If you woke in the morning and all humans had disappeared

[SolitaryTree]

What would you do?
How would you feel?
Who would you pick to be alive with you if you could pick a person/group of people?
I often imagine this scenario….

@Tlollj

I wouldn’t notice until Tuesday when I turned up for work. Did I read a book about this at school? Z for Zacharia. Or something.

One of my primary school readers had an extract from Z is for Zachariah, so I never found out what happened, whether the heroine’s family had all died, who the mysterious man was etc.

I saw a play at the Edinburgh Fringe about this, though all the humans had disappeared in that story.

There is a brilliant book called "last one at the party" which is pretty much this.
After the carnage and shock subsides she becomes the very best version of her self possible which is maybe a shame that no one gets to witness it.
It's really a good book....

If I'm alone, I'm going to be growing lots of fruit and vegetables and searching libraries for books on canning and preserving, because the existing stock of tinned foods won't keep forever and winters are going to get tough. Pick a base of operations in the countryside. Drive abandoned cars around incredibly slowly to collect all the supplies I need (I can't actually drive, so I reckon I could figure it out but wouldn't want to take risks.) Find a gun and learn to use it, to scare off desperate stray or wild animals. My biggest fear would be illness or injury because I don't think I have the mental fortitude to stitch up my own wounds or anything.

I'd also keep a record, just in case some other intelligent beings ever come by Earth and can decipher my story.

If I could keep friends and family with me, it would be practically much easier, but I'd foresee lots of arguments over the best course of action. Ideally I'd want enough unrelated people to reach the minimum viable population for continuing the human race, though!

Z is for Zachariah is a great book I read it at school, it's been made into a film too. I'm think I'd love it! I would just read books and garden all day!

I would absolutely panic and probably quite quickly fall into depression and be suicidal. Unless the group of people I could chose to be alive could be very very large. How would I save all the animals who are currently reliant on humans for their survival? I couldn't travel to all the countries in the world releasing the animals into the wild. Even if I did most wouldnt know how to fend for themselves after spending so long in captivity etc. I am absolutely not skilled enough to farm my own food either vegetable or animal.

What would you do?

In the short term, I'd move into the house over the road as I've always admired it but it's well out of my budget.

How would you feel?

Ecstatic. I often fantasise about this scenario.

Who would you pick to be alive with you if you could pick a person/group of people?

My family. If that wasn't an option I'd choose someone I fancied but who is well out of my league (numerous options), on the grounds that if we were the last two humans on earth, they'd probably consent to sex sooner or later. Alternatively, I'd be practical and choose a survival expert.

@squirrythesquirrel your whole post is very funny! "Probably consent to sex sooner or later"!

I'd be terrified and miserable. Everyone's pets would be dying around me, and all the horses at the local riding school. I suppose I could try to get the horses out onto the marshes, maybe they could fend for themselves for a while.

@SolitaryTree

What would you do? How would you feel? Who would you pick to be alive with you if you could pick a person/group of people? I often imagine this scenario….

There's a good movie called The Wall, which is exactly this. Very good watch!

I think human instinct is to try and survive, no matter what.

Omg @tlollj....everybody I've ever spoken to about this book has never heard of it !!!! Absolutely brilliant story, and so wish I could find a copy. Total derail there OP, sorry

Find a big supermarket distribution centre. There will be loads of bottled water, plenty of long shelf-life food. Just remember to bring a tin opener.
Then I'd have to break into an industrial site and steal a generator and as much diesel as I can carry.
As for who I'd keep.... probably my cat.

@Hen2018

I’d secure myself as much drinking water as possible.

Source as much firewood as possible for my stove over the winter as I would now need it for cooking and heating water as well as heating the house.

Get LOTS of books from the library as I’d need to research more DIY, how to do more serious first aid on myself etc.

God knows what I’d do for the thousands of farm animals that would starve to death in the fields around me.

The farm animals would adapt I think. Eat grass. Carnivores would find other animals to eat. A lot would die, but many would adapt.

Where do you stop with your family though? How would we all cope knowing who I/we hadn't picked. I think I'd be happier on my own than knowing we would slowly die out.

I'm normally all over the post-Apocalypse stuff. I love a good bug-out bad and SHTF stuff.

But being alone? Hard no from me. Find some lovely painkillers and fancy booze and bye bye world. The only slight issue is the dog. He's a street dog rescue so I couldn't bear him having to do that again. Either deal with it as long as he's alive or give him the raisins and chocolate he's always begging for.

You honestly wouldn't last long before there was many ecological disasters.
Nuclear power plants would blow up because they are not being looked after. You'd be fucked.

Letting animals out. Opening all gates. Find a hilltop self sufficient place near the sea.
Id probably have Jason Momoa if I couldnt have all my family I mean...

[quote Bloodybridget]@squirrythesquirrel your whole post is very funny! "Probably consent to sex sooner or later"!

I'd be terrified and miserable. Everyone's pets would be dying around me, and all the horses at the local riding school. I suppose I could try to get the horses out onto the marshes, maybe they could fend for themselves for a while.[/quote]
Well, one can dream!

I agree with you about the animals, though. I'd try and let as many into the wild as I could and perhaps take as many bags of pet food out of the supermarket as I could and leave them lying around.

Mentioning books on a similar theme - there's a good Arthur C. Clarke short story 'The Forgotten Enemy' where the protagonist is the only man left in Britain.

@SquirryTheSquirrel if only you had a huge crush on Bear Grylls.... you'd be laughing!

@Disfordarkchocolate

I've just though, there would be horrendous animal suffering. No one to feed farm animals or pets etc.

I feel the same.

theshadeofgreen Ha ha! He's not the worst I suppose!

[quote theshadeofgreen]@SquirryTheSquirrel if only you had a huge crush on Bear Grylls.... you'd be laughing![/quote]
Whenever anyone uses the icebreaker when you have to pick one item to have on a desert island, my item is Bear Grylls. It used to be a machete but Bear seems adaptable (and hot).

@MrsTerryPratchett practical and sensible. I like it

In the longer term, I'd find a house with a solid fuel Aga so I could be warm once mains gas stopped running.

I've never passed my driving test but that wouldn't matter with no other cars on the road, so I'd travel about (just siphon off petrol from other cars when needed) and gather provisions before the roads deteriorated too much. Food in tins will keep indefinitely. I'd get some poultry so I could have fresh eggs and hopefully find a house with some fruit trees/a vegetable patch.

There's a video on YouTube called 'Life after humans' (or similar) and that goes through the sequence of possible events if humans suddenly left the planet. It was quite interesting.

I would manage for a while - I have good knowledge of survival skills etc (not do much practical skills) but there would be the worry of what to do if you had any kind of illness/accident. I'd want to be left with a good practical man who could make things and design things and my children and their boyfriend/girlfriends.