A New World Order

Orson Welles famous broadcast is repeated, again with disastrous results

A New World Order

Prologue

         The demise of humankind didn’t occur as a result of missiles being launched or nuclear weapons being used. Nor did it come about due to the Earth colliding with a planet or other heavenly body. In fact, the end occurred more from an accident than anything else.

         In early October 2032, the leader of the world’s largest blogging site, the Blogging Press, met his idol Jan Skorvik, the leading on-line writer on the planet. It wasn’t a chance meeting, the two had been exchanging short notes on Sharpist.com for weeks .

         “Jan! Hey, so good to see you dude.”

         “Buddy! Same here, nice to meet finally. You’ve been hinting at doing something unique, so what’s up?”

         “Let’s have a cup of coffee, and I’ll fill you in on the details.”

         “Sure, I could use a cuppa.”

         Buddy had arranged this meeting because there was a project he wanted to do and needed the assistance of people in the news business. There’s just so much he could do as a blogger; his idea required people with Jan’s expertise. The two men were polar opposites in age and expertise. Buddy was in his mid-30’s, young and aggressive. Jan was about twenty years his senior, and secure in his role as an on-line/television, newsman. Both were leaders in their field, people novices looked to for inspiration and guidance.

         Sitting down with their cups of coffee, Buddy opened the conversation by saying, “I know you’ve heard of Orson Welles and his radio broadcast of ‘The War of The Worlds’ in 1938.”

         “Who hasn’t? That was such a great Halloween stunt!”

         “Well, I thought we could update it but do it on a bigger scale.”

         “You have my interest, go on.”

         Buddy knew he had to get Jan’s buy-in on his idea and began to explain his idea to him. “At 8pm on October 30th, we’ll broadcast an up-to-date version of Jules Verne’s story. We broadcast it at the same time Welles did, in the same manner. We’ll even warn the public before the broadcast, just like Welles did.”

         Jan held up a hand at this point and said, “Wait, there’s no way today’s public will fall for Martian’s invading the Earth.”

         “Of course not, so like I said, our broadcast will be an up to date one. With Zombies so big on everyone’s mind right now, it will be a Zombie invasion.”

         “Oh, I like your train of thought!”

         “One of things we’ll need, is the cooperation of every major news agency on the planet. There’s no way we can have this happening in small town USA only; it has to be worldwide. That’s one of the big reasons we had to meet Jan, you have all the connections with the lead news teams at CNN, Fox, CBS, TASS, BBC, and about every other agency you can name. We need them involved in order for my plan to go smoothly.”

         “I think I can call in a few favors. What’s the rest of the plan?”

         “Welles had few resources in 1938; he could only broadcast to a small crowd. But what if every major news agency on the planet started broadcasting headlines about Zombies attacking humans at the same time, or very close to it? We could start with any one of them being first, but I’d prefer it to be east coast USA, since that’s where Welles did his. Start right at 8pm like he did and go for maybe thirty minutes instead of the full hour. Shortly afterward, West Coast USA announces a Zombie invasion, followed by NHK in Japan, announcing not only have they been seen in the U.S., but are now seen in Japan and in many Pacific Islands Another announces it, then another, until it snowballs.”

         “Great idea! But suppose people get hurt, like when Welles did his?”

         “First, we have to make sure we warn them on each network we broadcast this on. There are millions listening & watching all the time, no way it would be missed.

         “Yeah, we could even use Twitter!”

         “No. No Twitter, and no online broadcasts or warnings until it’s all started. Welles didn’t have that, so we’ll use the networks only for the warning, as well as the initial announcements. Then if it goes to Twitter or online, so be it.”

         “It’s going to take me a bit of time to arrange this, glad we got together now.”

         The two men discussed the project a little more before parting. Buddy was surprised that three hours had passed since he and Jan had initially met. As they parted, he had one more thing to say to Jan. “This has to be kept under wraps until the date arrives. No phone calls, let’s not use any modern conveniences other than secure e-mail to communicate with. Last thing I want is for the public to be warned by the people who are supposed to be helping us do this.”

         “No problem, man. Is it okay to set up a conference call? We’ll do it over old phone lines, not on the internet. Everyone online is listening or spying.”

         “Sounds good, talk to you later then.” With that, the two men parted, and the fate of humankind was sealed.
 

