Rebuilding Civilization from Scratch
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This book is kind of a how-to for restoring civilization from scratch.
You might read Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein and possibly Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle for ideas and/or inspiration.
Contents |
[edit] Basic Assumptions
This wikibook assumes that you and an indeterminate number of other people have been stranded in a (possibly uninhabited) remote place (e.g. an island, new unexplored landmass or a habitable planet) that has (preferably edible) vegetation and possibly animal life. It also assumes that you have or will be in a leadership position in the group. This wikibook may make note of small advantages given by items that you may have on your person (such as pens, paper, keys, the contents of your wallet and so on), but will not require these elements.
This wikibook does not automatically assume that you have any man-made objects other than (perhaps) the clothes on your back. If you are standing next to the wreck of your plane reading this manual, consider the plane wreck a major bonus.
[edit] Immediate Survival
[edit] Your safety first
Before anything else, make sure you are safe and well. That means making sure the ground is stable and that nothing is about to fall on you, that you are physically well and that any situation-specific hazards have been taken care of (e.g. the boat is not about to capsize, the plane that you may have crashed in is not on fire or, at least, you and the rest of the group are not in it).
[edit] Others
If you were injured, assess the gravity of the situation and call for help, don't move unless you are forced to, don't make demands of others but don't be hysteric, if it hurts scream, consider that others will only help you if you are indeed in need of help. As others can be useful to you, you are also useful to others.
Other survivors are a resource, sharing the same goal, but also the few resources. So after you attend to your personal safety you should determine how many people are with you (naturally, if you are still doing triage you may want to hold off on the headcount, as you may have less people later if adequate medical attention cannot be provided), and if they need immediate help. Don't put yourself at risk of injuries, at this point you are on your own, no social structure exists, be as helpful as you can without entering in conflicts and becoming emotional, the other survivors are strangers to you, assess priorities according to how useful others will be to you later on. Don't give orders, but request help and work in tandem by joining efforts with other fit survivors to bring safety to all.
[edit] Shelter
Depending on the environment shelter may be the number one priority or something that could potentially wait years if you have a coat. There are however two major possibilities where the threat of the environment may not be readily apparent:
1. Warm or arid environment.
2. Cyclic environment (day/night or winter/summer).
3. Contaminated or radiated environment.
A warm climate may feel relatively comfortable, but it may also cause you to lose a lot of body fluid - if water is not nearby this could be dangerous and shade would be a good idea.
Cyclic environments may surprise you with storms or vastly different conditions during day and night or summer and winter. However you may find warning hints to this in the environment itself - if dead leaves cover the ground its because cold winter comes around every year or if the air is not very moist it can mean rapid changes in temperature come nightfall or dawn etc..
If the environment is partially dangerous be careful with the food and water you take in even if it means going hungry and watch the wildlife for signs something is wrong. If a place makes you feel even slightly bad leave it for a vastly different kind of place, for instance you might go from low grounds to higher grounds or the other side of a mountain.
[edit] Water
Water may usually be obtained from places of condensation like mountain tops and glaciers, vegetation or deep from the ground through wells.
It is your most critical resource as a human may potentially survive only hours without water but easily days or a month without food.
Procuring resources may also help elevate you to a position of leadership through your obvious contribution and the trust it creates or through the raw power the resources give you. From this position you can then continue to help the group.
If the weather is harsh for instance because of arid conditions consider sleeping in the shadow in the day and working and travelling only at night.
If the water may be contaminated fresh but potentially poisonous fluid may be obtained from plants and animals, water may be filtered through old and flayed clothes or water may be boiled for 10 minutes.
[edit] Food
After a while food begins to claim your attention. You want to be ready before that if possible since it may take time to grow crops or find the non-poisonous fruits. Remember that finding one nut is not the same as feeding the entire group for an extended period of time. You need to find and secure a large area for foraging or a slightly smaller area for growing foods.
For longterm survival you will need to get to know the area and environment, in the short-term you may be able to hunt or gather plants for feeding. Plants may be poisonous, to test this use the look, rub, taste and eat procedure:
1. Look at the plant - does it look fresh and are other animals willing to eat it? If not do not eat it.
1.a Bright warning colours may also indicate a poisonous plant.
