Jack of Harts

The President of the United States did not, in fact, call up the military to shut down any public gathering, physical or virtual, when another Chinese pandemic hit America. He also did not send them to shut down those daring to talk about cures or treatments that the media discounted, close churches, break into homes, or perform many of the other actions that conspiracy theorists had long expected the government to do during the next great emergency. The President had tried to govern in a balanced manner during what he hoped would be his first term, and treaded the uneasy middle ground of warning people about the dangers of the pandemic while saying that the federal government had things under control. And though there was much controversy and numerous lawsuits over what many of the States did, the pandemic hit the top of the curve and fell back down as all pandemics do in time. People left their homes, went back to work, and the American economy was quickly bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels. Everything was looking up when China demanded that America turn over sufficient assets or collateral to secure the debt America owed them.

Fort Hood’s training scenarios became increasingly virtual as the Second Great Depression approached. They had the very best fully immersive virtual simulations of course, and the federal politicians had a much better use for their money than wasting it on firing live or simulated munitions. The pandemics that continued to come out of developing China every decade or so had to be fought, and the United States Armed Forces was the perfect front line combatant for such a conflict. They were largely young and healthy, and therefore least likely to fall to the illnesses. And if they did, they were only a small sacrifice to make to save the much more enlightened people in the universities and government who must be saved for the good of humanity. No one who mattered would mourn the deaths of those who had volunteered to murder innocent people after all. So the vast majority of Fort Hood’s old training funds were funneled into building containment facilities for pandemic victims, or for training in the best ways to enter public or private spaces to separate the sick from the healthy. Or those who refused to follow appropriate medical guidance for their own safety.

Fort Hood was famous as the home of armored cavalry during the decades leading up to the Second Great Depression. They were, by the Grace of God, blessed to be stationed in the Great State of Texas. Home of the American Cavalry. Where it was still recognized as the preeminent branch of the American Army. Every good soldier aspired to be a cavalryman, complete with spurs and cowboy hat. They were loud, proud, and confident in their ability to defeat any foe that faced them. Some people described them as more Texan than the Texans. They were rarely quick to dispute that charge, and aggressively recruited similar-minded individuals from all over America and beyond. Fort Hood soon became a home for disgruntled soldiers other commands were happy to get rid of permanently. With new regulations discouraging short-term transfers of personnel between bases, this allowed the military bureaucracy to write off the problematic personnel to Fort Hood and the surrounding environs where they did not need to worry about them. Nothing important happened in the Deplorable State of Texas after all.