All of this talk about Dragons the last few days and the apples (core) possibly tying into computer chips also tying back into china, china, china (who manufactures all of our chips) jogged my memory about a movie I'd seen a few years ago called

Dragon Day (2013)

Plot synopsis: Duke, an out-of-work NSA engineer, finds his family stuck in a small mountain town the day a devastating cyberattack destroys the U.S. as we know it. Every microchip 'Made in China' has been infected with a virus that rapidly shuts down all modern technology. Duke's fate becomes intertwined with a Mexican migrant worker as they fight the odds to survive in a chaotic world without water, food or power.

something like this seemes somewhat plausible knowing what we know… was something like this part of ((((their)))) plan?

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772262/?ref_=nv_sr_2