You're the last human on Earth. Now what?

[Mr. Kobayashi]

Inspired by the one-off/miniseries Life After People and Clarke's Childhood's End. One day you wake up, alone. If you have an SO or kids, their absence is the first thing that will tip you off that something is wrong. Turning on the TV or radio results in static or pre-recorded messages. The internet, where you aren't getting 404'd, hasn't been updated since a few hours after slipped in to a deep sleep.

You try every number you know, they all ring out. Looking outside you see deserted streets, cars left on the road where their human owners have disappeared. Your shouts meet with echoes.

You are the last human on the planet. How everyone vanished, or why you were left, is unknown - you were asleep and there's nobody left to ask. Perhaps the Rapture happened. Perhaps a scientific experiment went horribly wrong. Perhaps aliens abducted the population. You'll never know. There are no bodies, no zombies or monsters, humanity has simply disappeared overnight (including the astronauts).

So, what's next for you? The internet is doomed; if you're lucky you'll get a day or two of electricity left. If you're really lucky and live near a hydroelectric plant you might have months, but the servers around the world are shutting down. Within a few years, with no humans around for maintenance, the world begins to crumble, rust and become overgrown.

If you're a female and hope that your womb will be humanity's second chance - appreciate the sentiment, but all viable genetic material for the process has also vanished. Like it or not, humanity will die with you.

It's not all doom and gloom. Free of all commitments, responsibilities and obligations, you experience total liberty for the first time. You can do whatever you want. But what is it you do?

Whip up some explosives and go nuts? Travel to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to set up your new home? Try and save the millions of abandoned domestic animals? Sequester yourself in deserted laboratories and try and uncover the secrets of AI, to pass along the legacy of humankind? Take a trip to the nearest gun shop and give yourself a buckshot mouthwash? Go back to the wild and live as our ancestors did?

[Ají de Gallina]

I'd drive cars really, really fast all the time and go off-roading.

[Baker]

I'd start with the library, and find books on home health care. Read up on first aid. Get some pharmaceutical manuals, raid the pharmacies for antibiotics, vitamins, and such. Then I'd try to find a place to live near water, and raid the garden stores for seeds. The grocery stores would, hopefully, yield canned goods that would keep me until I could feed myself. I'd get clothes from stores, not from homes, because I couldn't bear to think of all the pets that were trapped. I couldn't save them all, just my own.

Why try to keep on living? Because the process that left me alone might reverse itself, or the friendly aliens would arrive, or something like that.

[Foggy]

I would kill myself in a day or two, if something else doesn't get me first.

[Uber_the_Goober]

Whatever the hell I want...well not true. There'd be no electricity after the hydroelectric plants shutdown for lack of maintenance...so I wouldn't be able to play any video games.

I'd have to come up with some new things to want to do.

Probably what Baker said.

[Mr. Accident]

I'd find the fastest internet connection available, and start torrenting every ebook, comic, and movie I can find so that I'll have plenty of entertainment for years to come. While all of that is downloading, I'd find a nice warehouse in as safe an area (no floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc) and fill it with non-perishable foods, clothes, tools, extra computer parts, etc.

Once that is taken care of, I'll set up in a certain house that would be perfect. It's near a decent sized river, so that'll take care of my water needs. It's also on a fairly tall hill, so floods wouldn't be an issue. I also know enough about plumbing and electrical work that I'll still have running water and electricity. (Solar panels, and a wind turbine would provide enough electricity.)

I'd then start farming, to ensure fresh veggies and fruits. After I'm settled in I'd get caught up on all my reading.

I've put some thought into this.

[Mr. Kobayashi]

Originally Posted by echo6160

Whatever the hell I want...well not true. There'd be no electricity after the hydroelectric plants shutdown for lack of maintenance...so I wouldn't be able to play any video games.

I'd have to come up with some new things to want to do.

Probably what Baker said.

Getting hold of a petrol or diesel driven generator for personal use in your chosen abode wouldn't be too difficult. Home solar panels and wind turbines are also becoming more common if gasoline is too tricky to get hold of. The world would be plunged into darkness, but there's no reason you couldn't generate yourself a bit of power for your gizmos.

[WhyNot]

I think I'd last about six weeks before going stark raving mad. Seriously. That sounds like a perfect vision of hell to me.

In the meantime, I'm heading to the grocery store to eat myself silly. I have no desire to prolong my life if I'm alone; might as well die with Ho-Hos on my breath.

[Dennis Arthur PERRETT]

What next?!

Really, I'd be the fucken happiest bastard in the world, no annoying gits to contend with, no numbnuts to pay out, no dingii feeding me bullshit, no moaning wenches to play mind games with...

and the list goes on...

I would live up to the fact that I'd be the only obnoxious selfish cunt that ever lived ...let the goodtimes roll !

