Dead John Williams answers “does it bother anyone that in the 20 years...”

Catherine Goldwyn asked this question about Station Eleven:

does it bother anyone that in the 20 years since these people got slammed and the human race got almost wiped away , no one thought about going to a library and figuring out how to rebuild? I mean, all the information is there - in writing, in books! All of it - for all the ages! For me, this was nagging me the whole time

Dead John Williams I know this is late but I have just finished Station Eleven and I am intrigued by your question because of what it assumes.

You have to feed yourself e…moreI know this is late but I have just finished Station Eleven and I am intrigued by your question because of what it assumes.

You have to feed yourself every day. Without the modern world how you go about that? You have no refrigeration so you have to gather food regularly. How will you maintain your energy intake? If you fail to feed yourself for 3 days in a row but have used energy trying you will be feeling physically drained and your thinking may not be altogether rational. Your failing physical resources make it more likely that you will fail to feed yourself again. If you haven't eaten in 7 days you will be so weak that you will probably not be able to gather food again. Grass and bark will not keep you alive.

Whilst all this is going on you will need to protect yourself, not get injured or wounded or otherwise infected. You will need to source clean water, one bout of dysentery and it is pretty much all over for you (or any of us).

Assuming that you manage to do all this and find a library and have time to read, would you have the skills to make or assemble the relevant parts? Would you know where to find the relevant parts? No power tools. Would you evaluate the risk of spending time reading when you cannot guarantee and food supply or even your own safety?

I am very skilled in the technical areas required for solar or other energry sources but could I feed myself? I'm not sure that I could. Could I find someone to feed me while I produce electricity? or even anyone who saw the use of that? What would you do with electricity that would be worth the effort and risk?

Just my thoughts and thanks for sparking such a good thread(less)

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