From the 5,000-odd posts to p. 277:quindraco There are many other places on Earth with enough cold to have resisted the zombies, including Siberia, Canada, and, I think notably, Ulan Bator in Mongolia. I wonder how many other cultures are still functioning - all it would really take would be for all of your radios to break, and you'd have no way of letting other survivors know you'd made it, since the intervening territory would be inimical to all travel.
Hrolfr
It's not just cold, or just water you need.
A. A lot of luck. ( If you can choose between being smart or lucky, choose lucky.)
B. Year 0 a population that was in sufficient agreement to institute a very no-nonsense & potentially aggressively murderous embargo on the rest of the world. Despite it seeming wildly paranoid by Year 0 standards.
C. A population that, by luck, managed to not have that much contact with the rest of the world during the infectious phase before it sealed itself off.
D. An area that population was living that had the _right_ people, people with the knowledge on how to gear-down civilization a couple of notches within months, farmland & supplies to make it to the next year, seeds, etc... And the ability to make themselves heard and coerce/strongly suggest that everyone follow along.
E. Enough firepower to enforce that embargo against some hugely desperate people with little to lose.
F. Enough societal discipline and public spiritedness that the first couple of years brutal rationing and other desperate and draconian public health measures could continue to be enforced despite ( even in the enclaves) huge losses of people.
G. cold weather, like water freezing for a couple of months a year.
H. Water "moats" to slow the progress of infected creatures. (Iceland, Bornholm.)
I Away from large population centers.
J. Enough medical people that took VERY harsh decisions very early and then kept it up.
K Enough Practical people who... etc...
etc...
Surviving with enough people to have technological civilization was a very, very low probability event.
The first months and year(s) must have been super depressing to listen to on shortwave radio, as human enclave after enclave went silent, presumably overwhelmed by Rash vectors, or starvation, or refugees...trolls & giants, or even simply depression & madness
Occasional morse code from places far in the mountains, swamps and plains: "Is anybody out there...we're surrounded, out of food, it's February, it's cold, we're down to out last rounds... please help? anyone..?"
I and others have speculated there might be some stone-age level; savage humans lurking in parts of the world where some of the above was ok, desperately hanging on in small tribes, hiding from trolls and beasts, avoiding former urban areas. It'd be a crappy life, but at least it would be short.
Not saying there aren't other places, but not many are likely.
Poll
