Chapter XXV: Extinction (The Day the Dollar Died Series)

by John Galt

February 21, 2010 23:59 UTC

Just a reminder….the following is FICTION…..AND the final Chapter….

February 28, 2010 7:30 P.M. Eastern Time, Sarasota, FL-The Slough and the Swamp

Darkness finally fell and it appeared that the traffic situation returned to normal for a Sunday night. “Okay everyone, pile into that County Parks SUV right away. Stash your gear in the back but leave room for one person to cover our rear with a rifle if we get any pursuit. You’ll have to shoot to kill,” I said stating the obvious, “and remember they will shoot back. We have to get as far away from town as we can as fast as we can. I’ll run down into Charlotte County if we can make it and when we run out of gas we’ll plan from there.” Nobody argued, talked, whined or mumbled one solitary word. They knew we were up against the wall and time was not an ally, but an enemy. If we could use the interstate it would be a Godsend but I was going to gamble by having everyone wearing baseball caps and looking like a crew heading out to the Myakka River State Park. If the guards ignored us by the interstate I felt confident I could get to Charlotte County and into the Babcock Refuge and buy us another day of life.

The interstate off Clark Road was closed of course with barricades blocking the path but the route to State Highway 72 was wide open. No guards. No checkpoint, nothing. “I wonder if they are all in town looking for us around the mall?”, one of the wives said. My wife looked at me and turned around to her, “I guarantee it. I’m listening to the radio and they have rounded up half our neighbors for questioning. I am sure by now they have ratted us out and that is why we don’t see any traffic. I’m glad we lied to them about where we were going. They were going to rat us out to save their sorry hides, you watch and see.” I looked over at her and said, “Turn that up and I will hold off listening to our fearless leader until the top of the hour. I can not believe we have a shot at making it through to Charlotte County. Everyone is so pre-occupied with the President it is as if the world is shutting down for one more night to see what he says.” My wife turned the UHF radio up and sure enough there was another report of an attack on a Home Guard outpost, this time in Manatee County causing them to put choppers up into the air to help hunt down the perpetrators.

“John, I just thought of something,” one of the men in the back said, “didn’t the county put GPS into all of these trucks?” The screeching sound of brakes caught everyone off guard as I slammed the vehicle to a stop and yelled, “You’re right, everyone out! Start to find the antenna for this vehicle ASAP, I’ll head under the hood, two of you look on the roof!” The engine was off now but barely cooled down as I had been running it hard. I grabbed the flashlight and started looking then one of the wives yelled out, “Got it! It’s up here on the roof!” I slammed the hood down and one of the other neighbors who used to work in a car dealership’s shop said, “No big deal. I can cut it out.” He whipped out a large hunting knife, pried up the cover and started slicing wires, tossing the antenna assembly into the swamp. “Too bad we couldn’t keep the unit active,” he grinned, “I would love to see them tracking a gator.” I looked around at everyone and realized what he just said and then reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone and turned it on. “Everyone, grab your cell phones, turn them on and throw them into the muck!”, I yelled, “I forgot they can track these also!” Everyone reached into back packs, pockets and purses and started turning on their various devices and throwing them into the muck. “That was close, if they had wanted to, they could have nailed us,” I started to say, “but we are not out of the woods yet.” My wife sneered at me and said, “There you go again, stupid pun man.” That broke the mood and everyone laughed, piled back into the SUV and we started heading east again. The President would be on in ten minutes and I wanted to get some real estate behind me while he was chattering away.

February 28, 2010 7:46 P.M. McRae, GA – The Town Square

The gathering of folks was getting larger as almost every male in town had arrived via their pickup trucks or walked down the street. It was a diverse crowd, black, white, Latino, yet that did not matter. Almost everyone in town was suspicious to find out if there were any Home Guard types around after the stories from the other communities started to circulate. The abuses would not be tolerated here and Tom was thankful for this. “When the President begins to speak, everyone assigned a guard post, head there now. I want those roadblocks in place no matter what,” the voice of the County Sheriff echoed out on a megaphone. Everyone got quiet and dozens of men who were pre-screened took their rifles and radios to move into position. This was truly the time that tried men’s souls.

