contingency plans for the apocalypse

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Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse And Other Possible Situations Paperback – January 1, 2019

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• Print length 264 pages
• Language English
• Publisher HACHETTE INDIA
• Publication date January 1, 2019
• Dimensions 7.7 x 5 x 0.39 inches
• ISBN-10 9388322436
• ISBN-13 978-9388322430
• See all details

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Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HACHETTE INDIA (January 1, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9388322436
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9388322430
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.7 x 5 x 0.39 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #4,046,435 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books )

About the author

S.B. Divya (she/any) is a lover of science, math, fiction, and the Oxford comma. She is the Hugo and Nebula nominated author of Meru (2023), Machinehood, Runtime, and Contingency Plans For the Apocalypse and Other Possible Situations. Her short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and she was the co-editor of Escape Pod, the weekly science fiction podcast, from 2017-2022.

Divya holds degrees in Computational Neuroscience and Signal Processing, and she worked for twenty years as an electrical engineer before becoming an author. Born in Pondicherry, India, Divya now resides in Southern California. She enjoys subverting expectations and breaking stereotypes whenever she can. Find out more about her at www.sbdivya.com or on Twitter as @divyastweets.

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A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy

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Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse

By s.b. divya in uncanny magazine issue twenty | 5078 words.

My apocalypse doesn’t ride on horseback or raise the dead or add suns to the sky. It arrives by tank and drone, the strict report of automatic weapons, the spying eyes of neighbors. It seeks my spouse’s life. Mine, too. I don’t expect to survive.

Chula has better odds. She is a four-time triathlete, perfect eyesight, no injuries. She can lift our six-year-old the way I haul a fire log. If anyone can outrun the law, it’s Chula.

“When they come for us,” I said, after Kaila was born, “You take the children and the backpack and head for the safe house.”

Chula’s blue eyes narrowed. “And you’ll catch up. You have a pack, too. We’ll go side by side, like always.”

“Sure. If I’m alive.”

Her glare could melt Antarctica. “And what if I’m dead instead of you?”

“That’s so much less likely. I wouldn’t plan on it.”

She raised her pale brows to emphasize my hypocrisy, but I didn’t care. If our survival depended on me, we were in trouble.

Like any ordinary evening, I put the baby down in our room after feeding her. Night darkens the sky. We leave the lights off as much as possible to avoid surveillance from the outside. I trip over the corner of the dining room rug, the one that’s bent upward from all the other times my foot caught it. (My muscles are clumsy thanks to the polio redux pandemic, but I’ve had lots of practice at falling; I know how to avoid sprains and broken bones.) I land on my forearms, nearly prone.

A bullet sings over my head and penetrates Chula’s.

For five seconds, I freeze.

For five seconds, I stop breathing.

My mind refuses to accept the image in front of me. No. No. No no no.

The inhale comes in a rush.

Her neck has no pulse.

I fling a blanket over my beloved’s body and cover it all: the blond hair now matted with blood, the shards of glass catching the streetlight, the limbs splayed like a sleeping toddler, the stain spreading outward on that rug—that thrice-damned rug, which I will never see again.

A yellow thread snags on the hinge of my wrist prosthesis. Chula’s favorite color. I yank it out and stuff it into the center of my bra as I crawl across the room. More bullets trash our windows. A rubber band made of devastation tightens around my heart and lungs.

I speak my farewell in my thoughts. To say it aloud is to provide evidence to the sensors. I wish I had time to give Chula a farewell kiss. I wish she’d lived. I hope the people outside think we’re both dead.

In the windowless hall, I stand and run. My booted feet slam against hickory planks, our home improvement project from back before fear decorated our lives. Now, we sleep in our clothes and wear shoes in the house. Photos flash by along the beige wall, memories outlined in black, all but the newest: the four of us huddled in bed after I gave birth to Kaila. That one I taped up, unframed. It gives easily and fits in the back pocket of my jeans.

I burst into our room and reach under the antique bed-frame. I pull out my backpack, filled to eighteen pounds, the same weight I carried across the Andes during our Choquequirao trek. I was a decade younger and fitter then, but today I have to travel only one fourth the distance. At sea level, that’s manageable. It has to be.

I tighten the straps on the pack. The baby sling hangs on one corner of the crib. Kaila whimpers as I snug her swaddled form against my torso. I lock my arm into a static, supportive position under her, and turn it off to conserve battery.

In the adjacent bedroom, Myles hides under his bed like we taught him to. His dark curls catch the last light from the window. He has the same hair as his father, killed a year ago while attempting to cross the border, the very same one we’re headed for.

“Time to go, baby,” I whisper.

He crawls out. “Where’s Chula?”

I failed to rehearse the words for this question because I didn’t expect to be here. “I’ll explain later.”

Suspicion darkens his six-year-old face, sets his jaw. Not a tantrum, not now, baby, please, we gotta go.

“Don’t forget Dino,” I say.

It’s part distraction, part truth, but it works. Myles lunges for the stuffed Tyrannosaurus rex and clasps it to his chest. We run to the side door and out into the chill night— oh, I forgot the jackets, did we pack jackets? —but we can’t turn back because the tank turret looms above the fourth house down the street. A white cover hides the surgical van beside the house. I don’t dare use it, not with all that damning evidence inside, but I send it a silent farewell. Another tie to Chula, severed.

We duck through the hidden door in the back fence, down the alley, across a demented mosaic of chipped stone and glass. I grab my phone and increase the light amplification in my implanted lenses. (They told me it’s an experimental technology with some risks. I told them to shut up and take my money.) I follow the snaking line of garden hose that surrounds a data cable, poached for my illegal purposes.

The hose runs into a plain door set into a low building. I pull it free and fling it back toward the house. They can’t know where we went. My thumb goes against the sensor-lock. A light next to it blinks red. I curse under my breath and lick my too-dry skin and try again. Turn green, turn green, turn green—yes!

I open the door. Where is Myles? He was just here. How could he—oh shit!

Flames engulf our house and balloon outward. The light blows my vision and all I see is a little shadow flying through the air, away from the back fence, toward me. Myles lands head-first.

A second rubber band, made of recrimination, constricts my heart and lungs. I run to my son, wrap my arm around his chest, and drag him through the door. I lay him down. Be alive, please baby, be alive. His chest rises and falls. Relief swims in dizzy circles around me.

Dim red lights wake at our presence. Racks of servers line the walls. Bundles of cables stretch across the ceiling to a staircase dug through rock and earth. Our escape route normally ferries large quantities of data and the occasional service person.

I peer into the gloom. I can’t carry them both downstairs.

Goddammit, Chula, you should be here!

I trip as I come off the last step and land on my knees rather than my newborn. Kaila fusses when I place her on the ground next to the backpack, but she doesn’t raise a cry. I limp my way up to retrieve Myles, unlocking my prosthesis and powering it on as I climb.

Once I have them both at the bottom, I allow myself a minute to breathe and listen. No sound penetrates from outside. No door slams open above us. No one shouts. I pull the kill switch in the wall—our little modification. Dirt seals off the room above. The stairs end in nothing.

We’re in a tunnel lined with network access. I’d patch into a cable if I could, but it’s all useless now. Instead, I grab my phone, which is nearly out of battery. We have a system across the family, a handful of sites where we leave nonsense text, meaningful only to one another. I write: Had to visit the loo. With the T. rex and the raptor. Lost my other ring. I scan all the locations. My brother hasn’t left a message in over a week. My parents and Chula’s live in friendly states, thank goodness. Two less things to worry about.

Myles whimpers. In the glow from the screen, I see patches of crimson across my boy’s skin. The soles of his shoes are melted—to his feet? I shudder and banish the thought. He’s breathing. He’s alive. He’ll be fine. He will, he has to be.

The tunnel shivers around us. Dust motes dance in the artificial light. I shove the phone into my pocket. We can’t linger too long. I consider the pack, sized for multi-day hikes. Myles is small for his age. Maybe . Out come the spare clothes, a multi-tool, a sticker book, hiking poles, diapers, formula, snack bars, water bottles, an optical cube with all our memories. The jackets must have been in Chula’s pack.

I use the knife from the tool to tear holes on either side of the pack’s bottom, then I slide Myles in and snug the compressor straps around him. In the outer pouches, I cram in six diapers—they’re lightweight—a spare outfit for Kaila, three packets of formula, two snack bars, one water bottle, and the data cube. It’s an old dilemma: weight versus comfort.

The multi-tool goes in my back pocket, my only weapon, should I need one. The baby goes on my front. My son rides on my back, a forty-four pound load. His head lolls against my shoulder. In the interest of minimizing weight, I remove my prosthesis and add it to the discards on the ground.

