Scourge of an Agnostic God (edit title/settings)

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Characters/People edit see section history

• Chris Jung: Chris Jung is Gen X intelligence analyst with the US Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security. He is suffering from the latest bout of panic, the worst one yet, set off by his obsessive mind, which honed in on this constant ringing in his ears and his insomnia. What little sleep he gets is filled with vivid nightmares. Unable to endure the 24/7 panic that had been persisting for months, Chris decides to kill himself. But when a mysterious series of EMPs strikes, he realizes he has to get his pregnant wife Meredith out from the chaos in Washington DC first. So he postpones his earlier plans and leads a small group out to the Shenandoah Valley. The end of civilization will provide Chris a chance to find his resolve to stare down the demons hounding him. Some say he’s burly, others say he’s chubby.
• Meredith Jung: Meredith Jung, the wife of the addled Chris Jung, is an intelligence analyst with the FBI Domestic Terrorism Division and is six months pregnant with their first child. Chris often called her a sexy Vulcan due to her rational and dignified demeanor that contrasted with his emotionalism, yet still waters run deep. She will find her day job is more important after the collapse of civilization than anyone could predict. Her husband has described Meredith as resembling Sarah McLachlan.
• Brandon Hughes: Brandon Hughes is Chris and Meredith’s friend from college. He and his wife Anne live in the gentrifying DC neighborhood of Adams Morgan. Although he works for FEMA as a contractor, Brandon’s true talent lay in his godlike knowledge of the Indie Rock scene. Hailing from the small town of Rochelle, VA nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, Brandon understands the South despite his outer appearance. Brandon is svelte, wears thick Buddy Holly glasses, has product in his hair and dons t-shirts bearing kitschy over-commercialized products as an ironic gesture. He would never self-identify as one, but he is a hipster. He has a propensity for calling people “Chief.”
• Thuy Mai: Thuy Mai is a special agent in Diplomatic Security and is also a friend of Chris from back when Chris was a special agent. Thuy is a undying sense of humor, usually making snipes at Chris’s girth, but is also trusted by his colleagues and friends as one of the most squared away agents, which reflect his geometrically perfect flattop crew cut. He joins Chris and friends on the exodus from DC out to the Shenandoah Valley.
• Akil Roulston: Akil Roulston is a database administrator on his way to Charlottesville to pick up his son Jamil from his ex-wife when the first EMP struck, stranding him in the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia. He finds himself joining Chris and party on their way to Brandon’s parent’s home in Rochelle, VA. Akil is a dashing African American in his mid-forties. His love interest will say he looks like Don Cheadle.
• Charles Early: Charles Early is the Constable of Rochelle, VA and mobilizes the small farming community to prepare for the worst when the first EMPs hit. His experiences as a Marine in Vietnam taught him the skills needed for the trying times ahead. Charles is tall, has a permanent sunburn on his bald head from outdoor work on his horse ranch and would make the Marlboro Man look like a pansy in comparison. He is slightly surly, but has a gentle side when he is one on one.
• Rita Luevano: Rita Luevano is the reverend of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlottesville as well as a visiting professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia and runs a community center downtown serving the migrant farmer and day laborer communities. She keeps herself busy for the cause of Humanism, but she knows deep down its just her nature that she must always be doing something; otherwise, she will die. Rita has gained a following of college students, her congregation and within the immigrant communities. She struggles as a recovering alcoholic trying to come to terms with her faith, or rather lack of faith. She had never believed in God, but her faith in Humanism had sustained her until recently. Now as she guides a motley collection from her various activities to Thomas Jefferson’s home of Monticello to escape the fires raging in Charlottesville, her old faith will wither. What will replace it? Over the last several months, she had been researching the Gaia Hypothesis for her next book. She is rather young to be a reverend (mid 30’s) and is very easy on the eyes of Mexican and one-quarter German heritage, a product of Central Texas.
• Ezra Rothstein: Ezra Rothstein was going to be a senior at Dave Matthews Memorial High School in Charlottesville. He was chosen to be the captain of the varsity soccer team and was the youngest participant in the US National Archery Finals that were taking place in Charlottesville this year. But then the EMPs hit. He and his parents who were active members of the Unitarian Church joined with Reverend Rita Luevano to Monticello. He would rather be partying with his friends than facing almost certain death at a dead president’s crib. Ezra is lanky with straight black hair and can grow a beard if he oversleeps.
• Neko Lemay: Neko Lemay is a sophomore in college and travelled from her home in Washington State to compete in the National Archery Finals in Charlottesville when the EMPs struck. She had never felt comfortable in her own skin until she found Reverend Rita Luevano through her fellow archer, the kid Ezra Rothstein. While struggling to survive in Monticello, Rita gave sermons about Gaia Hypothesis. It resonates with the strident and volatile young red head.
• Juan Ramirez: Juan Ramirez is an immigrant from El Salvador who grew up as a child soldier, conscripted into the Salvadoran Army during the civil war in the early 80’s. He and his immigrated to America to find a better life. Little did he know his old skills would come in handy as he joins with Reverend Rita Luevano along with other migrant farmers to Monticello. He is fluent in English, but will never understand America’s glorification of its own Civil War.
• Eric Starke: Eric Starke is Rita’s sponsor in AA, joined her to Monticello and serves as her only outlet to unload her fears as she is thrust into leading a disparate group of people. Eric was a sniper in Vietnam and had been haunted by the memories. Now, he finds himself teaching a group of young archers the skills he acquired in order to keep Monticello from being overrun. Eric resembles a balding George Carlin with a ponytail.
• Jon Early: Jon Early, the son of Charles Early, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Marine Corps commanding the 4th Battalion 8th Regiment stationed at Camp Lejeune when the EMPs struck. A battled hardened veteran of multiple deployments to Iraq, Jon had seen his share of death and destruction; however, nothing could prepare him to witness the death of his own country. His battalion was sent to Raleigh (on foot, of course) to restore order, but when the flu broke out, he made the agonizing decision to save what was left of his battalion rather than have all of them succumb to the flu with the rest of the city. He leads them to the only place he thinks they will be welcome, his dad’s ranch in Rochelle, VA. Everyone says he looks like Richard Gere.
• Dean Jacob: Captain Dean Jacob is Lt. Col. Jon Early’s executive officer and has served with Jon in Iraq, making the two of them unlikely best friends. Whereas Jon is a white, rural Southerner, Dean is the son of Guyana immigrants, born and raised in the streets of Boston, Massachusetts. He has the sexiest radio voice on the planet.
• Russell Campbell: Russell Campbell is the president and CEO of Obsidian Corp., a private personnel security corporation that contracts with the government that is based outside of Fredericksburg, VA. A former Delta Force operator, Russell has made himself an enormous success in a short time by gathering the right executives who knew the right people. And by hiring foreign nationals as security specialists, Russell made it possible for the corporation to operate without the traditional constraints.
• Richard DuShane: Richard DuShane agreed to come out of retirement to become the Vice President of Obsidian Corp. having been impressed by the young Russell Campbell’s gumption. He has headed several high-powered companies in the past that obtained lucrative contracts with the government. He figured Obsidian Corp. would be another good bet. Dick has had two wives and three heart attacks. He scares the hell out of the young associates with a mere smirk.
• Mama Bell: Add a description of this character.
• A. P. Hill
• Anne
• Aidan
• Dick Dushane
• Valerie Blaine
• Jeff
• Darryl
• Sharon
• Hector
• Tim
• Carson
• James
• Dr. Wessinger
• Frank
• Richard Gere
• Kendra
• Derrick
• Henry Turtlebee
• Gaia
• Chuck
• Sullivan

