Thread by @WIRED

For the past six weeks, we’ve been releasing excerpts from ‘2034,’ a novel by @stavridisj and @elliotackerman. The book is a supremely well-informed look at a potential war between the US and China.

Let’s hope things never come to that 1/ wired.trib.al/gjJxE9o

It starts in the South China Sea, when a US warship comes upon a distressed fishing trawler. The two countries are already on the verge of war, and what happens next nearly pushes them over the edge 2/ wired.trib.al/yr6Djg0

The proceeding events are dizzying. A blackout, a sunk destroyer, a lost F-35—the US won’t understand, or at least not until it is too late, what China is up to 3/ wired.trib.al/pXmHXSX

Ten days into the crisis, the US’ strategy of de-escalation is failing. The public finally comprehends the magnitude of what has occurred and its message is clear: The president has to do something 4/ wired.trib.al/uxvyQAJ

After another encounter in the South China Sea, Chinese cyber dominance of the American forces is complete. The countries are no longer on the brink of war. They are engaged in it 5/ wired.trib.al/9B3o88C

China has effectively blacked out a swath of ocean nearly eight hundred nautical miles wide. And somewhere in it is the country's fleet. The US has to find them, and if it does, fight blind 6/ wired.trib.al/W0q64wZ

The last line has been drawn; the president has threatened the use of tactical nukes. For decades, the logic of mutually assured destruction has kept crises like this in check.

Would it hold this time? 7/ wired.trib.al/zPiMiQS

The Cold War didn’t erupt into WWIII in part thanks to literature that portended its horrors. This is a cautionary tale in the same vein.

Here are the book's authors on how the US and China can avoid sleepwalking into a real war 8/ wired.trib.al/ptsjqMN

If you want to start ‘2034’ from the beginning, sign up here to get each installment delivered directly to your inbox every week 9/ wired.trib.al/lPgQHxN