Alone - by Lesley Zore

An Inquiry into "What Is to Be Done, Should All Humans But You Disappear".

An Introduction

I wish to express some thanks to the following people: Jana (who asked many questions, thus letting me further discover the complexity of the matter in hand), Žana (who provided advice on biology and other topics) and Andreja (who set me many questions to answer).

All surrounding you disappear. There is no-one but yourself in this absurdist world. With all the postmodern initiative, interaction, and social capital obliterated, nothing is stopping you from living a life of your own. However, there may be a challenge or two to be overcome.

No human but you are alive. All have vanished into the air, leaving whatever they were managing at the time of their disappearance behind, including their clothing, tools, and other systems not fixed on the body.

Lesley has achieved the powers of making everyone but herself disappear, and will now theorise on how to solve all the problems at hand once she uses the powers given.

Nuclear Facilities And Other Immediate Considerations

There are about 440 fission (nuclear) reactors around the world generating power at the moment of the writing. It may be worrying to see a nuclear reactor unattended for a longer period of time, but it should not worry us. Nuclear power plants are equipped with safety mechanisms, designed to turn the reactor off, should it begin to overheat. In a few days, they would insert their own control rods by themselves and prevent a catastrophe systematically.

There may be a minor number of reactors, say 10, where this proccess fails. In most of these, additional safety mechanisms, such as is emergency cooling of the material, and prevention of its physical leaks out of the external protective container, will suffice. Where this does not succeed to contain the damage, the radioactive material in the plant may force its way out of the reactor, thus setting its surroundings on fire by the sheer force of its radiation, causing minor explosions, and unsettling of the radioactive material. This may render the area within a ten-kilometer radius uninhabitable and it may become undesirable to travel within a five-kilometer radius around it.

Thus the effects of nuclear power plants will be negligible at most. Lesley will require a world atlas, where a map of all nuclear reactors is included. This can be acquired by breaking into a shop - remember: all the human beings are gone. Lesley will additionally require a Geiger's counter, to be able to detect any spikes in radiation as she travels. Furthermore, Lesley will not be in danger of a nuclear fallout from far away affecting her, as an effect of just 2 or 3 Chernobils on the entire Earth is negligible when discussing effects on a single human placed on a random position on the Earth. A nuclear reactor is additionally not affected by pressure, and thus won't produce an explosion.

To protect especially her thyroid, Lesley may be required to break into a storage and carry around her iodine tablets as well, just in the case she ever finds herself in a radioactive position, and of course, she better carry a radiation-proof helmet around when travelling longer distances.

The fact is, many flames and disasters will trigger with the instantaneous disappearance of humanity, such as explosive gas leaks, explosions of gas which is currently being used, car crashes, plane crashes… All this will, however, have a distinctly localized effect Lesley can avoid.

An umbrella can be acquired from a nearby shop.

Food

In the very beginning, there will be a whole bunch of food in all the shops and flat around Lesley for her to take for herself and consume at will. This food will soon expire, however, it will get her through the first year, considering all the food with long expiry times.

Throughout the first year of the hyper lonely experience, Lesley will have to read through a number of books to learn how to, and to succesfully yield and harvest crops in the middle of the city. It is advised she uses giant parks to cultivate wheat, carrot, and other vegetables. For this, she will have to break into some shops and steal seeds, fertilizer, and farming equipment.

Lesley will require an oven to bake herself bread and a cooker. An oven can be created by using 6 gas-based heaters (cooking plates) and building them into a box using metal. Metal can be found in scrap, or by using the frames of personal computers, and heater-cooking plates with gas attached are found in most homes. Cookers can be created by using only one gas-based heater-cooking plate.Gas can be obtained from storages pr from homes.

Food can be acquired from trees as well.

Wishing to expand her digestive repertoire to not only Vegan products, Lesley may find some edible honey in unattained shops as well.

Furthermore, Lesley may use for her work much readier fields on the outskirts of the city she is in; this way, she can avoid ruining beautiful parks. However, both are possibilities.

Transportation

Lesley will have enough time for her to walk her way around the city, however, she is encouraged to cycle. Finding unlocked bikes in a world where all disappeared in a second will be easy.

Lesley may have to move cities from time to time, either to enjoy the change, or to reset her storage of gas, of honey, or of other treasures each city offers. To do so, she may choose to relocate her whole base, that is, all of her accessories. She must of course does so in a way which lets her begin farming in one city while still being supplied by her farm in another. To do so, she may recquire quite some moving.

A lorry would of course be a desirable solution, a desirable viechle to take. It is however obsolete once we consider the roads as blocked due to all the cars which had crashed, given the suddenty of the disappearance of their drivers. Manouvering around them will recquire a much more sophisticated viechle. This can be either a powerful military viechle, which would shake Lesley around until hitting her head at some point, or better a four-wheeler, which can, when transporting the base, have a cart attached to its back. With a few backs and forths, Lesley should be able to carry most or all of her materials wherever necesarry.

It should be noted all aerial transit is out of the question as reading all the books in the world won't be enough for Lesley to learn to pilot an aircraft, and furthermore the challange of transfering the materials to and from an airport would remain unanswered. Naval transport is out of the question for the transit of valuable materials, as she cannot unlock or pilot sized ships all by herself, and has furthermore never in her life led a boat, and it would thus not be a reliable way to move, at most to have fun. Thus the best solution seems to remain a four-wheeler, which can be attached a cart for operations of moving her basic material, and a bike for intra-city voyages. If necesarry, she can aditionally acquire a pizza delivery bike for operations within the city where she has to carry around materials.

