Zombie survival plan

[Traab]

To heck with it. We all know it wouldnt work for a variety of reasons, I dont care! I want to hear everyones plan for surviving a zombie apocalypse. Humanity is being buried by an ocean of the undead. You (and at most a small handful of others) are the only locals alive. What do you do? Im looking for short term, mid range, and long term survival strategy. How will you last the night, then turn that into lasting for a month and finally lasting for the rest of your life? Lets post our plans, and work under the assumption that 99% of the worlds population is now hungry for brains and are NOT going to just fall apart inside a month/year. They are around till they are destroyed.

Dont forget to justify your plan and why you think its the best option available. And everyone else, feel free to pick apart their plan and point out the logical holes, but you need to post your own as well.

[Fri]

Running toward a horde of zombies with a shovel and a jerrycan of gasoline dripping a trail to be lit by my mates when they got the bit :)

What? It'd only leave us with FLAMING zombie? Damn.

(In other word in an actual zombie apocalpyse with no foreseen end I'd rather go down fighting early rather than living ten mnth in a basement arguing "who got their testicle bitten by zombie this morning?" Besides, in a zombie apoclaypse I doubt interent would be running, and what life is worth living without Youtube?)

[PseudonymAlter]

I suppose I'd start by capturing one and getting some rudimentary idea of how they operate. Yes, despite knowing that this is how EVERY bad idea in zombie films/books/games starts, it is, I think, an important step (though this mode of thinking probably suggests I'm one of the people least likely to survive the plague).
My justification is that my main advantage over a zombie is going to be higher reasoning and knowledge, meaning I want as much of that as humanly possible.
I can neither confirm nor deny that I might just be blinded by the chance to perform experiments on zombies.
So, dividing the zombies into three (very broad) categories which I presumably might confirm our hypothetical ones belong to:
1. Bacteria/fungus/virus/protozoa animating a corpse somehow- Head for somewhere very cold or very hot. I'm willing to bet that the microorganisms can move the body, not maintain all the host's proteins at a comfortable temperature if the environment isn't being obliging (and here I was thinking all those lessons on homeostasis wouldn't come in handy).
2. People with rabies-like infections- This is the trickiest, I think, since they're still pretty close to people in terms of basic biological operation. If they can take care of themselves, then I and whatever party I have with me is probably up the creek. I guess try and find what triggers the attacks and avoid that, then head for somewhere remote. I guess we examine everyone for anything that could EVEN REMOTELY be a bite wound, then send them off by themselves. If they aren't infected, they arrive (hopefully) safe. If they are, they turn on the way, away from us, and not really a problem. Then, when we arrive, try to learn how to farm before our supplies run out. My thinking is that without some sort of guidance towards us any zombies will probably starve or die of thirst before they make it to wherever we're hiding.
3. A wizard did it- Well, leaving aside what scientific test, exactly, I'd run to confirm 'wizard', I suppose I'd find the one responsible and apply a wrench to the kneecaps until he or she agreed to stop the zombies.

[HandofShadows]

Go to a farm, get a Combine Harvester and put some armor on it with an escape hatch or three and remove anything that the might jam up. Make sure I have plenty of fuel and a safe location. Set up a loud siren far away from my base. Have of the siren go off and go to town on the zombies when they get close. Rise and repeat. After a little while there won't be any zombies left in the area. Move to a another area and do the same thing. Going on the defensive vs zombie is only good for short term survival. For long term you need to go on the offensive.

[legomaster00156]

Hahahaha... no, I would die. I would die so quickly. :smallfrown:

[Ursus the Grim]

Depends on where I am.

Boston:
I would probably go to my office in the seaport district, based out of the Design Center. The place had a huge footprint for so few people. Seriously the building was massive, and it was mostly warehouses and showrooms. It also had solar panels and a garden on top of it. It was located on the harbor, with a drydock on one side (often military ships) and a cruise port on the other.

If I were feeling daring, there's a brewery that I am very fond of about two blocks away. :smallbiggrin:

Once I was set up, the drawback would be escaping. It wouldn't be easy to get out to rural areas from there, but if aid came by air or by sea, it would be easy to get to it.