“Seven minutes, seven minutes” the voice bellowed out, “everyone get into position immediately.” I noticed two snipers moving up on top of city hall, one man with a spotting scope scanning the horizon and some people putting sand bags up around a small doorway near the entrance to the sheriff’s office. “Are we looking for a war or just what?”, I asked out loud. The guy next to me, a seventy-something year old black man grabbed my wrist and looked me in the eyes, “They are looking for it. We just want to live like we always have. This isn’t my America and I want you to know if I die tonight, I’m sorry I voted for the man. They sold me out.” I patted the old guy on the back and a deputy came over to us, “Follow me, we have a position we need you two to guard.”

February 28, 2010 6:55 P.M. Just East of Threadville, MS

Mike was a very unhappy camper. The group was heading West to put his friend’s semi into position with a truckload of explosives to take out the I-20 bridge over the Mississippi if need be. The rest of the men were heading into a meat grinder, to hold the town of Monroe against an armored battalion coming up from Fort Hood with two more battalions of Mexican Army regulars reinforcing them. It was a hopeless battle but it was what Mike wanted to do, die for his nation, not run. Tim knew that that it would not end well and told Mike in their meeting, “I need the children saved and you are truly the only man I would trust.”

Mike turned the radio up as he crossed the border via the back roads into Alabama heading slowly into the town of Okatuppa near the crossroads where his escort was due to meet him. “Children, stay quiet. This bus is hard enough to drive and President Meathead is getting ready to speak and we WILL all listen to it together,” Mike yelled out. The kids all calmed down and settled into their seats, waiting anxiously to hear what was said and to watch the reaction of Mike who was the most stressed adult they had ever seen. The children had been through a lot, watching their parents arrested, some heading into combat, others coming back wounded. It was what Mike called the Stress-Escape Bus Ride and the children needed to escape but Mike could not. He checked is shotgun and his pistol to insure the safeties were on and then turned the bus off of the road onto a side road, leaving it idling in the darkness, waiting on his contact. He turned the radio up and just sat and listened to what would be announced about his future and the nation’s.

February 28, 2010 05:51 P.M. Mountain Time, Colorado Springs, CO

Wendy was as excited as she ever could be. Here she was at her boss’s exclusive viewing party where suddenly there was no rationing, no shortages, nothing but excess. “Ah, Ms. Listels, we are so pleased to see you could make it, “Candy said in a slightly tipsy voice, “I am so happy that you could enjoy the nice life. You did such a good job on those applications, you probably will get a promotion. You have no idea how please the Home Guard officers are with you, they just adore you and your work!” Wendy blushed and replied to Candy, “How did you find that out? I just finished the work this morning in secret so the official stamps could be applied in the morning.” Candy laughed, “I’m in charge of everything now, I am the new boss. The old one was linked to one of those groups founded illegally to usurp the government, the Tea Partiers or 911 groups or whatever the hell they were called. That is so,” she stumbled a bit in her high heels spilling her drink everywhere then continued, “so, so, so yesteryear. We are now a world member and that is all that counts. You might just get a promotion out of this sweetie. See me in the morning. Maybe I can set you up to process reports for me and get us more money so I can have bigger parties!”

Wendy thanked her and was stunned. She walked over to the bartender and handed her D-Card to him and said, “Can I have a Cosmo please, make it a double.” The bartender scanned her card and laughed, “You still use this thing? Get yourself a DA baby, you won’t have to wait then and I can scan you from across the room. It’s much more secure.” As the bartender started mixing her drink she noticed other people waving their wrists over a metal obtrusion attached to the register and ringing up their drinks automatically. It spooked her at first then she realized they had that some sort of implant that she had only heard about in science fiction and some interdepartmental memos for those employees who had to go to the Academy for assignments. Just as her drink was handed over to her, Candy took to the front of the room and yelled out, “Everyone, hush! Be quiet and I mean that, right this minute! The President is about to speak so the bar is closed until he finishes.” She pointed to the bartenders who covered their registers and their scanners and then pointed to the screen were CNN-VOA Domestic Services had their logo emblazoned with a counter that said ten seconds were remaining.

