Pro Aris et Pro Focis (P&S: New York City)

[GAB-1955]

PART TWO: The Mine that Connected Hadleyburg

Chapter 1: If You See It Rocking, Don't Come Knocking

0955 hours.

"Thank you for coming, R.J." said Mrs. Schempel, clutching her two daughter's hands. While she buckled Amy in the car seat, the two males loaded the car trunk with warm clothes, bedsheets, three fine hunting rifles, two pistols, seventeen bottles of wine, Jim Beam, and Jack Daniels, and all the coffee and canned goods in the house.

Schempel said, "I should take those papers out."

"No time, sir," the teenager said. "Besides, we could use all the pens and paper we can get. This Hadleyburg Mine, sir, is a going concern, and we're going to have a school started. "

"School?" wailed Maragaret. "I don't want to go to school!"

"Oh, you'll find this very interesting."

Schempel said, "In that case..." He hurried away and came back with a mixed collection of well-worn science fiction novels, an encyclopedia, and about twenty Great Books of Western Literature. "Maybe I'll have time to read."

"Fine. All loaded? Let's go."

"How long have you been working on this mine?" Mrs. Schempel said.

"Oh, since... six days ago," R.J. said.

"Only six days?"

"You can get a lot done, sir, if you know exactly what you intend to do and let your imagination loose. My Aunt Joan is a sneaky thing. Go ahead and gun the engine, Mr. Schempel; we know where we're going and we don't have much time. Do about 70, 75."

"But what if the cops stop us?"

"We tell them where the mine is and offer directions," R.J. said.

1254 hours

They had reached the turn off road and were about to hit the railroad track.

R.J. said, "Stop the car, Mr. Schempel, and change places with me. Leave the keys in and the ignition running."

The lawyer stopped. Awkwardly he and R.J. stumbled across the front of the Cadillac's grille on the railroad track. It could have been a scene from "The Three Stooges Meet Armageddon." But they got in.

"Did I ever tell you my ambition is to be a NASCAR driver?" the 14 year old said, expertly gunning the Caddy.

The radio suddenly gave the nerve-wracking rattle of the Emergency Broadcast System Attention Signal.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAS DIRECTED THAT WE INTERRUPT OUR NORMAL PROGRAM. THIS IS THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM.

THE OFFENSE OF CIVIL DEFENSE HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE. THIS IS AN ATTACK WARNING! REPEAT! THIS IS AN ATTACK WARNING! THE UNITED STATES IS UNDER NUCLEAR ATTACK. AT 12:55 AM -- SORRY, 12:55 P.M. EASTERN STANDARD TIME, TWO MINUTES AGO -- A NUCLEAR ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES WAS DETECTED. PROTECTIVE ACTION MUST BE TAKEN IMMEDIATELY. THIS STATION WILL REMAIN ON THE AIR TO BROADCAST NEWS, OFFICIAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE AREA OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

"Almost there."

He drove the car into the berm. The two State Guardsmen at the door closed the door and threw a pair of bolts.

A line of pinkish-white light lit the cars from below. The shadows stood in garish contrast.

The children started to scream.

R.J. grabbed Margaret. Schumpel grabbed Amy. The State Guardsmen grabbed Mrs. Schumpel and steered her into the shadows.

They passed the first of the doors in the berm sealing off the mine's mouth. The ground began to shake. They stumbled in and sealed the second door. The room was lit with the intermittent flashes of fluorescent lights, around which copper wire was wound.

"Aunt Joan!" R.J. yelled. "Dad."

"I'm here, R.J." Robbie replied, reaching his son.

"I think the bombs have gone off."

The corridor began to move irregularly up, down, and sideways. "You think, son?"

"It's just a guess."

"What are the lights for?" Schumpel retained enough curiosity to say.

"It's an old ham radio trick Uncle John told us about. You can use a fluorescent light to detect lightning, and EMP is lightning cubed."

"He's a smart man."

"Was, I suppose. He stayed in New York."

"I'm sorry."

R.J. started to cry, but forced himself to stop. "Come on, we got things to do, like get your clothes out of the car before the fallout arrives."

Further down in the mine...

Pete and Springtime both jumped on the cot where Joan lay.

"He's gone, Pete. He's gone, Springtime. We'll never see him again short of Heaven. Goddamn Russians."

She got up and wiped her tears. "Okay, kitties, we have work to do."

 

[modelcitizen]

Keep up the great work.

 

[NoOneFamous]

Goodbye LT. RIP sir, you done good.