I'd be one HAPPY MOTHERFUCKER!!!! Whoooo Hooooo!!!!!!!!

[Al Bundy]

Yes, I would be anxious, anxious for my survival. If others could go away, something could happen to me as well. With such a seemingly wide spread situation, securing traditional weapons would be useless. But first off, I can't know that I'm the only one left. I'll try to check that as best I can. Love to see one other person to compare notes. Was he or she as much of a sinner as I must be? After we get past that, I hope it is a good looking woman I find so we can hook up and regenerate the planet. But eventually I resign myself to self survival. Climate could be important here. Secure the best vehicle and as much fuel as possible. A large van or truck would be ideal. I could live in there for shelter on the road south if it comes to that. I'd restock on fuel along the way. First I need a mechanical pump to get fuel from the tanks. Electric pumps would work too if I could use DC or had a generator. I think I'd stay put and perfect my skills before heading out. How about food? First store up available stock that will keep-dry stuff and canned goods. Are animals still present? Good. I need guns, amo, knives, nets, salt and traps. That reminds me, I better break into the pharmacy and stock up on possible meds like pain killers and antibiotics. The van/truck is secondary. My immediate residence will be a block building I can store things, make things, and defend against intruders of the vulnerable sort.

I concentrate on getting buy for the short term. Nothing shows up on the radio. May as well leave that off now. Get past winter if this scenario is present season. When spring comes, perhaps the trip south will be in order. I'll have better plans by then and be well along in survival mode. There won't be any coming back. This will be a one way trip. Cabin fever will have set in big time. Perhaps I will rethink the plan and decide to remain at my home base with all the supplies and equipment. No people have showed up. Why go south if surviving the weather is possible long term here? I can cruise the area in a 50 mile zone in search of people. Nobody shows up so the trip is off for now. I lost lots of sleep waiting for the sky to fall, but it has not so now I'm good with this loner thing. Always have been anyway. You come in alone and you go out alone.

Summer has come and I need to see if I can grow something. I can till the land by had if needed or find a rototiller in some garage. The gas is going to go stale one day so I will plow up some extra that can be maintained manually later. I know of a garage where an old plow exists with a crank starter. For seeds I look at all available garden areas and the local fruit market for seed material. Bound to be squash around with seeds. If I can't generate power I need to cut some ice from the pond and store it in a wood shed with insulation so I can preserve things.

I know I can survive. With all this free stuff around and my abundant energy, I can do pretty well. Anxiety won't be a problem. Loss of consortium is a negative for sure.

Bottom line: This is a tremendous opportunity. I'll be ready to start in the morning.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

I think I'd last about six weeks before going stark raving mad. Seriously. That sounds like a perfect vision of hell to me.

In the meantime, I'm heading to the grocery store to eat myself silly. I have no desire to prolong my life if I'm alone; might as well die with Ho-Hos on my breath.

I wouldn't want ho breath even if I was the last person on earth.

[Uber_the_Goober]

Originally Posted by Mr. Kobayashi

Getting hold of a petrol or diesel driven generator for personal use in your chosen abode wouldn't be too difficult. Home solar panels and wind turbines are also becoming more common if gasoline is too tricky to get hold of. The world would be plunged into darkness, but there's no reason you couldn't generate yourself a bit of power for your gizmos.

You've given me hope! I can continue my anti-social activities even when there's no social to be anti-ing.

[Chimera]

Originally Posted by Baker

I'd start with the library

We already know how that one ends. You sit down with a pile of books going "I have all the time in the world!", then your glasses fall off and break.

[Snupzilla]

First thing I'd do is free all the animals I could now trapped due to humanity's disappearance. It's not that I'm huge into animal welfare, but I just hate the idea of them all starving to death and heck it's something interesting to do. Also, having a pack of dogs around me would take away a little of the sting of being lonely. I might regret it later but it would be kind of cool watching all the non-native species in the zoo populate North America. Who knows, maybe the chimps or gorillas I free will dominate the earth a la Planet of the Apes millions of years in the future.

Then I get in a really fast car and see that all that North and South America have to offer (no way I'm getting in a boat or plane to go see the other continents). Ultimately I'll probably end up at some beach house on the west coast (no hurricanes) that's close enough to what's left of civilization to scavenge supplies and entertainment. I'll always keep some cyanide handy just in case I get in a situation I can't escape from.

[Little Nemo]

Why would I only have a day or two of electricity left? It'll be easy enough to find some portable generators and there'll be lots of gasoline around.

[Beware of Doug]

I'd make for Scotland. Whisky galore and no one around to tell you you can't fuck the sheep.

[Mr. Kobayashi]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

Why would I only have a day or two of electricity left? It'll be easy enough to find some portable generators and there'll be lots of gasoline around.

Electricity infrastructure, rather.

