Disaster planning

[bunn]

If Great Cthulhu devours the Houses of Parliament during, say the State Opening of Parliament, and removes at a stroke all Members of Parliament, all members of the House of Lords, the Privy Council, the Monarch and all the senior Royals...

Who is left in charge?

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Damnit! you are right, I bet either the US or Russia, and just possibly also the French, would nuke Cthulhu and not worry about taking out London. Probably both!

I wonder how long it would take them to make their minds up to do that.

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

Once they saw the satellite feeds, not long. And don't forget the Indians and the Pakistanis and the Chinese.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I wasn't, but perhaps erroneously, I felt that China being a fair distance away might hesitate to see what closer powers might do first, and that it would be a particularly tough decision for India because so many family links. For some reason I see the Indians being a little more sentimental about that.

I'm guessing at Russia to hit the button first, but they might hesitate in case that might provoke US retaliation, so I have a side bet on France...

(In case you, or indeed the intelligence services, are wondering, I'm not actually growing Cthulhu in some sort of giant tank in the Tamar in order to carry out the experiment :-D).

[bunn.livejournal.com]

... I do have three cats, but really, none of them are the Bond-villain kind of cat.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Of course, if you were growing Cthuhu, that's just the sort of thing you *would* say ...

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

But wouldn't the US and/or Russia have been tentacled first? Assuming that Cthulhu keeps up to date with current affairs, I doubt he'd make London his first target. With Washington and Moscow already devoured, we'd already be in a Panicked Recall of Parliament situation, rather than a State Opening situation, and the Queen would have been safely hidden in an abandoned slate mine in Blaenau Ffestiniog, along with the treasures of the National Gallery.

Unless Cthulhu is a traditionalist, raised on old-fashioned tales of the glories of the British Empire, and goes for London first for sentimental reasons? It's possible, I suppose. After all, all the baddies in Doctor Who seem to work on these principles.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I believe Cthulhu to be a rabid anti-monarchist, and therefore, he has chosen to target countries which are well endowed with delicious royalty first. Hence his attention to detail in the area of removing the first 50 members of the royal family in order of succession.

I suspect he has already taken out Tonga, but nobody noticed.