The Zombie Survival Thread

[fortunato]

Originally Posted by urgeok2

absolutely

what's the point of existing if you've lost the few traits that makes you human ?

i'd rather die like a man than live like an animal.

(it may sound like some noble bullshit but i assure you - it's true)

excellent point, though.

[Despare]

Originally Posted by Zero

besides the infant might grow up to be a hot chick and provide good breeding stock!

Funny you said that, Murderdoll had a thread about how attractive people are often more successful than uggos and I think that would apply here as well. Pretty ladies will be saved/rescued/protected waaaaaaay before the ugly ones.

[ChronoGrl]

Originally Posted by urgeok2

absolutely

what's the point of existing if you've lost the few traits that makes you human ?

i'd rather die like a man than live like an animal.

(it may sound like some noble bullshit but i assure you - it's true)

Doesn't primal man shed the weak in order to survive?

Just playing devil's advocate.

[urgeok2]

primal man was barely more than an animal.

most of the world has come a long way since then ..

i cant unlearn or unfeel what i have now.

to put it in real tearms (not zombies) look at the people who hid the persecuted jews in nazi germany to their peril.
sure - i guess you will still have those who fend only for themselves - but you'll have those that risk everything to help others.

[_____V_____]

Hmm...it would depend on the sort of apocalypse I ll face, of course.

Zombies scenario :

• First instinct - survival.
• Get ahold of anything and everything which could help out in case of zombie (and melee) attacks.
• Stay out of sight for long periods of time and avoid the streets in populated areas.
• Desert-like areas left, then scavenging is primo uno.
• Any (all) survivors will need to band together (let's face it, one person against a horde of zombies is ultimately fighting severe odds, unless you are Superman)
• In case of in-group skirmishes and arguments, one zombie attack might prove enuff to solve that problem.
• Animals can actually prove to be more valuable than humans, in case they can be tamed.

(Suggested Reference - World War Z by Max Brooks)


Disease scenario :

• Depending upon the kind of disease causing the Apocalypse (most likely air-borne or water-borne), gas-masks or related equipment, and closed-clothing of all kinds.
• Utmost care needed when dealing with food and drinking items.
• Quarantine laws to be observed within the survivor-group, and any signs of infection or contagion are to be dealt with immediately. (expulsion from the group, or eventual termination if needed)
• Avoid all contacts with animals and birds, as they could be possible carriers.
• Contagion could be inherent or internal too, so close watching of any/all survivors is most imperative, in case of recessive genes/hormones becoming suddenly dominant.

(Suggested Reference - Agents of Apocalypse by Ken De Bevoise)


Starvation scenario :

• First and foremost, secure anything and everything related to food and drinking.
• Rationing of daily needs is imperative.
• Desert-like stretches of land will be dominant everywhere, so its pretty important to stay at a place which is close to a body of water, preferably a river, or ocean.
• In case of the abovesaid running dry (ergo a dry Earth everywhere), ground water reserves to be tapped and exploited.
• Possibility of epidemics is pretty high, so utmost care needed when dealing with water resources.
• Group cohesiveness, control and empathy are important traits for the survivors, else chances of making through are minimal.

(Suggested Reference - African apocalypse: The continent burning into a desert, an article in The Independent)


Will do the War scenario soon.

[Despare]

Originally Posted by _____V_____

Hmm...it would depend on the sort of apocalypse I ll face, of course.

Zombies scenario :

• First instinct - survival.
• Get ahold of anything and everything which could help out in case of zombie (and melee) attacks.
• Stay out of sight for long periods of time and avoid the streets in populated areas.
• Desert-like areas left, then scavenging is primo uno.
• Any (all) survivors will need to band together (let's face it, one person against a horde of zombies is ultimately fighting severe odds, unless you are Superman)
• In case of in-group skirmishes and arguments, one zombie attack might prove enuff to solve that problem.
• Animals can actually prove to be more valuable than humans, in case they can be tamed.

(Suggested Reference - World War Z by Max Brooks)


Disease scenario :

• Depending upon the kind of disease causing the Apocalypse (most likely air-borne or water-borne), gas-masks or related equipment, and closed-clothing of all kinds.
• Utmost care needed when dealing with food and drinking items.
• Quarantine laws to be observed within the survivor-group, and any signs of infection or contagion are to be dealt with immediately. (expulsion from the group, or eventual termination if needed)
• Avoid all contacts with animals and birds, as they could be possible carriers.
• Contagion could be inherent or internal too, so close watching of any/all survivors is most imperative, in case of recessive genes/hormones becoming suddenly dominant.

