Prepare for 12/21/2012 "End of the world" Surviving (Science Fiction)

Prepare for122112

Introduction

We’ve been hearing a lot about the end of the world as predicted by the Mayan calendar. I personally believe the prediction has been over-hyped and the actual events of that date will not be so catastrophic to the world and civilization. That said; I am also willing to accept I can be wrong. The following article is aimed at preparation for survival should events play out differently. I saw a television show that indicated our system will cross the plane of the galaxy on 12-21-12. The assumption which drives the survival plans I present here is that crossing the galactic plane will disrupt the magnetic fields of our planet and of all the electrical/electronic devices we depend on. This is a work of speculative fiction, I hope.

What to expect

Assuming the worst-case, here is what to expect. Upon crossing the galactic plane the galactic magnetic field reverses. As any electrician will tell you, when two magnetic fields are reversed they try to realign. That’s a simplified explanation of how motors work. In the case of our planet we could expect the planet to try to realign itself with the new magnetic field and/or our planet’s field to be realigned around our planet. My assumption here is that we will experience the effects of both reactions.
Planetary realignment will result in tectonic stresses beyond any we have ever experienced. Known fault-lines will shift dramatically. New fault lines will arise and the layout of the earth’s crust will change. Earthquakes, volcanoes, lava flows, and general geologic upheavals will occur. We can expect severe changes in weather patterns as the planet’s physical alignment in its orbit changes. Our current weather patterns are produced in part by the angle of inclination of our planet. As Earth tries to rotate back into alignment, the angle will change and force tremendous changes in weather patterns.
Even as the planet tries to realign, the magnetic fields the fields themselves try to reach accommodation. Another fact of magnetic fields is that a magnet exposed to a strong reversed field can be re-magnetized to align with the magnetizing field. As the earth’s field is reversed it must reduce the existing field to nothing then rebuild the field to the new alignment. Everything on the planet that relies on magnetic fields will be affected. That means everything electrical will fail. As the earth and the fields attempt to change we might experience massive induced currents in any wires – destroying attached devices with huge over-voltages and currents. The few survivors will find themselves in a new stone age. The technology of the last 20,000 years will be effectively eliminated.
There will be no place on the planet immune from the changes. It is impossible to predict what will happen at any location so each of us who try to prepare for survival must gamble on what part of the planet will remain relatively habitable during and after the cataclysm. I am not one to simply sit and wait for something bad to happen, and I expect most of us want to plan ahead as much as possible. The amount of planning and preparation we expend is a personal choice. Preparation can include a simple survival kit not unlike hurricane survival kits often assembled by people living near coasts or it can extend to a huge re-enforced bunker with full life support. Your personal approach and your available resources drive your decisions.
I will present my recommendations for where to go, what to take, and how to survive. I am not a survivalist or any kind of expert so please consult your own references and experts for real advice. I just want you to think about this a bit. I’m hoping to get a head start on building a new civilization by saving some of our knowledge and our brightest people as the seeds of the new civilization.




Where to go

There are some very obvious places NOT to be during this period of upheaval. Coastal areas and small to mid-sized islands are definitely off my recommended list. Any location within 50 miles of a known volcano (even long dormant ones) is another deadly location. Any city of more than 100,000 people will present some long-term survival problems as resources will quickly be depleted and basic services will be overwhelmed. New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago…etc will be death traps for millions. Hawaii is another goner.
There has been some discussion about the Yellowstone super-volcano in western North America. No place within 100 miles west of Yellowstone and 500 miles east will be survivable, and these distances are quite conservative. If weather patterns change dramatically the directions may be irrelevant too. I’m not familiar enough with geography outside my own country to name specific “stay away” locations in Europe, Asia, and Africa…etc. I can say that the entire group of islands in the south Indian Ocean is not a recommended location.
When you are looking for a survival location, there are several factors to consider. You certainly need to survive the initial upheavals as our planet shivers and shakes but afterward you will need to be self-sufficient as society is reborn. Do not expect things to return to the “normal” we enjoy now. Think in terms of Stone Age, pre-civilization, or cavemen. That is the world you will find yourself in if you survive the first year after the upheaval starts.
Roads will exist (forget about bridges, though) but will rapidly deteriorate. Automobiles will be entirely useless - a good horse will be more useful if he doesn’t get eaten first.