Introduction:  People are uncertain about the future.   Survivalists and survival materials dot the Internet.  The world's leaders, whether corporate, religious or political, seem to be incapable of cooperating.   Some even expect the apocalypse.  This page is directed at encouraging a single idea, although in itself this idea is a bit complex.

It (the idea) begins with asking the question:  If Western Civilization falls into barbarism of some kind, how can the gains in knowledge, wisdom, understanding and all the practical arts be preserved?

It makes no difference which road we take to get to an unconscionable level of social chaos - there are many paths to destruction.  It is also true that the coming chaos will not be as bad as some suspect.  In any event, the question still remains: How do we preserve what has been gained, if civilization as we know it falls?

The answer to that question is simple, but assumes the will to do the work.  Here is the basic picture, in three parts.

Part One:

An open-source-like community forms, similar to that which was done in connection with the Linux operating system or Wikipedia.  This group takes on the task of producing the content for the Library - the what that is to be preserved.  As this content is developed it will obviously increase in complexity.  Multiple versions of the Library will emerge, in multiple languages.  This content will be stored in various computers in a form that allows free downloads to CDs and/or DVD format type discs. 

To fill out this idea, let me give a sketch of some of the material that could (or should) be included in the Library.

Clearly basic survival information, such as instructions for camping, food capture and preservation, as well as emergency health care and so forth.

Given that one scenario concerning collapse assumes that centers of civilization will cease to function, and that crucial infrastructure will disappear and have to be rebuilt from the bottom up, what is then needed is such as the following...

basic herbal lore
basic chemistry
basic animal husbandry
basic materials science (building forges, smelting, identifying mineral substances)
basic disease prevention and healing ideas (how to treat cholera, dysentery and so forth)

and on and on and on and on....

to higher elements of preservation in the form of advanced physics, copies of books on spiritual development and so forth.

Since there will be multiple versions as this whole process grows in complexity, it will not be necessary for any one version of the Library to contain all possibilities.  As social chaos intensifies, no doubt there will be those who see to it that versions of the Library (perhaps multiple versions) as well as the necessary laptop and peripherals, are freely distributed where needed.

Part Two:

That is one task, the second is related, but simpler, and has already been advanced to a degree by the Media Lab at MIT.  This is the creation of an inexpensive and rugged laptop computer, that can be run off of any kind of manual device to produce its electricity.  This can include a stationary bicycle kind of electrical generating system, or something involving hand generating by using a crank as part of the laptop.  This too can take a variety of forms.

Right now various prototypes are being designed for other purposes, but the creation of The Library will advance this work in an alternative direction.

All we really need to do is imagine what we'd need to know to start from scratch, if the basic knowledge was preserved in a fashion that can be accessed in a sensible way, which leads us to part three.

Part Three:

Search software for the library:  Present DVD capacity is very high for text, and for simple drawings.  The problem for the end user needs to be imagined, such that when they open the laptop, fire it up, put in the DVD (not more that three), they can ask the question they most need an answer to, and the search software will lead the user through a decision tree that gets them quickly to the information that they most need.

This then is the idea of the Library, perhaps linked to Wikipedia articles on survivalism.  When will it be started?  Who will start it?  Who will understand the need and the service to be performed?

to contact the author of this page, please go to The Pharaoh Foundation.