The Dead President

You've survived the pandemic. You had a front-row seat to a confusing politicized response. The media spinning the data to form a narrative. The government proving they were more interested in taking advantage of the crisis to win votes. Now imagine all of that but in the zombie apocalypse and you get The Dead President.

! The conclusion to this Norad Awakes series, titled The Dead Nation, is underway. For a broader telling of the HZA look for ZA Survivors episodes in Vella !

The Dead President takes place in the third year of the zombie apocalypse. Crystal and Mac have joined forces with LTC Amanda Paige. Together they have linked the Timshel Nebraska community and the Fort Custer military base, in Battle Creek Michigan, with a patchwork of over 50 communities. Collectively they call themselves the Nations.

Struggling to secure and feed the over fifteen thousand in their combined alliance. The Nations come under attack by a migrating mob, bent on pillaging and destructive colonization. In an attempt to lure the mob out to stand trial for abuses against the Nations, the remnants of the US government make themselves known.

A small number of government officials and a few hundred military and civilians have taken refuge in the NORAD facility. The government is led by President Candace Cho, who finds herself continually opposed by Senators Nansen Blom and Charlene Tiller. The base is under the command of General Anson Mount, whose support of the President has buffered her from the senator's attempts to subvert the government.

The government responds, taking their first steps in exiting their lockdown and the medical protocols dictated by their resident WHO and CDC adviser on infectious diseases, Gunther Konig. In fear of the pandemic, the NORAD representatives will only travel outside in high-tech hazmat suits.

The government is slow to pick sides in the conflict between the Nations and the mob. However, radical factions within the government seek to exploit the pandemic and the crisis at the Nations border to facilitate a regime change.

Crystal and Mac are reminded that freedom and security come at a price. Their values of allegiance and patriotism are jeopardized once again by a self-serving dictator.