The hiking pole helps with my new center of gravity. Grief and determination fuel my steps. If I don’t survive, neither do they.

Chula strides through the tunnel, Myles running alongside. I imagine him whining that his legs are tired. Chula tucks him under an arm, her bicep bulging but not strained. In this vision, I’m a ghost floating behind them. All goes according to plan, and they escape. Loss and pain are not mine to bear. I don’t have to be the strong one.

For twelve hours, I walk. Trudge. Plod. Stumble. Every three hours, I stop to feed Kaila, half from my breasts, half formula, all of it while standing or kneeling. The yellow thread tucked into my bra draws my gaze as often as my baby’s dark eyes. I reach my right hand back to check Myles’ pulse and breathing. I slide water into his searing mouth with my finger tips and hope he doesn’t dehydrate too much.

Things I can manage to think about are time, quantities, and steps. Others, I push away—my inevitable failure, Chula sprawled on the rug, our cold, stiff bodies lying in this catacomb-like space.

Should we have stayed in this state? We asked the question at least once a week. I found the patients and guided the van. Chula and the robots performed the abortions. In this place, our life-saving service was punishable by death. We knew the risk. We couldn’t lie to ourselves about that.

But it wasn’t supposed to be me, here, dragging our family to safety.

Chula contacted the resistance, made the arrangements. (We kept my identity secret to better protect the children, whom I carried for the same reason.) She had the reputation: a doctor, one with a rare skill. I was a data miner. Nothing special about that.

At last, a staircase rises ahead. The cables converge upward. My legs weigh more than elephants. Damn elephants. Why do they have to be so massive? Step, step, one… more… step.

I’m through the door into another data center, equally unattended. My phone is dead, but I remember the route to the safe house. I remember most of what I see, a leftover habit from years of wearing glasses (and being nearly blind without them). Dawn glows in the eastern sky. It lights our way to a low, sprawling house painted gray with white trim. The side door has an electronic lock. I enter the eight-digit code. A faint click indicates that it works.

I stumble inside. A couple emerges from a bedroom. Their alarmed expressions tell me everything about our appearance. A question buzzes through my ears into my head.

“Chula Smith.” I whisper her name as an incantation and sway on the tiled floor, surrounded by walls and furniture and warmth. We’re safe, for now.

They leave us in a bedroom decorated with faded posters of augmented-reality stars. They remind me of my past life—trawling the net for good data, piecing it together like clues in a mystery. The skill came in handy for finding those in need of Chula’s services. Most people don’t notice the breadcrumb trails they leave on the internet.

Myles lies on the single bed, his burns dressed as best as we could, half a bowl of chicken broth coaxed in by small spoonfuls. Kaila and I rest on the floor. An unzipped sleeping bag lies beneath us. My heart, entrapped by its two rubber bands, beats with the restless fury of a butterfly in a net.

Outside our door, our hosts’ voices rise in argument. They gave me code names—Bravo and Foxtrot—and didn’t ask for mine, but they know I’m not Chula.

“Smith is the priority evacuee, not the family,” says Foxtrot. “We can’t make an unscheduled supply run without authorization. Two more days. They’ll last.”

“She has four-month-old baby!” Bravo sounds upset. “And her child needs medical attention, more than we can give.”

“And we need to maintain our cover or we’re no good to anybody. I don’t like it either, but we can’t risk everything for a low-priority group.”

Their voices drop away. They use the wrong pronouns for me, but I’m in no position to correct them.

Bravo’s right. Myles needs a doctor. If Chula were here, she could take care of him. If Chula were here, they’d be on their way to the border already. If Chula were here, if, if, if.

Kaila whimpers. I sit up to give her my left breast, the better one. I lean against a wall and use my legs to support her body, but it takes time, and she’s crying before I’m ready. She’s calmer when we switch sides. Her black eyes stare into mine, all serious business until a smile breaks her suction and lights up her face.

I can’t help returning it, but I’m thinking, please make enough milk today, please for today and tomorrow and the next, until we get out because we used the last of the formula and it’s rationed and these people don’t have a baby so we can’t get more.

For twenty minutes after she stops feeding, Kaila is sunshine and roses. When she fusses again, I try to latch her on, but she’s having none of it. Her wail brings in our hosts.

“You need to quiet her down,” Bravo says. “We’re not supposed to have children here.”

“She’s hungry,” I say. Shame heats my neck and cheeks.

Foxtrot frowns. “Can’t you feed her?”

“I did. I—I can’t make enough for her, and I’m out of formula.”

The two of them exchange a look before leaving the room. This time, their conversation doesn’t carry. I imagine Foxtrot saying, “That’s one more strike against them. What a useless person. We should send them back to die,” so I force my wobbly, spent leg muscles to stand, and I bounce my baby. My right shoulder aches from her weight, and my ghost arm prickles with pain. I rock Kaila through it all until she gives in and sleeps, and then, at last, so do I.

To my surprise, Foxtrot tells me the next morning to get ready to leave. I don’t question it. We sit in the back of an old gasoline-powered truck, manually driven. Myles is stretched out by my feet, and Kaila hangs in the sling. Empty crates fill the remaining space, hiding us in case anyone opens the doors. This couple imports produce from across the border. Who better to smuggle contraband than someone with legitimate business?

We move through the sparse early-morning traffic on the slow roads, the ones where you can still drive a vehicle yourself. Through the gaps in the wooden slats, I catch glimpses of posters. “Jesus welcomes all.” “Life is sacred.” “A righteous husband will provide.” Sometimes I only see a few words, but I’ve memorized them. Chula and Myles’ father and I had a marriage, but not one that this state would recognize.

“Damn,” Foxtrot says.

The van careens to the right and accelerates. I brace my feet against a crate to keep from sliding.

“What’s happening?” I call out. The gap in the cab’s rear sliding window lets my voice through.

We turn sharp left, and Myles slides to the right. I grab him before his head hits the wall.

“Do you have a mobile? I can route you!”

Foxtrot slides the window further and tosses me a device wrapped in yellow flower-print. Our eyes meet for a second.

“My daughter’s.” Foxtrot’s words clip.

I launch the map software on a dead girl’s phone, unlikely to be traced. If I had my virtual-reality headset, I could work faster. I do what I can manually, fingers flying across the screen. Data overlays stack tiny icons—not my customized versions, but no time for that. I scan for safe zones to hide a truck. A produce warehouse lies three miles out of our way. Bonus: we’d pass under a freeway bridge to get there.

“Two blocks, then left and an immediate right,” I call.

By the time Foxtrot makes the right-hand turn, I’m ready with three more instructions, and so we dance with our pursuers, avoiding known camera sites and drone-zones. This low-bandwidth communication is awkward. I would guide Chula’s surgical van remotely, directing the auto-driver from home. I could avoid patrols and prying electronics without speaking a word.

“Hard right at the three-way,” I call.

Our tires screech, and the truck keels, but we keep most of our speed. Foxtrot drives almost as well as an auto-car.

“Second left, through a tunnel, and then right into the driveway and stop!”

And that’s it. We wait with the engine off. Blood rushes in my ears to fill the silence. My heart beats so hard that Kaila must feel it through the sling.

Another truck, similar in shape and size to ours, sits next to us. The mobile’s data shows a third one parked beyond. The rolling metal door of a warehouse is in front of us, the words “Farm Fresh With Love” painted in bold green letters across it.

Foxtrot crouches into the wheel-well so that they’re not immediately visible from outside. I scrunch down and install my custom overlay. Nothing to do now but wait.

A drone buzzes past, then another, ten minutes later. They blip on the mobile’s screen, little white skull icons.

The sun rises over the warehouse. For two miles in each direction, the map is clear of skulls and coffins and machine guns (the icons for tanks and foot patrols). I give us another fifteen minutes to be sure. We can’t afford much longer or Kaila will wake for her next feeding before we cross the border. That would end us.

“Let’s go,” I say.

Foxtrot sits up and starts the engine. I’m grateful for their trust—that I know what I’m doing.

As we approach the border station, I rearrange the crates to block us from all sides. I can’t see the squat, hard-edged buildings, but I remember them from pictures, their walls studded with cameras.

The sun blazes over endless desert. The back of the truck becomes an oven as soon as we stop moving. I peek through the crates to see what’s happening. The view isn’t good.

“Documents.” A deep voice speaks the word.

A hand takes something from Foxtrot, then returns it and says, “Please exit the vehicle for a security pat down.” Smug. “And cavity search.”

The truck jostles as Foxtrot exits the cab, out of my view.

