Absolute Zero

Those responsible for the security of the nation were now fully awake, more so than they had ever been. The colonel's words had bored through their fatigue like a laser. "If this thing is unleashed, the population of the planet will be returned to the level of the dark ages or perhaps even earlier. The very existence of mankind could be threatened." In less than two minutes, they had been catapulted into a terrifying new world where they confronted a threat unlike any other in history. Like travelers awakening on a different planet, they were suddenly surrounded by a very unfamiliar landscape.

The gleaming silver tanker truck would not give up its secret easily. Only close inspection by a welder would reveal that the end cap had been skillfully reattached. Indeed, to motorists along the busy interstate, it appeared to identical to thousands of other such trucks that crisscross the country each day. But, unlike them, it contained no liquid, other than the bottled water for the terrorists concealed inside. They slept fitfully, the endless scream of eighteen tires burning into their consciousness. From time to time they would awaken and smoke a cigarette, never looking toward the box at the rear of the steel cavern. It contained a weapon they could not fathom, a horrible weapon.