Blackout - Tomorrow will be too late

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"Blackout" (Cover, 2012)

Blackout - Tomorrow is too late is a technology thriller by the Austrian author Marc Elsberg , which takes place in the near future . The novel tells about a period of two weeks, the disastrous effects of a large-scale power outage in Europe.

history

According to Elsberg, the idea for the book came when he heard about the production of electronic toothbrushes , where all individual parts are delivered just-in-time . It became clear to him how networked the world is. According to his own statements, he started writing the book in 2008.

Shortly before Elsberg's research, a large-scale scientific study on the dangers and vulnerabilities of modern societies was carried out in the Office for Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag - using the example of a large-scale and long-term power failure .

In 2012, Jochen Homann , President of the Federal Network Agency , presented the book.

1.7 million copies had been sold by 2019. The work was translated into 15 languages ​​and the film rights were sold. The novel was published in English in 2017.

action

Day 0–2:

The protagonist Manzano, an Italian computer scientist, is involved in a traffic accident due to the power failure and the associated failures of traffic lights . Meanwhile, the network operators and energy suppliers are trying to start up and stabilize the power grid, but this fails because of the unusual behavior of the grid and ultimately results in a Europe-wide blackout. After researching his power box, Manzano suspects tampering with the intelligent electricity meters as the cause of the failure. Manzano takes this information to the police and the electricity companies, but is not taken seriously there. He and his neighbor go to see his daughter on vacation, who puts him in contact with Europol through her work for the European Union . The responsible investigator François Bollard ordered Manzano and Sonja Angström, who also worked for the EU, to the Hague. At the request of his superior, Bollard involved Manzano in the investigation, but out of suspicion he had him monitored in his hotel room and via his laptop.

Day 3–4:

CNN reporter Shannon travels to The Hague to get information about the blackout. Bollard casts them off, but Manzano tells her about the terrorist attack using the malicious code. Meanwhile, civilians begin to hoard supplies . Since only cash is accepted as a means of payment, there is a great rush to the bank branches. In order to further heat the situation, those responsible sabotage numerous electricity pylons and set fires in switchgear . SCADA systems infected by computer viruses are detected in several power plants and switching points . Due to difficulties with the emergency power supply, the Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant is in an increasingly critical situation, the severity of which is slowly being increased by the authorities from 0 to 4 on the INES scale . The population of Paris and the surrounding towns is evacuated.

Day 5:

Manzano finds out that the power plants and switching points affected by problems all use software from the (fictitious) software manufacturer Talaefer . Under the direction of the detective Jürgen Hartlandt, an investigation team is supposed to examine the software for weak points directly at Talaefer. The perpetrators of the attack are apparently always aware of the current status of the investigation and want to turn Manzano off. Meanwhile, food and fuel supplies are becoming scarce in the population and the propensity for violence is increasing.

Day 6:

Bollard offers Manzano to participate in the investigation into Talaefer, which he accepts. After leaving The Hague, an email emerges suspecting him of being one of the conspirators. Meanwhile, large-scale power outages are also occurring in the USA. When Manzano arrives at the Talaefer company headquarters, he is not included in the investigation team, but rather interrogated based on the intercepted e-mail and arrested with immediate effect. During an attempt to escape, he was shot and taken to a hospital, where the situation was extremely precarious because of exhausted diesel and medicine supplies. He escapes his guards and hides in the hospital.

Day 7-8:

Shannon has followed Manzano to the hospital and identifies himself to him. She goes back to the Talaefer headquarters and steals Manzano's laptop from Hartlandt's office. This contains references to installed backdoor software. In Spain, the military has to power putsch what the conspirators are happy. The police learn that the Chief Architect of Talaefer was murdered on his vacation in Bali and there are some indications that he had deliberately smuggled vulnerabilities into the program code. Shannon and Manzano set off for Brussels, but their rental car between Düsseldorf and Cologne is stolen and they spend the night in an abandoned hut. The next day they are taken by two strangers in a truck to Aachen, which is also attacked and stolen. Arrived in Aachen on foot, they found asylum in an emergency shelter. In Berlin meanwhile, desperate crowds demonstrate in front of the Interior Ministry. The international crisis teams notice that their communication is bugged and manipulated.

