Armagedon---The end of all things.->Which one is the best apocalypse scenario?<-

[Zen]

Nowadays we've been getting a lot of movies and games related to Biological Pandemic Apocalypse/ Zombie apocalypse, and with 2012 getting more and more close this issue is really growing.

But is not just about Zombies that the apocalypse is made off...

Which of these other scenarios you think is more interesting?

(most of the ideas taken from here: http://thewaronsanity.blogspot.com/)

Edit: OMG the number of users when I have finished this topic was 666 O_O this must be a a sign xD

[Sunblink]

I picked 'nuclear apocalypse', and I'm utterly stunned that I'm the only one to have picked it on the poll. It's inevitable, people.

Because war... war never changes.

[Tapewolf]

I picked 'nuclear apocalypse', and I'm utterly stunned that I'm the only one to have picked it on the poll. It's inevitable, people.

Probably means you haven't read enough 1950s SF stories as a kid.  FWIW, I bet you'd change your mind about it being 'best' pretty quick if you were actually stuck in one 

And that really is the reason I haven't voted.  They are all things I would never want to see.  Unless of course 'best' is defined as 'most survivable', in which case... hmm, still not sure.

[Cogidubnus]

And that really is the reason I haven't voted.  They are all things I would never want to see.  Unless of course 'best' is defined as 'most survivable', in which case... hmm, still not sure.

I voted biblical apocalypse. Not really the most survivable, but it's got style.

[Sunblink]

Probably means you haven't read enough 1950s SF stories as a kid.  FWIW, I bet you'd change your mind about it being 'best' pretty quick if you were actually stuck in one 

And that really is the reason I haven't voted.  They are all things I would never want to see.  Unless of course 'best' is defined as 'most survivable', in which case... hmm, still not sure.

Well personally, I wouldn't want to suffer through an apocalypse either, but this is for imagination's sake.

I was thinking more about from a fictional standpoint - post-apocalyptic dystopian stories are some of my favorites, and if it wasn't for nuclear apocalypse scenarios, I would never have Fallout.

however it's for the betterment of mankind as a whole that this never comes to pass. A Deathclaw would eat me up.

[joshofspam]

I beleive more in the cascade effect.

We'll most likly be hit by all of them in one form or another. But of course one has to be the starting domino.

[Kafzeil]

I'm going "Biblical" because Revelation was just terrifying on so many levels.

That and it's the closest thing to my ideal Armageddon: Ragnarok. A battle so awesome it rips the universe asunder.

If the world's gonna end, I want to look like a Heavy Metal album cover before it ends.

[TheDXM]

Zombeeeez

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I think the cockroaches will take over. Which one does that come under?

[Tapewolf]

I think the cockroaches will take over. Which one does that come under?

Don't they have a mass die-off when the heating systems shut down?

[Cogidubnus]

I think the cockroaches will take over. Which one does that come under?

Don't they have a mass die-off when the heating systems shut down?

If we're talking nuclear apocalypse, I think that the reactor core at Chernobyl is still molten to this day. They'd have a good long while before things got too cold.

Also, the title of this thread had me humming that song of yours. (Armageddon is not, the final battle, it's just the place where it will be...). Congratulations on infecting me with that damn ear-worm, sir.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I think the cockroaches will take over. Which one does that come under?

Don't they have a mass die-off when the heating systems shut down?

Not as I understand it. Damn things are nigh impossible to kill.

But then, what do you expect of a creature that, if you remove it's head, doesn't die until it starves to death? Or, if you cut it in half, and put a straw in between the two halves, will live indefinitely?

[Alondro]

You forgot the rogue black hole apocalypse.  There are stellar-mass black holes streaking silently and darkly through the universe, just waiting to come upon an inhabited system and destroy it, sucking it into itself in an orgy of quantum feasting!  (because as we all know, most black holes are quite malevolent entities!)

There's also the Ponypocalypse, which I suspect is growing more likely by the day... 

[Tapewolf]

There's also the Ponypocalypse, which I suspect is growing more likely by the day...  

This one?  I think that counts as 'nuclear apocalypse'.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x8bZJPovUQ

[Zen]

OMG replies O_O I should have checked here earlier O.o

Oh Well.. Lets see...

I'm going "Biblical" because Revelation was just terrifying on so many levels.

That and it's the closest thing to my ideal Armageddon: Ragnarok. A battle so awesome it rips the universe asunder.

If the world's gonna end, I want to look like a Heavy Metal album cover before it ends.

I considered include Ragnarok in the list when I wrote it, but if you look closer Rag' its not a real Apocalypse, sense the humans don't die only the gods, it is the end of the gods era and the begin of the humanity empire, so it is kind of the opposite of a Apocalypse.

