Calderas (standard:science fiction, 56667 words)
Author: Saxon Violence	Added: Dec 03 2012	Views/Reads: 5646/5110	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
When the Yellowstone Calderas had a civilization ending eruption, there was a small cadre of Survivors who'd been training and preparing for that very eventuality. Some believed that it was sheer happenstance, but the Survivors believed it was because the

Calderas 

Prologue 

There was a time that I didn't have much effect in the World. Nothing
depended on me, and no one looked to me for leadership. Most people 
would have called me a loser back then. 

I had never lived any other life, so I didn't realize just how blessed
that I was. Apparently God never planned for me to live my whole life 
that way though. 

The Bishop watched a show on TV about Calderas eruptions. He said that
right then, the Holy Ghost started moving him to prepare for one. He 
was skeptical though. The Scenario the show had presented a catastrophe 
so all embracing and so bleak, that preparation seemed beside the 
point. The Bishop decided to follow a time-honored tradition. He set 
out a fleece. 

He called his key Elders together, and asked them if any of them had any
Survivalists in their congregations. Elder Howard was my Pastor. He 
thought very highly of my abilities, even though I'd been trying to get 
him to appoint me a Minister for several years—without any conspicuous 
success. The Bishop summoned me to Louisville. 

Now although I'd heard the Bishop speak, and I'd even shaken his hand a
couple times; I couldn't claim that we'd ever met. I hadn't a clue what 
he wanted to talk about. All Elder Howard would tell me was that I 
wasn't in trouble for anything. Of course, I didn't have to go but I 
was intrigued, if nothing else, so I went. 

I was an ex-Survivalist—emphasis on “ex-“. The predicted Socio-Economic
collapse hadn't came anywhere near on time. I lost a large part of my 
Gun collection to a burglar. I never really felt like starting another 
battery. It was too discouraging. Then I had a minor scrape with the 
Laws. 

It wasn't a felony, praise God but it made it difficult to impossible to
get a carry permit—at least without beaucoup bucks for a liar...er, 
lawyer. So I picked up a Gun every now and again, when the price was 
right and the spirit moved me—but I wasn't preparing for anything. 

I'd never ceased to think about survival preparations though. When I
discovered survival forums online, I had come to realize that my own 
preparations had been very shallow and incomplete—though undoubtedly 
better than nothing. I think my main survival prep was arguing the 
imminent and inevitable collapse of the Hive. I seemed to think, quite 
unconsciously, that the more people that I could convince, the sooner 
and more certain the collapse would be. 

Someone might question why I wanted the collapse. I felt that a total
collapse was a very efficient and perhaps the only way to cut the 
Gordian Knot of rules and restrictions multiplying everywhere. I also 
believed that if government ever collapsed, that surely this time 
around everyone would go to some pains not to let another government 
take root. We could nip each new attempt at tyranny in the bud—so to 
speak. 

It turns out that I was naïve on any number of counts. What can I say? I
was young and ignorant once. Now I'm only ignorant—but hopefully a bit 
less ignorant. 

The show that the Bishop watched hadn't been terribly specific. They'd
said that the ash-clouded sky might mean no Summer anywhere on Earth, 
for two or three years, with temperature rising gradually thereafter, 
although the long cold might have jump-started another ice age. Even an 
ice age would be warm compared to the first few post Calderas years. 

Arctic weather? Does that mean here in Middle America? Certainly. Does
it mean Arctic weather on the Equator? I hope not. Things look pretty 
bleak for life on Earth, with the whole world an ice ball from pole to 
pole. 

We agreed to make some simplifying assumptions. We would try to prepare
for two years of Arctic winter, followed by three or four more years 


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