GATE: the clash of the titans

by Qun Nguyn1

Mostly AUs. A Gate has opened in Tokyo by a Roman-esque Empire, familiar scenario with familiar faces but the people marched through the Gate is from a vastly more powerful magic world. The stage is set. Earth Alliance vs The Holy Empire. Science vs Magic. The power of the thousand sun vs The Beast of the Apocalypse. Let the clash of Titans begin. Let the worlds have War.

7. Chapter 7 Nuke, Avengers and Ultron

Chapter 7: Nuke, The Avengers and Ultron pt1

Project Ultron is basically Skynet done right. No time travel bullshit or John Connor of course.

The Greater Russian Union Republic: The Greater Russian Union is a new nation that was created when Russia reabsorbed Ukraine, Belarus and the Central Asia nations in the mist of chaos following the Rumbling in 2019. The head of state is the Supreme Chancellor. The man currently holding that position is Putin. It more like a modern day Russian Empire than the Soviet Union.

Indochina Federation is one of the new nations created following the Rumbling. It was formed in 2021 after an influx of refugees from China overflowed to Indochina countries because of the Rumbling and Covid-19. In order to deal with the unstable situation in the region the governments of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam signed the unification treaty and the formation of Indochina Federation. It is a fiscal-military state with the Secretary General of the Armed Forces as the head of state.

Federal Republic of China (Chinese: 中華聯邦共和國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Liánbāng Gònghéguó) is a federal republic encompassing mainland China, Macau, and Hong Kong. This "Third Republic" (following on from the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China) is created after the collapse of the Chinese Communist Party in the aftermath of the Rumbling and the explosion of Covid19 Pandemic. It is a federation with the characteristics of a confederation. Federal Republic of China consists of two kinds of republics: 'loose republics' such as Hong Kong, Macao, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang: and 'close republics' consisting the rest of China. They are differ from the existing federal countries in their defence, taxation and legal systems. The new flag for a Federal Republic of China, identical to the Five Races Under One Union flag as used as a national flag from the inception of the First Republic in 1912 until the demise of the warlord government in 1928.

The United Republic of Europia also referred to as the E.U., Europia United, or simply Europia, is a new confederation created following the aftermath of the Rumbling. It was formed in 2024 as an evolution from the European Union. The capital of Europia United is Paris. It is a confederation style republic with representatives from each country in the council of forty, also known as the Central Hemicycle. The new superpower comprises most of Europe except for the UK, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus whose created a union of the own, the Greater Russian Union and the New Commonwealth, an economic union between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, East Africa and the United Kingdom. Europia United was essentially a dream for quite a long time in which multiple speeches were given over the years with greater rising of this eventuality of a Unified Europe.

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Earth-January, 2030

The Allied response to the Rocket Blitz attacks was, in the purely tactical sense, truly an interesting example of UEADF military philosophy. After days of intense debate the Global Security Council voted to use the old generation H- bombs on 2 civilian targets to deter the Holy Empire, implement The Avengers Initiative and integrate Ultron into the UEADF strategic defense system.

It was also recognized that the Allies, for many reasons, had to carry out many black op deep inside the Holy Empire territories before the invasion force could even be considered ready but the surprisingly strong defense of the Holy Empire presented unparalleled challenges for normal special forces like US Navy Seal, German KSK or Russian Spetsnaz.

The Avengers Initiative was rapidly adopted by the Global Security Council civilian leadership, over the objections of senior World Central Bank executives who felt the cost would be excessive. The use of ICBM for a deterrence attack, which had been the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) proposal, was also adopted.

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The Avengers Initiative (a.k.a Phase 1; originally conceptualized as the Protector Initiative) was a secret project created by the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) to create the Avengers, a fast response task force of 300,000 strong, armed with the most technological advances weapons ULTRON had to offer. The Initiative would defend the world from imminent global threats that were beyond the warfighting capability of conventional military forces.

Equipment

Avengers have access to a standard set of military equipment:

Primary weapon: An Avenger may choose one of three main weapons: long-range, close-quarters or an all-purpose striker. This choice defines his role on the battlefield as either a tactical hunter, a position invader or a heavy defender. The primary systems of an Avenger, including main weapons, are powered by the Iron Man's nuclear battery. Targeting and aiming systems are part of the suit's - not the gun's - capabilities and thus common across all firearms in the Avenger's arsenal.

Long range: The Hawkeye battle rifle is the single most advanced and expensive small arms used by infantry worldwide. Its 0.9 m body, without adding a stock, consists of 2/5ths barrel. Ammunition is not a problem for a Hawkeye since it fires a high-energy beam of light generated by a solid-state laser.

Limited by line-of-sight alone, it is perfectly accurate but severely attenuates beyond 30 km of open air. Power output cannot exceed one MJ per second - 200 grams of nitrogen explosive directed into the opponent each second - as the laser's capacitors cannot handle more power.

This energy can be spread over two, four or six quick pulses within that second, specially suited to handle either infantry, aircraft or armor. On a full battery, 2 Hz operation allows an ideal maximum of 20,000 shots before the battery needs recharging.

However, with other systems in the Iron Man suit operating simultaneously, an Avenger can realistically unleash about 2000 to 5000 rounds. Most remarkably, no reloading is necessary. Those soldiers who wish to intimidate their enemy or foster a sense of personal power can activate an optional bang and flash to accompany every shot.

Iron Man exoskeletons are also programmed to simulate kickback from the rifle for the same reasons as these other aesthetic features. The sight of an armor-clad Avenger with his rifle in arms, recoiling with each expulsion of laser light, is indeed frightening.

Close range: The Hammer of Thor scattergun is humanity's most powerful third generation plasma-based small arm. About 0.6 m long the gun is rather bulky for a handheld weapon but this is necessary to leave room for its 0.3 m hydrogen gas ammunition cartridge. Electromagnets heat and accelerate the gas through coiled accelerator tubes to a muzzle velocity exceeding 12,000 ms-1. With a surprisingly high amount of gas ejected every shot, one cartridge supplies about 200 bolts. Since soldiers would be equipped with four to six of them, the plasma launcher can last a while in combat. The Hammer is especially effective against armored targets due to its ability to melt nearly any material, although it is significantly hindered by repulsive electromagnetic shielding. Expelled bolts are a yellow color.

Specialized: 2 m long and over 36 kg without attachments, the Hulk Buster heavy machine gun is the largest man-portable weapon. With some attachments, the gun weighs up to 44 kg while empty. Most iterations of the Hulk Busters are fed ammunition by a large pack worn on the soldier's back that carries 16,000 bullets of 8 mm caliber. Each bullet contains a shaped charge that can add 50 mm of penetration into tank armor with every hit. The gun varies in rate of fire but is able to approach 3000 rounds per minute. At maximum power, a soldier equipped with this gun can make short work of most armored vehicles. A Hulk Buster has variable muzzle velocities, from 1,300 ms-1 for an anti-infantry role to 11,300 ms-1 against armor. Even fortifications offer only modest protection from the Hulk Buster.

Sidearm: The mighty Avengers have access to two sidearms. The first is the Black Window rapid fire handgun. It's small size, 50 round magazine and 1,300 ms-1 muzzle velocity allow it to get Avengers out of most sticky situations. The War Machine , however, is more like a Desert Eagle, pumping over 20 KJ of kinetic energy into each of its 12 rounds. The decision to use one over the other is mere preference. A soldier wants either a high-powered sidearm for close encounters that works well in combination with the Hawkeye rifle or something to quickly take out multiple foes at any range, which is useful more generally. Unlike primary weapons, sidearms carry an independent power source and are usable if the suit runs out of power.

Explosives: Standard in a Avenger's arsenal is a fragmentation grenade with a 40 m kill radius on open terrain. Such a blast exceeds the distance most soldiers can throw a grenade but is not only well inside the throwing distance for an armorclad Avenger, it is also virtually ineffective against the armor itself. Optional hand explosives available to legionaries are plastic explosives, usually part of a tesserarius' equipment, and the experimental Phoenix Anti-Emplacement Bomb.

This deadly new weapon came out of America R&D in 2029 for use in the Great Earth Falmart War. While equipped with a thirty minute power source of its own, it must be constantly attached to the Avenger's armor battery as it needs the energy to retain an electromagnetic field containing 400 grams of hot plasma.

Once the timer is activated, the Avenger has ten seconds to leave the device before a wave of heat from the grenade melts everything within 20 meters. Tank armor, concrete walls, armored doors, no material can withstand a proximity detonation of a Phoenix .

Armor: The Iron Man is the crown jewel of the Avengers. One of the most advanced pieces of human technology, a suit costs upwards of $1,040,000 US. Dozens of features are built into the suit, each contributing to the fearsome reputation of the Avenger's mighty soldiers.

Outer Layer: Outwardly the armor is made of sturdy plates of what looks like metal, but these are actually a hardened alloy of carbon nanotubes that is 200 times sturdier than steel and still a fourth of its weight. Not even the American can create a material with such properties; it is uniquely the product of Japanese nanotechnology. However, not every inch of someone's body can be covered by these plates as this would restrict mobility. The solution is linked nanotube micro-particles (analogous to chain mail) that offer mobility at the joints with moderate loss in durability.

