Focusing on the Positives

Tyler Collins
South Atlanta QZ/ARTCC, GA, US

Today isn't the best day for flying, but planes are making it out anyway. There's apparently a whole lot of cloud cover over the Midwest, so those air-access QZs probably won't get their drops till tomorrow. There are also storms to the northeast of here, so NC-VA area is probably going to have to wait too. The weather's been weird.

I wish I had good things to say, it seems like this week has been really difficult on everyone.

Unloading bad things first:

1) There apparently was a breach at my QZ. Someone left the northwest gate unlatched, I think. The commandant was inquiring whether it was our departure that left it open, but we left a day earlier and we don't touch the gates. The guards handle that.

Five or so groaners got in, made a bunch of noise, and got bludgeoned. No casualties, I think, but I'm speculating that the commandant is going to use it as a scare for some policy wrangling. Glad I'm not there.

2) The creeks leading into Jackson Lake had reduced flow over the last few days, despite the rain. A group headed up to find out what the problem was and found it choked with groaners. As if the lake wasn't toxic enough, it's very likely that it has been contaminated with the contagion too.

3) The Robins QZ reported that they were completely out of antibiotics and there's a significant outbreak of some intestinal disease there. If one disease doesn't kill us, there's a whole lineup of secondaries. Some of the camp problem-solvers are working on trying to get a general aviation plane over there for a drop, though we don't have a lot of antibiotics ourselves.

Good things:

1) I communicated the information about animals to a couple of vets in the QZ, and they're working on convincing the commandant to allow some more livestock in. Dr Stamper has a theory that the dead respond to sounds that would attract attention to a normal human. Sounds we drown out, like distant dogs barking, birds singing, etc don't draw attention. A police siren, a shattering window, or a roaring engine, however, do make our ears perk up, and all three of these things are guaranteed to attract groaners by the dozens.

2) An idea Dr. Stamper and I had a few weeks ago about trying to do a population map around Atlanta got approved. There are scout groups scattered all over, and with some good book-keeping we should be able to make something like a heat-map of where the biggest groups of uglies are, and with a few weeks of data, maybe we can figure out some general movement trends. As far as I know, Atlanta is one of the few locations with enough able manpower to actually cover this.

3) Most of our food is preserved stuff looted from surrounding stores and warehouses, mixed with MRE components. Some professors from the UGA location near here did some soil tests and came up with a plan to start growing food nearby, so we can sustain our population. This is a big step physically, because food rationing leaves everyone hungry and emotionally because the support they're getting represents a big shift in the camp attitude to taking their own initiative to help. Morale is low as ever, but there seems to be an investment in the community that I hadn't seen before. That's something.

4) Another group of people from our QZ cleared a field that surrounded a broken aircraft beacon. They used a bunch of blue tarp (courtesy of the Home Depot distribution center) and marked out a gigantic crosshair in the field. With a repaired fence, it is now a relatively secure location that is already marked on aircraft charts and very clearly marked visually. We should now be able to get air-dropped goods of our own if needed.

Out to do my rounds. I hope the good news carries you on. Stay safe!