Does this happen every time? Is this the cost to move us or a regular part of doing business? A third rubber band snaps into place around my heart and lungs. It’s made of rage, and I can’t breathe. Heat rushes through me. Keep your hands off my driver! I will rip your goddamn head off and watch the life pour out. I will—

Foxtrot climbs into the cab.

“Proceed,” the guard says.

We drive on, past two barbed-wire fences set one hundred yards apart, into California and safety. The word tastes bitter in my thoughts: what kind of safe place uses people like that to secure its borders? But on this side, at least the work that Chula and I did would be legal.

If I close my eyes, I see her body sprawled in our house. I see the photo of our spouse’s body laid out in the desert, a cruel souvenir sent by the border troops. Am I a coward for running away? Should I go back when Kaila is older? No , whispers Chula’s voice. No way , whispers our husband’s. Keep the children safe. Raise them. We agreed on that when we decided to stay in Arizona, in a house reduced to rubble, in a life burnt to ash.

We stop again in half an hour, just as Kaila is beginning to stir. Through gaps, I see a single-story ranch house with other small buildings behind it. Foxtrot opens the back gate and moves the crates out of our way. I blink in the sudden brightness. Two brown-skinned men pull Myles out on a stretcher and carry him toward the house. I force myself to meet Foxtrot’s gaze.

“I’m sorry about the… search,” I say. “Thank you for helping us.” The most inadequate words I’ve ever spoken.

Foxtrot nods.

Do you have to go back? The question dies before it reaches my lips. I know the answer because I lived it, too. I risked my family so that we could help the women who couldn’t escape. If the state hadn’t found us, we’d still be there.

“Take care,” Foxtrot says.

The truck rumbles down a dirt road toward a field lined with vegetables.

I follow my son and discover my mother waiting inside.

“They got word to me as soon as you crossed the border,” she says, “and I got your message before that. I’ve been waiting nearby, just in case.”

She opens her arms to me, and I sink into them.

“I’m so sorry about Chula,” she says.

She doesn’t say, “I told you so,” or “How could you do this to your children?” or any of the dozen other recriminations I’ve imagined in her voice.

Kaila squirms and fusses, sandwiched between us. I need to feed her. Over my mother’s shoulder I see Myles on the bed, his chest rising and falling, his eyelids fluttering. He hasn’t woken enough to speak. I wonder what silent price he’s paid. Was our work worth the cost of my son’s condition, of my spouses’ lives? I may never have the answer to that. Maybe none exists.

As I feed my baby, the bands that constricted me loosen, enough for regret and sadness and rage to expand. My tears land on Kaila’s chest. For now, it’s enough that I got us out. The children are safe and alive. I have no desire to consider what comes next, not yet, not today. Right now, our survival is all that matters.

( Editors’ Note: S.B. Divya is interviewed by Caroline M. Yoachim in this issue.)

© 2018 by S.B. Divya

S.B. Divya (she/any) is a lover of science, math, fiction, and the Oxford comma. She is the Hugo and Nebula nominated author of Meru (2023), Machinehood , Runtime , and Contingency Plans For the Apocalypse . Her stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and she was the co-editor of Escape Pod from 2017-2022. Divya holds degrees in Computational Neuroscience and Signal Processing. Find her on Twitter as @divyastweets or at www.sbdivya.com .

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Visions of Future Worlds

Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse by S.B. Divya

By John Folk-Williams

Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse and other Possible Situations by S.B. Divya , author of Machinehood and Meru , is a deeply interesting collection of fourteen stories, many quite short, all of them posing life-changing choices for each central character. The prose is supple, ranging from lushly sensuous description to stripped down action. The author perfectly matches style to story and covers an impressive range. Whether taking up a few pages or novella length, S.B. Divya creates an immersive world where I immediately cared about each character.

Comparing the first two stories brings out Divya’s skill in adapting her writing to fit extremely different characters and situations. In “Loss of Signal”, a teenage boy, Toby, whose body became so crippled and useless that he chose to have his consciousness off-loaded, is off on a historic mission to the moon. His “body” is now a spaceship, yet he has brought with him the emotions of his youth. His first person narrative captures all the excitement of this adventure.

“When the doors drifted open like wings, when I trained my cameras to the star-flecked blackness, when the metal arms released me from their embrace: that was the moment my first dream came true. I checked it off the list.” Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse…Kindle edition, Location 39

Divya captures his thrill at being able to act the part of the hero, as he recalls from his mother’s reading adventure stories aloud. His dreams, he says, are “fueled by words and pictures … You act out the scenes in your head, and you’re always the hero.” ( Location 54 ) But then he also faces fear of failure and, like many characters in these stories, has to make a critical choice.

“Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse” is an exciting action story of the family of a doctor who performs abortions secretly in a state where the practice carries the death penalty. The story is about their long-planned escape when the military comes for them, to safe houses, tunnels, checkpoints – a shocking and unfortunately prescient story of what the future could hold. Divya’s prose captures the tension in first person narrative of every step of the escape, as a woman struggles with carrying her two children. After she scrambles down the steps to the basement getaway, she pauses.

“Once I have them both at the bottom, I allow myself a minute to breathe and listen. No sound penetrates from outside. No door slams open above us. No one shouts. I pull the kill switch in the wall – our little modification. Dirt seals off the room above. The stairs end in nothing.” Contingencies for the Apocalypse… Kindle edition, Location 205

“Microbiota and the Masses” is about a women whose extreme sensitivities to the environment leads her to live in an airtight home where she nurtures an incredible garden. The prose is full of the sensory richness she experiences. But one day a repairman comes to the house, and her long set-aside passion for a mate fills her with a new purpose to seek him out, even if it means that her body will deteriorate when exposed to everyday pollutants. Encased in a protective suit, she ventures outside her perfect home, and her bodily senses at once take in all the noxious smells and sights:

“Bodies moved past her along the uneven slabs of the sidewalk. They stank of hot oil, sweat, sandalwood, fish, jasmine, sex. A stray dog trotted from a cluster of trash to a half-eaten banana. A fly fizzed into Moena’s ear, tickling it before moving on. How did anyone live like this? How had she, for the first twenty-three years of her life? She could almost sense the effluvia penetrating her lungs, polluting her bloodstream.” Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse… Kindle edition, Location 455

In many of the stories the central character is dealing not just with a different or enhanced body but with the pain that accompanies either the illness that led to the physical change or the adaptation of the new form to radically changed circumstances. In “Loss of Signal” there are vivid descriptions of the phantom pain that follows the loss of bodily limbs. “Nava” is about a remote descendant of humans dealing with pain as eir body takes shape with the aid of a Maker in a far future world. When Nava tried to change eir skin, e keeps failing and collapsing into a primordial ooze. After many struggles, e makes a critical discovery about pain, that it is to be embraced.

At the heart of most of these stories are the critical choices that each character has to make to achieve their goal or even to survive. The most fully developed story that turns on moral choice is the Nebula finalist novella, Runtime . Marmeg, its central character also faces a series of choices on running a race through the mountains. She has plenty of enhancements, in the form of implanted chips and exoskeletons, but because she has no money, she has had to scrounge among trashed parts, repair them and cobble together a makeshift outfit. The prize money will solve all her problems if she can place among the lead runners, but trouble starts when some of her equipment fails and she is offered a chance to win by shady means. What will she do?

Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse and Other Possible Situations is the full title of the collection and that covers a lot of ground. But all the situations and the choices they impose are fraught with danger, pain, emotional loss or a life-changing cost. In “Ships in the Night” what happens when a woman who can foresee but never change the future, including the end of every relationship, falls in love with someone with her own disastrous history of failed relationships. That woman struggles with the knowledge that she will live forever and so outlast everyone she has ever known. What choices will they make?

In “Dusty Old Things” when electric devices start turning on and off without reason, a mother with a background in satellite communications gradually realizes that another self is getting in touch with her from a different universe. She sees that her other-me is leading a life she might have chosen, dedicating herself to a project that could bring her fame and fortune, but only at great personal cost. She is torn between her present life and a far different road not taken. What will she and her other-me do?

Every story poses a life-challenging question or requires the central character to deal with a force that could change them forever. In beautiful prose that is carefully adapted to the tone of each story and each character’s life, Divya proves herself a master of the shorter fictional forms.

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About the Author

A late-comer to the worlds of science fiction, John Folk-Williams circled around it, first by blogging (primarily through Storied Mind ) about inner struggles and the mind’s way of distorting reality. Then he turned directly to SFF as an amazing medium for re-envisioning the mind and the worlds it creates. He started this blog as a way to experiment with writing science fiction and to learn from its many masterful practitioners.

