The Great Collapse-Survivors of the Pulse

The Great Collapse: Survivors of the Pulse

ASIN: 1616638443

ISBN-13: 978-1616638443

Genre: Apocalyptic Fiction/Christian Fiction

Now Available

Buy The Great Collapse on Amazon

Imagine waking up one morning to find that all of the modern technology we depend upon is gone. How would we survive? 

While scientists prepare for a massive solar flare heading towards the earth, a hostile foreign government steals a top-secret, experimental weapon. When they use the EMP weapon to attack America however, the result is the immediate and catastrophic loss of modern technology all over the planet. The president calls upon Dr. James White to lead a group of scientists and theologians in an effort to develop a plan that will offer humanity a second chance at civilization. When societies begin to unravel, refugees flee the anarchy in the cities as people learn how to survive in a world without technology, a world for which they are not prepared. Will humanity survive this catastrophic event? Join author Jeff Horton for a journey into the chaotic and perilous new world of The Great Collapse.

Trailer for The Great Collapse

Excerpt-The Great Collapse

Amir Nouri sat back down in the large, comfortable office chair as he hung up the phone and breathed a long sigh of relief. He had spent the entire evening in his office, waiting to hear the outcome. It had been an extremely risky proposition for him from the very beginning; and he had taken considerable risk in undertaking the mission. Had the mission failed, it could have easily proven disastrous not just for him, but for his entire country as well. After all, he had just committed an act or war against the most powerful nation on the planet. Poking a stick at a caged lion was one thing, letting the lion out of the cage was an entirely different matter altogether.

Amir let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. It was a miracle that they had successfully stolen the device from the Americans. The mission had experienced numerous brushes with failure since the very beginning. The plot had nearly been exposed early on after an American spy, who had successfully infiltrated the top–secret IRGC (Pasdaran) covert operations group, had learned about the plans to steal the weapon. Only his unexpected murder by one of his own American Army Rangers over some lewd advances and comments directed at the Ranger’s wife, had spared the plot from discovery. Fortunately, the spy had died before sharing the information about the plot with anyone. The American spy’s libido and foul mouth had prevented the mission’s ultimate failure, sparing Amir and the rest of the group from execution at the hands of the Supreme Leader. A large smile then slowly crept over his face as he began to relish the moment. Despite the many setbacks, his people had not failed; they had in fact succeeded in stealing a most powerful weapon, right out from under the noses of the American military. It was a great victory for him no matter the outcome of

future events. He slid down into the large chair until it seemed as if it would swallow him. At six–foot–two, he was a big man for an Iranian. Although gray hair had appeared long ago, at fifty–five, he was still considered very young for someone in his position.

Nouri paused to reflect on the curious series of events that had brought him to this point. He had experienced no small amount of consternation when the Supreme Leader unexpectedly paid him a surprise visit the year before. It was in fact almost completely unheard of that the supreme leader would visit any government official so far beneath him. He met only with the country’s top leadership. On the rare occasions that the Supreme Leader had made such unexpected visits, it had invariably spelled trouble for the man that received him.

When he suddenly showed up that hot summer’s day at his office, he brought a sobering message. He had chosen Nouri to undertake a great mission; he was to find a way to strike at the heart of the United States of America. He offered no explicit  instructions regarding how he should do it, preferring to leave it to his discretion, only that he expected results. There had been a sense of urgency in his voice as he stressed that he had come to deliver the message himself to ensure that nothing was lost along the way. Nouri was to find a way to punish America; he wanted the Great Satan humiliated or better yet, destroyed. They had to pay a price for attacking and blaspheming the Supreme Leader, calling him a petty dictator, and for their transgressions against the Iranian Republic, and against Islam all over the world. Nouri was given exactly one year, no more, to accomplish the objective or his life would be forfeit. As the head of the General Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, it would be his responsibility to execute the attack against the evil forces of American imperialism.

It had been only by sheer coincidence that the means and opportunity to meet the Supreme Leader’s demands had fallen squarely into his hands. By a strange twist of fate, one of Nouri’s assistants had a relative in America, a relative that had been working on some type of top–secret military weapon. It was not so unusual for such information to find its way to Nouri’s ears, especially given his position within the government. When his assistant had first mentioned something about the weapon, Nouri had laughed it off, assuming it just an idle tale. However, with the one–year deadline rapidly approaching, Nouri was grasping at straws. He had started asking for more specifics about the cousin and what it was that he was working on for the

Americans. After speaking with some of the top government research scientists that dealt with electromagnetic theory, Nouri gradually had became convinced that the cousin’s stories were indeed true. He spent weeks searching for the leverage against the cousin that he would need to make it happen, but he was eventually rewarded for his efforts. He had permitted his assistant’s, brother, Abdul, to handle the theft of the weapon. The brother’s terrorist connections had often proven useful to Nouri.

