Y2K: Will all computers shut down?

The beast is control of humanity by numbers þ everyone is reduced to numbers in actuarial data, etc. Computers run on numbers. Those who have the mark of the beast are controlled by numbers.

When Dec. 31, 1999 rolls into Jan. 1, 2000 (Y2K), many computers will not function properly, or perhaps not at all, because many were programmed with two numbers instead of four to designate years, as are actually needed. Some say this is because in the early days of computers this was to conserve memory, which was not a fraction of what it is today. So when the computer's calendars roll to 1/1/2000, they will actually say 1/1/00. Now this will appear to be Jan. 1, 1900 because the first two digits (19) were built into the hardware and software as givens.

So the public transportation system, banks, the IRS, insurance companies, and everything else that depends on computers and is not "Y2K" compliant, may stop functioning correctly or may stop function at all, because nothing will compute properly. That is, the computers will not be able to make sense of a calendar that has suddenly lost 100 years.

To fix the problem, every line of code must be corrected and many program contain millions of lines of code. After the computers have been reprogrammed, they then must be tested, which takes more time to run their various functions. If there are any glitches, the whole process must begin again. No one has been able to come up with an easy fix, like a program that will upgrade hardware and software. One reason is because there are so many different operating systems, and some of the old mainframes, which are the biggest problem, were written in code which is no longer used or understood by most programmers. And, to top it off, it is precisely these computers which form the backbone of most governmental, IRS and public utility entities, as well as many banks.

The clock is ticking down toward what could be the biggest time bomb of the last 2,000 years. Some companies have brought their computers into compliance with Y2K, the final blow to the computer networks that now span the globe would very well be that any non-compliant computer that tries to communicate and exchange information could infect, in the way a computer virus does, all other systems it tries to communicate with. Then these infected computers that were previously brought into compliance could carry the problem to other computers unwittingly. That is, the whole machine of modern civilization (the beast?) could come grinding to a halt, like a locked-up computer screen.

Some possible scenarios: You couldn't get your money out of banks because they no longer are able to access your records to confirm how much you have on deposit. Talk about computer ``crashes''! This could be the ``mother of all computer crashes'' because it could involve every networked computer worldwide. If no one can gain access to their bank records, then the monetary system would collapse. National emergency? Police state to stop looting? What is your scenario?

How about the IRS? If the IRS doesn't know how much you owe in taxes, or even that you exist, because it can no longer access your records, and word gets out, people may decide to just stop paying their taxes altogether. Since the government relies on taxes to function, it could put the government out of business. That is, if there is any kind of monetary system left at all to pay the government with.

What about transportation? No one will be able to confirm schedules, air traffic controllers will not be able to schedule planes to land, trains will not know when to depart. If there is no access to money (charge card transactions are computerized), how will people pay for goods and services they are used to and take for granted? Does this sound like a holocaust or what?

It may be the only people who will be safe will be those who keep written records of home ownership in a safe place at home, store up food (supermarkets are computerized, too) and water (water plants are computerized), have wood-burning stoves or a lot of coal (the utility companies are also computerized) to keep warm by during January 2000... and don't mind a total blackout of news and information.

All because of TWO LITTLE DIGITS!

If the Y2K problem is a delusion, why has IBM devoted an entire website to the Y2K dilemma? Why is Microsoft and many other companies working feverishly to perfect software that could conceivably save life as we know it? Why has Bill Clinton appointed a top-level commission to study the problem and work toward a solution?

Is this why the ancient prophets said those who have land and farms will be safe when the end comes? What could be more final and right on schedule than the breakdown of the system on Jan. 1, 2000? This date coincides with the beginning of a new millennium, the same name the Book of Revelation gives to the world of peace to come after the beast is overthrown. Certainly such a new world devoid of Big Brother and 666 (computer-controlled living), replaced by self-sustaining agrarian life would be more peaceful than what we have today.

Some have estimated there are not enough programmers, there is not enough time, to become Y2K compliant by Dec. 31, 1999. They also figure the cost will run into billions of dollars to fix. Some say we have already run out of time. Several years of working feverishly (which we don't have any more!) would not erase the possibility that even if a few are not compliant, this could be enough to re-infect the compliant ones.

Meanwhile, the clock continues to count down...

Fred Pulver writes from Carbondale, Colorado.