Frontier Concept Vehicle

What we need is a 21st century Land Rover Defender - a simple yet high-tech vehicle that can handle the frontiers of the emerging post-Everything world. This vehicle will need to be lightweight, adaptable, usable, durable and very fuel efficient. I propose that it will be more of a platform than a traditional vehicle -- literally a platform, and a very lightweight platform at that -- with modular add-ons that allow you, the King, to turn it into whatever you want.


I live at a remote ranch community in the mountains of Northern California in the brave year 2038. This is a period of tremendous global conflict. Civil wars and resource wars are raging around the globe. Oil, metals and food are all in high demand and universally rationed, their supplies ever-diminishing as humanity reaches the final end of the Industrial Age and enters the Age of Scarcity at full steam. Climate change, starvation, pollution and ecosystem collapse have wreaked havoc on entire nations and laid waste to immense swaths of land, turning them into poisonous wastelands.

It is in this world that I struggle to survive.

I own and use a 2032 TC6 FVP (Tyco Concept Model 6 Frontier Vehicle Platform). It is essentially a skeletonized, drive-by-wire, 4-wheel electric vehicle with a single-seat open cockpit and a flatbed. You might call it a tractor, or a buggy, of sorts. I have configured its battery pack to hang evenly beneath the flatbed, reducing the vehicle's overall center of gravity. A highly efficient solar ragtop roof covers the entire vehicle, providing trickle power during all daylight hours. There are also 2 portable 12-volt wind turbines onboard, which can be flipped up any time I am stopped to add additional battery-charging ooomph.

My TC6 has a small electric motor in each wheel hub, and airless tires. The battery pack powers the motors, and the motors are "smart" -- that is, they automatically adjust their speed and turn off and on on their own accord, according to the terrain we are traversing and their own energy-saving protocol. The TC6 seamlessly becomes a 1-, 2-, 3- or 4-wheel drive vehicle at its own whim. In fact, it drives semi-autonomously around the entire ranch, going wherever I prompt it, traveling on what it discerns to be the most-tried-and-true routes. The battery pack is charged by the solar ragtop, the wind turbines, regenerative braking, downhill regeneration, and, when I am parked at home, by the 24/7 community pelton wheels in the creek and river.

I do not often travel long distance, as this is my ranch vehicle, so running out of power is not a pressing issue. When I do travel to Hayfork or Eureka though, I have two power options. One is to strip all excess weight off the TC6, wait for a sunny/windy day, and make the trip as-is with charged batteries, at very slow speed. The TC6 is a crawler, very efficient and able to traverse extreme landscapes, and it excels at energy-efficient low speeds. The second option is to attach a small turbo-diesel generator to the flatbed and plug it into the battery pack. Using this method, the TC6 can attain speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Either way, it is fully capable of driving itself, and responds to my personalized voice commands.

On a day-to-day basis, I use the TC6 to haul tools, feed and people around the ranch as I fix fences, repair roads, feed animals, run security, etc. Generally speaking, the heavier the load, the slower the TC6 moves, as it eeks every possible centavo out of the battery pack. It can traverse extreme slopes, mud, potholes, etc effortlessly. Sometime we affix a wooden bench or two to the flatbed, to accommodate passengers. Sometimes I attach tool boxes, or tow around light farm equipment.

I foresee the possibility that the electrical system might one day fail due to age, faulty components, or an EMP attack. In that case, the TC6 could be stripped of its entire electrical system, and used as a wagon. It could be pulled by a horse, a mule, goats or dogs. It could also be pushed and/or pulled by people. It's that lightweight. The bottom line is this: The TC6 functions well, and at multiple levels, in this fucked up, low-energy world we now live in. Because of its advanced utility, I am generally unburdened by the quest for expensive and scarce liquid fuel, and have watched many lesser vehicles decay around me over the last decade, to be replaced by bicycles, horses and human feet.

The AR-23

Yet another concept gun from a story I wrote. I call it the AR-23, though that designation may already exist for some other existing weapon. The dealio with this assault rifle is that it has 4 tube magazines located in the stock assembly. Each tube is loaded with different ammo, and the wielder of this weapon chooses his ammo as necessary by pressing a switch and cycling between tubes. Utilizing hi-tech micro-motors, the rifle can cycle the tubes at high speed, rotating the relevant tube to the barrel in an instant. The ammo is caseless, and the armor-piercing and high-velocity rounds use small-caliber slugs in sabot cladding. This allows a large charge to fire a thin, lightweight projectile thru the barrel at high-velocity. Other types of ammo might include incendiary, explosive, fragmenting, rubber, wireless Tazer, etc.

This concept could stand alone, but ammo capacity and reloading seem like they would be impeded. Therefore, this concept might be best used with small-caliber grenades or shotgun shells, with an additional & separate assault rifle located beneath it. In this configuration, the weapon would include an assault rifle with a normal bottom-loading box magazine, on top of which was stacked the tube concept weapon. A single trigger & sight would control both weapons. Buttons would allow the operator to seamlessly switch barrels and ammo on the run.