New Jersey:
Head to another old workplace of mine. Medieval Times. Not to armor up and brawl with the Zeds (I'm not that stupid) but because I'm familiar with all its means of egress and it has some HEAVY doors. There's normally enough chicken and potatoes in the locker for a few thousand meals so in the short term I would be pretty well fed. They also stable the horses there, so if I got desperate enough. . . .

Its also normally a pretty quiet part of town, so I imagine regular zombie traffic would be fairly light.

Drawback: Meadowlands are probably a death trap (I mean the actual wetlands). Low visibility and no shelter. The other direction would bring me into general New Jersey suburbia, with no easy means of rescue.

New York:
Let's be honest, this is the worst situation. I think my best chances would be to try and stick to the rooftops wherever possible, raiding buildings and barricading them up as I retreated. I might make it a few days on peanuts and pretzels, but I can't think of any easily accessible fortification I could reach without being ripped to shreads.

[Tvtyrant]

I would drove west into the massive area of unpopated government land, then head over to the town of Tillamook which is nestled in a valley by the coast and start setting up defenses. A few days with an excavator and some parked vehicles will net me a metal walled fort backed by thousands of tons of dirt so they can't push it, then settle in to a life of fishing and farming.

[Draconi Redfir]

I'd pack a backpack, stap a hammer securely to the back of my right arm, hold a crowbar in my left arm (maybe vise versa idk) then start walking south towards the rockies. Heard there was a zombie bunker somewhere along the border of montana and idao or something, so i figure i'd look around there first. Plus, the states is where all the guns are, so i figure in a world where the only way to stop a threat is to shoot it in the head, the united states might actually be the safer place to be.

if none of that works out, then i've made horrible life choices, so i'm rounding up what survivors i can and bringing them back to canada.

[Ursus the Grim]

Plus, the states is where all the guns are, so i figure in a world where the only way to stop a threat is to shoot it in the head, the united states might actually be the safer place to be.


It's kind of crazy, actually. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country#Lis t_of_countries_by_estimated_number_of_guns_per_cap ita) Canada has a population of 35 million. The US has a population of 319 million which means we have enough guns for all our people plus an extra 40 million left over. That means that even if everybody in both countries survive, we have more than enough to arm all our northern neighbors against the Zed scourge.

Note: Another reason to never move to Japan - no guns in case of zombie apocalypse.

[Fri]

Go to a farm, get a Combine Harvester and put some armor on it with an escape hatch or three and remove anything that the might jam up. Make sure I have plenty of fuel and a safe location. Set up a loud siren far away from my base. Have of the siren go off and go to town on the zombies when they get close. Rise and repeat. After a little while there won't be any zombies left in the area. Move to a another area and do the same thing. Going on the defensive vs zombie is only good for short term survival. For long term you need to go on the offensive.

I never thought about it, but this is actually a good idea. Offense is the best defense in standard zombie apocalypse. Because zombies need to get more than 1:1 killrate to create a swarm. If a zombie is killed after making just another zombie, the number is not actually adding up. So if you manage to kill like, 40 zombies by yourself, you're basically making the area much safer.

But of course, zombie apocalypse never makes sense if seen this way, since in standard zombie apocalypse fiction survivors always kill zombies by the dozens.

(by standard I mean non monstrous, non magical/demonic invasion/whatever zombie. just shamblers/runners who turn people to zombie via bite.)

[HandofShadows]

Note: Another reason to never move to Japan - no guns in case of zombie apocalypse.

Katana's are good anti zombie weapon. :smallbiggrin: (I just HAD to say that)

[Ursus the Grim]

Katana's are good anti zombie weapon. :smallbiggrin: (I just HAD to say that)

Well, duh. They can cut through stone! Like one slice from a good iaijutsu practitioner should clear out just about everything within reach!

Luckily all Japanese have at least one katana.