Day 9:

In Schweinfurt, conspirators are pursued after an arson attack and stopped by the GSG 9 , whereby two targets are shot and one survives seriously injured. Manzano and Shannon arrive in Brussels and pass through Angstrom to the EU's Monitoring and Information Center (MIC). Manzano uses the local internet access to penetrate a server that the conspirators use for communication. Before he can find out more, he is arrested along with Shannon and Angstrom and taken to prison.

Day 10-11

A fire in the prison enables Shannon, Angström and Manzano to escape. To further investigate the suspicious website discovered the day before, they visit the MIC again. Manzano finds a huge amount of information about the attack and those involved on the terrorists' server. Public order has largely collapsed across Europe, violence and black markets determine everyday life. Accidents in numerous nuclear power plants and industrial plants have claimed many lives. Manzano contacts Bollard and travels to The Hague with Shannon.

Day 12

Bollard receives pictures of the terrorists' suspected hiding places in Istanbul and Mexico City. Special forces storm both houses at the same time, with arrests, dead and injured in both places. The whereabouts of two terrorists, Pucao and Jusuf, are unclear. Meanwhile, the display errors in European power plants are corrected by means of a software update so that the power grid can slowly be restarted.

Day 13-14

While the electricity is slowly returning, the politicians and the responsible offices are discussing the consequences, duration and costs of the upcoming clean-up operations. Meanwhile, Manzano discovers that the power plant control systems are still making contact with a terrorist server at regular intervals, and that serious disruptions are likely to occur again if this contact fails for more than 48 hours. Just as he is tracking down the relevant malicious code, the fugitive terrorist Jorge Pucao breaks into the hotel room and takes those present hostage. He explains his motive, according to which the terrorist group consciously wanted to bring about an anarchy through the blackout and thus a compensation of social inequalities and injustices. Manzano is able to prevent him from killing the hostages, but is injured in the process. With the last of his strength, he sends the information to prevent another failure to Europol and then loses consciousness.

Day 19-23

Bollard is cheered in Paris and showered with questions by reporters. Manzano and Angström are now a couple; they are on the roof of the cathedral and watch a demonstrating crowd, which they join.

Awards

The magazine Bild der Wissenschaft named the work the “most exciting knowledge book of the year ” in 2012.

The English edition was voted "Crime Book of the month" by the Times in February 2017.

literature

  • Marc Elsberg: Blackout - Tomorrow it will be too late. Blanvalet Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-7645-0445-8 .
  • Marc Elsberg: Blackout - Tomorrow it will be too late. Paperback, Blanvalet Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-442-38029-9 .

Audio books

  • Marc Elsberg: Blackout - Tomorrow it will be too late. Random House Audio, 2012, abridged reading, read: Steffen Groth , ISBN 978-3-8371-1281-8 .
  • Marc Elsberg: Blackout - Tomorrow it will be too late. Audiobook download, 2012, unabridged reading, read: Steffen Groth, ISBN 978-3-8371-1393-8 .
  • Marc Elsberg: Blackout - Tomorrow it will be too late. Audiobook download, 2012, abridged reading, read: Steffen Groth, ISBN 978-3-8371-1376-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b Matthias Iken : When the power fails . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . No. 25 , 2013, p. 6 ( abendblatt.de ).
  2. Inge Kutter, Max Rauner: "That would be a huge problem" . In: The time . No. 50 , 2012, ISSN  0044-2070 , p. 47 ( online ).
  3. ↑ The endangerment and vulnerability of modern societies - using the example of a large-scale failure of the power supply (PDF; 2.9 MB)
  4. ^ "Blackout" in the Bonn Federal Network Agency . In: General-Anzeiger . October 19, 2013, p. 3 .
  5. ^ Blackout. In: Penguin Books. 2017, accessed in 2020 .
  6. News on “Blackout. Tomorrow is too late ”- Marc Elsberg Blanvalet Verlag. Retrieved September 21, 2019 .