Like A Thief In The Night

Like A Thief In The Night

Lord Andrew Charles reads his late paternal great-great-grandfather’s journal that records his flight from the Pre-World War III Planet and he starts from the beginning.

Lord Patrick William Howard wrote this entry in his journal on April 28, 2153, “ I received a vision  from an unknown source and it told me to go and gather some of the most prominent families throughout England. “ 

Furthermore, the unknown source tells him ‘Don’t worry about their heritage, race, religion. “ 

“Lord Patrick William remembered what happened to the people in Noah’s day when his creator told him to build an ark and after it was built go gather 12 clean animals both male and female, and 7 unclean animals of both male and female and get your wife, children and their spouses are board the ark.” 

“You have two days to do it.” The unknown source tells him. 

Lord Patrick William Howard goes to his brother in law, Lord Walter Devereux and they start to go to door from door and they convince The Beaufort’s, The Bourbons,  The Burgundy’s,  The Clifford’s ,The Collin’s, The Craven’s, The Devereux, The Grey’s,  The Habsburgs,  The Howard’s,   The Knolly’s, The Romanovs , The Stafford’s, The Stuart’s, and  The Valois to accompany Lord Walter and him on board the USS Excalibur.

Lord Patrick William tells each family “You have only one day to pack and  a day to pay your final respects to your ancestors.” 

On April 29, 2153, Lord Patrick William and Lord Walter Devereux with their wives took a final pilgrimage to Bosworth Field where their noble ancestors died fighting for King Richard III of England.

Lord Patrick William with his wife, Lady Margaret and her brother, Lord William and his wife, Lady Beatrice walk over to where their noble ancestors  were slaughtered by Henry Tudor and they place a reef of  white roses on their grave.

“My dear noble ancestor. We have to leave England and Planet Earth. I received a vision of a great calamity that is going to happen.” Lord Patrick William states. “I will remember you on Samhain, October 31.” 

Lord Walter Devereux walks over to where Lord Walter Devereux died along with Lord John Howard, 1sr Duke of Norfolk in 1485 and he places the reef of white roses on his grave.

Lord Walter Devereux tells his noble ancestor, “ I won’t forget you and I will remember you.” and he walks away with Lord Patrick William.

“Lord Patrick William. What is going to become of us?” Lady Margaret asks her husband.

“Lady Margaret. We will be taken to a brave new world far from Planet Earth. We will start over and in time start our family.” Lord Patrick tells his wife.

“I remember about Noah and when his neighbours didn’t listen to him and the great flood came and all of them were destroyed.” Lord Patrick William states.

“Eventually the waters began to subside and they were led to a new promised land and they started all over and my creator told me the same thing and I listened and we have some of the most prominent families coming with us. I was told not to worry about their race, heritage, religion, but just gather them together.”  Lord Patrick William states.

“I have some families  that are from French, Spanish, English, Irish, Scots, Portuguese,  Danish, Swedish, and Danish.” Lord Patrick William tells his wife.

“Twenty one other families will be joining us during our voyage to Star Base 12.” Lord Patrick William states.

On April 30, 2153 led by Lord Patrick William Howard he is met by the other men leading their wives and only what they carry by their hands boards the USS Excalibur from Heathrow International Airport in London, England. 

They are greeted by Captain Decker and he tells them “ We have a four and half year journey ahead of us. You will be treated as my honoured guests.” 

“We have a crew of 300 and on board is a mess hall that serves three meals a day, we have a recreational hall, a library, a commissary, and a garden if you get home sick” Captain Decker explains.

“I will give you any information I receive from The United Federation of Planets and StarFleet Central.” Captain Decker tells them.

Yeoman Rand shows the guests to their quarters and tells them “ I am your Yeoman for the journey, if you ever need anything please let me know.” 

Once all the passengers get settled into their quarters and Lord Patrick William starts to write his journal the first day on their voyage to Star Base 12 with no news.

