Chapter 86: (2) Pentagone
One might assume, when a threat like Zombies rises up which threatens all of humanity, that the whole world would set aside its differences and unite to face their common enemy. While it was true that humanity made an effort to do so in the face of the Great Wave, this effort only lasted for a short time.
The US and the nations of Latin America had given new homes to the governments-in-exile of many of the nations who had fled their homelands, but the teeming billions of ordinary refugees were not always so lucky. The US accepted many refugees who had political power or sheer wealth, but claimed it had little room for more normal refugees.
And so billions flooded Latin America. Due to the fall of African and Asian nations in the Great Wave, South America soon became almost the entirety of the Global South, and a tentative balance of power formed between the US and all the nations south of Texas.
It was in the context of this new balance that the Pentagon continued its plans and operations. While the Pentagon publicly stated from 2027 onward that its mission was to coordinate the "Reconquista," or the recapture of the three lost continents, this was nothing more than a lot of bluster to satisfy the public. In reality, the big Hunter guilds had far more economic interest in retaking the Black Zones than the US did.
Such a war of conquest was completely unheard of in the modern day, after all. Even if every Zombie disappeared and Virus Z completely ceased to be a threat, the gears of the world had come to a halt without humanity to keep them spinning. The machine of civilization would take a very long time to get running once more.
General Pantherson was musing over these realities as the limousine carrying him and Director Hard finally came to a halt. The door to the limo was opened by an attendant, and an officer standing outside gave a salute. "Please follow me, sir. I'll escort you to your destination."
The academy directors followed the officer inside and into an elevator which took them below the ground. Before long, they'd arrived in a large hall containing a round table seating dozens of people.