Survivor communities outside the known world

[Róisín]

ZGU, if Minna has not yet had much to say about other countries, you can always read the fanfic writers. I especially liked Wavewright's take on a mage finding water in the American desert.

[wavewright62]

D'awww, thank you.

[ZGU]

ZGU, if Minna has not yet had much to say about other countries, you can always read the fanfic writers. I especially liked Wavewright's take on a mage finding water in the American desert.

Then it's a fortune we have fanfic authors to fill out the gaps of the non-Scandinavian lore, eh?

I actually had own intentions on writing a fanfic with a setting somewhere else in the post-Rash world, but that devolved into a ultra-pessimistic research mission after two friends complained about lore irregularities in my own setting.

Now it's those two and me conducting massive background research to solidify our theory that the middle east and north Africa are the new bastion of civilisation. Of course, this theory can be reduced to rubble with what was mentioned: the comic is still going and yeah, Minna still has things to say about that whole deal.

[wavewright62]

Then it's a fortune we have fanfic authors to fill out the gaps of the non-Scandinavian lore, eh?

I actually had own intentions on writing a fanfic with a setting somewhere else in the post-Rash world, but that devolved into a ultra-pessimistic research mission after two friends complained about lore irregularities in my own setting.

Now it's those two and me conducting massive background research to solidify our theory that the middle east and north Africa are the new bastion of civilisation. Of course, this theory can be reduced to rubble with what was mentioned: the comic is still going and yeah, Minna still has things to say about that whole deal.

The Middle East & North Africa (returning to) being the bastion of civilisation is fascinating.  Supposedly, the Rash hit Europe via a boatload of refugees (Patients 0) landing in Spain.  Although it's never stated, they are presumed to be from North Africa.  But, I set the story Róisín mentioned in a desert, thinking that the conditions would be too hot and arid for trolls, and No. Africa certainly has plenty of those conditions. 
(Although I must admit my story is NOT exhaustively researched; I left actual engineering to Minna-esque hand-waving.  Fun fact - the first drafts of the story were set in the Middle East, because I had a vague idea of our intrepid crew out exploring post-mission and figured California or Mongolia was too blimmin' far even for crack fic.)

[ZGU]

The Middle East & North Africa (returning to) being the bastion of civilisation is fascinating.  Supposedly, the Rash hit Europe via a boatload of refugees (Patients 0) landing in Spain.  Although it's never stated, they are presumed to be from North Africa.  But, I set the story Róisín mentioned in a desert, thinking that the conditions would be too hot and arid for trolls, and No. Africa certainly has plenty of those conditions. 
(Although I must admit my story is NOT exhaustively researched; I left actual engineering to Minna-esque hand-waving.  Fun fact - the first drafts of the story were set in the Middle East, because I had a vague idea of our intrepid crew out exploring post-mission and figured California or Mongolia was too blimmin' far even for crack fic.)

Iran is beheld (on "our" side) as the most capable of all middle eastern states to keep most of their pre-Rash assets functioning. Close up to it were (mainly this one) Algeria, Syria, Cyprus, the (Greek) Creta island and maybe several enclaves across northern Africa and the Greek/Turkish isles in the Agaean sea that parts both nations.

The criteria were:

1.: Military Preparedness: Is the nation dependent on foreign powers for it´s protection or is it a N. Korea grade fortress?

> Iran, Algeria scored well here. The former is renowned through media and the web as a gun-toating, gargantuan post-revolution 1979 state. This credibility is partially true and looking into the wikipedia about the armed forces of Iran, the nation has militarised itself heavily, with the large regular army backed by legions of paramilitary citizen militias. This´d mean that Iran posesses more the abillity to combat external threats (the spread of the Rash, suddenly aggressive neighbors) and internal threats (the spread of the Rash, civil uprisings within the nation) with violent force.

> The latter, Algeria, is also on the world stats for their military size-- which does indeed give them the abillity to profit from it massively, although why? Algeria only needs to move troop to protect it´s urban north at the most, with the south only needing (already owned by Algeria) mobile armor to protect the nation from the spread of Rash by refugee escapees from states where the situation is at worst and the loss of oil and uranium fields.

2.: Geographical Position: Self-explanatory.

> Iran has the greatest trait of being a hill-dominated nation, which means that unlike in the USA and European states, inter-city spread of the Rash goes either slower or is easy to be blocked if the Iranian army simply blocks highways.

> Algeria only needs to protect their vital, urban north with it´s population-- and it is small in size. The south is a vast "wasteland" and sub-saharan region, that does not need a massive military presence to remain safe.

3.: Government Stance: Quarantine or Death-Squads?

> Flash-backs to the SSSS scene, so spoiler alert!

 . . . A council of people (that familiar round table) discuss the situation. It is well noticeable: Nobody is happy and is barely willing to even consider further trying to treat the Rash. Still, the supposed scientists urge that they need more time for the development of a cure-- although they get 2 weeks granted, a lenghty amount of time for the fact that a disease is ravaging the nation by each hour.

Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway are benevolent democracies, built upon the foundations of human rights and liberty.

