England really is the perfect (worst?) place for RAGE to happen. I live in Norfolk, one of the more rural parts of England, and we still has a population density eight times that of Iowa.
28 Days Later - Death of a Nation
- Thread starter kspence92
- Start date
MaxGerke01
Banned
Also I dont think we should get the wrong idea from that map the OP just found.While that map is showing survivors there is no reason to think its expressing population density.Some of those areas have been completely depopulated so there is no reason to think the shaded areas are teeming with non infected life...
The original story on this thread had the Queen die, but I think she is tough enough to weather this. I suspect she would be holed up at Windsor behind Very high security and refuse to leave, as she is representing the continuity of the country. Windsor is a lot more defensible than Balmoral or Buckingham Palace. Though since WWZ did it, I think I would have her in Edinburgh or Dover Castle- both fantastically defensible positions.
Prince Charles would be shipped off to Ireland wit the government and/or Canada. I could see him goto N. Ireland. His children would be sent aboard.
Prince Andrew and most of the Royal kids would be sent to New Zealand or Canada for the duration 'in case.'
Princess Anne would possibly be with her Mother or sent to the continent.
The other lesser Royals would get out or join the Horde.
As for Celebrities? Roll a dice.
Good chance anyone who homes in the West, North or Scotland had an chance to escape to Ireland and/or aboard esp with an access to private jets or copters- well at least at first.
SW similar across the channel.
London - toss up
Norfolk, Cambridgeshire? Low odds, depending on when they heard the news.
I could see the BBC activate some of their cold war protocols and go underground. I am fairly sure some facilities remain online. Dover Castle I think still has a working studio, or could set one up easily. There are some museum bunkers across the UK which *might* be in working order. Until the Glasgow- Edinburgh belt fell the studios up there would keep broadcasting which requires people to do it- same with N Ireland. Britain would like to hear familiar voices, so I could see a sort of rolling Today programme or on the hour news broadcasts from familiar voices like James Naughtie, John Humphrys, or Moira Stuart.
Some of the NATO bases or GCHQ would lkely have broadcast facilities that could hold out for a while.
Even if NATO imposes a broadcast jam, there will be people with ham radios- CB- and such that might be able to broadcast- see the movie for one such.
As for the music post-fall? I imagine the world will be facing a huge recession with the loss of the British economy, and the City of London services, plus the impact of caring for refugees will have on the EU- an EU still settling into having changed to using the Euro only months before the infection hit. This dark, depressing period would show up in the songs- so lots of 'we will get through this' ballads, with 'the day the world ended' grimmer stuff - lots of 'lost lover' songs I suspect.
There would be fundraisers and such in the UK and Commonwealth, maybe even places like Russia, Japan etc as the world reacts in horror at the Rage epidemic, and takes steps to lock down its down facilities once the origin becomes known.
Once the quarantine goes into place- expect more news from the camps and dealing with the remaining govt in NI. I cannot see Rage Britain not being on the front pages for months, and months. Though the D.C. Sniper attacks in late 2002 may push it to one side in the US at least.
After a month or so, calls for something to be done about the camps are likely led by the media, but I can see redeployed soldiers from the Mid East would be used to build new camps, improve conditions, and keep order. Surviving British celebs would be used to keep order and entertain, people like Lenny Henry, Jimmy Saville, Julie Walters, Ronnie Corbett, Victoria Wood, etc etc.
Since I do not believe 28 Weeks Later happens there would be no attempt to resettle London in my headcannon. Instead a more systematic approach to clearing zones and establishing military footholds would be used, which would include 'embedded' media, and once bases where set up possibly 'famous faces' on the ground making reports.
Of course as the military make these moves I could see the Media trying to get people across the channel to report on 'abandoned Britain' which would have it's own risk in the heavily patrolled quarantine zone.
MaxGerke01
Banned
The movie is widely reckoned as taking place in or around May 2002. Princess Margaret died in February 2002 and Elizabeth the Queen Mother in March 2002.With the Rage disaster falling hard on the heels of those twin very hard loses Elizabeth II would have been under tremendous strain-it would have been a big test for her thats for sure.
In 2002 9/11 was still in the headlines in the US but this would have knocked it off I can assure you.The US still has a strong cultural connection to the UK simply on the basis of both being native English speakers. The Rage Virus would have Americas full attention for quite some time to come. Also because of that the UK would be in a position to get what it wanted including an American led NATO force to re-establish control and habitation in the country. The events of 28 Weeks Later seem to happen much too quickly for most people but doesnt it make sense?
If you had to abandon your country for dead and then you find out it isnt as dead as you thought wouldnt you want to get back and in control as soon as possible? If only to firmly establish its still really yours.Also if hundreds of thousands if not millions of your citizens were in refugee camps in Western Europe and the US and Canada you would be under tremendous pressure to get things back to normal for them as soon as possible. The actions that Blair and Bush seem to take between movies to re-establish the UK and very quickly make a lot of sense given the context...