[Vogie]

Short term: Barricade ourselves in a Big-box store - BJ's, Sam's Club, Costco, you name it. Limited entrances, a giant pile of provisions both fresh and boxed, and containing a fair amount of weapons or weaponize-able elements.

Mid term: start locking down a defendable area, and clearing it of Zeds over time. I'm in Florida, so that'll likely be an already fortified gated community, natural fortifications like riverside locations, or military base. Possibly a train yard, as train tracks would be clearer than roads, and you can use trains as 90% complete walls. Begin constructing subsistence things - solar cells, raincatchers, greenhouses.

Long term - Grow.

[Traab]

Well, duh. They can cut through stone! Like one slice from a good iaijutsu practitioner should clear out just about everything within reach!

Luckily all Japanese have at least one katana.

Those that dont can just karate chop their way through skulls with one solid blow.

[Cuthalion]

Depending on how quickly I learned about it and was able to respond, my first step would be to go to the local grocery store, raid unperishable foods, and just go into a house. If I can hole up and avoid turning on lights at night/letting zombies know I was in there, I feel like one could survive for a number of months. If it's still a problem by then, of course one would have to secure weapons and team up, possible raid and find books helpful for survival. What plants are edible, what plants aren't. Get rope. So forth.

[russdm]

New York/New York City Really:
Let's be honest, this is the worst situation. I think my best chances would be to try and stick to the rooftops wherever possible, raiding buildings and barricading them up as I retreated. I might make it a few days on peanuts and pretzels, but I can't think of any easily accessible fortification I could reach without being ripped to shreads.

This is the best place to learn the Zombie Hordes to. IT's compact, filled with sufficient number of people for the zombies to chase, And keeps the horde from moving on. Plus, it can easily be made into a target to kill zombies with fire.

So the best zombie prevention plan:

Step 1) Make sure it only happens there

Step 2) Make sure it stays there

Step 3) Kill zombies

Step 4) Profit

I don't live close enough to any Zombie Epicenters, so we all know that zombies only appear in large cities, where all the democrats live as well. But zombies are not democrats and will eat them. After the zombies have finished in the cities, then they will travel outwards.

But then again, zombies are stupid, so they can be encouraged to stay in the big cities while the rest of the country survives.

[Tyndmyr]

To heck with it. We all know it wouldnt work for a variety of reasons, I dont care! I want to hear everyones plan for surviving a zombie apocalypse. Humanity is being buried by an ocean of the undead. You (and at most a small handful of others) are the only locals alive. What do you do? Im looking for short term, mid range, and long term survival strategy. How will you last the night, then turn that into lasting for a month and finally lasting for the rest of your life? Lets post our plans, and work under the assumption that 99% of the worlds population is now hungry for brains and are NOT going to just fall apart inside a month/year. They are around till they are destroyed.

Dont forget to justify your plan and why you think its the best option available. And everyone else, feel free to pick apart their plan and point out the logical holes, but you need to post your own as well.

Rifle, rooftop, time for a day of shooting. With any luck, the shots will attract more.

Y'see, most houses are effectively an impregnable fortress from hands and teeth, and certainly, zombies can't climb up the sides of a house. So, it's literally leisurely target practice until I run out of zombies or ammo. Why expend resources in less optimal scenarios, when I can dictate the terms of the fight? If only 99% of the population has turned, then such a strategy would easily enable humans to defeat zombies.

Hell, if even a small fraction of them adopted it, the battle would be over pretty quickly. Welcome to the US, we easily have the firepower for this.

[Cuthalion]

Depending on how much ammo you have, you may or may not have an equivalent amount of supplies to survive long enough with a herd surrounding your house.

[khadgar567]

short, medium and long term plan the moment outbreak starts shoot my self with gun in the head and let the celestial bureaucracy to handle the rest( if they cant handle just sign in to reincarnation and hope i got good world

[Cuthalion]

short, medium and long term plan the moment outbreak starts shoot my self with gun in the head and let the celestial bureaucracy to handle the rest( if they cant handle just sign in to reincarnation and hope i got good world

Thank you for your unique viewpoint. :smalltongue:

[Eldan]

The local university has several campuses. It just happens that the one on the hill outside of town has the physics, engineering and agricultural institutes, amongst a few others and the food preparation facilities for most of the university, which is some 30'000 people. I know we have generators, including solar, water recycling, decently sized fields of food crops, greenhouses and warehouses full of food. And people who know how to operate all of it.