2. Rub a small amount of sample on your skin.
2.a Observe the patch for minimum 3 hours, if there is any discomfort or rash do not eat it.
3. Now you may taste a small piece of the plant, do not eat or swallow.
3.a If the plant tastes foul, bitter or just a little strongly - do not eat it.
4. You may now eat a small bit of the plant.
4.a Wait 8 hours minimum and if there is no discomfort you may try larger portions.
Do not let the group eat the same unknown plants, if you must get yourselves poisoned by your ignorance there is still no reason to kill or discomfort everybody at the same time - although it surely would seem hilarious in those last flower induced death trippings.
[edit] Other resources
[edit] Survivor Headcount
For those who are conscious, obtain name, current physical/ emotional state and any important information (medical conditions, allergies, etc.). Keep track of this information for future reference (you might write it on the back of this manual if you are holding a paper copy and a writing utensil).
[edit] The first steps of building a social structure
[edit] The Roster
For future reference, and in case of an emergency, you need to find out who your "go-to" guys/girls are. You will need to figure out who are your fighters, who your nature boys and girls are, and the smart guys/girls. Considering your position you may be one of the above mentioned three.
A fighter would be a person who is skilled in some kind of combat, any kind of weapon (if you have any such weapons) or is just a relatively strong/able person. You'll need him/her to help keep watch over the camp at night, scout the island, and just handle any kind of danger to the rest of the population.
A nature boy/girl is a person who understands nature and is used to working in the wild. The nature boy/girl should have knowledge of animal behavior, plants, and wilderness survival. You'll need him/her to find food, help organize the camp site and in many cases the nature people can be just as useful for the camp's defense as the fighter.
The smart boy/girl is necessary to the group just as the mind is necessary to the body. The smart person or persons should have a vast knowledge in engineering and technology, and can design and build just about anything the group needs. You'll need the smart people to help build the camp as well as to eventually find a way to get back home (if that appears to be possible - this manual does not guarantee such an occurrence).
Although less important, it may be helpful for future reference to know who does not have any any of the above three traits.
The unskilled laborer is anyone with no specialized survival skills for this situation, at least in the early days of rebuilding civilization, such as an accountant, lawyer, or nuclear physicist (at least until complicated finances, complex law, and nuclear power plants are rebuilt). These are common, and you are likely to have a couple in your group of survivors. To keep them busy and to free up time for those with more important skills, these laborers should be used in tasks which are easy to teach but time consuming. Primarily, they should be used for gathering firewood, gathering building materials, and testing edible plants (as explained in the Food section), after given specific instructions on how to acomplish these tasks, by those with knowledge regarding those subjects.
[edit] Scouting the Area
After the incident is over (the plane crash, shipwreck, etc...) and all the injured are being taken care of, the first thing you need to do as leader is to put together scout team(s) to gather knowledge of the area, to find ways to gather things in the area such as food (fruit, vegetables, edible animals, etc.), water, possible building materials for the future and to look for any nearby dangers. If you have a useful skill or trait (like being able to identify plants or being relatively strong), you may want to join the scout team. The scout team may also find something important that may or may not be beneficial to the group: like an aggressive tribe or a hidden hatch, either way it is important to mark all things of that nature.
It may be useful to mark the path you take (trailblazing), so that the scouting party can find the base camp again (rather than getting lost further and further away from base camp, or getting stuck going around and around a big circle). Also, if you find something useful that cannot immediately be carried back to camp by the scout team, the trail marks can help you find it again.
Reminder: Always use the buddy system when leaving the camp, and tell others where you are going and (if possible) roughly when you plan to return.
[edit] Setting Up the Base Camp
While the scouts are looking for food and materials, those left at the camp should start by trying to create a camp fire. The fire is needed: to keep the camp illuminated at night, (depending on where one is) to keep warm when it gets cold, also to ward away aggressive animals. As an added bonus it will create a large amount of smoke that could get the attention of nearby ships and planes. If you are fortunate the ship/plane you came in on may have some dry matches left behind. If the wreck you came in on is extremely serious you may want to use the broken parts as fire burning material however you may want to leave the plane/ship alone on the off chance you can repair it later (Note: this assumes that you have access to a ship/plane wreck. This manual does not guarantee that.). If your skill sets involve building or cooking then you may want to stay to set up camp.
