Zombie Apocolypse

Originally posted by Robtard
If the virus was dormant in every human waiting for the body to die and animated every corpse present at the time of "infection", that could be a feasible way a Z-Apoc could happen.

Originally posted by marwash22
our doctors would have to be pretty damn dumb not notice the virus camping out in our bodies. With how many hypochondriacs and actual sick people getting checked out by doctors each day, and with how many violent crimes/accidents we have which result in death each day, it's very unlikely that it would sneak up on us.

"Dormant", meaning it doesn't activate until the body dies.

dormant = unnoticeable?

in TWD, it was dormant, but Jenner could still see the virus in your blood. What i was saying is that the abnormality would certainly be talked about then studied.

IIRC, you can't screen for a dormant virus. Edit: Or possibly, you have to know exactly what you're looking for.

I thought it was active in TWD, just that the virus didn't do anything negative to a living host?

it depends what you mean by "dormant"... like it is just in the blood but not doing anything?

In theory, you could find it if you knew exactly what to look for, or if for some reason you had a suspicion and put a blood sample in dead tissue and it started to "activate", but I don't think there is just a catch all "virus test" people can have done.

Originally posted by inimalist
it depends what you mean by "dormant"... like it is just in the blood but not doing anything?

Yes, does absolutely nothing but "sleep" until the body dies; then it gets into the business of animating the dead into flesh seeking goons.

Originally posted by Robtard
Yes, does absolutely nothing but "sleep" until the body dies; then it gets into the business of animating the dead into flesh seeking goons.

how many times do you think dead people would have to wake up before we took precautions though?

maybe if the virus could bring back all the infected people at a single moment... ?

I still have a hard time believing that it would be an apocalypse level incident though. Sure, maybe a major city goes down before the army is called in or whatever, but once the nature of the issue is understood (dead people come back to spread undeath), its going to be open season on targets that don't know not to run straight at you.

Its lunacy to think zombies might overrun tanks or artillery positions, its impossible that they might take down a blackhawk helicopter.

Yes, meant that the dead-activation happened all at once say over a day or two period, for the scenario to begin to be feasible.

If it was a body there and a body here, I'd assume the world's governments would be sensible enough to take precautions after the 50th corpse said "brains".

let's pool our money and get working on a giant wall like they had in the end of I Am Legend.

Originally posted by marwash22
let's pool our money and get working on a giant wall like they had in the end of I Am Legend.

I rather surround my town with an ultra-massive ditch and fill it with some sort of flammable pitch. Have a movable bridge for entry/exit.

Really, what those idiots should have down around Hershel's farm house. They had the time and the equipment.

truth.

i also don't get why they didn't have a larger, more secure fence. You'd think a bunch of people who grew up on a farm would be handy.

Too busy being idiots.

Also, why didn't they all just get into the cars and leave? Wait 12hrs (or so) and then come back once the zombies dispersed.

The virus wouldn't even have to be strictly dormant if no one was looking for it, so long as it produces no worrying symptoms no one would notice it existed and probably wouldn't waste resources on getting rid of it if they did. Romero rules were basically just magic, everyone who dies reanimates.

To debate on this subject, it is important to understand the properties and capabilities of the virus that can supposedly cause a zombie apocalypse.

Let us the consider the case of The Walking Dead show, as an example;

1. The virus that brings the dead back to life is not dumb but intelligent to a certain degree. Hints indicate that it is bio-engineered.

2. Infected bodies don't decay very fast because of the virus inside them which 'apparently' has some level of resistance against natural phenomenon that causes decomposition. Another way to look at this is that the virus apparently gives super-human strength or resistance to its host to keep it going against all odds for a while, minimizing damage from the prolonged and unhealthy exposure to the natural environment.

3. During reanimation process, basic instincts come back first. However, some additional brain functions also slowly come in to effect. Zombies (in TWD show) are capable of forming hordes/gangs instead of moving randomly and migrate/search for food sources with some level of cohesion. They are not very dumb.

4. Infection did not spread just through Zombie bites. Their were several others means. A decent hint is that the virus is inside the survivors too.

5. Keep in mind that the doctors and scientists who treat the infected are as much prone to getting infected in the process themselves. This can be supported through real life examples.

6. A major reason for the failure to contain the infection was the lack of cure. Some infections are simply too hard to fight effectively because they work at the DNA level.

These assumptions are not far-fetched when taking a peek at some real life examples.

Here is another interesting article.

I personally believe that The Thing like phenomenon is very realistic; a parasite that can impersonate its host and transform it in to a killing machine or reprogram it in a manner that the host serves as a vessel for spreading the infection. Such a parasite will be once again, intelligent to a certain level.

Originally posted by S_W_LeGenD
To debate on this subject, it is important to understand the properties and capabilities of the virus that can supposedly cause a zombie apocalypse.

Let us the consider the case of The Walking Dead show, as an example;

1. The virus that brings the dead back to life is not dumb but intelligent to a certain degree. Hints indicate that it is bio-engineered.

