I wrote an article last year called The Art of Negotiation. In that article, I show that all the training, skills, and gear in the world might not be enough in an austere survival situation. And what saves the fictitious character and his family from a quick demise? He had a digital library of PDF books downloaded onto his waterproof keychain flash drive.
Now, before I go any further, someone in the preparedness community is bound to point out that a digital library won’t do much good if an EMP damages the electronics needed to read it, or if a coronal mass ejection (CME) disrupts the power grid for an extended period. That’s a fair assessment. An unpowered flash drive is only useful if you also have a working device to plug it into. Depending on the event, protecting spare electronics and planning for backup power may be worth considering.
If that concern is new to you, research Faraday cages and Faraday bags, but don’t assume every product offers complete protection. Learn how the shielding is tested, and remember that shielding electronics is only one part of keeping an offline library accessible.
WHAT HISTORY TEACHES US ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE:
I own numerous hard-copy books on all subjects related to preparedness, from building root cellars to ham radio operation and everything in between. I have even dedicated a section of Tertiary Prepper Magazine to “Knowledge Gear,” where I review books, manuals, movies, certifications, and more.
- The idea that knowledge is power is often associated with Sir Francis Bacon, who wrote “ipsa scientia potestas est” (“knowledge itself is power”) in 1597. A related formulation, “scientia potentia est,” appeared in a 1668 Latin edition of Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan.
- “Knowledge shared is power multiplied.” It’s a sentiment worth remembering, even though I could not establish a reliable original attribution.
- Proverbs 24:5 teaches that a wise man is strong and that knowledge increases strength.
Today, most people are accustomed to finding information through digital sources such as videos, websites, downloadable PDFs, and more. But there is one glaring problem with that: accessing online information generally requires a working device, power, and an internet connection. Downloaded PDFs and videos can work without internet access, provided you have a charged, compatible device.
But what happens when the power and internet both go out? Without a contingency plan, losing access to your information could be one more headache in an already stressful situation.
SCENARIO:
You’ve spent the last three years building a PDF library on a 256 GB waterproof flash drive that you keep on your keychain. You know, for “just in case.”
Then, four days ago, at 2:17 a.m. EST, an asteroid roughly half a mile wide struck the ocean near Cuba. This impact produced a massive tsunami near the strike, reaching .75 miles high before the waves spread across the Caribbean and Atlantic. Within hours, coastal communities throughout the Eastern Seaboard were inundated as the waves reached shore and were immediately decimated by catastrophic flooding.
Power went out almost immediately as your white noise machine turned off. Groggily you ventured into the kitchen to see all the power was out. You checked your phone, and there was no cell service. Living in West Virginia, that’s normal, but that’s why you got a new provider last year. You dig out the emergency radio from the kitchen closet.
The crank radio reports on the asteroid impact, the mega tsunami, and that casualties across the affected regions are estimated to exceed one hundred million. That’s when your brain starts to grasp the severity of the situation.
The internet is out, and no one knows when, or if, it will return in your area. Fortunately, you have a few solar panels that can recharge smaller items, such as your USB flashlight, radio, and other essentials.
Time seems to stand still. With so much modern infrastructure gone, even basic electronics that can still be charged, and the lifesaving reference material stored on them, could be worth their weight in gold.
Good thing you bought a ten-pack of those flash drives three years ago. If your neighbors have working devices, exchanging knowledge on a flash drive might become one of the lightest and most useful things you could offer or barter with.
NEXT STEPS:
The scenario above is deliberately extreme, but the underlying question isn’t: what would you do if the power and internet were unavailable for an extended period? As I write this on November 6, 2026, cyberattacks and AI-related risks are frequent topics of discussion. That doesn’t mean a nationwide, indefinite outage is imminent. It does mean building an offline reference library is a practical step you can take now.
So, what can you do today?
- Breathe. If you’re reading this, you still have an opportunity to start building your digital library before an emergency.
- Get a few flash drives (64 GB or larger is a reasonable starting point). Buy new ones or repurpose older drives after checking that they work reliably. Remember that flash drives are convenient copies, not a substitute for long-term backups.
- Download and organize important PDFs and survival videos on your computer, then copy them to your flash drive. Open a sample of the files directly from the drive to make sure they transferred correctly.
- Where can you find free survival PDFs online? Here are a few places to start:
- What types of PDFs should you download? This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a starting point:
- A PDF Bible
- How to purify water
- How to procure food (wild edibles, cleaning and preparing animals, etc.)
- Land navigation and how to read a compass
- How to build a shelter
- Multiple ways to start a fire
- Firearm cleaning and maintenance, following the manufacturer’s safety guidance
- First aid, especially trauma care (MARCH: Massive Hemorrhage, Airway, Respiration, Circulation, Hypothermia/Head Injury). Hands-on training matters, too, and medical references should be current.
- OPSEC (operations security)
- Communications, including ham radio, CB, and GMRS
- Woodland, desert, and winter survival manuals (military field manuals and technical manuals can be useful starting points)
- Homesteading and farming
- And anything Tertiary, including articles from Tertiary Prepper. They may not be books, but I hope they’ll be a resource for you, too.
- How many copies should you make?
- Make backup copies for yourself, family and friends.
- They could also be useful for barter after a grid-down event.
- Where should you store them?