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America is in this fight from the very beginning too. The outbreak in Cambridgeshire will rapidly reach the dozen US military bases in the East of England. (Lakenheath, Mildenhall, Flyingdales, Alconbury and so on)
They'll be overun as none are fortified to stop Ragers. Britain has many other Americans in country too, all likely more victims.
As quick as possible, there would be a desire in Washington to get 'revenge' for the dead but also secure all their military hardware & secrets left at those facilities.
Those US troops in the second film were portrayed as being almost on an alien planet in how the saw the UK. US forces will in fact be very comfortable here.
They'll be overun as none are fortified to stop Ragers. Britain has many other Americans in country too, all likely more victims.
As quick as possible, there would be a desire in Washington to get 'revenge' for the dead but also secure all their military hardware & secrets left at those facilities.
Those US troops in the second film were portrayed as being almost on an alien planet in how the saw the UK. US forces will in fact be very comfortable here.
chankljp
Donor
Just wanted to say thanks to you for digging up this gem of a TL from 8 years ago and sharing it with us. Just spent the last two days reading though the entire thing and really enjoyed it.
It occurred to me that the French will definitely try fortifying their northern/English channel coast perhaps including forcibly evacuating civilians from long stretches of land stretching from the water to a certain point inland. Besides refugees there' also the obvious threat from the infected (and in all likelihood tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of bodies minimum will end up in the water and washing ashore on various European countries coast. Just a stupid kid deciding to poke the body he found on the beach could set off a full scale epidemic. As part of that fortification effort it seems likely the French would try to reuse various fortifications built by the Germans during WW2 (At least the ones still in decent shape.
Similarly it would make sense to me that various countries would try sending at least some ground forces to Europe (besides all of the aircraft, ships, and logistical support.
So you could easily end up wit a scenario where American, French, German, Russian, and even Chinese or Indian troops are garrisoned side by side prepared to fight off a invasion originating in England. The grandsons and great grandsons of men who tried to kill each other during WW2 will be occupying like 80 year old bunkers and pillboxes built by slave labor.
Similarly it would make sense to me that various countries would try sending at least some ground forces to Europe (besides all of the aircraft, ships, and logistical support.
So you could easily end up wit a scenario where American, French, German, Russian, and even Chinese or Indian troops are garrisoned side by side prepared to fight off a invasion originating in England. The grandsons and great grandsons of men who tried to kill each other during WW2 will be occupying like 80 year old bunkers and pillboxes built by slave labor.
Well it looks like the UK is effectively being quarantined by the international community over the new Covid strain spreading rapidly thorough London and south east England. The Netherlands and Belgium have banned all travel from the UK and it seems France is about to do the same .
There was also somewhat chaotic scenes last night as thousands of people rushed to get the last trains out of London before the city enters Tier 4 restrictions. I could imagine the London train stations might have looked a bit like this during the timeline I've written.
Real life is a bit crazy.
There was also somewhat chaotic scenes last night as thousands of people rushed to get the last trains out of London before the city enters Tier 4 restrictions. I could imagine the London train stations might have looked a bit like this during the timeline I've written.
Real life is a bit crazy.
28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and Doomsday were way ahead of their time.
Anyways @kspence92, what happens to US forces in Britain during the outbreak? Do they fall as casualties as @jhenderson 20 pointed out?
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I hadnt actually thought about that when I initially wrote this but yeah US forces would definitely have seen action as their bases were overrun. I'd imagine US marines would have been deployed to defend the embassy in London and consulates in other UK cities too.
I remember one fan entry into this thread had the US Embassy being breached because the Ambassador could not be evacuated on time. (i.e. the Ambassador, some staff, DSS, and Marines weren't evacuated because all transports were focused on evacuating British civilians in London).
28 Days Later outbreak timeline - Death of a Nation
LONDONS QUALITY NEWSPAPER THE EVENING STANDARD Search for antidote page 2|Who will stop them? page 3|Refugee crisis looms page 4 EVACUATION Mass exodus of British people causes global chaos ...Blair declares a state of emergency... ...Military ordered "shoot to kill"... ...Army blockades...
www.alternatehistory.com
I read the other week that the USAF had 100+ nukes for their F-15Es at Lakenheath until 2008. Lakenheath is up the road from Cambridge with fences and anti-vehicle ditches only. A company of Air Police there will not stop Ragers for long. No way those bombs are evacuated in time.
So... the Americans will in time want to go back for them!
I could see a mass of C-17s and C-5s ready to evacuate those nukes along with any American dependent, military personnel, and civilians in the UK back to the U.S.
Maybe... but they might still be in the air when Lakenheath was hit. The distance from the outbreak site isn't far and with good road connections, plus Ragers following roads where people are, I'd give them the advantage. It would be the same with nearby USAF bases in the East of England: all too close to the outbreak site.
