Shane Maxwell was a young incel, and a genius, and no longer wanted anything to do with the rest of humanity. The Gates were obviously the answer. Still, Gateworld was empty, and he didn't want anyone following him to his private world. He also didn't want to have to return for anything, ever. So he immediately started gathering information and making his PLAN when news of the Gates hit the internet.
He carefully gathered supplies and studied maps. His PLAN required very specific (but fairly common) conditions on a relatively isolated seacoast. He needed a cove with solid walls near deep waters and the ability to dig down well below average sea level. Obviously, that would take generator and pumping ability. Also, he needed to get it all done before the end of July, at the latest, if his estimates of Gateworld climate conditions were correct.
So Shane pinpointed about 20 possible sites along the southern tip of Alaska, filled a U-Haul with his equipment and supplies, and went hunting. Finally, after several false starts, he found his take-off spot - a large gap in the rocky coastal wall in which he could dredge out the required Gate-summoning area. He set up his inflatable barriers, fired up the leased mini-Cat, and set to work.
As expected, water soon became a problem and constant pumping was required. Still, he had dug far enough to be sure of getting the results he wanted. Shane then moved all his supplies to within easy access range, and started the final round of digging, trying to finish as close to low tide as possible.
When Shane thought he had done all he could, he brought out his prepared summoning platform, placing it as low as possible in the pit, and got to work making his Gate. The distractions of the pump, generator and Cat made relaxing hard, as the crashing waves constantly reminded him that something could give out or give way at any time, flooding out all his hard work.
At last (only 25 minutes, but it had seemed like an eternity) the Gate appeared. Sadly, it was not at all what he had been hoping for, but it would have to do. The Gate opened to a fairly level spot on a rough, boulder-strewn hillside, with only rolling hills and a couple small mesas in sight. He wasn't going to be able to move his supplies very far. Still, at least there was enough "uphill" close enough to keep him and his stuff dry when the flood came through.
Shane got to work - first throwing across all his bags and packs of essential living materials, then using the Cat to make a ramp large enough to drive itself through. Once on the far side, he began clearing a path uphill. As he started to gather his stuff and move it to a safe height, he looked back through the Gate and saw his pump get buried in a mound of shifting sand.
Time running out and the first bits of wet sand sloshing through the Gate, Shane got the supplies and Cat up high enough that he felt safe. By this time, there was a steady stream coming across the bottom of the Gate, quickly finding itself a channel down the hillside. Unfortunately, there was no way Shane was going to risk going back through - even though he hated to lose the generator.
From the looks of things, fresh water was going to be the biggest problem, even though he had included a large solar desalination unit is his supplies. It was about a 10 minute walk to the top of his hill, and Shane THOUGHT he could make out a shimmer of a distant lake - but it was days away, at best. For now, he went back and moved everything further up the hillside. He wasn't sure how stable this hill would be as the new river started digging a channel through it, so he wanted plenty of margin for error.
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As Shane finally got his encampment cleared and turned off the Cat, he was impressed by the sight of the new watercourse he had created. He was unsure what to call it, as stream or river usually referred to fresh waters, and this was all ocean - eventually he just settled on "The Great Salt Rapids".
Shane then opened up his notes and refreshed his mind on what he wanted to do in this general scenario - listed as option C in his plans. The list started with him securing his encampment under the main tent and reinforcing it against winds and/or rainstorms, then having a filling meal and good night's rest.
In the morning, he would set up solar charging stations, take up his expedition pack and seed pack B, and go stream-side beachcombing. For a walking stick, he had a 5' aluminum pole with a fish-net loop on the end. Depending on practicality, he would try to establish a hiking trail along the watercourse, but the land here was far more rough than he had hoped for - he wasn't sure he could do it with the Cat, even if he'd had enough fuel for it, which he certainly didn't. He estimated about 6 working hours left before it became useless scrap metal.
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Marc Cassidy finally was getting some good news, though at the cost of some lost equipment. Several of the first Gates he had taken control of and put in isolation, had vanished! He immediately made 2 moves. He put monitors and timers near every isolated Gate he controlled, and he sent teams to isolate "problem" Gates where it looked practical.
His covert bio-war vs North Korea seemed to be mostly a flop so far as Gateworld was concerned, but Earthside North Korea was now reported to be a biological nightmare, and other nations has closed off all access to it. At least one North Korean "punishment" enclave had declared independence and vowed revenge on the Empire.
Reports from the Middle East were far more concerning. While most Muslins considered Gate creation demonic or at least taboo to some degree, the jihad factions around Israel had embraced them and many had dedicated themselves to making as many Gates as possible, providing near-endless hiding spots and breeding grounds for future terror. Israel itself mostly had little use for them, but a few sects had set themselves up in their own version of "The Promised Land".
Marc's analysts calculated that the entire nation of Israel and any lands within a couple hundred miles of it would be subject to sudden raids via Gateways for the foreseeable future, gradually getting worse as Gateworld colonies established themselves and became manufacturing hubs. The one bright side was that Gateworld couldn't be used for either nuclear or biological weapon development, so there were few fears of WMD deployment via Gate.
All major federal facilities now maintained an "escape" Gate in case of nuclear attack, and it was assumed the same was true in other nations, so nuclear was becoming ever less likely. In Africa and Latin America, a new threat was being announced by the WHO - mosquitoes returning from Gateworld. Super-zeka was already a problem in Brazil, and assorted tropical fevers were rapidly gaining ground in Africa. The populations were starting to learn that Gateworld was an escape from such problems, and a whole new wave of new Gate creation was ongoing. His mapping staff, strained well beyond their limits, now showed that Gateworld's "colonized" region was well over 400,000 miles across - which, again, made no sense at all to physicists.
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Cindy continued her "tea parties" with her stuffed frog, and now had young puppies and kittens to care for. The young bunnies had grown up and the older pair had it's first liter of offspring. To Cindy's dismay, small garden snakes had been added to the mix as well, but she enjoyed the ladybugs. The lake had turned somewhat greenish close in on her shoreline and teemed with life. School had unfortunately resumed, and she had to trek from her Gate, across Earth to the family main Gate, and to the compound's schoolhouse every day.