Living Under the Dome

In his epic novel Under the Dome, Stephen King combines American Gothic horror (the secrets, scandals, and deadly intrigues in a seemingly idyllic town) with apocalyptic science fiction (extrapolating from the premise of an entire community cut off from the surrounding world by being sealed inside an invisible, technologically-advanced dome).  The novel is King at his world-building best, and after spending nearly 1100 pages trapped with the people of the fictional Chester's Mill, Maine, I got to thinking: what would it be like if my own hometown was placed under the Dome? Would the developments be the same as in the novel, or would there be some key differences?  Here are some of the points that came to mind as I speculated:

*My northern New Jersey town lies within miles of Manhattan, so the tragedy of 9/11 literally hit close to home.  I suspect that the sudden encapsulation by a Dome would trigger a massive terrorism scare in the townspeople.

*Three major airports (Newark, LaGuardia, JFK) operate nearby, so not only would the nation's air traffic suffer a serious disruption, but there would also be an increased risk (initially) of planes crashing into the unseen Dome.

*Many residents commute to Hoboken and Manhattan via the train line running through town, and many out-of-towners drive here, park their cars, and then hop on the train.  A Dome would break apart a significant number of families in town and potentially strand a horde of non-residents.

*The back end of town is comprised of swampy meadowlands.  If conditions got particularly sultry under the Dome, mosquitoes could form a terrible plague.

*Since the town is more densely populated than King's Maine setting, there would be an increased demand for the now-finite resources.  I'm betting that a food riot wouldn't have to be orchestrated by a sinister political leader like Big Jim Rennie (who, incidentally, is one of the best villains King has created in years).

*A chemical manufacturer has a huge plant set up in town; if an explosion ever occurred there, the fiery destruction would no doubt rival the inferno that rages through Chester's Mill.

*There's a medi-center but no hospital located within the town borders, so caring for the sick/injured would be a daunting task.

*For years there have been rumblings of a growing gang presence in town.  One could imagine such groups more openly and brazenly defying authorities while under the Dome.

*I'd venture to say that the townspeople would be much less likely than King's Maine folk to have generators on hand to combat the loss of electricity.  In that sense, matters could take a much darker turn than they did in Chester's Mill.


So what about your hometown?  How does its location, geography, and demographics compare to that of Chester's Mill?  What if you and your neighbors were forced to live under the Dome?

What then?