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Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b
Sorry to threadjack, but how would the mentally ill survive in a T2K world? Would they even?
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The same question applies to a host of other medical issues that require pharmaceutical maintenance or other regular care. Enfield mentioned diabetes, which is the classic example from
Lucifer's Hammer. Among other factors, I would expect the HIV/AIDS epidemic to be a source of paranoia, discrimination, and other social complications atop its medical implications.
For that matter, anyone dependent on electrically-powered medical equipment probably died shortly after the first wave of nuclear strikes. Anyone know the effects of EMP on pacemakers?
Back to the thread topic, these issues present an interesting complication for any group attempting to align itself with the Cascadians. The Cascadians are working toward the survival of civilization, not necessarily that of any given individual. It's up to each referee to determine how far they take it in their campaign, but I'll point to one of the Cascadian movement's principles:
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Originally Posted by The Pacific Northwest, p.31
Societal triage. Current and imminent resource shortages mean the Cascadians and the other American successor governments can't save everyone, so they shouldn't waste their limited resources trying to do that. There's a limited amount of room in the Cascadian lifeboat. Those who won't align with the movement's tenets and the needs of the day will be encouraged to go elsewhere – if necessary, at gunpoint. This doesn't mean people who can't work are exiled, though, so long as they can contribute something (or they've earned charity through service to the movement). A mind is just as valuable as a pair of hands. Whether this should extend to some measure of eugenics in a post-nuclear gene pool is a hotly-debated point in Cascadian communities.
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- C.