[Tyndmyr]

Depending on how much ammo you have, you may or may not have an equivalent amount of supplies to survive long enough with a herd surrounding your house.

That sounds boring and doomed to ultimate failure. Nah. Ammo goes quickly. I'll either run out of one thing or the other.

[aspi]

If only 99% of the population has turned, then such a strategy would easily enable humans to defeat zombies.

Hell, if even a small fraction of them adopted it, the battle would be over pretty quickly. Welcome to the US, we easily have the firepower for this.
For that to work the average citizen would need to have the weapons, ammunition and shooting skills to take out 99 zombies. For everyone who can't handle that, there's now 99 (or more likely 100 :smallamused: ) zombies that everyone else has to take care of.

You're also relying on everyone to not only stick to a plan that benefits a greater cause but actively come up with that plan themselves since there will be little communication. You may just have more faith in humanity than I do, but I would argue that this is doomed to fail.

[Fri]

For that to work the average citizen would need to have the weapons, ammunition and shooting skills to take out 99 zombies. For everyone who can't handle that, there's now 99 (or more likely 100 :smallamused: ) zombies that everyone else has to take care of.

You're also relying on everyone to not only stick to a plan that benefits a greater cause but actively come up with that plan themselves since there will be little communication. You may just have more faith in humanity than I do, but I would argue that this is doomed to fail.

Simply having 2:1 kill ratio in total would be enough to wipe out the zombies really. I mean, sure maybe one guy would be killed before killing any zombie, but if someone else killed 3 zombies before they died the zombies still wouldn't "reproduce" to be a swarm.

[KillingAScarab]

Step 1.) Get to Point Nemo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bifbg12u28&t=5m13s)/R'lyeh.

Step 2.) Die, probably, but either as something which is not as bad as or is worse than a post-colonial zombie.


Short term: Barricade ourselves in a Big-box store - BJ's, Sam's Club, Costco, you name it. Limited entrances, a giant pile of provisions both fresh and boxed, and containing a fair amount of weapons or weaponize-able elements."Shop smart. Shop S-mart."

[russdm]

I think that everyone is missing the true solution to all zombie problems : Napalm : or other incendiaries. Fire is the most deadly thing to zombies as none are immune, and firebombing everything/everyone affected would completely destroy them, ending the outbreak..

Shame about those cities/towns, but the entire outbreak is gone. There is simply no reason not to do so, especially since the military/government is willing to accept collateral damage. (If the government were made up of pacifists, then they are going to lose completely out)

[HandofShadows]

Fire is actually bad against zombies. Bodies do NOT burn easily since they are mostly made up of water and cooking off the skin of a zombie isn't going to slow it down. You would need to totally destroy a majority of the zombie's body in order to stop it. Be better off using cluster munitions which would shred the zombies (without having to worry about a out of control fire) and they probably kill most due to being hit in the head or brain turned to jelly from concussive effects.

[Quild]

Let's assume that most if not all groceries store and moreover weapons stores would have been emptied already.
I would try to reach a military camp because these guys would have managed to protect themselves and maybe can shelter citizens.
I would then manage to make myself useful so I become part of their forces and I am sent on a pillage mission with a small group.
Next step would be to betray them, loot their corpses and leave for another safe place in the middle of nowhere with a fair amount of weapons (that they had) and groceries (that we pilled).
Then I'd survive as long as I can, which would probably not be much. At least, I'd died evil.


Fire is actually bad against zombies. Bodies do NOT burn easily since they are mostly made up of water and cooking off the skin of a zombie isn't going to slow it down. You would need to totally destroy a majority of the zombie's body in order to stop it. Be better off using cluster munitions which would shred the zombies (without having to worry about a out of control fire) and they probably kill most due to being hit in the head or brain turned to jelly from concussive effects.

