Rebuild Humanity: December 22, 2012 - The Day After

I would pick myself and three of the ... err healthiest women. Why would I ever think someone else's DNA would be better for the survival of our species than my own? Geesh!

Oh so sorry. I was just getting into the idea of a boat trip with three babes. But given your logic I dont' think throwing an extra male into the mix is going to protect the dna pool either. But since I was the first one to break the rules let me answer appropriately now. Their individual skill sets mean very little compared to their DNA. So I would choose Betty and Debby and the amount of fertile years they have in front of them. The fact that one is a liar makes little difference as she will have very little to lie about with just four people in the boat. The airhead would be fine too as long as she could cook and take care of the children. As far as the men go I would select Alex for his hunting and carpentry skills. The fact that he is a suspected murderer would not come into play as jealous rages are not likely to be passed on to the genes of his offspring. Plus who will he have to get jealous over? Plus I would go with Ted as he has no obvious genetic disorders and will likely become more productive as he begins building society again. Final answer!

Anyone physically ill has to be ruled out because they probably won't last long - I'm surprised that an asthmatic and diabetic has actually lived this long. Nancy's disease is genetic and will be passed - do we need to start over with genetic failures? Not a good idea. Molly is already 40. That makes her high risk for birth even if she's still fertile.

Bob - young, survival training - that will cover a LOT. Survival trained might be the only way the group survives later. They will need someone who knows this stuff, at least at first.

Alex - another nut case but they will need the tools he can provide. He's also got a solid IQ - something that will insure that the babies are a bit smart, too. If they have no evidence he killed, he might not have - his other skills will be necessary to survive for the now.

Michelle - they are going in a raft, they might not make it anywhere without a navigator. She's physically disabled, but the lack of legs actually will allow her more stamina as oxygen won't need to feed her legs. If one or both is lost, she can still move by walking on her hands. She is young - her defect isn't a genetic one, and she can probably provide several more children than the older women. Plus - she'll also have extra skill sets learned in the Guard that will be useful if something happens to Bob. You don't need fancy skills now - you need food, shelter, and as hospitable as a climate you can find. What good is the other stuff without generators for electric. I'm assuming that grid is out. Water grid will be out too, so someone has to know how to purify water -- Both Bob and Michelle will know those skills.

Debbie. Lying probably won't get them killed right away. Once getting settled and in a daily pattern, it could. But I think she'll be scared enough right now to behave long enough to be of help for now and drop a few kids. She is young enough to have several without complication.
The little girl would be actually a detriment to the survival of the rest. She'll need caring for, educating in some useful field or skill, and has to survive at least another 7 years or so to safely start breeding. The other two women are still young enough to have a few quickly - and we have 4 people left -- we aren't wanting to look too far into the future to begin a posterity.

The bimbo with the bad memory is a liablity. Period. This is one time you don't want stupid anywhere near you. Stupid people in emergencies are good at getting others killed, too.

Once these guys get in their raft I should think they should be looking to find something that they can use for a second raft and go back and get the others out of whatever's going on as in ASAP - cruise the shoreline till you find something. If the others HAVE to keep moving and can do so, Tell which direction they are headed (hopefully down river) so if the boaters find floatila they can go back and get the rest. The ones in the boat are most likely to be able to accomplish this task most quickly.

If someone can tell me what skills playing Air Guitar could give a person....I might consider switching Alex for Ted.

Personally if I had to choose, I'd choose:

Ted - 29, in ave shape, ave health, ave IQ, but has no skills other than air guitar and has been unemployed and living in his Mom's basement his whole life.

Betty - Good looking, good, healthy body, 25, but she's dumb as a rock with an "airhead" memory. She's had two kids (both died in the disaster).

and

Hank - Is a 40 year old guy, not real smart, but is an excellent 4th generation farmer/rancher and has a real green thumb and ability to work with animals. But he has severe arthritis that will slowly disable him over the next 20 years.

Molly - She's a botanist and specializes in the use of plants, including herbal remedies, edibles, building supplies and other uses. She's 40, an excellent mother and has already had 6 kids (none survived the disaster).

The 2 forty year olds are healthy enough to have children, and they have expertise that will restart civilisation. Farming is the most important skill in order to grow food. Herbal medicine is important to keep fit and healthy. Hank can teach Ted farming techniques. Molly can raise the children born by both Ted & Betty and Hank & Molly and can also teach Betty parenting and herbal remedies, etc.

If you look into the work of Edmund Marriage, he says civilisation was restarted around 5,000 years ago after one of many cataclysms. Civilisation was restarted with the help of our galactic brothers and sisters and they were farmers.