Chapter 1

         On October 30th, at the end of the CBS broadcast on WBOC Salisbury, a small announcement was made. “WBOC will be broadcasting an updated version of Jules Verne’s “The War of The Worlds, duplicating the broadcast Orson Welles did in 1938. It is stressed that this is an updated scenario, and only a fictional story. The attack we will mention in our story is not taking place.”

         What the station didn’t realize is that intermittent interference did not allow the complete transmission to be heard. What was heard over the air was, “WBOC will be broadcasting an updated version of Jules Verne’s “The War of The Worlds, duplicating the broadcast Orson Welles in 1938. It is stressed that this is an updated scenario, <sound of static>. The attack <static> is <static> taking place.”

         Linda would remember that moment for many days to come. She did not know who Orson Welles was, had never heard of his broadcast. It was the next announcement from the station that raised her blood pressure greatly, causing her and many others to panic.

         “This is Jeanne Stimson with WBOC in Salisbury, we have some breaking news. There has been a series of attacks on residents of Salisbury this evening. People who closely resemble Zombies have been witnessed attacking and <static>. Ten deaths have been reported so far. Dave Connors is on the scene, what can you tell us Dave?”

         “Jeanne, chaos reigns here on the southeast side. <static> it’s hard to say how this <static>. What we do know is that several people have been attacked and killed. The apparent Zombies are wreaking havoc wherever they are found.”

         “Thank you for the update, Dave. Be careful out there. We won’t speculate on what is happening, and we will keep you posted as more news comes in.”

         Both Jeanne and Dave were close friends of Jan Skorvik and were a part of the updated Orson Welles broadcast. A few minutes after the announcement, Zombies were reported seen in upstate New York, quickly followed by reports from many other states. A few hours later, sightings and killings were reported in Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, London, Paris, Moscow, Cairo, and many other cities around the world. Panic ensued as people reacted to this apparent invasion.

         In London, Susan watched as a man was bitten by a Zombie. Knowing the man was dead and would soon be a Zombie himself, she turned and ran. Getting in her car, she gunned it as she sped towards the two men. “You’ll die in hell for attacking him!” Her car struck the innocent man and his Zombie attacker, sending them flying across the road and into the stone railing of a bridge. Susan lost control of her car in the process and careened into a brick wall. The front end of her car crumpled as her body was slammed into the windshield. Susan and the two men were killed instantly. One of the men was a reporter for a local British radio station, the other was his best friend who had volunteered to portray a Zombie for this stunt.

         In Cairo, a woman was seen being attacked by a female Zombie, bitten on the arm before having the Zombie yank her arm from her body with a powerful tug. A crowd of people saw the attack, and grabbed stones, pelting both as they screamed. The crowd chanted “Death to Zombies and their victims!” in Arabic as they threw the stones. Dalal, an online blogging friend of Buddy, and her best friend Nezha who only had one arm, died in the rain of stones. Both innocent victims of this broadcast gone horribly wrong.

         Around the world innocent people were killed as people attacked the Zombies the news had warned them about. Some were broadcasters who were part of the ‘War of The Zombies’, many others were innocent bystanders. Within three hours, anyone who looked like they walked differently were attacked by panicked mobs. People who couldn’t speak properly or suffered from involuntary movements were either beaten to death or dismembered. Few were just shot, for everyone knew, or thought they knew, that Zombies had to be dismembered to kill them. Beheadings were common during this short time, as many thought that the Hollywood portrayal of Zombies and how to kill them was the way to eliminate them.

 

Chapter 2

         Jan called Buddy on his cell phone. “Buddy, what the hell is happening? Innocent people are dying around the world because of your stunt!”

         “I don’t know Jan, I really don’t. But I’ll tell you one thing….”

         “Buddy? Hello? Hello? Dammit, I lost the signal!”

         Jan’s cell rang almost immediately. “Buddy, thank God you called back!”

         A strange, almost guttural voice replied, “This isn’t Buddy. A word of advice. Let this continue. It’s our time, yours is over.”

         “Who the hell is this?”

         “Never mind who I am. I know you’re Jan Skorvik, we just haven’t found you yet. Nor have we found your friend Buddy. But like every other human on this planet, your time has come. Say good-bye while you can.”

         The call ended before Jan could respond.

         Later that night Jan tried calling Buddy again, this time using the landline.

         Buddy answered on the fifth ring. “Jan, is that you?”

         “Oh thank God, I was afraid you were a victim already!”

