Chapter Three: Prelude to Disaster

In the early hours of March 24 1999, the NATO bombing of Serbia began. It was the first move in a war that would come to involve the entire United States, with hundreds of thousands of servicemen fighting a war greater in scope than Vietnam, amongst the frozen hills of Yugoslavia.

First against the Serb armies, whose predecessors had fought murderously under Tito against the German occupation forces in World War Two. The second phase began in August, when the number of Soviet 'advisors' in the country reached critical mass and the cost of the war was increasing repeatedly. The third phase began on 1/1/00, when the now infamous y2k bug was to cripple the American military. Faced with an economy in freefall, civil order disintegrating (by 1/15/00, almost fifty percent of the nation's workforce had been laid off temporarily or permanently, and several major cities were being torn apart by rioting) and the first reports of the military disaster -thousands dead, Americans surrendering in droves, supply shortages and weapons simply failing to operate- the Clinton Administration was forced to declare a national state of emergency and enact the FEMA emergency acts across all fifty United States.

The lights had gone out, and it would be a very long time before they were re-lit.

-- Leo (lchampion@ozemail.com.au), March 25, 1999

Answers

"The lights had gone out, and it would be a very long time before they were re-lit. "

...wrote Leo, silently masturbating at the thought of all those dead bodies. "OOh I can hardly wait", he said to himself, "when people start dying in droves, then all those who have laughed at me over my lifetime will have to kneel in subservience."

What Leo secretly feared was that Y2K would not turn into the apocalyptical event that he, and so many of his friends had hoped for. "What we need is a way to ensure that the date change will be the end game I've alway dreamed of." Little Leo had a plan that he thought might help spur on the terror...

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), March 25, 1999.

Y2KPro: kinda hitting below the belt, aren't you? Just because Leo thinks Y2K is a serious problem (as do every major money center bank, insurance company, manufacturer and Western government) and extrapolates a bit of (perhaps fanciful) history, you have to smear him as a terrorist? Was Herman Kahn a terrorist because he wrote a book on fighting a nuclear war called 'Thinking the Unthinkable?' Was George Orwell a terrorist for writing '1984?' Or Ray Bradbury for 'Fahrenheit 451.' You are in the position of calling down jihad on the Rushdie's of the world, who dare to be imaginative. I don't understand why you post here, if you think being concerned about Y2K is on a par with UFO devotees, alien abductionists, and sasquatch hunters. Why don't you spend your (no doubt) valuable time concentrating on financial aggrandizement, the rosetta stone of contemporary technological culture? Go enjoy a movie (but avoid 'Star Wars,' which, I must warn you, is a very fanciful, highly imaginative piece of tomfoolery produced by 'rebel' wannabes: code for 'terrorist,' you know.

-- Spidey (in@jam.com), March 25, 1999.

It's not just that Leo thinks Y2K is a serious problem. Leo is a kid. His first posts here spoke of SAT scores and applying to colleges. He's off in fantasy land because he's been convinced by doombrooders' rhetoric.

-- Buddy (buddydc@go.com), March 25, 1999.

Hey Buddy , I have a rhetorical question for YOU.

If things are so rosy than I'm sure you could easily explain why the US Federal Government continues to chip away at the number of "mission critical" systems it intends to have Y2k compliant by the end of this month (March 18, 1998, the number was 8000, yet today, it has been reduced to 6399). Accepting this self reporting as valid (a dangerous game, at best) and using Congressman Horn's estimate for "non-mission critical" systems, I calculate that the Fed intends to declare victory with under 10% of ALL their computer systems Y2k compliant. Do YOU really believe the Fed can avoid horrendous problems with such a paltry percentage of its systems ready for the next century? And what about the rest of us? Do we get off any easier? Surely if thing are just rosy, I must have it all wrong, so please straighten me out.

Roger Altman

-- Dr. Roger Altman (rogaltman@aol.com), March 25, 1999.

Well, Leo may be young. But he's a smart kid, well-read and introspective. He also has considerable talent, even if only partially developed. I find his thinking and writing, while not as well-developed as some of our more mature contributers, to be more interesting and well-formed than that of most young people of my acquaintance---most adults, too, I might add.

And while he and I may disagree philosphically on some issues, I think his heart is in the right place and his mind is clear and sharp. I'm delighted to call him a friend.

Hallyx

"It ain't what we don't know that hurts us. It's what we know that ain't so."---Will Rogers

-- Hallyx (Hallyx@aol.com), March 25, 1999.

Nobody's saying things are rosy. There are definitely issues to deal with, and most organizations are dealing with them. People aren't as clueless as most here seem to think.

As for Leo and his stories, maybe that's all they are is stories. However, I think he is just a talented kid writing doomsday stories because it's exciting to fantasize about a Mad-Max world and because he gets such a wonderful response from his doomer friends.

