Not Really Worth It

Continuing in my reviews of post-apocalyptic novels, we come to a modern one, Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The book's viewpoint is unremittingly bleak -- a man and his son wander through the American southeast, trying to reach the ocean. A nuclear war several years before have made life so unlivable on the planet that nothing will grow -- the sky is devoid of birds, and animals have either died or been hunted to extinction. People are living off whatever they can scrounge from canned goods to, well, each other. The man and the boy are "the good guys" -- they do not kill or eat people.

To me, the book goes so far to paint a bleak picture that it goes too far, and at points descends into self-parody. I remember asking myself, "When are we going to get a baby roasted on a spit?" and, lo and behold, a few pages later, we get a roasted baby on a spit -- headless. I have found Cormac McCarthy's work to be bleak and soulless, and in that respect, I was not disappointed.

From a practical point of view, the book is too bleak to be worth it -- in McCarthy's post-apocalyptic view, there is no survival strategy, nothing to figure out, and no point to it.

I provide a product link, but really can't recommend it.

Two Postapocalyptic Classics

I've been on vacation this week, out west. It's been a welcome relief from work, and has allowed me to catch up on some reading.

Two highly recommended books. First up is Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz.



Unlike a lot of postapocalyptic novels, this one takes place well in the future, after a nuclear war has wiped out most of humanity. The Catholic Church has survived, and one of its saints, a pre-war scientist named Leibowitz, established a monastic order devoted to preserving books to help mankind recover. The book discusses, in several short novellas that take place in the millenium after the war, man's eventual recovery of civilization and science. The book is darkly humorous, and yet also touches on very serious questions of theology, ethics, and the nature of science. It is a very thoughtful reflection on human scoiety, and in my mind, ranks right after Earth Abides in the survivalist canon.

The second book is William R. Forstchen's One Second After. The apocalyptic trigger in this book is a high altitude ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) that wipes out the electrical grid of the United States. A retired Army colonel, teaching history in a small college in North Carolina, becomes a leader in his town, reacting to the aftermath and to life without electricity. The situations his town faces range from epidemics to starvation to roving biker gangs, and the town has to face some very hard decisions in order to survive. The book is somewhat similar to Alas, Babylon, but in many ways, I think it is actually better. The problem in an EMP scenario is grim due to the sheer mass of population that has to survive in a world reduced to 1860s technology. A serious book, and very well done.

This Week's Prep

1. Bought 7 Silver Canadian Maples at $17 apiece. This brings my silver count to 33 ounces, between Maples and Eagles.

2. Researched a few things, including wood stove fireplace inserts. This would go in my current home, because:

3. After some discussion with my Mrs., we have decided to try to improve the current homestead rather than strike out and buy a rural refuge. I am working on the details, but part of the strategy is financial (pay down the current mortgage as rapidly as possible to ensure we are always "right side up" on it and can borrow against it in a real emergency), and part of it is a product of our work situation -- while I can work anywhere, my Mrs. is tied to her employer. I'd prefer to take the risk, liquidate everything, work from a remote location, and have the Mrs. find what work she can. She's not ready to do this, not being convinced things will get all that bad. We do have one possible retreat with her family in northern Vermont; it's a workable solution for now, though not ideal. As a result, we'll "improve in place" for now. Our discussions continue.

4. I've read another post-apocalyptic scenario, Alas, Babylon. Pretty good, but not as good as Earth Abides. The "trigger" in this book is a nuclear war; the survivors, located in Central Florida, do pretty well for themselves.

The British Are, Officially, Idiots

They have come up with an "anti-stab" knife to cut down on the number of knife homicides in Britain.

He said: “It can never be a totally safe knife, but the idea is you can’t inflict a fatal wound. Nobody could just grab one out of the kitchen drawer and kill someone.”

Me, I don't worry about strangers walking into my house and stabbing people. Because a stranger who walks into my house and tries to get something out of the cutlery drawer will have a couple of holes put in him by my friends, Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson -- assuming I don't instead pull Mr. Remington out of the cabinet.

If you gave a 10 year old child one of these knives and a file, he could make the tip perfectly deadly, mount it on a spear, smash Piggy's glasses, and take the conch in about ten minutes.

What keeps people from murdering each other is not a lack of pointy things. You can kill someone perfectly dead with a hammer. You can kill someone perfectly dead with an electrical cord. You can kill someone perfectly dead with a pail of water. And even if you don't have those things, you can kill a person with your bare hands if you get ahold of their head and apply the proper amount of torque. If he's at the top of the stairs, give him a slight nudge and gravity will do the trick.

