Thursday, December 4, 2008: a winter storm ravaged most of the eastern seaboard and much of the midwest. Some cities reported up to 6" of snow, the first appreciable snowfall of the season. Rescue and rebuilding efforts were hobbled in many parts of the country for the first time since the beginning of the year. Relatively few people realized how much work still had to be done - almost eleven months after O.U.T.R.A.G.E. bombs had obliterated most of America's wealthy, powerful, and influential citizens, destroyed most of America's largest corporate conglomerates, and ended the reign of those who controlled the political, industrial, entertainment and financial denizens of the country.
The economy of the United States had been crippled, but was not dead. The federal government had been reduced to only slivers of what it had been, and - for the first time since politicians started yapping about it - the federal government was, indeed, much smaller in scope and structure. There was little left other than those bureaucracies and agencies authorized by the U.S. Constitution, and even those operations have been severely stinted. More Americans were attending church services than ever before - or at least since the turn of the 20th century. People had stopped worrying about all the 'things' they had and started focusing on important issues such as friendship, sharing, helping others, and re-establishing more profound personal values. Families separated by distance due to job opportunities found themselves reuniting. A huge segment of the upper-middle class and middle-class now found themselves part of the lower-class, still homeless, hungry and poor ever since they had become victims of the 'Rebellion of '08' or victims of any of the terrible natural disasters that followed.
The Presidential triumverate called all newly-elected members of Congress to a "planning session" scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday in St. Kitts. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. jets were dispatched to pick up all the newly-elected officials. Colin Powell, John McCain and Barack Obama promised it would an intensive three-day workshop dedicated to the reorganization of the new U.S. Congress that would be sworn in on January 20, 2009. Scheduled for December 5th, 6th, and 7th, the impromptu meeting gave candidates little time to do anything but pack a bag and meet the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. plane. Most candidates were picked up and flown to St. Kitts on Thursday, December 4th; most arrived on the tiny island before 10:00 that evening. The meetings would begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. Friday, December 5.
The meetings would run non-stop for three days, and every minute of every meeting would be televised, in keeping with the new, true democratic process. "The people deserve to know," Powell proclaimed, "everything we're doing."
Meanwhile, the AROB group, the Patrick-Patrick Team, and Ron "Doc" Doctor's convoys continued to cover the country, welcoming troops home from Iraq and Iran. Because petroleum was becoming more scarce, Patrick "Hammy" Hamilton and Ron "Doc' Doctor had mutually developed a simple device that easily converted all the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. buses to a more readily available source of fuel: used cooking oil. As the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. buses toured the country, they would ask restaurants for contributions. The buses ran efficiently, more cost-effectively, and - as an added pleasantry - discharged vehicle emissions that smelled like french fries instead of those noxious diesel fumes!
Not to be outdone, Phil Baker started spreading a rumor that he was working on another simple device that could harness methane gas from cows. "My plan is to make the exhaust fumes smell like hamburgers," Baker chortled, "but so far I've only been able to duplicate the harsh fragrance of flatulence. I'm still working on it, though!" Well, Jil Adams thought to herself, at least it keeps him busy - and sober. Hopefully, no immediate breakthrough was "in the wind".