Jolyon Hallows - The Collapse

There are berries and edible plants in the area. I’ve attached a list. I’ve also bought some garden implements and a couple of cases of seeds for vegetables. We can plant in the spring and keep seed aside for the following years. On the pessimistic side, I’ve listed the plants we won’t be able to grow. No avocados, so no guacamole. Sorry, Todd. And no coffee.

One thing we should look at is a greenhouse. I’ve done some research and even found ways to heat them without fuel, but building one is beyond me. If we can recruit a carpenter who’s familiar with greenhouses, that would give us a better array of veggies year-round.

Toilet Paper and Other Essentials – Todd Baxter

IT WILL BE rough, but I’ve attached a couple of articles on making paper from plant fibres. I actually cooked some up in my kitchen. The toilet paper companies don’t have anything to worry about, but it works.

While we’re on the subject of the bathroom, I researched how to make soap. I’ve attached a list of the plants that produce the oils we’ll need. Again, it won’t be luxury, but it should make us tolerable. Showers probably won’t work because we won’t have water pressure. Even if they did, no hot water. But the houses have baths, and we can heat water, although heating is on Ellen’s list.

I also found out how to make material from tanned hides, softened tree bark, and grasses. I’ve attached another list of things like needles and thread that we can get in advance. If we had to, we could make clothing although I suggest we pack extras because anything we can put together won’t be as comfortable as what we’re used to.

Light, Heat, and Water – Ellen Sangster

MAKING TALLOW CANDLES from animal fat isn’t hard, but the candles are dirty. I found out that the mine and the town were powered by a hydro turbine on the river. An electrical engineer friend who wants to join us is confident he can get it running, although he recommends using it just at night to prolong its life. That way, we can socialize without the soot of candles, although they’ll make a good backup. Rod, the engineer, is also making a list of spare parts we can stock for the generator.

As for water, we can use the existing hot water heaters as holding tanks. We’d have to move them to the attics to provide water pressure, and we’d fill them by manually pumping water from the river, but at least each house would have its own supply. Incidentally, the water in the river is as pure as you can find anywhere.

For heat, the houses had natural gas furnaces with forced air. We can gut the chambers, line them with fireproof bricks, and use them to burn wood. We won’t have power for ventilation, but we should be able to use the existing ductwork to funnel the heat into the house.

Cooking will be a problem. Even if we could round up wood-burning stoves, just getting enough of them to Wishbone would be a challenge. We may have to bring in a handful and use the community centre as a common kitchen. Alternatively, we could use the existing electric stoves and restrict cooking to the evening hours when the generator is running. For the rest of the day, we’d have to eat cold leftovers. I’m open to suggestions on that one.

I’ve also researched solar and wind power. Wind doesn’t work at all. Wishbone doesn’t get enough to make it viable. In the summer, solar would be fine because Wishbone gets a lot of sun. But in the winter, the sun is up for only about seven hours a day, and over half those days are cloudy or snowy. Of course, winter is when we need power the most.

TODD BAXTER SAT with Ellen Sangster and Ross Candale in a living room. “Not bad. Comfy. The tea. Is that from local plants?”

“Yes. One of our members was a botanist who figured out how to process it so it’s drinkable. She’s even hoping to mix herbs that taste like coffee.”

“But you can still get coffee.”

“We could, but we’ve decided to become self-sufficient while we still have the option. That way, when we don’t, it won’t be a problem.”

Baxter asked, “How’s the toilet paper thing working?”

“It’s working.”

“How many people are in the community now?”

“We have a couple of hundred. That will grow.”

“Friends?”

“Friends, relatives, a few who you’ve told us are on the subversives list. And people who are angry at the government or the direction things are going. We’ve been careful to recruit like-minded people.”

Baxter said, “That’s a risk. The more people you have, the more likely it is that one of them will decide to report you to the NPF or to an interrogation centre. They might get a reward.”

Candale nodded. “That is a risk, but you recall the journey in here. There are a couple of places the road just hangs off the side of a cliff. This spot would be easy to defend if we had to.”

“You think you might not have to? I’d say that’s something you need to plan for.”

Sangster studied Baxter. “You keep saying you instead of us. Aren’t you planning on joining us?”

This was the question Baxter feared. He wasn’t happy with the obvious answer. Join his friends in a safe remote village while the country collapsed into chaos. That was a logical choice, but it felt like cowardice. Like giving up. Like abandoning the values he cherished. But what else was there? He said, “Of course. When I said you, I was talking about what you’d already done.”

“Great. You’ll be welcome here.”

Sangster said, “Todd, you just mentioned an interrogation centre. Is that something new?”

Baxter scowled. “I found out about it when I was poking through some files. The NPF is opening three of them. One in the West, one for Ontario, and one for Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“You don’t have the slightest idea. The plans indicate there will be no restrictions on how the interrogations are to be carried out.”

“Torture?” Her voice cracked.

Baxter nodded. “More than you could ever guess. Not just things like sleep deprivation or waterboarding. What they’re planning is ugly. They’re serious and I don’t think it will stop there.”

Candale frowned. “What do you mean?”

“They’ve posted the psychological profiles of the kinds of people they’re looking for. I can’t see any difference between these types and sadists.”

The room was silent until Candale said, “Bastards. Okay, there’s nothing we can do about that. But when the other people here find out about it, there will be hell to pay. I suspect it will even unite us.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out at the meeting. We’ll introduce you there”

Baxter said, “You know, I’d like to keep my options open. There’s been something niggling, and until I figure it out, I’d rather be anonymous. I sure don’t want anyone to know about my connection to the NPF.”

“Everyone knows everyone else here. If I don’t introduce you, they’ll ask. Don’t worry, I’ll tell them you’re a friend. Nothing else.”

“Okay, but don’t introduce me by my real name. Not yet.”

“How about if I use Bert’s name?”

“No. Too painful. Use the name Ivan Kryss.”

“Is that someone you know?”

“Yes, and I wouldn’t care if he got caught up in his own creation.”

An announcer said, “Welcome to the evening news at six. Our top story today is the release of a report by the International Monetary Fund, the IMF. They rank the world’s nations according to GDP per capita. For the past few years, Canada has been in tenth place, but in the most recent ranking, we have dropped to fourteenth. Our Dianne Cranston has the numbers for us. Dianne?”