Example: PIG 6116 is fighting for his life in the ruins of San Francisco. He is crouched inside a bombed-out bus, firing his AR-23 up at an apartment window across the street. He's blasting away with the .223 assault rifle, laying down suppressing fire. The enemy soldier above withdraws from sight. PIG then seamlessly switches to his integral top-mounted grenade launcher, chooses HE, and fires 2 high-explosive rounds into the apartment. BINGO. An arm flies out the window, Russkie rifle still attached to the fingers, and PIG knows the enemy is out of commission.

†

The Ripper Assault Pistol

Another sci-fi concept gun from my archives, though not so very sci-fi at all. Just illegal! Ha ha. Basically, the Ripper is a modified, pistolized assault rifle (readily available at the present time in numerous states not including CA) -- that is, an AK-47 or AR-15 with a very short (approximately 6-inch) barrel and no stock. To this basic assembly you add ports on the barrel, a collapsing stock, a 30-round box mag, perhaps a red dot sight, and a sling. That's it! Like I said, it's currently illegal because it combines elements of a pistol and a rifle. So, it's a sci-fi concept. Would be an amazing weapon, very compact with assault rifle power.

The BuzzSaw subAssault Rifle

This is a concept weapon from a sci-fi story I wrote long ago. It fills a niche that perhaps the PDW now fills. What the Buzzsaw is, is it's a compact, lightweight, highly controllable full-auto assault rifle with a very high rate of fire. It achieves its high rate of fire by firing caseless ammo, which means that there is no cycling breech or ejection port, and theoretically the gun cannot jam. It has a ported, ceramic barrel which cannot melt. It can accept regular 20- or 30-round box mags, or larger 100-round SAW-type mags, or it can be belt-fed via 250/500-round chest- or back-pack magazines.

I'm not sure about the caliber on this one. 7.62 x 39 mm would probably be too big and heavy, and 44 Magnum would characterize this weapon as something less than an assault rifle. Thus it would probably fire proprietary lightweight 44 caliber "subAssault" caseless bullets consisting of gas-filled explosive slugs with "NanoTech" propellant. The propellant would take up as much space as a cap does on today's bullets, and would adhere directly to the back of the metal round. These exploding pistol-caliber bullets would have tremendous stopping power and specific AP (anti-personnel) application (as opposed to armor-piercing, incendiary, etc.).

The BuzzSaw would have fore and aft pistol grips. A telescoping wire stock. Quick-switch ported ceramic barrels of different lengths. Iron or red dot sights. Designed to be fired on full-auto like either an assault rifle or a sub machine gun, it would be specifically designed to be used in running firefights to achieve overwhelming firepower superiority. Its extreme controllability -- due to its overall light weight, ported barrel, and compact ergonomic design -- would allow it to be accurately hip-fired, or fired on the run, or easily fired like a conventional rifle, while maintaining a tremendous rate of fire.

Oops, gotta run. It's bed time.

Today's Lecture

•There is a fat, hot, fluffulous cat in my lap. It is so spoiled that it sounds like Brittney Spears, or Paris Hilton, when it meows. But I am madly in love with it anyway. Life makes little sense sometimes. This is what kind of a survivalist I am.
•Planted the Gala apple tree today, in the rain. Muddy, wet work, but now it's done. Found out that the first apricot tree, planted 3 years ago, gave a crop of 50 apricots last year, and they were strategically picked before the fucking blue jays ate them. It's a small tree, too, so it gave a good yield. I hear they tasted real good. Fantastic news.
•Wanted to plant hazelnut trees this year, but there is a blight in California right now and Hazelut trees are not for sale. Fuck. Maybe plant a walnut instead?
•The olive tree nursery is looking great so far. Pops, the master bonsai-ist, says he bets 100% of the trees grow to maturity. He showed me his bonsai olives. Cute, but they don't produce!
•More later. Gotta go see a friend.

