I find it strange that while you all have great ideas for self preservation, none of you touch upon the fact that after the Zombie hordes wear themselves out the planet will need to be repopulated.
That'd take quite some decades. Theoretically undead flesh doesn't degrade in the same way a corpse would, it does degrade (As our living flesh does, but ours repairs), but they don't 'die' due to degradation of the flesh. The earth being repopulated is an important issue, but surviving the decades of zombie hordes is a slightly more pressing issue That, and by the time the earth was suitable for re-populating we'd all be in our late sixties, if we survived. Not exactly prime 're-populating' age
Unless we built an underground community that evolved as it would on the surface. The generations wouldn't skip a beat. When the sh*t hits the fan start moving cities underground and keep living life. It would take time to build and stock the cities but it would be cool. Like shooting fish in a barrel for a pack of hungry zombies tho.
Ah, well that all depends on which kind of zombies we're talking about here. I seem to remember that initially this thread revolved around the newer, fast moving zombies. But are they of the kind that eventually dies from hunger as their food source disappears? If so, I'm not sure it would take decades for them to wear out. I could be wrong of course. As for the re-population. Well sure, being in our mid sixties we're certainly not in our primes anymore, but males are able to propagate at mostly any age, so it's all a matter of having fertile and healthy women about. After all, it has to be in everones best interest to ensure the continuation of our species.
My only concern with underground is exactly that. Fish, barrel, and a big bag of hand grenades. Probably stems from the Umbrella corp. building damn near everything under ground for some reason. Always seemed stupid to me.. Ahwell. UBCS forever.
There is a solution though. Put cities in orbit, or better yet; at the lagrange points! Sure, our diets would be limited but we would survive.
Haha, watching the earth from orbit during a zombie apocalypse would be really awe-inspiring. My only issue with the 'fast' zombies is there is no way they could be 'fast' for long. As I'm sure you're aware, when we stress our muscles and bodies, they repair when we sleep. Since zombies lack blood flow, do not rest, do not appear to tire and so on, the fast movement would quickly give way to the shambling wrecks that are what most people consider the 'common' zombie. Of course, it would be foolish to assume there would only be one type of zombie - We could well end up with a combination of many. I would expect the vast majority of them to be the slow degradation zombies, but I would also expect that there would be genetic reactions that would cause other, more interesting zombies (See Nemesis, even though he was 'artificially created') and, of course, the fast ones synonymous with the recent '<insert time> Of The Dead' series, and the 28 Days/months Later films. I will quote (As best as my memory serves) Romero on this subject "What did they do, rise from the grave and join a health club?"
Since they are zombies, the more you move, the more stress your body takes obviously...that plus the fact that you are deteriorating. Before long zombies will be falling apart. Romero is KING of zombies. Can zombies climb trees? if not, Tree Fort cities.
Have any of you read the Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks? Very entertaining read, sometimes is a bit on the serious side, but hey. Still fun
You make many very interesting points, and I will have to think about them. I am, however certain that you're right in the assumption that we would most likely see many different kinds of zombies due to genetic variations and presumably sudden mutations in the zombie-genome. After all, they've got quite a population base to work their way through, and I do believe we would end up seeing some quite exotic varieties of zombie. Zombie lords for instance, high intelligence but slow moving. Would these be able to target trans-atmospheric missiles at our orbital cities perhaps?
Interesting point. But I seem to remember, from the movies, that they just climb one on top of the other, forming a zombie pyramid in order to reach heights. Can't ever remember having seen a zombie climb a tree on its own accord though.
I think that depends heavily on what military stock is left - I imagine the military bods would use quite a bit of it trying to 'save the world' or however they'd phrase it. I expect it also depends on how well it's stored, what's around at the time - Can they get access to any ICBM's? Would the military sabotage the gear that they had to leave behind? I know they don't when they leave rifles in the battlefield, but an ICBM or any other missile is a might more dangerous/easier to sell (Assuming that they still believe at this point that the black market for the devices would be active) I'd be quite interested in zombies that made it to Chernobyl - What would their actions around that area cause? I mean, the dome of the reactor is apparently verging on a collapse that'd seriously damage the sarcophagus that has been erected over it, and entirely likely fire more radioactive dust and debris into the air. What would the radiation do to zombies? Would that radiation pass between zombies if it were able to navigate into and out of the reactor and back into larger groups?
I have to do something during the day - Not like I have any actual 'work' to do. And I can't really work on the guitar at 'work' either That said, I do have a UBCS airsoft kit.. Maybe you're right >.>
Oh there really is no other choice but to take zombies seriously. I mean, turn your back at one and the next thing you know, you're lunch. Ouch!
