The director of FEMA responded, “Mr. President, we are using every bus, truck and cruise ship, we’ve turned the north bound lanes into south bound and traffic is backed up for miles. The trip from New York City to North Carolina is currently going to take a family at minimum 48 hours, if they don’t pull off the road. If they do, they won’t find a hotel and many restaurants, even fast-food locations, are short on food and reporting lines of more than three hours to get a table. There are lines at every rest stop rest room. Gas stations are running low on fuel. I’ve inquired about getting some fuel from the military, but their vehicles run on diesel which isn’t going to help us. I’ve contacted every refinery and was told the same thing, they are running around the clock and can’t keep up with demand.”
“Override any environmental issues which might be slowing them down in producing gasoline. What else can we do?”
“Sir, I don’t know. We’re using every method of transportation we have. The only other idea my staff came up with is way out of the box…”
“I’m listening.”
“Using the Navy’s carriers and Marine assault ships. They have huge flight decks, which for a short few day journey can hold thousands…”
“I’ll call the Sec DoD. Check on using freighters.”
“Sir, our other issue is getting the people from their homes to the port. We issued ID cards and numbers when to report and to which ship. Thousands have ignored their numbers and are showing up out of sequence. We’ve begun to see riots at the ports and even shootings.”
“Damn it. Okay, if anyone shoots, you have permission to use deadly force. I’ll make another address the nation to explain they have time, they shouldn’t rush and cause problems.”
“Sir, the other issue we’re facing is claims of racism…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Many are claiming we’re racist because we’re not filling the ships equally with each race.”
“What formula did you use to fill the ships?”
“We filled them by zip code. All those in one zip code were taken to the ports and loaded on the ships, the assumption was the people would know their neighbors and want to be with the people they lived with every day.”
“An excellent theory. I’ll look into the situation. We don’t need any more problems. I’ll have the Navy’s ships wherever you want them. The rules will be the people will have to remain on the flight deck or for the Marine assault ships, in the well area, I don’t want them wandering around armed ships loaded with bombs and other weapons.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Keep going, you and your staff are doing a great job.”
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As soon as people left their homes and shops, the looters arrived. Many ignored the painted messages on the boarded-up windows, “You loot, we shoot.” The looters didn’t know some of the homeowners and shop owners had long memories, and they remembered previous hurricanes when the looters swarmed the remains stealing people’s keepsakes and any valuables they’d left behind. This time it was going to be different. After the massive reduction in police which followed a change that swept the country in the mid-2020s, the average police force had been reduced by 50%, hence homeowners took the law into their own hands. Many considered the news that the rock was going to hit as an emergency, one worth digging up their semi-auto rifles and ammo.
Looters who preyed at night quickly learned it was dangerous. Many met angry homeowners who didn’t hesitate to shoot first and not ask any questions. Groups of armed homeowners formed their own neighborhood militias to protect their homes until their numbers came up. They quickly shot potential looters before the looters even got close to their homes. Store owners did the same. The quiet night was punctuated with the sound of shotguns and ARs firing. Every morning bodies were left at the curbs and the reports of unknown dead bodies were called into the community safety centers for collection. Most of the bodies were cremated or buried in a mass grave. The lack of time meant next of kin weren’t notified nor were any services held. The community centers posted a list of the dead and their pictures for people to check if their loved ones or friends had gone missing. No attempt was made to question the shooters. As far as the community center staff were concerned, it was just another night in paradise.
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Panic buying shook American and European stores, and governments which had been caught by surprise were unprepared. They hadn’t been warned about the rock or what the Presidents were going to say. The remains of the EU, without the UK, Italy, and Greece endlessly debated what to do. They spent two days discussing their options while their citizens panicked. The EU initially filed a protest with the World Court blaming America and Russia for not sharing the information with them. Both countries laughed at the letter from the World Court and their AGs threw the letters away. The EU then attempted to get America and Russia to help defray some of their costs. Both countries laughed and ignored the EU’s request. After wasting weeks, the EU issued a mandate to its citizens to prepare for the rock, but by this time it was too late.
Rioting had broken out right after the Presidents announced that their attempts to shift the rock’s orbit had failed. In Germany, the radical right-wing skinheads moved against the immigrant towns. They set them on fire and attacked immigrants. They wanted the immigrants to leave Germany. The skinheads killed thousands while the police stood by doing nothing.
In France, their Muslim population rose up and rioted, claiming the rock was a message from Allah. The message was to punish Earth for not accepting the word
