Episode 2
The disaster struck while Will Whatley was buying lunch at the Dunwich Community College cafeteria. Video of fights, fires, and explosions flashed on the TV screens mounted at the corners of the room. No one knew what has happening, but everyone knew that everyone else was broke.
Will
handed five bucks to white-haired Janice at the checkout counter, and
both watched the screens without talking. As Will sat down to eat, DCC
announced that all classes were being cancelled until further notice.
The few remaining students cheered and fled the room. Janice tossed her
hairnet in the trash and sat down beside Will. Twenty minutes later, the
cell phone companies announced they were shutting off all phone service
until the world could establish a payment method.
“What’s going on?” Janice asked, eyes crunched, glasses about to slip off her nose.
“Nobody
has any money,” Will said. There is no smooth transition from the Free
Market to barter and exchange. People riot quickly when they can't get
food.
Will
Whatley could not help but see this as a well-deserved vacation. The
out-of-town kids were caught in the traffic jams leaving Boston, and the
local students were busy fortifying their homes. Will’s apartment ran
on the school generator, and there was food in the café that would last
for a month. Someone was sure to figure this mess out in a day or two.
Until then, Will’s salary was still being paid, the computers were still
on, and the Network was still moving at full speed.
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