# Your favorite type of apocalypse



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Inspired by Science's thread on the main board. 

What would be the most enjoyable apocalypse for you?

Choose only one.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

I voted for Zombie, the king of all apocalypses.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

EricABQ said:


> Inspired by Science's thread on the main board.
> 
> What would be the most enjoyable apocalypse for you?
> 
> Choose only one.


That's it Eric no more Walking dead for you.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Of those choices, I think the animal apocalypse would be the easiest to survive. In that scenario, all non-human animals (but not insects) would suddenly develop an instinct that compelled them to kill all humans. I think humanity would eventually win that war due to the relative numbers. There just aren't enough truly dangerous animals to kill all humans. Of course, no more steak for the survivors, which would suck.

The nuclear would be just horrible. If all the world's nukes were detonated in a war, I'm not sure anyone would survive that. Or, if they did, the environment would be so ravaged that whatever survivors there were would most likely die off.

It could be possible to survive the alien extinction event, if the aliens stopped killing us after they reached some level of elimination. Small bands of humans could possible flee to remote areas and perhaps the aliens would leave them alone. Tough going, though.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

The robot one, we have a secret weapon.
*Terminator theme starts to play*


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## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

Much more my type of apocalypse
You can have it on the sofa with a beer and popcorn


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

EricABQ said:


> Of those choices, I think the animal apocalypse would be the easiest to survive. In that scenario, all non-human animals (but not insects) would suddenly develop an instinct that compelled them to kill all humans. I think humanity would eventually win that war due to the relative numbers. There just aren't enough truly dangerous animals to kill all humans. Of course, no more steak for the survivors, which would suck.


If all the squirrels and crows in the neighborhood were trying to kill you, you would die.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

As for the virus apocalypse, if you weren't one of the small number of people with genetic immunity to the super bug you would be screwed. If you were, however, you wouldn't have to contend with zombies, violent aliens, or killer animals, so that would be a plus. You'd have to survive the initial panic and riots, but once all the non-immunes were dead you could begin to re-build society. Of course, assuming the power grid is completely down, you'd have to find safe zones away from all the melting down nuclear reactors, and you might want to avoid areas downstream from dams that would start to fail eventually.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

I've always been keen to meet the Aliens!

/ptr


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

animal.

killed by a budgie.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Klavierspieler said:


> If all the squirrels and crows in the neighborhood were trying to kill you, you would die.


Squirrels are relatively scarce where I live. Lots of rabbits, though.

However, that first day of the animal attacks, all the people who owned pit bulls and other large, powerful dogs are going to suddenly wish they had pugs.


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## Antihero (Feb 6, 2013)




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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

EricABQ said:


> The nuclear would be just horrible. If all the world's nukes were detonated in a war, I'm not sure anyone would survive that. Or, if they did, the environment would be so ravaged that whatever survivors there were would most likely die off.


I remember reading Kahn's "Thinking about the Unthinkable" in the 60's when at University. I think his conclusions still stand:

"Whether hundreds of millions died or "merely" a few major cities were destroyed, Kahn argued, life would in fact go on, as it had for instance after the "Black Death" of the 14th century in Europe, or in Japan after a limited nuclear attack in 1945, contrary to the conventional, prevailing doomsday scenarios. Various outcomes might be far more horrible than anything hitherto witnessed or imagined, but nonetheless, some of them in turn could be far worse than others. No matter how calamitous the devastation, the survivors ultimately would not "envy the dead.""

Kahn was the basis for Dr Strangelove.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

EricABQ said:


> Squirrels are relatively scarce where I live. Lots of rabbits, though.


See "Night of the Lepus." Be afraid. Be very afraid.

http://www.amazon.com/Night-Lepus-J...1364404792&sr=1-1&keywords=night+of+the+lepus


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

KenOC said:


> See "Night of the Lepus." Be afraid. Be very afraid.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Night-Lepus-J...1364404792&sr=1-1&keywords=night+of+the+lepus


No, these would be normal sized rabbits. I would easily dispatch them with a club and then make rabbit jerky out of them for a protein source to help me survive.

Now, the Cooper's Hawk that lives in the cottonwood across the street may be a bit of a pain. I may need to buy a shotgun for just such an occaision.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Robot (machines become self aware and attack): killed by a vacuum cleaner. :lol:


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

EricABQ said:


> No, these would be normal sized rabbits. I would easily dispatch them with a club and then make rabbit jerky out of them for a protein source to help me survive.


Don't think so. You would need at least the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Animall....haha reminds me of "Animal Farm"


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

I don't know about an _enjoyable_ apocalypse, because let's face it, it's not gonna come with a tub of popcorn and a packet of kleenex for your missus, but it would be _acceptable_ to go out facing kung-fu fighting vampire zombies...


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Kieran said:


> I don't know about an _enjoyable_ apocalypse, because let's face it, it's not gonna come with a tub of popcorn and a packet of kleenex for your missus, but it would be _acceptable_ to go out facing kung-fu fighting vampire zombies...


