SM Book Club: Tales of the Chernyi

Time to move on to the next story or just call it good?

 

I have no clue. I thought a few more members had downloaded the book and would be joining in.

 

They did but haven't

 

The stories IMO get better as they go along and are more useful to understanding life after SHTF than most of the dystopian genre. I've finished "Tales" and am partway through the second Chernyi book. I'm certainly willing to continue if others are.

 

Couple of final notes about Octavia.

At the roadblock she said
"Eyes blazing, Octavia cut him off. "You fool, you a complete flatlander? You may not know me, but you should know of my kin." She hissed, "I am Octavia Munroe. You may not know from dirt, but know this, you do harm to me - and the whole of the Munroe clan will come down on you - they won't stop until you're in the ground. Leastways, what's left of you."

When the times become WROL, the certainty of clan/family retribution will go a long way to keep things somewhat in order...

Also, when planting, Octavia was careful to plant with the moon.
"Turning, she went on, "Senga and I will work our garden today. Get it tilled and cleaned. The boys and I will put in the seed later on the dark of the moon. Daddy, if you'll put all corn in at your patch, I'll put in extra potatoes for you."

"How's that? Why so much corn?"

"Was dreaming last night. Going to be a while before we see any wheat or flour come for a while. Looks like cornbread will back on our table for the next while, anyway."
Do you have any local reference for this style of old-school but seemingly successful timing for planting? I do.

 

The next story is radio-active and was a lot of fun to write.

If the telephone system is out and communication for business is needed - what will step in to fill the gap? Why, what was used before - only via radio, of course.

 

It sounds a lot like my maternal Grandmother who used to grow all her own vegetables. My guess is that it would make it less likely for you new plantings to have a chance to grow a bit because many animals like deer are less active during the night when there little or no moonlight.

 

Gardening by the Moon Calendar (Old Farmer's Almanac)

Keep in mind that the four gardening regions below are quite broad; we also offer a modern gardening calendar (not Moon-based) that gets down to zip code level. See our all-seasons gardening calendar.

What is Gardening by the Moon?
Gardening by the Moon is a great way to help plan your above- and below ground crops. Here’s how it works:

• Plant annual flowers and vegetables that bear crops above ground during the light, or waxing, of the Moon: from the day the Moon is new to the day it is full.
• Plant flowering bulbs, biennial and perennial flowers, and vegetables that bear crops below ground during the dark, or waning, of the Moon: from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again.

Oldtime farmers swear that this practice results in a larger, tastier harvest. The editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, Janice Stillman, explains more in our Gardening by the Moon video.

 

If someone said that to you would you take it seriously or consider it may be an empty scare tactic? I have had people ask me if I knew who they were or spewed their credentials at me and it didn't phase me.

 

She didn't spew her important or her credentials. She said "I am Octavia Monroe" - said also said CLAN. As in the whole of the Munroe clan will come down on you - they won't stop until you're in the ground.

I've spent time in the rural South - this is not an idle threat - it is a promise of the most deadly sort.

As the story showed, Octavia give the fool one last chance to back down.....

This stuff happens in real life-
Texas father who beat Jesus Flores to death for raping 5-year-old daughter will NOT face murder charges | Daily Mail Online

Avenging husband hunts down and shoots dead driver who killed his wife in car crash after changing his Facebook picture to Russell Crowe's rampaging Gladiator (strange one this)

3rd man linked to Bulacan massacre found dead (every one tracked down and killed)

 

I'd add only make a threat if it can be backed up. Otherwise you will telegraph fear or otherwise give away that it's an idle threat. Not from the South, but that would have worked on me, though I'd never put my self in that position.

 

I have only been to bike week and Disney so not much time absorbing the real culture of the South.

 

I've observed the clan thing locally. I come from a large family on both sides with a similar pattern: Grandparents had ten kids and each of them averaged about seven kids. That was also pretty common in the area I grew up - agricultural in transition to industrial. In the 1960's each family was effectively it's own gang that stood up for the honor of each member. Lots of fights to settle arguments with the worst resulting in maybe a bloody nose. When one of my brothers married a girl in a semi rival family we declared a truce and found ourselves sticking up for each other. I can see how it would evolve from there.

All that's gone now as we have gentrified and spread out. Family connections aren't as strong any more as well as my siblings haven't (with one exception) had more than a couple of kids. That part of the story really caught my attention because I once experienced something similar which is now gone.

 

The only thing more frightening than a pissed off Mother, is a pissed off family......

 

I've given this some additional thought...

In times past, family and in a larger sense, clans, were the / wielded the power of Fear.

As 'civilization' grew and cities formed, laws were written, and people assigned as enforcers - any notion of courts and such notwithstanding.

In the new world of WROL - and bigger cities - gangs have come to fill the role of both family and clan together.

A friend of mine in Las Vegas, a retied cop, worked as a bailiff and related a common occurrence. Any time a banger was up for a trial, the rest of the gang would file in and sit - pointedly staring at any person stupid to witness against their Homey. As a bailiff, he and a partner would stand next to the Judge's desk with shotguns, even with the metal detectors at the door.

Gangs were the driving force to my move to Alaska - and now we have a problem here - gangs feed off of drug profits....
What they will feed off of in the future, when drugs and money are a distant memory is an open question - but gangs never really go away - sad to say

 

I remember when gangs made their first attempt at my home town on the south of the Portland Metro area. At that time - the 1980's - the bloods and crips were establishing their presence. They set up a house in the older part of the city maybe four blocks downhill from the high school.

Oregon City, at the time, was still mostly rural and there was a 30-30 in the rear window of every truck on the road. Everybody also knew each other and knew each other's families. Everybody hunted and knew how to shoot, people would sometimes hunt on the way home from school. Because they hunted and many lived on farms where animals were slaughtered they were familiar with taking a life, but because we were still pretty small town rural we also valued life.

I don't recall if it was the red bandanna or the blue bandanna idiots that tried to move in but they didn't last very long, no more than a few weeks before there was a country style confrontation and they tucked tail and ran back to Portland or maybe even LA. They or others eventually returned when the city became gentrified and then depended on the police for protection.

This is exactly why I am moving to a non-gentrified area quite a ways from the coast. When its time to pull together we will. I just need to integrate and become a known quantity so the locals will know what I bring to the table and that they can count on me.

 

Or.

When living in Las Vegas on my first tour, there was a story of a body found at the NV/CA state line. Seems the person had been dragged behind a vehicle and dumped in plain view of the hiway, just over into Cali. Cops estimated the guy was alive for 10 to 15 miles.....

Long story short - the dude was a well know drug dealer from LA and big player in the Crips.

This was the 'family' (still a force to be reckoned with at the time) telling in a most direct way - that gang related drug dealers could count on this happening if they tried to sell their sh1t in town.

Thank goodness, the Feds came in on their white horse and ran the mob off.

Now, no one is safe walking down the street.

 

??

 

I'm so sorry I have not read more than two pages. I'm juggling multiple contracts and working 70 hrs a week.

I let the ball drop

 

Working 70 hours/wk is hardly "dropping the ball" - I had thought there was little interest in the next story and the character that is is Lyle. This is the introduction of two characters who will show up in book 4. The story explores several memes related to how a society might begin to 'heal' and rebuild. Things in the World of the Chernyi will never be 'normal' again, but have a chance to be at least livable.

I look forward, with patience, to any comments.