Bomb Online

Bomb storyline

Your hands are trembling. A single drop of sweat falls from the end of your nose and lands on the glowing LED's in front of you. You instinctively look up to see all the other people in the room staring at you. Their faces are contorted with apprehension and fear. Laying at your feet is a huge cylindrical bomb. On it's front is a control panel. Which of all these switches will defuse it?

It was just a couple of days ago, the brigadier called you into his office. Standing to attention, in front of his desk, he signaled with a wave of his hand for you to stand at ease. He looked up from the open folder he was studying and gave a half-hearted smile. He looked agitated and was sweating. "Good morning Captain" he said,"it looks like we have a serious situation on our hands." He handed over the folder marked "Top Secret". As you were about to open it, the officer rises from behind his desk and walks over to the window. He moves the blinds to one side and stares out for a while.

Without looking back, he asked, "Do you remember Banks, John Banks?" You begin to say, "Yes of course", He's..." But with another wave of his hand he cut you off. There's a heavy silence. "He's gone rouge". The brigadier turns towards you, "He's only gone and stolen one of our thermo-nuclear warheads." Whilst you were trying to process the sheer magnitude of this, he strode back to his desk and sat down heavily. Leaning back in his chair, he looked up towards the ceiling and squinted at a distant memory. "I never trusted him. In all the years we worked together, he always struck me as someone more interested in his own well being that that of the country. He always struck me as someone who wanted to change the world. And maybe not for the better. And with every promotion he received, I was always over-ruled. And now look where that's landed us."

The brigadier rocked forwards and placed both elbows on the table. "We've located the bunker where the traitor is hiding out. We need you and your squad to go in and capture him. It'll be a quick in and out job. All the information is in the folder you're holding." "Very well sir", you reply. He stands up abruptly and walks you to the door. Placing a hand on your shoulder, he says, "There is one other thing, Captain." "Sir?"
"The bomb has been armed. It's what we call rather dramatically, a doomsday scenario. The fate of the world is literally within your hands. Good luck Captain!"

So here we are. All of the choices made over a lifetime come down to this one last effort. Which switch to choose? No one seems to know. The clock is now showing the seconds being counted down. Time has run out. As you place your finger on one of the switches, every one in the room holds their collective breathe. You close your eyes, think of your family and flick the switch down.