Your fate in T2k

[chico20854]

A little (lot?) bit morbid, but some folks have been seeing their local areas targeted in the ongoing nuclear exchange in the 25 Years Ago Today thread. Others (like me!) may have been in units that were in action throughout the campaign. So this poll is what your best guess would be of your status in the Twilight War?

Please comment if you'd like to elaborate on your thinking!

[chico20854]

My response was KIA in either the conventional fighting or tactical nuclear exchange. In 1997 I was IRL in the US 28th Infantry Division, driving a fuel tanker around the division rear as part of a unit that was not very tactically proficient. And canon has the division get pounded by Soviet tactical nuclear weapons during the retreat across Poland. (And in WW II the division, the so-called "Bloody Bucket Division", took 176% casualties in 10 months of action in Western Europe). So I have low expectations that I would have made it back to East Germany...

[castlebravo92]

In '97 I was in college in Denton, TX, but working close to full time in Dallas. Either dead in civil strife or would have evacuated to either New Mexico or a small town 30 miles away from Ponca City, Ok where I have family and the prospects of rural survival are pretty good. But in '97, my income hadn't reached equilibrium with my general gun nuttiness, so aside from some mean words and sharp sticks and a Ruger P89, I would have been marauder bait.

[Targan]

Tentatively "survived". I would have been aged in my 20s and as a former Army Reservist I would have been recalled into service, but I'd had a severe motorcycle accident a few years before and wouldn't have been physically capable of returning to the infantry. Even assuming the petroleum refinery south of Perth was nuked, I'm far enough away that it wouldn't have killed me, but I might have been shipped off by the military to another part of the continent or possibly even overseas by then, I guess in a support role of some sort.

[Matt Wiser]

I had planned on getting into the Navy via AOCS and earning NFO Wings in the '90s, and with a continued Cold War, no drawdown and AOCS doesn't close... So, I put "Survived" as I could very well have been in the Middle East with CVW-10 flying A-6s.

[stilleto69]

Having been a tank commander in the 3rd AD, hopefully I would have survived the drive to the Soviet border and the subsequent withdrawal back to Germany and the redeployment to 'liberate' Southern Germany.

[mpipes]

By 1996, I was out of the AD USAF and a 38 year old attorney still subject to recall. Military background was transportation/logistics with most of my service in MAC loading cargo birds. However, I had a pilot's license and an engineering degree. I had had an internship with Raytheon in the early 80s working on radar systems - more specifically in AIM-54A and B program with some AWG-9 overlap. I'm sure I would have been flying in the USAF, but alas I am nearsighted, and with all those F-4 navigators looking for jobs in the early 80s, vision waivers were unattainable.

By 1997 and nukes flying, I have always thought that anyone in the USAF that knew how to fly was going to end up in a flying unit - waivers issued automatically and age limit up to 45. With all those F-4 back in the inventory, I think I would have ended up as a GIB in either a F-4D or F-4C, and likely grounded by late 1998. Then sent to an Army unit where my hunting/shooting and horseback skills made me most useful as a sniper in a cavalry unit.

Surviving anyway.

[Desert Mariner]

I would have been on active duty at HQ USSTRATCOM (formerly HQ SAC) Offutt AFB, Nebraska… game over.

[shrike6]

Either drafted or living in the Sioux City Iowa area working for the cow spotted computer company. Status: insert status here

[Drgonzo2011]

In 97 I was working in DC for the House of Reps...so, I had a very warm Thanksgiving.

[Heffe]

Love seeing all of the optimism here.

Although I was far from any strategic nuclear targets, I surely would have died from famine/disease/thirst resulting from the breakdown in society. I was 19 at the time, and can confidently say that the scouts wouldn't have prepared me with the skills I would have needed to make it through that.

[Ewan]

I was in my early 30s so if I hadn't being conscripted into the army chances are I would be gone once the nukes hit Scotland in December 1998 and caught up in the upheaval and would probably die in the winter of 97/98.

Thankfully it's only a game and didn't happen in real life.

[Homer]

Don’t make it through- either before or after in conventional action or in a tactical strike.

Depending on when and how stop-move gets put into place either a:
19D1P with 5-17 CAV at Camp Garryowen (first duty station 95-96) or with 3-73 AR or 1-17 CAV at Bragg (was sent to 3-73 then moved over as part of deactivation).

So, if stuck in Korea it’s going to be a pretty ugly slog; I was a JAFFO in a Brad at the time. At Bragg it would be Iran bound. I’d rate my chances higher there- loader and driver on Sheridan; driver and gunner on HMMWVs. Ended my time in Division as a command driver, which I guess could still happen here. But at least I’d get a mustard stain if I made it to Bragg!

[Raellus]

You guys tell me. I'm embarrassed to admit that, after all of these years of very involved fandom, I don't know, and haven't bothered to check, whether Tucson was on the T2k nuclear target list!

I was at the University of Arizona (Tucson) from '93-'98. Would there have been a college deferment in the draft? Would it have been dropped before the TDM?

I've been fascinated by war since I was a kid, but I'm not sure I would have volunteered (I didn't after 9-11, even though I was in my mid-20s at the time).

