ZOMBIES!!! (Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse)
Zombie Slayer
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Contents
What is a Zombie Apocalypse?
Zombie Biology
Zombie Survival
Preparation
Shelters
The Other Bad Guys
Strategies and Tactics
Beating the Zombies…DEFEAT!
What is a Zombie Apocalypse?
Throughout time people have had many different ideas on how the world would end. One scenario in particular has become more popular in this day and time. Z-Day, or the zombie apocalypse, is the belief that the world will end due to the rise of zombies, and the mass infection of all living beings. Many believe that zombie apocalypse began by some sort of massive outbreak of plague or disease. This infection would be transmitted from the walking dead healthy human beings. Zombies are only motivated by the need to consume living beings, most importantly their brains, and to transmit the virus or infection by either scratching or biting their victims. Such an uprising of infected undead baffles authorities, rendering leaders most completely useless. The threat of such an attack is incomprehensible, and by the time an appropriate plan of action is created, containment is impossible. Society breaks out into widespread panic, plus beginning the collapse of society as we know it.
Often times the disease or virus that causes dead bodies to reanimate, can not be exclusively determined, therefore it cannot be controlled. This makes it impossible to stop zombies from rising from the dead once this phenomenon begins. People who are infected with the venom from zombies most often turn into zombies themselves. Then the cycle repeats itself, and the virus then spreads exponentially making any hope of controlling the outbreak obsolete.
Survivors are forced to hide out in bunkers or shelters and are reduced to scavenging for supplies and food. Not only must they face the opposing undead enemy, but there are other living humans who will attack them in effort to gain their weapons and rations.
A huge number of video games and movies have glorified the idea of a zombie uprising, and has made the “zombie apocalypse” part of mainstream culture. Lots of material has been presented for how to be prepared for a hypothetical zombie takeover, but there are actually a few different scientifically explained reasons that an apocalypse of this nature could really happen!
#1. Brain Parasites
There are certain parasites capable of possessing the brains of animals. For example, the toxoplasmosa gondi, infects the brains of rats. This bug can only reproduce in one place…inside the stomach of a cat! In order to maintain life, this bug has to get its host into the tummy of its enemy, so it infects the rat’s brain, and forces it to move toward its predator. The poor little rat is actually being re-programmed to get itself eaten by the kitty. Now you may be asking yourself how in the world this could result in humans becoming zombies. First of all, rats and humans aren’t really all that different, and that is precisely why we use them to test our trial medications. Also, over half of the humans on Earth are infected with a type of toxoplasmosa! All t would take is for one strain of this toxoplasmosa to evolve, and suddenly the whole human race is completely devoid of instinct and rational thought. Still in denial? Wonder what those biological weapons programs are working on right now….
#2. Neurotoxins
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eurotoxins are basically poisons that slow down all of the body’s natural functions so dramatically, that even a doctor can’t tell you aren’t dead. Japanese blowfish, called fugu, can cause this type of reaction if not properly prepared. People who have induced this poison can be given a drug called datura stramonium (or other alkaloid) that will leave them in a state of trance. These people have no memories, but can still perform easy tasks such as sleeping, eating, and walking.
This actually began in Haiti, where ironically enough the oldest zombie tales originate. Clairvius Narcisse was buried alive in Haiti in 1962. Supposedly he was found stumbling around the village a whole 18 years later!! Turns out, voodoo priests had been giving people neurotoxins for years to “zombify” them and make them work in the sugar fields.
If some mad scientist were to devise a scheme to distribute these toxins to the masses, he could indeed create a mindless, shambling horde of zombie-like beings, but in no way would could he teach them to be aggressive cannibals…..Yet.
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3. Neurogenesis
Ever heard of stem cell research? Do you know what it is? Stem cells basically are used to re-generate dead cells. Neurogenesis is the process of re-growing dead brain cells. Wondering how this could have anything to do with zombies?? Medicine can do just about anything except bring you back from the dead, right? Well, scientists can already re-grow brain tissue from comatose patients until they are able to wake up and walk again on their own. Now, pair that with the fact that they are already able to keep any body in a state of suspended animation so that it can, in essence, be brought back later.
There is a lab dedicated solely to “reanimation research”, and they claim that there are huge problems with “reanimating” people. The brain actually dies from the outside inward. Guess what the outside part of your brain is…the cortex. Guess what the cortex controls…YOU! The cortex controls your personality, memories, and feelings. Once that part of the brain dies, all you are left with is the part of the brain that controls primitive instincts and basic motor function.
Without the cortex, a body could still survive. If you re-grow the brain stem in a brain dead human, you could still have a mindless body stumbling around with no personality, no thoughts, and no memories. See the resemblance?
#4. Rage Viruses
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n the movie 28 Days Later, this was a virus that changed normal humans into raging murderers. In actuality, there are a number of different brain disorders that can cause the same type behavior. These disorders are obviously not contagious, but there are other types of diseases that have come along that can affect the brain the same way….and these ARE contagious. Take the Mad Cow Disease for example. This illness deteriorates the cow’s brain and spinal cord, and turns it into a mindless, bumbling attack cow. When this