The helmet offers visibility through viewing ports that appear to cover much of the head. The reality behind the appearances is that only small sections are glass covers for four 8 mm cameras that feed live footage to a holographic HUD. In summary, the armor is strong enough to resist impacts near the magnitude of a cruise missile and has the heat resistance to render fire, laser and electrical weaponry ineffective except at very high orders of magnitude (close to the resistance of tungsten and durability of nanotubes).

Inner Layer: The bottom layer of the armor is a synthetic fiber which offers maximum comfort to the soldier, while the next layer absorbs the physical shock of impacts. Thermoelectric sinks drain excess heat from the wearer into energy for the nuclear battery, while electric heaters generate warmth in temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius.

Lethal accelerations up to 40 g can be absorbed by superconducting electromagnets (impulse dampeners) which work diamagnetically on the human body to enable legionaries to withstand tremendous abuse. Falls from 120 feet are routinely allowed in the heat of combat but a higher fall is classified as risky.

Exoskeleton: The Iron Man's foremost component is the powered exoframe that turns soldiers into superhumans. First, it can carry 51,000 kg for the wearer without straining its artificial muscles - nanotube fibers pulled by micro-motors.

These motors are directly powered by polymeric nanofiber battery patches which are ultracapacitors providing a quick release of energy for muscle movements. These are continuously recharged by the main battery. The added strength from the suit is sufficient to break concrete with punches and shove a car out of the way. Second, the suit reduces the loss of stamina during any physical exertion, allowing the user to easily sprint several km without tiring. Third, the exoskeleton is in harmony with targeting computers, giving near perfect control and accuracy when firing weapons.

Strangely, the suit can simulate a programmed kickback motion for each weapon to provide the soldier with a sense of power and to intimidate the enemy. An Avenger's speed and agility in the suit, while still limited by his human reaction times, is enhanced by the exoframe. The maximum tested running speed of a suited Avenger is 74 kph (20.5 ms-1).

Power: All of the Iron Man's power comes from a small nuclear battery at the base of the spine in the armor. Depending on the intensity of the soldier's activities, this piece of nickel can usually run the suit for a minimum of two days, and even up to several weeks if no weapons systems are needed. Power travels to all necessary parts of the suit through insulated superconductor wires. Electric nodes in the right hand transfer power to the primary weapon, or to a vehicle or structure with an appropriate receptacle. On the left hand are other nodes through which the nuclear battery is recharged, either from vehicles or mobile charging units that relay power from mobile nuclear reactors in the Helios Network.

Shielding: Every suit is equipped with an electromagnetic array built into the back that can project a force field on command. This can reflect railgun rounds, plasma and electric discharges as well as partially deflect lasers, bullets, missiles and other shrapnel. An amplifier located in the right forearm of the suit can increase and focus the shield in a direction according to the arm's orientation. There is discussion among the engineers who develop such technology of fitting newer Iron Man with a plasma window. Such a device would shield the Avenger from projectiles of every kind.

Hardware & Software: A microscopic 4.5 GHz processor is embedded in the back of the Avenger's helmet, performing the majority of the suit's calculations with its eight cores. It has integrated graphics processing which also handles the image production for the helmet's heads up display (HUD). Data acquired by the suit - including mission information, battle plans, and captured files - are stored in 28 micro-crystal storage devices throughout the suit which provide a total of 12 TB of storage. Redundant copies of the suit's operating system and preprogrammed movements are spread across these easy to replace devices. Without these programs, however, the suit is utterly useless.

Sensors: An Avenger helmet is equipped with multiple electric sensors. In the eyes, infrared and visible cameras offer extraordinary detail concurrently on what is in their view. The former is a supplement to what is seen by the cameras in the visible spectrum. Heat signatures are overlaid to distinguish human targets from the environment and infrared completely takes over in foggy or obscured situations.

Computer software highlights vehicles, civilians, other legionaries and enemy combatants according to criteria programmed prior to entering the field. Physical and digital magnification of the image are on an order comparable to a modern scope but the visual displays can interface with standard issue weapons to allow firing around corners or rapid switching between sniping and normal perception.

This "sniper view" and "helmet view" tend to be active simultaneously, the former as a small screen in the main display. Calculations are carried out to determine the distances of objects in view and even their height above the Avenger's current position.

Further calculations are performed to estimate bullet drop according to gun settings, distance and weather conditions, which is displayed as a translucent line from the barrel.

Other sensors identify radiation (as a digital glow over an object), ambient pressure and temperature. Most importantly, motion sensors can identify the direction of moving objects close to human size or larger. This is translated as a mini-map in the Avenger's HUD.

Finally, the computer can take over to acquire, follow and eliminate targets when it would be otherwise impossible for the soldier to do it alone, this occurs automatically and seamlessly from the point of view of the soldier.

Display: Information from the internal and external sensors of the Iron Man must be presented in a useful format to the Avenger. While the limbs and digits provide tactile feedback, the majority of data comes to the operator through a holographic HUD built into the helmet. The holographic viewscreen is arranged in several tactical layers for easy access. The images seen by the soldier are fed directly onto his retinas. There is no actual screen inside the helmet.

The first tactical layer is an environmental display, a high-definition, real-time representation of what the soldier would be seeing without his helmet; vision is not obscured as most helmets do and it is as if no helmet is being worn at all - except for the fact that the image is projected in such a way as to bypass optical defects, giving the soldier the vision of someone with flawless eyesight, such as no human as ever naturally possessed.

This representation is integrated with the next tactical layer which enhances the images, with infrared data, radiation sources, electrical currents, and magnetic fields clearly identified. A third tactical layer digitally displays: sight focus (as a reticule), ammunition, object distance, relative object height, identification as friend or foe, and a mini-map simply locating moving objects around the Avengers.

Medical Systems: Courtesy of the Brazilian, Avengers super soldiers are equipped with a wide variety of medicines and drugs that scientists could not fathom.

A substance structurally similar to morphine can provide up to four days of continuous pain relief, while another drug aids the body in healing wounds (at almost six times the normal rate).

An artificial form of norepinephrin, combined with a cocktail of other drugs can be administered to put the soldier into, what the Brazilian call, Predador, an elevated state of adrenaline high. Reflexes are multiples faster than normal, muscles operate above their normal capacity (important even with the exoskeleton active since quick muscle movements allow the exoskeleton to react more quickly), and many soldiers attest to perceiving the passage of time at a slower rate, attributable to more rapid mental activity. Although this can only be maintained for a maximum of five minutes, at the risk of stopping the heart, it is an incredibly useful addition to Avenger's arsenal.

Another drug can be repeatedly administered to keep a soldier active continuously for up to three days, while his dietary needs for the same period are provided by a nutritious organic solution.

Lastly, there is a drug of which most soldiers and civilians know very little, and most of what they know is a distortion of the truth. This final drug is injected without the soldiers knowledge if the vital sensors in the suit detect that the soldier is feeling worn down, dissatisfied or particularly unhappy.

Once administered, it instantly elevates levels of motivation and provides the soldier with a greater resolve to accomplish his tasks. This eliminates one of the most important factors in the capabilities of an army, one which has arguably won and lost more battles than any other factor - the will of the soldier. All of these medicinal compounds are stored within small vials inside the suit, and can be administered at the whims of the soldier, with the exception of the motivator.

Favored among Avengers is a combination of the Hawkeye laser rifle and Black Window handgun. Somewhere around 62% of all soldiers take that equipment. In public ceremonies, it is the standard armament of Avengers and is currently considered most reflective of the UEADF military aesthetic.

Fully equipped, an Avenger can charge through a firefight and shrug off grenades, small arms fire and even glancing blows from tank shells. Their speed on the battlefield is legendary. Squads of legionaries have been known to cover eight km of enemy territory, wiping out most occupants, within a half of an hour. The accuracy afforded by their Iron Man's systems gives them nearly flawless performance on the field, taking down visible targets quickly and avoiding the costly error of friendly fire.

Armored Division

The Avengers operated the world's finest tanks, with the T-146 Odin forming the core of its fighting strength.

Earth's deadliest tank, the most powerful one ever built, is unarguably the T-146 Odin heavy tank. For preliminary results, its predecessor was only ever destroyed in nuclear artillery strikes and then only by a direct hit. The modern T-146 Odin heavy tank is reportedly invulnerable due to almost excessive armor plating. T-146 Odin heavy tanks were the heaviest land combat vehicle ever fielded at 207 standard tons (188,000 kg). With a hull measuring a stunning 34 feet in length and having a turret that towered 13 feet off the ground, the vehicle was literally "as big as a house"

Over much of its main body, the T-146 Odin is covered by one ft of a hardened carbon-tungsten nanotube alloy, 200 times greater tensile strength than steel by volume, a third of its weight and a melting point of 3,580 K. An inner layer of lead plates blocks harmful radiation. Essentially, troops inside this tank are impervious to external harm. Bunker busters, cruise missiles and indirect nuclear bombs, which tend be one-shot wonders against tanks, are equally ineffective against the T-146 Odin, merely denting its armor. This tank reflects a design suited for a nuclear age of warfare, where weapons are orders of a magnitude above those from older wars.