Sunday February 28, 2010 8 P.M. Eastern Time, The Speech


Radio and television sets worldwide heard the following, “Ladies and Gentleman, the President of the United States of North America.”

President Obama approaches the podium in the White House and begins to speak:

“My fellow citizens of the world, a lot has happened in the seven days since the old currency collapsed due to an attack by financial thugs who attempted to destroy our nation. Well, as your President, I am happy to report that their efforts have failed and soon the United Nations of this world, those who believe in freedom and have discarded the dying ideals of a failed society will emerge stronger than ever, lifting all boats, including those world citizens who now reside in what is left of the former United States.

The reason I submit to all of you that the problems we have witnessed this past week are those of the past does not matter. I am looking forward to the future. My predecessor, President Bush, foresaw the need for preparations and put into place a frame work for the establishment of the new currency regime, the changing economic situation we were facing, and the need for stronger domestic security resources to insure national stability. For these acts I must thank the Bush and Cheney administration profusely for their foresight, which indeed gave me the tools necessary to deal with a crisis which was unexpected, yet manageable thanks to the prompt action of our Treasury Department under Secretary Geithner and the brilliant planning and execution of Ben Bernanke at the United States Federal Reserve. Thank you again for a job well done and even though it is not complete, the new World Reserve Bank is well under way to becoming operational and with your participation, economic stability can not and will not be far behind.

The National State of Emergency Declaration remains in place until further notice. As I have said before, it is my hope to suspend the SOE within ninety days but some of the more onerous oversight requirements on some of the states can and will be suspended effective at Midnight tonight for the states given full clearance to resume normal, independent operations. Each state will have a Federal and State elected governor, working together side by side as the Constitutional Convention will codify the changes that have been implemented officially on April 3, 2010. These changes were part of the deal that was constructed by our diplomatic team under the able leadership of Secretary of State Clinton working with our economic team under the guidance of Ben Bernanke. The NAFTA treaty has now been dissolved and replaced with the Unification Treaty of 2010, which was officially adopted at the last meeting of the G-7 in Northern Canada several weeks ago. This treaty satisfied the obligations of the G-20 accords in 2008 and created a satisfactory currency regime which allowed President Bush and myself to stabilize the financial system and insure the United States would continue to function as a practical entity in the world economy.

I wish also to thank Ben Bernanke for abolishing the FHLB and absorbing the regional units and their assets into the new Federal Reserve Banking system for each state, whereas the assets and oversight will be moved from a smaller control basis over to the individual state banks which now have voting powers within the Federal Reserve system. I have instructed the Congress via Speaker Pelosi to begin drafting regulations which allow each state to hold special elections to insure that the citizens are allowed to vote for Federal Reserve members from their states as well as the appointment of individual Chairpersons which will be accomplished by the governors and Federal Reserve member banks on a six year rotating basis. This should guarantee the independence of our banking system and stabilize the electronic run on our financial system that began last Sunday night. This action is how we have been able to create and implement the conversion from an antiquated paper currency system and to a modern, digital electronic monetary regime. Some enterprising souls have even developed further advances which were already approved by the Federal Reserve and tested in Europe which just goes to show you that innovation is still part and parcel with the American spirit.

Unfortunately, with each major change in world events, the specter of evil raises its ugly, vile head to try to take advantage of the confusion. The thieves, profiteers, and hooligans who think they can steal from our citizens or corporations are being dealt with by the Department of Homeland Security Home Guard units in the harshest manners imaginable and as a result, we will have a major jobs program opening up to expand our prisons ten fold in the weeks to come. I will not tolerate theft from little old ladies like Marjorie Pipkins in Providence, Rhode Island. The DHS Secretary informed of this story and I ordered immediate courses of action to prevent the elderly from being scammed like poor Mrs. Pipkins was when a phony home grocery delivery service decided to try to steal her food and her identity from the D-Card she was so proud to have obtained. These three gentlemen were given twenty years of hard labor and hopefully that will cure and deter others from considering a life of criminal mischief and stealing. I bring this story forward because it is no secret that terrorists have been exploiting the recent confusion also.