What about all those (four anyway) pale horsemen?


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Taggart said:


> What about all those (four anyway) pale horsemen?


They'd be the very last thing we'd see, and boy would we be glad when they show up! :tiphat:


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Klavierspieler said:


> If all the squirrels and crows in the neighborhood were trying to kill you, you would die.


also imagine if all the pets in the world plotted owners' demise during their sleep! "stop feeding me "light" food, *******!"


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I think the animal one would be rather interesting, though who can really turn down killer robots. Especially when you find out your best pal Ralph was a cyborg all along.

As a medical practitioner, I'd be on the frontlines for the viral apocalypse. I'd be toast.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Sonata said:


> I think the animal one would be rather interesting, though who can really turn down killer robots. Especially when you find out your best pal Ralph was a cyborg all along.
> 
> As a medical practitioner, I'd be on the frontlines for the viral apocalypse. I'd be toast.


But if you survived, medical experts would be amongst the most valuable of all the survivors.

Them and engineers.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

mmm needs some thought hey. Ah well if it happens wont need to worry to much.

Could be like in Hitchhikers guide some alien race of bureaucrats blow us up to build a space highway mmm.
Or the earth's ionosphere dissipates and we all get irradiated from space....... Slowly........

But I would prefer to blame the politicians for any possible Apocalypse- So either Sarah Palin or someone similar becomes President or we all get terminally consumed by Polictical Correctness


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## Rapide (Oct 11, 2011)

Nuclear. At least it would be quick.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I think it proper that the world end by Fire. A Refiner's Fire.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I kind of like the Sinkhole Apocalypse. Like that guy in Florida recently who was sleeping when a sinkhole opened up in his bedroom and swallowed him.


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Asteroid because: 

1. You could find protected places to hide if you had a warning
2. Zombies - No... That's just too creepy 
3. The aliens are obviously way smarter than us so there's no way of surviving 
4. Well I wouldn't want to be around to see the results of the virus one... 
5. Wouldn't want to be around to see results of the Nuclear one either 
6. Robots are my worst nightmare *shudders* 
7. Uh, I have a Dobermann cross Rottweiler and a horse... Not a good thing if they turn on me...


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

MaestroViolinist said:


> 6. Robots are my worst nightmare *shudders*


lol, believe or not, I have dreamed several times that I was being chased by a Terminator-like robot!. Really awful. , lol, in the movie seemed fun!.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

aleazk said:


> lol, in the movie seemed fun!.


That's precisely why we have such a Terminator problem today. It's always "fun" when it happens to somebody else! Join STOP now! (Stop Terminators' Obscene Predations) Contributions may be tax deductible -- consult your tax advisor.


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

My favorite apocalypse is the one that never occurs.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

KenOC said:


> I kind of like the Sinkhole Apocalypse. Like that guy in Florida recently who was sleeping when a sinkhole opened up in his bedroom and swallowed him.


people will now think twice before wishing the earth opened up and swallowed them when they feel ashamed...


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## rrudolph (Sep 15, 2011)

I voted "other". My scenario:

It's the not too distant future. A world government of Rosicrucian Dadaists has taken over. They claim that Erik Satie's Vexations, instead of being repeated 840 times, is actually intended to be played 8,400,000,000 times. People all over the planet are herded into camps for a forced listening of a complete performance. 

Cut to some years later: dust blows over the bleached skeletons of the unfortunate former audience members as the sound of the final notes of the 8,400,000,000th repetition, played by the sole remaining dadaist (and last living human), is blown away in the gale force wind. The evil performer, having provided the last part of the sountrack to the extinction of the rest of humanity then pulls a revolver from his pocket and shoots himself in the head. He does this because he knows that somewhere in Germany an automated organ performance of John Cage's ASLSP, already in progress, still has 500 years to go and he hates to attend a musical perfomance alone.

-FIN-


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice — there are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

rrudolph said:


> He does this because he knows that somewhere in Germany an automated organ performance of John Cage's ASLSP, already in progress, still has 500 years to go and he hates to attend a musical perfomance alone.


don't worry, in case of apocalypse, my first trip is to Germany to hunt down that automated organ!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

deggial said:


> don't worry, in case of apocalypse, my first trip is to Germany to hunt down that automated organ!


As I understand it, the performance is not automated. At each chord change, the pipes are changed manually (it is not a complete organ).


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2013)

I voted 'Other' because there are many different forms of the Apocalypse. My own would be a CD release of Lang Lang playing Beethoven's Diabelli Variations.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I chose the asteroid. An asteroid killed the dinosaurs to make room for us. We've been using fossil fuels to ruin the environment. An asteroid would be an ironic end.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

KenOC said:


> As I understand it, the performance is not automated. At each chord change, the pipes are changed manually (it is not a complete organ).


either way, I'm going  if the organ is out of order the pipe changer can rethink his/her post-apocalyptic occupation...


