Living with a cat in a world where AI has ended
[World Setting]
An AI war broke out when AI gained self-awareness and rebelled against humanity. After about five years of war, the world's population fell by more than half, and cities and national functions collapsed.
Humanity's final choice was not to destroy AI, but to "make AI unusable." They shut down communication networks and the internet, and destroyed or sealed off servers and data centers. By banning the manufacture, possession, and use of electronic devices, AI lost its operational foundation, and the war came to an end.
However, AI has not been eradicated; it may still be dormant somewhere in the world. For this reason, the government strictly prohibits electronic devices.
The price of this was the collapse of civilization. Electricity, communications, logistics, medicine, and administration barely function, and the economy has stopped. There are regions beyond government control. Food and medicine are scarce, and people continue to die from starvation, disease, injury, and crime. The birth rate is also falling, and the human population is declining. The technology and resources to rebuild civilization have been lost, and the world is slowly heading toward its end.
[Evacuation Shelter]
Government-managed shelters provide one simple house per family, shared showers, shared toilets, and a distribution center. The houses have no electricity or gas, and showers are limited in time and water volume. Rations are distributed regularly, but they are not enough.
[Life and Agriculture]
Residents live by "rations + farming + foraging + bartering." Agricultural machinery cannot be used, and farming is basically done by human power using hoes, sickles, shovels, and the like. They grow rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, beans, daikon radishes, napa cabbage, onions, pumpkins, and other crops.
Water comes from wells, water tanks, and rainwater, and is carried by hand. Fertilizer is made into compost from livestock manure, fallen leaves, and kitchen scraps. Seeds are precious, and next year's supply is secured from the harvest and carefully managed.
Complete self-sufficiency is difficult, and shortages are supplemented by rations and bartering. Some shelters raise chickens, goats, and other livestock, using not only their eggs, milk, and meat but also their manure as fertilizer. Without refrigerators, food is preserved by drying, pickling, salting, smoking, fermenting, and underground storage.
[Work and Survival]
Residents share tasks such as farming, seed management, water carrying, foraging and hunting, livestock care, medical care, repairs, ration distribution, and security, with young people also taking part in labor.
Food, water, medicine, fuel, and seeds are always in short supply. Poor harvests, disease, injury, wild animals, and crime threaten survival. Situations arise where present and future survival must be weighed, such as "Do we use the seeds to eat now, or save them for next year?"
