Our asteroid survival: A fictitional history of the ten year survival of a large ELE asteroid impact by a small, pre advised, group

by Lionel Woodhead

  Chapter 12. Looking For New Friends.

  It was in the spring of our third year in the shelter. The external atmosphere was dry and the sun was visible but remained without real warmth. The air appeared clear and the visibility extended to the horizon. There were almost no clouds in a pasty, greyish blue sky. We decided that this would be an ideal time to look for survivors to the south of our shelter as by this time I was worried that we might have waited too long.

  We, our original team with a young man from the cave society called Rafa taking the place of Edmundo, left early in the morning. We were unencumbered by anything other than our detection equipment and two large thermos flasks of hot soup. In our physical condition, at that time, we did not want to be overloaded. It was our intention to climb to the top of the hill, above and behind our home, and once there to use our detection equipment to get bearings on any electromagnetic sources we observed.

  Getting to the top of the hill took nearly an hour. An indication of our difficulties was that a climb upwards of only about one hundred and fifty meter took so long. The primary difficulty was the hardened snow through which we had to forcibly create an uphill passage. Here again we suffered from our lack of ability, while in our shelter, to perform suitable physical and aerobic exercises necessary to maintain the high level of fitness required by the then external environment.

  On our journey we were surprised to observe what appeared to be small animal tracks on the snow though, unfortunately, no sign of the perpetrators. On arriving at the top of the hill we could see, over some lower hills, for many kilometres. Normally this would have been a magnificent sight but in the somehow gloomy sunshine and through that relatively cold atmosphere, with little vegetation, it was mostly a depressingly gray and brown landscape way out into the distance.

  We set up our detection equipment and scanned for those much desired electromagnetic sources. We had planned to take these readings during the early part of the day as we considered this to be the optimum time. This decision was based on the fact that we tended to use our generators, providers of the most reliable signals, during the day. We also assumed that persons having limited energy resources would probably start their generators on awakening and, on the assumption they had clocks, they would start their systems at about eight in the morning to provide some form of order to their start of the day.

  From our initial reference point, we were very excited to find four weak signals and two additional possible signals; though the latter examples were very weak being only just statistically above the background noise. This instant success was rather unexpected and encouraging. We marked our location on the map taking our position, using the distant hills for reference points, with our compass. We then moved an estimated, using again those distant reference points, four kilometres to the west to give us a reasonable baseline when considering our visual and transport limitations.

  Our movement across the ridge was much easier than climbing the hill as we were on a flat path and the wind had effectively swept this path almost clear of snow which was then starting, slowly, to thaw; this being indicated by ice. In the present conditions this production of ice during the night made the surface potentially dangerous so care remained essential on our travels. We marked our new position on the map and took another set of readings. This time we saw three weak signals and another possible.

  We walked eastwards for eight kilometres; again marking our map position using the distant hills. We found four weak signals and a possible. We were now very excited by these results. Any signals we received would have had to be generated by something that was very probably manufactured and operated by man.

  Our little expedition had taken us most of the morning and we returned to the shelter in time for lunch. We were tired but eagerly analyzed our results against our maps. Two of the four signals detected from our first reference point readings triangulated from both of our other sites and indicated two small villages each about twenty kilometres from our initial reference point. These relatively strong indications would be our first destinations as they were separated by only eight kilometres. Each of the other two signals, from our initial reference point, triangulated with one of the points from each of our other two sites. One indicated a point in a valley about thirty kilometres away and the other a point near a village about twelve kilometres distant; all from our initial reference point.

  We now had the excitement of preparing our vehicle for another expedition. On this occasion, based on our previous experience, we had high hopes that we would achieve further success. This time we fitted our vehicle with snow-chains and refilled the radiator with antifreeze. We filled the tank with diesel and kept another ten litres in the cab to keep that material warm. Overnight we kept the vehicle warm using the gas heater and we slept within the garage with the vehicle. Each individual was assigned a two hour guard period to ensure nothing went wrong and no dangerous situations arose. This included monitoring the air quality due to our use of the heater.

  We took our weapons, a camping gas stove, sufficient tin rations for six days and two tents. In addition we took some gifts of whisky, cigarettes and food (During this period we considered these far more valuable than gold though we only allowed smoking in a small dedicated sealed room on the upper extension area within the shelter and fortunately few smokers remained) so that we would be able to make friends of any sceptics. We hoped to visit all four primary sites and if we had the time we might then attempt to visit the other possible sites using directional information only. We considered they were probably background radiation or too distant as we were unable to sensibly triangulate with other observations.

