My Favorite Topic

[jmfargo]

So, where will the zombies come from?

George Romero, well known zombie expert and apologist (have you seen Land of the Dead? Bah!), believes that the staggering zombie hordes will be caused by radiation from outer space that revives recently deceased humans and causes them to have a deadly spittle that is passed on to other humans when they are bitten. The bite is not what makes the person a zombie, but what kills them, thus causing them to rise as a zombie from the radiation.

His theory has merit in that we are constantly exploring the universe, and it's always throwing new things our way, but I think that if it were a form of radiation, it would probably have more of an effect on living tissue than dead, and we'd have more to worry about than zombies. At least zombies can be defended against by the common man if diligent. Radiation is a whole other problem.

The creator of The Zombie Hunters, obviously well-versed in the hidden lore of zombies but a little caught up in the fantasy of it all, believes that zombies will be caused by a virus of some kind, spreadable through bite and saliva. This, to me, is the most probable cause, and the kind of cause that I tend to focus on when talking about zombie defense. I don't believe all corpses will rise, only the infected.

The Resident Evil line of thought would have you believe that the virus is even more fantastic than the one above, and could spread through various types of animals, mutate humans, and cause worse monsters than even zombies. Fast monsters that can walk on walls. I hesitate in calling most of the creatures made in this line of survival-skills-teaching media zombies, as they are mostly simply monsters. Still, these games can teach you the basics, like finding the blue and red gemstones to put into the raven's eyes in order to get a better gun.

The Zombie Survival Guide (the currently most complete and well-written zombie survival guide available) also believes that the zombie virus is passed on through the general means and that it is a virus, not radiation, or genetic manipulation. The end result of the virus is simply zombification, no mutation or change. For the most factual accounting of zombies, aside from this blog, this book is where to go to read it.

What other theories are there? Millions*, I'm sure. I've looked at those I could find, and my best guess is that it will be a man-made zombie virus that mutates slightly, and gets loose. I just pray that it will never mutate enough to get airborne. If it does that, the only way that humanity will survive is if enough people are immune to it, otherwise we're all doomed.

So let's just hope the zombies can only transmit it through biting. That, we can fight against.

Let's go kill some zombies.

*Hundreds? At least ten?

Comments

[turbotroll.livejournal.com]

Viruses...Nanotech...The more modern ideas have the most promise (er...danger?) in my opinion. But there's also the supernatural. Most people, even acclaimed men of science, will admit to believing in things that don't have any true scientific basis or explaination, such as an afterlife, ghosts, luck, ESP, the War on Terror, etc...Perhaps it could be as simple as "Judgement Day."

[turbotroll.livejournal.com]

Or an unknown side effect from consuming McDonald's French Fries...Pretty sure they covered this on "Super-Size Me." Or not.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

I think that they focused on the "Suddenexplosia" given by the honey that you have with the McNuggets instead of the "Zombiitis" from the French Fries. They had to cut some parts to save time.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

I think nanotech is the greatest hope, and greatest disaster, man will ever create. We are already beginning to hail it in all ways good, and while some have lauded over how it could go wrong, most seem to see it as the next Miracle of Man.

Like sliced bread.

But people didn't learn their lesson from sliced bread. They don't look at the down sides, the inevitable loss of the corner bakerman, the lives ruined, families destroyed. They need to look at those lessons and remember that that is what nanotech could lead to. Just, in a little more of a literal sense, with the destroying and eating brains and stuff.

And yeah, it could just be that Heaven and Hell (or whatever) are just too full. Happy thought, that.

[akdidge.livejournal.com]

There was a really interesting show (twilight zone, or one of those off brands) that covered what if's and nanobots going bad. The scientist who created them discovered they became sentient and then...then things got ugly. He tried to fry himself, and well...it didn't end very good.

I feel the same may happen, tho I do like the idea of nanobots coursing through my system. I doubt the middle/poor will have access to it, which will cause the current system to collapse into anarchy.

I'm a big picture guy. ;)

[karinablack.livejournal.com]

I worry about a zombie attack while I'm sleeping. Or where/how to sleep during a zombie attack.

Could you cover this in a future post?

[kauricat.livejournal.com]

This is why you need a party of at least four adults. I think watches are essential, regardless of where you end up sleeping. Four is (to me) the minimum number of people to spread watches among and still get a proper amount of sleep. Or maybe I just play too much D&D.

But as for where, my input is either a fortified blacked-out basement (windows boarded up, etc; no light leaks) or somewhere difficult to reach. I don't think zombies are much for climbing trees, for instance. You know how mountain climbers strap themselves to the mountain to sleep? Something like that might work well in some environments.

[karinablack.livejournal.com]

A basement, though- that's really cornering yourself in...

[kauricat.livejournal.com]

Well, you'll run into the problem in a lot of places. Rooftops and attics are pretty bad that way too. Unless you live in a city where there are buildings jam packed together, it'll be easy to get trapped.

I do suggest avoiding dirt-floor cellars! If it does turn out to be one of those "all dead rise" types of things, you don't want someone who got buried in the cellar to suddenly wake up.

However, as pointed out above, that's pretty unlikely. :)

[karinablack.livejournal.com]

Ew... agreed!

Been watching Firefly- chemical causes seem most likely to me.

But there again, if they're agro and never sleep, wtf do you go?

[reverendfixxxer.livejournal.com]

The difference between rooftops/attics and a basement is that even if it makes a lot of noise or is somewhat inconvenient, there's at least another way out. In a basement, you're surrounded on all sides by dirt, which you can't get through with anything less than a jackhammer. In an attic, you could cut yourself through to the roof (albeit, with a lot of elbow grease) if you absolutely had to. From a roof, you could jump down and make a run for it if you absolutely had to. Neither are ideal situations, obviously, but there's at least a chance you could get out, as opposed to the basement, which is basically like trusting your life to a vault.

One more issue with a basement is that of power and light. When (not if...when) the power eventually goes out, the basement will be very dark all the time. You'll be bumping into things and making a great deal of noise. A rooftop has plenty of light (though you expose yourself to the other elements, as well), and the average attic has ventilation slats, if not full-on windows. An obvious drawback to the attic is that all the insulation makes it hot as hell.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

*nods* I will try to remember to cover that in my next update.

[alicetheowl.livejournal.com]

Don't underestimate the dealings of voodoo practioners and magical experiments. It could happen.