Class 2: Hierakonpolis, Egypt

It is no secret that Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide gets far too much attention and will get many people killed but there are a few things he gets right. And the fact he got this one leads me to believe he might deserve more credit then I give him, or he just got lucky. This interview however gives some very interesting insight on the theories behind the work.

In Egypt a very interesting discovery was made, what archaeologists believe to be in fact proof of zombies in humanity's history. The facts are pretty straight forward:

• High numbers of headless bodies.
• Images of walking dead.
• Higher than normal marks for the beheading of normal humans.
• Scratch marks on the insides of walls where corpses were kept.
• Bite marks on corpses.

Previous cases of dig sites from the area have seen journals or even scientists gone missing after returning from digs. It is not hard for the mind to begin to imagine just why this information and these people were never heard from again.

And looking at the facts paints an all too clear picture. Egypt was known for having interesting styles of execution, some stolen by the Romans later on. These included: cruxifing, forced drinking of poison and most commonly burning. Beheading was the least favored way of execution in Egypt, so why so many headless corpses found at this place?

The beheading stone has images of headless walking men. Of Pharaohs' army marching to meet these headless men. All images tell stories, the story here is not that the men were headless, but that they were dead while walking and to defeat them the soldiers must remove their heads.

Twenty-one of the headless bodies were found with marks on their spines. Marks which indicate extreme force was needed to sever the spine, more so than that of a normal man. And to dismiss the idea that maybe these were burly soldier types, the twenty-one appear to have been both men and women ranging from 16 to 65. Odd to think a young, strong king or soldier would need that much force to sever the neck of a 65 year old women, unless she was something more resistant to death then a human.

Marks were found in the rooms where the bodies were kept, scratch marks. This could be many things. People put in the rooms to die with the corpses would be my first guess. But to leave scratch marks in stone requires a lot of effort and something stronger then finger nails. Now if I were trapped in a room of dead bodies, I won't be too happy but I wouldn't be scratching my figures down to the bones. Why die in even more pain? Or use the energy when I cold be trying to find another way out? But something that doesn't feel pain and wouldn't think to try to find another way out... well that mindless creature would scratch right to the bone.

Egypt was also not a cannibalistic nation, so the bite marks can be assumed to not be for that reason. Even if they were, as Max Brooks points out, all known cannibal tribes kill their victims before hand and use knives and other tools to prepare the meal, not eat right off the bone. Especially while the whole body is intact.

The details breakdown-
Location: Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Time: 3000 B.C.
Infected: 21+
Response: Military.
Media Coverage: Very little.

My suggestion: Looks at the signs. Not everything in this article reads completely true and some of it is tongue in cheek but the simple facts can't be denied. More and more archaeologists are discovering sites like this and beginning to wondering "what if?" Science does not disprove zombies, we simply have not discovered what causes them. And more and more evidence comes out that does point toward their prove. Be willing to stand against the crowd long enough to at least open your mind like these people who search for truths and ask "what if?"

Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.

Solanum

Now we will take a moment to look at another fictional virus that has got itself a lot of attention around the world. So much so the nae "solanum" has almost been scientifically accepted as the name of any potential zombie virus. Not to be confused with the solanum species of plant.

Solanum is carried, by the blood, from the initial point of contact to the brain. The virus uses the cells of the frontal lobe for replication, destroying them in the process. Indoing so the virus stops the functioning of the body, including the heart, causing death. The brain, however, remains alive but dormant. The virus then mutates the remaining intact brain cells. These mutated cells no longer require oxygen to function. By removing the need for oxygen, the infected brain and can make use of the body without needing the other organs.

