A "realistic" zombie outbreak

[nexus]

Inspired by the realistic superhero world thread and release of Romero’s Diary of the Dead ….

 

Assuming the following guidelines what would the realistic results of a zombie outbreak be. There is no specific outcome or mood desired from this, not optimistic or cynical but as close as you can imagine it would “really” go down.

 

The assumptions:

 

One day the unburied recently dead to reanimate; there is no warning and no strange events leading up this day. It just happens. The only bodies that rise are fairly intact with completely brains and central nervous systems and are not embalmed Only human bodies reanimate and anyone that dies that condition reanimates about an hour after death.

 

The animated corpses (from here on referred to as zombies) are somewhat slow and clumsy, like very drunk humans but otherwise function physically much as the were in life, perhaps somewhat enhanced since they do not feel pain or fear. They have some limited memories but little intelligence and act on base impulses, the primary one being a hunger for human flesh. The zombies pursue attack and attempt to consume living humans on sight can become distracted by simple emotions or other drives but the hunger always returns eventually. They have rudimentary memories of their past lives but very little intelligence.

 

Destroying the brain is the fastest way to kill them. Massive destruction of the body works as well and they can be crippled like humans (remove, break the legs, for example, they must crawl) but aside from that don’t feel pain, never tire and do not sleep. Cold can freeze them due to their lack of body heat, toxins that cripple the affect the nervous system affect them but no other seems to do and they don’t need to breath and don’t seem to void wastes but may have other body function that living beings do (for example will blink and shy away from the sudden bright light). Decomposition is apparently suspended or very slowed while they are animate.

 

Any injury inflicted by a zombie that breaks the skin and draws bloods will cause a severe flu like sickness in the victim which often kills them. Like anyone else that dies they will reanimate unless precautions are taken.

 

Edit: More details on the parameters for the creatures

 

Their bite is septic not infectious. The victim often (not always) dies from the resulting infection over time and raises if it's in the proper condition to rise as does anyone else who dies. I didn't specify length of time or degree of morbidity for the infecting and transformation but lets assume several hours up to a day with an onset time of an hour after the injury based on the victims health and other conditions. It can be treated successfully and those with extremely strong constitution might shake it off on their own but this would be rare.

 

Corpses from any source that are intact enough rise about one hour after clinical death.

[nexus]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

In the First world, especially urban centers I don't think things would get apocalyptic There just aren't that many exposed and unembalmed corpses. Hospitals and morgues would suffer. The question would be how people would be infected, go home, sicken and die an animate.

[jtelson]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

First thing that sprang to mind: Evil shotgun manufacturer develops Zombie plague to increase sales (followed closely by some Herbert West Stuff)

 

Then, Pretty quickly paramedics and first responders would probably be issued something to destroy brains. Shotguns or maybe some kind of modified Shark Bang Sticks at first followed by a chemical cocktail injection after a few weeks/months.

 

As for the question; Initial onset would have to appear normal maybe flu-like (to get people to go home), then you'd need to have a moderate amount of sick time (too short people drop in public, too long people will go see the doctor) followed quickly by death (Turns for the worse get people to Dr/Hospital). Airborne vector makes it very scary, foodborne's worse (Secondary panic can be fun).

 

Interestingly the third world might be more emotionally equipped to handle a zombie plague (Less likely to waste time with 'This can't be happening', may have easier access to traditional zombie remedies)

[Edsel]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

How about this set-up:

A new designer drug goes horribly wrong. Customers don't only overdose and die, they return as zombies who are able to spread their condition by bite.

[Curufea]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

This is all covered in Unhallowed Metropolis which I highly recommend. What if there were a zombie outbreak in the early 1900s.

[Clonus]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

Given those parameters I'm thinking more nuisance than anything else. After all, few zombie victims would be left sufficiently intact to rise in turn and the zombies aren't especially efficient combatants. In order to have a good zombie uprising, you need your zombies to quickly lose interest as soon as the victims are dead.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

In the First world' date=' especially urban centers I don't think things would get apocalyptic There just aren't that many exposed and unembalmed corpses. Hospitals and morgues would suffer. The question would be how people would be infected, go home, sicken and die an animate.[/quote']

 

I disagree about First World/urban centers.

 

Hospitals and morgues would indeed certainly suffer, and it would spread from there.

 

How many homeless are there in X city? How many might have died and not yet been found by the time of the outbreak? Source for a number of cases potentially a) near high-traffic areas and/or among potentially weak and likely unarmed (ie no guns) populations (other homeless).

 

Stories come up all the time about recluses (not Hermit) who die and aren't discovered until weeks later when neighbors complain about the smell. Bound to be some of those cases around, could quickly spread in an apartment building.

[nexus]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

I disagree about First World/urban centers.

 

Hospitals and morgues would indeed certainly suffer, and it would spread from there.

 

Hospitals and morgues would be hot zones for the infection but fairly obvious ones. And there how many bodies would be available to reanimate? They'd have to be fairly intact, unfrozen and in a position to escape or attack allot of people.

 

As I mentioned in my post the issue would be how many would go home and succumb to their injuries and reanimate

 

How many homeless are there in X city? How many might have died and not yet been found by the time of the outbreak? Source for a number of cases potentially a) near high-traffic areas and/or among potentially weak and likely unarmed (ie no guns) populations (other homeless).

 

Stories come up all the time about recluses (not Hermit) who die and aren't discovered until weeks later when neighbors complain about the smell. Bound to be some of those cases around, could quickly spread in an apartment building.

 

I'm not trying to say there would be no impact just that it's not the End of the World scenario usually depicted. Even a major metropolitan area there just aren't that many unburied, relatively intact fresh bodies compared to the living population. The reanimation isn't quick though so you would have flare up until someone put two and two together and realized everyone that died could reanimate and what it took to stop them (destroying or severing the CNS).

