APRIL, 2028—Global capitalism has collapsed. America has sealed itself off from the outside world, and inside its borders, a revolution rages.All it took was one incredible little machine. That machine turned into two, then four, then eight... like a virus, the replicators spread.—"Don't we all feel, deep down, that we deserve the apocalypse?" - THE PROJECT MANAGER (Interview Subject #2 in The Good Crash)As a work of oral history, The Good Crash features over 50 interviews with key witnesses to the events of 2027. The text is rendered in the language used by the interviewees themselves, with light editing for clarity and concision. As such, the book contains language and some themes that are not appropriate for children. By capturing the voices to the people at the very root of the revolution, journalist and historian R. Vondersnitch has traced the origins and aftermath of the replicators' rapid spread. Crucially, the book also includes perspectives and testimony from those who attempted to stop the spread of the reps. "Some of these are heroes, too, in their own ways," the author writes in the book's introductory note.A SAMPLE CHAPTER FROM THE GOOD CRASHTHE GENERAL fixed us with a hard gaze. And then he spoke. "The machines can copy things. Almost anything, as far as we can tell. Guns, money, drugs. If it can fit in the machine, it can be copied."We were stunned.The lady from Kentucky spoke up again. She said, "Food?""Any food," THE GENERAL said."Gold?" another voice said.THE GENERAL paused. Then he nodded. "Gold. Silver. Diamonds. Anything."That sucked the air out of the room. Someone in the back made a scoffing noise. Like "pshh."THE GENERAL noticed. He said, "Question, agent?" And the man stood up. An older gentleman, white hair, slicked back, pencil thin mustache. He said, "A machine that prints anything? I don't question your word, sir, but you must admit it sounds a bit fantastical." There were nods. That lasted only a moment. All heads snapped to attention as THE GENERAL stepped into the crowd, drawing closer to the doubtful gentleman. He stood there with a sort of pained expression on his face. And then he said, "I've seen one in action myself. We seized one from Alphacorp." He let that hang there, for a moment. Then he reached into his pocket, and said, "In fact, I used a replicator to make this."He withdrew a massive gold bar. I was close enough to see that it perfectly matched Good Delivery specifications.What does that mean?It was 400 troy-ounces. Twelve-point-four kilograms. Precisely the sort of gold bar which is used in trade between major international markets. Worth well over half a million dollars. And, THE GENERAL told us, the people at Alphacorp had been using reps to create thousands of bars exactly like it. This was the explanation for the discovery at Alphacorp's headquarters. Someone there had printed about a billion dollars in gold.After THE GENERAL revealed this information, it became quite clear to us why we needed to find these machines, and quickly. If word got out that gold could be printed so easily, gold's value would collapse overnight. And then, of course, the same would go for every other precious jewel or metal. The impact on the global economy would be unimaginably disastrous.