"What If?" discussion

[TWP]

I've just finished Jerry's story "What If?"

The story line is the aftermath of an EMP attack, followed by atomic weapons detonations which trigger volcanic eruptions followed by a short "nuclear winter" lasting a few years (Did I miss anything there Jerry?).

The initial characters are already well along the way to a "proper" prepper setup (I wish I could afford some of the "toys" they have acquired before the "event").  Planes, helicopters, trucks, and trailers are used extensively after the event (AE).

The whole story is fairly short, with the majority taking place in the first few years AE.  The locale is primarily Missouri, with several side trips across most of the US.

One point I note is the availability of fuel for all sorts of vehicles.  Starting with a truly huge storage tank and being able to find (salvage) fuels from various businesses, vehicles, etc.  While this makes for a smoothly rolling story, I'm not sure it matches reality.

The other side of this story is that the survivor count is low.  That may or may not occur.  Personally, I would expect a period of extreme violence among most survivors, both prepper and non-prepper.  Jerry's story has a few confrontational situations, where those with the supplies and equipment are able to fend off those who lack those same items.  The lesson there is obvious (I hope it is obvious...).

Another point that stood out was the emphasis on food production (gardening and livestock) as opposed to hunting and gathering.  The way Jerry handles this is (I think) much closer to reality.  Trying to live-off-the-land will really not work for even a small number of people.  Consider the population density of the U.S. before Europeans arrived.  They were small groups (tribal size) and widely scattered, and I suspect this was the limit that could be supported in a hunter-gatherer economy.  The lesson is: be ready to grow your own food, if you are not already doing so now.

A good read and short enough to finish in a couple of day.  It makes me want to take a few trips with my shovel and pick to create multiple cache's.  You'll understand if you read the story.

[Jerry D Young]

What were your thoughts on the Kettenkrad and the way the country was divided on the map?

Just curious.

Jerry

[TWP]

Re the Ketterkrad, Yes, I want one, and no, I don't think it practical.  It is kind of a unique tool, customized for the job.

I saw the description of the "new" USA, toward the end of the story...  Too bad there wasn't a series of nuke triggered earthquakes to sink California...  My experience of the eastern US is limited and, overall, I see it as a hugely overpopulated trap for those living here now.   Since the story centers around Missouri, (lower population, moderate climate, tornado country), it made sense to locate a BOL there. 

As for putting the new capital in the center of the country, that makes more sense than our current setup. 

The logic of consolidating various of our current states into new configuration seems like a thing with should occur (given a SHTF event on this scale).  Since this is a very politically driven topic, my bet is there would be more opposition and fighting between the various groups before the "new" arrangement was agreed upon.  The description of that process, in the story, was more compressed than reality.  For those of a political mindset, that would have been an entire book in itself, or even a series.  Thank for your NOT laying out the whole process in the story.

Overall, the splitting and re-configuring of states will be driven by population density.  Where you have many people, there will be multiple groupings according to social and political opinions.  Another reason to avoid the eastern US.

For the western US, the number of people is already smaller and I would expect to see larger "states" being created, sort of like the land rush days of the 1800's.  Those with the power and tools will assume control of large estates.

Within the story line, the weather drove much of the population movement.  People when where there were food and supplies.  Given that the 'nuclear winter' was of limited duration, the western US is still a dry area while the east and south-east have better agricultural climate.  This dictates where people CAN live well, as opposed to where they might have lived before SHTF.

And I also want to hear what readers think of the use of gold and silver as currency.