Overview
The domestic nuclear deterrent plan is the central wartime conspiracy in Burn Zone. It is developed during the Brunn meeting as a way to destroy a Coalition landing army after it enters an American city.
Plan
The plan uses the Fort Drum nuclear device, a twenty-megaton weapon, inside a city designated “City X.” The intended blast would destroy the port, Coalition army, and supplies after a landing. Its supporters believe that one such detonation would prevent further Coalition landings and force a white peace.
Ben Auerbach says a device can go missing because the conspirators have sympathizers, and Kelly Pearson proposes moving it through War Economy Board food logistics. The proposed cover uses banana shipments and Richmond storeyards to make radiation scans appear plausible.
Opposition and Consequences
Carter Clemens argues that the plan cannot proceed without full civilian evacuation and rejects the others’ willingness to accept mass deaths. Rupert Brunn, Scott Hallman, Ben, and Kelly vote for the plan. Kelly Pearson, Scott Hallman, and Rupert Brunn then threaten Carter’s family to keep him silent.
The plan later culminates in the Boston nuclear detonation. The Coalition tribunals use the May 28 recording to sentence the surviving conspirators.