in my car and on my way to Wal-Mart. During the quick drive, I dial one of my closest friends.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end of the line asks.

"Tom," I reply, "it's Bryan." Tom is a former Navy Seal who consults in DC. He's a cheerful guy. So before he can go into a big and boistrous greeting I cut him off and ask, "remember how you wanted me to give you the heads up if anything heavy was coming down the pike?"

"Uh-yeah," Tom confusedly replies.

"Well," I continue, "something world-changing is about to happen and I need you to meet me at Wal-Mart for a supply run."

There's a long pause, but eventually Tom responds with: "I'll be there in 10 minutes."

A short time later, I pull into the Wal-Mart Supercenter parking lot. I get out of my car and I wait for Tom. He's been on the phone with me the entire time asking me for details. I relay the story to him without fear or hesitation. If a government spy program is listening to our conversation, it doesn't matter. By my estimate, civilization will by morning. So, there's no SWAT team coming. There's no secret agency deploying. It's just me and the friends I can save.

When Tom pulls up along side me in his Ford Focus, he takes the chemo pill and downs it without water. My eyes widen in shock at his conviction. I then nod my head and turn to make for the grocery store. Tom, however, reaches out with his hand through the window of his car. He touches my arm to stop me.

"This isn't a joke, right?" he asks. "You're being straight with me?"

My eyes darken. "I've already poisoned my own kids with the chemo," I answer. "So yes, I'm being straight with you."

Tom pulls back his jacket to reveal a concealed shoulder-holstered handgun.

"Then I've got to get us some more of those pills," he says.

My face slowly twists into a look of shock. But then I realize... he's right. So I nod my head and say, "I'll get enough food for you and your family." Tom nods and drives off.

I enter the Wal-Mart and I grab the nearest cart. I immediately head for the canned foods aisle. I fill the whole cart full of the stuff. People look at me strangely, but I ignore them. The poor souls don't know what's coming, and I can't tell them. Moreover, I expect at any moment one of them will start attacking me. When a group of rowdy teenagers enters the store, their boisterous noise startles me. My heart stops, but it resumes once my mind concludes that the world is still normal and the clock is still ticking.

I grab another cart and I start loading it with medical and hygienic necessities. With the space I have left, I fill it with water bottles--lots and lots of water bottles. The water will need to be boiled first before consuming; but after that, it'll be as good as gold.

When I'm confident I have enough for me, my family, and our close friends to live off of for a spell, I drag the two carts to the front of the store and I check out. The bill is enormous, but what good will money be after tomorrow? So I pay the total little mind.

Out in the parking lot, I venture over to my car and I begin the process of stuffing every square inch of its interior full of supplies. About this time, Tom returns and I hear the sound of sirens wailing off into the distance. He pulls up alongside me.

"You didn't kill someone?" I ask.

Tom shakes his head. "Just robbed a pharmacy down the road. I'm going to go give these pills to my family. You got any idea where we should hole up? Cause I was thinking the cell tower between our homes would work. You know, the one on the hill. The high ground would come in handy. Plus, it's surrounded by trees. We'd be concealed, and no one could sneak up on us if someone manned the tower."

I nod my head in agreement. "Should work."

Tom sighs and leans back into his seat. He makes a fist and lightly punches the steering wheel before him. 

"So this is the end of the world, huh?" he asks.

I finish stuffing the water bottles into my car's trunk. "Yeah, pretty much," is all I can say as I close the trunk.

Tom nods his head. "Well, thanks for the warning."

I approach his car and I give the roof a gentle pat. "Take care, okay?"

"See you at the cell tower," he says before speeding off.