The unthinkable has happened..

serpico · 12-08-2012, 01:30 PM

Open question for anyone bored just to get you thinking.

A pandemic has annihilated 80% of the worlds population. No working government, hospitals, shops or infrastructure remain. No law, no running water, no petrol pumps.
Where you live has been particularly badly affected with less than 5% alive. After finding two of your neighbours you have banded together. As if things couldn't get any worse, marauding gangs from nearby cities have taken up scavenging in your locality and are now a constant threat, cannibals of course.

You are working from a starting position of having no guns..

What do you do next? How do you stay alive from day to day (food, water, shelter, security) or would you even bother?

tnt1 · 12-08-2012, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serpico

Open question for anyone bored just to get you thinking.

A pandemic has annihilated 80% of the worlds population. No working government, hospitals, shops or infrastructure remain. No law, no running water, no petrol pumps.
Where you live has been particularly badly affected with less than 5% alive. After finding two of your neighbours you have banded together. As if things couldn't get any worse, marauding gangs from nearby cities have taken up scavenging in your locality and are now a constant threat, cannibals of course.

You are working from a starting position of having no guns..

What do you do next? How do you stay alive from day to day (food, water, shelter, security) or would you even bother?

If history is any indication what takes place is stealth attacks of weaker and less prepared individuals who are then scavenged off of for all of value, from weapons to gold teeth to anything in between. If food is scarce it is not above man to eat man and history proves this will happen as it is the case throughout our history here. Weapons are accumulated from their victims and so the battle of the haves and the have nots begins. Those that do not have take from those that do. In time some grow stronger than others banding together others. Those that are weak lose, those are strong win and those keeping their wits about them banning together with order and goals survive longer often times only falling from other banded together gangs bigger than their own. Woman, children, all of value become barter tools for survival.

It will be brutal but humans have endured far worse and they will wage gang wars and territory disputes, water, food and hunting rights and so on until some unified stronger force comes in and sets them all down for a straighten up or die now meeting. The irony of all this is that no one soft will survive the first six months. After that first six months of suicides and various craziness going on what will be left will be feuding gangs or various tribes of hardened ready to get after individuals that ban together for survival, hunting together, gathering together, defense, gardening together and trading with other gangs trying to make peace and trade routes to re-establish order. Local feudal governments will sprout and fall in quick succession as things settle and then finally one will rise to the top stronger for whatever reason with more clout than the others and some semblance of order will reestablish but only after much horror and blood shed. Such is the course we are on if we are not awake enough to stave it off ahead of the domino falling to start all the others to falling in order as the entire thing collapses.

serpico · 12-08-2012, 01:56 PM

tnt1 , I can tell you've been over this in your mind more than once.

Epic analysis, but what would you do?

arcyclus · 12-08-2012, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serpico

Open question for anyone bored just to get you thinking.

A pandemic has annihilated 80% of the worlds population. No working government, hospitals, shops or infrastructure remain. No law, no running water, no petrol pumps.
Where you live has been particularly badly affected with less than 5% alive. After finding two of your neighbours you have banded together. As if things couldn't get any worse, marauding gangs from nearby cities have taken up scavenging in your locality and are now a constant threat, cannibals of course.

You are working from a starting position of having no guns..

IMO, The first thing needed is to get guns. Those who have guns, have food. Those who don't,..... don't

serpico · 13-08-2012, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcyclus

IMO, The first thing needed is to get guns. Those who have guns, have food. Those who don't,..... don't

It is a bit of a game changer alright. Trip to the gun store for those who don't? Probably the first place to get looted.

One thing I've always wondered is would all survivors become raiders of some sort. Hunger can do strange things.

arcyclus · 13-08-2012, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serpico

It is a bit of a game changer alright. Trip to the gun store for those who don't? Probably the first place to get looted.

One thing I've always wondered is would all survivors become raiders of some sort. Hunger can do strange things.

Donno! Can't answer that.

