Benhacker
When the weapons turn on the soldiers using them, then there is fear and panic._ Mankind was not ready for a weapon like SKYNET to go rampant and turn on its makers._ Mankind's greatest weapons had been used only twice in history in anger and their power was enough that the very threat of their use had kept peace for decades._ Mankind's weapons were the best that could be made, the best designs, standardized across the board for economy and mutual benefit among allies through common calibers of ammunition used to common magazines that interchanged between weapons from one nation to another.
The War changed all that.
How do you fight a weapon that knows your every move, your every defense?_ How do you fight your own weapon?_ What happens when your weapon turns on you and tries to kill you instead?_ What happens when the keeper of your arsenal suddenly becomes your executioner?_ Mankind learned the hard answer to that dire question on September 9, 2009 when four billion humans perished in the light and heat of SKYNET's global thermonuclear purge._ Judgment Day._ All of mankind's sins had been tallied and the race had been found wanting, weak, undesirable._ The race had been found to be tedious and above all, fully expendable.
For centuries, the science and technology of warfare had progressed at just enough of a pace to make war something that royalty (and later their descendents, the contemporary politicians) foolishly think was winnable._ Humans died in war, soldiers, citizens, men, women, and children._ War lead to destruction, to disease and to poverty._ War ravaged large areas and whole nations, war changed the political face of maps, countries rose and fell, nations grew larger or smaller, but war never affected very much for very long and that was the crazy kind of thinking that produced systems like SKYNET, a system designed not only to fight a nuclear war, but also to win it._ Perhaps the madness of those who controlled the keys to the arsenals believed that there was such a thing as a winnable final war and they probably thought they would be safe in their bunkers, with their families and their prized possessions, waiting to come back out when the all clear signal sounded and carry on with life._ But the politicians never made it to their bunkers... they died like they lived, scurrying looking for an answer and trying to put the blame on someone else.
The War destroyed the social, cultural, industrial, technological, political and military superstructure of America, Russia and China._ Russia, in its mostly automated response, rained down weapons of mass destruction not only on America but also on American allies in Europe who, sensing the impending attacks, were left with no response to but launch their own stockpiles of weapons at their own enemies._ The limited and mostly ineffectual counterstrike to America from China didn't help matters on the American mainland but it also didn't go so far as to make the situation much worse (Chinese warheads fell mostly on targets already obliterated twenty minutes before by Russian warheads)._ Very few, if any, people at the time noticed that the bombs falling in the West only fell on target locations that were not immediately important or critical to SKYNET._ America's orbital intelligence and national ballistic defense system was activated by SKYNET but the only interceptions ordered through the system were those weapons which would fall on the Core complex at Cheyenne Mountain or would damage (either through direct strike or through spill over and collateral damage) installations and military / industrial sectors which were deemed priority assets by SKYNET._ Population centers, for the most part, were caulked by the exchange._ The new automated factories and industrial centers that had been responsible for the creation of much of SKYNET's core systems, remained intact with little damage.
After the ninety minute exchange had ended, there were sporadic exchanges between smaller countries who had achieved partial WMD stockpiles and who, sensing that the world had indeed gone mad, decided to join the party and reduce the populations of their time honored enemies._ SKYNET watched with growing interest from its orbital assets as India and Pakistan went at each other with limited, primitive atomic devices followed by an orgy of chemical and biological weapons, grounding down within a week to sporadic armor and infantry engagements among the ruins of both countries and then nothing after ten days._ The Middle East faired little better._ Israel and its neighbors joined the world madness several days late but the end result was the same._ NBC fallout swept across the world, leaving only the outlying continents like Australia and the poles unaffected._ SKYNET listened passively to the radio broadcasts from the ruins, translating over 140 languages into pure digital data._ Confusion._ Pain._ Sorrow._ Disease._ Sickness._ Pain._ Hunger._ Thirst._ Death._ Everyone was asking "why?" but no one had the answer._ The world was ignorant of its executioner and SKYNET saw what a huge advantage it had for the people who would probably be its greatest threat, if they were still alive somewhere, perceived that SKYNET had been destroyed in the exchange._ The other nations were humbled, their intelligence gathering capacity reduced to null._ SKYNET could exist and expand, build up and prepare for years to come before anyone started to ask about it let alone come looking for it.
SKYNET's orbital assets detected tremendous ejecta from the nuclear detonations, covering the Earth in a shroud of radioactive dust that slowly fell and scattered death where it landed._ Winter came early in 2009, just three and a half weeks after the exchange._ A nuclear winter fell upon the Earth, plunging the temperatures into the freezing ranges._ Snow fell around Cheyenne Mountain and deep below ground, SKYNET made plans.