So, I either get drafted and probably get KIA/WIA/POW or I stay in school and, if Tucson is nuked, I'm dead. If Tucson isn't nuked, I probably wouldn't survive long in the desert without power or reliable safe drinking water.

-

[pmulcahy11b]

I put "didn't make it through the civil strife etc," but in 97 I was still more or less functional without meds, so I'm not sure.

[.45cultist]

I was stationed at Yokota, so either sent to the Korean front or helping the Japanese. I put survived.

Recalled as part of the IRR. DIVARTY assignment as a 13C TACFIRE for a CONSUS or overseas NG unit (most RA units, especially overseas units, would have AFATDS, perhaps on an expedited basis if needed). Killed driving a 5-ton shelter carrier over a mine in a minefield that the S2 had pointed out on a big map earlier that morning, but the platoon leader forgot to mention when planing the route of travel.

[castlebravo92]

Originally Posted by Raellus

You guys tell me. I'm embarrassed to admit that, after all of these years of very involved fandom, I don't know, and haven't bothered to check, whether Tucson was on the T2k nuclear target list!

I was at the University of Arizona (Tucson) from '93-'98. Would there have been a college deferment in the draft? Would it have been dropped before the TDM?

I've been fascinated by war since I was a kid, but I'm not sure I would have volunteered (I didn't after 9-11, even though I was in my mid-20s at the time).

So, I either get drafted and probably get KIA/WIA/POW or I stay in school and, if Tucson is nuked, I'm dead. If Tucson isn't nuked, I probably wouldn't survive long in the desert without power or reliable safe drinking water.

-

No AZ nuke targets in T2K canon, but ~~Tucson was definitely overrun by the Mexicans.~~ Edited - not definitely overrun by the Mexican army. The Mexicans pushed into southern Arizona but no mention of Tucson proper in the Challenge article detailing the invasion and the focus was on Socal not Az.

Az grows enough wheat and corn to feed about 3 million people, you might be able to eek out another million in the rest of the ag sector. There were about 4.5 million people there in 1997, so Az wouldn't be too bad off until the drought hits, then it's Mad Max time.

[Ckosacranoid]

I have no idea at the time, was in the border region of WI/IL and near Great lakes area for the most part. Maybe drafted or not. Have no idea at the time.

[Tegyrius]

When the TDM hit, I was still working on my English degree at Western Kentucky University, having cleverly planned to avoid the draft by destroying multiple joints as a high school cross-country runner. I leveraged my minuscule fame as southwest Kentucky's only published RPG author to establish myself as the temporary local warlord of a mixed band of Vampire LARPers and SCAdians, using my parents' collection of Foxfire books and my copy of Nuclear War Survival Skills to rough out a blueprint for post-collapse survival. We successfully maintained order around our hilltop stronghold on WKU's campus for a couple of months before coming to the attention of the 194th Armored Brigade. Fortunately, the MP lieutenant sent to deal with us was a gamer himself, and a fan of my work on early Wraith: The Oblivion supplements, so I managed to negotiate our recognition as a nominally-aligned local militia unit.

Naturally, rural Kentuckians are a superstitious lot, and with so many goths in my employ, it was only to be expected that rumors of a vampire coven would spread across the region. By early 2001, local "knowledge" paints Bowling Green as a hive of Satanic worship, hemophaegic rituals, deviant sexual practices, and prewar remnant liberalism, fit only for a Twilight Nightmares scenario. One shudders to think of the stories they whisper around their cooking fires when describing its dark, unseen ruler...

- C.

[kato13]

Didn't make it through the civil strife/disease/famine after the strategic exchange
(as 48% survived in canon I flipped a coin)


Expect I would have survived until after TDM, moved into an enclave of Police and Firemen (of which I had many friends at the time) on the North West side of Chicago.

Killed in some protective action where we were using the highways around the airport as a defensive barrier. Felled by a lucky shot by those trying to get it, as the group took pretty light causalities that day.

[Raellus]

Teg FTW!

Unfortunately, I didn't know any vampire LARP'ers back then, and I hadn't even started thinking about writing RPG material, so I couldn't emulate Vampire Lord Tegyrius.

Originally Posted by castlebravo92

No AZ nuke targets in T2K canon, but ~~Tucson was definitely overrun by the Mexicans.~~ Edited - not definitely overrun by the Mexican army. The Mexicans pushed into southern Arizona but no mention of Tucson proper in the Challenge article detailing the invasion and the focus was on Socal not Az.

Thanks, CB. So, if not drafted, I might have joined some sort of local militia to help fight off the Mexican invasion. Given my fairly limited but highly successful paintball career, I might survive a few firefights before catching a bullet.

Originally Posted by castlebravo92

Az grows enough wheat and corn to feed about 3 million people, you might be able to eek out another million in the rest of the ag sector. There were about 4.5 million people there in 1997, so Az wouldn't be too bad off until the drought hits, then it's Mad Max time.

