However, James could not let his suspicions stand in the way of doing his job. So, working together, he and the brilliant Middle Eastern financier quickly developed an interim financial plan for the United States. They worked in apparent harmony, but James could see looming ahead a deadly confrontation over Haddad’s long-range plan to introduce a global financial system based solely on numbered computer accounts. He knew that one day his opposition to Haddad’s plan would cost him his job—and possibly much more. But being a man of conviction with an inherent sense of honor, the secretary simply steeled himself for the anticipated encounter.

What they set in place for the short term was relatively simple. The banking system of the United States was temporarily disengaged from international clearing houses. The West Coast banks, plus those in Hawaii and Alaska, were written off. Force majeure was declared to block any claims under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. All West Coast corporations were declared bankrupt and de-listed from various stock exchanges. Claims against surviving banks, brokerages, and other corporations by the estates of those who had died were held in suspended accounts pending the presentation of documented proof.

All contract claims and debt claims relating to the stricken region were placed in suspense for one year. Wong and Haddad followed the same method in regard to the investments of U.S. citizens and companies in Asia, the claims of Asians against U.S. assets, and the de-listing from U.S. exchanges of the stock of Asian firms that had traded as American Depository Receipts, or ADRs. The accounting task was monumental. But working under simplified regulations, teams of accountants and auditors—thousands of them all across the nation—brought the chaotic mess to some order. Banks and exchanges opened under new guidelines within thirty days, and little by little the economy began to stabilize.

Massive losses had taken place that were irreversible. The volatility of commodity prices, currency prices—in fact, all prices—meant that trillions of dollars worth of options and other derivatives must either be canceled or the entire financial system would be destroyed. Wong and Haddad took the only way out. They declared all derivative contracts to be invalid. Traders must start again. To some, the physical losses meant bankruptcy. To others, the cancellation of crushing financial obligations was like manna from heaven.

Both men realized that the immediate inflation of prices following the disaster was temporary. But what they feared was a long-term depression with factories closed and millions out of work. So, they agreed that interest rates would have to be lowered and generous credit would be made available to member banks by the Federal Reserve board. The Fed would then purchase one hundred billion dollars of treasury notes, which, in turn, provided funds to the federal government to pay for disaster relief, the ongoing clean-up, and other vital services.