(Suggested Reference - Agents of Apocalypse by Ken De Bevoise)


Starvation scenario :

• First and foremost, secure anything and everything related to food and drinking.
• Rationing of daily needs is imperative.
• Desert-like stretches of land will be dominant everywhere, so its pretty important to stay at a place which is close to a body of water, preferably a river, or ocean.
• In case of the abovesaid running dry (ergo a dry Earth everywhere), ground water reserves to be tapped and exploited.
• Possibility of epidemics is pretty high, so utmost care needed when dealing with water resources.
• Group cohesiveness, control and empathy are important traits for the survivors, else chances of making through are minimal.

(Suggested Reference - African apocalypse: The continent burning into a desert, an article in The Independent)


Will do the War scenario soon.

Good list _V_, it always pays to know how to do a little bit of everything it seems. I'm glad I'm a pretty diverse a person who can fix basic machines, knows computers fairly well, and can even drive a shallow well in less than a day among other things.

[_____V_____]

Originally Posted by Despare

Good list _V_, it always pays to know how to do a little bit of everything it seems. I'm glad I'm a pretty diverse a person who can fix basic machines, knows computers fairly well, and can even drive a shallow well in less than a day among other things.

A jack-of-all-trades is more likely of making through such an outcome than specialists in certain fields. For example, what good will a computer genius do if he can't wield a gun in the needed moment?

A bit of knowhow about everything always helps.:cool:

[urgeok2]

what good is a compter genius if there is no electricity :)

or no porn sites left to surf.

[_____V_____]

Originally Posted by urgeok2

what good is a compter genius if there is no electricity :)

or no porn sites left to surf.

Eh? He can always undress and make poses.

[Babygurl20]

5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen
By David Wong, TE Sloth

#5.Brain Parasites

What are they?
Parasites that turn victims into mindless, zombie-like slaves are fairly common in nature. There's one called toxoplasmosa gondii that seems to devote its entire existence to being terrifying.

This bug infects rats, but can only breed inside the intestines of a cat. The parasite knows it needs to get the rat inside the cat (yes, we realize this sounds like the beginning of the most fucked-up Dr. Seuss poem ever) so the parasite takes over the rat's freaking brain, and intentionally makes it scurry toward where the cats hang out. The rat is being programmed to get itself eaten, and it doesn't even know.

Of course, those are just rats, right?

How it can result in zombies:
Hey, did we mention that half the human population on Earth is infected with toxoplasmosa, and don't know it? Hey, maybe you're one of them. Flip a coin.

Oh, also, they've done studies and shown that the infected see a change in their personality and have a higher chance of going batshit insane.

Chances this could cause a zombie apocalypse:
Humans and rats aren't all that different; thats why they use them to test our drugs. All it takes is a more evolved version of toxoplasmosa, one that could to do us what it does to the rats. So, imagine if half the world suddenly had no instinct for self-preservation or rational thought. Even less than they do now, we mean.




If you're comforting yourself with the thought that it may take forever for such a parasite to evolve, you're forgetting about all the biological weapons programs around the world, intentionally weaponizing such bugs. You've got to wonder if the lab workers don't carry out their work under the unwitting command of the toxoplasmosa gondii already in their brains. If you don't want to sleep at night, that is.




#4.Neurotoxins

What are they?
There are certain kinds of poisons that slow your bodily functions to the point that you'll be considered dead, even to a doctor (okay, maybe not to a good doctor). The poison from fugu (Japanese blowfish) can do this.

The victims can then be brought back under the effects of a drug like datura stramonium (or other chemicals called alkaloids) that leave them in a trance-like state with no memory, but still able to perform simple tasks like eating, sleeping, moaning and shambling around with their arms outstretched.



This stuff has happened in Haiti; that's where the word "zombie" comes from. There are books about it, the most famous ones by Dr. Wade Davis (Passage of Darkness and The Serpent and the Rainbow). Yes, the movie The Serpent and the Rainbow was based on this guy's actual science stuff. How much of it was fact? Well, there was that one scene where they strapped the guy naked to a chair and drove a huge spike through his balls. We're hoping that part wasn't true.



What is definitely true is the story of Clairvius Narcisse. He was a Haitian guy who was declared dead by two doctors and buried in 1962. They found him wandering around the village 18 years later. It turned out the local voodoo priests had been using naturally occurring chemicals to basically zombify people and putting them to work on the sugar plantations (no, really).



Chances this could cause a zombie apocalypse:
On the one hand, it's already fucking happened! So that earns it some street cred right off the bat. But, even if some evil genius intentionally distributed alkaloid toxins to a population to turn them into a shambling, mindless horde, there is no way to make these zombies aggressive or cannabalistic.



