Book 2, Going Home. Now available on Amazon.

[MaconCJ7]

My new favorite line "What theater? I pulled the trigger. Round misfired."

Great addition. I can't wait to see how the crew fares on the new trip.

[TacAir]

**

[Catshooter]

Why in the world does Martha clear her weapon? Or is it just me? If the SHTF, baby, you won't be finding me with an unloaded gun. Hell, you can't find one around me now, so it really must just be me.

Who's MInerav? I lost that one.

What happened to Frank? So what was it, A, B, C, D or all of the above?


Cat

[TacAir]

Why in the world does Martha clear her weapon? Or is it just me? If the SHTF, baby, you won't be finding me with an unloaded gun. Hell, you can't find one around me now, so it really must just be me.

Who's MInerav? I lost that one.

What happened to Frank? So what was it, A, B, C, D or all of the above?


Cat

Minni is one of the twins.

I'll look at that again. Thanks.

T/A

[TacAir]

**

[akraven]

Why in the world does Martha clear her weapon? Or is it just me? If the SHTF, baby, you won't be finding me with an unloaded gun. Hell, you can't find one around me now, so it really must just be me.

Who's MInerav? I lost that one.

What happened to Frank? So what was it, A, B, C, D or all of the above?

Cat

Shoot - thought I had laid it out, with the bicycle as the kicker.
The road ambush was folks from Greenville.... I'll look at that again. Thanks.

T/A

I have to agree with Catshooter too Tacair. I missed that they were suppose to be from Greenville also. Didn't understand why she cleared her weapon in a possible ambush zone either. Other than that I like the story,keep it up!

[MaconCJ7]

I have to agree with Catshooter too Tacair. I missed that they were suppose to be from Greenville also. Didn't understand why she cleared her weapon in a possible ambush zone either. Other than that I like the story,keep it up!

I didn't think of them from Greenville either. The options were good, just the unknowns coming from Greenville, meh. I caught on to the idea that they were shadowed and AT Greenville, the shadow moved to lead position.

And Martha clearing her weapon at that point is a little odd. Having it cleared for the ride, cool. Not how I would roll, but to each thou own. Clearing it with the possibility of using it in the immediate future? Doesn't flow with her character.

[TacAir]

Edited that section & reposted based on feedback.

Thanks all!

T/A

[luckyalaska98]

Excellent story,great writting and an author that keeps his story going! Thanks for the story

[TacAir]

**

[bad_karma00]

I found this story late, and read it in one sitting. I have to say it was a fantastic job. Thanks for taking the time to write it out, and then share it!

[MaconCJ7]

Seems like somebody didn't want their water supply tampered with. Also seems like Jake is about to turn it off.

[TacAir]

**

[Catshooter]

Tac,

I can't answer your Q of how many could live without a ton more data. It all depends on resources. Wouldn't be many left over 50 or 55, that's for sure.

Listen, it must just be me. With an unknown danger aproaching Martha is unarmed? Unarmed? There seems to be an idea here that there are times when it's ok to be unarmed. I guess the current military establishment thinks this way from what I have read. Can't enter the city armed. After TEOTWAWKI I can not possible imagine a set of circumstances that would compel me to disarm. If a bunch of bandits have me at gun point and tell me to disarm I ani't gonna do it. I know what comes next and I'd just rather go down shooting. This isn't just an internet commando talking I have been in some ugly situations and sometimes even came out on top.

Of course, it really is me. Except for metal detectors I don't go unarmed now, and I try my best to avoid those.

But every time someone disarms in this story it stops the flow for me. I have to work my way past it. Especially someone like Martha who should know better.

Now I'm no plumber but I doubt that valve would have been a gate valve. Gate valves are more expensive than regular valving, particularly in the larger sizes.

I'm enjoying the story even with the above whinning!


Cat

[TacAir]

Tac,

I can't answer your Q of how many could live without a ton more data. It all depends on resources. Wouldn't be many left over 50 or 55, that's for sure.

Listen, it must just be me. With an unknown danger aproaching Martha is unarmed? Unarmed? There seems to be an idea here that there are times when it's ok to be unarmed. I guess the current military establishment thinks this way from what I have read. Can't enter the city armed. After TEOTWAWKI I can not possible imagine a set of circumstances that would compel me to disarm. If a bunch of bandits have me at gun point and tell me to disarm I ani't gonna do it. I know what comes next and I'd just rather go down shooting. This isn't just an internet commando talking I have been in some ugly situations and sometimes even came out on top.

Of course, it really is me. Except for metal detectors I don't go unarmed now, and I try my best to avoid those.

But every time someone disarms in this story it stops the flow for me. I have to work my way past it. Especially someone like Martha who should know better.

Now I'm no plumber but I doubt that valve would have been a gate valve. Gate valves are more expensive than regular valving, particularly in the larger sizes.

I'm enjoying the story even with the above whinning!