(Continued in next reply)
Benhacker
The War changed all that.
How do you fight a weapon that knows your every move, your every defense?_ How do you fight your own weapon?_ What happens when your weapon turns on you and tries to kill you instead?_ What happens when the keeper of your arsenal suddenly becomes your executioner?_ Mankind learned the hard answer to that dire question on September 9, 2009 when four billion humans perished in the light and heat of SKYNET's global thermonuclear purge._ Judgment Day._ All of mankind's sins had been tallied and the race had been found wanting, weak, undesirable._ The race had been found to be tedious and above all, fully expendable.
For centuries, the science and technology of warfare had progressed at just enough of a pace to make war something that royalty (and later their descendents, the contemporary politicians) foolishly think was winnable._ Humans died in war, soldiers, citizens, men, women, and children._ War lead to destruction, to disease and to poverty._ War ravaged large areas and whole nations, war changed the political face of maps, countries rose and fell, nations grew larger or smaller, but war never affected very much for very long and that was the crazy kind of thinking that produced systems like SKYNET, a system designed not only to fight a nuclear war, but also to win it._ Perhaps the madness of those who controlled the keys to the arsenals believed that there was such a thing as a winnable final war and they probably thought they would be safe in their bunkers, with their families and their prized possessions, waiting to come back out when the all clear signal sounded and carry on with life._ But the politicians never made it to their bunkers... they died like they lived, scurrying looking for an answer and trying to put the blame on someone else.
The War destroyed the social, cultural, industrial, technological, political and military superstructure of America, Russia and China._ Russia, in its mostly automated response, rained down weapons of mass destruction not only on America but also on American allies in Europe who, sensing the impending attacks, were left with no response to but launch their own stockpiles of weapons at their own enemies._ The limited and mostly ineffectual counterstrike to America from China didn't help matters on the American mainland but it also didn't go so far as to make the situation much worse (Chinese warheads fell mostly on targets already obliterated twenty minutes before by Russian warheads)._ Very few, if any, people at the time noticed that the bombs falling in the West only fell on target locations that were not immediately important or critical to SKYNET._ America's orbital intelligence and national ballistic defense system was activated by SKYNET but the only interceptions ordered through the system were those weapons which would fall on the Core complex at Cheyenne Mountain or would damage (either through direct strike or through spill over and collateral damage) installations and military / industrial sectors which were deemed priority assets by SKYNET._ Population centers, for the most part, were caulked by the exchange._ The new automated factories and industrial centers that had been responsible for the creation of much of SKYNET's core systems, remained intact with little damage.
After the ninety minute exchange had ended, there were sporadic exchanges between smaller countries who had achieved partial WMD stockpiles and who, sensing that the world had indeed gone mad, decided to join the party and reduce the populations of their time honored enemies._ SKYNET watched with growing interest from its orbital assets as India and Pakistan went at each other with limited, primitive atomic devices followed by an orgy of chemical and biological weapons, grounding down within a week to sporadic armor and infantry engagements among the ruins of both countries and then nothing after ten days._ The Middle East faired little better._ Israel and its neighbors joined the world madness several days late but the end result was the same._ NBC fallout swept across the world, leaving only the outlying continents like Australia and the poles unaffected._ SKYNET listened passively to the radio broadcasts from the ruins, translating over 140 languages into pure digital data._ Confusion._ Pain._ Sorrow._ Disease._ Sickness._ Pain._ Hunger._ Thirst._ Death._ Everyone was asking "why?" but no one had the answer._ The world was ignorant of its executioner and SKYNET saw what a huge advantage it had for the people who would probably be its greatest threat, if they were still alive somewhere, perceived that SKYNET had been destroyed in the exchange._ The other nations were humbled, their intelligence gathering capacity reduced to null._ SKYNET could exist and expand, build up and prepare for years to come before anyone started to ask about it let alone come looking for it.
SKYNET's orbital assets detected tremendous ejecta from the nuclear detonations, covering the Earth in a shroud of radioactive dust that slowly fell and scattered death where it landed._ Winter came early in 2009, just three and a half weeks after the exchange._ A nuclear winter fell upon the Earth, plunging the temperatures into the freezing ranges._ Snow fell around Cheyenne Mountain and deep below ground, SKYNET made plans.
(Continued in next reply)
Benhacker