The Wonderful Future

My fellow Americans-

At approximately 1:30 a.m. yesterday

Our great nation was the victim of a cowardly attack

From the combined forces of several foreign entities

Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost

As an undetermined number of nuclear weapons

Struck the Eastern seaboard

Effective immediately, a national state of emergency has been declared

And those cities hit hardest are under a state of martial law

All military reserves have been called into action

And a draft of capable citizens has been enacted

It has been discovered that the assailants are using

Our own networks to guide their missiles

In order to prevent further attacks, as of 8 a.m. today

All cell phone and radio towers have ceased transmissions

And the government is working with Internet Service Providers

To enact protection measures against further intrusion

Certain rights have been suspended for your own protection

And in order to preserve the integrity of our borders

Any and all broadcasting devices are to be turned in to local authorities

Continued possession of such devices after midnight on the 7th of November

Will be considered an act of treason

Due to their increased vulnerability, all civilian judicial centers have been closed

And trials will be held, according to martial law, through military tribunals

Effective immediately

Your understanding and cooperation is appreciated

While we mourn the loss of our brothers and sisters

Let us also take pride, in our great nation, and in ourselves

For working together to overcome this tragedy

I thank you for your time, any questions concerning your new rights and responsibilities

Will be answered by your brothers and sisters in uniform

Through teamwork and a united front, we shall overcome.

Signed,

The President of the United States

I still remember the last broadcast

The somber look on his face

As he read from the teleprompter

The collective gasp of a nation

Who thought ourselves invulnerable

I remember when the trucks and tanks came through

The soldiers with their grim looks

And automatic weapons

I remember the waiting

Days into weeks into months

Wondering if anything was left

Of the Eastern half of the country

I remember the tears

As we huddled together around blank screens

Or practiced safety protocols

In case the second attack came

I remember when the first of us

Began to doubt the validity of it all

The media blackout, the police state

The twenty dollar a loaf bread

I remember listening to the ham radio enthusiasts

Chatting up their various conspiracy theories

Sometimes for days before they would suddenly stop transmitting

What I don't remember

Is the second attack that never came

The invasion force that we never met

Well, the ones that weren't in

U.S. military uniforms

Hell, by the time we knew what was going on

It was too late, and it's hard to say

We would have stopped it anyways

But of all this, what I remember most is

The day we were all huddled around the radio

Hoping for some news

When a young ham radio operator asked us all a question, he asked

"Does anyone really know, if we were ever really attacked to begin with?"

I remember that, 'cause that was the day the revolution began.