I suggest two better courses for my friends in Britain:

1. Cover the entire country with padding, put everyone in straightjackets, and insist that no one goes anywhere without proper supervision, or

2. Insist on something called "personal responsibility." A person may own weapons, but if he murders someone, he is hanged.

This Week's Prep

What did i do for prep this week?

1. I bought some 12 gauge ammo -- a box of 5 copper slugs for my rifled deer barrel on the Remington 870, and a box of 25 steel shot shells, #4 shot, which is a good multi-purpose round for both home defense and larger birds.

2. I read one of the original great post-apocalyptic novels, Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart.



3. I bought a carrying case for my shotgun, for bringing to and from the range.

4. I bought and stored 10 gallons of gasoline, and stabilized it using Sta-bil.

5. I got out my 10 lb. weights, and started doing curls and presses while working at the computer.

So, you tell me -- what prep have you done this week?

Silver

I was considering the problem of hyperinflation the other day and it occurred to me that with gold already over $1000 an ounce, it is far likelier that in a post-apocalyptic world, silver becomes a more natural currency. Gold is so valuable, relatively speaking, that it gets driven out of circulation.

This is by no means an original observation; James Wesley, Rawles makes the same point in his book, Patriots. I think it makes a great deal of sense.

This is, of course, after the shooting and looting dies down. But once parties become known to each other and somewhat trusted, trade becomes possible, and assuming there is the reestablishment of a marketplace, coin eventually replaces barter items.

In the short term, of course, ammunition is a better currency -- everyone will need guns and ammo.

I have put aside a few silver American Eagles -- the bullion quality, not the more expensive, collector kind. An Eagle right now costs about $18, which is a slight premium over actual silver prices -- silver closed today at $15.38. The premium can be rationalized very easily -- you get silver in coin form, at a mint-assured purity and quantity -- no need for anyone to weigh it, assay it, etc. It is a premium paid for convenience. The other thing about an Eagle is that it is legal tender. It carries a face value of $1, though, so that's a very unlikely use of it.

I am also considering Canadian Silver Maples -- they are similar to the Eagle in concept, but with one advantage -- they have a face value of $5 Canadian. The Canadian dollar right now is valued at $.9065 American. In other words -- $5 Canadian is worth $4.53. In New England's northern reaches, it is not unusual to see the Canadian dollar used and exchanged. So for about the same price as an American Eagle, you get 4.53 times the face value should you need to go that route. In states bordering Canada, I'm thinking the Maple makes more sense.

Guns

Which gun do you need in a survival situation? The answer is "the right gun."

I think you need a variety of guns, because one has to plan for a variety of situations.

If the problem is other people, you need guns designed to stop other people.

If the problem is food, you need guns that allow you to hunt.

If the problem is an oppressive military or police force, you need guns that give you standoff range or superior firepower.

For Category A, you need pistols and/or a shotgun.

For Category B, you need a) a deer rifle, b) a shotgun for birds, and c) a varmint/small game rifle.

For Category C, nothing will suffice to give you superior firepower, as machine guns and fully automatic weapons are impossible to buy legally, and even if they were obtainable, the force opposing you would simply "call higher" -- make a telephone or radio call to higher headquarters, and bring in mortars, artillery, armor, or tactical air, which you do not have at your disposal. The best you could do against such a force would be to ambush isolated units or to attrit them with sniper fire.

My thoughts on the survival front started back around 2004. At that time, my scenarios -- the dark thoughts in the back of the mind that plague my sleeping, and sometimes my noonday thoughts -- involved other people. There would be a rise in crime, a threat against me from more than one person or someone significantly younger or stronger. My thoughts turned to "equalizers"; i.e., to pistols and revolvers. On that front, I think you need a .45 caliber pistol as your main line of defense. I also think you need a smaller pistol for concealed carry, as a Colt 1911 is a little big to fit in a waistband, or pocket, or in a shoulder holster. I own a .45 caliber pistol, though as I am left handed, I didn't go with a 1911 as the safeties seem awkward. I went with more of a police model. I'm not a believer in composites, so it is steel. Heavy, too. I also have 2 9mm models. The first is the old standby. Mine is extremely accurate, and only misfires if I use an aftermarket magazine. The other is a concealed piece, which to my knowledge is the smallest 9mm concealable handgun that is all steel. It is reasonably accurate and conceals easily in a jacket pocket or in an inside-the-pants holster.

