World War Z- The Zombie War.

I am putting this in politics because I feel like a zombie apocolypse is more than just some horror fiction that could never happen. I feel, and call me crazy if you must, it is plausible what with our obsession with diseases and nuclear war (at least in American culture) whose to say the next Swine Flu could be the Zombie virus?

Scientist have said that if their was a zombie outbreak, the likelyhood that humanity will survive is actually slim to none. Be it the fast zombies circe 28 Weeks Later, or the classic slow moving Night of the Living Dead zombies. Either way, they say we are screwed. But scientist say a lot of things.

When pondering the idea of a zombie war, I don't want you to think purely how awesome it would be, but think about the politics that go into fighting a war such as this. This isn't like other wars were you are fighting a fleshy enemy who is, relatively, easy to kill. Who has fear and and emotions. Who needs food and water to live, and air to breathe. In reality, humans are pretty easy to kill.

Zombies? Not so much.

Zombies don't need to be fed. They do not feel anything. They do not retreat. They do.not.stop. And there are thousands of them. In my opinion, it would be impossible to sucessfully contain a zombie virus, especially in the early stages no matter where you are living.

I won't go into too much detail in my opinion on this matter, since I don't want to influence others. I want YOUR opinion on how your goverment (or the major and minor goverments out there) would handle a Zombie investation, they techniques, and how you think the zombie virus could even come to be.

Note to Mods: If you feel like this doesn't belong in politics, feel free to move it. I just felt like it belongs somewhere other than, IDK, supernatural or one of thsoe forums, because I am asking people to take a realistic outlook on this.

Zombies are a non-starter for me.

I doubt that a zombie could well...exist. A virus may make people go rabid but turn them into the roaming undead? Nah.

A virus needs energy to survive meaning the victim needs to be alive in order to drain energy. So...I dunno.

I just say we should have an Osterhagen Key...just in case.

Now I know that sounds really morbid but it could prove useful. But fight first, Osterhagen later.

Well can you explain what an Osterhagen is, because I don't know >_>?

Also, the thing about Zombies is that they are technically dead. What happens is electro-magnetic pulses from the brain are still functioning (which is why only a shot to the head can kill them). These brain pulses is what gives the zombie movement and carnal desire. Though, Zombies that are undead do decompose like natural bodies. So they do eventually die off (The Zombie Survival Gude by Max Brooks suggest it takes 5 years for a zombie to "die").

Though yes, it is unlikely for the cliche "undead" zombie to exist, but I think it is more likely that something like an intense form of rabies would happen..

"Unded" zombies simply cannot exist. It's impossible. It's just a very cool idea for films and video games, and an obviously growing fad. I remember back, before Left 4 Dead... ah, those were the days.

I'm not saying I hate zombies. They are really cool, but I just think they've become TOO popular in recent years.

However... I could see a "zombie" plauge actually happening, maybe, if it were more along the lines of the apocalypse scenario in 28 Days/Weeks later or I Am Legend. The idea of us engineering a virus that causes us to be a extremley violent. Yes. I can See that. Brining back the dead, however? Hell no.

Sardonic Grin:

Well can you explain what an Osterhagen is, because I don't know >_>?

Also, the thing about Zombies is that they are technically dead. What happens is electro-magnetic pulses from the brain are still functioning (which is why only a shot to the head can kill them). These brain pulses is what gives the zombie movement and carnal desire. Though, Zombies that are undead do decompose like natural bodies. So they do eventually die off (The Zombie Survival Gude by Max Brooks suggest it takes 5 years for a zombie to "die").

Though yes, it is unlikely for the cliche "undead" zombie to exist, but I think it is more likely that something like an intense form of rabies would happen..

Osterhagen: A system of nuclear missiles inserted into specific points in the Earth's crust, causing the planet to be ripped apart. It would be controlled by several stations set up over the world, needing a Master Key only owned by top ranking UN officers and two other stations live. It was set up by UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce] if at one point the suffering of humanity is so great, so without hope, it becomes the preferable option.

I still don't understand how they are still able to keep going without any energy/water/oxygen intake.

It is conceivable for a passive illness to overtake the world but a rabid one? I'm not sure. A rabid one could be contained easier, I think.

Because they are dead they don't need water, food, and oxygen. They are running purely on pulses through the brain that are keeping their moter skills going. That's why I am saying that eventually they do succumb to natural decomposition eventually.

Also, you guys are loosing site of what my actual question was. I know the likelyhood of undead zombie's rising from the graves is slim to none. I was asking you take take it from an angle that it COULD happen/WILL happen, and judge from there.

But...where would the energy come from?

Sorry, I just over-analyse everything.

I still stand by my gut feeling that if such a thing occurred, we should stop it from spreading permanently by exterminating the entire human race.

The frontal lobe. Here. Some guy from Harvard explains it better than I ever could.

But would that be completely logical? Like why would the goverments exterminate the WHOLE planet rather than try to neutralize the threat? I mean, it is possible, I wouldn't doubt someone would do that. Just why?

I s'pose it depends on how the infection spreads. If it gets up to pandemic level and is airborne...what would be the point of continuing to exist? Why let someone endure years of decay and all that when they could end it pretty much instantly. Mercy killing.

If it was more the traditional bloodborne illness, then eliminating and immunisation of the threat would be the better idea.

There's a book named World War Z. It's sort of like district 9 in that it's written like a documentary.

And I really think that zombies would just die eventually, or even quickly, from a lack of sustenance to the body. I can see superrabies or a similar disease developing and making people so crazy that they revert to their base instincts and just start killing healthy people for food, but they'd die eventually because of lack of food and water.
Zombies in the original sense-reanimated dead flesh- just aren't possible. Or at least, they would die once the brain died.

