The Stand Still, Stay Silent Fan-Forum
Worlds and Stories => SSSS & ARTD Board => Topic started by: Njawl on November 07, 2020, 11:32:14 AM
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Here's a little something I've been thinking about. It's fun to speculate what it looks like in the inhabited areas. So according to the map a good amount of Lofoten survived. Ok, but what's so special about the area? The north Atlantic cod comes to spawn here due to the warm waters of the Gulf stream being caught in the fjord. This makes it ones of the greatest fishing spots in the world. With the comparatively large population of Iceland it's likely they would import and in a world where acquiring more farmland is dangerous work it's a vital resource. Due to this strategic resource Lofoten has the potential to be the trade capital of the known world.
But there's more. There's many things that go in their favour.
- Lofoten is in a defensible position. Since the fish gathers in a fjord it's easier to defend it against sea monsters. Lofoten is also a group of islands so cutting off the road to the mainland is an effective way to defend it in combination with the hills and mountains and the lack of forests. I think it's likely they survived the initial breakout of the virus.
- Not only is there fishing the vest of Lofoten has large amounts of farmland.
- There are several drydocks making repair of large ships possible.
- It's a good possibility Lofoten has power since there are hydroelectric power plants. It may not be enough for everyone but just having some for the industry is a major boost.
- The region has airports. With the access of oil there's the possibility of getting airplanes working again.
There you have it. Hope I'm not forgetting anything. Do you think this would be a significant part of the world of SSSS? Lofoten is an iconic part of Norway and it's neat to think how the community would look like with them going back to their more traditional lifestyle.
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I agree, it does look like a favorable position! The location is good for exporting to Iceland, and the defendability of the main fishing water would certainly be important.
I’d love to see some of Norway in the comic too! I assume the next adventure will be in Sweden, ut maybe they could visit Norway in between?
Oh, and welcome to the Forum! We have an introduction thread too, it’s pinned on the General Board! Do stop by to say hello!
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Welcome indeed, Njawl! Have you had a squirrel cookie yet? They're really quite good…
Honestly you do make an excellent point, but I worry about the accessibility for others. Most of the major remaining settlements seem to coalesce around the Baltic; Lofotur's really quite out of the way. I could, however, see it becoming rather prosperous in its own way--maybe not the trade capital, but an important trading post in the north nonetheless, and one that provides goods for both Norway and Iceland. (Reckon you're on to something!)
And in any case, I'm not from the region nor can I claim special knowledge of it, so there may be bits I've missed.
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On the Map of the Known World http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66 there are people there, and also on the mainland in Rana and Finøya. Now that I look at it again, I also notice one of the very few mines being there (on the mainland that is). Most of the Norwegian population is concentrated around the Sognefjorden in the south, but as the fourth (and last one listed) Norwegian settlement has 1100 inhabitants, there could be something on the lines of 2000 people or more in the three settlements marked on the map on Lofoten and mainland. Travel is by ship along the coast, like it’s been since time immemorial (isn’t the coast the “Northern Way”, i.e. Norway?)
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Thanks, guys. I don't think I'll be sticking around the forum too much, I basically wanted to mention this point as I noticed there were no posts on it (it's where I'm from, too). I'll check out those squirrel cookies. My curiosity is piqued.
You make some good points. I don't think the distance to the baltic is going to be too much of a problem. Lofoten, or the government of Norway if there is one, can make goods from the nearby mines or the very least sell it to Iceland. The region will be able to sell goods further south and Iceland probably have unique goods and can produce in higher quantities than say Sweden. While most settlements are likely very self sufficient on food the extra imports will help with growing populations and to reduce the numbers of farmers needed. This provides more manpower for industry, military and research. The ships transporting the fish will likely have coolers keeping it fresh and the good old method of making stockfish reduce spoiling further and supplying larger quantities in one run.
I didn't notice Svolvær not being listed on the populated towns. Either the area was left out or the area has recently been reclaimed. Or the population dispersed to the countryside as you said. The potential is still there so it's likely that people are migrating there.
The name of Norway does indeed stem from the name of "the northern way".
Anyone ever thought about Svalbard on the forum? There's the doomsday seed vault and it's a good source for coal.
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Just the largest settlements are listed by name and population. Svolvær is marked on the map as populated, it just has less people’s than the listed ones.
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The Svalbard seed vault has been on my mind since the tale began (retired field botanist and botany lecturer here, and general useful plant fanatic). I will be very interested to see if Minna does anything about it in the story - some of her early concept art suggested she might.
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I do hope this isn't just a one-off from you Njawl, because it's quite well-considered.
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The Svalbard seed vault has been on my mind since the tale began (retired field botanist and botany lecturer here, and general useful plant fanatic). I will be very interested to see if Minna does anything about it in the story - some of her early concept art suggested she might.
Can I see some of this concept art? I want to try to collect different primary sources. thank you.
Also, with the impact of Global climate change being drastically lessened in this world, does that change this possibility?
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I’m not sure how to even begin looking for the drawing. It was one of the characters on what looked like the steps of the vault, years ago.
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I’m not sure how to even begin looking for the drawing. It was one of the characters on what looked like the steps of the vault, years ago.
Oh, well.
