39 pages • 1 hour read
William ForstchenOne Second After
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2009A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 6-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary: “Day 10”
On the 10th day following the EMP burst, John goes to town for a village council meeting. He has developed an infection in his wounded hand and is lightheaded with fever. He arrives in the middle of a report. Doc Kellor, the town’s MD, is concerned about a salmonella outbreak: “‘Most of us haven’t bathed in ten days, toilet paper’s getting scarce, soup line meals twice a day at the refugee center, food now of real questionable safety’” (154)
The group debates the best place to begin burying bodies, since the regular cemetery is too far away, and agree to use the local golf course. The council then turns its attention to the food problem: they have enough supplies for a few weeks but may need to go to half rations after that.
Carl Erwin, the police chief from nearby Swannanoa, proposes that the two towns join forces. Black Mountain can keep out an influx of refugees from the west while Swannanoa can guard the east. Charlie and Carl negotiate the terms of the alliance, discussing how to shares resources and who will get a seat on the combined council. John is struck by the medieval nature of the negotiation: “The formal ritual had been played out. The kings had shaken hands and the treaty had been made. It was the smart move, though he wondered if they would all feel the same a month, six months, from now” (166).
The group discusses how to handle the threatened refugee influx from Asheville. John proposes telling the new emergency director, Roger Burns, that they will cut off the water supply to his city, which they control, if he sends any refuges their way.
Kellor raises the prospect of new diseases being introduced by migrants from other areas; cholera and typhoid could present a real threat. To avoid armed conflict at the territory borders, the council proposes to allow people to pass through the area but not stay, and border guards will wear hazmat suits. John thinks to himself, “Uniforms, and the white hazmat suits were like uniforms, had throughout history always been one of the ways to control crowds, including those being herded into death camps” (173).
Regarding the chronic transportation problem, John suggests scrapping old cars for parts and finding pre-computer mechanics to build a new fleet of municipal vehicles. John then suffers a dizzy spell; Kellor says he may have a staph infection and tells him to go home and rest until meds can be delivered.
Back at his house, John learns that his father-in-law died. The family goes to the golf course for a tearful burial. After the ceremony, John grows anxious about Jennifer, whose insulin supply is dwindling. Trying to reassure her, he says, “‘Daddy will always protect you,’” but she looks at him with “eyes filled with the wisdom of a child” and says “‘I don’t think so, Daddy’” (182-184).
Chapter 7 Summary: “Day 18”
After several days of delirium, John’s fever breaks. Makala tells him his infection was so severe, they feared he would lose his hand until the doctor approved some scarce medicine for him. After eating, John feels well enough to let Makala drive him to town. Charlie is not at the police station, so John reads the town notice board outside.
With martial law still in effect, the town is beginning to function again. Ration coupons are issued to those in need, Jim Bartlett refurbished a fleet of old vehicles for official use, and an emergency hospital reopened in Swannanoa. John also learns that the EMP burst may have been initiated by an alliance of North Korea and several Middle Eastern countries. A similar burst was aimed at China, Japan, and Eastern Europe. The US forces overseas have retaliated, and Britain pledged aid to the continental United States. The American government will soon issue radios from its stockpile so communication with the central authorities can resume.
John and Makala decide to check on the college. When they arrive, John notices Washington training a large group of students. The couple goes to the office of the college president, Dan Hunt, and Makala waits outside while the two men discuss the situation. John learns that, during his illness, a large group of refugees stormed the border and shot the checkpoint guards. Most were captured, but 20 remain at large in the region.
Dan points out that such confrontations mean that Black Mountain is going to need a militia, and the students training with Washington will be part of that force. Dan hints that John should lead that effort because of his pre-execution speech’s effect on the townspeople: “‘They heard your words and will not forget them. John, that gives you a power’” (215).
John protests that he has no experience leading an army. Dan counters, saying he has the necessary training and skills to help rebuild the country they both love: “‘The America we knew died when those warheads burst. If so, then it is up to us to not wait, but instead to rebuild America as we want it to be’” (216).
Chapters 6-7 Analysis
This set of chapters explores two key themes: the overdependence on technology as it relates to infrastructure and the breakdown of civilization beyond the town borders. Town council meetings act as the vehicle to explore both issues.
Now that technology is useless, many fundamental services disappear, and like a game of dominoes, this causes all the remaining pieces to quickly fall. Water is only available to residents who live below the gravity-fed reservoir. Toilets no longer flush, so latrine pits need to be dug. Without refrigeration, perishable food goes bad.
The lack of clean water and unspoiled food raises a multitude of health problems, as does the number of fresh corpses littering the area. As Doc Kellor says, “‘America is like an exotic hothouse plant. It can only live now in the artificial environment of vaccinations, sterilization, and antibiotics we started creating a hundred or more years ago’” (170). This means diseases like typhoid and cholera, which have been unknown in America for over a century, could make a comeback.
In the past, residents would have relied on a national transportation chain to deliver these medicines, but that is no longer an option. John worries about this issue not only for the sake of his friends and neighbors but also because Jennifer will receive no more insulin.
The continued use of martial law furthers the thematic breakdown of civilization. The greatest threat to the town’s inhabitants is now outsiders who want to force their way in; a group of them already invaded and shot many security officials. So, an armed militia, partially made up of college students, is being trained to keep the peace.
