Here's a fusion of the two from the Army's MadSciBlog, September 27:
[Editor’s Note: Mad Scientist Laboratory welcomes guest blogger Rory Fedorochko, senior at William & Mary and former e-intern with the TRADOC G-2’s Importance of Ridiculous Ideas internship, with an intriguingfictional intelligence
(FICINT) narrative exploring how China could employ weather
modification technology to strategic advantage in a bid to bring Taiwan
under the mantle of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Regular readers
of this blog site will know that we addressed Climate Change and Geoengineering
and the associated implications for the Army earlier this year. Mr.
Fedorochko significantly expands our understanding about the dual-use
nature of this technology with his submission addressing how our Pacing Threat could exploit it, to our disadvantage — Read on!]
May 14, 2031. 11:33 AM. Okinawa.
“Will it ever let up?”
Satellite image released 31AUG20 by NASA shows Typhoon Maysak over Japan’s southernmost islands, including Okinawa, center. / Source: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) via AP
Those were of the words of Olivia Wright, addressed to no one, as she
sat down in the chair next to the window. As she looked outside, she
could see the streets of Okinawa, normally buzzing with activity, empty.
The power had been out for six hours – storm damage, she could imagine –
and with her computer’s battery drained and her phone off-limits in
case of emergency, she had exhausted her other entertainment options.
Except for her books, but Olivia had already done enough reading for one
day. Instead, she chose to spend her time like she had, during her
girlhood in Oklahoma, by watching the sky.
And what a sky to behold! The clouds churned grey-black as they
spewed thousands of gallons of water down on the island. Every second,
water furiously rushed down into the drains on the battered streets. It
drowned the potted plants and knocked leaves from the trees. It smashed
against the window, fruitlessly attempting to ruin Olivia’s dry
sanctuary. A hodgepodge of hail laid scattered about on the ground and
buildings. It had hailed intermittently since the storm begun, but that
hadn’t saved the windshields of the cars parked in front of her
building. I hope they had insurance, Olivia thought.
A
supercell is an often-dangerous thunderstorm with a very organized
internal structure including a rotating updraft that allows it to keep
going for up to several hours. Supercells are capable of producing
severe weather including high winds, large hail, and strong tornadoes.
They are most frequently isolated and often develop in the warm air
ahead of a squall line. A supercell also usually forms in an environment
with strong vertical wind shear that causes the updraft to begin
rotating. / Source: “Severe Weather 101,” The National Severe Storms Laboratory, NOAA
The weather forecast had projected light rain for a few hours, but
nothing of this magnitude. The last time Olivia remembered
meteorologists messing up this badly was during her undergrad years at
Oklahoma State, when the weathermen botched how quickly a supercell
was moving north. The storm caught everyone by surprise. A tree crashed
into Olivia’s dormitory, and a pair of students were killed in the
tornado born by the supercell. Olivia remembered driving through the
devastation the next morning. Trees and families uprooted from their
homes. That was a bad day. Here, at least, there was probably no chance of a tornado. Probably, Olivia reckoned.
Olivia sank back into her chair and briefly glanced at the paperwork
that laid on it. The storm had terrible timing. Today was her scheduled
visit to Kadena Air Base. She was to interview its commander, Brigadier
General James Nguyen, about the recent Taiwan-China tensions for the Washington Post. Stories of alleged Chinese cyberattacks
on Taiwanese ports and suspicious activity at the PLA bases in Fujian
and Guangdong had proliferated over the last week, so the Post assigned
her, their only Okinawa-based correspondent, to write a story about the
issue. She had already done a video interview with Taiwan’s
representative office in Tokyo, but her emails to the Chinese Ministry
of Foreign Affairs had gone unanswered – and probably would remain so.
Olivia could have asked General Nguyen for a video interview, but she
wanted to get photos of the base and the planes. Pictures make or break
a story. But, even if Olivia could have gotten to Kadena, no plane was
coming out of the hangar in this weather. Back in Oklahoma, when her old
boyfriend took her to the airstrip, he was very insistent that you
should not fly in a thunderstorm. Lightning, hail, and wind could do a
number on even the finest craft. Olivia imagined the Air Force agreed. Guess we’ll have to reschedule for next week.
U.S.
Airmen from the 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit “buttoning up” an F-15
Eagle aircraft in a hangar in anticipation of Typhoon Kompasu Aug. 30,
2010, at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. During inclement
weather such as a typhoon, aircraft and aerospace ground equipment are
placed in storage for protection. / Source: U.S. Air Force photo by
Staff Sgt. Christopher Hummel
Olivia yawned. Thinking about work made her tired. She had cancelled
the interview earlier in the day, done an hour of cardio, written a
draft of the article after that, and then read her books. Perhaps sleep
was the right move. The sound of rain was relaxing, after all, and the room was already dark from the lack of power.
Olivia took one last look up at the sky. The hailstones were falling again. More windows and windshields were sure to break. But not mine. Olivia pulled the curtain down and raised her legs onto the desk. Time to sleep.
Within five minutes, Olivia had dozed off, blissfully unaware of the
vibrations of her cellphone futilely crying out amidst the pitter-patter
of the rain.
May 14, 2031. 4:58 AM. East China Sea, 274 km west of Okinawa....
