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The Imminent Zombie Apocalypse

megaresp

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megaresp
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Dec 14, 2007
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I've been watching the Resident Evil movies (1-4). This got me thinking about the 5 main conceits behind a typical modern Zombie film...

  1. A zombie bite creates another zombie in 100% of cases
  2. Decapitation (or other major head trauma) will 'kill' a zombie
  3. Birds and dogs can be zombified
  4. Unless there are dramatic reasons for slowing things down, the speed of infection is very fast (sometimes mere minutes)
  5. Modern zombies can run just as fast as you and I. If Usain Bolt gets infected we're all royally fornicated
Fortunately there is no such thing as a zombie virus. I know this for a fact because The Daily Mail says the US government says so :cool:. As The Daily Mail and The US Government both have an established track record of telling the truth I am now suitably reassured that a Zombie Apocalypse isn't really imminent :D.

But what the hey, let's assume a zombie outbreak occurs today at 12pm UK time - right outside Oxford Circus Tube station. There will be several people within easy biting distance of this original Zombie. These people won't be able to escape easily due to the sheer volume of people, and the difficulty of moving around the crowded station entrances.

In this scenario assume the above five conceits about zombie infections are true.

Will the infection overtake the entire world? And if so, how long before it reaches the city of Dunedin in New Zealand? I chose Dunedin because it's on the other side of the planet and is geographically remote. On the other hand, lots of Kiwis have British Ancestry and there is more air-traffic between the UK and New Zealand than may otherwise be assumed.

My opinion for the record: A zombie infection won't overtake the entire world. I'll give my reasons later (assuming of course this discussion doesn't vanish into the ether due to lack of interest).
 
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But zombies must be true! I've seen them in documentaries like Day of the dead, Shaun of the dead, Night of the living dead, 28 days later and many others.

:D

On a saner note, I would be interested in why you believe a zombie infection will not take over the world.
 
megaresp said:
Fortunately there is no such thing as a zombie virus.
Click to expand...

I'm working on that.

But what the hey, let's assume a zombie outbreak occurs today at 12pm UK time - right outside Oxford Circus Tube station. There will be several people within easy biting distance of this original Zombie.
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If it's a virus, several people may be the original carriers.

Also, some of the zombies may be smart, making your predictions worthless ! ;)
 
One major problem - if it infects and produces symptoms fast (i.e 28 days later (I know, it's not a zombie film...)) then it can't spread across large physical barriers like the English Channel or via aircraft, perhaps ship crew could be affected, but then it's hardly likely to reach another shore. If it's World War Z type zombies you have a problem because they can shuffle along the sea bed. If it infects slowly then it's easier to quarantine the affected patients.

I see you're an adherent of the fast zombie school of thought, even though most of the literature has slow zombies. I think Resident Evil is the only one that has animal zombies.
 
Mikemcc said:
...if it infects and produces symptoms fast...it can't spread across large physical barriers like the English Channel...
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Also for Multivac...

The quote above is why I don't buy worldwide infection. Something acting this fast is easier to constrain versus something that isn't detectable for two weeks.

However, see below.

Mikemcc said:
I see you're an adherent of the fast zombie school of thought...
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'School of thought' might be too strong a phrase :D

Mikemcc said:
...even though most of the literature has slow zombies
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Yes but lets face it - fast zombies are more fun. If you're going to launch an outbreak in the centre of London it may as well be fast zombies.

Mikemcc said:
I think Resident Evil is the only one that has animal zombies.
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I seem to remember animal zombies in The Walking Dead also, but could easily be wrong about that.

Bird zombies create an interesting challenge when it comes to containment. The English Channel ceases to be a barrier. And centuries of English genetic memory are railing at the thought that France escapes the Apocalypse :D
 
Belz... said:
We'll see how those rules hold up when we eat your brains !
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Good luck with that. My brains barely count as one part of a serving of petit fours.

On the other hand, this outbreak occurs in Oxford Street and I live in Wembley. TFL has enough trouble getting a tube out here even when we're not in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. So I think I'm pretty safe for now.
 
megaresp said:
Will the infection overtake the entire world? And if so, how long before it reaches the city of Dunedin in New Zealand? I chose Dunedin because it's on the other side of the planet and is geographically remote. On the other hand, lots of Kiwis have British Ancestry and there is more air-traffic between the UK and New Zealand than may otherwise be assumed.

My opinion for the record: A zombie infection won't overtake the entire world. I'll give my reasons later (assuming of course this discussion doesn't vanish into the ether due to lack of interest).
Click to expand...



I've documented my opinion rather extensively here:


http://stripgenerator.com/booklet/3277/the-real-zombie-apocalypse/
 
I started watching The Walking Dead when it started, and got as far as the point where they entered the CDC. Just prior to that, they encountered an apparently-abandoned Abrahms tank.
I wondered... Obviously the zombie hoard could do nothing against a tank. All the military would have to do is set up a secure area, roll tanks and APCs with as much machine-gun ammo as they could carry, shoot zombies till bored, return to refuel and reload... Rinse and repeat. Since the zombies in that series are attracted to noise, the vehicles alone would attract 'em like flies....

I notice that in firearms-forum circles, "zombie" has now become code for (generally) bad guys and (somewhat more specific) rioters. Usually non-white....
 
megaresp said:
Good luck with that. My brains barely count as one part of a serving of petit fours.

On the other hand, this outbreak occurs in Oxford Street and I live in Wembley. TFL has enough trouble getting a tube out here even when we're not in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. So I think I'm pretty safe for now.
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Hopefully they'll take the route that was followed in 28 Weeks Later, in which case you'll be perfectly safe...
 
Bikewer said:
I started watching The Walking Dead when it started, and got as far as the point where they entered the CDC. Just prior to that, they encountered an apparently-abandoned Abrahms tank.
I wondered... Obviously the zombie hoard could do nothing against a tank. All the military would have to do is set up a secure area, roll tanks and APCs with as much machine-gun ammo as they could carry, shoot zombies till bored, return to refuel and reload... Rinse and repeat. Since the zombies in that series are attracted to noise, the vehicles alone would attract 'em like flies....

I notice that in firearms-forum circles, "zombie" has now become code for (generally) bad guys and (somewhat more specific) rioters. Usually non-white....
Click to expand...
Yep - zombie targets and relaTED HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE FOR AT LEAST 6 MONTHS (WHEN i FIRST NOTICED THEM IN A COUPLE OF WEAPONS MAGS. Accidental yelling - not awake yet......:)
 
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