The problem begins when electromagnetic pulse strikes the United States, causing an eruption of chaos and fear. In the midst of the confusion, John Matherson and other high-ranking officials get together to discuss how to handle the scarce food supply. They come to a major moral dilemma which will either save the town or set it up to parish, and are faced with the decision of whether or not to ration out meals for the civilians. Doing this would slowly pick away at the population(which would be devastating), but nevertheless it would result in less mouths to feed. He states that society was “spoiled unlike any generation in history, and forgot completely just how dependent were on the juice flowing through the wires,”(260). This quote emphasizes the fact that Americans are dependent on modern technology rather than on humanity, and taking away this technology will cause society to crumble. John makes a very good point in stating that people are spoiled, because it supports the argument that Americans take too much advantage of what they …show more content…
Forstchen develops and uses a dilemma to teach that love requires sacrifice by challenging commonly used morals. It must be decided whether or not to let the weak starve to death by rationing out meals, or to let things play out on their own. When an EMP blast strips the city of electricity, morals, and hope, conquering obstacles that surface becomes seemingly impossible to accomplish. The hunger for electricity has left Americans weak and unreliable, and that doesn’t account for just the text. Society may one day come face to face with this exact dilemma, so how would life play out if this fictional purgatory became a near