Re agriculture, very little, if any, of that wheat and corn is grown within 30 miles of the city. All the nearby farms grow cotton or hay (one grows pumpkins for the annual fall pumpkin patch). So, starvation is going to start as soon as fuel shortages delay and, ultimately, halt distribution. then there's the dry, 110F heat that starts in May and last until September...

I am, however, a big Mad Max fan (not the first one, but all the rest), so if I could find some hockey pads and a pair of assless chaps, maybe I could hold out a little longer.

Yeah, any way you look at it, I'm probably going to die before 2000.

-

[Ursus Maior]

By late 1996 I was into Vampire: The Masquerade and had just played my first of a few Vampire LARP. I was in my last highschool years here in Germany and would have remained so probably.

Since I was living with my single mom her fate would have decided my fate as well, at least to a good degree. Turning 18 in the summer of 1999, I would not have been drafted till the very end. But given the situation in Western Germany post-exchange, I might have joined the army - which I historically did in 2000 - after becoming 17 years old. Germany is one of very few states to sill allow this, but parental consent is necessary.

My mother would not have given consent, but should she have died (she got cancer treatment in 1996), it's unclear who my legal guardians would have become; possibly my grandparents though. They would not have allowed it either, but since they lived in Cologne, they might have been dead, too.

Other close relatives would have been my father, but it's difficult to tell, if he would have gotten custody. If so, volunteering would have been not unlikely, if I would want to. Depending on the legal situation, I would have earned a middle-school diploma (1998) or a limited high-school diploma (1999), the later making me eligible for officer candidate selection.

So, I see multiple choices really: I die during post-exchange collapse of German society, or I join the Bundeswehr in 1998 or 1999 at the latest. The latter gives the option to start some form of officer career, whatever that means in mid-1999. Joining in 1998 with a lower school diploma might still make me eligible for a NCO career, but looking at my grades back then, probably only in the infantry. Most likely, I'll then die in Operation Reset.

Bottom line: German teenagers from Western urbanized areas likely don't last long. There is no place to run, when the bombs start falling and joining the army late in the war isn't exactly raising chances. Still better though, than fighting early. I figure, losses were the highest early in the war.

So, if I join the army in 1999 or even in 2000 (if smacked some sense into), I probably survive.

[micromachine]

I put in survived as I was working in a manufacturing plant job about 100km (as the crow files from the Come by Chance SLBM strike) as a technical designer. I was 24 and probably the fittest I have been in my life.
This strike would have handicapped the local economy, as there are some pretty heavy duty hydro substations in the Come By Chance area, putting us in the dark right away at the worst time of year. This area is also a transport bottleneck leaving only a couple of deep water ports for supply from the sea.
Luckily fishing and farming are still going strong, so I suspect I would be "drafted" to work in these areas due to my youth and strength, if not "press ganged" into the military/law enforcement as a some form of soldier, constable, or seaman to make up losses.

[mpipes]

Originally Posted by kato13

Expect I would have survived until after TDM, moved into an enclave of Police and Firemen (of which I had many friends at the time) on the North West side of Chicago.

Killed in some protective action where we were using the highways around the airport as a defensive barrier. Felled by a lucky shot by those trying to get it, as the group took pretty light causalities that day.

Ah yes, Chicago where in my campaign, by 2001 about 50% went cannibal. A true garden spot.

[kato13]

Originally Posted by mpipes

Ah yes, Chicago where in my campaign, by 2001 about 50% went cannibal. A true garden spot.

For a second or third grade project my sister drew the Chicago crest (see below) misspelling "Urbs in Horto" - City in the Garden with "Urbs in Morto" - City in the Dead. Quite fitting for your campaign

[Bestbrian]

IRL, I was living in Manhattan and spent most of '97 as a USAR counterintelligence agent deployed to Germany in support of Operation Joint Guard (?). During the Cold War, my unit was based in the Bronx and we were at the top of the deployment list with an assigned area of responsibility to provide strategic counterintelligence support in the Netherlands/Belgium with our main offices being in Amsterdam and Rotterdam (the Cold War was so micromanaged we knew where our offices were going to be, and the location of the warehouses with our office furniture and equipment). In a Twilight v.1 scenario, I'd have been shipped to the Netherlands at the beginning of the buildup prior to the GDR border crisis, so sometime in early '96. Most likely I'd have been nuked in '97 when the Atlantic ports went kablooie and all us RAMFs went up with them.

[Claidheamh]

In '97 I was working for a small defense contractor in southern NH as their only IT resource, so the EMP on Thanksgiving would have been a slight relief, at least for a little while. But I was also a volunteer EMT/ firefighter with a hero complex, so while I believe that I'd survive for a while, I'd very likely do something stupidly brash or ill-considered and get myself into the sort of trouble it's hard to get back out of.

[Silent Hunter UK]

Would have been a teenager at the time. Might have been evacuated to relatives, but I'm close enough to Central London, I'd have probably died fairly quickly in the aftermath of a strike there.

[Vespers War]

Nuked by one of the warheads not on the T2k target map but that definitely would have happened. I was a teenager, and my father worked at the old Pershing plant in Orlando. There's no way the Soviets wouldn't have tossed at least one nuke at that out of paranoia.