[Little Nemo]

Okay, but the important thing is my dvd player and my microwave still work.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by Snupzilla

Then I get in a really fast car and see that all that North and South America have to offer (no way I'm getting in a boat or plane to go see the other continents).

Better be satisfied with just North America then. There isn't a road connection between North and South America. Google "Darien Gap."

[bouv]

I'd imagine I'd go through some long-term, modified version of the five stages of grief:

First, possibly the longest, would be the denial. I'd try as best I could to find someone else...since I can't fly a plane or sail a boat, I'm restricted to North America, but If I could, I'd spend months (years?) trying to find someone else...assuming I don't die from starvation in the process. I'd try to go coast to coast, after first going south so I wouldn't have to contend with winter.

Anger would go along with that, I'd imagine. Bargaining...eh, no one to bargain with, so skip that one.

Ahh, depression...once I'd resigned myself that, for all intents and purposes, I'm alone...I'd wallow in pity for a while then probably kill myself...honestly, I'd never make it out of this one. Might take a while to get to that point (or maybe not...maybe I'll surprise myself and decide to end it after a week,) but I couldn't go one without anyone else...and a few dogs would only do so much, as much as I love dogs.

[kopek]

I could manage living out my natural life or more likely accidental death but I have to admit, after a year or two sheep would be an option. Or at least not all that ba-a-a-d a choice.

[RandMcnally]

I'd go to the car dealership and find a nice SUV.

Go to a gun store and stock up.

I'd release a bunch of animals from the shelter and zoo (from as save a distance as possible) and find myself a nice pet. .

Find a Barnes and Nobles and stock up on survival books, how to, dvds, entertainment books, etc.

Grab non-perishable food.

Then I would head down to Santa Barbara where I'll settle near the mission. While enroute I'd stop off at any shelter I could and release whoever. Same with the zoo. I probably won't release any tigers or such in Santa Barbara, as the last thing I want is to be eaten.

Where I'd live there's a creek, it overlooks the ocean and isn't too far from the mountains if I ever need to go there. Besides the occasion earthquakes the weather is pretty stable. Not too cold in the winter and rarely does it get insanely hot.

From there I'll find one of those nice multi-million dollar and set up camp. From there I'll head down to the local Costco and Best Buy and grab whatever I need and/or want.

And then I'd watch the world slowly be retaken.

[Projammer]

This is actually a mental exercise I've been running for the past couple of months.

First, hit the internet and download any and all survival related literature and print and laminate. Also the locations of all military bases in North America. Then I'd raid the local FBI office for any paper files on local survival groups. Then visit those camps and help myself to gear, supplies, and survival books.

Somewhere along the way I'll pick up a solid 4 wheel drive vehicle and a hand gas pump for when the electricity does quit. Roads will be impassable in some areas in spite of the lighter traffic when everyone went away.

At this point I pack up and shift operations to Dallas. Where I'll grab a boat and scout for a good home on the shore of Lake Ray Hubbard. Preferably one that already has a propane backup generator, but I'm quite capable of adding one myself. Then find the local propane supply and bring a couple of trucks onsite. Score a few extra generators for when the existing one fails beyond repair.

Locate a parking garage to convert to a warehouse. Concrete roof, walls and floor. Just have to add a few more walls to completely weather and critter proof it. Visit the Dallas FBI office for more files and raid those groups bases.

Take the previous list of military bases and go on a supply tour to pick up enough non perishable clothes and supplies to last 50 years or so if I live out the maximum expectancy and rations to last as long as 150% or rated shelf life.

Then settle in and catch up on my reading and movies.

[panache45]

The big problem for me would be my medications, which are literally keeping me alive. I'd stock up from all the drug stores, but eventually, as expiration dates are passed, I'd run out.

And then there's the problem with the bad aortic valve in my heart. That'll give way within a year. Nothing I could do about it.

[Obeseus]

I'd probably just sit around and masturbate.

[Dennis Arthur PERRETT]

Originally Posted by Obeseus

I'd probably just sit around and masturbate.

Oh yeah. And if theres dead people around you could experiment with necrophilia and no one would pass moral judgement cause no one would care. Jeffrey Dahmer should have been a doper and this scenario could have been his forte. Now wouldn't that make a good science fiction story.

[Gagundathar]

Wow. What an interesting scenario.
I am already alone, since my wife's death.
So, being alone isn't that weird.
But being the last person on Earth?
That's a little different.

I might not make it.
I have mad survival skills... really.
Trained to hunt and kill with nothing more than a knife and 50 feet of rope (D&D ref noted).
But without a human to talk with... hmmm... I would rather die.

That's just me right now. If you asked me a year ago, I'd would answer much more fearlessly.
But my dear love is gone. And everything changed.
Hopefully, I will answer better later.
Thanks for reading this.

[not what you'd expect]

I think I would go stark raving mad in no time at all. I could only hope to find the courage to kill myself. It would be horrible.

