Where Were You When the Change Hit?

Just wondering, who's read the sample chapters of Stirling's Dies the Fire online. To me it just seems like another Island in the Sea of Time, just minus the bronze age people. Same Walker wannabe and goody two shoes do nicer folks setting up to counter him.

So everything doesn't work no more, electricity, gunpowder, and whatnot. my question is Where were you in March 1998 and would you have survived, thrived, starved to death in the Big Cities, joined a mini nation, formed a mini nation, or just become a loner survialist

For me I had recently turned 16 and was living with my family in a rural portion of arizona, on a small ranch surrounded by extended family, friends, and a close knit ethnic group. my chances of survival would have been pretty high. my father raised horses, had a couple head of cattle, my aunt had several scores of sheep, we raised small plots of corn and like plant foods, and everyone basically knew one another and were related somewhat, a small town among people who identify themselves by the clans and who they are related to. I guess its good to live on a poor indian rez in the ass end of nowhere.

Who knows, maybe the Navajo Nation will rise up and push all the white eyes off the land and resume our old ways of Hopi genocide, Ute fighting, Peublo raiding, and semi nomadic ranching existence. This time we'd know about how to counter anything anyone brings up against us, horse archers are pretty much able to knock out any lumbering army armed with only swords.

Well, I was living in North-East London, more or less on the edge of the city, near the countryside, near a resevoir (or two, plus a large waterworks as well) and not far from the forest.

I don't know much about Stirling's novels never having come across one, or quite what no longer works or why in this scenario.

Grey Wolf

Right where I am now...suburban Cleveland.

Southern West Virginia, most likely we'd become a mini nation and not have to worry about the local tribes, the Iroquois, Shawnee and Cherokee were the surrounding tribes and had very little to do with what is now West Virginia, they thought it was haunted and only came here to hunt and fight wars with other tribes. I dont think it would kill anybody to let them hunt here, but we might not like them fighting their wars here so that would have to stop.

At the time I was working as a groundskeeper in Providence, RI. I give myself about a 50/50. I can take care of myself (having had lots of experience roughing it on archaeological excavations) and my father's family owns a farm out West; if I were able to make it there, my chances of long-term survival would increase significantly, I think.

God help me if I'm still in this town and something like that happens. The lack of transportation will cut off the supply for the huge number of junkies here, and after a couple of weeks, they'll all be rampaging through the town looking for anything to get them high, clawing at their faces and wiping out every medical supply place in the area. Hundreds will die fighting over the last cigarettes. The liquor store will be the first place looted. Once the remnants of the junkies have staggered off into the wilderness to die, the survivors in the town will face up to having a handful of farmers and little food in the vicinity. After a year, the town will be nearly abandoned, with a few dozen scattered residents....

Xen said:

Southern West Virginia, most likely we'd become a mini nation and not have to worry about the local tribes, the Iroquois, Shawnee and Cherokee were the surrounding tribes and had very little to do with what is now West Virginia, they thought it was haunted and only came here to hunt and fight wars with other tribes. I dont think it would kill anybody to let them hunt here, but we might not like them fighting their wars here so that would have to stop.

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Oh what, we are talking about a SINGLE locality being cast back in time again sort of thing ? I thought he had already done that... I assumed this was some sort of John Christopher Triffids/Death of Grass analogy... So, am I looking at Walthamstow 1998 being thrown back into the time of the Bronze Age ??? And no one else being...?

Grey Wolf

Well, in Stirling's new novel, which some sample chapters are posted on the internet, have it that when the Island of Nantucket vanishes, something happens possibly all across the world. where electronics don't work and gunpowder is all but useless. So its back to basics of sword swinging, arrow shooting and whatnot all across the country. what i was asking was where were you when in March of 1998 when Nantucket vanished and left behind a world devoid of any technological devices, and firearms.

there are no traveling back in time, only technologically, otherwise everyone else has the same things they had and the world's still the same, only minus technology and firearms of anykind.

Psychomeltdown said:

Well, in Stirling's new novel, which some sample chapters are posted on the internet, have it that when the Island of Nantucket vanishes, something happens possibly all across the world. where electronics don't work and gunpowder is all but useless. So its back to basics of sword swinging, arrow shooting and whatnot all across the country. what i was asking was where were you when in March of 1998 when Nantucket vanished and left behind a world devoid of any technological devices, and firearms.

there are no traveling back in time, only technologically, otherwise everyone else has the same things they had and the world's still the same, only minus technology and firearms of anykind.

Click to expand...

Ah right, back to my first idea then I suppose the question is what DOES work ? Steam technology ?

Water would be important I would think, so living near two resevoirs would be useful, though the water works themselves would soon not be up to much

Grey Wolf

I don't know, but at least those cramps are gone!!!

Me, I was on my way home from work, trapped in NYC's subway system underground and about 4-5 days walk from my home. I think my chances are pretty good!

Don't ask WHAT those chances are for.

I was in San Francisco, California. Contrary to every episode of Jeremiah , things would have been bad in the short term, but thanks to the leadership of Governor Gray Davis and Mayor Willie Brown, local deals were made between all rural and urban counties. The fact that many of the counties had already established organic-crop systems made it easy for teh distribution contracts to maintain certain stores. The funniest thing was that groups like the Bicycle Coalition seemed to be prepared for the situation.

What's Stirling's first name ? I tried to find some of his books at the local 'Forbidden Planet' but couldn't

Grey Wolf

Stirling's first name is Steve. However for publishing purposes in all his books he is termed S. M. Stirling. Waterstones usually have a few copies of his books.