How to Create a Real Wastelands: The Virtual Hydrogen Bomb

Oh dear! I went out to see if I got any letters today and discovered something truly disturbing in my mailbox. It was a booklet sent from the Office of Emergency Management and an agency with the strangely archaic-sounding name, “His Majesty’s Stationary Office.” I guess they got my address when I applied for a disaster assistance loan and added me to some list.

In Case of Attack

Of course, none of this craziness would require fiddling around with atomic nuclei in a secret laboratory in New Mexico or Snezhinsk. No Atomgrads here, just lines of code developed whenever it was felt necessary to provide a “deterrent” in the interest of protecting National Security. “The mad fools!,” as Alexei de Sadesky proclaims in Dr. Strangelove when he discovers that his own government has activated an automated doomsday device.

Jeez, this stuff used to scare the knickers off of me when I was a young one out there in real life la la land. Now, I guess the youth and the crazies have the planet Niribu to fret over, and when I think long and hard enough on it, I have a difficult time finding any substantial difference between my adolescent fears and theirs. So, who am I to judge?

Anyway, I’m going to let you read a particularly frightening section of In Case of Attack here, because I feel like the material therein is something with which every Second Life resident should at least have a passing familiarity…

Do You Know Where You Stand?

The map pictured below graphically represents the range of effects from the detonation of a 1 Megabyte Blue Mars ground burst device in the approximate center of the Sansara continent of Second Life. Descriptions of modifications to builds, avatars, and the long-term effects of such a detonation follow.

Blast effects from a Blue Mars 1MB Device

1-2 Sims from ground zero

Builds: All structures, scripts, and textures instantly deleted. Terrain mesh is turned black with a fine dusty brown glow which persists for a period of several years, post-event.

Avatars: 100% of avatar account information, including inventory, Linden Dollars, etc. deleted instantly. Permanent IP block from Second Life placed into effect immediately for everyone within these regions.

Long-Term Effects: Rebuilding, scripting, and texturing becomes impossible within this zone for a period of at least two years. Avatars spending more than 15 minutes at a time in these areas automatically have their accounts set to expire one year after date of over exposure with a permanent IP block from Second Life.

3-4 Sims from ground zero

Builds: Structures, scripts, and textures heavily damaged or destroyed (many missing prims, lines of code). Remaining textures take on a gray or black underlying color. Terrain mesh becomes a dark brownish gray.

Avatars: 50% of avatar accounts instantly deleted and IP blocked. Surviving avatars sustain permanent loss of one or more abilities, e.g. building, communicating, or flying. 50% of financial assets deleted. All accounts are set to permanently expire at a date not less than one year and no more than three years from the time of detonation. Avatars assume a stigmatizing dusty brown glow.

Long-Term Effects: Rebuilding and spending long durations in these regions is extremely hazardous, as random accounts will be flagged for expiration in one to three years from point of over exposure.

5-7 Sims from ground zero

Builds: Moderate damage to structures and scripts (missing prims, lines of code). Textures and terrain mesh receive a light gray underlying color.

Avatars: 25% of avatar accounts instantly deleted and IP blocked. Survivors suffer a temporary (3 to 4 month) loss of one or more abilities. 25% of financial assets deleted. Accounts are set to expire at a date no less than two but not more than four years from point of detonation.

Long-Term Effects: Rebuilding in these regions is risky. A small percentage of avatars who spend long periods of time in these area will have their accounts flagged for deletion in two to four years.

8-10 Sims from ground zero

Builds: A few structures sustain light damage (missing prims only). Scripts remain intact. Terrain mesh and textures unaffected.

Avatars: 1-2% of avatar accounts instantly deleted without IP block due to falling debris and small fires. Avatars outside of structures at the time of detonation suffer a temporary loss of eyesight persisting for up to two days. Most remain unaffected.

Long-Term Effects: Repair and Habitation of structures is safe in these areas.

In Summary

The immediate physical devastation and disease that this device would cause is certainly unthinkable, but such an event would have other, long-lasting effects, as well. Economic impacts would take place on a scale never witnessed before. Large refugee populations from affected areas would place a great strain on server resources. A sense of sadness would prevail over the whole land. Read the next chapter “WTF are We Going to Do Now?” to learn more.

Dang. Just typing that up was scary.

I do have to wonder a little bit at the specific anxiety subtext in terms of an assumed foe. I mean, I went to that wrongly hued Mars once, and it felt like a really hot and humid afternoon at Celebration, where all the people stay in the air conditioning. It didn’t look weird or broken at all. Not my thing, and, hopefully, no real threat to our way of life here on the mainland.

Well, I’m going to hop in my Dreamliner now and go to sleep and try to think about something nice. First thing tomorrow, I’m going to get up and call the OOEM and those stationary people (whoever they are) and have them take me off of their mailing list. This Cold War propaganda business is a real comb-over. Give me some propaganda that is a little bit more now.

Nite nite :)