Doomsday Plus Twelve
Encyclopedia
Doomsday Plus Twelve is a post-apocalyptic novel
by James D. Forman.
known as "Doomsday." A group of Oregon
teenagers seek to use peaceful protest to stop militarists in San Diego
from using the nuclear missiles on a captured nuclear submarine
against Japan
.
touches off World War III
between the United States of America and the Soviet Union
. Things get out of hand and nuclear weapons are used. American deaths number 120 million. The effects of EMP
, ozone
, and epidemic
s (California
was dusted with anthrax
) are depicted.
Twelve years later people living in a rural Oregon
have survived with their only contact with the outside world coming from Japan
ese merchants who have built a base near them. They are later, however, visited by representatives from San Diego
, one of the few American cities to survive the war. The visitors preach their plan to restore the United States by driving out the Japanese with a nuclear submarine
that survived the war and ask for volunteers to join their army. Most people are not interested in their message but when the militants launch an attack on the Japanese merchant base it inspires a trek to San Diego led by a charismatic young girl to peacefully protest their actions.
On the way they meet various groups of survivors: a gang of Hell's Angels bikers who join up with them, monks living in a still functioning observatory
, and refugees in the desert living in abandoned military vehicles.
When they arrive in San Diego they find the city in ruins (the missile that was supposed to hit exploded in the ocean causing a tsunami
that destroyed the city). They peacefully march into the base discovering that the militants were too afraid of their own soldiers to provide them with ammo and the nuclear submarine they boasted about had long since sunk to the ocean floor.
's The Wild Shore
and have remarked on its pacifist
theme.
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
by James D. Forman.
Plot introduction
The story is set in 2000, twelve years after the world nuclear warNuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
known as "Doomsday." A group of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
teenagers seek to use peaceful protest to stop militarists in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
from using the nuclear missiles on a captured nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
against Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Plot summary
In 1988, an incident in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
touches off World War III
World War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
between the United States of America and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Things get out of hand and nuclear weapons are used. American deaths number 120 million. The effects of EMP
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
, ozone
Ozone
Ozone , or trioxygen, is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope...
, and epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
s (California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
was dusted with anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
) are depicted.
Twelve years later people living in a rural Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
have survived with their only contact with the outside world coming from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese merchants who have built a base near them. They are later, however, visited by representatives from San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, one of the few American cities to survive the war. The visitors preach their plan to restore the United States by driving out the Japanese with a nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
that survived the war and ask for volunteers to join their army. Most people are not interested in their message but when the militants launch an attack on the Japanese merchant base it inspires a trek to San Diego led by a charismatic young girl to peacefully protest their actions.
On the way they meet various groups of survivors: a gang of Hell's Angels bikers who join up with them, monks living in a still functioning observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
, and refugees in the desert living in abandoned military vehicles.
When they arrive in San Diego they find the city in ruins (the missile that was supposed to hit exploded in the ocean causing a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
that destroyed the city). They peacefully march into the base discovering that the militants were too afraid of their own soldiers to provide them with ammo and the nuclear submarine they boasted about had long since sunk to the ocean floor.
Major themes
Critics have compared the novel to Kim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
's The Wild Shore
Three Californias Trilogy
The Three Californias Trilogy consists of three books by Kim Stanley Robinson, that depict three different possible futures of Orange County, California. The three books that make up the trilogy are The Wild Shore, The Gold Coast and Pacific Edge...
and have remarked on its pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
theme.