Nuclear EMP attack moves to big screen as author reflects on 'invisible lifeline'

Author William R. Forstchen's bestselling caller "One Second After" – which imagines the devastating effects of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) onslaught connected the United States – is being adapted into a diagnostic film. 

The screenplay volition beryllium written by renowned sci-fi writer J. Michael Straczynski, with Forstchen himself serving arsenic an enforcement producer.

Fox News Digital spoke with Forstchen astir the real-world inspiration down his enactment and wherefore helium warns that an EMP onslaught is simply a looming threat, not conscionable subject fiction.

"I wanted to constitute an accurate, a precise close communicative of what would hap successful a tiny municipality successful North Carolina if the powerfulness went off, and it ne'er came backmost on," helium said.

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Electromagnetic pulse adept William R. Forstchen speaks astatine the rally against North Korea connected San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and Yerba Buena Gardens to enactment the caller Homefront video crippled connected March 2, 2011, successful San Francisco, Calif. (Araya Diaz/WireImage)

Forstchen was wrapping up his Ph.D. astatine Purdue University erstwhile helium began pursuing a caller connected an EMP onslaught connected the United States.

He said that helium struggled to get the caller disconnected the crushed and clarify his ideas until helium had a "God moment" astatine his graduation.

"I telephone it a ‘God moment.’ I was sitting there, sweating successful my robes, looking astatine the students and parents, and it conscionable deed maine – constitute astir us, constitute astir my town."

The infinitesimal of inspiration led him backmost to his hometown – adjacent Asheville, North Carolina – wherever helium began the task of penning an accurate, compelling mentation of events pursuing the devastation of an EMP attack.

Set successful the hills of North Carolina, "One Second After" is astir assemblage prof and erstwhile subject serviceman John Matherson, who indispensable combat to sphere the lives of his household and neighbors successful the aftermath of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. (MPI Original Films (MPI))

Forstchen began the process of penning and drew inspiration from cardinal figures successful his hometown.

"I started interviewing radical similar brainsick – constabulary chief, pharmacist – and I learned however profoundly everything depends connected that invisible lifeline of electricity," helium said.

He pointed to the interrogation with the section pharmacist, who helium shared had been near crying aft considering what would hap pursuing an EMP strike.

"I started interviewing radical similar crazy. I'll ne'er hide finishing talking with the constabulary chief. And I said, 'All right, Jack, what would you do? And helium picked up the phone, and helium said, hold a minute, the phones don't enactment anymore, bash they?'" helium said.

"I learned that the pharmacist knows the radical much than anybody. They're the ones giving retired the bosom medication, the anti-psychotic, and she started penning down this agelong database of radical who would beryllium dormant successful 2 to 3 months," helium said.

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From dozens of interviews, Forstchen crafted his caller together. "One Second After" was published successful 2009 and remains connected the bestseller list. 

J. Michael Straczynski attends the 25th day of "The Interviews: An Oral History of Television" hosted by the Television Academy Foundation astatine Saban Media Center. (David Livingston/Getty Images)

The caller is present being adapted into an MPI archetypal movie successful relation with Startling Inc.

The diagnostic movie is being penned by Straczynski, with Forstchen serving arsenic an enforcement producer. Scott Rogers is directing the film, which is scheduled to statesman shooting successful Bulgaria this September.

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Fox News Digital antecedently spoke with Forstchen astir an EMP strike, who said that the menace is "very real."

"EMP is generated erstwhile a tiny atomic weapon, 40 to 60 kilotons oregon astir 3 times the size of a Hiroshima bomb, is detonated 200 miles retired successful abstraction supra the United States. It sets up an electrostatic discharge, which cascades to the Earth's surface, feeds into the millions of miles of wires which go antennas, feeds this into the powerfulness grid, overloads the grid and blows it out," helium said.

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Forstchen, citing Congressional reports from 2002 and 2008, said that 80% to 90% of Americans would beryllium dormant a twelvemonth aboriginal if an EMP onslaught were to happen.

"The menace of an EMP was archetypal realized during the 1962 Starfish Prime high-altitude atomic test. What happened was that it blew astir 500 miles distant from Hawaii and 200 miles up," helium said. "They were capable to bring the strategy backmost wrong a substance of days, but what would it beryllium similar if it took a month, six months, a year, oregon 5 years to fix?"

A geomagnetic disturbance is simply a impermanent disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a star upwind daze question and/or unreality of magnetic tract that interacts with the Earth's magnetic field. (Department of Homeland Security)

The precocious Peter Pry, a atomic weapons adept and erstwhile unit manager astatine the Congressional EMP Commission, agreed. Before his decease successful 2022, Pry warned that Kim Jong Un's motorboat of a high-altitude ballistic rocket was a trial of North Korea's EMP capabilities against the United States.

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"Cars would beryllium paralyzed," Pry told Fox Business successful May 2017. "Airplanes could autumn retired of the sky. You'd person earthy state pipeline explosions, atomic reactor overloads. And worst of all, if you had a protracted blackout, it would beryllium a superior menace to the endurance of the American people."