 

[sloreck]

"In all things do your duty, you can do no more you should never do less" Robt E. Lee to his son.
Lieutenant - all men die, what matters is the manner of their death

 

[GAB-1955]

Part 2, Chapter 2: School Reports

Hadleyburg Cooperative School
March 3, 1984

Preface by Marlena Walters, 10th Grade

Hello, everyone. This is a report from the students of the Hadleyburg Cooperative School about what our life is like.

We currently live in a mine near the town of Hadleyburg, Pennsylvania. This is a fallout shelter which is keeping radioactivity out. According to our teachers and Captain McDonald, our military commander, soon adults will be able to leave for brief visits to check outside and see what damage has been done by the nuclear blasts.

We call ourselves the Hadleyburg Cooperative because we are all working together to survive the Exchange and build a new society afterward. Many of us lived in New York City. They want to call the city “New New York,” but the people who lived in Washington or Harrisburg say they want to be remembered too. But we are in Hadleyburg and we are cooperating together to survive.

We dedicate this report to the memory of those who died to ensure we had a place to live, especially First Lieutenant John Boulanger, 1st Battalion, 71st New York.

Our Day by Gabrielle Martinez, 4th Grade

Someone always is awake in the shelter. There have to be people who check on fires. There are people who are listening to the radio and tell us what they hear. So far, we have heard some stations on the air in Cleveland and even as far as Nebraska and Texas, but no one close to us.

We children get up at 7:00 am., go to the bathroom, and then wash up. We have to be careful with water, but we can wash our bodies down from head to toe. Some of the boys don't want to do that. They smell. When the teachers catch them, they get washed down from head to toe. We brush our teeth and we get dressed for school. It's February but we don't have to get in coats or hats.

We have breakfast in the dining area at 7:30 in the morning. There is enough food but you have to eat all of it. You can't be picky. Often it's oatmeal or corn mush with salt. The grownups can have a cup of tea, and the little children get powdered milk. Some of us have to help clear away the dishes and to wash them. We are careful with water.

At 8:00, we have school. There are four groups. The little children have Miss Susan. Elementary school kids have Mrs. Sholom. She taught school in New York. The junior high students have two teachers: Mrs. Wilson and Sergeant Martinez (he is not my dad). The high school students have Ms. Joanna.

This is a funny school. There are books, but we don't have enough of any one book for everyone to use, so a lot of the time the teacher talks to us. We use things like buttons and coins to practice addition. The high school students are building abacuses in shop. We write, but we have to write small.

Learning in a Mine by Gustavo Marin (7th Grade)

If you didn't know how to read when you got here, you will when you get out, Mrs. Wilson told us. I didn't read so well. She taught me that letters have sounds and if you sound them out, you can get the meaning of the word. I am beginning to do that and now I can read a book like the Encyclopedia Britannica.

The best part of the day though is the afternoon. After midday meal, we all go help the adults in their work. Some of them are building new furniture or things for school (such as the abacuses) and we assist them. I learned how to measure and they make me add and subtract in my head. A couple of the men used to work with computers. They said that computers will be back, but until they are common again, we need machines that will help us do calculations.

When the afternoon work is over, around 6:00 p.m., we have dinner. Then the radio people come down and they tell us what information they have about the rest of the country. We have a map from the gas stations that is on the wall. It is marked with what we know is gone with red pins and what we know is there with blue pins. There are more red than blue pins. The radio people say that the airwaves are getting better again now that the initial attack is over, and they can here hundreds or thousands of miles away. We don't talk back though. We don't need help.

Then it's music time. Sometimes we listen to music on cassettes people brought with them. Often we sing ourselves. The Lieutenant's wife lets the big kids play his guitars, but they can't play it like a heavy metal guitar. Someone brought a flute and someone brought a trumpet and others have violins. We all play music and sing.

My favorite tune is "Yellow Submarine." Mr. Turcatesto asks if we know any Italian songs. We are learning in school.

When music time is over, someone takes out a book and reads from it. Ms. Joanna is reading "Huckleberry Finn." We always have a reading from the Bible, and then we all say prayers. Some of us pray with others, some alone. Then we go to bed.

 

[Otis R. Needleman]

Mighty good!

Keep up the good work. I'm subscribing.

 

[Shaby]

If there is any justice, the city should be called Boulangerville, or something alike.

 

[kuroda]

This is, from the start, one of the best -- if not the very best -- written spinoff of P&S. I've loved reading it and hope to continue to do so.

