From the history books, I know what the civil war was like and I can use that to optimize my chances at survival. Still, I might have to adopt the Michael Douglas throat injury bandages thing. The fear of spies was so great then that being in the wrong place with an odd 21st century accent would likely get you hanged. Bright Spot: you know where the money was to be made, so you might make some. You know what land will be worth money later, so you can buy some (Safety Deposit Box for deeds?). You know what collectors might now pay money for, so you can fill your pack before coming back.
Down Side: Bring Condoms. You don’t want to be your own grandpa…
Eh, I wouldn’t worry about that. You can’t go into the past and change something because time-traveling you already did whatever it is you’re going to do. It all just fits together.
Me, I’d take the zombie apocalypse. Zombies would all die off quickly, plus I’d have knowledge from the future that could help me in future. The only possible downside is that I might find a future version of myself that sucks.
In the War Between the States I don’t think a random bewildered Briton would be looked upon all that kindly…we never recognised the Confederacy despite building a few ships for them, and following the Trent Affair…well, relations with the Union were pretty low too.
However, providing I don’t get hit by a bus or something I’d experience 2013 anyway. The same can’t be said of 1863. Although a peek at the grim future might be worthwhile in order to increase survivability, the historian in me couldn’t resist the allure of 1863.
I’ll take the Civil War. I’m a woman and therefore won’t find myself in combat, and life in South Carolina sucked balls in the war but at least the Yankees probably wouldn’t eat you. Zombie attack stories (and all post apocalyptic fiction) bothers me deeply because it’s so sad. Even if we win (and we probably won’t, not a real honest to god Zombie End Times invasion) life will never be the same again.
Plus, maybe I’d rather stay in 1863 if I knew the zombies were coming a couple years from now!
I can sing Dixie and the Battle Hymn of the Republic, with equal enthusiasm.
To quote the poster hanging up in my garage:
“The hardest part about surviving a zombie apocalypse will be pretending I’m not enjoying it.”
And, from another board I belong to:
“Zombie Squad. We make dead things deader.”
Bring on the undead! 2013 it is.
I dunno, I’m in SC also, and I’d be willing to say that between Sherman burning everything to shit, people drinking lamp-black for coffee, and all the other indignities of grinding poverty, add that to the HaHa You Lost mentality of the rest of the country, and all the dead men (and boys) who are not returning and the rest of the men and boys returning in pieces, that’s pretty damn sad.
Bring on the zombies, at least then I can hate on the bad guys with enthusiasm. If I were in SC, I’d get hanged for a traitor or killed trying to rescue slaves or something stupidly heroic. Zombies it is! Bonus points for taking notes on how to survive AGAIN when I come back to real time just before the zombies hit again.
I’m currently in a US state that was involved in the Civil War, so I assume that I’ll be dropped off in 1863 right where I am in 2011 (is that safe to assume?). I know that the local area did see a bit of fighting, but much of it was massed armies meeting in fields with only a few farmers “inconvenienced” rather than scorched earth policies, urban warfare, and massacres. If I didn’t keep any war intelligence and wasn’t harboring anyone, I probably wouldn’t get raided. The area was primarily agricultural and though I might have to live an austere life even for the 1800’s, I know that life was not horrible and I do have a good knowledge of the region, so I might be able to find work as a courier or stagecoach driver along the roads that still exist today.
What happens if you are currently in a US state that was in the war? Do you get dropped exactly where you are now, or does the machine select a random location within that state? This might matter if you are e.g. in Pennsylvania or another place that was unevenly affected by the war. I don’t think Pittsburgh saw any real action or was subject to serious shortages or disease.
- I’m in a former slave state so I’d try to help as many slaves as possible escape.
You are willing to accept time travel as reality but you can’t accept zombies in the premise?
I put down 1863. A lot of the fighting was very localized. I think it would be pretty easy to avoid the fighting and make it to a relatively safe place and live for 7 months.
If your current state participated in the war, you only change time, not location.
- And I am in Atlanta, not such a great place to be. But I don’t have to stay here, and I know where to go to avoid combat.
Besides, while I’m there I could bury a time capsule full of things that would make me very wealthy when I return to my own time.
Really, the biggest problem might be hunger. Food will be scarce with two armies coming through.
1863 in a heartbeat. I’m in California and I know where the minerals are.
What an interesting premise.
As much as I am a Zombie fan, and as much as I have the superego to wish I could be someone who fights against the slavering horde to carve my own demense out of the rubble, the thought of creating a cache of items to recover in the now makes me HAVE to pick 1863. I am close to the fighting, but not actually in a place that saw battle. I like to think that I could get through it ok.
Plus, by creating that cache, I could set myself up NOW and prepare for the upcoming zombies. Win/win!
side note: how valuable would Civil War era coinage be, if sold these days?
I wanted to expand a bit. I’m in south florida, so there isn’t any real fighting in my area. It would be about a six day hike to key west, but there are several other port cities about in 1863, all held by the union. I’m not overly concerned about getting there, and i could easily get passage aboard a fishing boat and work for faster transport. Once in the port, I could figure out a way to live in comfort.
- With my constitution I’d be dead of pneumonia within seven months in 1863. Zombies I might be able to outrun or fight, and if I survive I’ll need to be prepared for the second time through.
Do you have to come back? If I went the zombie route and everything was going well, I wouldn’t want to come back and then have to do it all over again in two years.
I’m in Virginia, the Civil War would be a big factor here.
Are the zombies fast zombies or slow zombies?
It is a job, after all.