When I won the election in 2008, President Bush was more than gracious enough to welcome me into the National Security discussions which included the specter of domestic terrorist activities. Little did I know at that time the severity and gravity of the warnings his team gave mine and the information which was presented. When our economic stability was endangered, it was discovered that not only were groups within our own borders exploiting the situation with wild tales about the end of the United States Constitution or a new world dictatorship beginning, we found out via the hard work of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Napolitano, that indeed elements from Al Queda were supporting, financing and structuring groups to cause disruptions on the ground and forcing the average American citizen to believe that their lives were endangered or at risk needlessly. The threat was so serious, so real and so entrenched in the fabric of our nation that our intelligence sources believe that some of these elements penetrated our National Guard and local Sheriff’s offices at the state level, simply to foment insane ideas about the administration and spread false propaganda about the Home Guard. As a result, we have had to quarantine numerous portions of several states and this map will be made available on the internet via the Department of Homeland Security website, DHS.gov and all major newspaper publications and communications outlets.


The networks have been instructed to flash the maps up on your television screens tonight and as you can see, the areas shaded in red are the regions designated unsafe due to Al Queda and domestic terrorist activity. Those regions will remain under the dictates of martial law until further notice. However the state of Alaska which seems somewhat disproportionate may only be experiencing communications issues due to the harsh winter brought on by the climate change all of us have been experiencing and I expect their state of emergency to be suspended in a matter of days as the weather abates.

I remind everyone, I urge all patriots, I beseech upon all of the people, if you know or suspect a neighbor, a friend, a soldier or law enforcement officer of aiding or abetting the activities of or terrorist plans which have been disrupting the rebuilding of our economic system or interfering with the activities of the Home Guard and National Guard to re-establish order, dial 911 or 999 on any telephone and the response will be immediate. You can also contact the national DHS tip line which is displayed at the bottom of your screens and could lead to rewards for information which breaks up these evil groups attempting to destroy your freedoms and usurp our authority as a Constitutional government.

For those states where you have no issues, no red regions, and a notification that the state of emergency is being lifted, your banks will open tomorrow, your businesses returning to normal and a celebration, a new holiday will be created. Tomorrow is “National Return to Work Day” and I will be wearing the new flag with the red and white stripes and three large stars to signify our new continental unity. Canadian soldiers will be assisting with Mexican soldiers inside of the former borders of the United States to restore order in those trouble regions and if you get a phone call from your boss telling you it is safe, we expect each and every American to get back to work, help us feed, cloth and restart the nation back on to the path of a new prosperity. Your retirements have been protected, your bank accounts guaranteed safe and now you must do what is best for your nation, your freedoms and for the world. It is time to get back to work and as such, I shall do now myself as I meet with Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Geithner to discuss the beginning of the new banking system and the opportunities it presents for all of the citizens in North America.

Good night, God Bless all of you, and long live freedom in the greatest Union on Earth.”

February 28, 2010 8:29 P.M. Middle of Nowhere, Alabama

Two children began to cry in the back of the short bus Mike was driving. “Silence you brats, this is important!”, he yelled back and thus the children sat still and silent fearing this huge old man who was now stressing over what he had just heard. The radio then blared out over a Birmingham station no less, “This is Rick Sanchez with CNN-VOA Radio News and the speech is over, let the debate begin. With us tonight are three experts from the Federal Reserve and two members of the IMF who helped design and draft this new banking consortium which under President Obama’s leadership appears to have saved Western Civilization inside the borders of the old United States…..” Mike turned it over to WSM 650 and found the same tripe. He turned the radio down and saw a signal from an old beat up Jeep Cherokee twenty feet ahead. It was the escort he had been waiting for. “Okay kids,” Mike began as he put the bus into gear, “we’re going camping and meeting some really cool people. If you’re nice, maybe we can meet Yogi Bear or something.” The kids did not sound impressed and one of the older kids just groaned. “Ah well, you’ll be excited when you see this place, it is a lot of fun and you’ll have an adventure every day in school,” Mike yelled out.