Considering Rage doesn't spread out of the UK at the time of the initial outbreak that seems unlikely to me. Considering the sheer insane infectiousness of the Rage Virus, quick turn time between infectee into Rager, the ability for the virus to be transmitted via fluids or bodies long dead, the speed of the fall of the UK, and the complete unreadiness of the rest of the world for Rage at the time (It would take weeks for a nation to mobilize it's armed forces. By that point most nation states would have already collapsed without very heavy usage of WMD's. In addition it would also take weeks or months to build the "Long Term Quarantine" facilities that each and every evacuee would have to go through for at a minimum months. Obviously we know outside of rare carrier the transformation is over in seconds. But for other nations early in the outbreak they'll have no real way of knowing. For all they know the Virus is transmitted both by immediate fluids and by a semi dormant airborne strain that only physically emerges six months to a year after initial exposure. Meaning each and every person who get's evacced from Britain would have to be physically quarantined for months if not years minimum. And considering the infectiousness of the disease and rapid spread said quarantine can't just take place in a converted motel. You need an intensely militarized and incredibly formidably fortified facility with very very lax shoot to kill policies (as in anyone who acts even remotely violent and or unstable get's shot immediately.) and extremely remote positioning such as say Svalbard island. Also probably need to have nuclear warheads or large quantities of chemical weapons at each and every quarantine facility. By the time you could build the quarantine facilities needed of the size needed with the security needed the vast majority of people in Great Britain are already dead or infected). Basically literally any large scale evacuation during the initial epidemic and collapse of UK and odds are Rage spreads and if significant parts of the world survive it'll be because they bathed entire continents in atomic fire, chemical weapons, and bio weapons. Including as like as not entire countries that weren't actually infected yet at the slightest but were essentially completely or almost completely massacred in order to act as "Fire Breaks" for the spread of Rage. I'm not saying I think this in the slightest a "good thing" just pretty much the only way I can imagine containing Rage if it leaves the UK in the early Epidemic/Fall of Britain. Years later the odds are better of being able to contain it in specific countries or regions of countries. But that'll be because of the formation of much larger militaries/mandatory armed militia's, fortifying the fuck out of everything, and much much much tighter restrictions on world trade and travel. You'd still need much much much looser restrictions on police/militia/military use of armed force and use of WMD's in contingency planning as well as a tolerance for uninfected civilian collateral damage that would make even guy's like Bomber Harris or Curtis Lemay blanche in sheer horror. In the early days the only way you can contain Rage if it spreads out of the UK is by horror's that make what happened to the UK look like a picnic. And any attempt to save large numbers of people stuck in GB at the time means that Rage spreads almost inevitably.
Which puts the US among other countries into a very difficult position early in the infection. Either they can accept a significant risk that not only will their entire home nations be exterminated but that mankind itself might go largely or entirely extinct or they can more or less completely abandon the civilians of tens of millions of allied Civilians, at least a million plus US tourists and expats, and tens of thousands of Sworn active duty US servicemen. In fact the containment (and later Rage eradication) measures needed will likely kill vast numbers of their own citizens.
Honestly I could see all out nuclear war being either seriously threatened or outright occurring as a result of one nation seriously publicly proposing any sort of large scale evacuation program (Even it's it's limited to say the tens of thousands of US servicemen stuck in various UK bases at the time of the epidemic). I could see other nations absolutely panicking at the idea of another nation trying to engage in a large scale evac effort of the UK (and concluding probably rightly that with the preperation, knowledge, tactics, and forces available at the time any but the most absolute limited evacuation efforts is almost guaranteed to inevitably fail and spread the epidemic outside of the UK. Therefore any attempt by another nation to engage in a large scale evacuation effort (even if it's limited to their own citizens inside of the country) will be seen as the equivalent by at least some other nations as being an inevitable direct attack on the very existence of their own nations/potentially massacring their entire population. So decent chance that if the US does seriously try or even propose it publicly the result is the Russians or Chinese going to the equivalent of Defcon one or Defcon two and threatening to launch everything they have at the US or whatever nation is proposing it.
It's utterly horrible but it's the only thing that makes sense. The only option I can think of for a large scale evacuation that might make sense would be if instead of evaccing whatever groups are trying to leave to the outside world they are instead evacuated and forcibly quarantined in say fortified "Safe Zones" or say the Isle of Man or something. The British government at some point accepts the inevitable loss of the UK and evacuates whatever forces it can to say the Isle Of Man. Other nations provide logistical support by sending in aircraft on "One Way Missions" (basically a foreign owned passenger or cargo ship/plane flown in by a minimal crew. Probably Brits who were trapped outside of the UK at the time of the outbreak. They're allowed to be flown into the Island of Man or whatever other "Safe Zones" are created and allowed to be used within the UK from say bases that haven't fallen yet on the mainland and the Isle of Man. Any attempt at using said vessels/aircraft to actually leave the UK again will result in the immediate complete destruction of the attempting vessel/plane regardless of whoever or whatever is on board. Additional supplies and logistical support are provided either by airdrops by aircraft based abroad or more one way missions.