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• Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse and Other Possible Situations

A sickly biologist shuts herself off from the world and its deadly pollutants to research her beloved microbiota in peace – until a chance encounter drives her to venture out into an unliveable Bangalore.

In a dystopian Arizona, a couple performs forbidden life-saving abortions amid the threat of tanks and drones, the strict report of automatic weapons and the spying eyes of neighbours.

A young woman competes in a gruelling challenge, determined to win a place in a world where body modifications equal class and grant people the privilege of transcending gender.

In this collection of 14 layered stories featuring dying cities, undying humans, amorphous bodies, cyborg racers and magic beetles, internationally acclaimed writer and data scientist S.B. Divya treads the line between the present and the future, while exploring the eternal conundrums of identity and love in speculative worlds.

• S. B. Divya

S.B. Divya is a lover of science, math, fiction, and the Oxford comma. She is the Hugo and Nebula-nominated author of  Runtime  and coeditor of  Escape Pod , with Mur Lafferty. Her short stories have been published in various magazines, and her short story collection,  Contingency Plans For the Apocalypse and Other Situations , is out now from Hachette India.

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Here's the Pentagon's very real zombie outbreak contingency plan

Designed by junior military officers at U.S. Strategic Command, CONPLAN 8888 is real, it's online, and it even includes zombie chickens.

The Pentagon has a bonafide training exercise paper on how to properly combat and subdue a zombie uprising. Yes, we're as surprised about this as you are. Compiled and written back in 2011 by junior officers at the U.S. Strategic Command, the document entitled "Counter-Zombie Dominance," aka CONPLAN 8888 , outlines potential governmental responses to various scenarios featuring all manner of zombies, living dead, and reanimated, flesh-craving ghouls.

"This plan was not actually designed as a joke," reads the first sentence of the paper's disclaimer. "...While training augmentees from a local training squadron about the [Joint Operational Planning Process], members of a USSTRATCOM component found out (by accident) that the hyperbole involved in writing a 'zombie survival plan' actually provided a very useful and effective training tool."

"If this plan helps illustrate how JOPP works and brings a smile or brief laugh in the process, so much the better," the disclaimer adds. And it’s true, there are some gems in there, like the meticulous breakdown of various zombie types, including Evil Magic Zombies, Space Zombies, Vegetarian Zombies, and the only real-world zombies, “Chicken Zombies” ( yes, they’re real, and horrifying ). But, and apologies for being a downer here, some CONPLAN 8888's implications are about as terrifying and in line with its preexisting, cinematic government responses.

Martial law, but just for funsies — For starters, let's call a spade a spade here: CONPLAN 8888 is essentially an outline of the pros, cons, and strategies involved in implementing martial law across the country in the event of an unmitigated environmental disaster. "A smile or brief laugh" may have been possible at one point in our pre-pandemic lives, but as it stands today, all we really see right now is the collective smirk on a bunch of armed military personnel's faces while they toss some more tear gas into crowds of Minneapolis protestors for the sake of restoring "law and order." It's much easier to deploy brutal force during citizen unrest when you can think back on CONPLAN 8888's "Evil Magic Zombies" subcategory and promptly other everyone in front of you.

Nuke first, ask questions later — Also, USSTRATCOM seems really keen on pressing that shiny, red "Nuclear Launch" button. "Although CDRUSSTRATCOM has no geographic AOR [area of responsibility] and has no specified combat roles against zombies, he is the only CCDR [Combatant Commander] in control of nuclear weapons, which are likely to be the most effective weapons against the hordes of the undead."

We're not saying the government doesn't need better contingency plans for the world's worst-case scenarios. Look around you. But trying to meme-ify atrocities really isn't the best way to go about things. Hey, at least we know these mystery drones flying around Colorado aren't a bunch of junior officers horsing around though... or do we?

CONPLAN 8888: The Pentagon's Zombie Apocalypse Plan Explained

Let's be honest: Zombie apocalypses peaked with maybe, like, the 3rd season of "The Walking Dead"  — the governor season — back in 2012. They've had their day, and now they're old news. It's not that the public has stopped imagining the obliteration of human life (or not-too-secretly hoping for it) — they've just circled around to other apocalyptic horsemen like climate change, war, AI overlords, etc. That is, unless we're talking about the domain of human life that always drags behind the curve: government. Enter the Pentagon's  most ultimate, mega-est, super zombie-busting plan ever, ever, complete with a name befitting an early 2000 first-person shooter: CONPLAN 8888, aka Counter-Zombie Dominance Operations. Lock and load!

But really, CONPLAN 8888 hasn't been developed in response to some secret, imminent threat that the public hasn't been made aware of. It's also not new — it hit the news cycle during the Rick Grimes heyday of 2014. There's no explanation of how outlets got ahold of it, only that it was "obtained" from the absolutely-fake-sounding-but-actually-not "military's secret computer network" in the form of "an unclassified document," per the  Foreign Policy Group .

The document itself is a true comedic gut-buster. There's artwork of a little zombie, video game-like classification of enemy types like "evil magic zombie," "vegetarian zombie," and of course some pew-pew "we must prevail over the shambling horde" rhetoric. And not to extinguish the fun: Yes, the disclaimer section explains that it's a self-aware training exercise meant to get folks interested in learning — that's it.

The Typing Dead

Full disclosure: Each and every facet of this story will come across as ludicrous. But as CONPLAN 8888's disclaimer says, it's a carrot for training purposes and even describes how effective it was at getting students interested. It's a "ridiculous" exercise meant to be treated seriously.

The document dates to April 30, 2011, three years before its public release, and comes from an internally shared network cleverly dubbed "Intellipedia." There's even a link at the very bottom of the document to the actual file location on the Intellipedia network, although we wouldn't recommend trying to click it unless you want men in black knocking on your door. Then again, the document is unclassified, so ... maybe it's okay? Your call.

As for the office responsible for CONPLAN 8888, it lists "Headquarters United States Strategic Command,"  which is actually located in Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska, not the Pentagon. In fact, there's no direct mention of the Pentagon anywhere in the document despite sources like the Foreign Policy Group and CNN saying so. The document further attributes itself to "CDRUSSTRATCOM," an unwieldy acronym for "Commander, United States Strategic Command." Although to be fair, the task probably got offloaded to some office jockeys (pictured above), not a commander.

And finally, this version of the document might not be the first one. It's listed as "CONPLAN 8888-11," emphasis on "11." We're guessing CONPLAN 8888-1 might have just read, "ZOMBIE SCARY. SHOOT ZOMBIE. AIM HEAD."

Plan for the worst, hope for the best

The strange thing about CONPLAN 8888 is that it teaches actual military procedures despite its fictional topic. Its straight-faced delivery frames it in a perfectly on-point, comedic way. It's supposed to describe a "contingency oriented plan designed to be used as a basis/point of departure for Crisis Action Planning (CAP)," as it says. The document also states that it's intentionally unclassified "to ensure maximum utility during times of crisis" — maybe someone at the U.S. Strategic Command passed it along to news outlets for a similar purpose. In other words, even though we're never going to have to mow down mobs of "Evil Magic Zombies" with chain guns, if a crisis does happen, we know how things are done.

According to CONPLAN 8888 (ahem, and we quote): "Zombies are horribly dangerous to all human life and zombie infections have the potential to seriously undermine national security and economic activities that sustain our way of life." Well, naturally. Also, no matter the fictional topic, the plan fulfills, "Contingency Planning Guidance (CPG) tasking for USSTRATCOM to develop a comprehensive JOPES Level 3 plan to undertake military operations to preserve 'non-zombie' humans from the threats posed by a zombie horde." Well, that all sounds great. Furthermore, the document intends to help "preserve the sanctity of human life," where "humans" are defined as "non-zombie." A bold assertion given certain members of the human population, but glad we cleared that up, nonetheless.

Aim for the head

Now that logistical details are out of the way, we can get down to the good stuff: pew-pewing zombies. Relatedly: Has anyone in the crowd ever played "Left 4 Dead 2"? Classic four-person, co-op, squad-based zombie-shooting action? The game has a whole bunch of memorable enemy types like infected (standard), boomers (dudes that blow up), spitters (dudes who spit, obviously), smokers (dudes with long tongues). Yeah, that's basically CONPLAN 8888.

