Zombie Apocalypse. Would it work?

[Sabby]

I had a thread in Bad and Ugly about Zomedy's, and eventually, the conversation came to how exactly a zombie would work... It was a Sprinting vs Shambling debate, for the most part.

Was reading Cracked, and came across this fascinating article, which I thought E would have a lot of fun discussing.

Let's pretend for a moment that zombies are real (as if half of you weren't already daydreaming about that very thing). Have you noticed how most zombie movies take place only after the apocalypse is in full-swing? By the time we join our survivors, the military and government are already wiped out, and none of the streets are safe.

There's a reason the movie starts there, and not earlier. It's because the early part, where we go from one zombie to millions, doesn't make any sense. If you let the creeping buzzkill of logic into the zombie party, you realize the zombies would all be re-dead long before you even got a chance to fire up that chainsaw motorcycle you've been working on. Why?

[Wolfy]

Well, going from one to millions doesn't make sense, I give you that..especially the shumbling, old style zombies. However, faster zombies that are an actual threat and shrug off bullets to anywhere but the head? Yeah..those are harder to kill and stop. o3o

[anna77]

One would have to take into consideration the many variables of a zombie infestation, first off the very source of the infection, it could be viral, mystical or other.  From the biological viewpoint, a virus can be spread through contact, but must incubate for a somewhat set amount of time, it could rapidly reproduce, but no real virus can at a rate we see in a typical movie, so under 'normal' circumstances a widespread zombie outbreak would be unlikely.  As a mystical/magic outbreak could be far more quicker, imagine all the dead of the earth rising simultaneously through some ritual or the wrath of God? It's still as unlikely as a viral outbreak. On the 'other' side we have things like cosmic radiation, mutation and organic modification, more fiction than hard science fact, but are all as likely as the other two sources.

My money is on parasitic infection, Toxoplasmosis, a parasite that over half of the worlds population has already (if you've changed cat litter before, you probably have it already) , it causes zombie like activity in infected rats, including all the zombie traits, except undeath.  If it could ever mutate to actually infect humans (we do carry it), it could turn half the population of our planet into zombie like things.

The military and government would be disabled rather quickly in any event, as they too would take losses to the infection just like anyone else, and more so, as the would act as first responders to such a threat.

I wont even start to complain about the logic behind 'fast zombies'  ;)     

[RubySlippers]

Well zombie speed should be tied to age and fitness a new kid zombie would likely be fast and an older zombe shamble around but by then would have numbers.

But remember part of the infestation would be how it affects people first no one might believe its going on, then they would get it but the governmetnt would be hard pressed to act they are incompetant in general and the looting and the like. Add to that food transport is as need not stock piled so people would go hungry as the system started being strained.

Add in fact moving zombies and your average human not being a fighting person its not a good scenario.

[Lypiphera]

One would have to take into consideration the many variables of a zombie infestation, first off the very source of the infection, it could be viral, mystical or other.  From the biological viewpoint, a virus can be spread through contact, but must incubate for a somewhat set amount of time, it could rapidly reproduce, but no real virus can at a rate we see in a typical movie, so under 'normal' circumstances a widespread zombie outbreak would be unlikely.  As a mystical/magic outbreak could be far more quicker, imagine all the dead of the earth rising simultaneously through some ritual or the wrath of God? It's still as unlikely as a viral outbreak. On the 'other' side we have things like cosmic radiation, mutation and organic modification, more fiction than hard science fact, but are all as likely as the other two sources.

My money is on parasitic infection, Toxoplasmosis, a parasite that over half of the worlds population has already (if you've changed cat litter before, you probably have it already) , it causes zombie like activity in infected rats, including all the zombie traits, except undeath.  If it could ever mutate to actually infect humans (we do carry it), it could turn half the population of our planet into zombie like things.

The military and government would be disabled rather quickly in any event, as they too would take losses to the infection just like anyone else, and more so, as the would act as first responders to such a threat.

I wont even start to complain about the logic behind 'fast zombies'  ;)     

I agree, I think its all to do with the rate of infection. Virius's can spread quickly sure but look at birdflu. It was a matter of mere weeks / months before we had a vaccine ready to use and it had barely touched the surface of the worlds population (despite how devestating it was) it would have to be something we already carry that was triggered or mutated somehow so that it took people completely by surprise and overwhelmed a large amount of the population  (and thus those who have the knowledge of how to fight it) quickly...

[Inkidu]

It spreads because people would be and are ignorant. Oh we'd all like to say: "There that's a zombie." But medical people are going down first. If it can infect animals that would aid it's progression. (I'm going with virus). People will be paranoid it will cause outbreaks of panic. The key advantage of a zombie bite is typically the bitten has time to make it back to less-informed areas. Thus spreading the plague.

[Ryven]

I'm in agreement with anna.  It would really depend on the type of infestation.

I've seen that article before, and while I see the reasoning behind it.  I'm skeptical because it may just be trying to lull us into a false sense of security.

*shifty eyes* 

[Teridas]

There's thousands of possible factors coming just from how the zombie came to be but also just because we have become so accustomed to our daily lifes we don't know exactly if the person is a zombie or not. I garuntee it wouldn't stop at just one zombie simply because no one has encountered it, sure we talk about it all the time but nothing truly comes of it. As the plague moves throughtout the community if leaders (ie mayor, governor, senator, etc.) aren't already infected response times would be lacking simply because it's not widespread or well known by that time hundreds would already become infected. Hundreds would then become thousands as counties and communities call military response would undoubtely be active at this point but shear numbers could overwhelm since they most likely can't have a headcount on the population and/or if there are any survivors, not to mention the ammount of stress coming from the fact of killing people. Human nature itself could be ones downfall.