Protect & Survive Miami: End of Watch
- Thread starter wolverinethad
- Start date
If you read back in my story, I had USGSC help evacuate NAS Pensacola precisely because you'd established that as within its boundaries. Therefore, when they did so, they sent a Telex to every station they could reach, and so Gainesville became aware that there was a USGSC, but didn't have anything besides them being around a surviving New Orleans.
I had first contact being via radio from the island, but I can retcon that to an airplane to ground radio if it fits better for you.
On a side note, Hyman Rickover, who Carter served under in the Navy, is likely dead, as he lived in Arlington, Virginia and, well, to imagine the war's effects on the D.C. area, just put a map of the D.C. metro area in gasoline, light it, and then fire a shotgun at it--it's the same effect...
The DMV is the first worst place to be in when nuclear war breaks out. The second is only Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, the third being SAC in Omaha, and the fourth being New York City.
With regards to Jan's feelings about shooting Antonio, a quote from, of all movies, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), seems appropriate: "There's just some things you gotta do. Don't mean you have to like it." (Funnily enough, Edwin Neal, who played the Hitchhiker in the movie, actually did serve in Vietnam, and won the Bronze Star--he's stated that the experience of shooting the movie was worse than his tour in Vietnam...)
With regards to nuclear plants in Florida, @wolverinethad, there's the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant (located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, about48 miles north of West Palm Beach, Florida and 63 miles south of Melbourne, Florida), the Crystal River Energy Complex (located in Crystal River, Florida, on Florida's west coast 78 miles north of Tampa, Florida), and the Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station (located two miles east of Homestead, Florida--it was damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 IOTL).
I'm getting this information from Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt: the Crystal River nuclear power plant (which was Unit Three) came online in 1977, so it would have been operational IOTL (since it was unlikely to be targeted, I could see it being used to help with power issues in central and west Florida); how affected it would have been by the Panhandle strike fallout is another issue. The St. Lucie nuclear power plant had two units--one came online in December of 1976 and the other came online in August of 1983; it's probably unaffected by the fallout from any strikes (including the Tampa-St. Petersburg strikes, which would be the most likely to affect it, if the wind is right), so it would have been available for use in 1984. The Turkey Point twin nuclear reactors (units 3 and 4), OTOH, are located about 10 miles from Homestead Air Force Base and, even assuming it escaped damage, would be surrounded by fallout from the Miami-area strikes, so it's unreachable except, maybe, by sea (for now, of course). Thankfully, the AEC had ordered all nuclear plants shut down, so it is feasible to restart St. Lucie and Crystal River at this point in time, IMO...
Just my .02.
And, again, glad to see Jimmy Carter in a role that's useful for him; inside, though, he's probably heartbroken for his lost family and for the country...
I'm getting this information from Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt: the Crystal River nuclear power plant (which was Unit Three) came online in 1977, so it would have been operational IOTL (since it was unlikely to be targeted, I could see it being used to help with power issues in central and west Florida); how affected it would have been by the Panhandle strike fallout is another issue. The St. Lucie nuclear power plant had two units--one came online in December of 1976 and the other came online in August of 1983; it's probably unaffected by the fallout from any strikes (including the Tampa-St. Petersburg strikes, which would be the most likely to affect it, if the wind is right), so it would have been available for use in 1984. The Turkey Point twin nuclear reactors (units 3 and 4), OTOH, are located about 10 miles from Homestead Air Force Base and, even assuming it escaped damage, would be surrounded by fallout from the Miami-area strikes, so it's unreachable except, maybe, by sea (for now, of course). Thankfully, the AEC had ordered all nuclear plants shut down, so it is feasible to restart St. Lucie and Crystal River at this point in time, IMO...
Just my .02.
And, again, glad to see Jimmy Carter in a role that's useful for him; inside, though, he's probably heartbroken for his lost family and for the country...
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I wrote about Turkey Point earlier...
I believe, IIRC, that all nuclear plants would've dialed down to the lowest safe setting to minimize its ability to damage surrounding areas if struck by a warhead (also to protect the grid from intensified EMP effects). Certainly that's the issue for the Farley plant--bringing it slowly back online to avoid problems. Crystal River is an interesting one...didn't realize it had opened in 1977...that might be useful. Port St. Lucie, on the other hand, has a lot of problems on their hands, namely being squarely in between two strike zones.
Yeah, that would be a huge problem...
Restarting Crystal River, at least, is doable, given that it likely didn't suffer from fallout from the Panhandle and wasn't near any strike zones...
As for Florida Gators football, let's see which of their rivalries are still going to happen once football gets restarted (which will not be for a few years, at least):
Florida-Georgia: Likely over (for now), since Athens, the home of the University of Georgia, was destroyed by a nuclear weapon (on a side note, I hope the B-52s survived--they formed in Athens, and several of their members are from that city).
Florida-LSU: Likely still a rivalry, since LSU avoided damage from the Baton Rouge strike (Tulane probably joins LSU, since most of New Orleans survived).
Florida-Tennessee: Likely over, since Knoxville, the home of the University of Tennessee, was destroyed by a nuclear weapon
Florida-Auburn: Still a rivalry, since Auburn likely survived the strike on Fort Benning (and, while the southern parts of Columbus would suffer some damage, Columbus itself would largely survive). (1)
Florida-Florida State: Still a rivalry, since Tallahasse is still intact ITTL.
Florida-Miami: Over, over, OVER, since Miami is gone for good...
Again, college football will not come back (if ever) until at least the start of the 1990s, IMO...
Edit: Thanks, @vl100butch...
