Simpathe Nation, Page 2

  Chapter 2: Blame it on the Weather

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  Josh woke early, buzzing with excitement and jumped into action, showering and getting ready for school in record time. There was a uniform but he didn't mind it as he wasn't into the usual fashion trends that most young people engaged in. his mother was sensible and bought most of his clothes and he was only given a small budget. He would usually meet up with the other two at school but today had arranged to meet Kate on the way. In their haste the day before they had not thought exactly how they were going to get the temporary password they needed. They were scheduled to attend their information technology class in the afternoon but most of the classes were finished for their year and only a few exams remained before the end of the school year. They were however still in school and had to account for every session to ensure that they didn’t go and steal cars or shock the local elderly population into telephoning the police because they looked scary he thought. This morning they had free time to study after registration. Josh believed school was over regimental and thought registration must be similar to a prisoner of war camp roster. It certainly didn't inspire him to think of himself as living in a free world. They had one lesson before dinner: English. They would probably end up playing hangman as the exam had already taken place. Kate’s’ job was to get hold of a temporary password or think of a way of getting one. The school had an ‘anytime access’ IT suite in the library which, despite its name, had limited access to the Internet. You could get passwords however because nobody monitored the young people in the library. The information technology class had full access but other students were carefully supervised sometimes by more than one person. It had a firewall of course but like all things this could be circumvented. Josh took a slightly different route to his usual one to meet Kate on the way to school.

  He met Kate as she was leaving her front garden, “Hi, what's your plan?" he asked as soon as he saw her.

  "Morning, you’re keen. I wasn't expecting you yet," Kate said, seemingly surprised by Josh is intrusion into her morning headspace.

  Josh could see he wasn't completely welcome this early in the morning and reined his excitement in.

  "Sorry, I was excited," he apologised.

  "I'm no good until about 9.30, or until I've had chocolate," Kate muttered.

  Josh promptly removed a Cadbury's caramel from his pocket and offered it to her. There was no ‘I'm too fat’ or ‘no thanks’. The chocolate went from full bar to empty wrapper in seconds and Kate’s mood visibly brightened.

  "Now I go to library quite a lot but don’t very often use their computers. The librarians trust me so I'm going to ask them for a temporary password, tell them I lost mine." Kate explained her plan.

  "Isn't that sort of thing a year five would do?" Josh wasn’t convinced.

  "Yes, but they know me, I’ve done it twice this year," replied Kate.

  "In theory the password will work everywhere, I think," mused Josh.

  "Yeah, the IT teachers usually reset everything but the temporary ones work," Kate agreed.

  They were on. The morning was a slow and painful process of waiting. They were all slightly high on their planned mischief when they met late in the dinner hour after Kate had obtained her password. They walked to the IT suite together and ensured they were sat together in the least observable position. Josh quickly logged on and uploaded the programme. It worked perfectly. Despite Josh feeling that the programme would take forever and time ticking away so slowly it took less than thirty seconds to complete. The teacher hadn't even finished her walk round the room, perfect. Josh took the USB memory card and wiped it clean to destroy the evidence. The lesson was about to begin when the deputy headmaster, Mr. Phillips, walked in and asked Mrs. Stewart for a quick word. They held a swiftly muttered conversation in the corner before Mrs. Stewart moved away from him and addressed the class.

  "Listen up, this is important, you need to turn off all the PCs in the suite. Unplug them too please," Mrs. Stewart asked.

  Puzzled, the whole class shut down their PCs and unplugged the computers.

  Several people asked Mrs. Stewart what was happening but she only told them that Mr. Phillips would explain at an emergency assembly to be held in the next ten minutes. Josh, Kate and Callan sat on their stools looking sheepish, guiltily thinking they must have done something by using the programme, until Mrs. Stewart escorted the entire group to the assembly Hall and with a combined sigh of relief the three conspirators saw the whole school assembled together. A dull murmur was audible as students tried to find out if anyone knew what was happening. There were whispers that Chloe Williams had died. She had been sick for a long time and it was rumoured that she had an inoperable brain tumor and would not last the summer. Then the headmistress, Mrs. Patel, walked to the podium in front of the massed school.

  "Quiet please, please listen up," Mrs. Patel almost begged the rowdy students. She waited for the dull hum to subside while her efficient staff team picked out those who were not complying.

  "Thirty minutes ago the ace satellite was obliterated by a solar flare believed to be heading towards Earth," explained Mrs. Patel, pausing as gasps and worried looks spread around the room, even those who didn't understand the repercussions catching on quickly that something was very wrong.

  "There's no need to worry but you do need facts. Mr. Foster, our head of science, is here to explain what could happen," stated Mrs. Patel.

  Mr. Foster, a shy man not used to speaking to students without a geek background stepped up to the microphone. Despite his shyness he was nevertheless clearly comfortable with his subject. "Okay, first the best part: solar flares will not hurt any of us physically. However solar flares send out cosmic rays which can destroy electrical equipment such as the electrical substations, computers, cars, satellite and one that all of you will be upset about; Xboxs," he explained.

  "Now there is no reason to panic but there is a possibility that all our technology won't work. Now we're going to turn this radio on and listen for the next hour. By then we’ll know if we are going to be affected by the solar storm."

  Several hands shot into the air and Mr. Foster eventually pointed to one small red haired third year who was enthusiastically waving her arm for attention.

  "Sir, will this mean we have to go home early?" asked Shelley.

  "No Shelley, if anything it means you’ll have to stay longer."

  A collective sigh came from those students who had seen an opportunity for an early finish and more hands went up. Mr. Foster pointed to another young lad who he knew may have a more relevant and intelligent question.

  "Sir, what can we do to stop it?" Carl asked.

  "Good question. The power companies will turn on every line that they have everywhere. This will hopefully absorb the excess energy from the suns rays," Mr. Foster explained as he pointed to another small child for her question.

  "Please, had we known it was coming?" Rebecca asked.

  "The Ace satellite is directed at the sun. If a solar flare erupts the satellite gets it first. I'm going to tune to BBC radio four who are running live commentary on this event."

  The students waited in silence, listening intently to the radio presenter who was on the phone to the National Astronomical Society, attempting to ascertain exactly what was happening and, frustratingly, giving the same information they already knew again. They listened for the next twenty minutes to accounts of what was happening, what everyone was doing and what could happen. The consequences sounded disastrous and you could have heard a pin drop in the full assembly Hall. The lights and everything in the school were turned on, everything but microelectronics was turned on to full to drain the power of the flare. The message from the radio station was that people must turn everything on and the more power people used the better.

  Then it happened. A huge bang shattered the listening quiet, the lights went out and the news show crackled once before falling silent. Everything was still and dark and th
e stunned pupils stood in shock until the screams began in the Assembly Hall. Harried teachers hustled around calming everyone down and trying to ascertain what happened.