According to an Associated Press article, oil prices are getting bad, despite the release of 30 million barrels from the country’s reserves. With the possibility of the end of civilization, video gamers once again have the advantage, whether it be zombie hordes or nuclear annihilation.
I’m getting ahead of myself.
For those who have not played the role playing game “Fallout,” first of all, buy it and email EA that they suck. Next, the game and its sequels take place in a world where fusion power supplanted micro-ization of technology, so humanity’s oil and uranium reserves were heavily depleted. Also, the Cold War didn’t end, so in 2077 China and the U.S. nuked the world. Oh, and Ron Perlman narrates how awesome you are, which is pretty cool.
So, what does this game tell us about our future? Well, as resources become scarce, the nation’s governments will go to war for them, which of course will increase the need for said resources. Someone somewhere will start lobbing nuclear weapons and the American government will become increasingly autocratic as it invades Mexico and Canada to better obtain the last few oil reserves left.
In this process, the people of America will begin construction of nuclear fallout shelters on a large scale.
That way, when the world is engulfed in nuclear fire, enough people will survive to ensure the American way of life is the dominant form of life on this continent. America, F Yeah! Except for the mutants, I mean.
See, the radiation will mutate animals and people. Half dead, half immortal zombie creatures that feed off radiation will roam the land, as will horribly mutated bears, two headed cows and vicious giant bipedal lizard monsters. Not giant insects, though, that’s just silly.
From these few scattered survivors tribes and small towns will develop. Preservation of old technology is key, as is the knowledge to preserve and produce it.
Expect a cult of technology worshiping soldiers in power armor to kill you if you have a laser rifle. Pro-tip, aim for the joints, they’re not as armored to allow movement.
Anyway, these towns will grow as farms and commerce begin again. Slowly and surely, new governments will develop out of one of these new towns.
Or, if a pre-war city managed to survive the war, possibly from there. Although most major cities will be prime targets in an all-out nuclear war. Except Las Vegas, it’ll be protected with a missile defense network.
While these new governments gain strength, old vestiges of pre-war governments might live on in hiding.
These vestiges will want to wipe out anyone they think is contaminated with genetic mutation, which considering the amount of radiation around, will be a lot of people. The old order must be allowed to die, so that the new governments can prosper and begin America anew.
The landscape will be ravaged from the nuclear strikes, but humanity will survive. Humanity survived the Black Death, the Spanish Flu epidemic, two world wars and Celine Dion.
Through peace, hope and the stubborn resolve of our species, we will rebuild this country, and the world at large, while hopefully solving the energy crisis in the process, otherwise the whole thing will start all over.
Someone should make sure ExxonMobil’s algae survive the war, so we can make some sort of mutated super ethanol.