(1) On a sidenote, I'd like to see a cameo from Bo Jackson, who was at Auburn at this time; I could see him managing to convince his family to leave Birmingham before the strikes destroyed it; Huntsville is also so screwed ITTL (it's the home of the Redstone Arsenal, so it takes a nuclear weapon--it also helped produce rockets for NASA, IIRC). With regards to Alabama, I'm feeling sorry for George Wallace ITTL (something I'd never thought I'd say), having to go through the destruction of a lot of his state (and the George Wallace of the 1980s is not the George Wallace of the 1960s--OTL, when he was governor in the 1980s, he appointed many African-American officials to state offices)...
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South Baton Rouge and LSU certainly did survive...the hit was several miles north of campus and damaged the Exxon refinery....the Huey Long rail and auto bridge crossing the Mississippi River there took superficial damage but was still servicible
The Island - P&S: Louisiana, Mississippi, Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX
In the Protect and Survive timeline, there was mention of a naval base on the Gulf where the Prospero survivors got home to Britain. True, keep in mind that in 1984, New Orleans also had a naval base...the part on the East Bank was damaged during the exchange, but the West Bank had some...
www.alternatehistory.com
there is also a post where WWL interviews Mike the Tiger's caretakers...
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My bad, I was a bit confused reading the message trail...Pensacola should have no problem with basic supplies once contact established with Gulf States Command...
Can't help but comment on the rest of the Southeastern Conference.
Kentucky: I had Lexington surviving in two P&S TLs I never could get off the ground. The city itself turned into a madhouse, though, due to overwhelming numbers of refugees and the state getting fallout from the midwestern missile base strikes. If Lexington survives, it takes years to recover, and UK probably doesn't reopen until the 1990s at the earliest. It would be more likely to play against whichever schools survived in the Indiana/Ohio/West Virginia/Virginia area, only venturing south and west to places like Gainesville,Baton Rouge and Lincoln only as raillines and highways were rebuilt and reconnected, and air travel became a thing.
Vanderbilt: Unlike Miami, a slim possibility to come back, contingent on if Nashville is rebuilt and if there is enough funding available to reestablish a private college that takes on VU's legacy.
Alabama: depends. Tuscaloosa could have fallen apart and become a ghost town, or become the center of the post-war state government and economy. 'Bama football in that case could come back as soon as SEC play resumes.
Ole Miss: as Oxford goes, so goes Ole Miss...
Mississippi State: Starkville IS close to a military base. I can't recall any canon explanation of what happened in Mississippi on the day of the exchange, so anything could be on the table. I doubt either Ole Miss or Mississippi State are playing ball by ITTL's 2020, though -- if any sizable city or town survives the Exchange, IMO, it will be Hattiesburg.
The rest of the college football landscape:
Atlantic Coast Conference -- say goodbye to Maryland, Georgia Tech, NC State and probably Duke and Wake Forest. UNC would be interesting, as Chapel Hill isn't likely to be a direct target and Michael Jordan would be around. Clemson might also make it through. The ACC school most likely to survive IMO is Virginia, in Charlottesville.
Division I-A independents -- Southern Miss and Virginia Tech should make it through. Louisville and Memphis State are gone.
Division I-AA schools most likely to be around -- VMI, Georgia Southern, Citadel, Louisiana Lafayette/Louisiana-Monroe (I forgot what they were called back then), Louisiana Tech, maybe Western Kentucky
Of course, in a post-war economy, not only do you need a population with enough disposable income to support colleges and universities and their athletic programs, and buy tickets, concessions, etc., but yo. u need some corporate/business support for those schools and their athletic programs. You also need a reliable transportation network, which IMO would initially be a rebuilt rail and highway system connecting all of the surviving cities and towns not just in the south, but to the rest of the lower 48 (like Nebraska and the Pacific Northwest).
By 2020 ITTL, would transportation within the country resemble the pre-Exchange 1980s, or be more like the late 19th/early 20th centuries? If everyone is using rail, then you might have rivalries and schedules taking on a very regional bent -- LSU might be playing the likes of Texas A&M, LaTech, Tulane and Southern Miss, whereas Florida plays FSU, Clemson and Georgia Southern.
By 2020 ITTL, would transportation within the country resemble the pre-Exchange 1980s, or be more like the late 19th/early 20th centuries? If everyone is using rail, then you might have rivalries and schedules taking on a very regional bent -- LSU might be playing the likes of Texas A&M, LaTech, Tulane and Southern Miss, whereas Florida plays FSU, Clemson and Georgia Southern.
Oxford is fine....that whole area of North Central Mississippi came through...I haven't heard any mention of Columbus AFB or the Starkvegas area as far as Mississippi State is concerned...
Ole Miss is about a 4 hour high speed bus run from LSU...the issue comes in with the widening of US 278 from Batesville through Oxford, get that done and the time gets reduced by about a half hour...
I just returned to this story after some time away, and WolverineThad, I'm very glad to see your recent posts and that you're apparently OK. It's good to have this to look forward to. Also grateful for the mention of Jimmy Carter, who (as described in the book Raven Rock) was responsible for strong upgrades to the command-and-control and evacuation procedures relating to your country's nuclear deterrent. His mind and experience would be priceless in your story, which just goes to show our post-war fate would really be down to the capabilities of people that survive as much as the assets.
In a sense the people are far more important. Things like factories and machinery and power plants and such are all useless if there's nobody competent to run them. Engineers and physicians are, without a doubt, the two grades of people most important to survive Armageddon, with teachers and planning experts on the next tier, because rebuilding is only possible with know-how.
I mean, software developer is important and all, but in 1984, it wouldn't get anyone very far.