You forgot the rogue black hole apocalypse.  There are stellar-mass black holes streaking silently and darkly through the universe, just waiting to come upon an inhabited system and destroy it, sucking it into itself in an orgy of quantum feasting!  (because as we all know, most black holes are quite malevolent entities!)

I guess it kind of falls intro the "Hadron collider creates black hole and swallows earth Apocalypse" category, since we don't see many generic black hole Apocalypse in media... Maybe I should add "The sun dies and tun intro a Super nova apocalypse"... thanks for the inspiration   

I beleive more in the cascade effect.

We'll most likly be hit by all of them in one form or another. But of course one has to be the starting domino.

You mean like the 2012 movie?

I think the cockroaches will take over. Which one does that come under?

Nuclear, Animals Fight back and Weather Apocalypse I guess...

(Armageddon is not, the final battle, it's just the place where it will be...).

Yeah I know that, as a fan of the SMT series I love Megido Family spells x D. Also Armageddon is such a cooler term why not use it no one will found out I thought with myself  X _ X.

Thanks for the votes... lets keep it up for a few more days.

[Tapewolf]

(Armageddon is not, the final battle, it's just the place where it will be...).

Yeah I know that, as a fan of the SMT series I love Megido Family spells x D. Also Armageddon is such a cooler term why not use it no one will found out I thought with myself  X _ X.

Cog is actually thinking of this:  http://dougtheeagle.com/ferret/ferret2.mp3
...and I forgot to thank him for remembering it   Wish I'd got a proper distortion unit before recording it, though.

[Turnsky]

a more upbeat look at the apocalypse is more akin to a "Great change" if you look up the word's actual meaning: Source: wikipedia, which is more along the lines of "end of the world as we know it". One can think that perhaps the 'end' will be something more that so radically changes things, that this era will end and a new one will dawn with no more death and destruction in this world than there is already.

[RobbieThe1st]

a more upbeat look at the apocalypse is more akin to a "Great change" if you look up the word's actual meaning: Source: wikipedia, which is more along the lines of "end of the world as we know it". One can think that perhaps the 'end' will be something more that so radically changes things, that this era will end and a new one will dawn

Oh, that already happened. Well, for me anyway. That's what I get for not backing up my files...*

Seriously, though, I think the *best* apocalypse scenario is the aliens one, as there's a chance of fighting back, or at least hiding, hijacking their technology etc.
Alternately, an ice-age or global economic melt-down seem to be the most survivable... and most likely <_<



*Note: As I've now learned, EXT4 is great for everything but file deletion. If something manages do do a rm -rf, you're mostly hosed. File data's there, metadata+filenames *aren't*. Damage the drive? No big deal. But a little rm... Yeah.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

*Note: As I've now learned, EXT4 is great for everything but file deletion. If something manages do do a rm -rf, you're mostly hosed. File data's there, metadata+filenames *aren't*. Damage the drive? No big deal. But a little rm... Yeah.

That's a feature, not a bug. It's supposed to be like that.

[Zen]

There's also the Ponypocalypse, which I suspect is growing more likely by the day...  

This one?  I think that counts as 'nuclear apocalypse'.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x8bZJPovUQ

Or maybe it counts as "Biblical apocalypse" http://www.pawsru.org/c/src/c8275_Apocalypse_Pony.jpg

Oh my... they are everywhere nowadays.

[VAE]

I picked 'nuclear apocalypse', and I'm utterly stunned that I'm the only one to have picked it on the poll. It's inevitable, people.

Probably means you haven't read enough 1950s SF stories as a kid.  FWIW, I bet you'd change your mind about it being 'best' pretty quick if you were actually stuck in one 

Well, I somehow think she wouldn't have the time to change her mind (well, depends where she lives) XD 

And that really is the reason I haven't voted.  They are all things I would never want to see.  Unless of course 'best' is defined as 'most survivable', in which case... hmm, still not sure.

Well, neither would I, but still, voted for nuclear. (the poll asks you to choose best out of a lot of bad choices) It is one of the most survivable (well, depends how are the others defined - lot of them are possible to be done in more than one sufficiently different way).
Besides... i dunno , there's something that to me seems somewhat satisfying about humanity taking out themselves and earthly life, rather than being destroyed by a random natural process.

[Turnsky]

people seem to forget the classic "grey goo" apoc scenario where nanotech runs rampant and disassembles EVERYTHING.

[VAE]

people seem to forget the classic "grey goo" apoc scenario where nanotech runs rampant and disassembles EVERYTHING.

That's a nice lead-in to a nuclear apocalypse scenario, as throwing nukes at it would be one of few ways to deal with that stuff.