 

Also not everyone that is bitten dies, it's just a likely out come. The bites are septic not lethally toxic.

 

These zombies are the Romero-esque sort too. They're not smart and not particularly strong. Even without guns they can be destroy, subdued or handicapped by normal people. The recluse that dies in his locked apartment and reanimates would probably remain locked in there as his zombie can't figure out how to unlock the door and there won't be much of a smell. Until someone comes to check on them or collect rent at least.

 

I don't see the "cities in burning chaos and over run with undead in a few days" type scenario playing out without other circumstances contributing to it, say a plague, major accidents, etc.

 

 

Now use the "runners" from the Dawn of the Dead remake or other films and you have a whole different kettle of fish.

[nexus]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

The clean up and containment would go for a long time and possibly never actually be finished. Assuming the Macguffin behind the dead rising continues you'd always have people that die and aren't "fixed" before they rise. There'd be those would hide their deceased or ill loved one because they don't want them "mutilated" and other fringe groups that could keep the problem going for quite a awhile if not indefinitely.

[nexus]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

Their bite is septic not infectious. The victim often (not always) dies from the resulting infection over time and raises if it's in the proper condition to rise as does anyone else who dies. I didn't specify length of time or degree of morbidity for the infecting and transformation but lets assume several hours up to a day with an onset time of an hour after the injury based on the victims health and other conditions. It can be treated successfully and those with extremely strong constitution might shake it off on their own but this would be rare.

 

Corpses from any source that are intact enough rise about one hour after clinical death.

[1EyedJack]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

Zombies not being overly strong or fast must have one of two factors on their side, supprise or overwhelming numbers. Intially some zombies wake up in a morgue maybe 3 or 4 bodies are viable they begin lumbering around and suprise some hositpol staff before armed security or police take them down, those biten would be treated, proably given a broad spetrum antibiotic, and a tetnus shot. They would proably be held for observation, espeacilly if the CDC gets invovled at the early part of the out break.

 

Then you have the bodies at funeral homes awaiting embalmbing, usally 1 or 2 embamers on staff maybe 4 or 5 bodies, that senioro looks a lot nastier than the hospitol, but you have two outcomes, the embalmers get eaten, or exscape and seek medical attention. You have the possiblity of health care overload, but it would not take long before every hospitol was heavily gaurded, and people figure out what to look for.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

One thing that most people don't factor in to a 'zombie outbreak' situation is the fact that most modern First world people have seen or heard about Zombie films and know what to do, destroy the brain, don't get bitten, don't go to the cities. There would be widespread panic and chaos but there would be people fighting back. Not to mention the fact that the military outclass normal zombies immensely. With tanks and trucks you don't even need to shoot at the things, you just need to drive over them until you run out of fuel. Certainly they'd run out of supplies eventually but I think they'd come out on top before things got apocalyptic.

 

Rather more scary and believable would be an outbreak of the rabies-like 'Rage Virus' from 28 Days Later. People succumb quite quickly and then start looking for norms to tear apart, they do run and I'm guessing they're more intelligent than your average zombie. Of course they eventually die but not before causing widespread devastation.

 

Also if the cause is viral then there's all sorts of new problems such as disposal of infected corpses.

[Certified]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

I'm not sure all those who have watch zombie movies would be helping the cause so to speak. Cricket bats and shovels aside, an inexperienced shooter may have difficulty hitting the upper portion of the head in a trauma situation. People panic and there are multiple factors to consider. Well give everyone with a shotgun or semiautomatic a break but I think those with handguns may be setting themselves up as lunch meat. Especially if they have the attitude of all I need to do is shoot the head.

 

In the zombiepocalypses it is important to always save that last round. At some point you may be out numbered, forced can be overrun. A bullet in your headmeat is one less zombie if it comes down to that but how many would be hunters would consider that an option?

[incrdbil]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

Problem: When 'mobs' of zombies atatck, wouldn't the end result be humans stripped so badly, or torn apart, that their is nothing left to rise?

 

Therefore the most liekly form of attack to leave enough behind is a lone zombie killing a human--and even then, depending on how much they ate, what raises might not be much of a threat. No arms, no legs, head eaten through..

 

I note thats why you hve zombies just eat flesh, not brains. If zombies wanted brains primarily, nothing could ever rise up as a zombie that was taken down by a zombie.

 

 

Random note: zombiie hunters would soon establish a full 'strip down and search' procedure for anyone who came remotely close to a zombie, thus preventing the inevitable idiot who hides his wound and turns zombie at the last moment.

 

Shotgun rounds woould be good softening up attacks--knocking the slow moving zombies down, making their dispatch much safer. Baiting zombie traps seems easy enoughk since they are too unaware to notice pit traps, mines, explosives, or other tell tale give aways of traps.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A "realistic" zombie outbreak

 

Just how difficult it is to dispatch zombies depends on their speed and strength.

 

The original Dawn of the Dead zombies were pathetic. You could beat them to death with a spade if you wanted. Their only strength was in numbers and a fatal bite.

 

I'll admit that the average civilian would have much more trouble with the runners from the Dawn of the Dead remake. A table knife through the eye would settle them but you do need to get over the terror of being attacked by one and a single bite is fatal.

 

The army on the other hand is likely to outclass zombies. Don't forget that even a shot from a hand gun is going to slow the things down for a second and you've got plenty more where that came from, at least at first ...

 

That does raise a question though, how likely is it that the average squaddie will be able to pull of a head shot in close quarters? Consistently I mean. I might be overestimating the skills of various armed forces.