- I keep a 256 GB waterproof flash drive on my keychain. It holds photographs we’ve taken over the past 25 years, along with a substantial collection of preparedness PDFs. I also recommend a second backup in a separate location, plus printed copies of your most essential references. Waterproof doesn’t mean indestructible, and a flash drive can still fail. Periodically check that your files open and that you have a powered device capable of reading them.
- What types of videos should you store and how do you know which people have the best content?
- Although this is not an exhaustive list, here are the main YouTube channels I personally watch, follow, and find useful. Many offer sage advice, explain their techniques clearly, and make information understandable to the average person.
DIGITAL VIDEO RESOURCES
| Preparedness & Logistics The Provident Prepper Alaska Granny Southern Prepper 1 | Medical & First Aid Skinny Medic The Patriot Nurse | Homesteading & Self-Sufficiency Perma Pastures Farm Wranglerstar Appalachia’s Homestead |
| Bushcraft & Survival Skills The Survival Outpost GruntProof GySgt67 Fieldcraft Outpost The Gray Bearded Green Beret Coalcracker Bushcraft Black Scout Survival Corporal’s Corner | Tactical & Defense Warrior Poet Society Tactical Rifleman | Communications (Ham / Radio) Ham Radio Crash Course Off Grid Ham Radio -OH8STN The Tech Prepper Survival Comms |
| Budget Preparedness & Frugal Living Prepper Princess | Mindset & Faith End Days Prepper (formerly 7 Trumpets Prepper) Godspreparedwarrior | Urban Preparedness & Everyday Living City Prepping The Urban Prepper |
| | Hiking & Outdoor Skills Homemade Wanderlust | |
CONCLUSION:
Is the end of the world going to happen? Someday, yes. But Yeshua HaMashiach reminds us in Matthew 24:36 that no one knows the day or hour. The point isn’t to predict a date; it’s to be ready for the challenges we can reasonably prepare for.
So, yes, things have been getting squirrely, but they’ve been like that for a long time. For the past forty or so years we were all told we were going to die from killing off the ozone layer, the Cold War was going to spark WWIII, Y2K was going to hurl us back to the Stone Age and planes would fall from the sky, then came terrorists around every corner, and then let’s not forget the bird flu, COVID-19, massive economic corrections, and now this. So, should you be alarmed? No. Should you be alert? Absolutely. Just as a person who knows to prepare for hurricane season, or severe cold snaps, tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, and so on, if you’re prepared for those, many of those same preparations can apply to other Black Swan events. I would recommend going into this newer season with an aware heart, a sound mind, and your faith grounded in YHWH. Colossians 3:17.
I wish you much success building your digital library. I pray everyone reading this never needs it!
Sgt. Silverman
DISCLAIMER:
This article is for educational and informational purposes. The asteroid and tsunami scenario is fictional and is not a scientific impact forecast. Actual wave heights and coastal effects depend on impact conditions and geography. Electronic equipment, flash drives, batteries, and shielding products have limitations, and no single storage method guarantees access after an emergency. Verify current safety guidance, copyright permissions, platform terms, and technical requirements before relying on, downloading, or distributing digital materials.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2026 Sgt. Silverman / Tertiary Prepper. All Rights Reserved.
This article and all original works published under the pseudonym Sgt. Silverman are the exclusive intellectual property of the author. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, republished, copied, or adapted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author or publisher.
Attribution alone does not grant permission for uses that require authorization. Nothing in this notice limits uses permitted by law, including applicable fair use. Unauthorized reproduction or commercial exploitation may be subject to remedies under applicable law.
AI-Assisted Visuals & Examples
If you’ve been reading Tertiary Prepper for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed charts, graphs, calculations, and visuals that explain preparedness concepts in ways you don’t normally see discussed. Many of those examples were created with the assistance of artificial intelligence, but only after I gave it very specific instructions on what I wanted to teach.
I don’t use AI to create my preparedness philosophy. I use it to help visualize it.
Many of the tertiary concepts discussed throughout this magazine, such as Sustainment Foraging, Pressure Testing, The Autonomous Recovery Kit (ARK), The Quiet Food Equation, and other original frameworks, are my own ideas and observations. AI simply helps me communicate those concepts through charts, graphics, and examples that make them easier to understand.
Preparedness is rarely black and white. There are very few absolute right or wrong answers, only different experiences, different priorities, and different ways of solving the same problem. My hope is that these articles simply give us another reason to sit around the campfire, challenge conventional thinking, and ponder practical solutions together.
SOURCES & REFERENCES
Francis Bacon, Meditationes Sacrae (1597), “knowledge itself is power” — historical quotation: https://www.todayinsci.com/B/Bacon_Francis/BaconFrancis-Knowledge-Quotations.htm
Hobbes and the 1668 Latin formulation — academic discussion: https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/152731/1/2020macklinphd.pdf
Proverbs 24:5 — biblical reference: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2024%3A5&version=KJV
Matthew 24:36 — biblical reference — https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024%3A36&version=KJV
NOAA: First global tsunami simulation of the Chicxulub asteroid impact — https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/news-and-media/highlights/first-global-tsunami-simulation-chicxulub-asteroid-impact-66-million-years-ago
Range et al. (2022), The Chicxulub Impact Produced a Powerful Global Tsunami — https://doi.org/10.1029/2021AV000627
FEMA: Be Prepared for Any Hazard — emergency documents and digital copies: https://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/2025-02/fema_full-suite-hazard-info-sheets.pdf
YouTube Terms of Service — downloading and reuse restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/t/terms
YouTube Help — offline video downloads and limitations: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7381437?hl=en
