The Exchange
Governor Robb’s apartment
Charlottesville, Virginia
February 21, 1984. 7:20 AM EST; 1:20 AM CET; 3:20 AM MSK
Governor Robb was finally sleeping for the first time in three days, excluding the occasional nap.
Throughout the days, he was either spending his time preparing the state of Virginia for the apocalypse, or spending time worrying about it. Suddenly, in the middle of his deep sleep, Robb was woken up by the ringing of the telephone.
“Hello?”
“Chuck, it’s Richard, turn on the television. Now.”
“What the hell happened now?” He thought, as he clicked the remote.
“…Reuters News Agency has confirmed that am American strategic-yield nuclear weapon was detonated in West.”
“HOLY SHIT! THEY DID IT? THEY ACTUALLY DID IT? THAT FUCKING SHIT!”
Robb screamed, waking up his confused and frightened wife who was sleeping next to him
“So…uh…what do we do next?” asked Davis, increasingly nervous as Robb almost passed out from rage.
“Get everyone in the cabinet to meet at Charlottesville immediately, this is a damn fucking emergency”
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Charlottesville City Hall
Charlottesville, Virginia
February 21, 1984. 7:55 AM EST; 1:55 PM CET; 3:55 PM MSK
Commotion in the small Virginian town was getting louder as news of the nuclear detonation in West Germany spread like wildfire. Governor Robb heard several police cars zoom past the old city hall building, probably sent to keep panic in the city under control.
The mood in the room was very grim, as everyone inside knew the ramifications of what had just happened, and was going to happen.
“So, governor, what is the plan?”
“I plan to give my speech, I want all radio and television stations in the state of Virginia to pick this up. There’s no longer any time for fuckin’ around.”
“Yes, governor.”
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WVIR-TV (NBC affiliate for Charlottesville, Virginia)
February 21, 1984. 8:30AM EST; 2:30 PM CET; 4:30 PM MSK
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the governor of Virginia.”
“…My fellow Virginians. As you may know, the war in Germany, which has been raging since February 18, has taken a frightening turn of events. It is confirmed that the United States used a nuclear weapon in Eschwege, and the Soviet Union used a retaliatory nuclear attack on Kassel, both located in West Germany.
As a result I, reluctantly, have decided to declare a state of emergency in Virginia, and announce the declaration of martial law. I hope that such measures can be lifted as soon as possible, but until then, anyone in the state of Virginia who is seen looting or committing any other crimes will be immediately arrested by authorities.
Ladies and Gentlemen, many of you may be shocked, even horrified, that the war in Western Europe has passed the nuclear threshold, but as your governor I can assure you, that it is important to stay calm, don’t panic, follow guidelines set by authorities, and stick together as a state. I truly believe that if we do such actions, the state of Virginia will remain strong and united in the face of any threats that may be among us.
I also wish to inform you that the government of Virginia has been relocated in a location safe from nuclear attack and fallout, and will thus be able to provide aid and assistance in the event of a full-scale nuclear war.
God Bless You, God Bless Virginia, and God Bless America.”
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Richmond, Virginia
February 21, 1984. 10:00AM EST; 4:00 PM CET; 6:00 PM MSK
“As your governor I can assure you, that it is important to stay calm, don’t panic, follow guidelines set by authorities, and stick together as a state”
Those words, said by Governor Charles Robb that fateful morning, fell on deaf ears as almost immediately the panic and unrest throughout downtown Richmond and other cities escalated to a boiling point, in a chaotic mess of looting, fighting, and protesting.
Reporters who were reporting on the scene were absolutely horrified as the unrest turned into a fiery ball of rage, following the news of the nuclear detonations in Germany. Police, overwhelmed by the extremely violent rioters, began arresting people in large numbers, but were nonetheless outnumbered. Hundreds of injuries were reported at the scene, and the casualties steadily increased as police reinforcements arrived and began shooting people; with live ammo.
The rioting escalated further after molotovs were thrown at the old Thalhimer’s department store in Richmond, which had been looted just days earlier. The department store, once a symbol of downtown Richmond, had now turned into a massive bonfire for the city as it dwelled into the abyss of chaos.
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Charlottesville, Virginia
February 21, 1984. 1:00PM EST; 7:00 PM CET; 9:00 PM MSK
Ian was driving in his Ford car to liquor store, planning to get some beer for his dorm mates back at UVA. Suddenly, the message Ian never wanted to hear came through the car radio.
“WCHV-FM has confirmed that two nuclear weapons were detonated in the West Germany cities of Eschwege and Kass-”
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
This is an Emergency Action Notification (EAN) directed by the President.
Normal broadcasting will cease immediately.
All stations will broadcast EAN message one, preceded by the attention signal, per FCC rules.
Only stations holding NDEA may stay on air in accordance with their state EBS plan.
Broadcast message one.
“Holy shit. They did it. They actually did it.”
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Governor’s office
Richmond, Virginia
February 21, 1984. 1:15 PM EST; 7:15 PM CET; 9:15 PM MSK
Mayor Roy West could only peek through the window of the Virginia capital building and watch on helplessly as violent unrest rocked downtown Richmond. The Thalhimer’s building which had been set on fire by arsonists, was now fuming thick, black smoke through the Virginia skies, and looked like it was on the brink of total structural collapse.
“I gotta say, either the Soviets nuke us, or the people burn this city to the ground.”
WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Oh god…Here it comes.”
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Lynchburg, Virginia
February 21, 1984. 1:23 PM EST; 7:23 PM CET; 9:23 PM MSK
By now, the full-scale nuclear exchange had started full-force, as cities in the United States were being attacked with nuclear weapons left and right, west and east. The people of Lynchburg, among seeing the faint sight of a mushroom cloud, rising from what was once Norfolk, Virginia, almost immediately the city went into a complete panic. The air raid sirens never went off, and never would, but police cars patrolled the city with their sirens blaring, ready to counter any violent unrest that could potentially spark.
A Soviet nuclear weapon was also planned to be launched at the city of Roanoke, which would have spread a terrible gust of radioactive fallout on the city of Lynchburg had it been launched and detonated. Thankfully, due to technical difficulties, the missile bound for Roanoke never got off the Launchpad.
Reverend Falwell was napping on the porch of his house, when suddenly a police car awoke him from his slumber.
“What in the world is going on?” Falwell wondered.
He nearly fainted as he squinted his eyes and looked off into the distance. A mushroom cloud was rising over the city of Richmond; Then Norfolk; Then Dulles airport; Then Arlington, and so on. As the columns of mushroom clouds surrounded the small southern town of Lynchburg, the Reverend wondered whether the End Times had truly occurred.
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