Governments are quietly asking a big question: what keeps running when everyday systems stop? Britain has launched a "Be Ready" campaign urging households to prepare for three days without power, water, phones or internet, while Sweden advises people to be ready to manage on their own for at least a week. Reports citing internal documents say the Pentagon wants major US bases to sustain essential operations for at least 90 days without outside support, under an initiative called FORTRESS America. The Pentagon has not set a public deadline for that standard, so it remains a reported goal rather than something bases can already do. The logic is simple: when the grid fails, water pumps, communications and fuel supplies can fail too, and military bases depend on the civilian infrastructure around them, with a major base using about as much power as a small city.

Part of the answer is already in motion, because the Army announced in August that it plans to build nuclear microreactors at five bases from New York to Texas, with up to $2.2 billion going to five companies over five years. More than 20 reactors are expected eventually, but this is a project underway rather than a capability every base has today, and the bases would stay connected to the grid, with the reactors not powering them fully. None of this means war is imminent. The plans cover cyberattacks, severe weather and conflict, and the UK campaign itself points to weather and cyber threats. Critics have questioned the cost and the unproven technology of the microreactor program, and details of how bases will keep water, fuel and communications flowing for 90 days are still unclear. The question the plans leave us with is simple: if everyday systems stop working, what keeps running?