Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to A good philosophical question: If you were the last person left alive on Earth?

I'd pack up the rifles & handguns...
Mary Anne — (archived)

... and raid the local shops for ammo & cleaning supplies. Not all survivors will be friendly, and as a middle-aged woman, my value to them would be of limited duration, so I'd have to be prepared to defend myself with deadly force if necessary.

Bury the dead in my family. That will be hard.

Practice syphoning by mouth using water, to avoid swallowing too much gas on the learning curve. All those lovely electric pumps will be out of commission.

Next, pack some of the books, all of the handtools. Take dried foods, spices and a limited amount of canned food from the grocery stores. Take fabric, shoes & socks, hand kitchen tools, every needle & spool of thread I can find, lots of scissors, and whatever fuel I can get my hands on, especially batteries. Take garden tools, seeds and other gardening stuff. Family photographs, jewelry & silver. The music from the piano stool, and the violin, the guitar, the flute, the clarinet, the box of children's instruments. Take soap, bleach, medical supplies (including the aloe plant), blankets, and many toothbrushes. And all the dental floss: it not only cleans teeth, but it's an extremely hardy thread. Remember the wheelbarrow.

Then go looking for my children, by car. They would be close enough.

If I'm alive, their chance of survival is genetically enhanced, and I can be of the most use to them. If I can find one of them, I'll be doing well. Then we can look for the others.

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