- Secure and build a compound in a remote location that can sustain a small population of people and animals.
- Find the people to make up the population for #1.
Originally, I was going to take this in the direction of how would I have to go about repopulating the Earth. The more I thought about it, the more I determined that this was unlikely to be required. I doubt I'd be the only person that would have the foresight to prepare for an outbreak. What I would need to do is sustain, if not slightly grow, a small population over a generation, or two.
Since zombies can't reproduce, in the sense that plants and animals can, and they can't repair themselves (they're rotting from the moment they're "born"), all one needs to do is outlast them. Unfortunately, we're talking about having to outlast easily millions, potentially billions, of them.
The first 5-10 years of a world-wide epidemic would likely be the toughest, so the actual need to go beyond a generation, or two, is pretty slim. Having said that, it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
With that in mind, I'm looking at needing a genetically varied group. Of the top generation, or oldest, there can be no siblings. I've read the number of people required for re-population is anywhere as low as 32, and as high as 50. I wouldn't want to put too much of a strain on the resources, should the need to go another generation arise, and, as I previously mentioned, I'm not looking to be the Garden of Eden, either. With that in mind, I think 24 genetically diverse people would be enough; 12 couples.
If each couple had 2 children (replacements, if you will), then we'd have a sustained population of 48 people. As we'd likely want to group the population slightly, and would have to consider a 3rd generation, then 72 people would be the optimum population of the compound. Keeping in mind death is not so much a risk as a reality, having 3 children should be taken into account. The compound should be designed to operate with a population of 100 people. But we'll save that for the next post.
So, do I just go out and grab 24 people and ask them to be a part of the plan? I wish it were that simple.
No, the two dozen people need to be healthy, trustworthy, of similar mindsets regarding their outlook on life, and should have a required skill.
Right... required skills.
We need a doctor, a veterinarian, a farmer, a mechanic, an electrician, a carpenter, an engineer, teachers of various qualifications, a millwright, a blacksmith/weaponsmith, a hunter/soldier, a martial artist, a chef, a chiropractor/masseuse, and a seamstress. One of each of those represents a little over half the population. What do the rest of the people do? Learn. And work.
Each person should be between the ages of 20 and 40. (If older than 35, they should already have 2 kids.)
Another thing each person needs to have: a high level of self-preservation; a killer instinct. The single biggest threat to continued survival (as anybody who has ever seen any kind of outbreak movie can attest to) is not the zombies, but other people. This may sound harsh, but anybody coming across the compound, from the outside, will likely require termination.
In the past year and a half, I've managed to find 22 such people. (My wife and I make it 24.) Many live in the city I live in, some would have to travel to make it to the compound, but none would need to come from further away than I currently do. Most importantly, everybody knows somebody else, and I know most of them. There's only a single degree of separation between any 2 individuals. This is important because birds of a feather tend to flock together.
Some individuals are current learning additional skills. We're currently operating under a "best-case" scenario that everybody chosen actually makes it to the compound when the time is right. Because of that, each person (or couple) is required to make a "pilgrimage" to the compound at least twice a year. One time must be in the winter months, and the mode of travel must never be the same. This helps increase the chances of arriving alive, should a real outbreak occur. (Once at the compound, they spend a few days there helping out on the farm, or adding to the compound's buildings and defenses.)
Each person is currently contributing towards a stockpile of physical resources (metals, seeds, weapons, etc) and knowledge (books and manuals).
A few key individuals are living at the compound, right now, operating as caretakers. As it's a farm, producing goods, they're living off the land, and selling the surplus, which circles back to upgrading the compound's current situation.
I'll cover that in the next post.