Lord Patrick William's second journal entry is truly shocking when Captain Decker tells them about the May 1, 2153 horror that no one expected and Lord Patrick William writes this 

 At precisely 0230.26 hours Eastern Standard Time, on 1 May 2153 (an event later known as the "May Day Horror of '53"), the Eastern Coalition launched a first strike comprised of intercontinental ballistic missiles, bomber attacks, and portable nuclear weapons, against major North American and European cities, combined with a simultaneous Interface viral assault against the New United Nations computer infrastructure. Much to the surprise of the ECON political leadership, the New United Nations immediately retaliated with nuclear launches of their own, as well as bomber and satellite-based attacks against targets in the Middle East and Asia. Many Pacific nations sided with the Eastern Coalition against the United States when fighting finally broke out. Other political groupings, such as the Muslim Bloc, were likewise hit extremely hard during the nuclear exchanges, despite being non-aligned with either side during the war.

The detonation of nuclear weapons over cities (in the multiple-megaton range) such as Washington, D.C., London, Moscow, Berlin, New York City, Boston, Dallas, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Mecca, Riyadh, Samarkand, Karachi, Singapore, and New Delhi killed nearly half a billion people instantly. Smaller detonations occurred over Hong Kong, Beijing, and Ho Chi Minh City. Un-detonated or failed nuclear devices were discovered in or around targets such as Denver, Paris, Madrid, Rome, and Istanbul. Of the hundreds of ICBMs and bombers launched by the United States and allied forces, only one in five made it into the air, due to EMP weapons and viral attacks against the military computer networks — of these, only a fraction detonated properly.

Conventional military forces on both sides were quickly moved into offensive position against their respective foes — on 3 May 2153, the First, Eighth, and Sixteenth Fleets under New United Nations command carry front-line troops into the Bay of Bengal, and the ECON launches a massive invasion of the North American continent, sending troops and military aircraft southward through Canada. Targets in New England (including Massachusetts), Minnesota, the Rocky Mountains, and the Midwest are hit hard by ECON forces, the U.S. military's defenses along the Canadian border failing utterly. The United States Air Force and United States Army both fought back against the invaders, but lost many fighters and ground soldiers to the enemy.

Certain military units were abandoned in enemy territory during the war, including a New United Nations brigade under the command of Colonel Green in Kashmiristan in late May. Finally, the Eastern Coalition's governing palace was destroyed by American forces, killing ECON founder Lee Kuan.

The post-atomic horror that followed severely destabilized global civilization; terrorist organizations and rogue states often detonated small-scale "suitcase nukes," while toxins and biogenic weapons were released. Drug-addled soldiers were often sacrificed in conventional battles on the ground after much of the planetary computer systems failed; numerous small-scale conflicts created chaos throughout the globe as warlords fought over the scraps of civilization. As a result of the ICBM detonations, an enormous dust cloud enveloped the Earth, resulting in several nuclear winters.

Sovereign nations, including the United States, essentially ceased to exist following the war, the country falling into barbarism, carved up into fiefdoms controlled by competing warlords (including Colonel Green's despotic reign over the Pacific Northwest). Without federal resources to fall back upon, most local governments are unable to feed their own people; chaos and anarchy would reign for generations afterward, well into the 22nd century. The President of the United States, President Mendoza, survived the initial days of the war, but finds herself in command of very little afterwards.

The Siege of Las Vegas was a significant battle in the war, with American forces battling ECON troops for control of the city. The forces of the US troops would eventually prove victorious, defeating the ECON troops there.

In the initial nuclear exchange of World War III, Washington D.C. was completely destroyed, along with three surrounding U.S. states. Some major cities, such as Montreal, were actually spared from nuclear hits during the first rounds of ICBM exchanges.

During fighting in Paris during the war, the Eiffel Tower was destroyed. Additional combat took place in San Francisco, resulting in the destruction of the Coit Tower, among many other structures.

The U.S. state of Arkansas would be devastated by nuclear weapons at the start World War III, owing to the many military installations in the region. Even into the 23rd century, some portions of the state would remain uninhabitable.

In 2154, one year following the outbreak of hostilities, Colonel Green surprised the surviving United States government by turning up in Alaska at the head of a massive army composed of both New U.N. and ECON soldiers. President Mendoza ordered Green to stand down, but is refused; Green slaughters his way across the continent, culling the "weak" and "impure" and those afflicted with radiation sickness from humanity's gene pool, killing millions, until finally meeting his demise in Montana from an orbital strike launched by Flint the Immortal.

Humanity eventually turned over a new leaf when a few courageous people began to realize that they could make a difference. Early in the war, weather-control satellites developed by Flint the Immortal begin modifying Earth's ozone layer in an attempt to regenerate it, along with raising the planetary temperature enough to mitigate the effects of the harsh nuclear winter. This proved successful, ultimately reducing the number of potential casualties from the war.