[Zen]

people seem to forget the classic "grey goo" apoc scenario where nanotech runs rampant and disassembles EVERYTHING.

I guess it kind of falls intro the "Machines Take Over Apocalypse" I used generic terms so you guys can imagine anything to fit in the description, like robots, computers, toasters... Anyting!

I saw something similar in South park once, but were this Apocalypse is originally from?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

people seem to forget the classic "grey goo" apoc scenario where nanotech runs rampant and disassembles EVERYTHING.

That's a nice lead-in to a nuclear apocalypse scenario, as throwing nukes at it would be one of few ways to deal with that stuff.

At a basic guess, unless you hit _ALL_ of the grey goo (down to whatever depth it's managed to go by the time you manage to get the governments of the world to panic enough to push the button) with close-to-epicenter levels of radiation and heat, all you're doing is breaking some of them up to provide the rest of the grey goo with more building materials.

And, of course, stirring it all up so it can access more building materials. And making it harder for people to reach the area to assist in cleanup.


Honestly, if we had a grey goo, the whole planet is toast. That sort of shit should be done on someone else's planet, or asteroid, or something. Preferably with outlying warning buoys to tell people that grey goo experiments are on in this area, since if anyone makes a mistake, they won't make it out to warn people that the grey wriggling asteroid probably isn't safe to land on...

[joshofspam]

people seem to forget the classic "grey goo" apoc scenario where nanotech runs rampant and disassembles EVERYTHING.

That's a nice lead-in to a nuclear apocalypse scenario, as throwing nukes at it would be one of few ways to deal with that stuff.

But with what Llearch says, shouldn't that be considered something like a series of stupid ideas Apocalypse?

I mean grey goo is bad enough on the ground. Then you have to deal with air born goo and nuclear goo too or should we call it attack of the slimes Apocalypse?

I better stock up on herbs having my trusty club at hand in that situation and having some of my favorite sound tracks from Dragon Warrior at hand. I'll make a living killing goo.

[VAE]

people seem to forget the classic "grey goo" apoc scenario where nanotech runs rampant and disassembles EVERYTHING.

That's a nice lead-in to a nuclear apocalypse scenario, as throwing nukes at it would be one of few ways to deal with that stuff.

At a basic guess, unless you hit _ALL_ of the grey goo (down to whatever depth it's managed to go by the time you manage to get the governments of the world to panic enough to push the button) with close-to-epicenter levels of radiation and heat, all you're doing is breaking some of them up to provide the rest of the grey goo with more building materials.

And, of course, stirring it all up so it can access more building materials. And making it harder for people to reach the area to assist in cleanup.


Honestly, if we had a grey goo, the whole planet is toast. That sort of shit should be done on someone else's planet, or asteroid, or something. Preferably with outlying warning buoys to tell people that grey goo experiments are on in this area, since if anyone makes a mistake, they won't make it out to warn people that the grey wriggling asteroid probably isn't safe to land on...

Not sure boxy ,but i don't think you need all that much ionising radiation/heat/whatever to break up the goo kilometres deep. And we have things like Tsar Bomba.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

The issue, VAE, is not how much. It's "how much do you need?" and "are you really really really sure you got every last nanofiber?" and "how radioactive is this room that we're checking for grey goo that got missed?" and "how far did that nuke throw little bits of goo, again?"

Bit of a sticky situation, since anywhere you've killed the grey goo, you can't send people either... and anywhere you haven't, you just doomed the entire planet. Again.

[Alondro]

I think the 'grey goo' scenario is overrated.  For goodness sake, bacteria are the hardiest, most efficient life-forms in existence.  As well as some fungi!  Some can even use gamma radiation instead of light to create sugars for fuel!

Do we honestly believe little man-made machines can do better?  The laws of thermodynamics put the breaks on replication speed, and random chance dictates that errors arise at greater frequency the faster something replicates.  Nanites would NEED their programs very error-free.  DNA is far more flexible.  The nanites would never beat out bacteria in terms of flexibility of environment or replicative fecundity.   And as bacteria haven't reduced us all to goo yet, I'm not going to worry about the nanites.

[Inumo]

While I don't think the grey goo scenario is impossible, I think it'd be unlikely less because of their efficiency and material issues (I would not be surprised if, within the next century or so, we figure out how to take apart molecules and use the atoms to make our own) and more because of heat dispersal. At the very least, I doubt it would become a visible threat, as you couldn't effectively disperse heat from a giant composite of heat-generators unless it was less a blob and more a film of goo. Granted, that could be even worse a result, as it'd mean people would suddenly dissolve and not necessarily know why, but it wouldn't be a classic grey goo situation.