On page 6 of CONPLAN 8888, we've got the "Zombie Threat Summary" that lists all zombie types soldiers might be expected to head-shoot. We've got standard "Pathogenic Zombies" formed from biological contagions, "Radiation Zombies" formed from "a extreme dosage [sic]" of radiation like The Hulk, "Weaponized Zombies" created to be biological weapons, and "Symbiant-Induced Zombies," i.e., zombies controlled by an invasive creature like the creature from 1982's "The Thing" or the Dax symbiont from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Speaking of extraterrestrials, they're on the list, too: "Space Zombies," either "originating from space or created by toxic contamination of the earth environment." And because we've already jumped several sharks, there are "Evil Magic Zombies" created from "occult experimentation" and "Vegetarian Zombies" that target plants, not animals, like in the video game "Plants Vs. Zombies" (which the document actually references). And because why not: There are also Chicken Zombies, which were a real thing back in 2006, as Fox News describes. All in all, this is why CONPLAN 8888 needed its disclaimer.

Comprehensive operational phasing

Wouldn't it be great if all villains had intentions as transparent as "eat brains?" There's no redemption to be found in a zombie, no way to reason with it, no recourse but obliterating it, and no remorse once it's dead. Ah, if only all evil was so faceless. And bonus: All you need to fix the problem is a weapon. Maybe these are some reasons why the whole zombie thing caught on. What do such musings have to do with CONPLAN 8888? Well, the document alludes to the same thing in its "Legal Considerations" section on page 8, reading, "There are almost no restrictions on hostile actions that may be taken either defensively or offensively against pathogenic life-forms, organic-robotic entities, or 'traditional' zombies." In other words? Fire away — no one will take you to court about it.

And looking to strategies regarding firing away, we've got the impressive "CONPLAN 8888 Operational Phasing" on page 9. There's a big chart separating military duties into defensive operations, offensive operations, and support of government. There are also five phases, from Phase 0 (Shape) to Phase 5 (Restore Civil Authority). In between there are lots of military acronyms, talk of monitoring "vectors of zombie containment," placing deployable command centers on alert, bombing strikes, ensuring all dead zombies are "immolated" (good call), and even coordinating with POTUS along the way. 

Infection, containment, hydration, and more

CONPLAN 8888 contains a whole bunch of addendums bundled together under "Assumptions" on page 13. Looking at what we said above, this section states that LOAC — the law of armed conflict, i.e., international humanitarian law regarding warfare — doesn't apply. No need to worry about starving zombie civilians, in other words. Relatedly, the "Assumptions" section also states that "zombie forces will become stronger with each human casualty (because each human casualty will become a zombie)." Too true. The section also talks about other typical zombie tropes from media, like not being able to cure a person's zombiehood once that person turns. And yes, for all the FPS fans out there, it indeed talks about headshots. When taking aim at an undead aggressor, one need not worry about impaling an organ of higher brain functioning, as that will be lost, and only the brain stem will remain.    

Other addendums in "Assumptions" talk about making sure that the soon-to-be-zombified drink lots of water to slow the transformation into undeadness, aka "progressing zombeism," as the document calls it. Without such hydration, zombification will occur in 30 to 40 days. Oh, also: Even though we can't say whether or not hand sanitizer will help slow down the spread of infection, we might as well give it a shot. For all other questions, "Assumptions" refers us back to "popular culture references" found in comics, movies, games, etc., as we've talked about quite a bit already in this article. 

Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse by S.B. Divya

by Gautam Bhatia | Dec 5, 2019 | Reviews

In late-November, as a pall of smoke hung over the cities and the countryside of Northern India, there came the news that the first “Oxygen Bar” had been launched in New Delhi. Some enterprising entrepreneurs had decided to be the first to monetise the environmental crisis – and tried to privatize the air through the use of the latest technology on offer. Bleakly hilarious as it is, the story of the Oxygen Bar lies at the intersection of three of contemporary India’s defining characteristics: an environmental crisis, an obsession with technology, and an enduring class and caste structure that continues to stratify society and shape identity in a publicly visible manner.

That intersection is what unifies the thirteen short stories and one novella that make up S.B. Divya’s Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse. These are stories that have appeared in disparate – but familiar – online spaces over the last five years: Lightspeed Magazine, Uncanny Magazine , Tor, and so on. For readers unfamiliar with Divya’s work, the anthology assembles these stories in one place. But even for those who have encountered them before, they acquire a different valence when placed in the company of each other, like little strands of light that come together in an illumined web. It is the title, perhaps, that gives us the best snapshot of that web: the apocalypse – and we all know what kind of apocalypse – is within touching distance, we need to have plans in place – but not everyone will be lucky enough to be a part of the plan. It has ever been thus.

Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse has a wide sweep: it introduces us to human-machine hybrids, racked by nostalgia, memories of failure, and ethical conundrums (“Loss of Signal” and “Binaries”), and to space-faring post-human consciousnesses, changing forms and traveling between suns (“Nava”); it takes us from drone attacks in a future Arizona (the eponymous “Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse”) to sages’ curses in the ancient India of the Vedas – with a twist (“An Unexpected Boon”). A failing marriage gets snagged in a conversation between alternate universes (“Dusty Old Things”), while a love story in and around the pollution-foamed lakes of a ravaged Bangalore runs into a problem when it turns out that – apart from class differences – one of the protagonists must live her life in an isolation suit (“Microbiota and the Masses”). Staying with the theme, a third story asks whether love is possible when the future can be seen (“Ships in the Night”), while others tests the question in the context of space-and-time travel (“Strange Attractors”) or cryogenic-technology induced near-immortality (“Soft We Wake”).

More along the fantasy side of the spectrum, we find out if, in a world where every child “manifests” special abilities, the gentleness of flowers mean anything before the spectacle of lightning bolts (“The Boy Who Made Flowers”). And then there is the closing novella, “Runtime”, that weaves together several of the themes that come before: in a brutal, near-future, dog-eat-dog world, a cyborg limbs-fueled race through the Sierra Nevada mountains is one woman’s ticket to a college degree and life with dignity. But how much is she willing to sacrifice for a chance at victory?

Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse is reminiscent – in some ways – of Ken Liu’s The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories . There is the same grand sweep of time and space – but always framed within the same concern for the most human details of life – the desire for acceptance, the sense of self, the striving for love. Divya’s style alternates between the understated and the elegiac, a fit tone for the themes that run through her stories. In the words of Colm Toibin, it “in its detail and its dialogue, its slow movements and its mystery, it [stands] against abstraction, against the greyness and foolishness of large concepts.”

This is not to say, of course, that the large concepts aren’t there: there is nothing unambitious about space and time-travel, post-humanism, or – for that matter – the climate. But in Divya’s hands, these concepts are never ends in themselves, but prisms through which human experience comes refracted to the reader. Like the best speculative fiction, these stories are human at their heart, while encouraging us to think what it is to be human when the background conditions that structure our world are tweaked in ever so slight, ever so predictable, but ever so consequential ways.

Where else do we locate Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse? There has been some debate in recent months over whether there exists a distinct writing endeavour that can be accurately described as “South Asian speculative fiction” – along the lines of Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, or Chinese SFF. Is there a coherence to the contemporary speculative fiction that is coming out of the several South Asian nations – a unity of theme, or style, or topics? Given the diversity within South Asia – and indeed, the diversity within its constituent nations – this seems a tall order, even if we confine ourselves to works written in the English language. And yet, certain themes have begun to emerge – themes that perhaps no South Asian writer can entirely ignore, themes that cut through the differences and present similar challenges, no matter where you are in South Asia.

In a recent essay [for The Caravan ], I suggested that a post-colonial developmental resource extraction model that is finally running up against the climate crisis, and a legacy of social stratification, are two of those themes; as indicated at the beginning of this review, these themes are always present – whether in the foreground or in the background – in many of the stories of Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse . Indeed, readers familiar with the recently published Gollancz Anthology of South Asian Science Fiction will find overlaps between some of the stories published there – Anil Menon’s and Vandana Singh’s, for example – and the stories of Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse . The meeting point – unsurprisingly – is our future in a period of rapid and precipitous environmental degradation.

Dystopia is a common – and frequent – response to such a state of the world, and it is perhaps interesting to observe, in that regard, that very few of Divya’s stories are set in identifiably dystopian worlds. There are some, of course: we probably won’t like to live in the bleak – but terrifyingly familiar – world of “Runtime”, but other than that and the eponymous story, Divya is interested more in the shape of human life, in its adaptability, but also its continued preoccupation with the same questions in the teeth of changed conditions (whether for the better or for the worse), than in painting bleak pictures of the future. Divya does not, of course, peddle utopias either; but at a time when world-historical problems seem to call forth world-historical responses from speculative fiction – whether in the shape of dystopia or (far less frequently) utopia, Divya’s human stories are a little quiet interlude in a roiling universe.

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5 Apocalypse Scenarios Governments Have Actually Addressed

By kathy benjamin | apr 16, 2012.

From a Zombie invasion to a March Madness app infecting all our cellphones, governments are preparing for the worst.