2. Infected bodies don't decay very fast because of the virus inside them which 'apparently' has some level of resistance against natural phenomenon that causes decomposition. Another way to look at this is that the virus apparently gives super-human strength or resistance to its host to keep it going against all odds for a while, minimizing damage from the prolonged and unhealthy exposure to the natural environment.

3. During reanimation process, basic instincts come back first. However, some additional brain functions also slowly come in to effect. Zombies (in TWD show) are capable of forming hordes/gangs instead of moving randomly and migrate/search for food sources with some level of cohesion. They are not very dumb.

4. Infection did not spread just through Zombie bites. Their were several others means. A decent hint is that the virus is inside the survivors too.

5. Keep in mind that the doctors and scientists who treat the infected are as much prone to getting infected in the process themselves. This can be supported through real life examples.

6. A major reason for the failure to contain the infection was lack of the cure. Some infections are simply too hard to fight effectively because they work at the DNA level.

These assumptions are not far-fetched when taking a peek at some real life examples.

Here is another interesting article: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/10/31/zombie-animals-that-resemble-the-walking-dead_n_1066891.html

I personally believe that The Thing like phenomenon is very realistic; a parasite that can impersonate its host and transform it in to a killing machine or reprogram it in a manner that the host serves as a vessel for spreading the infection. Such a parasite will be once again, intelligent to a certain level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk

Originally posted by inimalist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk

Originally posted by S_W_LeGenD
Do keep in mind the instinct to help people and the cost of using machines day-in and day-out.

ok... one major city gets overrun, and the idea of a "rescue mission" will be gone.

cost? you think this would be more costly than the other wars America has the ability to fight, simultaneously?

Originally posted by S_W_LeGenD
Not to forget the amount of fuel that will be used.

unless there is a mass outbreak in every city involved in any way with oil production, this is irrelevant.

even without heavy vehicles, how do you realistically see zombies dealing with WW1 era infantry tactics of digging trenches and barbed wire fences?

to quote the cracked article I posted before:

Plus, if we look at zombies as a species, they are pretty much designed for failure. Their main form of reproduction is also their only source of food and their top predator. If they want to eat or reproduce, they have to go toe to toe with their number one predator every single time. That's like having to fight a lion every time you to want to have sex or make a sandwich. Actually, it's worse than that: Most top predators are only armed with teeth and claws, meaning they have to put themselves in harm's way to score a kill. Humans have rifles.

The zombies have no choice but to walk into bullets. And all this isn't even counting all the other household hand guns in the world, nor the fact that zombies also have to contend with IEDs, Molotov cocktails, baseball bats, crowbars and cars that the general public will no doubt be using to cull their numbers.

And that's just from the civilian population; counting the military and police, we have another three million or so armed people, and instead of just handguns shotguns and hunting rifles, they have machine guns, combat shotguns, sniper rifles, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, grenade launchers and the occasional taser, not to mention the training to use them effectively. But why would they even bother? When they could just roll over swaths of zombies in tanks, blast them with cluster bombs and MOABs and mow them down with miniguns from the god damn Air Force that every zombie flick seems to forget about.

http://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly_p7.html

Originally posted by inimalist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk

/countered

Originally posted by S_W_LeGenD
To debate on this subject, it is important to understand the properties and capabilities of the virus that can supposedly cause a zombie apocalypse.

Let us the consider the case of The Walking Dead show, as an example;

1. The virus that brings the dead back to life is not dumb but intelligent to a certain degree. Hints indicate that it is bio-engineered.

2. Infected bodies don't decay very fast because of the virus inside them which 'apparently' has some level of resistance against natural phenomenon that causes decomposition. Another way to look at this is that the virus apparently gives super-human strength or resistance to its host to keep it going against all odds for a while, minimizing damage from the prolonged and unhealthy exposure to the natural environment.

3. During reanimation process, basic instincts come back first. However, some additional brain functions also slowly come in to effect. Zombies (in TWD show) are capable of forming hordes/gangs instead of moving randomly and migrate/search for food sources with some level of cohesion. They are not very dumb.

4. Infection did not spread just through Zombie bites. Their were several others means. A decent hint is that the virus is inside the survivors too.

5. Keep in mind that the doctors and scientists who treat the infected are as much prone to getting infected in the process themselves. This can be supported through real life examples.

6. A major reason for the failure to contain the infection was the lack of cure. Some infections are simply too hard to fight effectively because they work at the DNA level.

These assumptions are not far-fetched when taking a peek at some real life examples.

Here is another interesting article.

I personally believe that The Thing like phenomenon is very realistic; a parasite that can impersonate its host and transform it in to a killing machine or reprogram it in a manner that the host serves as a vessel for spreading the infection. Such a parasite will be once again, intelligent to a certain level.

I thought the pack thing was more a result of the zombies individually moving toward food sources, hence why the pack builds over time rather than roams like typical hunting animals would.