One Second After

By the 35th day post-blackout, Black Mountain has made minor progress. A working telephone line between the police station and Swannanoa was installed. More than 100 vehicles were restored, and a tractor is being used as a fire engine. The Edsel car radio picks up broadcasts from Voice of America, so news from the outside world trickles in. The US secretary of state is now in charge, overseas countries are sending relief to the coast, and three emergency restructuring centers were set up off the eastern seaboard at Charleston, Wilmington, and Norfolk. 

Though the news provides a glimmer of hope, the local situation remains dire. Kellor warns the town council that a new epidemic is on the horizon. Most diabetics will die soon without insulin, mental patients could lapse into psychosis, and hardcore drug addicts and alcoholics will go into withdrawal. Deranged behavior among the general population will also increase. John concludes, “‘If we have people going off the deep end, or if they definitely have a prior record of severe mental disorder, indeed, we’ll have to lock them up, for everyone’s protection’” (225). 

The town council turns its attention to the most serious problem facing Black Mountain: the growing food shortage.