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[001] Back in the saddle
THE POLL HAS SPOKEN, let's get post-apocalyptic. I stayed up until 5 in the morning playing Mass Effect, since after losing ten days of my life picking Dragon Age: Origins back up, I needed something to fill the void. So not much to really report in my first entry, whatever, life goes on, I have comics to read and I have work to go to.
VID NEWS BULLETIN
DATELINE 21 JULY 2022
The disaster happened just at a time when the world was beginning to enjoy itself. Nobody could have predicted such a catastrophe. World War III had been averted and the power blocs of East and West were now working towards world peace and unity. Revolutionary farming techniques had all but eradicated hunger, and increased mobility had led to people's greater understanding of one another.
The morning of 21 July 2022 had started just like any other. It was going to be a hot day and the news on the holovision was good. A government spokesman proudly announced that solar energy now powered 90 per cent of homes and 70 per cent of industry, the three-day working week was now the norm, and England was to play the United States in the soccer finals of the World Cup in Sydney. However, there were only hours to go before the beginnings of the collapse of civilization.
Later that day, an unknown disease broke out in New York, and spread with such devastating speed and fatality that before the government and scientists realized what was happening, half the population was dead. The disease spread throughout the world, carried by aeroplane passengers, and decimated population centres everywhere. All attempts at quarantine were useless. Four days after the outbreak, 85 per cent of the world's population were dead. Communication, essential services, transport and administration had broken down completely. There was no one left to try to find the cause of the outbreak. It might have been a mutated virus or some lethal germ unknowingly released from a chemical warfare laboratory. It was mere speculation and nobody really cared, as survival was the top priority.
The speed with which civilization fell into ruins was frightening. Most survivors didn't know why they still lived, and didn't know how to go on living. Brute force became the law. Riots, looting, destruction and drunkenness were commonplace. People would even kill for a can of beans. Large cities were soon abandoned due to lack of food and risk of disease.
Six months after the disaster, there remained two kinds of people, those who wanted order again, and those who revelled in the disorder. The former grouped themselves into small towns and built defences around them. Inside, they appointed leaders and began the task of self-sufficiency. These fortress towns became the homes of the military, farmers, doctors and people concerned with the rebuilding of civilization. The other group lived a wild and brutal existence outside. They were the new barbarians. Roaming the land in cycle or car gangs, they terrorized or wiped out any small pockets of civilization they came across.
You are one of the lucky survivors living in a fortress town which has been named New Hope. You are working on the design of an early-warning system to protect the town, when you hear a knock at your door. It is two members of the town council and they look very excited. They tell you that their radio has just picked up a message from a fortified oil refinery near San Anglo in the south. The people there are willing to exchange 10,000 litres of petrol for grain and seeds to improve their food production. The inhabitants of New Hope could certainly use the petrol for generators and agricultural machinery. Being offered 10,000 litres of this rare commodity is too good an opportunity to miss, especially as there are surplus stocks of grain and seed. The council have agreed to the deal and are now looking for somebody to undertake the journey to San Anglo to deliver the sacks - and drive the petrol tanker back to New Hope. It will be a long and dangerous journey through lawless country. The two men tell you that they think you are the best-trained person to undertake such a mission, and ask if you would like to volunteer. They tell you that a Dodge Interceptor will be prepared for the journey. It will be fitted with machine-guns, radio, roof-mounted rocket-launcher, ram bars, loudspeaker and various defences, including rear oil spray, tyre-shredding spikes, armour-plating and bullet-proof windows.
You do not need convincing, as the benefit to New Hope will be enormous. This pioneer journey might be the start of the link between the new societies trying to bring about civilization - if you succeed. You tell them that you will do the job and begin your preparations immediately.
Over the next two days, you supervise the modifications to the Interceptor. When it is finally ready, it looks like a battle-car. You check it one last time to ensure that the weapons work and that all your equipment has been packed away in the various compartments. You run through the checklist: map, flashlight, Med-Kit, compass, food, water, full fuel canister, two spare wheels, Flat-U-Fix (instant puncture repairer) and tools. Finally, you put on the shoulder-holster for your revolver, and leather jacket, which carries your bullets and knife. Satisfied that you are ready, you climb into the driver's seat. Peering through the narrow steel slit that is now your windscreen, you see the town's population gathered to wave you goodbye. You start up the engine of the Interceptor and crawl forward to the gates leading to the outside world. It is over a year since you last ventured beyond the walls of New Hope, and you are excited at the prospect of what you will find.
The first thing to strike you as you cruise along the road is the speed with which everything had fallen into decay. You hadn't realized how much maintenance was needed to support civilization. All around, buildings are falling into ruin, abandoned cars litter the roads in rusted disarray, grass and weeds have grown rampant everywhere, with nobody to hold them back, and packs of dogs and other wild animals roam freely. You stop at a small town some fifteen kilometres from New Hope and switch off your engine. Suddenly it is deathly silent apart from the eerie howl of a dog somewhere down the street. You are tempted to get out of the car to explore, but realize that this is an unnecessary risk. You are about to start your engine again when suddenly the sound of a shotgun breaks the silence.