As the bus creaked and rambled slowly, Mike realized that the route being taken was still a back road nightmare, avoiding intersections and any possibility of running into the Home Guard clowns or anyone supporting the President’s agenda. After another hour of potholes and massive exercises in shifting up and down, the bus finally turned on Sea Warriors Road near Blandon Springs where the church had set up a nice place for the children to live in the cabins and encampments there. “Sir, I don’t know which warrior you are, but God Bless you,” the reverend said as Mike stepped off the bus and counted the children to make sure he did not forget any. “They are good kids,” Mike said,” but between you and I sir, most are losing their parents tonight and tomorrow. It is not going well out West. Do you have any type of transport available?” The reverend looked over at an old beat up 1978 GMC pickup and said “That’s Billy White Eldrin’s but you’ll have to ask him if you can have it.”

Billy White Eldrin was a forty-seven year old black grandson of a former sharecropper who had just lost everything due to the games the banks played and in his mind, conning him out of his land and his family homestead that had been their since the turn of the 1900’s. He was also quite bitter that the President and nobody seemed to care so when this hulking old white man approached him, he grabbed his twelve gauge clinching it tightly so as to put the fear of God into Mike. Mike looked at him and said, “You ain’t scarin’ me son. I’ve been shot at, shot, lost, stolen from and generally abused for forty plus years now. So if you’re trying to scare me with that shotgun, it ain’t working.” Billy White looked up at Mike and smiled, “So I hears you need a ride. Where ya heading old man?” Mike smiled back and grabbed a smoke out of his coat pocket, “A place where great harm will probably finally finish me, why, you out of options also?” Mr. Eldrin stood up and flicked an old Ronson lighter up to light Mike’s coal, “Sir, it sounds to me like you want to defend what is left. Hop in and tell me where to go, I’ll drive you there and cover your back.” With a shake of their hands and tip of the hat to the reverend, they left this secret encampment knowing full well they would never return. “Head West,” Mike told Billy, “and don’t stop until you see the Mississippi River or a fight we need to get involved in.”

February 28, 2010 9:13 P.M. North Charlotte County, FL near the Babcock Preserve

“I want everyone setting up camp deep on the dry land fifty yards southeast of here. You and you, come with me, we are setting up an ambush. If we want to get into the swamp, we had best be ready to take down the first sucker that sees our truck and get his fuel and ammo plus radios.” Here I was in the middle of nowhere as the fog was rolling in and what’s the first thing I heard back in response from my wife and two of the other women folk? “Honey, are there snakes out here?” I sighed while the men grabbed some brush to cover the truck up and settle in for the night. “Sweetheart, there are plenty of snakes, gators, armadillos, poisonous spiders and God knows what else out here. That’s why we are here,” I said to here trying to control my tone of voice, “THEY don’t want to explore out here either.” The three women ran back to the truck and said they would sleep in there and that ruined the ambush plans for the night.

“Just dang,” one of the husbands said, “now what?” I rolled my eyes and said it plainly, “Time to hike. Grab just enough gear, two of the reflective triangles and one bottle. Fill it up with gas and we’ll used it as a Molotov if we have to. We’re heading to the main road.” Both men nodded and said “Okay John!” The last man looked at me scared as can be and said, “What do you want me to do?” I told him to stay put and guard the women and haul out of there as fast as he could in the morning if we did not return. “Oh, and one more thing,” I said as I started to walk away, “pray for fog.”

The other two men set up twenty yards away from me at a thirty degree angle so as to make it appear that a truck had broken down and left the triangles behind just off of the side of the road. It was a cool night and a long wait was ahead as this was a lightly traveled road in the state. At least that is what we thought until tonight.

No sooner than had I spent an hour in the Palmetto bush I decided to go take a bathroom break. I turned my flashlight on and found a relatively dry spot behind a fallen oak and took care of business but when I returned to the site, I hit the ground hard. There were four Humvees, two with active searchlights looking everywhere for any sign of movement. As I stared down the road, there were my friends, laid out neatly with tarps covering the bodies. “Crap how could I not hear anything?”, I thought to myself. As I started to move a sharp pain hit me in the side and I realized that I had been shot. This wasn’t a Home Guard unit, it was 82nd and they were not playing games. As I dragged myself to the road, I heard one of the men giving a high five to the sniper and yelling, “Well, do we take him in or put him out of his misery?” The officer that I was trying to draw a bead on did not hesitate, “Put him out, he’ll just cause trouble at a later date.” The last thing I remember was my gun being kicked away from my hand and the soldier standing over me as I stared up into what should have been a foggy night. “Head or heart?”, he asked in a matter of fact manner. “Head please, quick, I’m bleeding bad.”

