The Flare

The Carrington Event was the most powerful solar event in history, setting fire to telegraph systems and causing global aurora displays for a week.

The Martin Event dwarfed it. A solar flare of unprecedented strength broke across the Earth with barely twelve hours’ warning. Every satellite fell, every communication system collapsed. The electromagnetic web we rely on fell apart. Worse still the flare exacerbated the existing damage to the climate. Extreme weather erupted across the globe, and the storms that ravaged North Carolina didn’t abate for weeks.

When they did, Kettlemine, the port of entry for White Barrow L, was all but crushed. White Barrow itself remained, as did the other sites, but only just. The world went dark but the campfires of White Barrow kept burning. Barely.