All I know is, when I look at Africa, the ones who don't have guns are starving to death. The ones who have guns are not.

joho · 13-08-2012, 02:07 AM

you might like this it is about a global pandemic and what could happen
from the point of view of one family

Armageddon (Part One) - YouTube

Armageddon (Part Two) - YouTube

Armageddon (Part Three) - YouTube

Armageddon (Part Four) - YouTube

Armageddon (Part Five) - YouTube

Armageddon (Part Six) - YouTube

Armageddon (Part Seven) - YouTube

zhiba · 13-08-2012, 02:33 AM

Go to a place where trucks are kept. Look for the biggest truck.

Steal the truck.

(GameHint.com - make sure truck has full tank of gas)

Go to vilage of the canibals. (Why are they canibals, btw?)

(GameHint.com - try and go at night when canibals are sleeping)

Drive into vilage of canibals at highest speed posible. Repeat as necesary to anihilate all canibals.

Ramsack vilage for guns and free all slaves.

Become savior of your locality.

Create work force to build wall / baricade around vilage to keep out wandering canibal tribes.

Learn how to purify water (moss) and grow vegatables.

Hunt.

Become King of your domain.

Game over.

(Click here for hidden challenges)

osiris111 · 13-08-2012, 06:57 PM

first off i would be gone the second the power or water services started to crumble. camper van with food supply for 3 months, included seeds and gardening tool and knowledge. get as far into the wilderness as possible in a roughly safe location with two routes in and out and hope for the best? i dont think there is anything left to stay in the cities for as that would be the first place to go down the toilet.

but i dont think it will come to that but just in case its better to be prepared i agree.

lauren_almighty · 13-08-2012, 09:59 PM

I'd have a petrol powered chainsaw and would chop some limbs off.

zhiba · 13-08-2012, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lauren_almighty

I'd have a petrol powered chainsaw and would chop some limbs off.

No petrol pumps

lauren_almighty · 13-08-2012, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhiba

No petrol pumps

Would it still work if it was already fuelled and ready to go?

serpico · 14-08-2012, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhiba

(Click here for hidden challenges)

Cheered me up this morn that did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joho

you might like this it is about a global pandemic and what could happen
from the point of view of one family

Great docu, I even have it on my phone. To anyone who hasnt seen it - go for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by osiris111

first off i would be gone the second the power or water services started to crumble.

I'm with you on that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lauren_almighty

I'd have a petrol powered chainsaw and would chop some limbs off.

Scary, but effective

zhiba · 14-08-2012, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lauren_almighty

Would it still work if it was already fuelled and ready to go?

My guess is that any petrol powered chain-saws would have been grabbed up and used to dissmember the hoardes of zombies and canibals running amok, and when all the dissmembering was done, and the chainsaw was empty it'd be abandoned already - but if you were lucky enough to find one all fuelled up and ready to go - cool, hack and dissmember away

clockworkelf · 14-08-2012, 07:21 PM

Collect bottle caps. They will be used as future currency.

serpico · 14-08-2012, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clockworkelf

Collect bottle caps. They will be used as future currency.

Nuka-cola and the Brotherhood of Steel. What more could a man ask for.

rbl_4nik8r · 14-08-2012, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serpico

Open question for anyone bored just to get you thinking.

A pandemic has annihilated 80% of the worlds population. No working government, hospitals, shops or infrastructure remain. No law, no running water, no petrol pumps.
Where you live has been particularly badly affected with less than 5% alive. After finding two of your neighbours you have banded together. As if things couldn't get any worse, marauding gangs from nearby cities have taken up scavenging in your locality and are now a constant threat, cannibals of course.

You are working from a starting position of having no guns..

What do you do next? How do you stay alive from day to day (food, water, shelter, security) or would you even bother?

Well first off this is not a bad as you make it out to be.

I live in a town of 8500 people so when it comes to people alive we are looking at about 425 of us. Also the nearest major city to me would be Flagstaff and that's about 90 miles away surrounded by desert with temps in the summer above 115°F so gangs to me would not be to much of an issue.

Not only that with most of the people dead already the odds are you would have a lot more food for the people still alive, I highly doubt people would have to resort to cannibals. We only have 1 major food store in town but just with canned goods alone we would have more then enough food to last for months, and then you add in the 5 other Mini-Markets/Gas Stations you have another few months of more food.