Boom.

February 28, 2010 10:17 P.M. McRae, GA

“Mom, I’m home, tell everyone to stand down,” Tom yelled out as he walked into the front door. Lillian was shocked. “Tom, what happened?”, she asked almost panic stricken. “The Sheriff sent everyone home. He just gave up. He was out gunned and did not want a slaughter,” Tom started to say, “he was sorry that this had to pass but there was no way he was going to lead his town into a suicide mission. The last thing we saw was him heading into his tent with a bottle of whiskey then a single gunshot. Deputy Billings is in charge now and he told us all to go home and get ready for door to door searches tomorrow.”

Lillian began to weep which upset her daughter far more than anyone could have ever imagined. “Honey, calm down,” Tom said, “we’ll figure something out.” She screamed “Where? In a brothel? In a labor camp? I want to kill myself, Momma give me a gun!” Lillian stood up, tears streaming down her face and slapped Sandy as hard as she could. Then she pushed her on the floor and yelled, “I’m not going to watch my family fall apart. Tom, you get sandbags and reinforcements for the front. We’ll go down fighting if we have to. And you young lady, the only way you’ll get a gun from me is if you pry it from my cold dead hands. So get in the kitchen and start tearing liniments and making bandages. Our family is not the only one that will take a stand. Hell, they might not even get out here for two months, or years. So shut up and get yourself together!” Sandy understood it from her Momma if she did not grasp what I was saying. And that put her into a course of action.

“Lillian,” Tom started to say, “if you don’t mind I’m going to go help the rest of your family dig some ditches at the main gate to stop any trucks from getting through. We’ll be setting up booby traps also so please, let us get finished. Can you and Sandy fix some of that good tea and coffee for us? If I’m going to die, I want to taste the good things in life one more time.” Sandy looked at Tom in horror as Lillian gave him a reassuring hug and said, “Certainly my son, I love you, ya know. You’re more of a man than I thought ten years ago, she deserves a fine man like you.” Sandy came over and started to say “Why” but Tom put his fingers on her lips and said, “Not yet. Not until I’m dying. You get to work and I’ll be back here in few hours.”

February 28, 2010, 10:05 P.M. Mountain Time, Colorado Springs, CO

Wendy was so drunk she was in shock when one of the Congressmen walked into the room with more champagne. “Everyone celebrate, tonight we are free, tomorrow,” the drunken slob started to slur, “we get to declare liberty for all who believe, woohoo!” Candy was still sloshed after the speech and found out that she got a promotion the hard way, with the arrest of her boss for conspiracy to commit wire fraud which in reality was making a loud boisterous boast that the current administration was more corrupt than Rome and his day was coming. The Home Guard never really smiled on events like that, especially live on the local news so Candy now became the General Manager for the Department of Economic Planning and Human Resources for the state of Colorado under the OES.

Wendy walked over to congratulate and toast her but before she could say a word, Candy hugged her and yelled out to the room, “Silencio you drunken bureaucrats! I have an announcement. With my recent promotion I need someone who works hard works like a slave and gets the job done without whining. That means Mike, you’re fired. Wendy, you’re my new Regional Director for Permits and Regulatory Processing for District Seven. Congrats to the youngest and best worker in Colorado gang!”

Wendy was stunned, blushing and now a little buzzed. A little hard work and playing by the rules within the system, or at least learning it has paid off. “God Bless North America!”, Wendy yelled out and everyone screamed the same phrase back as they tipped their drinks into the air.

For now, the government held all the cards, all the freedoms and rationed all of the hope. Wendy was pleased as punch that she learned just enough to pick the right side in her mind in the conflict that had just occurred over the last week. The dollar may indeed have died but a new world was discovered. And that world would guarantee success for those who played by the rules, even if they had no clue what they were. “Ms. Listels, thank you,” the Home Guard rep said, “You’re the greatest!” As she raised her glass up to acknowledge the accolades, Candy smiled and said, “You’ll go far kid, stick with me. We have the nation in the palm of our hands now.”
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