In a small area of woodland in the vicinity of Ashland, a vehicle moved slowly into a clearing between trees, five people, four men a one woman, alight from the articulated truck and direct the driver reversing his unit. The driver jumps down from the cab and joins the others in removing the canvas cover to the trailer. The female removes a side cover on the trailer and removes what looks like a sound mixing desk, which she carries to a small, newly-built concrete-block hut covered with branches from the removed trees. The other five men stow the canvas cover between the trailer and the cab in a specially constructed steel locker. At the press of a button an antenna slowly rises into the air from the front of the trailer, and the woman switches on the small desk before her and a series of coloured lights flicker into active mode. The five men join the woman in the hut and one of them gives the woman a strip of plastic on which is encoded some electronic instructions. The semitransparent plastic strip is slotted into the control board and some of the lights start to flash, as a larger red light starts to glow the woman throws a small switch that is protected by a yellow and black striped cover. Outside electric motors whir into action and a missile rises from the back of the trailer. The rocket is painted mat black and bears no identifying marks of any kind, it stops at twenty point seven-two degrees from the vertical.
Inside the hut the woman produces a key from a string around her neck, and one of the men also removes an identity bracelet from his wrist, from which hangs another almost identical key. The two people with the keys look at each other for two seconds, then insert the keys into two key-switches on the board. Both keys are turned together and another red light snaps on. The woman removes another cover from a larger red button and gently rests her forefinger on it's domed top, she looks at the man and then the others. One by one the five men nod and the woman presses the mushroom shaped button.
Outside there is a sudden hiss that quickly turns into a quiet roar and the rocket slides off the ramp and like a flash soars into the air, where it turns south-west.
The first visitors of the weekend were just arriving at the Bible Walk Museum, several cars were turning off the avenue into the car park to join the dozen or so cars already parked. In another part of the parking lot a dozen buses were already there and empty other than their drivers enjoying a well earned drink over the daily newspaper. The coffee concession was doing a brisk business as people waited in line to get through the entrance. Visitors to the museum had increased twenty-fold since the 'Revelation' and the management had enlisted the services of a pastor to deal with the new converts. The Museum had also started screening the recordings that had been sent directly from Crete and the current favourite was the edited version of the crucifixion and resurrection sequence of Jesus Christ. The first showing of the day had just started, and another queue was starting to form for the next showing in sixty minutes time.
The twenty or so people in the parking lot were the first to hear the sound of what they assumed was a jet plane, but as the sound grew louder, heads lifted to the north-eastern sky just in time to see the missile rush toward them. That sight was the last thing they would ever see. The blinding flash of the atomic detonation occurred fifty meters above them, the blast wave flattened the museum and the fire ball turned the immediate area into a lake of molten glass, a kilometre in diameter.
The news reader was suddenly aware that the studio had gone quiet, the floor crew were just staring at each other. Louise Greer was waiting for the video item to finish before she resumed her role as anchor, but something was not right. Then she heard the voice of her producer through her earpiece, she listened in astonishment as she was updated on the breaking news. Then the new script came up on the auto-cue and on her console screen. The producer gave her two minutes to compose herself, then they were interrupting the current video feed. The two minutes passed too quickly and she took a deep breath and started to read the script.
“We have interrupted this segment to bring you disturbing breaking news. Initial reports suggest that a nuclear device has been detonated in the atmosphere above the city of Mansfield, Ohio. The explosion seems to have happened at around ten after eleven today and is thought to have been centred on the Bible Walk Museum just outside of the city of Mansfield. I am told that we are receiving feed from a satellite that is in orbit four-hundred miles south of Mansfield.”
The video feed came in showing a devastated area with a glowing red centre all of which was occasionally obscured by smoke. As the field of view widened it was obvious that the roads, especially the I71 and route 30, were clogged with vehicles trying to evacuate from the radiation zone. In another side room off the studio a reporter was busy comparing the satellite feed with existing aerial photographs held on computer. A minute later the reporter entered the studio and sat next to Louise, seeing the look of shock on her face he placed his hand over hers and gave a little squeeze just as the camera went live.
“Thank you Louise, we will shortly be taking you over to Washington live for the response of our government. In the mean time we can confirm that a device, probably nuclear, has wiped out the area around the Bible Walk Museum, this area has destroyed a large proportion of a residential area and two correctional institutes close by. From what we have seen from the satellite feed the fatalities will be in the thousands. Hundreds of people have been visiting the Museum since 'The Revelation' and as this is a Saturday the death toll is liable to be high. We are now taking you over to the White House where President Orwell is about to make a statement.”