Special Bulletin: Aftermath A collaborative TL


The link I have just Copy-pasted leads to a 1983 TV-movie called Special Bulletin that aired on NBC. The plot was centered around a Realistic fake news broadcast about terrorists taking hostages on board a tugboat in the Naval Yard of Charleston South Carolina. Among the Hostages is the News Network's local affiliates Field Reporter and cameraman. Using them, the Terrorists reveal themselves to be anti-nuclear weapons activists. They want all the detonating modules to the nukes around Charleston, to be disposed of out at sea. The Hitch? If The Detonators are not delivered to them by 4:30 PM the next day, they threaten to detonate a nuke of their own. Watch it first, then let's talk about what would happen next.
 

Geon

Donor
I saw it as well. It seems counter-intuitive, an anti-nuclear activist group wants the U.S. to disarm or it threatens to use a nuclear weapon. Someone didn't really think this out well. And what do they expect the Soviets to do at this point? Reciprocate? I don't think so.

When the climax comes I have to say I am disappointed at the epilogue. Does everyone really think that it will be business as usual after what finally happened in Charleston ether domestically or internationally?
 
Episode 1 The Days after.
America has just experienced the world's first instance of nuclear terrorism. Charleston, South Carolina and an area 50 miles wide outwards, will be uninhabitable for decades, due to immense radiation. The horror of the event, all broadcast Live on the RBS network. Now as America greives for the thousands lost, the question remains. What do we do now?
 
The saner elements of the anti-nuclear movement will quietly regard themselves as vindicated. And I say "quietly", because, for the next decade or two, anyone wearing so much as a "Nuclear power? No Thanks!" t-shirt will get less respect than a pig in a slaughterhouse.
 
The saner elements of the anti-nuclear movement will quietly regard themselves as vindicated. And I say "quietly", because, for the next decade or two, anyone wearing so much as a "Nuclear power? No Thanks!" t-shirt will get less respect than a pig in a slaughterhouse.

Well, maybe maybe not. The thing ITTL is that there is no OTL example to go by. There has never been a Nuclear terror attack anywhere in our world. This attack ITTL would be the first-ever. I think that people would go either way, with some doubling down on the anti-nuke people "THEIR CRAZY", while a slightly larger (51-49) will realize the destructive power of a nuclear weapon and might start siding with the protestors. It would definently inflame the debate however.

On another note, there is bound to a massacre in the Reagan Administration and NEST over their handling of the situation. Not to mention RBS coverage of the incident. THEY BROADCAST THE DETONATION LIVE ON AIR! People are going to get pretty angry with them over that. (btw, the footage of the nuke is the least realistic part of the movie. The opptics of the camera would actually be wiped by the flash. However, the way the reporter on the yorktown survives the blast is actually very realistic. They showed their work on this.)
To those wondering, this is set right after the movie ends.
DATE: MARCH 23rd 1983 (based off of real-world release date.)
 
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Geon

Donor
I have to agree with Derpsternium. But in a more radical way. You will have many of those in the far right gunning-literally- for anyone with anti-nuclear sentiments. And in general the population of the U.S, will be very leery and suspicious of the anti-nuclear movement. Many conservatives, and I honestly include myself here will wonder if the anti-nuclear movement is actually a communist front organization working for the Soviet Union. Likely a very thorough investigation of the anti-nuclear movement will be ordered by President Reagan and the Congress which will make things very uncomfortable for any anti-nuclear leadership. Expect something on the order of the McCarthy hearings. In fact it is likely anyone with any hint of an anti-nuclear sentiment will find he or she is out of a job. I won't say it will be open season on anti-nuclear activists but likely it will not be pleasant for several years.

The anti-nuclear movement itself will publicly absolutely condemn the actions of the Charleston group. Privately they will be seeking ways they can use the consequences of this group's actions to drive home the dangers of nuclear weapons in future demonstrations.

For the foreseeable future Charleston is going to be off-limits until decontamination is complete. When it is rebuilt it is going to be a shadow of what it once was. The economic consequences to the nation will be serious and South Carolina will take the worst hit. A big question here is what are we going to do with the survivors? These people are shell-shocked and many of them will be suffering from PTSD - witness at the epilogue a 9 year old boy commits suicide in one of the shelters. People have lost loved ones, homes, jobs. Now, where are they going to live, how are they going to get the basic necessities of life? That is going to be an issue in the United States for decades to come.

Someone mentioned lawsuits. The number of lawsuits filed by survivors against the military, against the federal, state, and local governments will be enough to make lawyers drool! And it will keep them busy in litigation suits for years to come. There will be demands by any community located near a major military installation which is known to have nuclear weapons to leave. They will not want a repeat of Charleston. How successful this will be I have my doubts.