Iran and Algeria are critical states in that question. This given to the fact (despite that Iran and Algeria are democracies) that both these nations are extremely authoritarian. Alone the Iranian or Algerian leadership gaining notice of their intelligence services reporting that a brutal, new disease is ravaging and spreading throughouth the world, sirens would ring well before both states would go at a "hug and treat" the sick action. I would not be surprised if smaller Rash outbreaks would have the sorry affected "made to dissapear" by shady death-squads or government-loyal troop. Plus, Iran and Algeria-- with their authoritarianism can exhert control over the media to blot out massive human rights abuses and military action against the spread of the Rash, even if it means thousands must be "secured" and hospitals be locked up and set ablaze to prevent the Rash from spreading.

There were several more criteria, such as the presence of strategic minerals like oil and industrial centers, but I have already mentioned it.

[tragiccoyote]

I'm sure you all have touched on them before, but Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falklands (and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, I guess) seem like solid places for Chile, Argentina, and the UK to make their last stands. They're all cold, dry, fjordy, and isolated, and without much in the way of tourism. Furthermore, the Falklands have had an outsized UK military presence since the 80s (thanks, Argentina!) and seem like a fairly obvious place for the royals and Parliament to be evacuated to in the event that the mainland is compromised, while Tierra del Fuego has oil and the means to refine it, meaning even without Icelandic Geothermal Magic™ there's a way to fuel vehicles and therefore maintain internal and external movement and trade.

(Also, hi, first post!!)

[Constantine]

   Is it strange that when I'm thinking of possible settlements around the world I don't start with "Hmm, which places would be more suited for survival?" but with "Hmm, which mythology do I want revived?"?

   Because sure, most of those places would be almost impossible to reach physically, but what if the characters met foreign mages in the Dreamscape? I know Minna's taste in the supernatural seems to gravitate mainly on Nordic traditions, but it's a fun thing to think about.
   

[Róisín]

Some of the fan writers have been there, and come up with some interesting ideas. Fascinating to speculate about, isn't it?

[wavewright62]

In canon, Onni mentions the (reputed) abilities of foreign mages, but it's not clear whether the only foreign mages the Finns have considered are those of the Icelandic stripe.  As Róisín mentions, the fanfic writers (including yours truly) have been having fun with other traditions elsewhere surviving, but there is also scope for other traditions within Scandinavia, particularly among the northern nomadic peoples.

[Róisín]

You and Onnenlintu have both done interesting stuff with other traditions. I would love to see more. I plan to do more myself, since there are already examples in the local traditions of magic for dealing with man-eating monsters, or people who have become something else. I touched on it in 'Year 95, Very Far to the South' and plan eventually to write more in that setting. I'm particularly keen to work more with the idea of interactions between the Myrning people and whatever mages may have turned up among the great whales, since the our-world-our-time Myrning marngits already have a tradition of singing to and with the whales. The whole idea of magic in other cultures and traditions could do with more exploration.

[wavewright62]

You and Onnenlintu have both done interesting stuff with other traditions. I would love to see more. I plan to do more myself, since there are already examples in the local traditions of magic for dealing with man-eating monsters, or people who have become something else. I touched on it in 'Year 95, Very Far to the South' and plan eventually to write more in that setting. I'm particularly keen to work more with the idea of interactions between the Myrning people and whatever mages may have turned up among the great whales, since the our-world-our-time Myrning marngits already have a tradition of singing to and with the whales. The whole idea of magic in other cultures and traditions could do with more exploration.

  Mage Whales    Yes, please.

[JoB]

Mage Whales    Yes, please.

[a wild Kadecean surfaces]

[Buteo]

JoB, you have the cheeriest thoughts!

Now I have a mental image of a large outrigger canoe-type craft, with Roisin's Furneaux Islander mage-scout, Onni, and Sigrun taking on the malevolent Kadecean!

[wavewright62]

JoB, you have the cheeriest thoughts!

Now I have a mental image of a large outrigger canoe-type craft, with Roisin's Furneaux Islander mage-scout, Onni, and Sigrun taking on the malevolent Kadecean!

Which one, Kim or Chloe?

[Krillian]

Then it's a fortune we have fanfic authors to fill out the gaps of the non-Scandinavian lore, eh?

I actually had own intentions on writing a fanfic with a setting somewhere else in the post-Rash world, but that devolved into a ultra-pessimistic research mission after two friends complained about lore irregularities in my own setting.

Now it's those two and me conducting massive background research to solidify our theory that the middle east and north Africa are the new bastion of civilisation. Of course, this theory can be reduced to rubble with what was mentioned: the comic is still going and yeah, Minna still has things to say about that whole deal.

I feel like hotter climates wouldn't thrive all that well. Not sure about deserts, but to get a good civilazation going you need a good mode of transport and maintenence, and unless Trolls are as succesptible to hotter temperatures than they are to freezing ones, they'd end up thriving in place of survivors. I imagine that countries closer to the tropic would be harder to settle because of that, since winter wouldn't be much help. Not to mention how close to ground zero the mediterranean was, seeing that the first known patients of the disease appeared on Spain, I reckon most of the european south and african north got hit very hard and were almost completely wipped out. Higher altitude and more isolated regions might have a better chance, like the Basque country and the swiss alps, but I'd still put my bets on mostly islanders surviving, like the Portuguese islands of Azores and such.



EDIT: Read the rest of the ideas, now not so sure about this post I made, but I still think it contributes a bit to the conversation.