Scenario 43

[MaryN]

O.K., Guys, pay attention. I have a little scenario for you. Do you remember playing that game which was set in a hot air balloon (or boat, or whatever) which was starting to drop and you had to choose which person to chuck over the edge....?

Here we go. The worst has happened. The major cities in the country have taken a hit. Massive losses of life and property. The Grid is down so no power is available. People, it’s every man for himself.

Due to your planning skills you are o.k. You managed to get your family and the group of people you have joined up with out of the danger zone and are now ensconced in your little enclave. It’s in the country, by the way, this would not work in a town. The power is down, but you have heating – wood burning stoves – lighting – candles and spirit lamps – and you know that your food supplies are sufficient to carry you and your group through for the next few months without any difficulty. After that time though you will need to get into position some form of farming/horticulture to provide fresh food. You managed to get to your little fortress with a couple of vehicles, but the chance of getting any more fuel for the vehicles is slim. This is a serious situation and you realise that you are in for the long haul. With me so far?

You now have to carry out an assessment of your situation, and you realise, accurately, that you are in need of more manpower to carry out just the basic tasks that will enable you and the group to have any hope of survival. The overwhelming task ahead of you requires more people.

People are starting to trickle out of the stricken towns and cities in hope of finding somewhere to live, food to eat and just a place to survive in. Could any of these people be of assistance to you. You could manage to support an additional couple of people; your supplies would stretch until you could get things growing and breeding, and their help and skills would be vital. Which ones will you choose.?

The young family stagger into your yard. A couple and their two children. They have been on the road for days. They are tired and weak. The children haven’t eaten for days. The husband has been unemployed and his wife did not work – the children are very young. He has no skills to speak of. The children are very hungry.

Next to crawl into your yard is a Doctor and his wife. Their religion will mean that they will require a particular diet. It could cause problems, but his skill would be useful. Members of your group, however, are muttering. He is a Doctor though.

The young man limps in. He was a stockman. Familiar with animal husbandry, his skills would be invaluable. He is a singleton though and your space would house a couple or a small family. One man on his own would use that space. But he has skills.

In comes a financial consultant and his wife. He has no survival skills to speak off, but his wife is a skilled herbalist. They will not be separated.

You need to make a decision. You are the big Kahuna of the group and the decision rests on you. Do you settle for skills at the risk of disruption in the group? Does the sight of starving children overcome your heart instead of your head?

Winter is coming. Make up your mind.

[Tarrel]

Hey, good scenario. Thought-provoking.

Errm..

I think it's got to be the doctor. When they're hungry enough, they'll soon get over the dietary issues. The skill would be invaluable, plus the education a doctor has would give him useful knowledge of a whole range of other areas; biology, chemistry, etc. The wife, assuming she is able-bodies, will be a useful extra pair of hands.

I was tempted by the stockman (my wife is a nurse, so the doctor's skills are less critical for us than if this wasn't the case). However, I'd be concerned about the effect on group dynamics that bringing in a lone-wolf would have.

Family with children; two extra mouths to feed, so no.

Financial consultant and herbalist wife; tempting. Man can be trained. Importing skills is important, but having ready and willing manpower is also important.

My two cents..

[Carnebwen]

Kill and eat all the men. Any females of breeding age are mated. Kill and eat the females outside o this.

It's what a lion would do.

Realistically it's a toss up between the doctor who I assume is Muslim and the animal husbandry guy. Animal guy might know some transferable first aid too.

[NorthernRaider]

I'll keep the stockman, sent the rest away.

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Stockmen can help breed and raise big critters from dairy and beef cattle and working horses to do the hard physical work.

[Highlander]

I have no doubt that I would choose the stockman, the group has already decided to go down the farming route, so the stockman will be invaluable, he will also know how to treat his animals medically, so he also becomes the doctor.

You will then have room for one other,... maybe the next to crawl into the yard will be a blond..

[Straight Shooter]

The stockman for me

[Metroyeti]

Part of me wants the doctor but this is post shtf and a lot of them will be useless without there comfey office, computer and antibiotics. So the herbalist would be the better option.

but if I wasbt after imediate medical attention the stocksman is a must

[bigpaul]

i would have said the stockman but wife WAS a stockwoman and IS a herbalist, so maybe the doctor.

[Skean Dhude]

What is wrong with taking all of them? If they are willing to work then they can earn their keep. Even kids can contribute. The dietary problem will soon go as reality hits and you have contingency for when, not if, someone gets injured or ill. You need manpower as well as skills.

[Hex]

It would partly depend on how many I could comfortably take in.

Then for me it comes down to who could you trust.

Men might not take kindly to having to take orders from someone else and as the saying goes ''behind every great man, is a great woman'' sadly this applies in the opposite to. I've seen fights start because a woman pushed her bloke into it (Macbeth syndrome lol).
Now kids are an awkward area, no-one likes to see children suffer especially their parents. This could lead to desperate acts resulting in casualties to both sides. But that could also work to your advantage having children dependent on their actions might make the parents work harder and the children could learn.

The doctor would sharp get over any dietary problem if he was gonna starve. However depending on the type of doctor he is his skills might be pretty much redundant in a post SHTF world (doctors sent like they used to be).

Now the stockman as has been said, he could always play doctor if need be plus his skills combined with the herbalist could make a good working pair. Even by himself he would be hard to turn away.

As for the herbalist and her husband, he could learn in time and her skills could be very valuable (as already explained).