The solanum virus is neither waterborne nor airborne. Infection can occur only through direct contact with bodily fluids. A zombie bite, although by far the most recognizable means of transference, is not the only one. Humans can be infected simply by being in contact with undead tissue. Ingestion of infected flesh (provided the person has no open mouth sores) does not cause infection, but does cause permanent death. Infected flesh is highly toxic.
Solanum is fatal to all living creatures, however, reanimation only takes place only in humans. An infected non-human brain will die within hours of the death of its host. Infected animals expire before the virus can replicate throughout their bodies. Infection from insect bites such as from mosquitoes can also be discounted. Parasitic insects can sense an infected host and will reject it.
Once a human is infected, there is no cure. Because Solanum is a virus and not a bacteria, antibiotics have no effect. Immunization is equally pointless, as even the smallest dose will lead to a full-blown infection. Severing the infected limb can work but is very unlikely to catch the virus in time.
The toxicity level of undead flesh, combined with the 100% fatality rate for infected lifeforms significantly slows down the process of decomposition. This is due to the fact that bacteria play a crucial role in decomposition and were they to partake of infected flesh, they would die. Therefore bacteria afoid undead flesh. This also removes most of the smell normally associated with rotting corpses as that smell is due mostly to decomp caused by the bacteria.
Solanum does not infect the already dead. Zombies ignore necrotic flesh and therefore could not transfer the virus. Injection directly into a dead brain would be equally useless, as the expired cells could not respond to the virus. Solanum does not re-create life, it alters it.

As you can see the science behind solanum is sketchy at best and much of it is based off "research" done by auther of the Zombie Survival Guide, Max Brooks. More on solanum can be found here. The solanum virus appears to be simply an attempt at explaining away all other possiblities so zombies can only exist in one way. This thinking is foolish as there is no evidence to back up this sort of claim. Also it gives no explaination for the isolated events that occur throughout the world and at different time frames. All in all the solanum virus is unfortunately what the true cause of zombies, once discovered, will probably be named but at the very least only provides a rough outline to what the actual cause is. It is not the cause as laid out in Zombie Survival Guide.

Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.

Zombie Play-by-Post

Survivors allow me to present you with a place to test out your survival strategies and perhaps have some fun in learning how to deal with situations you may not have thought of before.

http://zombie-forum.com/zombie-roleplay/index.php

The site is not fully up and running yet but you can join, create a character and the site be ready soon.

I also recommend this forum as it is one of the few zombie forums which actually does not dismiss the notions of zombies and discusses them as an actual possibility and real ways to deal with the undead threats.

On the forum you will find indepth discussions on the biology of the undead. What weapons to carry with you, what equipment to leave behind. Discuss exact strategies of how to survive different situations. Many of the members of the forum are from the armed forces of different countries and offer a wide range of view points.

Note that not everything said there is 100% true though. For instance one person on the forum swears by the good ol' double tap to the chest. Even though many have told him otherwise, he insists this is the best way to defeat a zombie. It is that sort of misinformed confidence that will kill many people who believe they are prepared and might have made great survivors had they not stuck to false ideas. Some people ask how the zombies could still be a threat when so many people know how to deal with them, but this person is the answer, the Zombie Survival Guide is the answer, people who look to resources like this person, like video games or gun enthusists with no live experience, like Max Brooks' book and get false information that may cost them more then a couple wasted bullets.

Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.

Definitions of "Zombie"

Oxford dictionary:

A soulless body. In the Voodoo cult of Haiti, a zombi is the slave of a magician. The soul may have been removed by magic from a living person, or the body of someone recently deceased may have been brought up out of the grave after the soul had been separated from it by regular rites of death. As the lord of the dead, Ghede has the power to animate corpses as zombis.


Free Online Dictionary:

1. A snake god of voodoo cults in West Africa, Haiti, and the southern United States.

2.

a. A supernatural power or spell that according to voodoo belief can enter into and reanimate a corpse.

b. A corpse revived in this way.

