Chapter 1 – The Last Human on Earth

You wake up from a long night’s rest. You go about your business, getting ready for the day ahead, when you glance out the window. A car is parked in the middle of the street, motionless. There is an unsettling aura about the world that shakes you. You feel compelled to find your family and friends, but no one is there. No one is anywhere. You are alone in the world.

The topic today is the idea of being the last person in the world. This could happen many different ways. A worldwide pandemic that you were immune to. A mass alien abduction, of which you were the only one left behind. A parallel dimension that you were warped to without anyone else. While the reason would could have impact on your preferred course of action, the rules to this round of the game are that you are indeed the last human being on the planet (no surprises from strangers), and that the reason is unknown and obscure.

You wouldn’t necessarily be aware that you are in fact the last person on the planet for quite a long time. The earth is a large place, and the likelihood of you being able to travel even half of it is 1 in a trillion. That being said, the internet is such a huge commodity in our present age that it would be a good indicator, as it became void of update and use, eventually coming down altogether from lack of maintenance.

What you do next would come down to whether you believe you are alone or not. For some, it would be cut a dry. “So, no one is around, the internet is down, and I can’t contact anyone. Oh well, guess that means I’m the last one around.” Others would never accept the fact that they are alone, endlessly searching for companions in a world where there are none. Then there are those like myself who would be in between. We’d slowly come to the conclusion that we are alone, but we would never truly give up hope that there is someone else out there or there was some way to fix everything.

For those of you who decide to continually search for answers or other humans, you’d most likely maintain a survival mindset, staying alive and combing the earth for others. There would be discouragement, but depending on the level of determination you have, you’d most likely ignore some of the effects of loneliness that might arise in the first several months.

The other two categories could wind up doing just about anything. Some would most certainly be searching for answers, though their hope for a solution would be far less than those who are dead-set on finding one. Others would go wild, letting true freedom overwhelm them as they do anything and everything they want to. Some would be bent on survival, finding a place to live, grow a farm, and survive as long as they can, doing work to keep themselves occupied. I have a friend who has the kind of mind to accomplish such a task so long as they could maintain their sanity. I would dive into messing around with a whole host of ideas I’ve had before but would never actually try (mainly because I would look like a crazy man). For instance, I’ve always wanted to go into random buildings and explore them without punishment. I’d make believe that I was a spy, sneaking around hallways and dodging cameras, trying to find different ways in. (And yes, in this situation, I know the cameras would not be active for obvious reasons, but that probably wouldn’t stop me.)

~Threat Assessment~

This round involves a threat assessment, as will others. Threat assessments will cover any risk to the well-being of the direct individual. This does not account for the damage one might inflict on others, nor does it view any global effects, merely the one being directly afflicted.
~Keeper

There are two factors to consider in this kind of scenario, physical and mental health.

For physical needs, it would come down to basic survival needs (food, water, etc.). Over time, animals that would ordinarily stay away from cities and towns would become more comfortable with traversing the streets due to the lack of human disruptions and noise, thus turning them into “wild” territory. Some of these animals could be the solutions to future food problems, but you’d need to be careful, as there wouldn’t be any significant medical care for major injuries. One good attack against you, and it would be game over. 

Tackling the ordinary survival needs, there would be a decent gap of time where you wouldn’t need to worry. While everything remains powered (I’d give it two months before the power plants shut down or explode due to lack of maintenance), refrigerators could store perishable food. Grocery stores would be free to take from, and the canned goods and non-perishables could be kept for future use. With a little research and planning, it wouldn’t be too difficult to learn how to grow your own food and collect clean water, once the stored goods go bad. As long as you can read (and I assume anyone who is reading this can or is at least learning to), there are hundreds of survival books out there to choose from, all of which are free so long as you can locate them. (I’d try libraries or the nearest bookstore. If you’re quick, you could find something online before it goes down, though I know I sure wouldn’t think of it in time.) 

The more pressing concern in this situation wouldn’t be physical needs (unless you are very rash and accident prone) but mental health. Extreme loneliness and depression would set in over the course of a couple months with increasing intensity. With no one around to treat you, it wouldn’t be long before you resort to self-destructive activities.

If you have skills in medicine or pharmaceuticals (sounds like video game stats when you put it that way), you might be able to take antidepressants. That, however, is dependent on supply and expiration. It would not last long enough, and personally, I wouldn’t choose drugs as my first option. I wouldn’t be able to take them safely. If you’re an animal person, you could find a pet dog to be your companion. (I prefer cats over dogs, but there is no way you’d be able to get a cat to cooperate unless you were an animal expert.) If you are not, you’ll have to figure out other ways to find joy in or forget about your quiet lonely world. The following are some ways to do so:

• Paint an entire city (courtesy of Hosuh from the DanPlan youtube episode “By the Way, What if You Were the Last Person on Earth”)
• Climb buildings
• Invade amusement parks
• Play every board game you can find
• Learn to ride a Segway
• Send hundreds of Segways down a street all at once
• Demolish a house
• Take a castle and become king of England Scotland (courtesy of my brother)
• Find enough helium balloons to lift myself off the ground
• Visit old landmarks
• Play music throughout an entire city
• Build a house
• Raid a construction site.
• Etc.

So long as you can keep a rational mind, you should be able to survive for many years without significant trouble.

~Threat Assessment Complete~

All that being said, how long would you really want to live alone. Sure, survival is important, especially if you hope to find a cause and solution to the whole “last person on Earth” scenario, but how long would it take before you decide none of it is worth it anymore? I’d never give up hope, but I can’t lie. I’d be depressed on and off indefinitely. I don’t think it would matter for me, because I’d probably die in the great Segway run, or in some other really hilarious yet stupid way.

That’s all I’ve got on the topic for now, though one could go on and on about these types of survival scenarios. Down in the comments, tell me what you would do in the first moments of this crisis. Would you instantly accept your fate, or search for answers endlessly? What would you do to cope with the loneliness? How long would you search for the truth surrounding the cause?

I can’t wait to hear what you have to say. Thanks for playing.