Now, at last, everything was finally coming together. From the moment his assistant had first made him aware of the top–secret experiment that the Americans had been working on, he knew such a weapon could be the means to achieve the end that he had been instructed to accomplish. They would not only humiliate the American dogs, they would crush them. Now that he had received word that the device was in transit, he needed to confirm that the rocket was ready for launch. He had already notified the other world governments that they planned to launch a “communications” satellite into space. They would launch the “satellite” the moment the device arrived at the

launch site. They would have to activate the device immediately once it was in position, as the Americans would surely retaliate as soon as they linked the theft of the device to his government.

Nouri knew that there would unquestionably be a military response. While their allies in the Russian government had been able to keep the Americans at arms length for decades, it was doubtful that an American response to such a hostile action on their part would be anything they could help with. They would be on their own this time.

Nouri contacted the man he had placed in charge of the launch site to ensure that they were ready. 

“General Sadr, I need to know the exact status of the launch. … Excellent, I expect the package to be here within the next two hours. Be prepared to get it onboard and ready as soon as you receive it. You will have no more than one hour to install the weapon, understand? We will have only a one–hour window before we must launch. Do you understand? … excellent. I know, and I understand the  challenges, General. You must however understand how critical it is that we move with all expediency. If we are not successful in achieving our objective, we can expect a swift and determined retaliation by the Americans. We have no choice now but to proceed according to plan for the glory of Allah, and for our Supreme Leader. We have already crossed beyond the point of no return. We execute our plan and crush the Great Satan, or we perish, there is no other option. Very good then, General, I will make certain that our man is onsite in time to ensure the package is installed correctly. May Allah be praised! Goodbye.”

Amir paused for a few moments before calling for his “expert” on the device. A young man walked into his office a few minutes later.

“Hello, Ali. I trust that you have been enjoying your stay in your beautiful native country.”

“Is my family safe?” he asked.

“Yes, of course your family is safe, at least for the moment. Unfortunately, however, I cannot tell you for how long this will remain so. The Americans will soon learn of what has happened to their precious weapon. They will martial their full resources and launch an attack against our noble republic. I recommend that if you ever want to see your family alive again, you should

work quickly to install the device as soon as it arrives at the launch site. You must work as quickly and accurately as possible to prepare it. We must not miss our launch window, if we are going to activate it as it passes over America. Remember Ali, the life, or death, of your wife, your children, your family, and the rest of your countrymen, now rests solely in your hands,

not mine. Look at the bright side my friend, if you are successful, you will be celebrated as a national hero among our people for many generations to come, the man that brought down the Great Satan! May Allah be praised!”

“May Allah be praised,” Ali offered weakly. Nouri pressed a button and several Revolutionary Guards came into the office.

Escort our friend here to the launch site. Let nothing deter you.

Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” they answered.

“Now go, Ali. May Allah be with you.”

As he watched them leave his office, Nouri was confident that he could now depend on Ali to install the EMP device. After all, he had just given him plenty of motivation, which happened to also be the truth. He just hoped that it would be enough. His phone rang.

“Really, that is excellent news my friend! Please get it to the launch vehicle immediately. A technician of mine named Ali will be arriving to install the device any minute now. Please ensure that the device is onboard when he arrives and that he has everything he needs. Keep a close eye on our friend while he does his work, just in case … ”

Nouri felt his stomach tighten He wondered if this was how Khrushchev felt during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The launch of this EMP weapon was going to change everything. He and his people would be victorious over the Great Satan, or they would end up as radioactive ash after the Americans went nuclear. Either way, it appeared that the protracted struggle with the West was about to end. The great Persian Empire was about to rise again, or fall forever.

Sometime later, the phone rang again.

“Hello? Yes, sir. All is going as planned. I am having the device installed now even as we speak. The rocket is ready for launch immediately after the installation is complete. Yes, sir.

May Allah be praised!”

A minute later, the phone rang yet once more.