. Adrenaline regimens were discovered to be useful in treating radiation sickness after the war; this would later be supplanted by the even more effective Hyronalin therapies in later decades, after the end of the Atomic Age. The philosophy of Neo-Transcendentalism was founded by Liam Dieghan in response to the war's horrors, seeking to redress the pains of World War III by "returning [humanity] to a simpler life.

The war culminated circa 2153, when several of Earth's governments met in San Francisco to declare a cease-fire, effectively ending the war,

Despite the end of actual hostilities, the after-effects of the war referred to as "the post-atomic horror"—lingered for decades to follow. Rule of law broke down in many places, and legal systems were abolished, with the suggestion to "kill all the lawyers" from Henry VI being taken literally in some places. Asia was particularly devastated.

The year 2173 was considered part of this conflicted era and saw a number of Humans abandon the planet whereupon they settled on the world of Okeanos. 

Much of the United States economy was ruined, with the population reduced to standards of living less than that of the victims of the Great Depression a century earlier. So great were the horrors that human genius Zefram Cochrane had himself implanted with a pain-inhibiting chip in order to cope with the world around him. Nonetheless, his Project Phoenix was able to secure backing, and led to first contact only ten years later. 

In the 22nd century, movies depicting World War III were common. 

In later years, a monument honoring the hundreds of millions dead during the war was erected in San Francisco, on the former site of the Coit Tower. The monument continues to stand into the late 23rd century and most of the world's major governments collapsed, and over 600 million people had died just from the immediate combat.” Lord Patrick William Howard writes in his journal.

Lord Patrick William writes “ You have good people like Flint the Immortal that wanted to bring about change and he destroyed 

Colonel Philip Green with the Ebola Virus

Lady Karissa remembers the Song “From A Distance “ sung by The Great Miss B. and from her terrace she starts singing  it 

From a distance

The world looks blue and green

And the snow capped mountains white

From a distance

The ocean meets the stream

And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance

There is harmony

And it echoes through the land

It's the voice of hope

It's the voice of peace

It's the voice of every man

From a distance

We all have enough

And no one is in need

And there are no guns,

No bombs, and no disease

No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance

We are instruments

Marching in a common band

Playing songs of hope

Playing songs of peace

They are the songs of every man

God is watching us

God is watching us

God is watching us

From a distance

From a distance

You look like my friend

Even though we are at war

From a distance

I just cannot comprehend

What all this fighting for

From a distance

There is harmony

And it echoes through the land

And it's the hope of hopes

It's the love of loves

It's the heart of every man

It's the hope of hopes

It's the love of loves

This is the song for every man

God is watching us

God is watching us

God is watching us

From a distance

Oh, God is watching us

God is watching

God is watching us

From a distance”

There is another song that comes to mind called Military Madness sung by Graham Nash  and she starts singing it from her balcony

In an upstairs room in Blackpool

By the side of a northern sea

The army had my father

And my mother was having me

Military Madness was killing my country

Solitary Sadness comes over me

After the school was over and I moved

To the other side

I found a different country but I never

Lost my pride

Military Madness was killing the country

Solitary sadness creeps over me

And after the wars are over

And the body count is finally filed

I hope that The Man discovers

What's driving the people wild

Military madness is killing your country

So much sadness, between you and me

War, War, War, War, War, War.”

And another song,  Eve of Destruction sung by Barry McGuire  and she starts to sing it 

The Eastern world, it is exploding'

Violence flarin', bullets loadin'

You're old enough to kill but not for voting'

You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'?

And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin'

But you tell me over and over and over again my friend

Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Don't you understand what I'm trying to say?

Can't you feel the fear that I'm feeling today?

If the button is pushed, there's no running away

There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave

Take a look around you boy, it's bound to scare you, boy

But you tell me over and over and over again, my friend

Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulation'

I'm sittin' here just contemplating'

I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation

Handful of Senators don't pass legislation

And marches alone can't bring integration

When human respect is disintegrating'

This whole crazy world is just too frustrating'

And you tell me over and over and over again my friend

Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Think of all the hate there is in Red China

Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama

Ah, you may leave here for four days in space

But when you return, it's the same old place

The pounding' of the drums, the pride and disgrace

You can bury your dead but don't leave a trace

Hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace

And you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend

You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.”