I'm in need of some information, and the best way to get it is to mask my true intent by means of a strange meme. I have a specific need for the kind of information you are being asked to provide. I am asking for specific and detailed information, but I am NOT asking for personal information.

If you must know, I am to the point in a long-running writing project where this kind of information would be very helpful. I consider this meme research for what I am writing. And just to be clear, the scenario I've outlined has been deliberately crafted so as to NOT give away what I am writing about.

So here goes... put on your thinking caps and consider what follows....




Your family along with 499 others has been tagged by the U.S. Government to participate in a “hands on” experiment with definite risks. You have chosen to participate and must now consider what you will bring with you, at government expense, up to $75,000 per family unit.

You have been instructed to consider the land tabula rasa and plan your list of supplies accordingly. Each family will be transported with their new belongings, along with a government control entity, to the experiment site. You do not know where you are being transported. All you know is that it is a wilderness devoid of any indigenous human habitation or convenience, and that exiting the experiment area is physically impossible. All Radio, Television, Satellite, and Cellular signals will be blocked.

This is a three year project from which no early withdrawal will be considered—once in, in to the end. No exceptions whatsoever. Your family will be quite literally prisoners to the experiment area.

The Consortium which has written and established the parameters of this experiment dubbed “Eden,” has given each family a list of guidelines for selecting their needs for the duration of the experiment: Required, Recommended, and Optional.

What the Consortium asks of you is a detailed list of what specifically, and in what amounts, your family will be taking into the experiment site. Remember, you will be there three years. There will be no resupply from outside the experiment site once there. Think about what your family will need in terms of raw material or specialized instruments to restock, augment, or replace your initial stores of supplies should it become necessary.

Consider the following when planning your list of supplies:

• Commencement of the experiment begins on June 1st of next year
• There will be no electricity after the first winter… For anyone. (Including members of the government control entity)
• After the first winter each family will be expected to move beyond the control group compound and establish a homestead and community/communities in the outlying areas
• Commerce will strictly consist of barter for the duration of the experiment
• THERE WILL BE NO RESUPPLY FROM OUTSIDE THE EXPERIMENT SITE !

REQUIRED:

Weapons- Kind, Quantity, Ammunitions, Amounts, Replacement parts, ETC. Be Specific.

• LIMIT: No more than $25,000 of the total $75,000 government stipend.
• $10,000 Minimum (Example: A family of five should consider at least one long-barreled firearm/sidearm per member regardless of member's age. HINT: Simple is better, ergo, black-powder rifle or breech loading carbine is better than Uzi)
  

Food-Dry Goods, Canned Goods, Seed Store, Live Stock

• Texas Longhorn, Goat, Sheep and Pigs ONLY.
• Absolutely NO Horses, or Dogs Under 30lbs Mature Weight.
• BE SPECIFIC in quantity of each, and consider feed for all animals
• LIMIT: No more than$30,000 of the total $75,000 government stipend
• $15,000 Minimum

Clothing, Tools, Machinery-Remember! No Resupply Once Within the Experiment Area

• Absolutely no Vehicles other than animal drawn conveyances
• Plows, looms, needles, cloth, forge equipment, books, shoes, resoling tools, etc.
• LIMIT: No more than $30,000 of the total $75,000 government stipend
• $15,000 Minimum

Miscellany-A Home Away From Home Needs Family Comfort

• Furniture, Bedding, Sinks, Basins, ETC. Think Wisely and BE SPECIFIC
• LIMIT: No more than $10,000 of the total $75,000 government stipend

All families and Control personnel will have 120 minutes to transport ALL supplies from the staging area outside the experiment area to inside the experiment area.

Choose wisely. Your family's survival depends on it...


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Please do not post your reply here in "comments." Please Email your supply lists to ELAshley@Gmail.com And consider everything at today's cost. What would it cost you to buy these things today? If you feel like it, supply your total costs for each guideline category.