Two Hours to Forever

Good morning, America- Today will be a beautiful day. This is not a drill. Seek shelter immediately. Two hours to forever! Two hours till the old world falls! Chrome on the highway, Nuka on the screen, A perfect tomorrow, polished and clean. But fuel lines grew longer, the cupboards ran bare, And every calm promise was smoke in the air. They rationed the daylight, they rationed the truth, Put flags in the hands of the desperate youth. From Anchorage ice to a far eastern shore, The whole world learned how to march into war. Hear the boots, hear the engines, Hear the warning sirens sing. Every wire pulled tighter, Every soldier on a string. Then the screens all lost their color, Then the morning lost the sun. Every nation raised its weapon- No one dared to lower one. Two hours to forever- let the whole sky roar! Red flash, white fire- this is the Great War! No victor in the ashes, no empire to restore, Two hours to forever- then the old world was no more! Sound the alarm! Lock every door! No nation walks away from the Great War! Two hours to forever- hear the heavens roar! The Wasteland was born in the Great War! One wore the eagle, one carried the star, Both saw a monster in ranks from afar. Steel giants thundered, red shadows moved low, Black smoke rolled over the northern white snow. Orders came down through the radio whine: "Hold for the homeland. Advance on the line." Face to face as the field cannons roared, They met as men- then the machines made war. Hear the rifles, hear the thunder, Hear the armored columns roll. Every shot became an answer, Every answer took its toll. Then the battlefield fell silent When a brighter war began. One command crossed the darkness- Then a thousand suns arose. Two hours to forever- let the whole sky roar! Red flash, white fire- this is the Great War! No victor in the ashes, no empire to restore, Two hours to forever- then the old world was no more! Sound the alarm! Lock every door! No nation walks away from the Great War! Two hours to forever- hear the heavens roar! The Wasteland was born in the Great War! Ten- banners in the sky. Nine- bombers climbing high. Eight- shadows in the sea. Seven- no one yet can see. Six- no time to run. Five- do not face the sun. Four- Vault-Tec seals the door. Three- no one can stop the war. Two- every signal gone. One- The old world is gone. Coffee still warm, cartoons on the air, Lunchboxes packed by the foot of the stairs. Vault-Tec had promised a safe place below, Then loudspeakers stuttered: "Go, go, go!" Vault doors were closing on number and name, Some reached the darkness, some vanished in flame. A child held a toy as the daylight turned white, And history ended in broad morning light. Who gave the order? Who struck the spark? Every side wrote its truth in the dark. But blame means nothing when cities are dust, When flags become shadows and steel becomes rust. Ask all the dead who had won the day- The silence of nations has nothing to say. Ash upon ash, from shore unto shore, The war kept living when nations were no more. Two hours to forever- let the Wasteland roar! Green storm, black rain- the child of the Great War! No victor in the ashes, no empire to restore, Two hours to forever- and the old world is no more! Sound the alarm! Lock every door! No nation walked away from the Great War! Two hours to forever- hear the dead world roar! The Wasteland was born in the Great War! Two hours! (To forever!) Two hours! (To forever!) No victor! No savior! Only the Great War! To any survivors... The world has changed. The war has not. Two hours to forever...