Commander in Chief (CINCNORAD) General Andre Moreau walks slowly past rows of high-tech radar stations, communication consoles, and video display screens. None of his controllers look up as he passes, each man and woman completely focused on their stations, their overwrought nerves fueled by a mixture of caffeine and adrenaline.

Moreau registers a tightness in his gut as he stares at the monitor flashing DEFCON-1. The Defense Readiness Condition is a military posture ranging from the day-to-day peacetime preparedness of DEFCON-5 all the way up to DEFCON-1, a condition equating to a nuclear assault and response.

Moreau closes his eyes. Having served in the Air Force and NORAD for thirty-two years, the general has seen more than his share of excitement. He recalls those six frightening minutes back in November of 1979 when a state of DEFCON-1 had been initiated on his watch. Unbeknownst to NORAD, a false alarm had been generated by a computer exercise tape, convincing his operators that the Soviets had launched a large number of ICBMs at the United States. During the tense moments that followed, emergency preparations for a nuclear retaliatory strike had been engaged, the Air Force planes actually in the air before NORAD’s PAVE PAWS early-warning radar had detected the human error.

The general opens his eyes again. While a dozen more close calls had followed over the years, none had matched the anxiety of ‘79.

None until now.

The QUICK ALERT shatters the general’s thoughts. For a surreal moment, he feels as if he is falling off a cliff as every video display in the Cheyenne Mountain facility flashes the nightmarish message.

QUICK ALERT! QUICK ALERT! MULTIPLE BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHES DETECTED

QUICK ALERT! QUICK ALERT! MULTIPLE BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHES DETECTED

Dear God … “Get me a systems report!”

A dozen technicians with phones to both ears frantically contact bases around the world as the computerized female voice continues announcing, “QUICK ALERT.”

The general waits impatiently as an operations voice loop linking the seven functioning centers of NORAD is engaged.

“General, system report valid!”

“General, DSP satellites have identified and confirmed four threat fans. Coming on-screen now, sir.”

INCOMING MISSILE ALERT:

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles: 2.754

Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles: 86

Four Threat Fans Identified:

Targets:

Alaska (17)

Hawaii (23)

Continental United States (2,800)

ARCTIC TRAJECTORY 17 ICBMS

TIME TO FIRST IMPACT: 18 min. 08 seconds [Elmendorf Air Force Base]

PACIFIC TRAJECTORY 23 ICBMS

TIME TO FIRST IMPACT: 28 min. 47 seconds [Pearl Harbor]

PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAJECTORY 1,167 ICBMs 35 SLBMs

TIME TO FIRST IMPACT: 29 min. 13 seconds [Seattle]

ATLANTIC TRAJECTORY 1.547 ICBMs 50 SLBMs

TIME TO FIRST IMPACT: 29 min. 17 seconds [WASHINGTON DC]

The general stares at the monitor for a heart-stopping moment, then snatches the hot line to the Raven Rock and United States Strategic Command.

Raven Rock Underground Command Center
Maryland

2:04 A.M.