In a book I’m writing, in the ending, 500 million people evacuate and 100 million are already at safety. Unfortunately, the human population is 8.5 billion, and the 7.9 billion left behind are doomed to die
Imagine you are where you are right now under these circumstances, we’ve known this was gonna happen for over a year, we just never thought it was gonna come this quickly, fortunately, people could evacuate, but not everyone…
The TV is just a temperature displayer, that shows the current temperature outside your house is -56°C / -69°F, and it’s reducing to around 1 degree Celsius / 2 degrees Fahrenheit, every 2 minutes, the radio is just announcing the temperature every 2 minutes to announce the changes, the internet is gone, but you have a map of the predicted temp.
Warm areas will get -60°C / -76°F to -40°C / -40°F
Common Areas will get -90°C / -130°F to -60°C / -76°F
Cold Areas will get -120°C / -184°F to -90°C / -130°F
There is no possibility of making it to safety, as the evacuated people went in a one way trip to safe areas
What do you do in your final moments?
I’m mostly asking this for inspiration on what would the characters do btw
panic and blame myself for not doing all those things I always said I was going to do (like write stories, publish them, travel to see friends, read books). Since everyone is going to die there’s not much use in writing a will or letter or anything. Maybe making sure stuff is safe and temperature proof for future conservation (if anyone’s ever coming across this) or talk to family/friends (although there maybe isn’t much use in that). If I had any pets I would probably hold them close too.
It’s nothing too interesting or exciting, but I would accept my fate and just be grateful that I got to experience existence for a little while.
I might jump into a lake before it freezes over, with the hope that any passing alien motherships will find my body and scan my frozen brain into historical record.
Probably panic and/or cry at first, eventually accept what is going to happen
While I’d be sad I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to do in life, I’d feel grateful for the things I did get to do / accomplish
Talk to friends/family, spend time with whoever I’m with
Cuddle my pets if possible
Would be cool to write a note or save something that future civilizations / recovery efforts (if they do happen) could find
Leave something of a legacy behind
Pull everything I need into one room of the house, seal off as much of the doors and windows as possible and at least try to focus all my heating there. I think I’d hole up in the kitchen that way all that extra heat from cooking won’t go to waste.
Maybe try to gather as many friends and family into place as possible. If you pack 5 or 6 people into one small space and do whatever you possibly can to insulate it, that’s got to be better than nothing.
And then we just hang on for as long as possible.
Edit: if possible move to a “warm” area. -60 to -40 is a pretty miserable range but it’s way better than the alternatives
In any apocalyptic event like that, you are going to have people that go out and loot things in a panic, so crime rates will rize drastically right before the end. Many people will board themselves up in their houses for some sense of safety from the other people, despite knowing they will die from the temperature anyway. There will be those that just throw a great big party before the end to cellebrate what life they have left. Then there are those that will accept their fate and just wait quietly to die. Some may try to prolong their remaining time as much as possible, spending it with loved ones while trying to make the best of it. Others will choose to end their lives faster so they don’t have to endure the waiting and pain. Then there will also be those in denial that will attempt to survive somehow.
Personally, I think I’d be among those that get it over with faster by taking my own life.
If I seriously tried to get ready for this moment beforehand, the house would be insulated to withstand that temperature. I’d have the gear for it, and I’d be working to survive it, alone. Humans do survive that range with proper support and gear.
But if I couldn’t have that stuff and death would be coming? Pile up all my blankets and go to sleep. Freezing to death feels a lot like going to sleep “warm” in the first place. I don’t fear death, and it’s a comfortable way to go.
And if it’s a flash freeze, some people might be revived as they froze too fast for ice crystals to form…if we have the tech.