3. One who looks or behaves like an automaton.

4. A tall mixed drink made of various rums, liqueur, and fruit juice.


Another online dictionary:

1. a person who is or appears to be lifeless, apathetic, or totally lacking in independent judgment; automaton

2. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) a supernatural spirit that reanimates a dead body

3. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) a corpse brought to life in this manner

4. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) the snake god of voodoo cults in the West Indies, esp Haiti, and in scattered areas of the southern US

5. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) the python god revered in parts of West Africa

6. (Electronics & Computer Science / Computer Science) a piece of computer code that instructs an infected computer to send a virus on to other computer systems

Urban Dictionary:
1.

The Walking Dead. Scientific name Homo Coprophagus Somnambulus.

A deceased human being who has partially returned to life due to indeterminable causes. The brain retains base facilities, namely gross motor function. In its near-mindless state, it grasps no remains of emotion, personality, or sensation of pain. In rare cases, some of the reanimated have reflexively preformed routine activities from their past lives.

The rotting bodies of the undead operate on a fraction of the level at which our bodies normally function. Circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems are unaffected by reanimation. Labored breathing, choking, and moaning are reflexive but no oxygen is carried through the blood. The nervous system functions primarily within the brain and brain stem. Sensory reception is minimal at best and seemingly unnecessary in the pursuit of prey. The undead are incapable of fatigue and will persist at any cost. They will even crawl when their legs have been removed. Even if the head is removed from the body, it will continue to live. The only way to stop the reanimated is to destroy the brain. To prevent reanimation in the recently departed, decapitate the corpse and burn the body.

The only observable action a zombie takes part in is killing living creatures, especially humans, and eating them. Many theories and speculations surround this disturbing behavior. One theory is based on the thought that reanimation is the result of a contagious infection or virus, and that the primal drive to feed will spread the disease to other host bodies. Research has shown that although the majority of zombie attacks result in fatal wounds, all corpses return to life soon after passing, regardless of cause of death. Another theory is that zombies eat the brains of the living to refuel the "un-life" giving chemical serotonin. Because digestive and circulatory systems are incapable of bringing these elements to the brain, this just cannot be true. The final speculation seems the most obvious, that the dead feed for sustenance to satiate their unnatural metabolism. But because the gut has no function in the undead, this is also false. One documented encounter claims that a zombie was unable to move due to the sheer mass of undigested flesh resting in its distended gut. The creature continued to eat even after it's gut had burst open. Studies regarding the nature of feeding have proven that zombies will try to eat when their stomachs and even jaws have been removed. One explanation offers that the walking dead are the incarnation of death itself, a mockery of life that uses the vessels of the living to carry out their dark intentions, they are the opposite of life and are driven to simply undo it.

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth."

2.

when a girl is with a guy and gets it in her eyes so she cant see and she walks around with her arms extended looking for a towel to wipe her eyes with looking like a zombie.

3.

A drink consisting of White Rum, Dark Rum, sours, and pineapple juice
Got the name because of its grey green colour (like a zombie skin)

"I'd like a Zombie please.."

4.

A person who accepts the status quo because of fear and/or lack of conviction. They generally only act out of anger and by then it's to late. They live without beliefs other than the following- Go to school, get a job, make money, buy lots of crap, die. Frequently encountered in the American school system and the suburbs.

5.

Slang for marijuana, pot, refer, or herb in Australia.

"Travelling in a fried out Kombie, on a hippie trail head full of zombie."
  

6.

A song by The Cranberries

...With their tanks, and their bombs,
and their bombs, and their guns,
In your head, In your head, They're cryin'... In your head, In your head, Zombie Zombie Zombie-ie-ie-ie...

7.

A synonym to the "n" word used usually by white people in a a "ghetto" area. The term is used out of fear of being stabbed, shot or raped.

8.

An undead soul, possessed and sent out of the grave to thrive upon the flesh of the living.
After a dead body rots underground for a time, it may come to life, first its eyes will reopen, and fingers will begin twitching. The thumping of the heart may return, unless the heart has been removed. This is the rebirth of a human, the birth of a zombie.
Deteriorating, fallen apart and reeking of the foul stench of death, a zombie will raise from the grave by smashing through the coffin and lifting an arm out of the ground, in the normal zombie style. The zombie will proceed to lift itself out of the soil and moan, usually moaning anything like 'Yaaarghhh...' or 'BRAINS!'
If you fall victim to the zombie's feasting of your flesh and brain, you will become a zombie, forever walking, undead.