Cat

Areas under martial law often disarm the locals, or don't allow open carry. Martial law is about regaining control and that means the Golden Rule* has to apply - at least for a while. The checkpoint guy did offer them a chit...

Even back in the day, Dodge City and Tombstone had a 'no gun' policy... 'course, we know how that turned out.

In this part of the story, I wanted Martha to present a non-threating posture. Surrounded by armed folks is not necessarily unarmed....
You are not going to get much information if you provoke a shootout at at every encounter.

The book is written/intended for folks who like a bit of an adventure story, with strong, clever characters and a good story that moves along. I try to keep the shootouts to a minimum. Hopefully, it also brings up ideas/situations/possible outcomes that will cause non-preppers to think a bit - and perhaps to start looking at their own situation.

It is my observation that this board has an overall meme of guns are OK, food and other preps should be the greater part of or the bulk of your preps. Part of why this board - appeal to me anyway.


What kind of valve woud be used back in the 30s or 40s to control water flow? Butterfly? Ball? My take is that back in that day, folks built things to last 50+ years. I know of CCC and WPA structures still up and working even today.


BTW, it is not whining - I asked for feedback, you were kind enough to take the time and send me some.
Thank you.
T/A

*Golden Rule
Them what gots the guns is them what makes the rules.
A certain (and now very dead) pol famously said "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun". I would like to think our current situation here in the US says otherwise.
It may not always be so, sad to say.

[stimpy321972]

The story seems to be flowing together pretty well.


Thanks for sharing !!

[Ike]

I call Noah and Tina getting together!! Haha love the story T/A keep it coming. I'm borrowing a kindle to read the first one

[MaconCJ7]

I would have to guess that in a PAW, towns would really be old school size. 3-5K max. Trust would be an obvious issue because of all the rioting, murdering, and looting. But beyond trust, there is no supply line. You have to grow what you eat and it's not easy to feed a lot of people, and I think that would be a self limiting size to community structures. As things rebuild and the trade lines open up again, I still doubt there would be a huge effort to make townships larger. It'll stay as a lot of large communities with a few miles separation for many years after a large event, such as the Chërnyi. The scar would be large and it would be deep, and it's a world altering event. I think there would be a new found respect for the country lifestyle and oversized cities would take decades to form again.

[Dr Jekell]

I call Noah and Tina getting together!! Haha love the story T/A keep it coming. I'm borrowing a kindle to read the first one

Amazon.com: Free Kindle Reading Apps:

[TacAir]

I would have to guess that in a PAW, towns would really be old school size. 3-5K max. Trust would be an obvious issue because of all the rioting, murdering, and looting. But beyond trust, there is no supply line. You have to grow what you eat and it's not easy to feed a lot of people, and I think that would be a self limiting size to community structures. As things rebuild and the trade lines open up again, I still doubt there would be a huge effort to make townships larger. It'll stay as a lot of large communities with a few miles separation for many years after a large event, such as the Chërnyi. The scar would be large and it would be deep, and it's a world altering event. I think there would be a new found respect for the country lifestyle and oversized cities would take decades to form again.

Thanks, good points.

One half of this question set is - why is this city here? The other half is what does this city 'do'?

Is the city a transportation hub on the junction of rivers? Is it a natural port?
Center of manufacture? Food processing? Petrochem?

Both halves have to work or the city will 'die'.

Examples exist all over the world and here in the US.

I'll misuse the term of "correlation and dependence" found in statistical data math.

If a city can spawn the need for a railroad, then it follows that the city can also 'die' if that railroad is out of service for an extended period.
I don't explore this facet of a wide-area disaster, at least not in this book. But at some point a State (as opposed to a Nation) can fail to lack of or loss of infrastructure.

There are many such areas in the US, but I featured The Wasatch Front (in central Utah) as a western area with developed farming, mining, energy (coal and oil) and manufacture with a large Veteran population in a 'small' geographic area as an early recovery point - mostly because KSL is located there. Ely NV would be a smaller example. I'm sure the readers here can cite their own examples, but any of these would be early recovery points - with some good leadership.

In a long-term, wide area disaster, I see whole classes of 'jobs' would go dorment or disappear altogether. Others would come back to life - blacksmiths, for example. But this facet would likely best be explored as a series of short stories centered on the World of Chernyi 'universe'.

The impact on the world is part of the background of the upcoming "Pedro Six Two" - going from local to wide area to 'the world' as a 4 book series -- gives one more space to tell a story.

There are times where I wonder out loud if our current 'division of labor' isn't sliced a bit too thin where so many today cannot bake their own bread or sew/repair their own duds - because they don't know how...

Thanks for the post, and letting me ramble.

T/A

[MaconCJ7]

One half of this question set is - why is this city here? The other half is what does this city 'do'?

Is the city a transportation hub on the junction of rivers? Is it a natural port?
Center of manufacture? Food processing? Petrochem?

