First off, let me acknowledge a few people who influenced
me. Ayn Rand and Lysander Spooner, both deceased, have
guided me with their writing. Kurt Saxon, who is still
alive at the time of this project, also helped shape
some of my views concerning survivalism. As being the
man who coined the term 'survivalist', his approach to
the subject.
To this end, I decided that the hero of "When Autumn
Leaves Fall", Larry Stewart, would be a little of all
three. Larry has a rational, active mind. He is not
afraid to maintain and defend unpopular views. Larry
is also a researcher, tinkerer, and master of frugality
and improvisation.
The basic purpose of this fiction project was to illustrate
how calm, rational, and creative minds can triumph over
any situation. That when given a choice, people will
choose to cooperate for mutual benefit rather than
isolate themselves. Especially if someone rises to the
occassion to take the mantle of leadership, and if there
is familiarity amongst the people.
This project was started as a response to another work
of fiction, "Triple Ought" (originally known as "The
Grey Nineties"). After posting a critique of "Triple
Ought" at the alt.survival newsgroup on UseNet, I was
challenged to write my own story. So I did.
While I used fictional characters, I did set the tale
in a real place, mainly Huron County, Michigan. This
was done since I am very familiar with it. In my humble
opinion, it's one of the nicest places around. The people
are hard working and good natured. When I first visited
there on vacation from Detroit, I was really impressed
with simple things, like perfect strangers waving at and
greeting you. For a city-boy with a streak of cynicism
a mile-wide, this re-affirmed Ayn Rand's premise that
Man is basically good.
To this end, my story carrys this concept forward. There
is one circumstance when violence breeds violence. When
Kevin Harper, one of the officers of the local militia,
shoots a wounded prisoner. Kevin is my foil to represent
both the best and worst of Man when faced with violence.
When faced with six 'badguys' who had initiated aggression
by killing two sentries, Kevin accounts for killing four
of them, including the one wounded criminal who had already
surrendered. Kevin later dies bravely, trying to save
a fallen comrade while again opposing criminality.
This one chapter was the only one with genuine violence,
and one of only three that mention firearms. Unlike
other stories about post-castatrophe/survival scenarios,
I did not want mine to dwell on guns or violence. This
was done to several reasons.
First, I wanted the emphasis, and bulk of the text, to deal
more with people working together for a common good. If
you want action and gun-play, then go rent a Rambo movie.
Too many people associate survivalism with firearms.
The truth of the matter is that most of a survivalist's
time will not be spent shooting people or even targets.
They will spend most of their time either working to feed
themselves or in making life a bit more comfortable.
Anyone who has been in combat knows that actual battle
is usually very short affairs that follow long periods
of boredom and tedious labor. The events of Chapter 8
probably only take at most 30 minutes. Comparing that
with the rest of the story, which takes years to unfold.
Again, my primary purpose was to demonstrate how creative
and inventive people can adapt and overcome adversity.
Larry Stewart is the focus of this, though there are some
references to others as well. Larry is not so unique.
Most communities have somebody like him. The backyard
mechanic, basement experimenter, and collector-refurbisher
of garbage. Like the saying goes, 'One man's junk is
another's treasure'.
Larry follows another old addage, "Give a man a fish and
you feed him for a day, teach the man to fish and you feed
him for life.". Larry is forever holding classes,
sharing information with neighbors. He does this for
very practical reasons. Not only does he recieve goods
or favors in exchange, but the better off his neighbors
are, the less likely they will be inclined to succumb to
the dark side of human nature and steal from Larry.
Too many survivalists think that all they need to do is
cache an assortment of goods advertised in publications
like "American Survival Guide". Dehydrated foods and
other sundry items. The problem with this is that while
others band together to support each other, if you choose
to hold out from them, they may be inclined to attack
you to seize your cache. Your neighbors consider their
survival just as important as you consider yours. Even
if they don't, when things settle down and your neighbors
begin to rebuild, they will not appreciate you taking
advantage of their sacrifices.
This is a very important point to consider if you intend
to 'make your stand' in a rural area. People who live in
such areas prior to a castatrophe will already know each
other and trust one another. If you are a stranger who
merely owns a 'retreat' to be used for emergencies and
maybe vacations, you will have to work doubly hard if
you want to be part of the post-castastrophe society.
Another important matter is just how willing government
will be in giving up and hide in a corner. The reality
is they will not go away forever. Even in a worse case
scenario, say a killer epidemic, nuclear war, or even the
impact of a moderate-sized asteriod (where the Earth itself
is not destroyed or knocked out of orbit), government
will regroup and re-assert itself. Locally, small towns
rural counties, will be less effected and will adapt to
the new circumstances rather quickly. However, as you move
up the food chain, larger governmental entities are more
prepared.
In 99.9% of most disaster scenarios, within 3-7 days, local
government will start recover. They will pull together
their police, firemen, and anybody else who can walk and
chew gum, mobilize them, and put them to work helping to
repair the community. Larger institutions, like state and
national governments, may take longer, but once they start
to roll, look out! I'd say that 3-6 months is a fair
period of time for this to take place. In 99.8% of the
scenarios, you can cut the timeline considerably.
Humans are social creatures, political animals if you like,
and will tend to ban together for a common purpose. Some
people might like to think that they'll just have to lay low
and hide in the hills when the 'whip comes down'. But,
as stated earlier, people are going to start to regroup
nearly right away. They will not appreciate you coming
down from your mountain after the dust settles and they have
done all the hard work of rebuilding. You will be subject
to their scorn, mistrust, and ostracized.
One thing I like about Kurt Saxon his his view that the
collapse of civilzation will be "the greatest adventure"
of all time. This is a positive, constructive way to
view it. If you are prepared, confident, and willing,
you can quickly rise to a post-collapse leadership role
and help mold future society. This means staying out
in the open and being active with your neighbors in
improving the community's overall situation. You aren't
going to accomplish that hunkered in your bunker.
Some may like to quote, 'charity begins at home', and for
them I wrote Chapter 10. This is where the Stewarts
adopt the young girl who is orphaned in a tragedy. Again,
the Stewarts examplify the concept that Man is Good!
Also, I threw in the psychiatrist just to irritate some of you.
I justify this inclusion for the simple reason that Larry
has done so much and helped so many already, I'm sure
he wouldn't mind some help himself. Especially for the
chore of telling the girl her parents are dead. So even
Larry, as self-sufficient as they come, is willing to
accept help, too. No man is an island.
The story is concluded with smaller communities banning
together to support each other for the common good. This
is a natural evolution. We also complete the journey
for Larry, who goes from an eccentric kook, sort of a
drop from mainstream society, to becoming a respected
leader of the new society. Others follow a similar path,
like Roger Maas. Eventually, as the survivors become
more confident in the present, they also do likewise for
the future.
So much of survivalist literature avoids this. People
are more inclined to work hard and sacrifice if it is to
achieve a long term goal. You just can't think about
when your next meal is or where will I sleep tonight. We
have minds that are capable of much more abstract thoughts
than those. If we use them, stretch our minds out to
the future beyond our immediate needs, they become stronger
and healthier. I kept the actual death-toll on the
light side based on history. When you look at Man's
capacity to endure hardship, such as the seige of
Leningrad, for example, it seemed logical to me that
most would survive.
Concerning the title, "When Autumn Leaves Fall", I chose
this to signify that such disorders or cullings are just
part of a natural process that all civilizations go
through. And that all things are temporary. Good and
bad times have their limits. The seasons will turn.
serfsup@flash.net
PO Box 34695
Detroit, MI 48234
United States