edit: I think I overdid it my plan: -Grab my Ka-Bar, other hunting knives, sneakers, trench coat and get ready to head out quickly. phone my brother first and get him to evacuate him, his missus and kids. -bike/sprint 1 1/2 blocks to my mates house and see if I can get him to help me with the following. -raid the chemist 2 corners away from my place for a stock (not all) of the insulin they have (diabetic) along with the full set of first aid gear (ibuprofen - paracetamol - cold/flu pills, anti septics that kind of stuff) and all else that will be useful (caffeine pills, multi vitamins, energy pills) -raid the two dairy's (corner shop type places) for food/water/power drinks. -kane it back to my house either on my mountain bike or have a hotwired car (I don't have a license and haven't driven for more than a few hours out of my whole life, won't matter much though) -make sure if I do get a car, that it can fit a lot in/on it (twin cab UTE with a long tray back like this but with an extended tray and find a trailer for it) -drive into town after scoping out (using maps) a gun store for firearms (though they only have semi auto at best here in NZ). there should be a hunting store around so they'll have good hunting knives and crossbows. They should also have night vision scopes along with binoculars and rifle scopes which will be useful for spotting and killing zombie. -hit the warehouse (large hadware/supermarket store) and grab aluminium baseball bats, kitchen knives, spare clothing, lots of comfortable and well functioning shoes (hiking shoes etc) sleeping gear for 10 people, diesel generators, gas heaters&cookers, power tools (both corded and cordless), building materials (nails, screws, glue/sealent and the like, not wood and the like) and all else that's useful (will be able to drive right in as it's in a large 'mall' type place, would also grab all their PSP's and other portable games systems as well as ). also grab 3 of their best mountain bikes with spare tires and puncture repair kits. -Raid liquorland and TheMill (both large liquor stores) and grab a s**tload of spirits, the higher percentage of alc, the better (not just for drinking). try to keep light on the beer and grab myself a lot of Kahlua and other liqueurs. -raid a couple of computer stores for laptops, spare batteries (laptop and all other kinds) and a bunch of electrical equipment to set up generators and radios. I would also look for a satellite broadband and satellite phone for comms for if/when the phone lines get cut or shutdown. a bunch of security cameras and a few hundred meters of coaxial cable along with a few computers, TV capture cards/system surveillance cards and a few large monitors would also be preferred for setting up a motion sensing monitoring perimeter at the desired destination for where I would be heading. -stock all the junk back at my house and drive around for another UTE or SUV and get another trailer for it and fill the trailer with 55 gallon drums for petrol/diesel storage and hit a couple of petrol stations to fill some of the drums and also to get LPG tanks for the gas heaters/cookers. -get back to the stock at my house and sort all the crap collected into packs containing one of each item or the closest combination you can get. eg; one handgun, two packs of ammo, one (small) first aid kit, one torch with spare batteries and one large hunting knife (you don't want to keep all items of a specific type in their own groups cause if you loose one pack, then that's a whole item set gone which is bad if its your med supplies or knives) -stock each UTE/SUV vehicle with equal amounts of each item which we have gathered and bolt/tether down the drums and LPG tanks on the trailers of each vehicle and head out of town for a farm owned by my relatives (where my brother will have evacuated to) and stop at a gas station on the way, about 15 mins out of town (why we don't fully fuel up in town, as we don't want to be weighed down while getting out of largely populated areas). while gathering in the early stages, we would make sure to get at least 2 sets of everything we need and most likely 4 sets as we will have 2 cars. -if the relatives at the farm are zombified, they will be easy to take care of as there won't be any more than 20 people around at most (will likely be 11 people there including my brother & group). -at the farm, my grandfather owns a 6 seater plane and my uncle owns a speedboat and a 2 seater helicopter, so evacuation should be easy if my grandfather is still with it and some people have fallen. the farm also has a sawmill for making timber/lumber for building a suitable high rise wooden structure to live in as well as the 4 houses there. there's also plenty of livestock to keep us fed up on meat and crops can be grown if needed. there's cows and chickens there too for poultry/eggs, milk and cheese. things to do or avoid: -make sure you pack all your carryable goods in packs that contain close to one of each thing you gathered. this way, if you loose a pack, its not a huge loss as you will have more or be able to share with someone else. each pack should contain a small first aid kit (with adrenalin shots to get your ass in gear when needed), some high carb low glycemic index food (multigrain bread - stuff that releases a steady flow of carbs over a long time), a torch with spare batteries, a hunting knife, a firearm with ammo (if possible) and some with cooking utensils. -avoid blowing up gas stations as you will need them later if you survive. -if your area is over run with zombies, only risk your time there for as long as it takes to get the essential things you need (food, water, transport and shelter) -make sure with every place you have to go to that you plan at least two escape routs. if there isn't two or more escapes from somewhere, avoid it unless you are backed into a corner. -set all zombies on fire if it doesn't burden you too much. if their flesh is burnt, they will be much slower and weaker as they will not be able to regenerate. -breaking legs first and arms second is a priority if you cannot inflict a good head wound. aluminum baseball bats should be good melon crackers for their heads as giving them a concussion or cracking their skull should disorient them and damage their motor nerves. -because the zombies cannot regenerate, simply severing or breaking limbs should be sufficient for a fleeting attack and they will die of hunger or malnourishment if they are the running type as they will need energy from somewhere. if they do not die, they will not have the sustained energy for intense pursuit of you unless they learn how to get other nourishment. -do not hesitate to leave people behind when others are depending on you. do not expect people to be rescued by your group if you get in a s**t storm with zombies. -if, like joe says, zombies can survive walking under water for extended periods of time, after they become bloated, they should be quite encumbered by that so should be easier to kill. -once the zombies acquire physical defects or injuries, they will only continue to deteriorate unless the zombie has a steady income of food and are able to rest. -when you get to your destination of a high rise place to live, make sure to flatten the surroundings so you can see what's coming from a ways off. -never walk alone if possible. if you don't have anyone capable of flanking you and holding their own the find someone who can. don't be afraid to ditch dead weight people though grab any healthy kids that are alone if they can keep up running with you or you can carry the under an arm while keeping a good pace. -keep to open areas. if your destination is surrounded by things that will block your line of sight then move/destroy/take down everything so you have a good 7-10 meter radius of clearing around your hideout/residence. the funny thing is I'm not worried about zombie invasions even if I believe they are coming. I've had plenty of vivid dreams involving the fast sprinting type zombies and the slow type and I always enjoy them. one I was in a hotel and a bunch of the fast ones started pouring out of the basement and jumping off the walls after people, so I ran to the top floor and locked my self in a room with some other guy, holding the door closed as they tried to bash their way in before giving up and going after a bunch of girls outside playing netball. that dream kicked ass. suffice to say I anticipate the coming zompocalypse and am going to enjoy the hell out of it.