Of course, this seeming invulnerability does not take into account the T-146's other defense - particle shields. Generated by electromagnets beneath the armor, the shield is several Tesla's in strength and is supplemented by a plasma bubble that manifests as a circular band 1 m wide around the T-146, defending against lateral ballistics. This shield vaporizes small rounds before giving them the chance the penetrate and prematurely detonates missiles. As a last defense, the T-146 is equipped with point-defense lasers, seamlessly built-into the outer armor, that actively protect the tank against missiles from above and close-detonations of nuclear warheads.

A T-146 Odin heavy tank has four weapons. Primary weapon is a Hela cannon, a short-barrel turret (unlike stereotypical tank turrets) containing a high-energy laser cannon that can rotate 360° laterally and 71° vertically. The laser projector's output suffices to penetrate all kinds of tank or Titan armor - even the T-146's own - and tear through city walls and bunkers, by digging up to it through the ground. Its cannon measures up to the most typical depiction of a death ray since no present materials can block its path - the perfect LOS weapon.

Another energy weapon on the T-146 are four laser rifles undetectably built on its surface, looking out at equal angles from each other like square octagonal molecular geometry. These 100 kW lasers are weak compared to the 1 GW Hela cannon, but are not designed to combat vehicles. Their purpose is rapidly tearing apart infantry formations by searing flesh and microwaving internal organs. Generally, the advantage of laser weapons is that electromagnetic radiation is the only thing able to safely cross the threshold of a high-energy plasma bubble.

When the shield is off, however, the T-146 has use of dual-railguns flanking the main cannon. These fire plastic bullets, with metal casing for acceleration, that can be fired while the non-plasma shield is up to target infantry, light vehicles and aircraft. Unlike the automated laser rifles, these railguns are operated by living artillerymen, albeit by radio from a safe location off the battlefield. The Tank's pilots may override this function if radio contact is lost with upper command. The 17,500 ms-1 muzzle velocity is enough to tear through metal and hit a target 30 km away in less than two seconds.

Finally, on the tank's rear is a flameprojector to deter flanking manoeuvers by enemy infantry. Using a high-density equivalent of the famous Dicyanoacetylene also called carbon subnitride or but-2-ynedinitrile fire, the flame is so hot that survivors report excruciating pain even in its proximity. Direct projection can even melt another T-146 Odin if necessary.

Piloted by one to two soldiers, a T-146 Odin is one of the most functionally independent armored vehicles. Power is generated by an onboard nuclear reactor that can run on maximum output for several days. However, starting the reactor is a lengthy and costly process so it is kept in operation for each tank's service period, lasting until peace is declared or the unit is removed for a brief respite.

Military Aircraft

The Avengers air forces were an interesting mixture of the extremely advanced and the "experienced"

In the present, aircraft technology has tremendously advanced. Perhaps the most impressive modern plane is the A-138 Hypersonic Jet, an improvement over an unmanned predecessor, the A-126. The heart of this plane is its twin nuclear batteries that provide its systems with power. Their most important function is to initiate a nucleonic gamma reaction to propel the A-138 through scramjet engines. Normal scramjet engines cannot function at subsonic velocities. However, short bursts from the nucleonic reactor accelerate the ship to an appropriate velocity where continuous thrust is possible. Impressively, the engine's can push the craft to an atmospheric velocity of 25,400 kph. This means that the A-138 can travel around the equator in less than two hours, which pilots have done several times now for recreation and military operations. This maximum atmospheric velocity can be reached in about 100 seconds, requiring acceleration equivalent to 26 G.

A powerful electromagnet diamagnetically exerts a force on the pilot and supplements a pressurized suit that together protect the pilot from these otherwise fatal accelerations. For safety reasons, rapid acceleration is only performed in emergency circumstances, such as escaping anti-aircraft fire or missiles. The UEAADF has stationed 1,200 A-138's around the world, so problems can be dealt with about four to six minutes after being reported.

Due to the high energy density of a nuclear battery, an A-138 can operate under fighting conditions for a little over 2 days. At full speed, this gives it a maximum operating range of about 1,400,000 km (35 times around the equator). This distance can actually be lengthened by a technique where the plane is piloted briefly out of the atmosphere like a dolphin jumping out of water. The reduction in friction allows it to travel longer distances on a single charge; however, the engines cannot be used outside the atmosphere.

An A-138's armament is equally as impressive as its flight capabilities. Its primary load consists of six thermobaric mini-bunker busters (0.5 kt yield each). On its wings are two machine guns firing fist-sized explosives (50 per gun) that can obliterate most kinds of tanks in one hit. However, the craft's most potent weapon is a 200 MW ventral laser fed directly by the nuclear batteries. By briefly diverting power away from the engines, it can fire a high-energy beam vaporizing armored vehicles and other aircraft or at low-power it can cut through lines of infantry.

The radar system onboard is accurate enough to detect all but the best attempts at cloaking and identify objects as small as a foot-long missile. When threatened by either anti-aircraft fire or guided missiles, the craft has two options. If the mission is complete, it can escape the threat through its incredible accelerative abilities, or if work is left, it can activate built in electromagnets to redirect bullets and prematurely detonate missiles. However, these strategies cannot be used at the same time since the inertial dampening electromagnets and the shielding electromagnets are part of the same system. Safety measures prevent a pilot from accidentally killing himself by trying to activate both (the engines cut off when the shield is active).

Despite their capabilities, there are two disadvantages to the A-138 and its ancestors. The first is that the enormously powerful nucleonic gamma reactor makes it impossible to cloak them, even using the most advanced technology and materials in existence. This isn't especially problematic because they can go in and out of an area before an appropriate response can meet them. Nevertheless, it does make them useless for covert operations. The second, more fundamental problem only occurs if they crash, its nuclear battery will go critical and released a great deal of its energy. The resulting explosion can wipe out several city blocks.

Avengers bomber designs are equally impressive. Their second most recent invention is the SC-26 Atmospheric Bomber. Similar to the later A-series, it has its own nucleonic gamma reactor but it supplements this with twin ion engines to allow flight inside and outside the atmosphere. Due to its size, its maximum atmospheric velocity is 15,000 km/h. However, in outer space, there is no limit to its speed; yet fuel concerns make interplanetary flight unlikely. The Avengers standard for nucleonic gamma reactors allows the SC-26 to continue operating for the same two days as an A-138. In the Earth's atmosphere, this equates to a little less than 850,000 km. However, if the same amount of energy is instead diverted to the ion engines, the craft can continue accelerating in space for approximately four days straight before running out of fuel.

The more advanced SC-40 Atmospheric Bomber uses an electromagnetic pulse engine powered by an array of four nuclear batteries. Unlike a scramjet engine, electromagnetic pulse propulsion is not limited to operation in the atmosphere and can continue working even at low velocities. The two extra nuclear batteries give SC-40s the ability to reach an atmospheric velocity of 22,000 kph for a period of up to five days. While this technically allows it to achieve interplanetary travel, the year long trip makes this nearly as unfeasible as with the SC-26. Both bomber classes are outfitted with deflector shield and radar technologies similar to their fighter brethren.

The armament of an SC-40 classifies it as the heaviest and most destructive bomber in the world. Within its bowels are 40 satellite-guided MIRVs, each containing 40 entry-rockets to blanket an area of one sq km. Everything within this area, short of fortified targets, will be uncompromisingly destroyed. Attached to the bomber's wings are 20 thermobaric bunker busters (2 kt yield each). These are laser-guided and intended to take out more heavily-armored targets. The last of its weapons are machine guns similar to those of the A-138, firing anti-tank explosives, built into the wings.

A single SC-40 can basically devastate a 40 sq km area, rendering it completely devoid of life, without a radioactive by-product. In a classic case of psychological warfare, SC-40 pilots take advantage of a deafening sound that the craft makes when decelerating (and accelerating) to immediately broadcast its presence to the enemy. The sound is audible for km around and, has become widely considered as one of the most frightening noises for a modern soldier to hear.

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The Ultron Program was a global peacekeeping program, jumpstarted 2 years before the Rumbling. Initially, the Ultron Program was a joined project by NATO and Japan meant to create a Advanced Artificial Intelligence.

Recent breakthroughs in advanced microchip design and quantum computer processing power were the impetus that led to NATO's first military grade neural net based artificial intelligence, ULTRON . Almost overnight, NATO computer and electronics technology had taken a leap four generations into the future and the world wondered how that could be possible. The West wasn't telling and the concern grew among its enemies and to a much lesser degree its own allies. In the space of three years, from early 2005 to late 2008, NATO had started developing and deploying cutting edge electronics which were far smaller and far more powerful than anything its allies (or enemies) had at their disposal.

Intelligence forces around the world were at a loss as to where the Americans had made the breakthrough that gave them an edge several generations ahead of the rest of the world. Rumors and speculations abounded, some of which even hinted at America having access to salvaged Alien technology. Whatever it was that the Americans had discovered, it had the rest of the world surprised, perplexed and ... above all, wary.

The key focus of the accelerated NATO research and development was on compact nuclear power sources, new physical materials, stronger alloys, a thorough knowledge of electromagnetic field theory (with practical applications) and super advanced control systems based around a heretofore unknown architecture of microprocessor. Original Opposing Forces (OPFOR) intelligence estimates gave the Americans an almost overnight lead in microprocessor technology equivalent to at least three, possibly four generations and an equal number of decades ahead of the rest of the world. New weapon systems appeared in the NATO arsenal ... drones, robots, and other automated systems which functioned at levels previously undreamed of.

