“Well, with the power out, we have to use older methods. CB radios would probably work best for long distance, as most people with some background in electronics can probably think of using one, and know how to get one running. Any normal form of electronic communication is out, though, since widespread power outages have pretty much put the nix on that. Cellphones can't work without working towers, and the same is true of television, broadcast radio and internet. We have to go back to lower tech. We could gather up survivors one city at a time, though. If we got some spotlights and a strong generator, we could light up the sky at night and bring the survivors to us. We could then move from city to city with them until we found a larger settlement.”
Sadly, John has had to consider these possibilities, since they would eventually have to find others. They need a larger group in order to have viable chances at re-population. Yes, two people could produce enough children to start a population, but the gene pool would be pretty shallow. Plus, he and Bobby would probably like to have a chance to meet someone their own ages, as they would feel like they were robbing the cradle if they did anything with even the oldest of the three girls in their group. True, this is partly because of the morals of a world that largely doesn't exist, anymore, but those morals have had years to dig deeply into their psyches, and they wouldn't easily turn on them.
In the other room, Megan and Jeremy play cards happily with Jenny, as the boy has already shown a drastic improvement in his mood now that he's not thinking about Tess. For the most part, Jenny is winning, but this is less because of them letting her and more because Megan is distracting him by flirting playfully. She doesn't mean anything serious by it, only seeing Jeremy as a friend, but she knows how much it frustrates him.
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