And if they're not alive, and it's just their brains functioning, how do they move? You need the circulation to your limbs, and the attachments to nerve endings to coordinate your muscles to move.

That aside... IF it could happen, Zombies would win.
They incredibly numerous, and (depending on what version of zombies you're going with) they gain a member for everyone they kill. Or every few.
They're limitless, they need no food, no water, no supplies. Half of war is how well you're supplied.
However, they're dumb. Really quite stupid. They would run into a trap that they saw being made. They'd also keep fighting to the death.

I think the best way to fight it is biologically. Find out what started the virus and get rid of it after making a cure from it. In a war against zombies though, society would fall apart. Coordinating vaccinations and widespread killing of zombies would be difficult.

Oh come on people this one is a no brianer! Zombies eat brains. It's common knowledge. As for all those zombies that supposedly don't eat brains -- they do. It's just not mentioned in the book/film/whatever. It's like, you're watching Batman, and you're asking yourself: "When does this guy go to bathroom? Is his biology different since he's Batman?"
Well let me answer that one for you: it's not. Batman goes to potty-breaks, he even sometimes has stomach cramps. But his toilet habits have little to do with the plot so they are left out of the movies and comics (unless he had a really bad pizza the night before he does his hero stuff, but that would just turn out messy and we would have to have higher legal age viewing limit). But anyway, zombies sustain on (preferably) human brains, which means America is pretty much safe and us brainy Europeans will have to suffer the consequences of that zombie invasion. As usual.

Also I have a theory that zombies are already among us, and are slowly taking over and can smell our brains from a distance. Yeah, I'm a bit paranoid but my tin foil hat can't hurt so I'm playing it safe.

Xsoteria:

But anyway, zombies sustain on (preferably) human brains, which means America is pretty much safe and us brainy Europeans will have to suffer the consequences of that zombie invasion. As usual.

LOL.

But human beings can't move without a fully functional muscle and bone system. So even if we assume that neurons still work after you die, once you start decomposing (rigor mortis sets in about 3 hours after you die and wears off about three days later when your muscle fibers start to be eaten up by enzymes and bacteria) you can't really move. Moreover, we don't eat just because our brain tells us so, but because in order to move we need some form of energy according to the first law of thermodynamics (we can transform chemical energy into kinetic energy, but not create energy out of nothing). Thus the concept of zombies defies the laws of physics. I wouldn't worry too much about an invasion.

Yeah but, like I said, though all your opinions matter, that this isn't about the likelyhood of a zombie takeover but what would happen IF their was a zombie takeover. Use your imagination. What would our goverments do, and why?

^ The problem with trying to answer that is that if we don't get down the logistics of what we're facing, we can't quite debate on how the government would have to react. For example, if it is cause by a disease which is airbourne, we're screwed and have a hugely small chance of surviving. On the other hand, if it's transferred by physical contact alone, governments can close certain areas/countries if necessary to stop the spread.

As for war, the undead? Biochemicals aren't likely to work. Rabid diseased persons with the desire to kill and eat human flesh? Biochemicals likely to work.

Need to see what we're dealing with first in order to provide a solution, especially as ideas on zombies vary massively.

Sardonic Grin:

Yeah but, like I said, though all your opinions matter, that this isn't about the likelyhood of a zombie takeover but what would happen IF their was a zombie takeover. Use your imagination. What would our goverments do, and why?

If: the Apocalypse is a subject that has been discussed over and over and over and over. There's a whole genre of post-Apocalyptical mainstream literature, I don't even want to think about the non-mainstream stuff. I don't think we necessarily need to have much imagination when the prospect has been explored quite extensively. It's interesting that people do have so much to say about it in the first place. Why are zombies such a fascinating thing for our culture?

For my part I think it'd be like the Day of the Triffids. And the most deadly thing about that would be if Torrence really did end up running the show (and being played by Eddie Izzard). I think that would be the most dangerous prospect. Not the zombies but the way it would leave power structures open to manpulation. And that my inner fangirl can only take so much sexy!evil!Eddie before it explodes.

I think World War Z was an amazingly accurate portrayal of how various forms of government would react to such a thing.

I'm pretty sure it would be anarchy. The big rich and famous would hole up all together in some fancy bunker while the rest of us tried to survive.

While not picking off the infected, we'd be looting stores and trying to decide which gang would provide better protection. When there's no government, it's not like people can just be happy. They have to govern themselves by forming crude gangs.

Or perhaps. who knows. Maybe the government are the ones behind all this. it's heavily implied in World War Z that North Korea was responsible for the zombies, as they immediately closed all ports and made no contact with any other countries. Essentially, they disappeared.

(As for whether it's possible, the video game Left 4 Dead has an interesting take on zombies. They're somewhat similar to the 28 Days Later zombies, actually. These aren't exactly zombies, but 'infected' people with a mutant strand of DNA. Idle, they walk around shuddering and vomiting, but are attracted to the body odor of "normal" humans in that kind of 'You look like a giant turkey leg" way. My theory is that they eventually die pretty quickly as they don't eat or sleep; there are just so many of them that you don't notice it.)

Apparently, should we all become zombies, it would take about 38 days for everyone to become zombies.

The Doctor:

Apparently, should we all become zombies, it would take about 38 days for everyone to become zombies.

I saw that too =P

It bothered me though. That's a maths equation, but it doesn't factor in the fact that there are OCEANS on the planet. What if the first zombie is in Britain, and we're all zombified before we can get on a plane to Americaland?

^ I am guessing that if they are zombies, they can walk under the water. (A la Pirates of the Caribbean.)