9.

A type of virus which sends numerous amounts of useless packets to a computer or a server and floods it to crash it's connection.

"Wow i just scanned this server for open ports and i found a couple and owned it with some zombies."

10.

A theoretical being that some philosophers use to discuss consciousness. A zombie is identical to a regular person in every way (including his behavior), except that he has no subjective, conscious experience at all. The thought experiment goes something like: "How do you know if someone is a zombie?"
Philosophers like John Searle assert that the theoretical possibility of zombies severely hinders our ability to observe and study the phenomenon of consciousness objectively.
Many materialists, however, assert that if a being was structurally and behaviorally identical to a regular person, then consciousness would result as an emergent property -- zombies cannot exist.

Daniel Dennett doesn't believe in zombies.

11.

1) Crack, or an addict to crack.
2) Unconscious state.
3) To be between life and death, to be braindead. Some of the other definitions do better than this.

12.

Gore-drenched Lucio Fulci film about an Island full of the living dead. Considered to be one of the greatest horror films of all time.

I was really surprised that blockbuster carried zombie, but it had that 'youth restricted' sticker on it.

13.

A slow and/or dull girl that only goes after guys with brains. After the guy has been caught, the guy becomes dumber as a result of her lack of intelligence. Its as if the girl had figuratively eaten his brains.

"My ex was a zombie. She wanted me for my brains, but then sucked away all my intelligence."


Field Guide to Monsters by Darren Zenko:
They advance slowly, in eerie silence punctuated only by the occasional moan and the sound of feet scraping the ground. From a distance, the horde may appear to be a shambling crowd of normal humans. The truth is revealed on closer inspection: ripped and bloody clothes, gaping wounds, rotting flesh and the nauseating stench of the grave. These are the walking corpses, the living dead... zombies.

...The zombie was once human - and a human body, even (or perhaps especially) a dead one, is a strong and powerful object. Many methods, technological and magical, take advantage of this potential to bring about zombification. Even a quick sampling of recorded zombie outbreaks reveals zombies brought to life by evil spells; zombies created by meteorites from space; zombies as the result of secret biochemical experiments; zombies created by strange viruses; zombies as the result of ancient curses; and zombies spawned by radiation from atomic weapons tests. In most cases, zombieism is highly contagious and spread by bites or scratches.

...Note that, although the word "zombie" is derived from the Haitian voodoo word zombi, the true Haitian zombi is not undead. It is a living human, turned into a mindless slave by means of powerful drugs - do not blow its head off! Suspected zombie encounters in the areas of known voodoo activity call for careful inspection for rotted flesh and other indicators of zombification. Remember the zombie hunter's rule of thumb: "Signs of decay? Fire away!"

In summation:
It is important to know what a zombie is. Thus a look at the different ways the term is used in popular culture. The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks goes into great detail about laying out what a zombie is in terms of the powers and abilities they possess as opposed to some of the myths created by movies and stories. Zombies A Record of the Year of Infection Field Notes by Dr. Robert Twombly lays out the infection from a scientific view point. The most clear definition however seems to come from Urban Dictionary: the first one provided by them. Being able to identify what a zombie is gives survivors the advantage once the end comes about. This definition provides the best view on zombies because it not only states what the creatures are but also what they are not. It clearly points out the falsehoods to many of the misconceptions about the undead. Knowing what a zombie is or is not is one of the first steps in being prepared for days of initial contact and not becoming one of the millions to first fall when the final outbreak occurs. I provide the other definition because it is also important to realize what others may misinterpret a statement about zombies to be or how others may be misinformed and what sort of preconceptions you may face when dealing with other people surrounding an outbreak of any size.

Stay prepared, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,

Mike D.