         “Why would, or how could I be a victim? That’s not how our scenario flows!”

         Jan told Buddy about the strange call, the sounds of the voice, what was said. The call had shaken Jan badly, he constantly watched his back as he traveled home on the Tube.

         For his part, Buddy was quite surprised by what Jan told him. All thoughts of replicating the Orson Welles broadcast of 1938 were gone. Things had gotten out of hand far more quickly than by mere chance.

         “Jan, there’s one thing that has bothered me from the get-go.”

         “What’s that?”

         “Have you, or anyone else noticed that the broadcast has interference in it?”

         “Sure, there’s nothing we can do about interference though.”

         “Haven’t you noticed though? The interference occurs at the same time during the broadcast. No matter if the broadcast originated in Tokyo, New York, or London, or wherever, the interference always starts at the same place during the broadcast. This is not natural interference! Someone or something is doing this!”

         “Really?”

         “Yes Jan, really….” Buddy stopped talking as he heard strange noises on the phone. It sounded like someone was knocking loudly on Jan’s door. Just then Buddy heard a loud pounding on his own door! Suddenly the door crashed open as three men who looked like Zombies crowded through the door.

         Buddy was no match for the three of them. In less than two minutes he joined the forces of the Un-Dead.

Chapter 3

         Frank could not believe what was happening in his hometown. He had witnessed carnage that brought back too many memories of fighting in Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. But this Zombie, this was his close friend Jeff. Jeff was his oldest son’s Godfather; they grilled steaks together. How could Jeff be a Zombie?

         What Frank didn’t know is that Jeff was also a part of the updated Orson Welles Broadcast. As the saying goes, “Once A Marine, Always A Marine.” Jeff was now a Zombie? Frank saw Jeff (the Zombie) trudging towards his house with that awkward gait that all Zombies seemed to use. He knew what he had to do.

         He went into his office and opened a cabinet he had hoped would never need to be opened. He knew the contents by heart and felt his trusty .45 Caliber pistol would suffice.

         He went to his driveway and was a little surprised to see Jeff already there. Frank thought to himself, ‘How did he get here so fast? I wasn’t inside that long....’

         Frank pulled his pistol from his back pocket, aimed at Jeff and shot him three times in the chest. Frank was surprised that Jeff fell so easily, he thought Zombies were almost impossible to kill.

         As Jeff lay there gasping to breathe, he looked at Frank. With one of his last breaths he said, “Frank… Jeff stopped to take a breath, pain evident in all he did. “This was all made up.” Again, Jeff stopped, blood seeping from his lips as he violently coughed. “Like the Welles broadcast in 1938.”

         Having said that, Jeff fell back on the pavement. He shuddered a couple of times, his body twitching each time before his chest stopped its painful rise and fall. Frank looked at him, his mind trying to process Jeff’s last words.

         Welles? He tried to think, tried to understand who Welles could be. It wasn’t until the light breeze blew Jeff’s coat open, exposing Jeff’s copy of the original broadcast that he realized who Welles was.

         He had seen death in Afghanistan; he had killed the enemy more times than he cared to remember. But Jeff? Jeff was his neighbor and friend! He had shot and killed a man he considered a brother. All because someone had an idea, an idea he wasn’t sure of yet, but Jeff had said it was “All made up, like the Welles broadcast.”

         Just then, Frank saw a man from a few doors down the street. He too looked the part of a Zombie. His shuffling streps looked very realistic, more so than Jeff’s.

         Frank shouted to him, “Hey man, I need some help. I thought Jeff was a Zombie, same as you.”

         The Zombie came nearer to Frank, its breath reeking of rotten meat. His flesh seemed to have sores all over, at least from what Frank could see. Coming up to Frank, it leaned into him, biting his neck.

         “What the hell?” At least that’s what Frank tried to say. The ‘thing’ had torn his neck open with one bite, his blood spurting from a ruptured Carotid artery. The Zombie looked at him closely. In soft, guttural voice, it said, “Tonight, not all Zombies are fake. We have hidden and lived amongst humans for centuries. Tonight was a perfect chance for us to come out of hiding.”

         Chaos reigned across the Earth as both Zombies and humans died at the hands of friends and enemies. Some humans died of fright. It didn’t matter though. At the end of the night, Zombies ruled the land once more. There were few humans left on Earth, those that survived hid in far-off corners, sheltered from the carnage. At least for the time being.

Jim Dorrell
1/27/26