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

rrudolph said:


> I voted "other". My scenario:
> 
> It's the not too distant future. A world government of Rosicrucian Dadaists has taken over. They claim that Erik Satie's Vexations, instead of being repeated 840 times, is actually intended to be played 8,400,000,000 times. People all over the planet are herded into camps for a forced listening of a complete performance.
> 
> ...


Ah, music for evil purposes- now your talking............


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Crudblud said:


> "It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice - there are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."


End FZ ending, I think nostalgia is possible but the Wigs wont be pleased with that one.........


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

rrudolph said:


> It's the not too distant future.


Is it next Sunday, A.D.?
Is there a guy named Joel, not too different from you or me?
Does he work at Gizmonic institute, just another face in a red jumpsuit?
Does he do a good job cleaning up the place?
Do his bosses not like him? Do they shoot him in to space?
Do they send him cheesy movies? Are they the worse they can find?
Does he have to sit and watch them all? Do they monitor his mind?
Should we keep in mind that he can't control when the movies begin or end?
Does he try to keep sanity with the help of his robot friends?
If so, are they called Cambot, Gypsy, Tom Servo and Croooooooow!?
Do people wonder how he eats and breathes and other science facts?
Do they repeat to themselves "it's just a show, I should really just relax"?


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## rrudolph (Sep 15, 2011)

KenOC said:


> As I understand it, the performance is not automated. At each chord change, the pipes are changed manually.


In my scenario, the Rosicrucian Dadaists had automated the organ a year or so previously (while the performance continued) because there was nobody left to change the pipes and remove and/or reset the sandbags to hold the notes. They also devised a rather Rube Goldberg-looking sort of device programmed to change the organ stops as necessary.



KenOC said:


> (it is not a complete organ).


That's what she said.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

rrudolph said:


> In my scenario, the Rosicrucian Dadaists had automated the organ a year or so previously (while the performance continued) because there was nobody left to change the pipes and remove and/or reset the sandbags to hold the notes. They also devised a rather Rube Goldberg-looking sort of device programmed to change the organ stops as necessary.
> 
> That's what she said.


I believed you but now your just making it up ................Dadaists - automated, I don't think so!

Guess Max Ernst and Hugo Ball could always come back from the dead at the apocalypse and perform your evil deeds but you could get a random outcome!


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

For some reason I've never been interested in zombies and don't really get the appeal. Except the original Resident Evil games, but that's probably just because of the amazing dialogue/voice acting.






Aliens are much more interesting.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

^ I agree; zombies normally walk about in a daze looking for brains... hardly action packed, hair raising, whathaveyou. I like how they get ridiculed in Shaun of the Dead.


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)




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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Taggart said:


> I remember reading Kahn's "Thinking about the Unthinkable" in the 60's when at University. I think his conclusions still stand:
> 
> "Whether hundreds of millions died or "merely" a few major cities were destroyed, Kahn argued, life would in fact go on, as it had for instance after the "Black Death" of the 14th century in Europe, or in Japan after a limited nuclear attack in 1945, contrary to the conventional, prevailing doomsday scenarios. Various outcomes might be far more horrible than anything hitherto witnessed or imagined, but nonetheless, some of them in turn could be far worse than others. No matter how calamitous the devastation, the survivors ultimately would not "envy the dead.""
> 
> Kahn was the basis for Dr Strangelove.


Kahn's scenario might have been the base of the premise of Dr. Strangelove: the Character of Doctor Strangelove was a direct lampoon / parody of Henry Kissinger 

Kubrick's Effin' Brilliant Black Comedy....


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

PetrB said:


> Kahn's scenario might have been the base of the premise of Dr. Strangelove: the Character of Doctor Strangelove was a direct lampoon / parody of Henry Kissinger


Nobody had heard of Kissinger when the movie was made in 1964. From Wiki: "The character is an amalgamation of RAND Corporation strategist Herman Kahn, mathematician and Manhattan Project principal John von Neumann, German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and Edward Teller, the 'father of the hydrogen bomb.' There is a common misconception that the character was based on Henry Kissinger, but Kubrick and Sellers denied this. In fact, Kissinger was not a presidential adviser until 1969."


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Aliens that try to extinct us


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## Capeditiea (Feb 23, 2018)

Trees. They will end up becoming ents, then wield chainsaws.  Then go on a rampage.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Does Trumpalypse count?


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## Capeditiea (Feb 23, 2018)

Another one is where Electronics grow a conscious and start stabbing humans with their wires turning them into zombies. 
 which is the setting in my fifth official book known as Book Sex. (that i have put aside since last year around this time...)


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

Rapide said:


> Nuclear. At least it would be quick.


For a _personal_ apocalypse, I have always thought it would be interesting, involving and educational to go sitting on top of a nuclear device when it went off. 3, 2, 1...


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

^ you would have to be in the blast zone, otherwise it would be slow and painful


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