  The next morning we started early after having a quick breakfast. We drove up the hill on what was left of the road. If we were to use this road a lot it could quickly become an icy quagmire as we had to go up and down quite slippery, steep, slopes. Our slipping wheels would generate heat melting the snow which would refreeze to our disadvantage. At present the ground was frozen solid and would stand up to the strain but later when some warmth returned we hoped we would be able to use the lower road round the hill if this proved, as it did, a suitable alternative.

  The journey up the hill presented no problems but the other side had been unprotected from the blast resulting in several obstructions to our passage. The slope had concentrated the force of the blast which had stripped the slopes of trees and bushes. We were, therefore, presented with the task of removing that obstructing material so as to get down to the lower slopes. At the bottom the four wheel drive came into its own but remained wasteful of fuel as we had to make several external visits, maintain low gear and occasionally use four wheel drive to get through the devastated areas caused by the blast transforming the ground.

  We arrived at the first village after a journey of about 3 hours. This village was badly damaged and an initial search produced no result. As we were discussing what could have caused the signal, however, we saw something moving stealthily between two ruined houses. It appeared human so we moved rapidly in its direction. We came upon a filthy tramp who tried, obviously very nervously, to back away from our approach.

  The man was skinny and wearing a dark threadbare coat and something that might have once been a trilby type hat that was too large for his head. He was not very large with gaunt features and unruly facial hair. He gave every indication of being very frightened.

  Within a short time, however, our smiles and the offer of gifts of food and a small whisky made him much more co-operative. He explained that he was a member of a family of four consisting of himself, his wife and two children then aged thirteen and fifteen years. We questioned him carefully as his situation was contrary to our ideas of potential survivor groups over this period of time.

  He went on to tell us an incredible story of how he had been the village storekeeper. How they had been living on scraps of food that he had found to supplement a modest amount of food that they had managed to maintain in his store. They wer
e living in a cave; the basement of his house and shop that he had specially prepared to protect his family from the impact and its aftermath. The other villagers had left for the government shelter and he had heard nothing of them since.

  He had searched the village for anything that would be useful after the villagers had left and had taken clothes and other items, incredibly even some food, to his cave. He had gleaned the land of the village and found a considerable amount of food and scraps that he had further added to his store. We refrained from asking about the “scraps” they had eaten and he never volunteered an explanation.

  We asked him about the original blast and he told us that he had fortified his cave in expectation of the event which had proved very uncomfortable but did no damage to his shelter. The deluge had been especially uncomfortable but his residence was at the higher end of the village and the deluge had passed below them though they had been partly inundated by the fall of water as their house had been damaged by the blast.

  Their lighting system had been largely candles, of which he had gathered a large number before the impact as if desperate these could be eaten. This form of illumination had helped keep them warm and even cooked their food. They occasionally cooked on a wood fire but had been very careful not to attract attention. They had later, when he considered it safe to do so, set up a small wind generator, from his boat, with some small, modern deep cycle batteries, also from his boat. This had provided them with a little light. It had probably produced the signal that had attracted us though, during our initial survey of the village, we had not observed this item.

  They also had a little, very old 800W generator, again from his boat, that they used very occasionally; we did not ask if they had used it recently as this was an alternative possibility of what we had detected. Their generator was petrol driven for which they had about eighty litres left. They had also stored about two hundred litres of diesel in their central heating oil tank but this had been useless to them as the central heating system had been damaged by the inundation and he had not considered it vital to repair it as the work might then have been visible to visitors.

  Their small diesel store was of inestimable benefit to us and we added six litres of their supply to fill our vehicle. The family had sometimes noticed what they thought were visitors but had done no more than listen to what they thought were voices. They had kept themselves in what had become the family home below ground in a surprisingly large cave. In this they had somehow maintained some warmth in a large naturally ventilated airspace.

  We then met the family who were also extremely dirty and smelled offensively but fortunately they proved not to be lousy. Their dirty condition, they explained, was partly for warmth and partly as they had limited ability to warm water for the purpose of washing. They had plenty of clothes but none had been washed for a long time. Strangely, although they were very slim and described themselves as always hungry, they appeared healthy though a little strange in their mannerisms.

  We were told again that the parents had run a small general store and that the wife had been a teacher of biology and chemistry at the local school. She had tried to maintain the children’s education and when they entered the shelter school their general education level proved excellent. The mother had done a fantastic job with her limited facilities.

  We asked them to join us and gave them a fair description of our facilities. They readily agreed to our proposal as, by themselves, they could not have lasted much longer. In fact we were amazed that they had survived at all as we had considered that only moderately large groups could have supported the facilities required to survive as long as they had.

