Scenario concepts and applications

Actions & Reactions in Extreme Scenarios

The fictional situation that the paper will write about will be the following: I am visiting New York City for vacation. I want to see the sights, eat great food from around world, consume a lot of art, and interact with many different cultures. While I am in the middle of my trip, I am on the New York City Mass Transit Authority (NYC MTA), when a fight erupts among other rides while the train is moving between stations underground.

The fight begins as a simple misunderstanding on the platform at the station. Riders await the next express train to arrive on the tracks. One rider stands next to a garbage can when another rider approaches to dispose of the garbage and misses, hitting the other commuter. The commuter who missed the can is intoxicated and tries to apologize, but ends up angering the other rider. The argument begins to die down as the train approaches. As the doors open and riders exit the train, the two commuters walk toward the same entrance onto the train and bump into each other, shoulder against shoulder. The argument resumes just as the doors to the train close. The next stop is not for another fifty blocks. All the passengers in this car must ride with these arguing commuters. The train they are on happens to be one of the trains where the doors between cars are locked, so that no one can switch to another car while the train is in motion.

At this point, the commuters are yelling at each other. I have visited New York City before and have ridden the subway before. I know that one of the first things I would do, as would many average New Yorkers, would be to ignore the situation. New Yorkers ignore a lot of rowdy business, especially when it occurs in confined public spaces such as the MTA. Their yelling is so loud, that people begin to stare. Their yelling is so loud and goes on for so long that even people with headphones and earbuds on cannot hear the music blasting centimeters away from their eardrums. At one moment during the argument, the driver of the train taps on the brakes abruptly, causing passengers to jerk and shift into each other as well as the items they have with them on the train such as strollers, shopping bags, food, and bicycles.

The arguing commuters slam into each other as a result of the abrupt tap on the brakes, and now because they are already angry, the unexpected and rough physical contact incites rage. A physical altercation erupts on the car, in the express train, full of people, that will not be stopping for tens of blocks, which could be anywhere from two to five minutes. The intoxication man pulls out a large, serrated knife, and the other man pulls out a switchblade. What will I do?