Quotes edit see section history

• “I say we update our Facebook status to ‘fleeing.’”

• “Seriously, man. Don’t even think of saying, ‘Don’t you die on me.’”

• “What, you haven’t met a militant Unitarian before?”

• “Yeah, the apocalypse isn’t what I’d hoped it would be.”

• “And to have his platoon slaughtered outside of a Bed Bath & Beyond was just fundamentally wrong, in his opinion.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Washington DC: The best place to chronicle the collapse of civilization.
• Falls Church, VA: A nearby suburb of Washington DC located just within the Beltway about 10 miles from downtown.
• Manassas, VA: Originally considered a separate community, Manassas became absorbed by the Washington DC sprawl and assimilated into the metropolitan collective. It is a place where the parking lot of Wal-Mart converges where Union and Confederates duked it out.
• Culpeper, VA: A town of roughly 10,000 located about 70 miles southwest of Washington, DC
• Rochelle, VA: A tiny hamlet 100 miles southwest from DC and 30 miles north from Charlottesville off of Highway 29 comprised of a small farming community and nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains and a minot mountain chain.
• Charlottesville, VA: A hilly college town home of UVA, population of 40,000 located in Central Virginia.
• Monticello: President Thomas Jefferson's estate located atop a small mountain that overlooks Charlottesville just six miles away. The estate is a living museum where there is an active agricultural program that replicates the crops grown in Thomas Jefferson's day.
• Montpelier Station: The home of President James Madison located 10 miles from Rochelle and 4 miles from Orange. The 18th century home was guttered and undergoing renovations in 2007.
• Orange, VA: A town of 5,000 with nearby grape fields and wineries. Orange is located 13 miles east of Rochelle and about 38 miles west from Fredericksburg, VA
• Virginia
• Birmingham
• Fredericksburg
• Iraq
• Raleigh
• Richmond
• New York City
• United States
• Lynchburg
• America
• North Tower
• Madison High
• Kona
• Vietnam
• Arlington
• Rosslyn
• Chad
• South Tower
• Camp Lejeune

Organizations edit see section history

• Bureau of Diplomatic Security: The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) is the law enforcement arm of the foreign service within the U.S. Department of State. Special Agents in DS conduct protective services for the US Secretary of State, visiting foreign dignitaries and US delegations abroad. DS is responsible for arranging for all non-military US missions abroad and special agents also conduct criminal investigations of passport of visa fraud violations.
• Obsidian Corp.: A fictitious company that provides personnel security services contracting with the US government to protect non-military official Americans and American businesses in high risk locations such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Colombia.

Glossary edit see section history

• Metro Sapiens: Metro Sapiens are those Generation X and Yers reared in an urban middle class setting who are globally connected and conditioned for instant gratification, but do not know how to change the oil in their cars or know where meat comes from.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• The Metro: Washington DC's underground Metro is a recurring motif throughout the novel. One of the main characters Chris Jung commutes to work daily on the Metro. It is so much a part of his life that his dreams take place there, even months after the apocalyptic events. The Metro first serves as a backdrop for ominous visions, but later serves as a reminder of the world before the collapse.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Michael Juge (Author)

Awards edit see section history

• Rising Star designation by iUniverse

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Science Fiction › Alternate History
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Urban