Rather than have the one person who knows how to tie knots do all the knot-tying from now on, encourage that person to teach everyone the more useful knots.
Another idea, once the camp is established and the immediate necessities taken care of. A base perimeter should be made. Think of this as a safe zone from animals, who may try to steal your food, or other predators (man or animal).
Find the highest ground available, and set-up a signal fire, ready to be set a blaze at the first sign of rescue. You may also use that mirror from the make-up compact now to reflect light at the cockpit of the vessel you see.
[edit] Organizing Supplies
That is, stockpiling weapons and ammunition you may have, storing spare parts and such (canteens, backpacks, paper, books, writing utensils, eating utensils, etc.), and so on. Part of this may include requisitioning supplies. DON'T FORCIBLY TAKE POSSESSIONS. People should contribute for the good of the group. Doing otherwise will not help you make friends and influence people. And having friends in this situation could save your life.
A better way to put this is to take a an inventory. Your wife's mirror in her make-up compact has now just become a signal mirror and 1/2 of a periscope. Nothing is insignificant, and when there is no WalMart nearby, nothing should be wasted.
This may be better served being done immediately after taking a health assessment of the group. As stated before, all contributions should be voluntary, while explaining that there is power in numbers and sharing resources, rather than "strking out" on one's own to fend as an individual. Those who choose to remain independent and not share are simply nailing their own coffins shut. Their choice is their own, remind them.
Lighters, pocket knives, keys, leather belts, strong prescription vision glasses, all now have alternate uses for survival.
[edit] Later Days and Secondary Projects
After the basic campsite is built (shelters with roofs, campfire, water storage method) and there is a well organized method of collecting or hunting for food, you may notice that there is a large increase in down time. Although it is good for your fellow castaways to get their rest, too much downtime can lead to depression, boredom, hopelessness and possibly a dangerous amount of unrest. It may sound mean but the leader must keep the castaways busy to reduce the problems mentioned above. A wise man once said “if you can give a man one thing give him something to love, if you can't do that give him something to hope for, and if you can't even give him that, give him something to do” this saying can mean a lot in this kind of situation.
[edit] Suggested Projects
[edit] Extended Exploration
After things have settled down, you may wish to conduct extended exploratory trips to gain information about your surroundings. This could mean travel by sea, week-long hiking trips, and so forth.
[edit] Multipurpose Center
If you are going to set up a village-type camp, it may prove beneficial to construct (or designate, in the case of a cave or natural open area) a large multipurpose center. This can be used for "camp" meetings, spirituality and organized sports and recreation activities (such as soccer or dancing).
[edit] Government
Even if you have a fairly small group of people (say, less than 10), you may need a form of official government. This goes especially if the group is anything but close friends.
The "leader" doesn't have to have dictatorial powers though, but he may be the guy who is told to think on a plan while the rest scouts. If you try not to put too much status in it you may have a better shot at achieving this.
Leadership is absolutely essential for survival short-term and longterm and without it there won't be any rebuilding of civilization as much as there will be back to scratch. Leadership, mind you, does not mean that a guy is in command; if you end up putting the emotionally charged but charismatic/strong fool in the seat you might as well have anarchy.
Indeed more importantly the system you begin now may stand for the next hundred years, think of your responsibility to the future and the precedence you set for it.
Most people know only two kinds of system, the one where the strongest are in command or the one with the more popular guy (democracy) - considering your situation the prevalent system structure may have proved to be catastrophically flawed, maybe you want to invent a new one.
Keep in mind that once people settle into a habit they develop a certain resistance to any change so while getting that water may seem really important right now, this issue is no less immediate.
If you want to invent a new system and have nothing to go on use science, when the group has time to spare organize two equal teams with each their command structure/command rules and see who wins at at a friendly game - work from there.