Lesley can always travel for fun. She will, however, need to take sufficient maps, a Geiger's counter, animal detering equipment, a tent, a pistol, and a water bottle. Some of the supplies may need to be replentished from time to time in the cities on the way, such as is water. Lesley may carry all her necesities in a backpack, or otherwise positioned on her vehicle, which may even be a bicycle, or a motor, all usable to travel. It is, however, advised to travel for fun using vehicles, to lessen and soften animal-related dangers. Sea travel is advised but going by the coast is crucial, for there is no GPS or other fully reliable navigation system. One should also learn to drive a boat before using it to travel long distances. Transoceanic travel on a boat without proper navigation is in its entirety dismissed. Traveling on a boat, which requires multiple attendees to function, is utter nonsense as well.

Gas can always be acquired from gas stops, or from other viechles. Seasonal (summer, winter) tires can be equipped and installed on gas stops, using knowledge present in books. Though poor at anything physical, Lesley will figure out somehow how to manage the tires' installment.

Animalic Dangers

With the demise of humanity as described by a sudden disappearance of all humans with the exception of Lesley, animals may soon begin to return into the cities, and so much more onto the roads. There is, however, a number of precautive measures Lesley best takes to minimise the risk of an impact, and that of a fatal impact, with wildlife.

First, it is best to not wander around in the darkness. Secondly, should she plan going through the dark, she should carry around infrared glasses to see her environment and a directional lighting to scare off the animal. Should this and usage of a loud siren fail to repel the animal, an electric paralyser or a pistol may have to be used. Avoidance of wildlife and choosing an unoccupied path is, however, always advised.

Should Lesley be caught by darkness unprepared, it is advised she takes shelter in a house, locking herself in a flat, if that is possible, or if not, then locking herself in a bathroom. For this all, and for breaking into shops, she will require general tools she can use to break into shops etc.

Water

Lesley will require water. Some to farm, though that should be taken care of by the rain for the most part. She will need a lot of it for hygiene, to drink, to cook, and for numerous other purposes.

Before a water supply can be set up, Lesley will have to do with the water left behind in the shops. By the way, she may also take some water bottles to store water in on her possible journeys etc.

Rainwater can be turned drinkable through filtration, UV treatment and possibly boiling. All this can be conducted using materials stolen from shops.

Electricity

Electricity can be obtained using solar panels and small wind turbines and then accumulated. Lesley is good enough at soldering and will somehow manage to connect all these energy receptors up to an accumulator. During a thunderstorm, she can always cover her wiring up and prevent it from getting flooded and damaged. All the materials necessary are easily accessible at work stations and in shops.

The electricity accumulated should be enough to power all her needs.

Electricity will need to be used for heating during the cold season, and if necessary during the summer for a cooling device. Such devices are commonplace in shops.

Free-time

Lesley has to somehow keep herself busy. To do so, she might get herself, from a shop or a home, a computer, where she can do programming, play offline games, and most importantly of all, write. She can also use the computer to play some CDs or DVDs at will, which she can acquire from a library or from a home. She may also decide to go door to door, checking out people's private data, in a way socializing.

Lesley may read books from the library.

Most fascinately, Lesley will have access to military equipment. Though some may be locked or otherwise unusable, she might be able to activate some using guides and keys found at military bases. There is one in an accessible location in her hometown. This way, she may acquire some sophisticated equipment she needs in her everyday life, but she may be finally able to play around with weapons. I, of course, do not talk of shooting a pistol. It is about positioning a tank, or artillery, in front of a 10-storey hotel, and bombing it into a total collapse. It is about shooting around the city, freely doing whatever damage she likes to. It is about shooting from rooftops and detonating whole buildings. Additionally, she could hunt using military equipment, but she does not trust her meat-related abilities enough to then eat the animal.

Lesley can then also, when breaking into apartments, look through personal diaries and similar things, only to socialize, as she will be deprived of humanity.

Lesley can get herself a camera and photo and film things. She can paint or draw, and she can create music and play it on the instruments at hand. She can learn to play instruments and make music through books, available in the library and elsewhere.

Lesley can go on a journey; that is covered in the transportation section.

Health

Lesley can grab some hygienic equipment from shops. She can acquire first aid from cars or nearly anywhere else. Some pills can be gotten from a pharmacy. Though she can't do much, Lesley may learn some procedures (on basic wound treatment) from the library. Diversification of food is advised, but should be dealt with by the food section of this document. Clothes can be acquired at will from shops.

As for psychological health, Lesley will have to treat herself, using the material available in the library. Though she has serious problems, they will most likely be solved by the disappearance of her social environment.

A Definitive List of Necessities

This list tries to group what Lesley will have to gather from her environment on her way to survive in a world where all around her have disappeared instantaneously. The acquisition of the materials listed and their use are described across the document.

There may be a pressing need, or wish, for:

 - a map of all nuclear reactors (probably an energy production map for the continent)

 - a Geiger's counter

 - iodine pills

 - food from markets

 - vegetable etc. seeds

 - fertilizer

 - farming equipment

 - gas cookers

 - scrap metal

 - gas

 - honey

 - bike

 - pizza delivery bike

 - four-wheeler (with an attachable cart for its back)

 - IR nighttime glasses

 - directional lighting

 - loud siren to scare off animals

 - electric paralyser/pistol for animals

 - tools for breaking into shops, flats, etc.

 - bottled water from the shops

 - bottles for water

 - container to catch rainwater in

 - water filter

 - commercial UV lights for treatment of rainwater

 - light panels

 - wind turbines

 - wire

 - accumulator(s)

 - computer

 - CDs and DVDs

 - books

 - hygienic equipment

 - first aid

 - medicine (drugs/pills)

 - camera

 - painting and drawing materials

 - musical notebooks, the many instruments at disposal and books on music theory and on instruments

 - an electric heating/cooling device

 - clothes

 - umbrella

Produced by Lesley Zore,

ze/zer,

but she/her or they/them are alright as well.