1. A Zombie Invasion

In a creative move meant to draw attention to how to deal with more likely emergencies, last May the Centers for Disease Control posted tips for how to successfully survive a zombie invasion . The timing was perfect: apocalypse discussion was already popular since an End Times pastor had announced the world would end on May 21, and a more realistic danger, hurricane season, was starting on June 1.

"If you prepare for the zombie apocalypse, you'll be prepared for all hazards," said CDC spokesman Dave Daigle.

And while the use of the brain-eating undead might seem like a cheap ploy to get people to the site, it worked. Every major news source reported the story, and it generated so much traffic that it crashed the website. While the topic was funny, the article itself contained information relevant to surviving any disaster, including what you need for an emergency kit, the importance of a family plan, and the CDC’s role in containing diseases (even zombie- borne ones.)

2. The Mayan Calendar

Calendar image via Shutterstock

Perhaps taking a page out of the CDC’s book, this year NASA released a video reassuring everyone the world will not end when the Mayan calendar does, on Dec 21, 2012. Even some more rational people have been intrigued by this end of the world prediction, citing the Mayan’s accurate prediction of comets hundreds of years in the future. Interest had been piqued thanks to media coverage, the use of the supposed apocalypse in advertising, and of course the blockbuster movie 2012 .

In the video, Don Yeomans, head of the Near-Earth Objects Program Office at NASA explains some of the misinformation surrounding the Mayan calendar, including the fact that it doesn’t actually end on the 21st, comparing that date to our own December 31, with a new calendar beginning the next day. A Frequently Asked Questions page at nasa.gov also reassures the public that there is no wayward planet, asteroid, or polar shift about to destroy Earth as we know it.

3. The Collapse of the United States

Wyoming sign image via Shutterstock

In his new book, Senator Jim DeMint states, “We are in serious trouble and very close to economic collapse. This is not hyperbole; Americans have never been this close to losing all the freedom, prosperity, and opportunity that generations of citizens and soldiers have fought and died to give us.”

Combine statements like that with the severe economic problems in Europe, as well as the divisive political rhetoric in America, and it is no wonder that people are starting to think about what to do in case the country collapsed. In February, the Wyoming House of Representatives narrowly defeated a bill that would have created a committee to set up contingency plans in case the Federal Government collapsed. The “doomsday bill,” defeated by just 30-27, concentrated mostly on setting up Wyoming’s own currency to be distributed if the dollar had no government to back it, but also addressed food and energy preparedness.

And although it was removed before the final vote, some lawmakers jokingly added an amendment saying that Wyoming should consider buying their own fighter jets and an aircraft carrier. When asked for comment, the Governor pointed out that a carrier would need a larger lake.

4. Global Warming

EPA/Nicky Park/Landov

Island governments are very worried about rising sea levels. The melting icecaps are a problem for all small island nations for obvious reasons, but perhaps none more so than the country of Kiribati. Located in the center of the Pacific Ocean, this small island is barely above sea level, and rising ocean levels are already putting large chunks of it under water. The government of Kiribati is making arrangements to buy land in other countries, particularly Fiji, where they can slowly move their population of 100,000 before it is too late.

The Maldives are also in danger. In 2009, right before the opening of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, President Mohamed Nasheed drew attention to the island’s plight by holding a cabinet meeting underwater. He has also spearheaded the drive to get other countries to commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

5. Technology Collapsing

sgm / Shutterstock.com

While many of the items on this list are jokes or hypotheticals, the U.S. government takes a terrorist attack on the nation’s technology infrastructure very seriously. If the internet and cellphone capability collapsed, the country would be thrown into untold chaos. Already email accounts belonging to Cabinet members have been hacked into and various other secure areas of the government's computer network have hundreds of thousands of attacks a day.

So in February of 2010, the government actually ran a war game for this probable eventuality. The scenario was incredibly detailed and highly probable. Cell phones went down after sports fans across America downloaded a March Madness app. The power grid collapsed. They threw in bombs in Tennessee and Kentucky and a hurricane in the Gulf too because if you’re playing a war game, why not go all out?

Broadcast on CNN and led by former head of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, the exercise was an interesting lesson, but perhaps worryingly did not result in a grand plan for how to handle just such a situation.

Apocalypse? IRS says you still need to pay taxes - explainer

The irs has contingency plans in place to collect taxes even after a catastrophic apocalypse. however, that doesn't mean they're prepared for everything..

Wait, the IRS will tax you after the apocalypse?

• MEFs (mission essential function, meaning a type of job at the IRS deemed essential) and ESAs (essential supporting activity, which need to happen to support MEFs)
• BPPs (business process priority, which are considered important but not essential)
• DPBs (deferred business priority)

But who's going to be in charge?

Now that's fine and all but what about the actual taxes, but what about actual money , so does this irs apocalypse plan cover everything.

Ric Flair’s Reaction to WWE’s Contingency Plans for Raw Reflects His Iconic Legacy

W restling legend Ric Flair has experienced notable ups and downs both inside the ring and in his personal health. Acknowledging this reality, Flair has notably commented on the WWE’s emergency planning that once involved multiple RAW show scripts prepared for the event of his death in 2017.

The health concerns surrounding Ric Flair are well-known, especially given his 2017 health scare that involved a severely ruptured intestine, kidney failure, and life-threatening sepsis, which resulted in heart failure and pneumonia.

It was disclosed by AEW’s Executive Producer Mike Mansury that, during that critical time, WWE had developed three different scripts for Monday Night RAW to address the potential of Flair’s passing.

In response to this, Ric Flair expressed his gratitude on Twitter toward WWE for the considerable respect they demonstrated through their preparedness and affirmed his enduring affection for the company, regardless of his current alignment in the wrestling industry.

“This Is What Everyone In Any Place In The Wrestling Business Dreams Of- RESPECT! Regardless Of Who I Work For, I Will Always Love The @WWE For The Respect They Have Shown Me! Thank You! When The Day Comes, I Am So Confident You Will Honor Me”

Despite having wrestled his final match in 2022, where he faced a genuine heart attack, Ric Flair continues to contribute to AEW in good health. His fans, united in their support, hope for his sustained health and vibrant life.

Does a WWE return loom in the future for Ric Flair? Share your speculations and thoughts below!

Subhojeet, who has avidly followed professional wrestling for over two decades, discovered his love for the sport during the Monday Night Wars. With wide-ranging interests and a wealth of information, his coverage in the wrestling world is deeply valued for its insight and authority.

FAQ Section

What were the exact medical issues Ric Flair faced in 2017?

Ric Flair had a totally ruptured intestine, kidney failure, sepsis, respiratory heart failure, and pneumonia.

Why did WWE prepare multiple scripts for RAW?

WWE had prepared multiple versions of RAW scripts as contingency plans in the event of Ric Flair’s death due to his critical health condition in 2017.

Has Ric Flair retired from wrestling?

Yes, Ric Flair wrestled his last match on July 31, 2022, which was an event specifically called “Ric Flair’s Last Match.”

Is Ric Flair currently working with AEW?

Yes, after his recovery, Ric Flair joined AEW where he is in good health and actively contributing.

How did Ric Flair respond to WWE’s gesture?

Ric Flair expressed his utmost gratitude and respect for WWE on Twitter, emphasizing the respect they showed him.

The respect and preparations made by WWE for one of its most iconic superstars, Ric Flair, during a time when his health was at its most precarious, exemplifies the weight of his legacy in the wrestling industry. Ric Flair’s appreciation towards WWE and his current positive health status serve as a testament to the enduring nature of legends. Both WWE and his fans continue to hold Ric Flair in high esteem, illustrating the profound impact he’s had on the wrestling world.

NY Jets: Is Braelon Allen the Breece Hall contingency plan?

Could the New York Jets have drafted Braelon Allen to eventually replace Breece Hall?

There’s little question that New York Jets running back Breece Hall is an elite playmaker. To many, it felt like the Jets got the steal of the 2022 NFL draft when he was taken 36th overall by New York. Still, there is always a possibility that the team could move on from Hall after his rookie contract expires. If that’s the case, could rookie running back Braelon Allen develop into Hall’s future replacement as the RB1?

It’s hard to ignore Hall’s all-around talent as a running back. In his rookie season, he totaled 681 scrimmage yards with five touchdowns in less than seven complete games. When he tore his ACL in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos, Jets fans assumed the worst. There was little reason to believe Hall would be available in Week 1, let alone return to form in 2023. Yet, Hall played every game in his second season while amassing 1,585 scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns. Hall joined an elite tier of running backs who successfully returned the following season after tearing their ACL without seeing significant performance reduction.

