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Business Browser Date published: 9/6/2009 By Bill Freehling SOCIETY'S defini- Forstchen's fictional "One Second After" describes the chaos that ensues in the U.S. after The destruction of that grid changes our way of life. Cars and planes, which are equipped with computers, don't work. All communication is cut off outside one's community. Food spoils, and medicine goes bad. Soon humans revert to their most primal form and begin fighting each other for food and water. The terrifying part of the book is that it seems so plausible. It includes a nonfiction afterword by a U.S. Navy captain who has studied the country's vulnerability to an electromagnetic pulse attack. Among many other things, the book makes you realize just how fleeting our definition Money quickly becomes worthless in the Black Mountain, N.C., town where the story is set. It's based on the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, and when that breaks down, the dollar loses its value. You could have been a billionaire before the attack, but afterward that does you little good. The new currency becomes cigarettes, bullets, water and food. The definition of what jobs are of value changes quickly, also. The book's main character meets a woman who used to be a high-powered public relations executive for a tobacco firm. After the attack, she becomes yet another refugee selling her body for food. Conversely, the people who were afforded little clout in the pre-blast society--"granola" types who know how to gather food in nature, old mechanics who can put together outdated engines, survivalists armed to the teeth with banned weapons--become the leaders in the new way We can't live our lives in fear of the kind of world that Forstchen describes, though I would argue that it makes sense to hedge your bets and store some water, non-perishable food, batteries and medicine at home just in case. But from an investing perspective, the book did make me think about just what products humans truly need regardless of circumstances. You may think now that you couldn't live without your iPhone or cable connection, but when it comes down to it what you really need are food, water, shelter, transportation, tools, medicine, communication with the outside world and protection. Companies that do those things well and have competitive advantages would seem to be good bets going forward, regardless of how society changes--assuming the nightmare that Forstchen describes doesn't occur. Staff reporter Bill Freehling writes this weekly column on business, personal finance and investing. He can be reached at 540/374-5405 or bfreehling@freelance
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