But, at the same time, I do feel a slight obligation to admit: I've never seen such a bunch of survivors I despise like these. Honestly, I just loathe these people. And their little children; what the hell. That makes it a very entertaining thread to follow.

Whatev. Long since subscribed, long since checked out to AH morality.

K.

 

[Otis R. Needleman]

This is, from the start, one of the best -- if not the very best -- written spinoff of P&S. I've loved reading it and hope to continue to do so.

But, at the same time, I do feel a slight obligation to admit: I've never seen such a bunch of survivors I despise like these. Honestly, I just loathe these people. And their little children; what the hell. That makes it a very entertaining thread to follow.

Whatev. Long since subscribed, long since checked out to AH morality.

K.

Why would you despise this group? Many of them are family members of military or police. Some of them are members of the military or the police. Understand not liking the Mafia people.

 

[Unknown]

I don't like the Mafia members, myself.

The rest of the survivors I do like--to an extent (Joan being the most likable one).

 

[Archangel]

Rest in peace, Lieutenant.

 

[kuroda]

Why would you despise this group? Many of them are family members of military or police. Some of them are members of the military or the police. Understand not liking the Mafia people.

Honestly I don't know why -- there's not a particular thing I can put my finger on that makes me cheer against them.

I am kinda weirded out by the implication that being military or police means a character is sympathetic or likeable, it's true.

In any case, I don't mind -- like I say, I'm really enjoying this leg of the P&S millipede!

 

[TheKinkster]

Same here. I'm really enjoying the writing here, it's very well-done...but personally I wouldn't be upset if this would end with them all coming out into the sunshine to meet up with a rogue SLBM warhead.

 

[revolutionincyberspace]

Why would you despise this group? Many of them are family members of military or police. Some of them are members of the military or the police. Understand not liking the Mafia people.

That's a good reason right there

As for me, A. The woman organizing everything is a bitch in her domineering manner of the shelter's organization. B. the Lieutenant decided to harass some people trying to break out of prison when they weren't harming anyone, so that annoyed me. I guess the section of the letter dealing with prayer and whatnot hit me too. I liked the UK characters better admittedly.

 

[Bernard Woolley]

What's wrong with the military or police? They're the people who allow people like us to sleep at night to borrow from a certain Eric Blair.
Those convicts had harmed quite a few people in their breakout and who knows how many people they might have harmed had they escaped the initiation.

As for the Lieutenant's wife, you must be reading a different story to me. Someone has to be in charge in the shelter and show strong leadership, or it will all fall apart.

 

[JasonQ]

That's a good reason right there

As for me, A. The woman organizing everything is a bitch in her domineering manner of the shelter's organization. B. the Lieutenant decided to harass some people trying to break out of prison when they weren't harming anyone, so that annoyed me. I guess the section of the letter dealing with prayer and whatnot hit me too. I liked the UK characters better admittedly.

I don't agree with objection (A) at all. First of all, regardless of whether they stole the mine or not, it's basically her shelter. Also, someone is going to need to be in charge, and try to keep things coherent and directed towards survival. If you have a group - especially a large one - you have to have a group effort. Otherwise chaos is likely to ensue, with the development of factions within the larger group.

As for them trying to stop the prisoners - while it was a futile, cowboy sort of move, it also made eminent sense in its way. A group of hardened felons from a lovely place like Riker's Island is something you do not want roaming about post-strike.

Also, consider that martial law had been declared. The soldiers on that bus, legally, WERE the law. It was their job to stop some dangerous guys from fleeing. As it was, they were just trying to disarm them, not apprehend or kill them.

 

[revolutionincyberspace]

What's wrong with the military or police? They're the people who allow people like us to sleep at night to borrow from a certain Eric Blair.

Depending on your race/ethnic group, or where in the world you live, the military and police could be a tool of oppression and a symbol of social and cultural destruction. As to me, people who can kill you and get away with it because a state sanctions them to do so scare me due to that simple possibility - even if military and police officers have a code of honor to serve the citizens or w/e. In the same way countries with nukes scare other countries even if the countries in question are tactful, logical, stable countries which are nice to their neighbors.

EDIT: That and my personal context re. hierarchy and bullying/bossing people around.

EDIT 2: That and the argument that "the people who started it get away with their murder" et all. Honestly, say the British officers in the Original P&S timeline, even the

Spoiler

major who goes insane and blames the Irish

and his captain was more sympathetic to me, I liked them as characters more. Maybe it's because I don't have a personal contact with those, as I have more of a personal contact with (in this case, white) american police officers and military personnel.....