  We took them and their belongings, including those food stocks we considered worth removing, in our vehicle. We left their small reserve of fuel and the petrol generator to use as a facility for any future investigation of the area. We removed their small wind generator and batteries as these would probably be useful in supporting our power distribution at some later date. We decided that we would return immediately to our shelter as the vehicle was now too full to continue and we wanted to give our new guests a much needed warm shower and a decent meal.

  We arrived home and immediately entered our quarantine shelter for the reassigned two weeks. Our guests were each given a towel and allowed an extended shower; this facility having recently been installed. They were given new clothes from those now stored in the quarantine cellar for this purpose. Their old clothes were beyond use and were later destroyed as being beyond even recycling.

  When the family was cleaned up they presented a charming little group. It was noticeable that they suffered slightly from malnutrition and the stress over the past three years had affected their mental state but their recovery, when they entered our society, was surprisingly rapid. On inspection the remains of their food store was largely condemned. Their gleaned material was condemned as far as its food value but kept to provide seed for our first efforts at planting.

  We had saved a small family as it was unlikely they would have survived, in their shelter, for a further six months. This was our immediate reward though the mother proved an excellent teacher of her primary subjects and was able to support the maths and physics teachers when necessary. The father proved useful in the food store and had some management skills related to this work. The daughter later studied to be a doctor and the son trained as a chemist and herbalist developing several useful medicines from his self taught knowledge of ancient herbal techniques, based on information he obtained from our expert and the library.

  The son’s initial work helped many of our extended group as it built up over the years. He actually developed, during his education period, a small supporting group and was allowed to test his herbal medicines on informed sick volunteers. His later biological developments, however, had to be tested initially on slides, then pre-clinical safety testing in animals (rabbits; they had survived though initially in largely reduced numbers; they later became edible pests) and later, if they pass the early tests, they might be tested on suitable, very sick, patients who would always be advised of the possible risks involved in any trial. We, therefore, obtained some major returns for our original investment in this family.

  We left twelve days later having stayed in quarantine during that time with our new guests. During this period we had the pleasure of the families company whose description of their survival gave us considerable hope that others might have been able to survive in similar circumstances. Our departure allowed sufficient time to pass for their exit to the shelter before any new recruits might arrive.

  Miguel Ramos, the second pharmacist, who would again join us as our medical assistant, took the place of a doctor in caring for the new personnel whilst we were there. He was able to speak with the doctors, through the shelter telephone, whenever he observed any potential problems. Fortunately the physical attendance of the doctors proved unnecessary as our new guests were in remarkably good health.

  When we left the patients (new recruits) were in good health and had put on a little weight. They knew how to use the equipment and would be invited to enter the shelter before our return with, hopefully, further human resources. I was very pleased we had been in time to help them. Having seen their original living standard I would have loved to note their reaction when they first entered the shelter. The mother told me later that it was, for them, like entering paradise and the simple meals they were given were considered superior to any cordon bleu cuisine they could have imagined.

  In the early morning we left the shelter having had a breakfast. We fitted snow chains to the vehicle and prepared to visit the second of our best signal sources. This was again a village and we arrived about mid morning and spent some time examining the houses. These were in reasonable condition having again been protected from the blast by the surrounding hills. Those on the top of a small hill were even less affected and the inundation had been kinder to their structures. A few windows had been blown in but a surprising number had r
emained and the roofs were little damaged. We would be able to move our volunteers into these houses with only minor repairs.

  Inside the buildings we found evidence of a planned evacuation the doors being locked; this, however, presented us with no entry problems. The furniture was tidy and much clothing was found; some of which we removed but much, due to limitation of space in our vehicle, was left. Where there was oil fired central heating a considerable amount of oil remained in the tanks. This we considered a further example of how little had been organized to maximize the survival chances of the masses. These people had obviously believed they would soon return to recover their homes. We found little food here only a few tin of vegetables in one of the houses. We found computers and even cars in garages, both petrol and diesel, with significant fuel remaining in their tanks.

  The solution to our signal detection was found in several wind generators and solar panel systems which we noted for possible recovery at a later date. That is unless we planned, in the future, to colonize this village which I considered would be a good proposal. For this reason, out of pure ego, I gave the village its new name of Martinez; the name was allowed to remain being a further small boost to my ego at least.

  This village consisted of holiday and weekend retreats for the better off from the cities. On examination of our new estate we found no bars or other places of entertainment except a possible golf course with what appeared to have been a restaurant and some nearly empty, scummy, swimming pools in the gardens. The quality of the furniture was good but some would require restoration as mould, caused by damp and lack of care, had affected them. When looking for signs of survivors we found none in the surrounding area. When looking in the snow for any footprints we found no indication except some now ubiquitous rabbit tracks and other smaller animal indications. It appeared that we would be able to provide ourselves with hunted meat, at the later expense of some of our crops, when we left the shelter.