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  • Act I

    The false alarm, the bomb and the cover up.

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  • Act II

    The people’s stories, an internal investigation and the movement.

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  • Act III

    The trial, demand for change, the military industrial complex & the debate.

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The first episode sets the stage for the nuclear exchange. This will kick off act one—the aftermath of a nuclear exchange—and establish our characters pre and post “normal” state. Two immediate investigations will begin, one from the government and one led by a fearless journalist who is covering the masses fleeing the West Coast. Our first act will explore the aftermath and questions raised, exposing threads of a much larger debate amongst the country.

The journalist will depart the relatively untouched East Coast. Her road trip across America paints a picture of our complex path, relations to war, cultural challenges, and more importantly transition from the America we know today to an America that is a shadow of its former self in a post-nuclear landscape. A journey into the edge of hell itself.

We will join a few key characters as they flee the West Coast and run into other strangers on the road. They move toward the American heartland, just east of the Rockies to the front lines of first responders and aid. However, conflicts and tension arise from our polarized society, a tension that will need to be navigated as everyone seeks to survive and escape to the East Coast. After gathering the stories of those most impacted our journalist discovers, with the support of her DC office, that the nuclear exchange did not occur the way the government announced. All communication has stated that North Korea fired first. However, it appears that America struck first and North Korea responded. How can one begin to attribute the destruction inflicted? Why did we strike? A rogue commander, a broken arrow, a broken system...the people need to know.

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Our second act kicks off with our journalist emboldened by the stories of activities and survivors fleeing the West Coast. With her DC office providing insights in the ongoing investigation on the Hill, she decides to release all the stories and facts to the public. The national debate begins.

Our journalist is able to secure a few key sources from upper military after her story gets out. With this new access she begins to peel back the layers quicker than the slow internal investigation on the Hill.

Her findings paint a picture of a bellicose military, who were eager to use risky strategies to ‘sort out’ North Korea, a series of ill-informed decisions based on shaky evidence and a system designed to fail. This quickly divides the country back into those for and against the president. The moment of unity is slipping and the truth begins to come out. Against this backdrop of protest, activism, and investigation, our journalist finally gets her break.

 

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Our journalist brings her unique details and information to the prosecutor as the final stages of the internal investigation are underway. Many in the public want a singular person to blame, but the reality is that this crisis was a result of many policies in place that by design put us at a greater risk and threat. A courtroom drama and cross debate lay the facts on the table and challenge the thinking and realities of real military policies that made this possible:

Hair Trigger Alert and Launch on Warning

US nuclear weapons were locked and loaded and could be fired before the US even knew if it had been hit.

Nuclear First Use

US relies on the threat of using nuclear weapons first, and the disastrous effect this would have in the fog of an escalating crisis with North Korea fearing destruction.

Sole Authority

At the time of crisis it was the President’s individual action informed by a coterie of military personnel relying on poor evidence that could make the fateful decisions for so many innocent civilians.

This, with a single false alarm, adverse weather conditions, elevated geopolitical tensions, came together to spark nuclear war. The reality is that the outdated and faulty nuclear policies are what's to blame.

Denouement

Reflection, the cost of progress, and a small victory. In a true democracy we all must carry the burden of responsibility for our policies. To choose ignorance and avoidance is to abdicate the responsibilities of a republic. The concluding rallying cry is to engage and not lean away from the big problems in the world. If we tackle them together then they won’t be so large.