And then there's the foreign reaction. NATO allies will be shocked and it is likely some nations may decide to crack down on anti-nuclear protests, just as above.

The Soviets however will be absolutely delighted. They may see these anti-nuclear activists as a means to force unilateral disarmament in the West and start actively (if they aren't already) funding many of these groups. That will only add fuel to the fire. So, would Gorbachev come to power given the hard-liners desire to exploit the Charleston Disaster and use the anti-nuclear groups to force concessions from the West.

By Reagan's second term it will become apparent through our intelligence apparatus that the Soviets are trying to use the anti-nuclear movement to undermine American security. That will make Reagan even more hardline when it comes to nuclear arms negotiations.
 
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And another part of this is the conspiracy theories surrounding the destruction of Charleston--there'd be a lot of theorists claiming that it was a false flag, just like they did with 9/11 IOTL...
 

Geon

Donor
And another part of this is the conspiracy theories surrounding the destruction of Charleston--there'd be a lot of theorists claiming that it was a false flag, just like they did with 9/11 IOTL...

The conspiracy theories will be flying on both sides of the political fence. There will be some who will be seeing this was meant to be a covert strike by the Soviet Union to decapitate our SLBM force in the Atlantic.
 
I have to agree with Derpsternium. But in a more radical way. You will have many of those in the far right gunning-literally- for anyone with anti-nuclear sentiments. And in general the population of the U.S, will be very leery and suspicious of the anti-nuclear movement. Many conservatives, and I honestly include myself here will wonder if the anti-nuclear movement is actually a communist front organization working for the Soviet Union. Likely a very thorough investigation of the anti-nuclear movement will be ordered by President Reagan and the Congress which will make things very uncomfortable for any anti-nuclear leadership. Expect something on the order of the McCarthy hearings. In fact it is likely anyone with any hint of an anti-nuclear sentiment will find he or she is out of a job. I won't say it will be open season on anti-nuclear activists but likely it will not be pleasant for several years.

The anti-nuclear movement itself will publicly absolutely condemn the actions of the Charleston group. Privately they will be seeking ways they can use the consequences of this group's actions to drive home the dangers of nuclear weapons in future demonstrations.

For the foreseeable future Charleston is going to be off-limits until decontamination is complete. When it is rebuilt it is going to be a shadow of what it once was. The economic consequences to the nation will be serious and South Carolina will take the worst hit. A big question here is what are we going to do with the survivors? These people are shell-shocked and many of them will be suffering from PTSD - witness at the epilogue a 12 year old boy commits suicide in one of the shelters. People have lost loved ones, homes, jobs. Now, where are they going to live, how are they going to get the basic necessities of life? That is going to be an issue in the United States for decades to come.

Someone mentioned lawsuits. The number of lawsuits filed by survivors against the military, against the federal, state, and local governments will be enough to make lawyers drool! And it will keep them busy in litigation suits for years to come. There will be demands by any community located near a major military installation which is known to have nuclear weapons to leave. They will not want a repeat of Charleston. How successful this will be I have my doubts.

And then there's the foreign reaction. NATO allies will be shocked and it is likely some nations may decide to crack down on anti-nuclear protests, just as above.

The Soviets however will be absolutely delighted. They may see these anti-nuclear activists as a means to force unilateral disarmament in the West and start actively (if they aren't already) funding many of these groups. That will only add fuel to the fire. So, would Gorbachev come to power given the hard-liners desire to exploit the Charleston Disaster and use the anti-nuclear groups to force concessions from the West.

By Reagan's second term it will become apparent through our intelligence apparatus that the Soviets are trying to use the anti-nuclear movement to undermine American security. That will make Reagan even more hardline when it comes to nuclear arms negotiations.
That Does make a lot of sense, if we have our Recent Mass-Shootings as an example we can extrapolate that there will be a rush to politicize this incident. While part of me finds it hard to belive Reagan would go full on McArthy, I could clearly see investigations ordered into every anti-Nuclear Power organization associated with the incident. Which of course may snowball into a McArthy trial. The Soviet's would definently capitalize on the chaos caused by the whole ordeal. As Unilateral Disarmament would be a great thing for them to dominate the states. And no, I don't think Good old Gorby is coming into play here. If anything, the Soviet Union will probably survive a little longer than OTL (It was already pretty weak). I give it until at least 2005 before it is completely gone. When It does go, it will be either with a bang or a whimper.

Back to the states, since Charleston is a major port city, Stock Market may very well experience a recession. But what of RBS, they may get at least 10 suits because they broadcast the whole thing. On people associating with Anti-Nuke crowds, Secretly they may grow in membership as the years go by. Most of the new members will be people who survived Charleston. If we can go on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Survivors as an example, they sometimes make the best anti-nuke protestors because they lived through one and know what it can do.

