r/whowouldwin • u/ThePriestofVaranasi • Jul 09 '25

Challenge Every human on Earth vanishes, except for one random person in the US. A button is placed on the summit of Mount Everest that can be pressed to undo this change. Can humanity be restored?

Every human on Earth vanishes without a trace, except for one random survivor: Ethan from the United States. Moments after the disappearance, a mysterious device materializes before him, displaying a message:
"Humanity can be restored. To activate revival, you must press the button housed at the highest point on Earth—the summit of Mount Everest."

Ethan essentially has as much of a prep time as he wants to gather all the essentials like food, water, weapons, vehicles and everything else that has been suddenly abandoned. He can raid supermarkets, libraries, military depots, and pharmacies for supplies. Ethan can still die of old age so this prep time isn't unlimited.

Now, Ethan faces an impossible gauntlet:
He must travel to Nepal and ascend to the summit of Mount Everest without dying.

Can Ethan survive long enough to reach the button and restore humanity?

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u/TheRedditorSimon Jul 09 '25

Maybe 7-25 years, as they will drift out of orbit due to gravity peturbations and there are no ground operations to provide station keeping updates.

Also, the power grid goes offline almost immediately. User grade solar cells degrade about 1%/yr.

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u/DeadHeadDaddio Jul 11 '25

The fuel needed to power the ship will go bad within a few months.

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u/TheRedditorSimon Jul 11 '25

Most any ship engine bigger than an outboard motor will be fueled by diesel, not gasoline. Diesel is far more tolerant for storage, especially if you have the stuff without biodiesels mixed in.

Additionally, if Ethan can find an older diesel motor, they're much more tolerant of diesel fuel variations.

Lastly, you can "polish" diesel to recondition it. Just drain out the stuff at the bottom and use filters and mild heating on the rest. Most boats have this set up on board, already.

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u/TurnoverInfamous3705 Jul 14 '25

They would fall in 2 years without intervention.

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u/Glittering_Season141 Jul 10 '25

Ethan doesn't know this.