#3.The Real Rage Virus

What is it?
In the movie, it was a virus that turned human beings into mindless killing machines. In real life, we have a series of brain disorders that do the same thing. They were never contagious, of course. Then, Mad Cow Disease came along. It attacks the cow's spinal cord and brain, turning it into a stumbling, mindless attack cow.

And, when humans eat the meat ...

How it can result in zombies:
When Mad Cow gets in humans, they call it Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Check out the symptoms:


Changes in gait (walking)
Hallucinations
Lack of coordination (for example, stumbling and falling)
Muscle twitching
Myoclonic jerks or seizures
Rapidly developing delirium or dementia

Sure, the disease is rare (though maybe not as rare as we think) and the afflicted aren't known to chase after people in murderous mobs. Yet.

But, it proves widespread brain infections of the Rage variety are just a matter of waiting for the right disease to come along.

Chances this could cause a zombie apocalypse:
If the whole sudden, mindless violence idea seems far-fetched, remember that you are just one brain chemical (serotonin) away from turning into a mindless killing machine (they've tested it by putting rats in Deathmatch-style cages and watching them turn on each other). All it would take is a disease that destroys the brain's ability to absorb that one chemical and suddenly it's a real-world 28 Days Later.

So, imagine such an evolved disease, which we'll call Super Mad Cow (or, Madder Cow) getting a foothold through the food supply. Say this disease spreads through blood-on-blood contact, or saliva-on-blood contact. Now you have a Rage-type virus that can be transmitted with a bite.





#2.Neurogenesis

What is it?
You know all that conversy out there about stem cell research? Well, the whole thing with stem cells is that they can basically be used to re-generate dead cells. Particularly of interest to zombologists like ourselves is neurogenesis, the method by which they can re-grow dead brain tissue.

You can see where this is going.

How it can result in zombies:
You wanted the undead to make an appearance in this article? Well, here you go, you creepy bastards.

Science can pretty much save you from anything but brain death; they can swap out organs but when the brain turns to mush, you're gone. Right?

Well, not for long. They're already able to re-grow the brains of comatose head trauma patients until they wake up and walk around again.

Couple that with the new ability to keep a dead body in a state of suspended animation so that it can be brought back to life later, and soon we'll be able to bring back the dead, as long as we get to them quickly enough.

That sounds great, right? Well, this lab dedicated to "reanimation research" (yes, that's what they call it) explains how the process of "reanimating" a person creates a problem. It causes the brain to die off from the outside in. The outside being the cortex, the nice part of you that makes humans human. That just leaves the part that controls basic motor function and primitive instincts behind.


Reanimation research (artist's rendering)

You don't need the cortex to survive; all you need is the stem and you'll still be able to mindlessly walk and eat and enjoy Grey's Anatomy. This is how chickens can keep walking around after they've been beheaded (including one case where the chicken lived for 18 months without a head).

So, you take a brain dead patient, use these techniques to re-grow the brain stem, and you now have a mindless body shambling around, no thoughts and no personality, nothing but a cloud of base instincts and impulses.



That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we like to call a real, live, undead fucking zombie. So there.

Chances this could cause a zombie apocalypse:
Think about it. Under every legal system in the world, all rights and responsibilities are terminated at death. All it takes is someone with resources and a need for a mindless workforce of totally obedient slave labor.

How long until somebody tries this? We're betting somebody in the world, maybe North Korea, will have a working zombie by Christmas.

#1.Nanobots

What are they?
Nanobots are a technology that science apparently engineered to make you terrified of the future. We're talking about microscopic, self-replicating robots that can invisbily build--or destroy--anything. Vast sums of money are being poured into nanotechnology. Sure, at some level scientists know nanobots will destroy mankind. They just can't resist seeing how it happens.

How it can result in zombies:
Scientists have already created a nano-cyborg, by fusing a tiny silicone chip to a virus. The first thing they found out is these cyborgs can still operate for up to a month after the death of the host. Notice how nano scientists went right for zombification, even at this early stage. They know where the horror is.

According to studies, within a decade they'll have nanobots that can crawl inside your brain and set up neural connections to replace damaged ones. That's right; the nanobots will be able to rewire your thoughts. What could possibly go wrong?



Some day there will be nanobots in your brain. Those nanobots will be programmed to keep functioning after you die. They can form their own neural pathways, meaning they can use your brain to keep operating your limbs after you've deceased and, presumably, right up until you rot to pieces in mid-stride.



The nanobots will be programmed to self-replicate, and the death of the host will mean the end of the nanobots. To preserve themselves, they'd need to transfer to a new host. Therefore, the last act of the nanobot zombie would be to bite a hole in a healthy victim, letting the nanobots steam in and set up camp in the new host. Once in, they can shut down the part of the brain that resists (the cortex) and leave the brain stem intact. They will have added a new member to the unholy army of the undead.



Science has proven it.