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insufficient resources to stem the tide of social unrest. Frankly, Madame President, they could be declared a war zone.”
    “Why don’t you allocate more troops and resources to these cities?” asked the President.
    “General,” said Blumenthal, directing the question to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
    “Madame President,” replied the general. “The initial recovery plan established by Homeland Security envisioned a joint, collaborative effort between National Guard units and local law enforcement until such point as our troops could be recalled from abroad.”
    The President leaned forward and addressed the general. “I’ve recalled the troops. Are you coordinating with local law enforcement?”
    “We are attempting to make that effort. However, first responders and the police are in complete disarray. Within these large metropolitan areas, the local political structure has disappeared and so has law enforcement. They’ve simply abandoned their posts and cannot be located due to the collapse of the communications system. Without those bodies assisting our boots on the ground, it’s too dangerous to enter the cities.”
    “What do you propose, General?” asked the President.
    “One of the problems, Madame President …” The general paused to gather his thoughts. “Frankly, the violence is escalating and gradually moving out of the inner city. Even at this early stage of the collapse, gangs are being formed and taking advantage of the absence of control. We can attempt to clamp down on this activity, but it will require a full military effort, something unprecedented on U.S. soil.”
    The President stared at the map, clasped her hands together, and tapped her index fingers against one another. “I have to do everything I can to eliminate the barriers that stand in the way of our National Guardsmen doing their job to restore order. We cannot allow American citizens to shoot each other to death before we have an opportunity to restore the power and initiate a recovery effort. Secretary Blumenthal, we have to do more to protect our citizens. I want you to begin immediate house-to-house searches of all registered gun owners and start a push for confiscation.”
    The general interrupted the President. “Madame President, the inner cities are unsafe at this time for our soldiers to conduct these types of searches.”
    “General, I wasn’t finished,” admonished the President. “I’m not suggesting we enter the war zone, as Sydney so aptly refers to our inner cities. I want to prevent the violence from spreading into the suburbs and the rural areas. Guns give people a quick, easy and relatively detached method of killing people. If we take away the tools of death, people will still kill others, but it will be far more difficult to accrue the body counts.”
    The room grew quiet as the general clenched his fist. He never said another word.
    “I’ll issue the necessary directives,” said Secretary Blumenthal.
    The White House Chief of Staff spoke next. “The next item on the agenda is the prediction of the second major solar storm scheduled to hit this evening. Scientists at ALMA have provided our skeleton team from the Space Weather Prediction Center the particulars. This next wave of solar plasma will not be nearly as powerful as the first wave, but Earth’s magnetic shield is severely weakened at this time.”
    “What’s the bottom line?” gruffed the President, who was still simmering over the general’s challenge to her authority.
    “Madame President, this second wave will create a severe health risk to the public in the form of increased radiation levels. A warning needs to be issued as soon as possible.”
    The President slammed her hands on the table. “Great. I’ll address the nation. Tell everybody to turn their televisions on tonight at nine. How do I communicate with the country, Syd?”
    “I understand your frustration, Madame President,” said Secretary Blumenthal. “We can