[DMark]

I would stay in Vegas at first - there was a special on one of those cable channels that suggested the ONLY place on earth that would have electricity for years, if not decades, was Las Vegas, due to most of the electricity coming directly from the Hoover Dam and that the power there could run, un-manned, for many years.

So, just in the casinos on The Strip, I would have ample food and drinks for quite awhile and some nice rooms to use. Would wander down to Fry's Electronics and pick up some toys - laptops and CD's and DVD's and books.

There is a nice Lamborghini store at Wynn where I am sure I could find a few cars to drive around to pick up other goodies from other stores. Porn shops with sex dolls? Medical marijuana stores? Oh, and I know of a few multi-million dollar homes that run off solar power here, so I might set up camp there for a few nights as well.

It would take awhile to get used to the boredom - but there are lots of people who live alone for long periods of time and claim you do eventually get used to it.

[AWB]

Originally Posted by Mr. Kobayashi

It's not all doom and gloom. Free of all commitments, responsibilities and obligations, you experience total liberty for the first time. You can do whatever you want. But what is it you do?

It actually sounds like the premise for The Quiet Earth.

[DrumBum]

I would ignore all SDMB moderator instructions.

[LouisB]

I'd live alone for as long as I could and then die; that's basically what I'm doing now.

[DianaG]

Proust.

[jz78817]

well, first I'd want to drive about 50 miles north- if everyone disappeared before properly shutting Fermi II down I'd really like some additional distance from it. then I'd probably just faff around looking at stuff until the novelty wears off, then Kevork.

[Magiver]

I'd move in next to the solar array farm down the road and hook it up to the closest home that suited my needs. Probably dismantle the array so that I can replace what I need over time instead of letting the excessive power supply deteriorate en-mass. I've got in inexhaustible source of canned food and fuel around me so I'd start looking for a serious 4 wheel drive SUV for road trips because the roads will begin to degrade rapidly. I'd Also look start pulling in all the Piper Cherokee airplanes I could find so I'd have something to survey my surroundings with along with enough spare parts to keep it going. I'd raid the local libraries for health and farming books to plan for the conversion over to self sufficiency. Also raid the auto parts store for gas stabilizer. I'd want to use gasoline as long as possible so I could have to build a gasification unit that would allow me to drive a vehicle by burning wood.

Of course, all this is contingent on not knowing everybody is gone. I'd do this as a quest to find other people. Searching for people would be pretty easy by plane.

[Indian]

I would send an all clear signal (will locate a battery bank) to the aliens in exchange for a space ship, unending fuel supplies (for the spacecraft)and a permanent visa to their planet.

Then visit all the planets I always wanted to see. And then.... let's go to the quarry and throw stuff down there.

[Amblydoper]

Originally Posted by Chimera

We already know how that one ends. You sit down with a pile of books going "I have all the time in the world!", then your glasses fall off and break.

Well, you could still read the large print books.

[EvilTOJ]

Drugs. Lots and lots of drugs.

[Mr. Kobayashi]

Originally Posted by Gagundathar

Wow. What an interesting scenario.
I am already alone, since my wife's death.
So, being alone isn't that weird.
But being the last person on Earth?
That's a little different.
I might not make it.
I have mad survival skills... really.
Trained to hunt and kill with nothing more than a knife and 50 feet of rope (D&D ref noted).
But without a human to talk with... hmmm... I would rather die.

That's just me right now. If you asked me a year ago, I'd would answer much more fearlessly.
But my dear love is gone. And everything changed.
Hopefully, I will answer better later.
Thanks for reading this.

Sorry to hear that. Hope things get better man.

Originally Posted by AWB

It actually sounds like the premise for The Quiet Earth.

Haven't heard of that, but yeah. For those who would search forlornly for another human, how long would you search before giving up? A few years? Decades?

[Terraplane]

People mention Vegas but even if Hoover keeps going by itself eventually a storm or something is going to mess up a substation or some other important part of the power grid and I'd have no way to fix it. If there's no good gasoline left I'd be stuck in the middle of a desert.

So, assuming I don't just shoot myself, I'd head west to California. Once the gas is gone I'd want to be somewhere with a mild climate. I'd free what animals I could along the way and gather anything I come upon that looks useful.

Once there I'd probably set up shop in a big library. A lifetime worth of books to read so I can keep myself entertained (I don't need glasses ) as well as learn the things I'd need to learn to survive. Plus there should be a lot of extra space to store my food/water/ammo and other supplies. Most likely I could survive off of scavenging for a few years, at least. If I can learn how to rig up solar panels without electrocuting myself then I'll have light and entertainment in the form of DVDs and music at least.

After that, well, I'd put up with the loneliness for as long as possible with the hope or meeting people again but I'd probably eat a bullet or take a heroic dose of morphine long before I had to worry about growing my own food.