I think that the vault was possibly opened already, which might have contributed to a quicker societal recovery after the first famines started.
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I think that the vault was possibly opened already
At some point, back in adventure 1, Minna gave Word of God that the vault hasn't been opened yet.
... ah, it was on the occasion of the World Map (http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=66#comment-1252643236).
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Oh, well.
I think that the vault was possibly opened already, which might have contributed to a quicker societal recovery after the first famines started.
I am not sure if someone would try to open the seed vault. If you can manage to go there without being eaten by a sea beast, you could literally catch tons of fish on the way. So less travel copuld bring more food. And you have just to cook the fish an can eat it, seeds need months until you can eat anything.
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I am not sure if someone would try to open the seed vault. If you can manage to go there without being eaten by a sea beast, you could literally catch tons of fish on the way. So less travel copuld bring more food. And you have just to cook the fish an can eat it, seeds need months until you can eat anything.
I'm imagining that during the early stages it may have happened. As far as I'm aware, there is no concrete timeline of when things got their worst after all. I think that while what you say is true, perhaps not so during the early waves.
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Just swinging by to say that Lofoten has several well kept coastal fort remains from the nazi occupation - cannon positions, bunkers etc. Those could come in handy against seatrolls too! And the larger wildlife of northern Norway is pretty limited. The region is big and not densely populated, so a lot of people could avoid catching the virus. I'm going up there in July, I'll keep an eye out
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I am not sure if someone would try to open the seed vault. If you can manage to go there without being eaten by a sea beast, you could literally catch tons of fish on the way. So less travel copuld bring more food. And you have just to cook the fish an can eat it, seeds need months until you can eat anything.
My understanding is that Norway in general has very little flat land that's good for those big monoculture farms that many of us get our food from. Catching fish IS a bit more practical in Norway. But I do want to see if they're still looking after the big vault now, especially since Norway doesn't seem to be a tech-focussed nation in SSSS and I'm pretty sure that big freezer needs electricity? I also just found out today that salmon sushi was a Norwegian idea first (https://www.npr.org/2015/09/18/441530790/how-the-desperate-norwegian-salmon-industry-created-a-sushi-staple).
http://minnasundberg.fi/gallery/lockedshelter.htm This is probably, probably the closest thing I can find to a proper doomsday-shelter-y artwork in her gallery, but that's obviously not the seed vault. IDK if there's some other grand archive of her work elsewhere, but also I didn't keep track of her work until like 2017. Oh, some CoH stuff also looked doomsday-shelter-y I guess.
I wonder if we'll ever need to use it...
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As things are probably going at present, we are more likely to find the vault when the permafrost finishes melting and it is being inundated.
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But I do want to see if they're still looking after the big vault now, especially since Norway doesn't seem to be a tech-focussed nation in SSSS and I'm pretty sure that big freezer needs electricity?
If we're talking about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault here (and barring the climate getting royally screwed), it's been built into the permafrost for a reason. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault#Construction)
http://minnasundberg.fi/gallery/lockedshelter.htm This is probably, probably the closest thing I can find to a proper doomsday-shelter-y artwork in her gallery, but that's obviously not the seed vault.
For the SSSS-verse fate of that vault, Minna has decreed that the post-Rash humanity has not yet seen any need to visit it. (I.e., the famine in Iceland had causes other than a lack of seeds.) As things stand now, that's rather unlikely to change anymore ...
As things are probably going at present, we are more likely to find the vault when the permafrost finishes melting and it is being inundated.
If and when the flooding reaches the vault, at 130 m above current sea level, I suppose that we'll also be having an unforeseen (by those filling the vault) interest in agriculturally viable epipelagic plants ...
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Those commonly do better in….somewhat warmer climates.
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I don't think humans can stay alive and healthy on a diet of nothing but fish. A diet with lots of fish, fine; but you do need some other stuff to go with it.
Land that doesn't support modern large-scale monocrop farming can produce a whole lot of food with ancient terrace multicrop systems. Trying to figure out versions suitable for the area in question with a lack of experience and seed scavenged from people's home gardens wouldn't be easy, and the problem most likely contributed to starvation in the first years; but, as there are people alive and healthy in year 90, some progress must have been made towards figuring it out.
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Yeah, you are right, though adding some seaweed to the fish can help a lot! And if you have seaweed you can eat some kinds (more than most people might think), and given enough seaweed and rock to spread it on and at least a few months of warmish weather, you can grow vegetables. My gran used to grow amazing crops of healthy potatoes in beds made by piling seaweed a couple of feet deep, weighting it with rocks until it began to rot down, planting seed potatoes into the first layer of seaweed and when they sprouted continuing to pile seaweed on top, heaping itdeeper as the haulms of the potatoes began to poke through the surface. In Autumn you harvested your spuds by peeling back the layers - they came out white and clean, firm and delicious, with never a trace of blight.
The next year you planted leaf vegetables, then turnips or beets, and eventually barley. Also, a lot of common weeds are edible……
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As things are probably going at present, we are more likely to find the vault when the permafrost finishes melting and it is being inundated.
With most people dead and regrowth of forests, the Athmosphere would heat much slower. This is discussed as a cause for the Little Ice Age. The genocide in the Americas was big enough, to cool the planet down.