T/A

While that is a good question, it wouldn't be in the reasoning for the military to roll in and destroy the bad apples. That would be in the logistical reasoning of either supplying the survivors, or transporting them elsewhere. The military (or military type unit) would have the goal of terminating the "thug life". Rebuilding can only happen after law and order is restored. If you were to try and do both simultaneously, the effects are, well, Iraq. Neither job gets done well and the innocent pay the price.

Now, after the warlords have been destroyed, or integrated back into society, the questions serve a practical purpose. Does this town live, or does it die? Not the people in it, the town. If it's sole purpose was for ski slopes or just a truck stop, it's likely to go away as a town. The location could be used as a FARP, but the people would have a better chance of flourishing somewhere greener. Whether it be textile, crop, or other commodity. Resort towns don't exist in developing nations.

[akraven]

If a city can spawn the need for a railroad, then it follows that the city can also 'die' if that railroad is out of service for an extended period.
I don't explore this facet of a wide-area disaster, at least not in this book. But at some point a State (as opposed to a Nation) can fail to lack of or loss of infrastructure.

There are many such areas in the US, but I featured The Wasatch Front (in central Utah) as a western area with developed farming, mining, energy (coal and oil) and manufacture with a large Veteran population in a 'small' geographic area as an early recovery point - mostly because KSL is located there. Ely NV would be a smaller example. I'm sure the readers here can cite their own examples, but any of these would be early recovery points - with some good leadership.

In a long-term, wide area disaster, I see whole classes of 'jobs' would go dorment or disappear altogether. Others would come back to life - blacksmiths, for example. But this facet would likely best be explored as a series of short stories centered on the World of Chernyi 'universe'.

The impact on the world is part of the background of the upcoming "Pedro Six Two" - going from local to wide area to 'the world' as a 4 book series -- gives one more space to tell a story.

There are times where I wonder out loud if our current 'division of labor' isn't sliced a bit too thin where so many today cannot bake their own bread or sew/repair their own duds - because they don't know how...


T/A

You've hit some really good points her T/A. There are lots of towns that don't have really good reasons to exist in that situation and will wither and die quickly while others will will grow because of a combination of things they offer.
As for people themselves we have a society now that a large percentage of no worthwhile skills or knowledge base. Too much specialization like that old Heinlein quote.
So "Pedro Six Two" is your next book?

[TacAir]

If a city can spawn the need for a railroad, then it follows that the city can also 'die' if that railroad is out of service for an extended period.
I don't explore this facet of a wide-area disaster, at least not in this book. But at some point a State (as opposed to a Nation) can fail to lack of or loss of infrastructure.

There are many such areas in the US, but I featured The Wasatch Front (in central Utah) as a western area with developed farming, mining, energy (coal and oil) and manufacture with a large Veteran population in a 'small' geographic area as an early recovery point - mostly because KSL is located there. Ely NV would be a smaller example. I'm sure the readers here can cite their own examples, but any of these would be early recovery points - with some good leadership.

In a long-term, wide area disaster, I see whole classes of 'jobs' would go dorment or disappear altogether. Others would come back to life - blacksmiths, for example. But this facet would likely best be explored as a series of short stories centered on the World of Chernyi 'universe'.

The impact on the world is part of the background of the upcoming "Pedro Six Two" - going from local to wide area to 'the world' as a 4 book series -- gives one more space to tell a story.

There are times where I wonder out loud if our current 'division of labor' isn't sliced a bit too thin where so many today cannot bake their own bread or sew/repair their own duds - because they don't know how...


T/A

You've hit some really good points her T/A. There are lots of towns that don't have really good reasons to exist in that situation and will wither and die quickly while others will will grow because of a combination of things they offer.
As for people themselves we have a society now that a large percentage of no worthwhile skills or knowledge base. Too much specialization like that old Heinlein quote.
So "Pedro Six Two" is your next book?

I received a lot of postive feedback on the Dark Fence posting,so I'm thinking of working that up before *Pedro Six Two*.
It would also allow me to retrocon some parts of P26 before it hits the web. DF has a cast of colorful characters, like Irene 'Bunny' Bunsen a well built, (blond bombshell one would say in the old days) 'crew systems specialist' who is really part of the Project psychology team.

However if Going Home enjoys good sales, I really should finish the original series first to be fair.


This book (Going Home) should be on line in late Sept - fully detailed, as was the case with First Strike. IF nothing else intervenes....

As for no worthwhile skills, you overlook an entire industry of 'living history' sites all across the US. Why, who knows, they just might someday become an important part of any recovery from a wide-scale technology crash....

Thanks for asking.
T/A

[TacAir]

**

Before the qestions - Avondale is based at least two places I know of personally. Private communities that wish to follow their own way - but will and do help the locals who are not members of the community. Well, except for the weaponary... I do take some license from time to time.

I am willing to bet at least some of the vets on this board know one or two former service members who chose to follow 'their way' upon separation. (H/T to SSgt Chuck Roach, former USAF - he taught me a lot before he joined up - at the monastery)

Thanks to all for the postitive feedback, glad to hear the sotry is well recieved.

T/A