Y2K

Y2K AKA Millennium Rift

[disambiguation: Millennium Rift]

A potentially cataclysmic software problem resulting from the to the all-pervasive and irreversible use of COBOL's two-digit year fields in date-dependent computing systems - a standard reportedly ushered in by the fiscal might and governmental coercement of Ma Bell. The anticipated collapse, if it fully materializes, could result in a global systemic failure with consequences akin to a technological apocalypse, including:

Cyber Snow Crash: Cascading waves of error messaging leads to a global internet snow crash. In the resulting chaos, financial, military, and municipal systems are rendered garishly vulnerable to cyber-attacks, exposing all manner of sensitive information: identity databases, financial records, nuclear codes, even nuclear codes.

Power Grid Failures: Power grid management systems, reliant on antiquated date-encoded software, will malfunction upon processing the transition from 1999 to 2000, erroneously resetting critical parameters, leading to cascading failures in electrical distribution networks and triggering synchronized global blackouts, plunging entire continents into darkness and chaos.

Water Treatment and Distribution Failures: Water management systems, including treatment facilities and distribution networks, will be compromised by date-processing errors. Automated systems responsible for monitoring and controlling water purity will malfunction, leading to the release of contaminated water resulting in widespread waterborne diseases and sanitation crises.

Financial Snow Crash: Financial transaction processing systems, dependent on date-sensitive software, will experience critical failures. Automated financial transactions will be misinterpreted, leading to erroneous account balances, transaction records, and the possible irreversible erasure of comprehensive pecuniary records.

Medical Equipment Failures: Hospital information systems, using date-based algorithms for scheduling and monitoring, will experience widespread operational failures.

Human Survival and Social Breakdown: As societal infrastructure collapsed, the wealthiest segment of the population, prepared with luxurious and well-stocked survival bunkers, would have sought refuge in isolated, self-sustained environments. The remaining majority of the human population, unable to access critical resources or infrastructure, would face catastrophic conditions.