“Very well, I understand. Are you certain that the installation has been done exactly as I instructed, in accordance with all of the instructions that I provided? Very well then. You do understand that we will not get another opportunity to strike at the Americans? Very well then, you have a go, you are cleared to launch. May Allah be with us.”

Nouri walked over to the cabinet and took out a glass and a bottle. It was his favorite brand of whiskey. The irony was not lost on him that his favorite brand came from the very same country that he was now preparing to destroy. To him, the whole  business with the Americans was regrettable. Like many in his country, he liked the Americans. He was a victim of his times and of his leaders. He would do what he had to, what was required of him, and accept whatever came from it. Perhaps, one day, his people would make peace with America and end the many years of hostility with the West.

He looked out of his window and watched as the rocket lifted off and then raced toward the sky. With a successful launch, the weapon was now on its way to its rendezvous with destiny. According to General Sadr, they would have to wait approximately four hours before the satellite would be in position. 

Nouri hoped that the diplomats would be able to buy him the time he needed. Once the Americans learned that the device was missing, they would be devoting all of their resources to finding it, and there could be little doubt that Iran would be on the Americans’ short list of suspects. Furthermore, they would

certainly be watching the launch closely as they always did to assess any threat, it would only be a matter of time before the CIA  or NSA put the pieces together, linking the missing EMP weapon with the Iranian satellite launch, with the Americans showing up at their doorstep soon after. In addition to a retaliatory strike, the Americans would certainly attempt to destroy the device in space before it was ever in position to fire. There were many risks with an effort like this, but the payoff, if they were successful was just too enormous to pass up. There was a knock on the door. It was his assistant, Habib.

“Sir?”

“Yes, Habib, what is it?”

“We have been contacted by the American State Department. They are demanding we return their EMP device to them immediately, or they would consider it an act of war and act accordingly.” Nouri considered the news for a few moments.

“Well then, that is good news isn’t it? It sounds like the Americans suspect we have something to do with the missing device, but they do not yet have enough evidence to act. What has our response been?”

“The standard denial, sir. The minister of foreign affairs has told the Amir Nouri sat back down in the large, comfortable office chair as he hung up the phone and breathed a long sigh of relief. He had spent the entire evening in his office, waiting to hear the outcome. It had been an extremely risky proposition for him from the very beginning; and he had taken considerable risk in undertaking the mission. Had the mission failed, it could have easily proven disastrous not just for him, but for his entire country as well. After all, he had just committed an act or war against the most powerful nation on the planet. Poking a stick at a caged lion was one thing, letting the lion out of the cage was an entirely different matter altogether.

Amir let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. It was a miracle that they had successfully stolen the device from the Americans. The mission had experienced numerous brushes with failure since the very beginning. The plot had nearly been exposed early on after an American spy, who had successfully infiltrated the top–secret IRGC (Pasdaran) covert operations group, had 

learned about the plans to steal the weapon. Only his unexpected murder by one of his own American Army Rangers over some lewd advances and comments directed at the Ranger’s wife, had spared the plot from discovery. Fortunately, the spy had died before sharing the information about the plot with anyone. The American spy’s libido and foul mouth had prevented the mission’s ultimate failure, sparing Amir and the rest of the group from execution at the hands of the Supreme Leader. A large smile then slowly crept over his face as he began to relish the moment. Despite the many setbacks, his people had not failed; they had in fact succeeded in stealing a most powerful weapon, right out from under the noses of the American military. It was a great victory for him no matter the outcome of future events. He slid down into the large chair until it seemed as if it would swallow him. At six–foot–two, he was a big man for an Iranian. Although gray hair had appeared long ago, at fifty–five, he was still considered very young for someone in his

position. 

Nouri paused to reflect on the curious series of events that had brought him to this point. He had experienced no small amount of consternation when the Supreme Leader unexpectedly paid him a surprise visit the year before. It was in fact almost completely unheard of that the supreme leader would visit any government official so far beneath him. He met only with the country’s top leadership. On the rare occasions that the Supreme Leader had made such unexpected visits, it had invariably spelled trouble for the man that received him.