-- Buddy (buddydc@go.com), March 25, 1999.

Y2K Pro, the great masturbator himself - stroking his little head at every post as if it was a crystal ball that would tell him what to respond - has projected his shortcomings on one of the most intelligent contributors of this forum once again.

I hereby officially declare Y2k Pro as a bonified troll, as he's consistently demonstrated one of the cardinal signs of a troll; constant emotional baiting not accompanied by any facts or in anyway sensical. Everyone should treat him as a troll, that is, ignoring him completely. The only value of his posts are to bring the good threads back to the top.

-- Longtime Lurker (Lurking@here.com), March 25, 1999.

May 1,2000. Y2K pro fell victim as him and his cronies of hungry marauders went up against a Y2K prepared sharpshooter! He was left dying on the street while his crinies scattered in fear, not having eaten for over 2 weeks!

-- smitty (smitty@sandiego.com), March 25, 1999.

Longtime Lurker (aka Leo) said:

"on one of the most intelligent contributors of this forum"

...sorry Leo, nice try...

Smitty said:

"Y2K pro fell victim as him and his cronies "

illiterate boob...

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), March 25, 1999.

So, my age again becomes an issue.

So, y2k Pro. Buddy. What kind of SAT scores did you get? Above 1200? Above 1400? Equal to my 1580?

How many languages do you speak? One? Maybe two? I speak three. Learned French and Spanish in less than a year. Et vous?

You're what, thirties? Forties? If I'm making less than a million a year by that age, I'll be wondering what happened.

Let me remind you that many of the world's greatest achievers started quite young. Alexander the Great was only 16 when he took over.

I was not being 100% serious in that posting. It was late at night and I was playing with some paranoid ideas. However, I do pity those who consider age the sole source of credibility.

--Leo

-- Leo (lchampion@ozemail.com.au), March 25, 1999.

Leo,

Good post, and possible story line. Sad tale, but one day it will be told by us survivors :(

Age is relative. I know a number of "middle aged" persons who are less mature and wise than my 8 year old daughter. It is not the age but the "journey" one has taken that determines maturity. And maturity and wisdom are more important than what the calender states.

Keep up the "good fight."

Wishing for a few less "years" and a better "crystal ball" :)

Merlin.

-- Merlin Emery (MerlinEmery@yahoo.com), March 25, 1999.

um..sorry Y2k Pro, I only speak 2 languages, I'm much older than Leo and not able to boast of my intellect as much as he does since where I live we didn't have SAT scores in college.

Leo, you have to work on those insecure feelings of yours ;)

-- Longtime Lurker (lurking@here.com), March 25, 1999.

Ewwww, this just up on Breaking News. Don't some Yourdynamites say the "bump in the road" will be a humungous anthill? Aussies may want to figure this into their post-y2k scenarios:

Australia-Kille r Ants

[ For Educational Purposes Only ]

3/26/99 -- 10:29 AM

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Killer ants on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean are reported to be decimating the island's world-renowned crab population.

The ``crazy ant'' - so-called because of its frenetic movements - was attacking the famed red crab population at a phenomenal rate Monash University ecologist Dennis O'Dowd said Friday.

``I have never seen a single invader have so much impact in such a short time,'' said O'Dowd, one of several researchers on a long-term study of the crabs.

The crazy ant, or anoplolepis gracilipes, is believed to have been introduced to Christmas Island by west African traders about 50 years ago. About 100 million red crabs, some weighing up to a pound, live on the island, which is an Australian territory. Two-thirds of the island is national park forest.

In the past 18 months, the ants have attacked the crabs, killing about 3 million. The ants burrow into the forest floor and underground into the crab burrows and kill them and eat them.

O'Dowd said the sudden carnage by the ants was a mystery, but might be linked to the recent El Nino weather phenomenon.

``This is the most serious threat to the national park that has occurred on the island,'' he said.
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Fun place to get shipwrecked.

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), March 26, 1999.

Leo, you obviously smart and ambitious, as well as a bit arrogant.

The reason I brought up your age was that no matter how smart you are , you are very impressionable. I am genuinely concerned about your state of mind and your plans for Y2K based on your previous posts and the obvious influence that the Y2K doomsayers have had on your thinking.

As I've said before on another thread, I sure hope you have someone else to talk to about all this other than your cyber-friends. There is no substitute for face-to-face discourse when one is trying to analyze things.

-- Buddy (buddydc@go.com), March 26, 1999.

Leo,

I thoroughly enjoy your posts. I find them refreshing and interesting, to say the least. In my experience, those qualities are ageless, and I hope you ignore these most recent trolls and continue to entertain and inform us Yourdonites.

Thanks, Leska, for the ant story. I needed my daily dose of heebie-jeebies.

Jeannie

-- jhollander (hollander@ij.net), March 29, 1999.