This setting is about 40 years After the End: the protagonist and his mother never saw the 'normal' world, but his grandparents knew it. The only issue with 50 year old books is that their makeup is often quite different from what we use today. No laminates, no synthetics, just paper which tends to get moldy and yellow over time. My grandad has books that are around 100 years old and still readable; an uncle of mine who's a literature professor has copies of Don Quixote even older. So it's certainly possible for books to last that long, and I would think that all the modern plastic covers and chemical treatments would improve their odds.
It's good to know about the elastics. What about leather? Fur? I imagine that the synthetic materials could hold up pretty well. There's entire warehouses filled with plastic-wrapped clothes, so I doubt many people have resorted to looms just yet.
Now I did not know that, blueharp. This could prove problematic; is there any way of preserving or storing gasoline? I wonder if there could be any feasible fuel substitutes for run-of-the-mill machinery.
edited 7th Apr '11 6:27:51 AM by Takwin
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)I just know that I need to power a semi-functional RV with some degree of believability. If it takes alcohol-accommodating engines, so be it! There's roughly the same degree of technological development as the modern world, the main issue is resources.
edited 7th Apr '11 6:00:23 PM by Takwin
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)Yes, it's possible to convert an engine to use Ethanol, the biggest thing to change is the parts that Ethanol will corrode (mostly rubber), use proper oil as Ethanol isn't lubricating itself, and adjust for other differences. Doesn't matter if it's a motorcyle or RV, except in the details.
I think the real problem for an RV though, would be roads, not the engine. You could switch to a steam plant, but nothing will make it work well off-road.
Offroading isn't really an issue; most of the main highways and freeways are still pretty intact. They might be unmaintained, full of cracks and bumps at points, but they're still fairly level, paved roads.
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)If it's Brazil, you hardly have to worry about the engines at all as they've been very pro-Ethanol for a while.
Good that you've thought of issues with the roads, but I would be careful to mention issues with them, and with bridges, and with tires/axles. You might handwave the difficulty, but acknowledgement is good.
I haven't been too specific with the locale, but I was sort of picturing somewhere midwest/south-ish, like Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri or maybe Illinois. The story starts in late spring-early summer and moves toward winter after the timeskip.
On the other hand I'm tempted to just write what I know and set it somewhere in Texas, but the sheer size of the state and its... interesting, bible-belt history means that I might have to keep southern custom and culture in mind, and that seems more trouble than it's worth.
edited 8th Apr '11 6:17:21 AM by Takwin
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)Nothing wrong w/ setting it in Texas. I put mine in New England because that's what I know. Some of them are from other places, but they all got stuck in Rhode Island, the poor things.
Even in my less destroyed world many northerners have fled south to escape the brutal winters. I'm sure w/ the amount of devastation in your setting your characters would appreciate a warmer climate. I don't see many people surviving an Illinois winter once there is nothing left to burn.
edited 8th Apr '11 7:22:02 AM by HistoryMaker
Good point. I was afraid that explicitly naming the initial setting would be problematic, as I'd have to go into gory detail about the characters' lack of stereotypical southern accents and customs. But now that I think about it, this may be a great chance to subvert most people's assumptions about Texan culture. Besides, it fits the story morphologically: where else in the US is as wide open, highway-crossed and geographically varied as Texas? It takes a day, possibly two, on the fastest roads to cross it, and the innumerable small settlements lend themselves to a lot of cultural variety. For example, the myriad tiny coastal towns have become hubs for Asian immigrants in recent years, particularly Vietnamese, while the east-central hill region was settled largely by Germans and Czechs. Austin is urban enough to make for a good no-man's land, a dangerous contaminated zone where only desperate and well-equipped scavengers dare venture.
Since this is a quest-type story, I expect a lot of walking the Earth. The main character's goal is to find someone with the medical technology and education to unlock Farren's immunological ability. Their journey is led by outdated maps and dodgy roads, seeking out the sites of major colleges, hospitals, and research facilities in hopes of finding one intact. There are still institutions like these kept running, as we discussed earlier, but locating one with the right facilities and people is nigh-impossible. I'm aware that it's a pretty obvious wild goose chase, but the protagonists are motivated by the potential implications of their success. If they can find out what makes Farren different from the average person, they might be able to find ways to reclaim the wasteland and begin rebuilding the poisoned human race on a much greater scale.
edited 8th Apr '11 8:37:13 AM by Takwin
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)Haha, thanks. That is quite a coincidence. I know After the End stories are popular right now, but it's more of a genre at this point than a theme. If I could count all the times I've been asked, 'oh, are you drawing Fallout/Borderlands fanart?' ...These guys didn't trademark deserts and gas masks, did they?
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)I really like the idea of After the End as its own genre. I'm tired of calling it "sorta Sci-Fi I guess".
Good to know I'm not the only one with genre issues.
Anyway, here's a question that's been bugging me: do you think alcohol would last these 40 years? Provided it's purified (as in rubbing alcohol,) sealed and kept in a cool, dark place, do you think it would still be viable? If you have alcohol, you have antiseptic and sterilization, which plays a big role in whether or not people survive major injuries.
Also, what about plastic goods: lenses, CDs, toys, containers etc? We all know that plastic doesn't decay very well, but would (sealed, unused) products still be useful? That's another thing that could make a huge difference in post-apocalyptic lifestyle.
edited 10th Apr '11 11:50:17 AM by Takwin
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)Alcohol is already kept and stored for decades, not medicinal, but still, it is doable. Not that it's hard to make, there's a reason why the Revenooers can't stop the backwoods boys from making shine. I wouldn't expect plastic bottles in a pharmacy to last, but glass and metal could be fine.
Plastic goods really depends on how they've been stored. CD's are still on the fence, some people say they're going to rot, some people say they could last 200 years.
You can definitely use distilled grain alcohol as an antiseptic, and it doubles as an anesthetic. It’s also a fuel, lighter fluid, and a solvent.
I would expect home brewing/distilling to become popular quickly, and the manufacture and sale (barter) of alcohol may be the first industry to reemerge.
Simple toys and other plastic goods should be fine as long as they were not exposed to extreme temperatures. As blueharp says nobody knows how long CD’s last, so I think it’s a believable enough hand wave that in your universe they last forever, barring accidents.
edited 10th Apr '11 1:39:52 PM by HistoryMaker
I thought alcohol would hold out. After all, it's used as a preservative. Thanks for the fact-checking. Anywhere you have grain you can distill alcohol, so I imagine it would become a pretty important business for a lot of people.
It's good to know that the plastics could keep for a while. I was worried about coming off as cheap or unprofessional by assuming all those products would still be functional.
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)Sorry about the thread necromancy, but something important just hit me: what about calendars? What sense of time do you think these people would have? I imagine some groups still follow the old calender, but a new system starting at the drop off might also be appropriate. I'd kind of like to know what month and year my characters were born. Any ideas?
edited 25th Apr '11 7:40:52 PM by Takwin
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)Not necessarily; keeping track of the date through leap years is still rather possible with a perpetual calendar
.

How long after the end is it? I own perfectly readable 50 year old books. Under the right conditions I see no reason they wouldn’t last way longer than that. They may start to fall apart but if someone cared enough to fix the binding they should be good. The pages would be quite yellowed.
As for clothes, elastics (waistbands, socks ect.) tend to dry-rot eventually (15-20 years from what I’ve seen) everything else (especially synthetics) should last a good long time, but if it’s being worn expect it to get worn out. I’d expect patches to be very common, and it would be a good idea to know how to sew/have some needles and thread.
Generally water rots everything.