Notes

•Bought a 1953 milk crate for $5.00 at an estate sale today. It's in decent shape with hardwood sides and a very strong metal frame and floor. I brought it home, brushed it off with a wire brush, sanded it a tad, cleaned up the metal, and painted it head-to-toe with boiled Linseed oil. The wood and metal were parched, they just sucked the oil up. Then I wiped the excess off and left it outside to dry overnight. It'll last a long time if I don't leave it outside.
•The Hyampom SAW will henceforth be called the Hyampom BAR, because it is a heavy son-of-a-gun and, well, being semi-auto, its rate of fire will more resemble a BAR than a SAW.
•Bought a new computer and it's so tiny and lightweight that already my old laptop feels like a Cold War relic. Advantages of this new laptop: It has a flash drive instead of a hard drive, which means no moving parts, faster speed, less heat and WAY less energy usage. And, it has 2 processors. It's quick. So what if it has a little screen? It's still letterbox!
•Finally figured out how to create hyperlinks on this damn blog! Took me 3 years and the damn button was right in front of me the entire time.
•I find this war in Libya fascinating. A mercenary army hired by an insane dictator, a rebel army with absolutely no training or leadership, random battles in the flat desert, pickups with machine guns mounted on them, cities being attacked, captured, then abandoned in a single day! It's as if nobody on either side has any tactical expertise. But I do hope the rebels win and kick Kadaffy's ass. In fact, I think it would be cool to go over there and help the good guys. But that ain't gonna happen. I'd probably get caught by Kadaffy's goons and tortured. Ugh.
•The dudes at Survival Cache continue to put out an awesome weekly newsletter. It's one of the highlights of my week. That, and gettin' laid. And getting high.
•Some of the best things in life: Yoga, baking soda, bicycles, laptops, raw milk, grass-fed beef, free-range organic eggs, nettles, Lambs Quarters, potatoes.
•Been researching alternative currencies and local currencies. Some mints are producing barter tokens. These tokens are either 1 oz copper rounds, fractional silver rounds, or fractional gold rounds. No dollar values stamped on any of the rounds, but a 1 oz copper is 2 units, a 1 oz silver is 50 units, and I forget what a 1 oz gold is...but it may be 500 units. The idea is that each round has inherent value because of its metal content. BUT, the value is really up to the people trading with it. And, it would also fluctuate depending on the price of metals on any given day. I like this concept, though it is really difficult for alternative economics to catch on. And the only way they can work is if people believe in them and buy into them, and that almost never happens. So fuck it. No, not really. I think this shit is awesome.
•Ate like a fucking saint today. Feeling good. Starving though! Gotta go get something good for dinner. Maybe In-N-Out? Mmmmmm!

21st Century Thneeds

Those of you who watched The Lorax as a child may remember that a "thneed" is a multi-purpose garment that can be whatever you need it to be. Well, apparently there are at least two European garments in existence, both of which are highly praised, that function as survivalist thneeds. The first is the Fjellduk, by Helsport. The second is the Bivanorak, by Hilleberg. I do not have any personal experience with either, but they receive high praise and are worthy of serious consideration for both your BOB and general outdoor use. Basically, they both function as lightweight & waterproof ponchos, shelters and tarps.

Image 1 above is of the Helsport Fjellduk. Here is the description given on the Helsport website:

"Helsport Fjellduk is a convenient multi-use product used in different ways depending on the situation. Whether you are surprised by extreme weather or light camping, the Helsport Fellduk will have a function. The hoody and arms are detachable and can be zipped off/on, depending on needs. It can be partly used as a poncho, sleeping bag, windsack and as a tarp. Helsport Fjellduk comes in different colors/patterns and thickness. Helsport Fjellduk is delivered with a compression bag and red emergency flag."

Well, Christ on a cracker. I've seen better translations. And this garment looks strange. It has funky euro-camo. And, I already have rain gear and a poncho and a bivy sack. And, I can't find a price on this and it's only available in Europa. But what the hey, I still think it's cool.

Image 2 above is of the Hilleberg Bivanorak. It costs US$175. Per the Hilleberg website:

"An innovative, multi-purpose piece of equipment that is indispensable for nearly every outdoor activity.

Shelter Profile

Originally developed as a survival tool for Swedish air force pilots, our patented Bivanorak is a bivy bag/sleeping bag cover, rain garment, portable windbreak, and emergency shelter, all in one – and all in a 580 g/1 lb 4 oz package. The Bivanorak is made from a lightweight, tough, polyurethane-coated waterproof breathable fabric and has fully taped seams.

Bivy Bag/Sleeping Bag Cover

The Bivanorak is cut long and wide to provide room for both a sleeping bag and pad in bivy bag mode. Its lower hem and cuffs have draw cords (those in the cuffs are elastic) which can be secured shut to keep warmth in and rain and snow out, and its long front zipper makes entry and exit easy. The large hood will easily accommodate the hood of a sleeping bag, yet it can be cinched tightly around your face. Combine a Hilleberg Bivanorak and Tarp to create a highly effective – and incredibly lightweight – shelter system.

Rain Garment

The Bivanorak is worn anorak style and can be adjusted to a variety of lengths. Simply pull the bottom hem up inside the body of the Bivanorak and tighten the draw cord around your waist or tuck the extra fabric under your pack’s hip belt. There is even enough room to carry a backpack underneath! Pair it with rain pants or chaps and you have superb wet weather protection. Its single size and easy adjustability allow both the tallest and smallest person to use the Bivanorak.

Windbreak/Shelter

Pull it out of your pack and climb in. The wind and waterproof material, adjustable cuffs and hem, and generous hood make for a roomy, comfortable temporary refuge! It’s a versatile alternative to our Windsack as safety equipment for one person. A Bivanorak makes any spot perfect for a lunch break while ski touring!"

I think it sounds cool. And useful. Look around online and you'll hear people raving about it.