I am currently working on Category B weapons. For shotguns, I went with the multipurpose Remington 870, in 12 gauge. I considered some bottom-eject Browning and Ithaca models (left-handed), but I liked the versatility of the Rem 870 and its multiple barrels. Deer hunting in Massachusetts is shotgun only, so I went with a model that gives me a deer barrel with iron sights. For non-Massachusetts deer hunting (and for elk, moose, bear, etc.), I chose another Massachusetts "Gun Valley" company and went with a Savage Model 14, chambered in .308 Winchester. It does not come with iron sights in its left hand variant, so I am having them put on by the factory.

I do not consider Category C weapons practical or likely at the moment. My biggest current "scenario" is an economic collapse in which the police and military largely melt away. My concern is a) other civilians, and b) finding food. The Savage is, to my mind, a good hunting piece, and can be fitted with a scope for longer range hunting work.

If there's anything I need, it is some additional versatility. I'd add a revolver chambered in .357/.38 special, a 20 gauge shotgun, and a varmint rifle chambered in .22LR or .223 to round out the collection.

Edge

If the center of something is collapsing, you want to get to an edge. If you believe that the American state is collapsing, sucked into the huge vortex of debt in Washington, then you'll want to get as far away as possible.

I mean this both figuratively and literally.

Figuratively, you'll want to reduce your exposure to Washington's decisions. The way in which Washington influences us most profoundly is through the currency. Money effects everything -- if you need a wheelbarrow full of bills to buy a loaf of bread, then you cannot say that Washington's actions don't affect you. We're not at that stage yet, but anyone can see that the endless spending, borrowing, and printing of money ends one way -- in a worthless currency. I would not care about the currency, but for two reasons: 1) it is what my retirement is in, and 2) I need it in order to buy things in order to survive, such as food and water.

My home is dependent on the state for water and for sewer; it is dependent on a large public utility for electricity; it is dependent on a transportation and refining network for heat. My home is also dependent on a social contract -- I live in close proximity to neighbors I don't know very well, and on a police force that may or may not arrive in time should I be attacked. These dependencies all create risk. In my lifetime, these risks have been minimal, for society has been prosperous and well-ordered.

But the risks have not been eliminated. And doing as the folks in Washington are doing right now -- pretending that the risks do not exist -- is extremely foolish. The only thing more foolish than not recognizing the precipice towards which we are heading is to keep following those leading towards the precipice.

In other words, you may pretend that there is no precipice. I no longer will. I can see it. I have read my history, and I have studied enough economics to know that a day of reckoning is coming.

The folks in Washington are building a black hole of debt. That black hole will suck everything into it, unless you are far enough away to escape the pull of it.

I have been thinking about Asimov's book, Foundation. In it, a social scientist foresees the end of the current civilization, and sees no way to forestall it. What he decides to do is set up a Foundation to preserve civilization's knowledge so as to minimize the destruction wrought by society's collapse. He locates this Foundation on the planet Terminus, at the extreme edge of the galaxy. The Foundation's goal is a great encyclopedia of knowledge, primarily focused on science, to preserve human knowledge. He chooses Terminus because it is far enough away from the center to survive the collapse.

In a literal sense, I think one needs to get to the edge. The survivalist James Wesley, Rawles at Survivalblog ranks the states by their potential for being locations for a retreat. He takes a rather dim view of the states east of the Mississippi, when he considers population density. I respect his opinion, but I am a New Englander by birth and I cannot, at this time relocate west. In other words, I accept that his judgment may be correct, but I am going to hope that it is not.

My likely retreat has to focus on two possible places -- Vermont and Maine. Northern New Hampshire is also a possibility. These places, at the remote edge of New England, have a shot at surviving the collapse of Boston.

Once at the edge, I then have to start gathering a community of like minded people. I also have to think of ways to keep knowledge alive. I do not have the requisite knowledge to eliminate all of my dependencies, but the knowledge is out there. Much of it is on the Web; it is a question of dowloading and storing it, assuming I come up with a way of preserving a) an off the grid source of power, and b) a few working computers. It is possible -- and over the long term, likely, should the collapse last for long -- that electricity will fail and computers will die; but if I gain a few years and get the requisite knowledge preserved, those who survive me in the community will be able to grow in strength and knowledge. This will give them an edge in the dark ages.