Woke up thinking about when Breece Hall took his first two carries for 109 yards. This was his first game back from a torn ACL and he was on a pitch count 😂 And he wasn’t even nominated for comeback player of the year… INSANE #Jets pic.twitter.com/J4wJ50Mgqt — Vinny & Tha Jets (@VinnyandthaJets) February 3, 2024

So why would the Jets even think about moving on from him?

Too much for a running back?

With a player as talented as Hall, he’s going to command serious money on the open market. The closest comparison we currently have would be Jonathan Taylor’s extension with the Indianapolis Colts last season. Taylor’s extension was a three-year, $42 million contract with $26.5 million guaranteed.

Luckily for the Colts, the way their roster is currently constructed allowed the team to give a lucrative extension to their running back. They have a first-round quarterback with multiple years left on his rookie contract and a young core of playmakers at wide receiver. However, for the Jets, it may be a different story.

Right now, it’s impossible to tell what the future will hold for the Jets, but it’s interesting to look into the potential outcomes.

It seems unlikely that quarterback Aaron Rodgers will still be playing by the end of Hall’s rookie contract. If that were the case, the Jets would be put in an interesting situation.

Would they draft a quarterback and give Hall a contract extension? Or, would the team look for a veteran quarterback to bridge the gap until a franchise quarterback arrives? A lot of that will depend on the makeup of the roster – and whether or not Joe Douglas is still running the ship for the Jets.

Can Braelon Allen hold the reigns?

The second piece to the Breece Hall puzzle revolves around 2024 fourth-round pick Braelon Allen. Allen was a consensus Day 2 pick in the months leading up to the draft who fell into Day 3 due to teams “wanting to see more physicality,”  per SNY’s Connor Hughes. He’ll also be entering the NFL as the youngest player in the league.

Given his current skillset, we already have an idea of where Allen could be deployed in his rookie season. But what if Allen proves to be far more productive than expected?

In reality, Allen is still learning the position himself, originally being recruited to play linebacker at Wisconsin. Yet, in his short career, he’s already shown potential to be a workhorse at the next level.

Allen is a big-bodied back who does well in pass protection and is underrated as a receiver. Despite his big frame, he has the speed to break away big runs and is an excellent one-cut runner.

. @BadgerFootball running back Braelon Allen (6-2, 235) hit 20.1 mph on his record-breaking 96-yard TD against Illinois State on Saturday. Allen’s touchdown is the longest run in #Badger history. pic.twitter.com/ULa5F7KVbJ — Reel Analytics (@RAanalytics) September 5, 2022

While some look at Allen’s fourth-round draft capital as a slight toward his overall value, it should be remembered that the position has been devalued across the NFL. There’s little reason why Hall should have been a second-round pick in 2022. We saw the NFL overcorrect in the 2023 NFL draft, but overall, more teams are heading towards two-man committee approaches. The Jets seem to be headed into a tandem approach as well, and that should allow them to assess for the future.

Should the NY Jets extend Breece Hall?

Personally, I think there seems to be little reason for the Jets not to extend Hall. While he can improve in short-yardage situations, he’s truly an elite player . Running backs who carry his vision in the hole are hard to come by. Even Allen supporters (like myself) would prefer to see a one-two combo involving both players than letting a player with the talent of Hall walk.

However, the NFL is a business, and we’ve seen stranger things happen in recent history.

NEXT: Will NY Jets have a safety competition in training camp?

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Who is en sabah nur from ‘x-men ‘97’ apocalypse, explained.

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En Sabah Nur

The season finale of X-Men ‘97 took us to some dramatically unexpected places; though these days, it’s not exactly unusual for time travel to arrive inside comic storylines.

We had a glimpse of that this season with Cable and Bishop, but now? It looks like season two of X-Men ‘97 is going to be set in both the distant past and the far future. In the past, we meet En Sabah Nur, the man who would become Apocalypse, and here’s more to know more about him.

Who Is En Sabah Nur From ‘X-Men ‘97’ Finale?

The man at the end of the episode in very ancient Egypt is En Sabah Nur, who was born as a second generation mutant. The lines on his face made him an outcast, abandoned by his family, so he had to become a nomad, and eventually, an extremist.

En Sabah Nur has a host of powers, like your normal superhuman strength and endurance, but he eventually can fly and is almost invulnerable. But his powers were enhanced over time, and we’ll get to that in a minute. In the show, we didn’t see any of his actual powers in action. It’s not even clear he has them yet.

En Sabah Nur at one point communes with Egyptian gods like Isis who encouraged him to rebel as a slave against his masters, and when he was thrown into a pit of snakes, his powers first manifested so he could take all his oppressors out.

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Then, he would become the villain Apocalypse, who other than Magneto, is probably the most infamous X-Men villain in history.

Who Will Apocalypse Be In ‘X-Men ‘97’ ?

En Sabah Nur adopts a survival of the fittest philosophy for mutant kind, valuing strength above all else. Across the centuries Apocalypse was worshipped by a god due to his immense power, and he was recruited by the Celestials who enhanced his powers to extreme degrees.

In addition to the powers listed above, Apocalypse can rearrange his entire molecular structure, including allowing him to grow massive in size. He commands Celestial energy to make force fields, absorb energy and blast energy beams. He also has some level of telekinesis and telepathy.

Above all that, he is effectively immortal, and ageless. So needless to say he’s tough to beat.

What’s The Plan For En Sabah Nur And Apocalypse In ‘X-Men ‘97’ Season Two?

Given that viewers are teleported to the beginning of his story, possibly even before he gets his powers, we are likely going to see his rise into a villain.

Even if the X-Men are there to temporarily save him and possibly guide him, I don’t see any way that X-Men 97 rewrites his story so he does not become the murderous god-king Apocalypse. I know the show made Magneto have a good amount of morality and hero moments this season, but I’d be shocked if they did the same for Apocalypse here.

There have been so many Apocalypse stories in the comics over the years, it’s hard to know where we’re going to end up. I have no doubt that at some point the X-Men will return to their usual timeline, but Apocalypse will either come with them, or have lived long enough where he’s already there because, again, he’s immortal. I am curious if we’ll see the Celestial part of his story play out.

Apocalypse is also the eventual leader of the Four Horsemen. There are more than a few versions of this group, but they have the titles of Pestilence, War, Famine and Death. The original group are the children of Apocalypse and Genesis, who ruled with Apocalypse in ancient Egypt.

I am willing to bet that if they go down this route, Angel/Archangel may show up to be part of the storyline, given that he was not featured at all in this season. But we’ll wait and see.

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Ascension Genesys Strike Contingency Plan Update

At Ascension Genesys, ensuring the health and safety of those who entrust us with their care is our highest priority—and our most important responsibility.

Yet, while our team continues to make progress toward restoration and recovery following the recent ransomware attack, Teamsters Local 332 has chosen to give notice of its intent to take our registered nurses out on an indefinite strike, effective May 24, 2024.

The union’s sudden decision to strike, for an indefinite period, in the midst of an ongoing cyber event is truly difficult to understand. Despite this setback, Genesys is actively developing a comprehensive contingency plan.

However, an element of concern with this contingency plan is the impact of the ongoing cyber attack on the Ascension provisioning system.

Hospitals utilize provisioning systems to ensure only authorized individuals have access to key platforms and tools necessary to patient care. Due to the ongoing ransomware attack’s impact on the Ascension system, at this time, new staff—including contracted replacement staff—are unable to be provisioned. This means only staff who are currently provisioned have access to critical patient care systems, creating a formidable challenge in arranging replacement staff to step in for the caregivers who choose to go on strike.

While the union’s choice to strike in the midst of the cyber event will put additional strains on Genesys, we are making arrangements to continue to care for our patients and our community. As we onboard replacement nurses, previously provisioned Genesys clinicians in non-union and leadership roles will be available to support the new teams stepping in to care for our patients. Our leaders, clinicians and staff are well-trained in downtime procedures, already have access to our systems, and are deeply committed to Genesys and this community. Meanwhile, we are simultaneously working to mitigate the impacts of the ongoing cyber attack.

While we implement this contingency plan to address this voluntary strike at this challenging moment, we also want to recognize and thank our associates, clinicians and providers who have remained steadfast in caring for our patients.

We continue to bargain in good faith with Teamsters Local 332 and ask union leadership to reevaluate its decision to strike at this time and do what’s best for our patients, our associates and our community by withdrawing its strike notice and returning the focus to the bargaining table.

We all have the same goal—to reach agreement on a fair and equitable contract for our registered nurses that furthers our ability to care for our patients and communities for years and generations to come.