Smart weapon systems evolved into brilliant weapon systems. Genius class weapon systems followed soon after that. Stealth engineering advanced as well both in aerospace applications as well as wet navy and traditional ground forces, right down to the individual soldier level. Active as well as passive thermoptic camouflage was introduced in 2010 to a variety of force deployments with great effect.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of the new microprocessor architecture was its inherent ability to network, on instant demand, with any other similar microprocessor family based system. The code that ran the microprocessor was modular, with different program modules able to be written for different hardware and the seamless integration of all parts under one operating system was a technological breakthrough which clearly gave America a decisive advantage in their order of battle. During the years from 2009 to 2015, America would both re-evaluate its military forces as well as reorder them.

Older hardware would be scrapped and recycled in order to partially pay for unit upgrades. The high efficiency of the new military hardware allowed greater effects to be achieved with less personnel. Combat groups became heavily mechanized and computerized, integrated and networked. Early combat trials of the newly augmented units indicated that while multiple units could coexist and operate in mutual support of one another, it was clear that a centralized controlling system was required in order to gain optimum performance from American armed forces.

America needed a combat nexus, a focal point that would search for, detect, evaluate, and respond to any threat to national security or national territories. The new combat systems proved that they could be networked together but what was needed was a centralized node that could coordinate and direct all combat assets. The project was researched under the codename of God Eye . Project God Eye was officially classified as "40 levels above Top Secret" by those who even knew it existed.

God Eye was perhaps the most ambitious project yet based on the new technology, true artificial intelligence. God Eye would involve the research and development of the world's first truly artificial intelligence, a digital form of life which would be networked to all of America's automated weapon systems and which would have command over the equipping, deployment and usage of both tactical and strategic assets. God Eye was the nexus that would unite all of the networked weapon systems in one cohesive element.

The lessons learned during the R&D of Project God Eye eventually led to the production of the end product of God Eye; Project Ultron.

The Ultron project was constructed in the mid 2010's and would interface and coordinate all of NATO's strategic arsenal into one cohesive command structure. The Ultron project was located well below the surface of Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado; the original home of the North American Defense (NORAD) Command. Built upon existing structures, ULTRON itself would take up more space than all the previous generations of defense hardware, requiring new tunneling and excavating of the mountain complex; a task which began in secret in 2009, a predecessor task to the ULTRON project which was even then coming to light under careful scrutiny by certain sources. ULTRON. A buzzword in senate appropriations meetings, an ugly word full of high costs and long contracts with more contractors than any other project in American government history. ULTRON, a project that would make the Apollo moon landing look like a lemonade stand in comparison to total expenditures and manpower committed.

ULTRON was also another word that made senators and politicians cringe: ULTRON was necessary.

Necessary to America defense. Necessary to the continued growth of the defense industry. Necessary to preserve the Western way of life and to defend mom, pop and pizza. ULTRON was necessary and, if any of the initial contract bids were to be taken with any amount of truth, ULTRON was going to be wildly profitable for those who would be hired to build it. That meant a lot of work for major corporations and companies in the jurisdiction of several politicians who were openly balking at the "necessary" aspect of the project. It has been said that money is the root of all evil, but money also speaks a language all its own, with a voice that is louder than any other voice in the world. Political pressure, albeit clandestine in nature, from key lobbyists from big contractors and defense industry companies soon brought the most defiant politician around, often by lining his or her pockets with gratuity and luxury, acts which did not always go undetected or unpunished in the public eye.

For all of its early birth pains, ULTRON was necessary. ULTRON would integrate with and ultimately supersede all NORAD authority and administration. The project took five and a half years to complete (2011 to 2017), displaced over four and a half billion tons of rock hewn from the inner mountain, included over a billion miles of fiber optic cable, and had an expenditure of almost a trillion dollars (which was only forty percent over initial budget, cost overruns included). A full time staff of six hundred and eighty-five personnel were on hand to monitor and guide ULTRON once it came online and to handle the various and sundry aspects that the artificial intelligence could not. ULTRON's integral components were designed to be shielded by several hundred feet of solid natural rock at the heart of the mountain, its central processing core rested on a hydraulically stabilized mount which could withstand the seismic shock and pressure of a seventy-five megaton direct hit against the mountain surface or a ten point earthquake with ULTRON at the epicenter.

ULTRON was now "The world's most powerful supercomputer". His "brain" was a 3 million yottahertz-equivalent array of quantum processors with 0.76 zottabytes of RAM spread across millions of units for short-term memory. The primary hardware was stored in a 2.9 million cc container but the intelligence itself was sustained by the interconnection of 19,000 trillion programs running together, each simulating one neuron. ULTRON 's purpose was to push the limits of artificial intelligence and advise NATO's military high command in strategic calculations in the same capacity as human military advisers.

Backup and redundant systems were each constructed in triplicate, running in non-parallel fashion to prevent multiple systems from being lost to a single first strike or follow up strikes. Hits to one system would not affect the backup systems since those were not routed through the same areas as the primary systems. ULTRON was hardened and shielded against all forms of radiation and its next generation fiber optic processing made it immune to the threat of EMP. The central processing core was self healing, with multiple logic fortresses and data survival caches. The entire system could suffer up to 90% operating capacity loss through software failure and up to 70% hardware failure and still recover to a high degree of functionality in a very short time and full recovery in a matter of days. Satellite links allowed ULTRON to upload its data to orbital assets, thereby offering terrestrial and near orbit recovery capacity in the event of catastrophic system failure or damage from attack.

Two General Electric Model 12AA 500 gigawatt throughput nuclear fusion reactors (total power production rated at one terawatt) were also constructed deep underground (in hollowed out caverns which were artificially reinforced and component armored) to keep ULTRON supplied with enough power to operate as well as to provide energy for the newly installed ground and internal defense grids which protected the computer as well as the complex itself. A vast underground natural spring was tapped into by the Army Corps of Engineers to provide not only the raw material for fuel and the cooling needed for the hydrogen distillery plant as well as the reactors, but also to provide the base with a supply of fresh water that would be unaffected by any conceivable nuclear exchange. With the two General Electric nuclear fusion reactors online, power was not a concern, even given ULTRON's planned upgrades and the continuation of the development of the installation. The power systems were modular and designed for easy expansion up to ten terawatts output as needs required.

ULTRON had been built with a sense of materials and resource conservation applied to its overall programming on both the tactical as well as strategic levels, including power saving subroutines and the ability to withdraw its resources and power to lower management levels when not needed. ULTRON was a light sleeping guardian, able to awaken and come online instantly, to react quickly to any perceived threat. It was a miser, using the bare minimum assets required to do the job right the first time, conserving its assets and using them in the most efficient manner possible. This was the first hint that the computer had been built to think long term, to think proactively rather than reactively. ULTRON was intended to play a global game of political power, and to stay one step ahead of America's enemies, to counter their moves before they even made them, and to always stand vigilant in defense of not only the mainland, but America's allies as well.

To that end, ULTRON was designed and prepared to integrate fluidly and flawlessly with attendant slave super processor arrays in friendly NATO countries. ULTRON could extend itself, casting an image of its awareness, into these foreign arrays to coordinate NATO defense not only locally, but regionally and even globally. ULTRON could partition itself as needed, subdividing its processing power as required, multi-tasking and multi-syncing.

ULTRON's integral design had been one of componentized symmetry. ULTRON was infinitely upgradeable, and was designed to last well into the 22nd century, and perhaps the 23rd century as well. Hopefuls on the side of peace prayed that ULTRON would never be required to be active that long, but contractors were happy. Their contracts were based on decades of dedicated service, a nearly endless list of parts, and the sums were quite lucrative.

A host of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous robots were integrated into the system to help service and maintain not only ULTRON but the vast complex which it was housed within. Some critical operational areas of ULTRON were accessible only via dedicated RCSMRUs (Remotely Controlled Service Maintenance Repair Units). These simple automations handled routine software and hardware checks, replaced failed equipment as required, and carried out physical plant maintenance and janitorial duties within the vast complex, freeing up the staff of humans to handle and look after the more important tasks of administering the facility. The RCSMRUs were also, to a large degree, self sufficient able to repair their own kind with a vast array of service parts and work stations.

Parts of ULTRON were physically off limits to humans simply because of the exotic gasses and temperatures required to keep such a massive defense project operating efficiently. Most of the newly constructed underground complex at Cheyenne Mountain was controlled directly by either ULTRON or one of its eight dedicated mainframe real-time tactical subprocessors, everything from lights and climate control to security door locks, HELICS, FACIDS, and other physical needs were handled by sub-arrays, sometimes by virtual, self contained operating systems that were 'cloned' off as required from the main presence.

The entire complex, every room, every corridor, contained ULTRON's ears and eyes and it could judge facial movement to intone body language as well as read lips and scan for temperature variances which might indicate truth or lie. Privacy was a polite myth inside the complex that housed ULTRON and not even its creators knew to what extents it could permeate their lives or spy on them, so invasive and intrusive was ULTRON that it could not be hidden from anywhere within the complex. ULTRON could, due to its advanced design, create multiple images of itself, all under its control, in a hive-like mentality. What one image knew, all knew. ULTRON was everywhere it needed or wanted to be, from the smallest maintenance and supply dumbots to the core command system of one of America's latest hypersonic interceptor UAAVs.