Now hunting for food would be another major thing to do, I already do hunt so thats not to big of an issue either, tho most of that is done much closer to Flagstaff a long the back side of the San Fransisco Peaks so I may at times have to worry about others from Flagstaff hearing some shooting but this is a very big area with lots of game and many of places to hide. Also getting there should not be to much of an issue either, since 2 of the Mini-Markets have Windmills to power up some of there things, and adding that to the fuel pumps would not take to much, then most of the people here already have Solar Panels here, keep in mind 70% of the people that live outside of the city limits are off the grid, they have no electric or water, so they use Generators, Windmills, and Solar to get it electric, now water on the other hand can be an issue.

But we have a Spring fed Reservoir behind my house, about 1 mile away, that is about 6+ feet deep year around even in the middle of summer, has fish and fowl around all year for more food, and other then having to treat the water that would be my first source. Now I also know of a few cattle wells that pump water into tanks for holding then into tubs for cattle to drink from. This is also done by wind power, but could be hand pumped if need be, then you have Lake Powell and the Colorado river both close enough if need be to get more then enough water, tho I would be looking at relocating if I have to start getting water from Lake Powell, for reasons that I dont have time to get into, but google it and you would see that you have the means to get lost from everyone on there.

OH I almost forgot I have guns, but we have a gun store in town, plus I know a few others in town that have guns, and if they were gone we have the police station or we have the State Police Sub-Station about 30 miles away that's basically used for MedEvac because of motor vehicle accidents. Yes they have weapons there, 500+ gallon fuel tank for vehicles, thats above ground and a 500+ gallon tank for Helicopters and a few other things I wont comment on. This is unmanned most of the time, but will have someone stop by now and then, and mostly on weekends or holidays. So anything there is mine for the taking if the shtf.

On a side note if something like this did happen, odds are most towns like mine would have stopped people from coming into it that were infected or thought to be, but that's just my thoughts.

trux newman · 14-08-2012, 10:21 PM

Guns are pointless. What do you do when your bullets run out? A gun is just a method to kill or threaten death, you can do that by making a bow and some arrows. It's also silent and has no moving parts to fail. Aslong as there are trees, you'll have amunition. Fire hardened Holly is particularly good.

If you want to survive you have to keep moving. The second you hole up somewhere you become a target. If you've holed up then people will assume you have something worth taking. If you keep moving and living off the land then you're pretty much invisible. A return to hunter gathering nomadism is what'd I'd go for. The only real problem becomes winter. That's the time you really want to be holed up somewhere with a cache you've developed through the autumn.

One thing you don't see mentioned much but that is in the dramatisation that's posted above is that the most dangerous group you'll come across are children. It's been seen already in places where there's been large catastrophes. They don't have the social development or morals that we oldies have so they return to a violent, unpredicatable and ferral state very quickly. This is the part that will undo most.You will eventually come up against a gang of these feral kids and you will have to kill them. Could you?

The keeping moving option minimises it as you can stay in remote places and avoid people as much as possible.

serpico · 15-08-2012, 10:06 AM

Rbl, thanks for the detailed answer. I think you'll live a while longer than most.

Trux, thats something to think about for me. I've never considered kids as a threat, but the more I think about it - it would be a nightmare to face (hypothetically). Probably more so in cities.

Hmmm, everyone is a bit too good at this game. Next scenario is going to have to be a lot tougher.

trux newman · 15-08-2012, 01:18 PM

Don't forget all the exotic animals in zoos and private collections that would be released to "give them a chance". Then you have prisoners, criminal gangs and already established outsider communities like Gypsies.

Religious groups bother me too. How long till they revert to Old Testament ways, assume the end has come and anyone outside their group is a demon or doomed so can be killed with impunity to save the 'saved'?

