Enclave

Author’s Note

It’s hard to envision the end of the world or predict what it might be like. Most of my research indicated that if some apocalypse occurred — disease, famine, or zombie scourge — society as we know it would likely break down within a hundred years. I read a number of articles, including this one: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8206280.stm. Full study details are available here: www.mathstat.uottawa.ca/~rsmith/Zombies.pdf.

In the nebulous future described in Enclave, biological weapons and manufactured plagues were to blame for the swift deterioration of modern life. I pulled my projections of what the cities might be like from what occurred in New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina. Thus, the poor remain in these wrecked, abandoned cities, still devoid of hope or resources, taking their rage out on one another. Therefore, the gangers are violent, vicious, and patriarchal. I tried to imagine what such life would be like, both above- and belowground. To aid in that depiction, I watched Life After People, an informative and entertaining show on the History Channel.

I also investigated what products might still be functional after such a calamity, what scavengers might be able to pluck from the wreckage of a lost world. Plastic has a long, long shelf life — one article I read said certain plastics will never break down in a landfill — so the buckets, bottles, and sunglasses make sense in that context. I also determined that such a catastrophe would preclude the use of motor vehicles, so nothing more advanced than a bicycle can be found in Enclave.

I also came across fascinating information regarding the longevity of canned goods. One anecdote relates that a can of veal, which was more than a hundred years old and had gone on an Arctic expedition with William Parry in 1820, was opened in 1938 and fed to a cat, who enjoyed his meal and had no complaints. In a similar case, the steamboat Bertrand sank in the Missouri River in 1865 due to excessive weight of its provisions. It was recovered north of Omaha, Nebraska, in 1968. Among the goods were cans of brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. Chemists analyzed the food for spoilage and nutrition; though it wasn’t fresh anymore, it was still all as safe to eat as when it was canned. More information can be found here: www.internet-grocer.net/how-long.htm.

Finally, the inspiration for the heroine’s underground tribe stems from my fascination with the folks who dropped out of modern society and developed their own counterculture, right below New York. You can read more in this fantastic book, The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City by Jennifer Toth.

Hope you enjoyed the apocalypse.