DATELINE 21 JULY 2022
The disaster happened just at a time when the world was beginning to enjoy itself. Nobody could have predicted such a catastrophe. World War III had been averted and the power blocs of East and West were now working towards world peace and unity. Revolutionary farming techniques had all but eradicated hunger, and increased mobility had led to people's greater understanding of one another.
The morning of 21 July 2022 had started just like any other. It was going to be a hot day and the news on the holovision was good. A government spokesman proudly announced that solar energy now powered 90 per cent of homes and 70 per cent of industry, the three-day working week was now the norm, and England was to play the United States in the soccer finals of the World Cup in Sydney. However, there were only hours to go before the beginnings of the collapse of civilization.
Later that day, an unknown disease broke out in New York, and spread with such devastating speed and fatality that before the government and scientists realized what was happening, half the population was dead. The disease spread throughout the world, carried by aeroplane passengers, and decimated population centres everywhere. All attempts at quarantine were useless. Four days after the outbreak, 85 per cent of the world's population were dead. Communication, essential services, transport and administration had broken down completely. There was no one left to try to find the cause of the outbreak. It might have been a mutated virus or some lethal germ unknowingly released from a chemical warfare laboratory. It was mere speculation and nobody really cared, as survival was the top priority.
The speed with which civilization fell into ruins was frightening. Most survivors didn't know why they still lived, and didn't know how to go on living. Brute force became the law. Riots, looting, destruction and drunkenness were commonplace. People would even kill for a can of beans. Large cities were soon abandoned due to lack of food and risk of disease.
Six months after the disaster, there remained two kinds of people, those who wanted order again, and those who revelled in the disorder. The former grouped themselves into small towns and built defences around them. Inside, they appointed leaders and began the task of self-sufficiency. These fortress towns became the homes of the military, farmers, doctors and people concerned with the rebuilding of civilization. The other group lived a wild and brutal existence outside. They were the new barbarians. Roaming the land in cycle or car gangs, they terrorized or wiped out any small pockets of civilization they came across.
You are one of the lucky survivors living in a fortress town which has been named New Hope. You are working on the design of an early-warning system to protect the town, when you hear a knock at your door. It is two members of the town council and they look very excited. They tell you that their radio has just picked up a message from a fortified oil refinery near San Anglo in the south. The people there are willing to exchange 10,000 litres of petrol for grain and seeds to improve their food production. The inhabitants of New Hope could certainly use the petrol for generators and agricultural machinery. Being offered 10,000 litres of this rare commodity is too good an opportunity to miss, especially as there are surplus stocks of grain and seed. The council have agreed to the deal and are now looking for somebody to undertake the journey to San Anglo to deliver the sacks - and drive the petrol tanker back to New Hope. It will be a long and dangerous journey through lawless country. The two men tell you that they think you are the best-trained person to undertake such a mission, and ask if you would like to volunteer. They tell you that a Dodge Interceptor will be prepared for the journey. It will be fitted with machine-guns, radio, roof-mounted rocket-launcher, ram bars, loudspeaker and various defences, including rear oil spray, tyre-shredding spikes, armour-plating and bullet-proof windows.
You do not need convincing, as the benefit to New Hope will be enormous. This pioneer journey might be the start of the link between the new societies trying to bring about civilization - if you succeed. You tell them that you will do the job and begin your preparations immediately.
Over the next two days, you supervise the modifications to the Interceptor. When it is finally ready, it looks like a battle-car. You check it one last time to ensure that the weapons work and that all your equipment has been packed away in the various compartments. You run through the checklist: map, flashlight, Med-Kit, compass, food, water, full fuel canister, two spare wheels, Flat-U-Fix (instant puncture repairer) and tools. Finally, you put on the shoulder-holster for your revolver, and leather jacket, which carries your bullets and knife. Satisfied that you are ready, you climb into the driver's seat. Peering through the narrow steel slit that is now your windscreen, you see the town's population gathered to wave you goodbye. You start up the engine of the Interceptor and crawl forward to the gates leading to the outside world. It is over a year since you last ventured beyond the walls of New Hope, and you are excited at the prospect of what you will find.
The first thing to strike you as you cruise along the road is the speed with which everything had fallen into decay. You hadn't realized how much maintenance was needed to support civilization. All around, buildings are falling into ruin, abandoned cars litter the roads in rusted disarray, grass and weeds have grown rampant everywhere, with nobody to hold them back, and packs of dogs and other wild animals roam freely. You stop at a small town some fifteen kilometres from New Hope and switch off your engine. Suddenly it is deathly silent apart from the eerie howl of a dog somewhere down the street. You are tempted to get out of the car to explore, but realize that this is an unnecessary risk. You are about to start your engine again when suddenly the sound of a shotgun breaks the silence.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6
What will you do?
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what unrealistic future is this
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Also, question: Does the new Mad Max actually feel like an R-rated movie? Quebec's weird and rates basically everything G, and I'm not sure I'm up for a gorefest before I have to drive home tomorrow.
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