12-08-2012, 01:30 PM	#1
serpico Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 506	The unthinkable has happened.. Open question for anyone bored just to get you thinking. A pandemic has annihilated 80% of the worlds population. No working government, hospitals, shops or infrastructure remain. No law, no running water, no petrol pumps. Where you live has been particularly badly affected with less than 5% alive. After finding two of your neighbours you have banded together. As if things couldn't get any worse, marauding gangs from nearby cities have taken up scavenging in your locality and are now a constant threat, cannibals of course. You are working from a starting position of having no guns.. What do you do next? How do you stay alive from day to day (food, water, shelter, security) or would you even bother? __________________ He whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

12-08-2012, 01:56 PM	#3
serpico Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 506	tnt1 , I can tell you've been over this in your mind more than once. Epic analysis, but what would you do? __________________ He whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

13-08-2012, 06:57 PM	#9
osiris111 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: i live in manchester uk Posts: 101	interesting scenario first off i would be gone the second the power or water services started to crumble. camper van with food supply for 3 months, included seeds and gardening tool and knowledge. get as far into the wilderness as possible in a roughly safe location with two routes in and out and hope for the best? i dont think there is anything left to stay in the cities for as that would be the first place to go down the toilet. but i dont think it will come to that but just in case its better to be prepared i agree.

13-08-2012, 09:59 PM	#10
lauren_almighty Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lancashire Posts: 6,782	I'd have a petrol powered chainsaw and would chop some limbs off. __________________ Where are my dragons?!!!

14-08-2012, 10:21 PM	#18
trux newman Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 2,074	Guns are pointless. What do you do when your bullets run out? A gun is just a method to kill or threaten death, you can do that by making a bow and some arrows. It's also silent and has no moving parts to fail. Aslong as there are trees, you'll have amunition. Fire hardened Holly is particularly good. If you want to survive you have to keep moving. The second you hole up somewhere you become a target. If you've holed up then people will assume you have something worth taking. If you keep moving and living off the land then you're pretty much invisible. A return to hunter gathering nomadism is what'd I'd go for. The only real problem becomes winter. That's the time you really want to be holed up somewhere with a cache you've developed through the autumn. One thing you don't see mentioned much but that is in the dramatisation that's posted above is that the most dangerous group you'll come across are children. It's been seen already in places where there's been large catastrophes. They don't have the social development or morals that we oldies have so they return to a violent, unpredicatable and ferral state very quickly. This is the part that will undo most.You will eventually come up against a gang of these feral kids and you will have to kill them. Could you? The keeping moving option minimises it as you can stay in remote places and avoid people as much as possible. Last edited by trux newman; 14-08-2012 at 10:22 PM.

13-08-2012, 02:33 AM	#8
zhiba Moderator Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 6,308	Go to a place where trucks are kept. Look for the biggest truck. Steal the truck. (GameHint.com - make sure truck has full tank of gas) Go to vilage of the canibals. (Why are they canibals, btw?) (GameHint.com - try and go at night when canibals are sleeping) Drive into vilage of canibals at highest speed posible. Repeat as necesary to anihilate all canibals. Ramsack vilage for guns and free all slaves. Become savior of your locality. Create work force to build wall / baricade around vilage to keep out wandering canibal tribes. Learn how to purify water (moss) and grow vegatables. Hunt. Become King of your domain. Game over. (Click here for hidden challenges)

14-08-2012, 07:21 PM	#15
clockworkelf Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: London Posts: 220	Collect bottle caps. They will be used as future currency.

15-08-2012, 10:06 AM	#19
serpico Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 506	Rbl, thanks for the detailed answer. I think you'll live a while longer than most. Trux, thats something to think about for me. I've never considered kids as a threat, but the more I think about it - it would be a nightmare to face (hypothetically). Probably more so in cities. Hmmm, everyone is a bit too good at this game. Next scenario is going to have to be a lot tougher. __________________ He whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

15-08-2012, 01:18 PM	#20
trux newman Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 2,074	Don't forget all the exotic animals in zoos and private collections that would be released to "give them a chance". Then you have prisoners, criminal gangs and already established outsider communities like Gypsies. Religious groups bother me too. How long till they revert to Old Testament ways, assume the end has come and anyone outside their group is a demon or doomed so can be killed with impunity to save the 'saved'?