Those convicts had harmed quite a few people in their breakout and who knows how many people they might have harmed had they escaped the initiation.

Really, in a nuclear war

As for the Lieutenant's wife, you must be reading a different story to me. Someone has to be in charge in the shelter and show strong leadership, or it will all fall apart.

I don't like being bossed around and have dealt with that enough in my life, so characters which tend to do that (i.e. SOME military officers and police) annoy me more. That's also probably why military governments tend to fuck up general, their 'follow my orders because i tell you to do so' does not mesh well with civil authorities, the citizens and even other military officers.......

EDIT: I wonder if the person doing the bossing being female affects me either? (Being bossed around by my mother & the character's behavior reminding me of her, etc).

 

[revolutionincyberspace]

I don't agree with objection (A) at all. First of all, regardless of whether they stole the mine or not, it's basically her shelter.

Well just saying "I own it" isn't exactly going to justify her behavior. "LOL I own this shelter, if you don't want to deal with it GTFO" doesn't endear people to me. In that situation, I'd probably shoot her. (Okay, I am flanderizing this a LOT, but you know what I mean).

Also, someone is going to need to be in charge, and try to keep things coherent and directed towards survival. If you have a group - especially a large one - you have to have a group effort. Otherwise chaos is likely to ensue, with the development of factions within the larger group.

I can understand that. I do believe there can be a different or less grating manner to do this. But then again, they ARE dealing with Mafia dons and military/police families so there will have to be that sense of 'control'.

As for them trying to stop the prisoners - while it was a futile, cowboy sort of move, it also made eminent sense in its way. A group of hardened felons from a lovely place like Riker's Island is something you do not want roaming about post-strike.

AFAIK Riker's Island isn't full of harden felons. It's mainly people who could not afford to post bail and as such were put into jail. That and common looters presumably from the crisis happening. They're not all hardened criminals with 500+ felonies or w/e. Given the situation, i could have been in that sort of situation - an urban youth caught up in a riot or a protestor against the nuclear war happening who was locked up. This has happened in OTL (well, not ME doing those, just that it has happened before).

Also, consider that martial law had been declared. The soldiers on that bus, legally, WERE the law. It was their job to stop some dangerous guys from fleeing. As it was, they were just trying to disarm them, not apprehend or kill them.

Yeah. The escapees didn't know that. Honestly I'd would have liked it if they let the Aryan nations and other white prisoners out, even if they were 'enemies' or whatever.

 

[Bernard Woolley]

Depending on your race/ethnic group, or where in the world you live, the military and police could be a tool of oppression and a symbol of social and cultural destruction.

Not in general in the West though. Cops and soldiers are people like you and me except they have volunteered to put their lives at risk for others.

Really, in a nuclear war

You want lots of dangerous people running around free in a world where law and order may not be effective? Imagine what would happen if these now heavily armed fellons were to rock up in a small town with maybe 3, or 4 cops at most. It's not a pleasant thought.
Would you like to have them running about in a world where you can't summon help on the phone?

I don't like being bossed around and have dealt with that enough in my life, so characters which tend to do that (i.e. SOME military officers and police) annoy me more. That's also probably why military governments tend to fuck up general, their 'follow my orders because i tell you to do so' does not mesh well with civil authorities, the citizens and even other military officers.......

Well to be frank 'boo hoo for you'. The world works by smaller numbers of people telling larger numbers of people what to do. In democratic societies the larger number get to chose who the small number are and the smaller number has to listen to their views.
Hating a character because she shows a bit of backbone and strong leadership in an extreme situation does not IMVHO anyway make logical sense.

I take it you don't like my Vulcan pilot then? He's spent that entire spin-off telling his crew what to do (and he's military).

 

[Otis R. Needleman]

Not in general in the West though. Cops and soldiers are people like you and me except they have volunteered to put their lives at risk for others.



You want lots of dangerous people running around free in a world where law and order may not be effective? Imagine what would happen if these now heavily armed fellons were to rock up in a small town with maybe 3, or 4 cops at most. It's not a pleasant thought.
Would you like to have them running about in a world where you can't summon help on the phone?



Well to be frank 'boo hoo for you'. The world works by smaller numbers of people telling larger numbers of people what to do. In democratic societies the larger number get to chose who the small number are and the smaller number has to listen to their views.
Hating a character because she shows a bit of backbone and strong leadership in an extreme situation does not IMVHO anyway make logical sense.

I take it you don't like my Vulcan pilot then? He's spent that entire spin-off telling his crew what to do (and he's military).

Very well put.