The interfaced Command, Communication, and Control (C3) network spread out from Cheyenne mountain like a vast spider web, a physical web underground and a virtual web through the aerospace sectors. Fiber optic, high speed parallel communication trunks, signal encrypters, speed boosters, and vast arrays of digital transceivers made up the nervous system of what was to become the backbone of America's strategic nuclear arsenal, connected to the brain that would control it all: ULTRON.

The ground network was reinforced by advanced transmission and signal boosting / encryption / decryption stations located at specific points along the nodes, along with satellite transceivers to send and receive information from around the world, all provided by a huge swarm of tactical ELINT electronic intelligence gathering satellites that had gone up into orbit aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 during 2012 to 2016. ULTRON would see all, know all, and control all, placing the decision of the operation of the nuclear arsenal into the hands of an unfailing machine rather than in the hands of temperamental military officials and untrustworthy politicians. ULTRON was a new keeper of the tools of war. It would be impartial. It couldn't be bought or swayed by silver tongued arguments. It didn't deal in feelings, only cold logic and hard numbers.

The vast defense network interfaced with each strategic military installation, in turn connecting to another defense installation in the node, spreading out until nearly everything in the American strategic arsenal led back to Cheyenne Mountain. Automation was the key to America's bid for international political and military power in the 21st century. Riding a wave to recently developed super high technology, developed and introduced by the Cyberdyne Corporation, a Japanese robotics and technology company, America and Japan sought to automate its national and territorial defenses as well as major components of their standing armed forces. Automated and remote controlled military vehicles were already being field tested and put into limited production to supplement human soldiers in the ranks. Robots, both autonomous and semi-autonomous were being readied to be integrated into the military table of operative units.

A brace of new, unmanned stealth aircraft, including tactical and strategic level bombers, ground attack and air superiority fighters, and hypersonic near-space / low orbit capable interceptors appeared in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) inventory, all controlled from the ULTRON command, and all operating with perfect operational records due to their advanced neural net processor arrays, hardware that was decades, maybe generations ahead of Russia and China who regarded America's buildup with envious and wary stances. The bureaucrats were happy, the local politicians were happy, the contractors were happy, and the generals were happy.

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Declassified Document - Operation London

The following is a document that has been approved for declassification on February 1 -2070 and has been approved for retelling by the Department of Defense. The document in question is a battle log concerning Operation London acted out by the United Earth Alliance Air Defense Force on February 1 -2030.

Name: Operation London .

Mission: use an ICBM and a Ground-Launched Cruise Missile on 2 civilian targets to deter the Empire from the Rocket Blitz attacks .

The Effects Of A Nuclear Attack On The Roldom Valley

The First Nuclear Attack On Civilian Target.

Spread in the woods near Vipol, Lemuria (halfway between Alnus Base and Italica Fortress), was a series of underground concrete missile silos, each covered by a concrete cover and surrounded by three security fences. At 7:24 local time one of these covers suddenly slides open on remote command from men in an underground shelter 10 kilometers (6 miles) away. Three minutes later compressed gases eject a missile 35.5 m meters (116 feet) long from this silo. This intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), known in Russia as the RS-28 Sarmat and in the NATO as the SS-X-29,the only ICBM had enough thrust to escape Falmart's dense atmosphere and high gravity, ignited its engines in mid-air and accelerated upward, towards targets 8,000 km (5,000 miles) away ( the maximum range of RS-28 Sarmat on Falmart because of it's massive gravitational field ). About the size of a space shuttle solid rocket booster, the missile proceeded upward with continual course corrections, attracting the attention of thousands of Falmart's Warged spy birds.

Two minutes after launch the first stage falls away, and the second stage separates about a minute later. Now beyond the atmosphere, 300 km (200 mi.) over Italica Fortress, the payload bus-about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle -was left to coast the rest of the way to the target. A shroud was thrown off to expose four cone-shaped warheads, each 2 meters (6 feet) long and 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) wide at the base. The warheads are mounted on the payload bus, which fires small rockets to reorient itself before ejecting the first warhead. This was repeated once a minute until all four warheads are separated. At 11:34 local time, about 700 km (450 mi.) over the East Afrykania Sea, the warheads are now spreading out from the discarded payload bus, coasting silently through space towards their targets at a speed of 23,000 km per hour (14,000 mph).

Within a minute of the missile's launch, a Imperial Air Force Greensight Unit 36,000 km (22,000 miles) away detected the missile through their psychic ability and began transmitting data to GCC (Global Command Centres) headquarters near Ragna, Antarktyda, where the Imperial Air Force watches 12 hours a day for nuclear attack. By 11:31 local time the GCC commander is in contact with the Ministry of Defence in the Imperial capital Sadera and two other national command centers when an early warning psychic system in Branland detects the missile. The commander reports "high confidence" that a missile attack was underway, and work begins to locate the Emperor for a decision.

By 11:44, when the warheads were 1,000 km (525 mi.) over Saharanta, strategic forces are being alerted. In the next few minutes, the Royal Defence Council (RDC) was alerted along with the military to prepare for emergency response and communications began between RDC and GCC. The population of Germania Inferioris could't be warned in the time remaining. No warning system exists, and no defensive system has been built.

At 11:59:35 local time five "meteors" appear over south Germania Inferioris. The skies were mostly clear this winter weekday, and these meteors are bright enough to see in the daylight. A few unfortunate people are watching the warheads as they reach their preprogrammed points: one reaches the ground near the Allena State Bank tower in Allena at 00:00:02; another reaches the ground at the Imperial Naval Station near Ramandville at 11:59:54; a third reaches the ground near Vanlla Vostal Market in Herlingan at 11:59:57; and the fourth reaches a point 2 kilometers (6,500 feet) over Hanna Montana Magic Academy in Bondville at 12:00:00.

In the Bondville warhead signals from both radar and air pressure sensors prompt an electronics package to begin detonation: time was now measured in microseconds-millionths of a second. An electrical impulse is sent and divided to travel down 60 different wires to the "primary". After 0.003 microseconds these impulses each reach a pair of detonators, positioned at sixty points on a hollow sphere of high explosives. The explosives begin to detonate radially from each detonator. The high explosive sphere was a mixture of curved shapes of two different types of explosives so that the sixty separate explosions converge into a perfectly spherical explosive wave travelling inward-with the force of a third of a ton of dynamite. After 10 microseconds the explosive wave began to compress successive hollow spheres of various metals. In 3 more microseconds this compression wave crossed an empty layer to reach the heart of the warhead-a sphere of uranium 12 centimeters (5 inches) in diameter.

Uranium is radioactive: ten times every second an atom in this sphere decays, releasing atomic fragments and high-energy gamma radiation. The explosive wave reached the uranium and compressed it to a fluid mass 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter. At this time, 19 microseconds after detonation, a small particle accelerator in the front of the warhead fired neutrons into the uranium sphere. The first of these neutrons was absorbed by a uranium atom and promptly causes it to split or decay. Before now, the atomic fragments emitted generally left the sphere; now, the uranium atoms were so tightly packed that these particles tend to find other uranium atoms and cause them to decay, and the resulting particles do the same, and so on. This chain reaction would cycle about 60 times in the next microsecond, but to increase the efficiency a small amount of compressed deuterium-tritium gas was now injected into a hollow in the center of the uranium core. This increases the cycling rate to 80 times in the next 0.1 microseconds.

This 5 cm (2 inch) sphere of uranium now has a temperature of 40,000,000° F (20,000,000° C)-hotter than the center of the Sun. The gamma rays given off by the nuclear reactions radiate through the exploding mass at the speed of light and are absorbed by the weapon casing, 0.003 microseconds later. The casing was heated and reradiates the energy as x-rays, which in turn are absorbed by the other key component of the warhead-the "secondary".

The secondary includes a cylinder of lithium-deuteride-25 cm (10 inches) in diameter and 80 cm (30 inches) long-at the rear of the warhead, with a radiation shield protecting it from direct radiation from the primary. This cylinder was surrounded by a 2.5 cm (1 inch)-thick layer of depleted uranium; it also has a rod of uranium in the center. The x-rays reradiated from the warhead casing heat and compress the outer wrapping of depleted uranium. In 0.1 microseconds this crushes the lithium-deuteride to a cylinder only 6 cm (2 in.) in diameter.

At this point, neutrons from the primary arrive at that inner rod of uranium, coming through a hole in the radiation shield. When this happens, a nuclear chain reaction occurs in the rod, superheating the lithium-deuteride from within. Neutrons from the chain reaction strike lithium atoms and split them into helium and tritium atoms. Temperatures and pressures are high enough that colliding tritium and deuterium atoms (both forms of hydrogen) merge into helium atoms instead of bouncing off each other. This fusion reaction-the same that powers the Sun-lasts another microsecond before the energy explodes the deuterium outward and ends the reaction.

At this point, 20 microseconds after detonation, the temperature was 600,000,000° F (300,000,000° C)-twenty times hotter than the center of the Sun. The last step occurs in that depleted uranium wrapping: neutrons from the fusion reactions split uranium atoms there, and in this last tenth of a microsecond the energy released was nearly doubled.