When he suddenly showed up that hot summer’s day at his office, he brought a sobering message. He had chosen Nouri to undertake a great mission; he was to find a way to strike at the heart of the United States of America. He offered no explicit  instructions regarding how he should do it, preferring to leave it to his discretion, only that he expected results. There had been a

sense of urgency in his voice as he stressed that he had come to deliver the message himself to ensure that nothing was lost along the way. Nouri was to find a way to punish America; he wanted the Great Satan humiliated or better yet, destroyed. They had to pay a price for attacking and blaspheming the Supreme Leader, calling him a petty dictator, and for their transgressions against the Iranian Republic, and against Islam all over the world. Nouri

was given exactly one year, no more, to accomplish the objective or his life would be forfeit. As the head of the General Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, it would be his responsibility to execute the attack against the evil forces of American imperialism.

It had been only by sheer coincidence that the means and opportunity to meet the Supreme Leader’s demands had fallen squarely into his hands. By a strange twist of fate, one of Nouri’s assistants had a relative in America, a relative that had been working on some type of top–secret military weapon. It was not so unusual for such information to find its way to Nouri’s ears, especially given his position within the government. When his assistant had first mentioned something about the weapon, Nouri had laughed it off, assuming it just an idle tale. However, with the one–year deadline rapidly approaching, Nouri was grasping at straws. He had started asking for more specifics about the cousin and what it was that he was working on for the

Americans. After speaking with some of the top government research scientists that dealt with electromagnetic theory, Nouri gradually had became convinced that the cousin’s stories were indeed true. He spent weeks searching for the leverage against the cousin that he would need to make it happen, but he was eventually rewarded for his efforts. He had permitted his assistant’s, brother, Abdul, to handle the theft of the weapon. The brother’s terrorist connections had often proven useful to Nouri.

Now, at last, everything was finally coming together. From the moment his assistant had first made him aware of the top–secret experiment that the Americans had been working on, he knew such a weapon could be the means to achieve the end that he had been instructed to accomplish. They would not only humiliate the American dogs, they would crush them. Now that he had received word that the device was in transit, he needed to confirm that the rocket was ready for launch. He had already notified the other world governments that they planned to launch a “communications” satellite into space. They would launch the “satellite” the moment the device arrived at the

launch site. They would have to activate the device immediately once it was in position, as the Americans would surely retaliate as soon as they linked the theft of the device to his government. Nouri knew that there would unquestionably be a military response. While their allies in the Russian government had been able to keep the Americans at arms length for decades, it was doubtful that an American response to such a hostile action on

their part would be anything they could help with. They would be on their own this time. 

Nouri contacted the man he had placed in charge of the launch site to ensure that they were ready. “General Sadr, I need to know the exact status of the launch. … Excellent, I expect the package to be here within the next two hours. Be prepared to get it onboard and ready as soon as you receive it. You will have no more than one hour to install the weapon, understand? We

will have only a one–hour window before we must launch. Do you understand? … excellent. I know, and I understand the challenges, General. You must however understand how critical it is that we move with all expediency. If we are not successful in achieving our objective, we can expect a swift and determined retaliation by the Americans. We have no choice now but to

proceed according to plan for the glory of Allah, and for our Supreme Leader. We have already crossed beyond the point of no return. We execute our plan and crush the Great Satan, or we perish, there is no other option. Very good then, General, I will make certain that our man is onsite in time to ensure the package is installed correctly. May Allah be praised! Goodbye.”

Amir paused for a few moments before calling for his “expert” on the device. A young man walked into his office a few minutes later.

“Hello, Ali. I trust that you have been enjoying your stay in your beautiful native country.”

“Is my family safe?” he asked.

“Yes, of course your family is safe, at least for the moment.

Unfortunately, however, I cannot tell you for how long this will remain so. The Americans will soon learn of what has happened to their precious weapon. They will martial their full resources and launch an attack against our noble republic. I recommend that if you ever want to see your family alive again, you should work quickly to install the device as soon as it arrives at the

launch site. You must work as quickly and accurately as possible to prepare it. We must not miss our launch window, if we are going to activate it as it passes over America. Remember Ali, the life, or death, of your wife, your children, your family, and the rest of your countrymen, now rests solely in your hands, not mine. Look at the bright side my friend, if you are successful,

you will be celebrated as a national hero among our people for many generations to come, the man that brought down the Great Satan! May Allah be praised!”

“May Allah be praised,” Ali offered weakly. Nouri pressed a button and several Revolutionary Guards came into the office.

"Escort our friend here to the launch site. Let nothing deter you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” they answered.

“Now go, Ali. May Allah be with you.”