Margaret Baker (The Reporter on the Yorktown) was 2 miles from the epicenter when the bomb went off. She was the closest survivor of the Blast. She however would realistically die of advanced radiation poisoning within a few days. Her Family would start a fund in honor of Baker and Steve Levvit (Local Reporter who was literally right outside of the tugboat when it detonated) this fund would donate to the Red Cross and charites for survivors of Charleston and their families.

I like those ideas you have on the conspiracy theories. The Soviets do stand to gain from the destruction of the Poseidon Submarines and the naval base. The False Flag crowd will probably be put down heavily. The Soviet theory is much more plausible.
 

Geon

Donor
I should have included this in my earlier posting - sorry.

One thing we have to remember here. Charleston was a ground burst and more powerful then the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs which were air bursts. That means the explosion is going to be "dirtier" particularly as water from the harbor would be vaporized into the fireball. That will make the cleanup far more complicated and difficult.
 
I should have included this in my earlier posting - sorry.

One thing we have to remember here. Charleston was a ground burst and more powerful then the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs which were air bursts. That means the explosion is going to be "dirtier" particularly as water from the harbor would be vaporized into the fireball. That will make the cleanup far more complicated and difficult.
Well, I could have foreseen cleanup efforts being complicated by the Nuclear footprint created by the ground burst. It is like the Chernobyl Exclusion zone now.
Note to all fallout fans: We are going on real world rules here. Fallout kills you, it will not turn you to mutant. You will die of cancer before that happens. Even then, birth defects will be the closest thing you can get.
 
Alright, here is something we have to consider, moving away from political ramifications, we can safely assume that this is TTL equivalent of the 9/11 attacks. And as a result, people want to ensure such a thing does not happen again. I say this after a conversation with my dad on our progress. I am telling him about it being basically 9/11, and he tells me, that 9/11 would not happen in this universe. In fact, America would and I quote "Probably Vaporize half of Iran!" Why? The terrorist's were not sponsored by the ayatollah, they were homegrown communist pigs. Well, think of it this way, America has just undergone the worst attack on its soil in history, not to mention the world's Deadliest Terrorist attack (not to mention the first nuclear instance). Something has to be done to prevent it from happening again. Based off of my dad's diction, I have come to the conclusion that a new department has been created by 1985, DHS, which stands for Department of Homeland Security. Another thing, remember how those Islamists took over the Embassy in Iran back in '79? You know how they chant
"DEATH TO AMERICA!" every other day? Sounds like a threat, get ready boys someones bout to get liberated to prevent terrorism. (This surprisingly butterflies almost every terror attack to date, since you can sure bet that DHS is going to be really damn strong, stronger than OTL. might even have its own Paramilitary force.)
 
I should have included this in my earlier posting - sorry.

One thing we have to remember here. Charleston was a ground burst and more powerful then the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs which were air bursts. That means the explosion is going to be "dirtier" particularly as water from the harbor would be vaporized into the fireball. That will make the cleanup far more complicated and difficult.
Would the vaporization of the water trigger a tsunami?
 
Would the vaporization of the water trigger a tsunami?
The Nuke was a ground burst at the charleston naval base not out in the middle of the ocean You should probably watch the movie first. The scene where they play footage of the detonation shows no evidence of a tsunami.
 

Geon

Donor
Alright, here is something we have to consider, moving away from political ramifications, we can safely assume that this is TTL equivalent of the 9/11 attacks. And as a result, people want to ensure such a thing does not happen again. I say this after a conversation with my dad on our progress. I am telling him about it being basically 9/11, and he tells me, that 9/11 would not happen in this universe. In fact, America would and I quote "Probably Vaporize half of Iran!" Why? The terrorist's were not sponsored by the ayatollah, they were homegrown communist pigs. Well, think of it this way, America has just undergone the worst attack on its soil in history, not to mention the world's Deadliest Terrorist attack (not to mention the first nuclear instance). Something has to be done to prevent it from happening again. Based off of my dad's diction, I have come to the conclusion that a new department has been created by 1985, DHS, which stands for Department of Homeland Security. Another thing, remember how those Islamists took over the Embassy in Iran back in '79? You know how they chant
"DEATH TO AMERICA!" every other day? Sounds like a threat, get ready boys someones bout to get liberated to prevent terrorism. (This surprisingly butterflies almost every terror attack to date, since you can sure bet that DHS is going to be really damn strong, stronger than OTL. might even have its own Paramilitary force.)

