Resurgence

In the worst-case scenario, this war ends with both sides so devastated that there's nothing left for any of us to work with. Think about that for a second: the end of the world already came, but there were enough survivors to carry on and rebuild. This war with the UAS is existential, when you couch it in those terms. We can't afford to let everything be destroyed. This is, at its core, an endgame.

It's pretty insane when you ponder on that. We've faced a lot of strife since The Fall began, but nothing on this scale. The human race survived one extinction-level event, and if things go south then this conflict will serve as the coup-de-grace that finally ends the suffering of the human race. I don't like thinking about that, which is exactly why I'm putting it out there. We need to think in larger terms.

There are too many of us--and yes, I'm as guilty as anyone--who see this as just another conflict to be dealt with. That attitude is especially prevalent here at home where the horrors of the war are distant. It's hard to appreciate the size and magnitude of the thing. But as with underwater earthquakes, you can begin to measure the danger by seeing the waves that form as a result.

The zombies wash across us and the rest of the Union as a consequence of this war. Over the last few years we've seen the number of undead slowly dwindle, starvation and cannibalism and our own deadly hands slowly whittling their numbers down even as they evolve. Yes, they group in larger numbers, but there are less and less of them blanketing the countryside, instead clustering together for survival and coming after the living.

So consider how big an impact this war is having: tens of thousands of zombies have come up from south of the border and from UAS territory, pushed like a bow wave toward the west and the Union. Imagine how large the movements of people have to be, and extrapolate from there. Across our new nation, the undead fall in the hundreds on a daily basis, the people worked half to death to protect their homes. How many people does it take to drive so many undead? How well armed must they be? Ask yourself these questions and you'll start to appreciate how daunting this war really is.

This is not a situation where we can easily shrug off the danger and rely on what has worked before. We're good, we're brutal, and we're at a severe disadvantage. We are in serious danger, people. I know most of you know that, but I'm not sure how many of you actually feel it.

And do you know, I said all of that just to prepare for saying this:

There are more waves of UAS citizens moving in from their central territory. Toward the people we just bombed and shelled, to help them. At a rough guess, more than five thousand are heading that way just as easy as you please. How big a threat are we facing that five thousand people can just take off within a few days of a major attack? With that many willing bodies, they will be able to rebuild quickly.

Things are often darkest before the dawn, right? We've been through a lot, enough to know that things are also darkest when the end is near. We can't afford to wait any longer. We have to do something drastic.