In regards to the US bases that would have contained nuclear weapons (and probably any British facilities believed to contain more warheads from the Trident Program) would probably eat Tac Nukes even if the usage of nukes in "Containment of Britain/Eradication of Rage" is relatively limited with more normal conventional weapons and a variety of chemical weapons are very very very heavily used.
Otherwise the bases "just" get bathed in a fuckton of conventional explosives, chemical weapons, land mines, and is marked as an extra special "No go Zone" where recon aircraft/drones provide continual coverage and any attempt by any aircraft, ships, or land vehicles to enter the zone is responded to either with a nuke or just everything else I've mentioned.
It's horrible in every way imaginable.
Thing is those bases are designed to withstand an conventional attack- the miles of razor wire, multiple kill fire zones, and lots of armed personnel mean those bases either become underground 'safe zones' if the Ragers actually manage to get in or they become islands of safety as the Horde moves on after throwing themselves on the gates.
If absolutely nothing else the Americans would lay down their lives to evac the missiles and/or lock them down underground.
Sure the Outbreak was fast, but US/UK forces are trained for a civlian uprising and pathogen response. Whilst they might not have held out forever, I suspect they are a sea against the Horde for a while, esp as their attack moved along the motorways and A roads away from Cambridge.
The UK's own nukes would be locked down as the virus spread, or flown out of the country if possible.
American/NATO bases would be No1 priority in the weeks after the first outbreak- forget London and the resettlement rubbish from 28 Weeks. The priority will be securing bases, and establishing safe locations from which to radiate outwards - which Isle of Dogs was 100% not.
If absolutely nothing else the Americans would lay down their lives to evac the missiles and/or lock them down underground.
Sure the Outbreak was fast, but US/UK forces are trained for a civlian uprising and pathogen response. Whilst they might not have held out forever, I suspect they are a sea against the Horde for a while, esp as their attack moved along the motorways and A roads away from Cambridge.
The UK's own nukes would be locked down as the virus spread, or flown out of the country if possible.
American/NATO bases would be No1 priority in the weeks after the first outbreak- forget London and the resettlement rubbish from 28 Weeks. The priority will be securing bases, and establishing safe locations from which to radiate outwards - which Isle of Dogs was 100% not.
This makes me want to write a short story about a military base surrounded by the Horde holding out and becoming a local safe zone. Unlike the soldiers from the movie, they manage to maintain at least enough discipline to not become raiders.
One of the biggest problems with those bases surviving is the fact that security is relatively lax (compared to what's needed in this scenario) and there is an almost total lack of what you would call "combat troops" (Infantry, artillery, armor, units like that). The UK bases are rightfully judged pretty safe in OTL against possible threats. So the garrisons are and were almost entirely things like logistical, medical, air force, and intelligence units. The only standing armed units would be the MPs and the minimal amounts of whatever name the USAF uses for base security. Every other servicemen would normally be unarmed. And those bases are big with very large perimeters. There also generally in relatively heavily populated areas (or at least areas with good infrastructure connections to heavily populated areas) that are near the initial outbreak areas. Odds are by the time they could arm the various mechanics, cooks, supply clerks, and the like with whatever small and light arms they would have available the bases would have largely been overrun. There's also the fact that at least initially the based units would be very hesitant to say start immediately firing 40mm grenades at what would still be seen as "rioting civilians". By the time they could realize the true threat and engage with everything they have they'd have likely been overrun.
Their best bets for survival would either be prepping as many cargo craft as possible to carry as many people as possible to the more remote UK bases or effectively deciding to abandon most of the bases and focus everything they have on securing a much smaller zone around whatever the best suited buildings are. Or retreating underground if their are any extensive bunkers available.
If the bases were as heavily fortified as say FOBs during the Iraq/Afghan wars became and had large amounts of ready combat troops (so infantry, artillery, armor, and the like) along with an immediate willingness to go full bore on what would still be seen as "Rioting civilians" they might be able to hold out. Most of the existing US bases in Britain though most likely won't.
Honestly I kind of like the idea of combined British/US force remnants deciding that during the fall of Scotland they should retreat to Castle Edinburgh. With enough preparations, firepower, and supplies they should be able to hold the position against even huge hordes.
You can look at pictures of the castle and even though it's located inside a large city it's defenses are still largely intact and it's positioning is fantastic (Basically being on top of a huge rocky crag towering over the city).
They'd be trapped and desperate but at least theoretically outside countries could air drop supplies (and provide air strikes) without risking the containment.