I hate to say this Derpsternium, but looking at the situation in TTL realistically you have

  • A United States who has just suffered a stunning blow from the destruction of a major port city.
  • A growing fear that this operation may have been partially backed by Moscow.
  • A President becoming more intransigent and less likely to compromise with the U.S.S.R.
  • Every anti-nuclear movement looked upon now as a potential terror organization funded by Moscow.
  • A very paranoid U.S. looking to intervene and invade a potentially dangerous hostile power, i.e. Iran.
  • A Soviet Union presently under Andropov willing to take a harder line against the West.
Put these things together and you are looking at a high probability of World War III starting in Iran.
 
I hate to say this Derpsternium, but looking at the situation in TTL realistically you have

  • A United States who has just suffered a stunning blow from the destruction of a major port city.
  • A growing fear that this operation may have been partially backed by Moscow.
  • A President becoming more intransigent and less likely to compromise with the U.S.S.R.
  • Every anti-nuclear movement looked upon now as a potential terror organization funded by Moscow.
  • A very paranoid U.S. looking to intervene and invade a potentially dangerous hostile power, i.e. Iran.
  • A Soviet Union presently under Andropov willing to take a harder line against the West.
Put these things together and you are looking at a high probability of World War III starting in Iran.
*realizes this* Okay then, but- *Thinks about it* That actually makes sense. Think about it, Like you said, there is a conspiracy theory that it was a soviet black op. But this would be a misunderstanding. While it is true that there is a naval base in Charleston, As of 1983 it does not actually house Nuclear Submarines. The Closest facility is in Saint Mary's Georgia. The Other bases are in the Chesapeake and Baltimore, as well as Norfolk. But it was a waypoint for operations, so there could be some truth to that. What I am saying is that since we have undergone essentially 9/11 turned up to 11, we will probably be very hyper-vigilant. Iran is a possible threat, we must take care of it before they too get Nukes. But depending on the relations between the USSR and Iran, you might be right. *asks dad to fact check* and, there was no relations with the soviet union at the time. Iran was a US ally until the revolution, but it is possible the USSR will extend an olive branch to them. (More people who hate the US the better!). So maybe there will be World War III.
 
Wonder what happens to a certain Stephen Colbert and his family (he grew up in James Island, South Carolina (half of which is in the Charleston city limits) and is the youngest of 11 children (1); on a sad note, his father (a surgeon, IIRC) and two of his older brothers died in the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 212 on, of all days, September 11th of 1974)) ITTL...

(1) Though, listening to him, you wouldn't know he's a South Carolina native; that's because, when he was a kid, he noticed that Southerners tended to get mocked in movies, so he taught himself to speak in the same manner as newscasters he watched on TV...
 
Wonder what happens to a certain Stephen Colbert and his family (he grew up in James Island, South Carolina (half of which is in the Charleston city limits) and is the youngest of 11 children (1); on a sad note, his father (a surgeon, IIRC) and two of his older brothers died in the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 212 on, of all days, September 11th of 1974)) ITTL...

(1) Though, listening to him, you wouldn't know he's a South Carolina native; that's because, when he was a kid, he noticed that Southerners tended to get mocked in movies, so he taught himself to speak in the same manner as newscasters he watched on TV...
He possibly could make it out, there was an evac ordered the night before the bomb went off. Not to mention that when McKeeson reveals the nuke on camera lots of people would be leaving anyway.
 
Doctor McKeeson: (Or, how 5 people single handedly started a World War)
So Lets review, America has just suffered the world’s first nuclear terrorist attack. They are Reeling economically from the destruction of a major port. Growing fears believe that it was an attack by Moscow. President Ronald Reagan is becoming increasingly infuriated and will be much harder on the Russians, who are loving every bit of this. Even funding some anti-nuclear groups like CAAR. Speaking of those, everyone is terrified of them, people think they could be sleeper cells for Moscow. To top it off, America is mad and needs something to vent it on. Of course, Reagan is no warmonger, he needs a plausible threat to take on. Those guys in Iran that chant DEATH TO AMERICA sound like they might get some ideas from this. Let's get rid of them before they cause something. Meanwhile, The Soviets are led by Andropov, (well, not really. Andropov was incompetent, in reality Hardliners are pulling the strings.) And they are looking to weaken the west, the cold war is not done yet! Who can we add to our alliance that hates the west as much or even more than we do? How about those guys who chant DEATH TO AMERICA every day? And a pact of mutual defense is signed in secret.


America is gearing up for War (which sounds like a stupid rage thing since their economy is weakened.) The Soviet’s are now allies with the wounded predator’s prey. Is World War 3 on the horizon? Have anti-nuke terrorists started a nuclear war in the ultimate display of irony? Lets discuss.
 
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