The Postman

The world collapses after EMPs, bioweapons, and other cataclysms. Gordon Krantz loses nearly everything to bandits and must improvise his survival. He wanders westward, wearing warmth from a postal uniform and using Shakespeare plays to earn scraps of food.

He discovers a sack of mail and a long-abandoned postal van. He dons the uniform and begins delivering mail to barter for food and shelter, presenting himself as a real postman for the supposed Restored United States. The uniform becomes a lifeline and a symbol.

Desperation makes communities want to believe in his claim of representing the Restored United States. He travels from town to town performing scenes from Shakespeare to earn trust and meals. He is initially honest about needing warmth and shelter in a shattered world.

In Corvallis, Oregon, he encounters Cyclops, a supposed sentient AI that survived the cataclysm. The machine appears to guide the town, but in truth it is damaged and kept alive by scientists to instill hope. Gordon compares its influence to a Delphi Oracle.

A group of scientists maintains Cyclops's facade to manage resources and encourage contributions from citizens. They claim the AI can foresee needs and outcomes, a narrative that draws on people's faith in a higher order. Gordon debates the ethics of this ruse.

A hypersurvivalist militia, the Holnists, presses from the Rogue River region and beyond, threatening the fragile communities. The Postman and the Corvallis scientists brace for conflict as order grows fragile. The war for survival expands beyond a single town.

The Postman allies with the Cyclops scientists to defend towns and resist Holnist advances. They begin to coordinate limited defense and resource distribution amid the chaos. The alliance marks a shift from individual hustling to organized resistance.

The Umpqua people, descendants of ranchers, loggers, and Native Americans, join forces with the Postman and scientists. They bring a warrior tradition and help turn back Holnist raids that had haunted the valley. The alliance broadens the coalition and shifts the balance of power.

The Postman learns of another organized enemy symbolized by the Bear Flag to the south. This new menace signals that unity across groups will be needed to revive civilization. The discovery widens the scope of the conflict beyond Oregon.

In the final scenes, the Postman and his allies rally to defend civilization and hint at a future where the different symbols unite. The story uses the confrontation to argue that culture and cooperation can survive even after upheaval. The Bear Flag and Holnist symbols loom as threats, but there is a sense of hopeful possibility.

A key backstory reveals that the collapse was driven not primarily by EMPs or bioweapons, but by Holnists preying on humanitarian workers and attacking communities. Their raids amplified chaos and undermined fragile efforts at rebuilding. The narrative uses this origin to critique fanatical violence.

The Postman’s growing legend—an emblem of warmth, empathy, and civil faith—resonates as communities imagine a revived civilization. He travels with mail in his hands and hope in their hearts. The final tone hints that rebuilding will depend on cooperation across symbols and tribes.