The CIA admitted in congressional testimony this week that North Korea had miniaturized nuclear warheads and possess a delivery system (ICBM) capable of reaching the West Coast of the United States. And, whatever the DPRK has, Iran has also, in my estimation.
This news elevated my assessment of the EMP threat over the next year from "VERY LOW" to "MODERATE." And so, it was very timely when my long-delayed copy of "One Year After" arrived from Amazon this week. "One Year After" is the 2015 sequel to "One Second After," which I am sure everyone on this forum has read.
The new book deals with the topic of reconstruction of infrastructure and the eventual reconstitution of government. I have only read half of it, but this novel showed how completely naive I was in my earlier analysis, undertaken two years ago, of what preparations to make for an EMP event. This well-thought-out narrative gives a solid sense of what things will be important and which items can be deferred. It is a rich source of ideas.
For example, I never thought much about the need to have some sort of anesthesia. In the novel, ether was used. When I looked into what it took to manufacture diethyl ether, it seemed very simple at first, but concentrated sulfuric acid is needed. Making sulfuric acid requires not only feedstocks (elemental sulfur, which we have in surface outcroppings here in Nevada), but lead-lined chambers, and a way to create a high fluid pressure for a mister. (It's easier to steal sulfuric acid from a rail car if you can find it.) Clearly, this will take some preparation long before any EMP event occurs.
This is just one of two-dozen examples of things needed during reconstruction that never once occurred to me.
I highly recommend the book.
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