As he watched them leave his office, Nouri was confident that he could now depend on Ali to install the EMP device. After all, he had just given him plenty of motivation, which happened to also be the truth. He just hoped that it would be enough. His phone rang.

“Really, that is excellent news my friend! Please get it to the launch vehicle immediately. A technician of mine named Ali will be arriving to install the device any minute now. Please ensure that the device is onboard when he arrives and that he has everything he needs. Keep a close eye on our friend while he does his work, just in case … ”

Nouri felt his stomach tighten He wondered if this was how Khrushchev felt during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The launch of this EMP weapon was going to change everything. He and his people would be victorious over the Great Satan, or they would end up as radioactive ash after the Americans went nuclear.

Either way, it appeared that the protracted struggle with the West was about to end. The great Persian Empire was about to rise again, or fall forever.

Sometime later, the phone rang again.

“Hello? Yes, sir. All is going as planned. I am having the device installed now even as we speak. The rocket is ready for launch immediately after the installation is complete. Yes, sir.

May Allah be praised!”

A minute later, the phone rang yet once more.

“Very well, I understand. Are you certain that the installation has been done exactly as I instructed, in accordance with all of the instructions that I provided? Very well then. You do understand that we will not get another opportunity to strike at the Americans? Very well then, you have a go, you are cleared to launch. May Allah be with us.”

Nouri walked over to the cabinet and took out a glass and a bottle. It was his favorite brand of whiskey. The irony was not lost on him that his favorite brand came from the very same country that he was now preparing to destroy. To him, the whole business with the Americans was regrettable. Like many in his country, he liked the Americans. He was a victim of his times and

of his leaders. He would do what he had to, what was required of him, and accept whatever came from it. Perhaps, one day, his people would make peace with America and end the many years of hostility with the West.

He looked out of his window and watched as the rocket lifted off and then raced toward the sky. With a successful launch, the weapon was now on its way to its rendezvous with destiny. According to General Sadr, they would have to wait approximately four hours before the satellite would be in position. Nouri hoped that the diplomats would be able to buy him the time he needed. Once the Americans learned that the device was missing, they would be devoting all of their resources to finding it, and there could be little doubt that Iran would be on the Americans’ short list of suspects. Furthermore, they would certainly be watching the launch closely as they always did to assess any threat, it would only be a matter of time before the CIA or NSA put the pieces together, linking the missing EMP weapon with the Iranian satellite launch, with the Americans showing up at their doorstep soon after. In addition to a retaliatory strike, the Americans would certainly attempt to destroy the device in space before it was ever in position to fire. There were many risks with an effort like this, but the payoff, if they were successful was just too enormous to pass up. There was a knock on the door. It was his assistant, Habib. 

“Sir?”

“Yes, Habib, what is it?”

“We have been contacted by the American State Department.

They are demanding we return their EMP device to them, immediately, or they would consider it an act of war and act accordingly.” Nouri considered the news for a few moments. 

“Well then, that is good news isn’t it? It sounds like the Americans suspect we have something to do with the missing device, but they do not yet have enough evidence to act. What has our response been?”

“The standard denial, sir. The minister of foreign affairs has told the Americans that we have no knowledge of any stolen EMP device. In fact, he asked why the Americans would create such a device to begin with.” 

Nouri stroked his moustache, as he was prone to do when he pondering weighty matters.

“Good, good. This will not last long, but it should buy us some time. What of any American military movement?”

“They are in the process of moving aircraft carriers into the Persian Gulf. There has been increased chatter among the members of NATO. It sounds like the Americans are moving their military into position to attack us.”

“We must act quickly, Habib. Contact the president and the Supreme Leader. Let me know when you have them on the phone. We must receive authorization to act the moment we are in position.”

“Yes, Sir.”

 Americans that we have no knowledge of any stolen EMP device. In fact, he asked why the Americans would create  such a device to begin with.”

Nouri stroked his moustache, as he was prone to do when he pondering weighty matters.

“Good, good. This will not last long, but it should buy us some time. What of any American military movement?”

“They are in the process of moving aircraft carriers into the Persian Gulf. There has been increased chatter among the members of NATO. It sounds like the Americans are moving their military into position to attack us.”

“We must act quickly, Habib. Contact the president and the Supreme Leader. Let me know when you have them on the phone. We must receive authorization to act the moment we are in position.”

“Yes, Sir.”