Quote Originally Posted by Unit9014 View Post
...I have heard of a company just called Raydon that is a contractor for military training. I believe they make simulators and training equipment for everything from how to use different weapon systems to tactics etc. Maybe this is a hat tip to that company and a hypothetical 'underground' division making some shady enhancement drugs for soldiers that goes a little haywire?
Raydon Corporation is indeed a significant military contractor. They build weapons simulators and they make all of the convoy simulators that the Army uses. They're located in Florida. www.raydon.com

Quote Originally Posted by Unit9014 View Post
...with the fuel quickly disappearing, it is probably past time to start looking at alternative sources to power. How about making biodeisel from vegetable oil for a temporary fix? There has to be a ton of oil around I would imagine with all the restaurants using it for fryers and grocery stores having gallon jugs. As a more permanent fix they could have crews start collecting solar panels from homes to move to the colony. They mentioned they have some white pages, look up some solar and wind turbine companies and start setting up a stand alone grid within the colony maybe. Worse case scenario they could set up some homemade windmills to turn car alternators to recharge a grid of car batteries. That won't do much for very heavy equipment but it could power all the lights through the colony. With some power inverters it could also power fridges and freezers and medical equipment in the hospital etc. No fuel needed.
Just to add to the fun, at this point in the story gasoline supplies are nearing the end of their shelf life. Gasoline breaks down and loses potency over time, eventually reaching a point where it just isn't volatile enough to power machines. Normal shelf life is up to one year, or up to two years if treated with chemical stabilizers. Diesel has a much longer shelf life, but it is also more susceptible to contamination from water, which forms in storage tanks through condensation. Bottom line, at some point all of the stored fuel in the WA universe will stop working so they need to start working on alternatives!