'Nero's Fiddle' Book Trailer

Many people—especially politicians—do not believe an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack is possible.

The technology for a man-made EMP event is there, making this belief obsolete.

The technology to create manmade EMP devices is out there, readily available.

An electromagnetic pulse is an intense pulse of electromagnetic radiation. Even a small pulse is capable of rendering electronics unusable, and that includes any vehicle with computerized technology.

An EMP can be created by detonating a nuclear weapon high above the atmosphere. There would be no nuclear fallout, but an explosion of this magnitude can wipe out electronics for miles.

Since publishing Nero’s Fiddle in 2014, the Internet itself has exploded with information regarding the EMP. There are a lot more listings with instructions on how to make an EMP device now than there were back in 2014. Not to mention, EMP devices are for sale.

An EMP is a highly dangerous weapon that could render countries incapable of fighting back; with no electricity, food, and medical production stops. No deliveries are made, because transportation won’t work. And all those Smartphones, Tablets, and computer systems will go dark: No communication is possible.

And while the advancement of EMP technology rockets forward, nothing is being done to prepare for such an atrocity.

It is the mindset of "we’ll deal with that when it happens" that makes me feel like climbing walls. Yet it seems to be the mindset of everyone from the general populace to corporate entities to politicians.

I have encountered it at many a job and I simply do not understand it. For instance, if you are aware the workload will increase due to an upcoming holiday, why not take measures to manage the workflow beforehand? Especially when implementing those measures is possible. Preparation for increased volume of work makes meeting production easier and diminishes stress levels.

Suggestions to prepare in anticipation of increased workflow are shunned with a wave of the hand, and a we’ll deal with that when the time comes attitude.

This attitude carries up the corporate ladder into political offices.

In dollars and cents

Why wait for disaster to strike, and then pick up the pieces? Especially when measures can be implemented to avoid disaster?

A prime example of such a lackadaisical attitude surrounds the possibility of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) event occurring in our lifetime.

Many politicians believe the possibility of an EMP event is so slim it does not justify spending a couple of trillion dollars to protect the power grid from a surge of electrical energy that would render the grid useless. The damage would not stop there. The pulse would affect cars, planes, life support systems, hospitals, emergency personnel, and anything else dependent upon electricity to function, plummeting the area affected to somewhere back in the 18th century.

While estimated costs to protect the grid soars into the trillions, no one has considered the costs of the aftermath.

What would be the cost, and how long would it take to repair the power grid, particularly if the damage covered a large area or the entire United States? The cost of removing stalled cars and unidentifiable human remains along the roadways? What would the cost be in human life? Not only would people in planes plunge to their deaths, people on medications for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses would eventually perish: medicine would no longer be produced or delivered. Food supplies would also be cut off. How many acres of land destroyed, because fire trucks don’t run?

Don’t expect a response from the military or FEMA. Communications and military vehicles will be out of commission.

Can a price really be placed upon peace of mind?

In 2011, the United States spent over $700 billion for defense, just shy of the one trillion mark. That is half the cost of hard-wiring the power grid.

A country crippled by an EMP event is vulnerable to an invasion or takeover by any other country in the world. Without electronics, there is no defense.

Many people adamantly deny the possibility of an EMP event occurring. It will never happen, some chant like a litany.

And an attack on American soil would never happen, either, would it?

Nature and man are both capable of creating an EMP event

A nature-made EMP occurs via solar flares from the sun. According to Pete Riley of Predictive Science, Inc. the likelihood of our planet being hit with a massive EMP is 12 percent in the next ten years.

It may not sound like much, but six recorded EMP events have occurred since 1972. The most recent massive event was July 23, 2012 as reported by Jason Samenow in the Washington Post July 23, 2014. The EMP of 2012 was stronger than one in 1859, which affected telegraph equipment, and burned down more than a few telegraph offices. Luckily, Earth missed the 2012 event by one week.

Results of other EMP events by solar flares reported temporary power outages. March 1989, six million people in Canada were without electricity for nine hours after a solar-flare EMP. It also melted transformers in New Jersey.

Even worse is the thought of man creating an EMP event. This occurs when a nuclear weapon is detonated 25 miles above the earth’s surface. Depending upon the strength of the electromagnetic energy, electronics within large areas would literally be fried. There would be no nuclear fallout from this detonation, but you couldn’t call anyone to tell them about it.

As if this were not bad enough, electromagnetic pulse devices—i.e. cannons and the like—are in development. Plans and instructions to create an EMP cannon can be downloaded from the Internet. How farfetched is it for someone to create an EMP bomb?

Ignoring the facts

Again, many people dismiss the idea that an EMP bomb would be used, much less created.

They refuse to face one basic, irrefutable truth: with the current state of the world, anything is possible.

Preparation for disaster—any disaster, whether manmade or nature-made—is the most basic of common sense. Yet most people—primarily the political decision-makers—choose to bury their heads in the sand, waiting for disaster to strike to pick up the pieces.

The one thing they have not considered: If we wait until a disaster such as an EMP event occurs, there may not be enough people left to pick up those pieces.

What people are saying about 'Nero’s Fiddle':

"Better than a Saturday night date!" (5-star review)

"The roller coaster ride of adrenaline through this book will keep you turning page after page" (5-star review)

"I once wanted to be Ripley (from Aliens) but now I want to be Beverly!" (5-star review)

"The plot is enthralling, the characters well developed and the action was non-stop" (5-star review)

Visit the 'Nero’s Fiddle' website where you can read character bios and download free books by Pen.