Land Of Flatwater: Triage
Lincoln, Nebraska -- 12 noon Friday February 24, 1984
The National Guard trucks, filled with troops, moved into Lincoln and began to set up camp. The troops, policemen, state patrol and volunteers, wearing any protective clothing they could find began to search the immediate area. Another group headed to makeshift shantytown that have sprung up in and around Lincoln Southeast high school.
Helicopters scouted the surrounding areas. Fallout and debris cover the landscape. Interstate 80 and Highway 6 were lined with abandoned cars and corpses. Lots of dead bodies, and more than a few of those were living dead
When many of the survivors saw the green trucks drive into town they cheered. Nebraska national guard was here. They had food. They had supplies, and Bryan Hospital managed to get a generator working.
But the grim realities of post-attack Nebraska rudely intruded.
The French language is one of a complicated but slippery beauty. It is a language filled with sounds that even make technical and mundane thoughts sound like soft romance or even pure passionate sex.
But there is a word in that language -- triage.
It is a word as cold and harsh as it sounds.
Bryan Hospital -- Lincoln, Nebraska
The ER doctor, her staff and the national guard medics were outnumbered and scrambling. So many refugees were flocking to only working hospital.
"This little girl is a Cat 3," the ER Doctor said.
Her mother, just as battered cried out, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"
The ER doctor tried to have a stiff upper lip, even if it meant signing the death warrant of a 7-year-old girl. "Your daughter was exposed to too much radiation. Its a wonder she survived this long. She has terminal radiation sickness. She will die."
"NO! YOU ARE DOCTORS!!!! YOU COULD HELP!!!!"
The woman sobbed and sobbed. The ER doctor peered through her glasses. Others looked onto her thinking, "You heartless bitch!"
That was all of Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the ER doctor, she'd need a stiff drink after every shift.
Radiation sickness, meningitis, cholera, typhoid. Lincoln became Calcutta within hours. And the reports filtered back as far west as BASE ALPHA.
BASE ALPHA -- Geneva, Nebraska 4:00pm Central Standard Time
"Maybe moving into Lincoln was a mistake, " Dr. Benning said in the executive committee.
"We had to do it sometime, Doc," Brigadier General Griswold said. "Our problem is not enough personnel to deal with so many refugees, many of whom are going to die anyway."
General Griswold stood up, "Ladies and Gentlemen, public order will always be a problem, especially around the food centers and the medical centers. This is why I want to authorize five things"
"One, I want to authorize a full merger of law enforcement in the state into the national guard structure, forming a full state militia. "
"In short, a police state," Dr. Suhr said reluctantly,
"Unfortunately I have to agree with Grizz on this," the State Patrol Commander said. "The old rules can't apply going forward."
"Two, a formalized structure for Civilian Defense Units to be a part the state militia. In many towns, CDUs have been formed, these could get out of hand without supervision."
"Forced conscription?" The Governor asked.
"Of course not, Governor," the Brigadier General continued. "We have county sheriffs and police already getting volunteers, we just want greater oversight and discipline over them. I don't want old west lynch mobs. Even in a state of emergency and martial law there must be rule of law. A good common-sense citizen's watch helps us. It's already paying dividends and helping us out in Kearney. There's a young man out there running a group of citizens and they've helped us with something I'm bringing up in point three."
"Okay," the Agriculture Secretary said. "What is point three."
"The state needs a small special team for special people,"
"Meaning?" The Governor asked.
"Meaning, I want to put together a small kill team that we can send out to eliminate anybody threatening our recovery in an organized manner. In short, I want somebody who can quietly, quickly get rid of these white power/Klan bastards. These are the people I want to use to kill Tyler Tyles."
"Tyler Tyles?" the Attorney General said. "He's probably dead or dying."
"Don't count on that Attorney General," Grizz said. "Human vermin like him have to be exterminated. He's military trained, he knows how to survive a nuclear detonation. That man is still alive and stil calling some shots. The young man I told you about in Kearney? He caught one of the little Nazi scumbags trying to firebomb Kearney Catholic High School last night. Our troops have him detained. The firebomb wasn't homemade. It was military issue. Her fingered the broker as someone named T.T., and he says they have a way to get more stuff."
The Governor nodded. He wanted Tyles dead too.
"And there is the matter of North Platte." The Brigadier General said somberly. "The troops found the wreckage of the Soviet bomber this morning. Three ejection seats were confirmed used."
Treasurer/Resources Secretary Kay Orr piped in, "The pilot who shot them down said they ejected.."
"There's more to the story ma'am. On board the plane is the nuclear bomb they planned to hit us with. According to a technician from Cooper who evacuated to North Platte, the bomb itself and it's electronics are undamaged. Miraculously or unfortunately, that bomb could be used. If those Russians are alive, they cannot be allowed to get it back."
"And if we catch the bastards," the Brigadier General said. "That is my fifth point. We must be prepared to do what must be done. Executions, hard sentences. This is martial law and of the rule of law must be hard, firm and definite. If you steal food, you get shot. If you kill someone for food and we catch you. You get shot. If you are one these Russians, you get shot. If you work for that bastard Tyler Tyles, I will hang you, cut your gentalia off and parade your lifeless eunuch carcass through town square as a object lesson."
"Brigadier General, we didn't stop being Americans because of this war. We still have to uphold the rule of law and justice," the Governor retorted. "I cannot agree with this last point."
"Governor, what I am calling for is upholding law and justice. The only law and justice that can work after a nuclear war. Just as we must triage in a medical center, we have to triage in everything now. If it can't survive it must die off. The theories in the law books are Category 3 as far as I'm concerned."
to be continued