At 0.000002 seconds after detonation, the process was completed; the outside of the warhead was just beginning to disintegrate from within. Gamma radiation from the nuclear reactions already radiated up to 400 meters (1,300 feet) in every direction. A region of space over Bondville the size of a truck is now as hot as the center of the Sun, and contains the equivalent explosive energy of 900 kilotons-900,000 tons of TNT. The four warheads (each of 900 kiloton yield) combined have peaked the explosive power of all the bombs and shells used everywhere in the world in World War II; their explosive force would be equal to giving a truckload of dynamite (4 tons) to every man, woman, and child in the Valley.

This enormous release of gamma radiation was absorbed by the surrounding air, heating it to a point where it released radiation itself. This process formed a fireball-a glowing ball of gas-and decreased the energy of the radiation: from gamma rays to x-rays to ultraviolet (what causes sunburn), visible light, infrared (heat radiation), and radio waves. An electromagnetic pulse-a very brief pulse of radio waves-was emitted, collecting in metal objects and creating a power surge which damages or destroys electronics. Luckily there weren't any electronics in Falmart.

In 0.0007 seconds the fireball was 130 meters (400 feet) across. Continuing to expand at many times the speed of sound, the fireball formed two distinct regions: the center remains extremely hot while the temperature of the outer part falls as it pushed the surrounding air away. The heat radiated by the outer layer produces an initial flash of light as bright as the Sun to an observer 40 km (25 miles) away at 0.005 seconds after detonation. The fireball brightness decreased until 0.08 seconds after detonation, when the fireball was as bright as the Sun to an observer 7.5 km (4.5 miles) away, and breakaway occurs: a blast wave separates from the fireball's surface. The blast wave was an expanding sphere of highly compressed and fast moving air-similar to a sonic boom but much more powerful. Initially the blast wave travels at ten times the speed of sound. The wave pushes the air away before it so that a partial vacuum was created behind it.

As a result, the passing wave produces enormous pressures and severe momentary outward winds, followed by less intense inward winds. The blast wave was reflected from the ground and thereby reinforces itself. It was partly cloudy over Bondville , but now the blast seems to push the clouds away. At a distance of 9 km (5.5 miles) it finally drops to the speed of sound, 19 seconds after detonation.

At breakaway (0.08 seconds after detonation) the fireball was 1.0 km (0.6 miles) across with a surface temperature of 1,300° C (2,300° F). Now that the fireball was no longer pushing the blast wave before it, the outer layer was reheated by the interior to reach a uniform temperature. As the fireball expands and rewarms, a second flash begins. The fireball now begins to release the large amount of thermal energy it contains, with unpleasant consequences in the immediate vicinity. At 1.07 seconds after detonation the fireball was 1.8 km (1.1 miles) in diameter and has a surface temperature of 6,000° C (10,800° F)-greater than the surface temperature of the Sun.

It would appear 500 times as bright as the Sun to an observer 10 km (6 miles) away. So far the fireball has radiated 22% of the thermal energy that it contains. The fireball started to rise rapidly, like a hot air balloon, and its surface temperature and brightness began to decline. However, it continued to expand until at 8 seconds after detonation it reaches its maximum size of 2.1 km (1.3 miles). With a surface temperature of 2,100° C (3,800° F) the fireball was glowing red, still 15 times as bright as the Sun at a distance of 10 km (6 miles); at this point 90% of the thermal radiation has been emitted.

Thus the Bondville detonation (at 00:00:00.0 local time , 2 kilometers/6,500 feet over Hanna MA) devastates the city. At ground zero, Hanna Montana Magic Academy, heat from the intense light from overhead ignites any people caught without a protecting Titan crystal (who have been watching the Ramandville explosion for the last 6 seconds) and causes houses to burst into flame in the first tenth of a second. At 00:00:01.3 the Academy's walls explode (as moisture in the concrete becomes superheated), carriages vaporize, and the Academy was enveloped by steam from the boiling resaca in front of the school. About 20 cm (8 inches) of the resaca boil away by 00:00:01.9 when anything left of the Academy was pulverized by the arriving blast wave. Over the next few seconds the ground and all remaining debris are melted and fused.

At the Holy Babel Tower, Olivera Magic School, and the Imperial Post Office on Losta Elanus, 1.8 km (1.1 miles) from Hanna, non- Titanlized people and carriages ignite at 00:00:00.8; steel and glass melt and concrete explodes at 00:00:02.8; and at 00:00:03.1 the blast wave completely destroyed all three buildings.

At the Zufmuut Church, 2.4 km (1.5 miles) from Hanna, people were instantly blinded, and those exposed had blistering burns at 00:00:00.1. At 00:00:00.5 some fires start and carriages tires melt; at 00:00:01.0 everything exposed that could possibly burn does and exposed animals ignite; at 00:00:02.0 carriage metal melts, windows soften, and some people shielded in the hardened Titan crystal from the fireball's light received serious burns from the glare. Other than these effects of the flash the explosion was silent until the blast arrived, levelling the church building and killing many survivors at 00:00:03.9. Some of the rubble and burning debris was blown past St. Mercury's Academy at 1.4 times the speed of sound. By 00:00:07.2 the winds have reversed direction and begin blowing inward at well over hurricane force for several seconds.

At Sunrise Mall and Porter High School, 2.9 km (1.8 miles) from Hanna, some fires and fatal burns are produced at 00:00:00.6. At 00:00:01.0 most exposed combustibles and animals ignited; at 00:00:04.8 the blast destroys both buildings-however, some of the twisted steel remnants are left behind.

At Valley Royal Country Club, Harry Porter Zoo, and former Valley Imperial Hospital, all 3.3 km (2.1 miles) from Hanna, all exposed persons receive serious burns and some fires start at 00:00:00.7. At 00:00:01.1 painted surfaces explode and most zoo animals ignite (dark animals first); at 00:00:05.6 the blast destroys all buildings at these locations and blows burning palm trees through the air.

At Merlin Magic School, Elange and Ral Magic Schools, Nunnally Park, Guinevere 's Stadium, and the Marrybell County Courthouse, 4.0 km (2.5 miles) from Hanna, some fires start and exposed persons find their skin melting off at 00:00:00.7, these persons ignited at 00:00:01.2, and all exposed combustibles are burning by 00:00:01.7. At 00:00:07.2 the blast arrives: a few buildings escape complete destruction and are at least intact enough to be recognized as structures. In these buildings were the closest persons to Hanna to survive more than a few days; however, these few survivors were either trapped in these collapsed and burning buildings while some were out of doors with severe injuries.

At Pacada Magic School, Velanta Wizard Academy, and the Magic Academy of Light at Bondville , 4.4 km (2.7 miles) from Hanna, tree ignites and magic wagon exploded at 00:00:01.3; at 00:00:08.4 the blast leaves buildings at both sites nearly destroyed and flattens the Public Utilities Board water tower near MA-B, dousing some flames.

Only 1% of the animals at the Gateway Bridge and the trainyard near Akemiland Market 4.7 km (2.9 miles) from Hanna survive more than a few minutes. At 12:00:00.8 the ties on the troublesome Akemiland railroad tracks ignite. On the Gateway Bridge at 00:00:01.3 people ignite, cars explode, and the asphalt melts; the Rio Gurban River below begins to boil. At 00:00:08.7 the blast wave destroys railroad vehicles near Akemiland and moderately damages the Gateway Bridge. The bridge did not collapse but became unsafe to use; meanwhile, burning cars waiting to cross from Bondville were blown across the river into Matamoto, as was debris from the Stillman House and other buildings. All other bridges and expressway spans closer to Hanna than the Gateway Bridge (including most within the Bondville city limits), however, are collapsed.

At the PUB magic power plant and Akemiland Market, 5.1 km (3.2 miles) from Hanna, animals ignited at 00:00:01.5 and the blast partially destroys these buildings at 00:00:09.6. A few animals in isolated parts of the collapsed, burning mall are still alive at this point.

At Riveran Magic School, the Bondville /South Padar Island Intercotinetal Airport terminal, Garzala Magic School, and Ria Del Sol subdivision, 6.1 km (3.8 miles) from Hanna, the intense light starts some fires and causes blistering burns on exposed people by 00:00:00.9. At 00:00:01.1 any unprotected flesh in sight of the fireball chars and tires melt; animal ignite, skyships burned, and massive fires start at 00:00:02.0. Again, there was no wind or sound associated with the flash-other than the sound of fires and such. Survivors had time to transform into Titan enveloping their real body in a heat-resistant Titan crystal before 00:00:12.3 when the blast arrived, still surpassing the speed of sound, with an outward wind speed of 400 kilometers per hour (250 mph)-over three times hurricane force. Much of the Rivera Magic School building collapses eastward, crushing survivors; burning carriages were blown into each other and sometimes overturned. The same happens at the airport terminal building; skyships outdoors were completely destroyed. At 00:00:16.2 the outward winds stop and begin blowing back towards Hanna, at gale force; this fans surviving fires and spreads burning fuel around at the airport. After 00:00:20 the winds blow outward again, finally dying out.

At Yturria Magic School, 6.9 km (4.3 miles) from Hanna, the blast arrives at 00:00:14.7. Throughout the area within this distance of Hanna, most combustibles (excluding Titan flesh) ignite, all houses are flattened, and all other buildings are partially or completely destroyed.