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Mission Continuity News May 2024: Risk Assessment

By Gary Wilhelm

As we continue to prioritize the safety and resilience of our University community, it’s crucial to ensure that our Mission Continuity plans are robust and adaptable to potential risks and disruptions. In this newsletter, we will outline the key components of risk assessment for Mission Continuity, highlight essential measures and provide valuable resources to aid you in your planning efforts.

In essence, risk in this context encompasses both the probability of an adverse event happening and the magnitude of its impact on the University’s operations, assets, reputation and ability to fulfill its obligations to stakeholders. Effective risk assessment allows businesses to prioritize their resources and efforts to mitigate, transfer or accept risks appropriately, thereby enhancing their resilience to unforeseen events. Key components of risk assessment are identifying risks, assessing likelihood, prioritization, mitigation, testing and updating plans.

Key Components

As plan managers, it’s imperative to recognize the critical role that comprehensive Mission Continuity planning plays in safeguarding our organization’s operations and ensuring resilience in the face of adversity. A well-written plan not only serves as a roadmap for navigating disruptions but also acts as a cornerstone for organizational success. By investing time and resources into thorough plan development, we are proactively mitigating risks, minimizing potential losses and safeguarding our reputation. The success of our efforts can be measured not just in terms of how effectively we respond to emergencies, but also in our ability to maintain continuity, protect our stakeholders and sustain operations during challenging times. A robust plan instills confidence among our team members, students, staff and partners, demonstrating our commitment to preparedness and ensuring our organization’s ability to thrive amidst uncertainty.

Resources for Plan Administrators

Why oil refineries are making contingency plans with a Sarnia, Ont., chemical plant shut down

Industry association says no immediate impact to production.

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Oil refineries in Sarnia, Ont., are piecing together contingency plans in case the shutdown of a chemical processing plant becomes a long-term closure.

Industry experts say those plans could include shipping benzene by rail or by water to customers in other markets because it can no longer be shipped by pipeline to INEOS Styrolution's Sarnia plant.

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Ontario suspended a key approval required by INEOS to operate its plant after people in neighbouring Aamjiwnaang First Nation were rushed to hospital and treated for benzene exposure last month.

Benzene is linked to a wide range of acute and long-term health effects, including cancer and blood issues.

The chemical is a byproduct that occurs during the processing of crude oil for gasoline. That byproduct is used by INEOS to create styrene that is used to make plastics products.

'No immediate risk' to production of gasoline

Sarnia's petrochemical and refining complex is made up of dozens of chemical facilities and three refineries which, combined, is the second-largest cluster of its kind in Canada.

"In these clusters, typically the byproducts of one operation are the feedstock of another and so there's some codependency," said Greg Moffatt with the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada.

INEOS said there will be ripple effects felt by oil refineries in Sarnia now that the plant is shut down.

The order from Ontario prevents companies from moving benzene to INEOS through pipelines as of May 15 until the operation meets a number of requirements. 

Moffatt said that raises two questions for companies that produce benzene. 

"How much storage do these facilities have... and how quickly can they pivot to move the benzene that they have on site to other markets?"

A spokesperson for the Canadian Fuels Association said they're monitoring the situation in Sarnia. 

"Refinery operators in the region are currently developing contingency plans to address and mitigate the impact of a potential long-term disruption," said Landon Tresise, a spokesperson for the Canadian Fuels Association. 

"At this point, we are not aware of any immediate risk to continued safe production operations."

Industrial shutdown order rare in Sarnia

The closure of that operation first started as a voluntary decision by INEOS before the province suspended its Environmental Compliance Approval.

INEOS is on the government's technical standards registry for air pollution, which exempts it from complying with the annual air standard for benzene. 

A technical standard review completed by the Ontario government last year found that if 90 micrograms of benzene is measured in a cubic metre of air 1 hour or 30 micrograms over 24 hours "then risks of an adverse effect (blood toxicity or hematotoxicity) are elevated."

Aamjiwnaang First Nation declares state of emergency over benzene levels

Aamjiwnaang shut down its band offices and told people to work from home after an air monitor recorded a peak reading of 117.8 micrograms per cubic metre of air for an hour on April 16.

Days after an order was issued to INEOS by the province to reduce emissions following the voluntary shutdown, air monitors once again recorded benzene concentrations beyond the target.

Both the company and province have been criticized by Aamjiwnaang councillors who believe they've acted too slow and without their input as community members have gotten sick.

"This is not acceptable, nor is it an isolated event. Our community and our lands have become a sacrifice zone for the benefit of industry," said CJ Smith-White during a news conference ahead of a global plastics treaty negotiations event last month. 

The INEOS facility has been in operation under different companies since the late 1970s.

"I've been through some really big challenges in the 80s and 90s with the industry and the province and sometimes the federal government," said long-serving Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, when asked about Ontario's actions. 

"I've never seen this action before. It's a very clear and strong message."

Bradley has been critical of the company for not disclosing more information about the emissions and efforts to contain them.

"In general terms, the fact is, materials being made there are still part of the Canadian economy. There's still things happening there that are a benefit to Canadians. But then you get into that endless debate about the environment versus the economy. And right now, I would say the mood in general terms here is on the side of health and protecting people's health."

Aamjiwnaang declared a state of emergency last week and have set benzene emission readings that will trigger the closure of band offices and nearby baseball diamonds.

INEOS said it's considering appealing the provincial order and has maintained that its site monitoring systems have not detected emissions beyond prescribed limits. 

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Oak Ridge High WILL have graduation tonight!

Decision will be made no later than 5 p.m. friday.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Oak Ridge Schools has announced graduation WILL be held at 7 tonight at Blankenship Field. This was posted to the Oak Ridge Schools' Facebook page: "Oak Ridge High School Graduation will proceed as scheduled tonight! The gates will open at Blankenship Field at 6 p.m. and the ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. The radar looks favorable, however, we encourage you to dress accordingly should the weather shift. We look forward to celebrating our graduates with you tonight!."

PREVIOUS STORY BELOW:

Oak Ridge Schools has updated its contingency plan and communication process for deciding on whether to hold Oak Ridge High School 's graduation Friday night in light of possible rain.

Oak Ridge High School graduation is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, May 17, with gates opening at 6 p.m. at Blankenship Field. With inclement weather in the forecast, school system officials have updated the contingency plan and communication process to ensure the safety and timely notification of the high school's families and Oak Ridge community.

Decision by 5 p.m. Friday

The decision of whether to postpone the graduation ceremony will be made by 5 p.m. Friday. That announcement will be made via text, phone call and email to all high school families through the district’s Skylert platform, according to a news release from Oak Ridge Schools. The announcement will also be posted to the district’s social media pages, website and shared as an email announcement to local media outlets, including The Oak Ridger, which would post the decision to its website , Facebook , and page on "X," formerly known as Twitter . The Oak Ridge Schools' webpage located at https://www.ortn.edu/graduation-class-of-2024/ will be updated with the most recent updates regarding the 2023-24 graduation ceremony.

If Friday’s graduation is cancelled due to weather, the ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 18, on Blankenship Field. Understanding that the current weather forecast for Saturday is not favorable, and to ensure an opportunity for as many loved ones and community members to attend as possible, Oak Ridge Schools has added Sunday, May 19, at 2 p.m. at Blankenship Field as an additional rain date for the graduation ceremony.

The district will make every effort to hold the ceremony outside, as moving to our indoor location at Wildcat Arena significantly reduces capacity and would require limited ticketing of attendees, the release stated. Should the ceremony be forced indoors, an announcement would be made following the same process listed previously by no later than 7 a.m. Sunday, May 19. The indoor ceremony would take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19, and tickets would be required. No tickets are required for outdoor ceremonies

Graduation celebration will take place on Friday, May 17, rain or shine. Graduating seniors should report to the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 10 p.m. and board the buses to the Main Event at 11:30 p.m.

The graduation ceremony will be live streamed on Wildcat TV – to view, visit  www.ortn.edu/wcat .

A summary of the backup plan

• Option 1:  Outdoor – 7 p.m., Friday, May 17, 2024, Blankenship Field
• Option 2:  Outdoor – 7 p.m., Saturday, May 18, 2024, Blankenship Field
• Option 3:  Outdoor – 2 p.m., Sunday, May 19, 2024, Blankenship Field
• Option 4:  Indoor – 2 p.m., Sunday, May 19, 2024, Wildcat Arena

How the notifications will go out:

• Skylert text, email and phone call to all high school families
• Oak Ridge Schools'  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Instagram
• Oak Ridge Schools website
• Local media, including The Oak Ridger
• Oak Ridge Schools' digital signs.