Imagine yourself walking out of your office building, minding your own business and thinking of eating the cold cereal leftovers you put on the fridge that morning.
Suddenly, you hear screaming from a few blocks behind you. In a burst of adrenaline, you rush back into your high rise apartment and turn on the TV, to find out that something/s is attacking the city, and the police and armed forces are struggling to keep them at bay.
This is it. Years of playing video games, heading to the gym, and boosting your cardio endurance prepared you for this moment. You create a plan to get out of the city, packed your essentials, arm yourself, grabbed your dog and his medication, and moved out.
Depending on what monsters, armies or whatever is attacking where you live in, here are likely scenarios and your chances of survival:
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An Ancient Army
In ancient history, armies numbered by the tens of thousands – powerful empires fielded 100,000 soldiers, while smaller territories could manage about 20,000. Persian kings Darius and Xerxes fielded hundreds of thousands – formidable even in today’s standards. What if such army suddenly appeared in the middle of your city?
Chances of Survival: High. If you act fast, get a car and leave the city via car right away, you’ll be able to outrun any ancient army. You’d probably be back to work in a week, considering that the police and any modern armed force can quickly defeat primitive, sword-wielding armies, even if they were as elite as the Roman Legions.
Large Dragons
Let’s go with the cliché portrayal of these mythical beasts: large, fire breathing, reptiles with scales as hard as steel and titanium. Let’s be generous – let’s say a dozen of them appeared as you’re scrambling to leave your apartment.
Chances of Survival: High. The dragons will be preoccupied with the people unfortunate enough to be around them. Going to the apartment basement or taking a quick car ride to a neighboring town or city will probably put you in the clear – given that fighter jets will be coming over 15 minutes after the beasts appear.
A Zombie Horde
Widely portrayed in video games, TV shows, and movies, zombies are flesh-eating monsters who were once people who have been infected with a certain virus. No, we’re not going with The Walking Dead “walkers”, we’re going with the quick, running, but still mindless ones like those from Left4Dead, 28 Days Later and World War Z.
Chances of Survival: Slim. If the zombies are slow, it would be high – running ones can outpace any human being. Given that they are impervious to pain, fear, and other human emotions, they would charge through police and military barricades without thinking of the consequences. Although biting is a horrible way of spreading a disease, it could infect thousands of people in a single day if the carriers do so quickly. Don’t worry though, modern science and biology (and common sense) says that zombie apocalypses are bound to fail, and quickly at that. However, be sure to grab a boat and go to a paradise island in case this happens!
An Organic-based Alien Army
A lot of people believe that aliens exist…and if you think about it clearly, the possibilities are endless, because the universe is way too large. Let’s say an army comparable to those in movies like War of the Worlds, Battleship, Independence Day, and Battle: Los Angeles suddenly appeared.
Chances of Survival: Slim, if you don’t find a place to hide quickly. If a race can manage interstellar travel, they certainly have the tools to destroy “primitive” human technology. However, an alien invasion is doomed from the start. Earth’s gases, microorganisms, and other elements may prove to be poisonous or unsafe for them. Like in War of the Worlds, they might find themselves toppling over like dominoes because of the cold virus.
Overall, though the chances of these scenarios happening are zero, it’s fun to think about them. Regardless, it pays to be prepared for life threatening emergencies that may arise when you least expect it!