At the Port of Bondville and Lopaz Magic School, 8.4 km (5.2 miles) from Hanna, some fires and blistering burned develop by 00:00:01, many fires and serious burned develop by 00:00:02, and cars explode by 00:00:11. The blast arrives at 00:00:19, partially destroying houses and tank of burning oil, making other buildings unusable without repairs, damaging surviving carriages and ships, blowing down most trees, and leaving ships in the middle of the main harbor usable. To a distance of 11 km (7 miles) of Hanna-including all of Bondville , Olmato, and Matamoto-many fires and some serious burns were produced by 00:00:02, fires enormous in both size and quantity have developed by 00:00:14, and by 00:00:27 the blast damages all buildings, making some unusable, moderately damages magic TV and psychic towers, and blows down power lines.

A third immediate effect in addition to flash and blast was prompt radiation, including the high energy gamma radiation and the particles from atoms altered within the warhead during detonation. This was the source of radiation injury in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, in the case of the Bondville warhead (60 times larger than the Hiroshima bomb) these radiations are absorbed by the atmosphere before they reach anyone surviving the other effects. For example, people at Hanna who were killed 2 seconds after the explosion had received radiation that would have caused death in 48 hours if they weren't Titan shapeshifter. The closest an Earth's human could survive more than a few minutes would receive a dose about three times what they got from natural sources in the last year, or about a hundredth of what it would take to produce any sign of illness.

The effects from the Bondville warhead drop off beyond the city limits. Since the fireball emits 93% of its thermal energy by 00:00:10, the blast arrives well after the flash was over. At Lresos and Ranjo, 14.5 km (9 miles) from Hanna, trees ignite and tires ignite and melt. Anyone looking towards Bondville was temporarily blinded for a few seconds or minutes. People outdoors who do not take cover inside their Titan form from the flash within five seconds found their clothing on fire and their skin melting off until it regenerated.

At 00:00:38 the blast knocks down a third of the burning trees, slightly damages most buildings, left wood frame houses unusable without repairs, but left vehicles shielded from the flash usable. Anyone at a window facing Bondville when the blast arrived was seriously injured by glass shards propelled at 60 kilometers per hour (40 mph). People standing outdoors were knocked off their feet, can stand up again in a few seconds, were knocked down again as the winds blow inward, and heard a deafening roar through the entire affair.

In Benito, Bayview, and Laguna 26 km (16 mi.) away the fireball still reaches an apparent brightness 700 times greater than the Sun. People facing Bondville were temporarily blinded; many gazing directly at the explosion received serious eye damage. Some exposed people receive a sunburn. The explosion was silent for over a minute (dangerously enticing people to windows); the blast arrives at 00:01:11, blowing in windows and doors, cracking their frames, and causing plaster damage.

At Port Isabel the blast arrives at 00:01:27. Skyships were flyable without repairs at Herlingan Industrial Airport and Port Isabel/Cameron Town Airport. At South Padar Island and Herlingan, 37 km (23 miles) from Hanna, a few sunbathers manage a 10-second sunburn, many more will be blinded for a few seconds or minutes. The west-bound lanes of the Causeway fill with accidents as drivers lose vision briefly. Not until 00:01:43 did sound and blast arrive; windows and doors were blown in, small cracks appeared in walls and wood frames, and people were knocked down.

The Ramandville warhead detonates at 11:59:54 , 400 meters (1,300 feet) from its target, the Imperial Naval Station station north of town; the Allena warhead detonates at 00:00:02 PM, a similar distance from the Allena State Bank tower. Both have effects comparable to the Bondville warhead, but since they are detonated at ground level a large portion of their energy was absorbed by the ground. Within one second of each detonation the expanding fireball and blast wave launches 9 million tons of soil into the air to blast out a crater. The crater from each explosion was 350 meters (1,150 feet) across (almost large enough to contain Sunrise Mall, or four football fields end-to-end), 70 meters (230 feet) deep (four times as deep as the height of the Boca Chica Tower), and has a rim 17 meters (55 feet) high (as high as the Boca Chica Tower. A shock wave travels through the ground from each crater, faster than the blast wave in the air. The fireballs produced by both explosions reach a maximum diameter of 1.8 miles (2.8 km), vaporize anything on the ground within them, and absorb soil and rock blasted out of the crater along with vaporized buildings and people. As far as 4 km (2.5 miles) from both explosions, the ground shock and flash kick up a cloud of smoke and dust high above any buildings just before the blast wave destroys them. The flash and blast effects from each explosion extend to distances 87% and 68% as great, respectively, as the distances similarly affected by the Bondville explosion.

Something goes wrong in the Herlingan warhead, however. An electronic component in the ten-year-old warhead fails, and the warhead does not detonate. The warhead strikes a parking lot at Vanlla Vostal Mall at a speed of 7.5 km (4.5 miles) per second. The sheer speed gives the 700-kilogram (320-pound) warhead the energy of 5 tons of dynamite. The high explosives in the warhead detonate, but not effectively, so no nuclear detonation occurs. The warhead was vaporized and a crater 12 meters (40 feet) across was blasted out of the pavement. Structural damage to the adjacent part of the mall results. As survivors rush to aid the injured or gaze at the three other explosions, they expose themselves to the toxic cloud rising from the impact: inhaling the warhead's vaporized uranium will eventually cause lung injury to some.

The three explosions combine to affect a much larger area. At a distance of 40 miles (60 km) from the explosions some accidents result as coachmans were distracted by the flash, and when the blast arrives (nearly three minutes later) all glass windows are shattered and some cracks appear in plaster. As far away as 50 miles (80 km) from the explosions-this includes most of Germania south of a line from Larefok to Kingsville-the blast breaks some windows and knocks some items inside houses off shelves. In Corpus Christi the three flashes are still brighter than the Sun, and the four blast waves can be felt when they arrive between 00:07 and 00:10. In Antoniola a bright glow was observed on the southern horizon from 11:59:54 to 00:00:10 and three loud rumbling noises are heard-each lasting about 10 seconds-from 00:16 to 00:20. While they are difficult to see beyond Antoniola because they occur during the daytime, the three explosions are heard by 00:24 in Austinia, by 00:25 in Haustok, and by 00:31 in Wacol.

The three cooling fireballs, glowing red, continue to rise and expand over the Valley, dragging trails of smoke and dust beneath them. Each fireball rises 5 km (3 miles) in the first 30 seconds. By 00:02:00 they were the familiar mushroom clouds, no longer glowing but still reddish in hue. By 00:04 the tops of the clouds are 19 km (12 miles) high. By 00:06 the clouds have cooled enough that moisture near the clouds condenses into water clouds and the mushroom clouds turn white. At 00:10 the clouds are 17 km (10.5 miles) across and 8 km (5 miles) from top to bottom. Even beyond Corpus Christi the mushroom clouds show a impressive, complex wrapping of layers of clouds. In the devastated regions below, however, they have blotted out the Sun and created near darkness. By 00:30 they expand to 25 miles (40 km) across and have clearly moved downwind.

The initial effects are past. A region 3 km (2 miles) across about each ground zero has been cleared and fused into glass. Within 11 km (7 miles) of Hanna a semi-continuous fire was emerging, and similarly within 9 km (6 miles) of the other two explosions. Dust and debris begin falling from the sky over the devastated areas, as does a black rain (produced when atmospheric moisture superheated by the explosions recondenses on the plentiful dust and smoke particles). As the clouds are blown east-northeast at 50 km (30 miles) per hour, they are followed by enormous plumes of smoke. Besides this, thunderstorms begin to develop over the explosion sites. The black rain lasts several hours, and some areas receive a few centimeters (or inches) of rain-however, this does little to help the areas that are worst off.

By 00:15 the Emergency Broadcast System was informing any listening Germanian about the explosions. The Imperial government was preparing military resources to evaluate damage and provide emergency response. As far away as Corpus Christi emergency crews have their hands full dealing with automobile accidents as well as some degree of panic. In Falfurriasa and Saritan these problems were joined by light blast damage. Within 40 km (25 miles) of the explosions, there were losses of power and communications, scattered fires, other types of injuries, and many panicked people trying to flee the area. Within 12 miles (20 km) the damage was too widespread for anything more than piecemeal rescue activities to occur.

At 11:59 local time the Valley had a population of 797,000 and Bondville contained 135,000 people. At 2:00 the next day the Valley's population was 762,000 (including 10,400 injured seriously enough to require hospitalization under normal conditions), and about 122,000 people from Bondville survive. A total of 56,800 have been killed and 31,000 injured in the Kingdom of Germania Inferioris .

In Matamoto and southern Bondville conditions allow the fires to become especially intense. As hot air rises over this area, air was drawn in from the surroundings. The fire, feeding itself in this fashion, becomes a firestorm-a combined windstorm and intense fire. Inward winds exceed 300 km (200 miles) per hour at the edges, and temperatures within the 7 km (4 mile)-wide firestorm area reach several thousand degrees. Had anyone been in bomb shelters in this area, they would now be killed as the firestorm sucks the air out of the shelters. Tornadoes are spawned along the edges until the firestorm ends the next morning. Meanwhile, the Valley fires in general have produced other problems.

