The Division: Operation Dark Winter

Prologue

In 2001 a real world exercise tested the emergency response to a bio-terror attack on the continental United States; the operation was called Dark Winter. Within just a few days, the simulation spiralled out of control. The operation predicted a rapid breakdown in essential institutions, civil disorder and massive civilian casualties.

Dark Winter has revealed how vulnerable we've become; our lifestyle, our security, our safety, it depends on a delicate and unstable economy. We've created a system so complicated that we no longer understand how to control it; oil, power, shipping, transport - we live in a complex world, and the more complex it gets, the more fragile it becomes. The system is built on a global supply chain that gets things where they're needed, just in time. We've created a house of cards, if we remove just one, then everything falls apart. And what's fuelling this system?

Money.

Americans can spend $90 Billion in a single day of shopping. Last year 200 million people swarmed their local stores on November 23rd, we call that day, Black Friday.

Did you know a flu virus can survive on the surface of a banknote for up to 17 days?

One day there will be a pandemic. It could begin during the crush of Black Friday sales. A pathogen will jump from tainted banknotes to human skin, onto food, toys, children and loved ones. By the time patient zero feels the first sore throat. Millions of people will already be infected.

Note: I got some ideas from other stories I read and I just want to give them credit for giving me the idea and inspiration. I'll be updating soon.