By 4:00 the smoke plumes are 200 km (120 miles) long and have caused a drastic drop in temperatures below. In many areas the black rain was replaced by large dirty hailstones. Within areas 50 km (30 miles) wide reaching 160 km (100 miles) downwind of the explosions people are endangered by smoke and toxic chemicals from the massive fires (this includes Herlingan and South Padre Island). The Ramandville crater, initially extending 26 meters (90 feet) below sea level, cools off with the Allena crater. The day after the explosions water begins seeping into both craters and they soon become highly radioactive lakes. In several days the city-sized fires have ceased, although some smaller fires persist for weeks.

In the meantime, the Emergency Broadcast System since shortly after the explosions has been issuing warnings heard by few of the people who need to heard them-warnings about fallout. When the two groundburst fireballs absorbed large quantities of dust and vaporized material, some of it became radioactive. This material was carried into the upper atmosphere and begins settling to the ground underneath the mushroom clouds within minutes. The fallout from the Bondville explosion was less severe since the fireball only contained some smoke and debris from the fires below (plus air and vaporized warhead). By 00:10 the black rain within 15 km (10 miles) of the two groundbursts was accompanied by a material with the appearance of light snow; this continues until 2:00. In other areas the fallout takes the form of a thin filmy substance. It begins falling by 00:10 in Bondville and the Allena area, 00:25 in Port Isabel, and 00:55 in Herlingan , and lasts from one to two hours in these cities. The fallout emits radiation which damages the cells of nearby living organisms. In fact, near Allena and Raymondville where snow-like particles fall, if these particles fall on skin and are not brushed off they soon cause a burning sensation on that patch of skin. The Emergency Broadcast System advises people to stay put, stay indoors, and take protective action against fallout radiation. Few people who need this information hear or heed it-many are outdoors evacuating, heading home, or looking for family members.

Survivors outdoors in the devastated areas around the two groundburst sites are incapacitated by 2:30; the large dose they receive does direct damage to the central nervous system, causing convulsions, coma, they would die within a week if they were normal human , luckily they weren't. Within strips 160 km (100 miles) long and 25 km (15 miles) wide stretching downwind of each groundburst-including Combes, the larger cities of Hidalgo province, and most of Willacy province -people outdoors develop severe radiation sickness by sunset until their super regeneration kicked in. Radiation sickness was the combined damage of radiation to a number of bodily organs, especially the circulatory system, and includes some or all of the following: internal and external hemorrhaging, immune system damage, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, ulcers, hair loss, sterility, miscarriages, thyroid gland damage, fever, and liver damage. Death in relation to radiation sickness usually results from blood cell population disruption and related circulatory system damage; also, radiation sickness can produce fatal complications in animals with other injuries or allow minor diseases to become fatal through immune system loss. The animals within these strips which were outdoors while the fallout was deposited develop all these symptoms and die within 2 weeks.

Those which were indoors may live up to 2 months before dying. The few animals in these areas which hid in basements or makeshift fallout shelters develop radiation sickness but have a good chance of surviving. Throughout this area all trees, mammals, and birds are also killed. As far as 290 km (180 miles) downwind of these explosions-including Herlingan -exposed persons develop radiation sickness and 50% die within 2 months-assuming they are uninjured. Nearly all animals with severe injuries who receive this dose will die within a month. In the Bondville area most survivors pet develop radiation sickness by 6:30 the night after the attack. Most pregnant animals miscarry their babies, and after two months the radiation sickness has killed 30% of those uninjured animals and 50% of those injured animals. In Matamoto and South Padar Island, about half those exposed develop radiation sickness to some degree, brain damage was produced in 20% of unborn animals, the immune system was impaired, and some deaths occur.

Two days after the attack, the death toll in the Valley has reached 63,000; of the 734,000 survivors there are 5,000 heavy injured. About 121,000 people who were in Bondville when the attack occurred still survive. In Germania Inferioris, a total of 100,300 have been killed and 38,000 injured. A surprisingly small number consider the yield of 3 warhead but understandable consider the Empire extensive bunker network and their citizen super regeneration ability , but most of their pet animals were dead.

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The Effects Of A Nuclear Attack On The Duma City

The Second Nuclear Attack On Civilian Target.

501st Tactical Missile Wing. Alnus Base, Lemuria, Falmart.

The transporter-erector-launch vehicle groaned as the four-round missile launcher module elevated to the firing position. It paused there for a few seconds, then the whole system rocked as a missile emerged from one of the tubes. Originally a long cylinder with a rounded nose, it changed as soon as it was out of its tube. Wings sprouted from its fuselage, tail surfaces deployed and an air intake dropped out from under the belly. What had once looked like a torpedo now was an unmanned aircraft. With the Ground-Launched Cruise Missile on its way, the TEL lowered its launch module. The deed was done.

The missile, known officially as the Gryphon but actually called the Glickem by everybody, had its course carefully laid out. It climbed to 100 feet and then set off along the planned route, the radar set in its nose measuring the height of the ground ahead of it and ensuring that the clearance of 100 feet was carefully maintained.

By its standards, the missile didn't have far to go and the task it had been given was insultingly easy. Just fly to the specific point it had been aimed at and then do its thing. A few miles short of that point, another program cut in and the missile began to climb. It was of no interest whatsoever to the missile that the final point on its pre-planned course was directly over the center of a mass of Duma city, home to 50,000 Imperial troops and more than 450,000 civilians.

It was at this point that warhead signals from both radar and air pressure sensors prompted an electronics package to begin the initiation process. That package sent an electrical impulse down 72 different wires to various points on an explosive shell at the very heart of the W83 warhead at the center of the missile. After 0.003 microseconds those impulses set off a pair of detonators at each of those 72 points, causing the mixture of explosives to converge into a perfectly spherical explosive wave travelling inward.

After 10 microseconds the explosive wave had already started to compress successive hollow spheres of various metals. In 3 more microseconds the compression wave had crossed an empty layer to reach the heart of the warhead-a sphere of uranium 5 inches in diameter. The blast from the explosives crushed that sphere into a fluid mass 2 inches in diameter.

At that time, 19 microseconds after detonation, a small particle accelerator in the front of the warhead fired neutrons into the uranium sphere. These neutrons were absorbed by uranium atoms and caused them to decay. In the highly compressed mass, there was nowhere for the decay particles to go; they hit other uranium atoms and caused them to decay as well. This chain reaction cycled 60 times in the next microsecond before a small amount of compressed deuterium-tritium gas was injected into a hollow in the center of the uranium core, increasing the cycling rate to 80 times in the next 0.1 microseconds.

By then, the uranium core had reached a temperature of 40 million degrees fahrenheit. That didn't matter too much, what was important was that the gamma rays given off by the nuclear reactions radiated through the exploding mass and were absorbed by the weapon casing, 0.003 microseconds later. The casing was heated and reradiated the energy as x-rays. It was those X-rays that set the next part of the chain into action.

At the rear of the core of the W83 was a cylinder of lithium-deuteride, 10 inches in diameter and 30 inches long with a radiation shield protecting it from direct radiation from the primary. It was surrounded by an inch-thick layer of depleted uranium; it also had a rod of uranium in the center. The x-rays reradiated from the warhead casing heated and compressed the outer wrapping of depleted uranium. In 0.1 microseconds this crushed the lithium-deuteride to a cylinder only 2 inches in diameter.

At this point, neutrons from the primary arrived at that inner rod of uranium, coming through a hole in the radiation shield. These caused a nuclear chain reaction to occur in the rod, super-heating the lithium-deuteride from within. Neutrons from the chain reaction split the lithium atoms into helium and tritium atoms. The colliding tritium and deuterium atoms fused into helium for another microsecond. Then, the force of the fusion reaction crushed the original core of the device so thoroughly that the dying fission reaction was revived and what was left of the original fission fuel was consumed in the inferno.

At that point, 20 microseconds after initiation, the temperature was 600 million degrees Fahrenheit and yet the outside of the warhead was only just beginning to disintegrate. Gamma radiation from the nuclear reactions had already radiated up to 1,300 feet in every direction. A region of space about the size of a small house over the city center now held the equivalent explosive energy of 1.2 megatons.

This enormous release of gamma radiation had been absorbed by the surrounding air, heating it to a point where it released radiation itself. This formed a glowing ball of gas that was already 400 feet across and yet was continuing to expand at many times the speed of sound.

Oddly, the center remained extremely hot while the temperature of the outer part fell as it pushed the surrounding air away. The heat radiated by the outer layer had produced an initial flash of light as bright as the Sun to the observers at the Third Praetorian Guards Division 25 miles away, now it generated a blast wave that separated from the fireball surface.

This travelled at ten times the speed of sound and pushed the air away before creating a partial vacuum behind it. The blast wave reflected off the ground and the surrounding hills, reinforcing itself in some areas, cancelling itself in others to produce a crazy-quilt pattern of blast effects on the helpless imperialist below.

A mere 0.08 seconds after initiation the fireball was no longer pushing the blast wave before it and so it began to release the large amount of thermal energy it contained. At 1.07 seconds after initiation it started to rise rapidly as its surface temperature and brightness began to decline. However, it continued to expand until at 8 seconds after initiation it finally reached its maximum size. With a surface temperature of 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit, the fireball was glowing a dull evil red as it topped the traditional mushroom cloud..

The preliminary estimate was between 40,000 and 45,000 people dead. Once again the Holy Empire's extremely robust bunker system had saved most of the local population.