Bodies may not burn quickly, but it seems to me that they do burn. Maybe because of greases or whatever, but they do.

[Storm_Of_Snow]

Bodies may not burn quickly, but it seems to me that they do burn. Maybe because of greases or whatever, but they do.
Body fat. If the zombie's still clothed, the fat would wick into the material.

Given the zombie wouldn't stop to try and put the fire out, it would disable them by destroying muscle tissue, and eventually destroy the brain by cooking it in the skull, but it'd take too long for dealing with them in close quarters.

[Tyndmyr]

For that to work the average citizen would need to have the weapons, ammunition and shooting skills to take out 99 zombies. For everyone who can't handle that, there's now 99 (or more likely 100 :smallamused: ) zombies that everyone else has to take care of.

You're also relying on everyone to not only stick to a plan that benefits a greater cause but actively come up with that plan themselves since there will be little communication. You may just have more faith in humanity than I do, but I would argue that this is doomed to fail.

Precisely. But that's *always* the case. The ratio applies regardless of the ground on which you fight the zombies. You might as well pick the most advantageous one, and do it while rested and well fed.

I mean, otherwise, running into the zombie filled streets, trying to kill them with hand tools, etc...you may live slightly longer in absolute time, but all you do is guarantee that eventually, you lose and die. Having to carry ammo, hide, scrounge food, be forced into bad situations...why would you actually want to do that? Ultimately, you will encounter the undead, if you are to win. You might as well do it as blatantly unfairly to them as possible.

The plan doesn't require coordination, specifically. There's only so many zombies within audible gunshot range. If they're all dead, well...that's at least a local win for the time being. Plus, what I'd be doing is fairly obvious. Not hard to think of, hear, or emulate. It's not subtle. And, at least in the US, there is no shortage of materials to do so.

[Bobbybobby99]

I'd probably take advantage of my fence and my several edible plant encyclopedias (and make a point of salting all of the meat in my refrigerator) in order to grow edibles in my yard and in neighboring yards, to make myself last longer. I don't own a gun, so I guess I'd just have to use a shovel if I really had to kill some zombies. I'd mostly stick to my house, reread my novels, and commit suicide if it looked like I was running really low on food, really.

[Cuthalion]

I'd probably take advantage of my fence and my several edible plant encyclopedias (and make a point of salting all of the meat in my refrigerator) in order to grow edibles in my yard and in neighboring yards, to make myself last longer. I don't own a gun, so I guess I'd just have to use a shovel if I really had to kill some zombies. I'd mostly stick to my house, reread my novels, and commit suicide if it looked like I was running really low on food, really.


I wouldn't eat the plant encyclopedias until I was desperate. They could come in handy for reading and IDing plants.

(sorry)

[Astral Avenger]

Step 1: Steel a big truck, hopefully with a fair amount of gas.
Step 2: Break all the driving rules regarding pedestrians. ALL of them.
Step 3: Try and find another survivor to ride shotgun with a shotgun. Bonus points if it is an attractive person of whatever gender you prefer that would normally be out of your league.
Step 4: Wacky road trip hi-jinx and rom-com shenanigans
Step 5: Government holdout forces remove zombie threat, a la Shawn
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot_cr1odDkU&ab_channel=Gorblats)Step 6: Profit

[Traab]

Simply having 2:1 kill ratio in total would be enough to wipe out the zombies really. I mean, sure maybe one guy would be killed before killing any zombie, but if someone else killed 3 zombies before they died the zombies still wouldn't "reproduce" to be a swarm.

99% of the worlds population is dead and zombies, a 2:1 ratio wouldnt really help at that point. A 99:1 ratio would only be breaking even. You would have to average at least 150:1 to be killing off enough zombies for every surviving human lost to make the kill/loss ratio worth it when considering long term survival of the species. This isnt about stopping the zombie outbreak in its tracks, the zombie outbreak happened, it destroyed almost everything, and now 99% of the world is dead or brain hungry. And they arent going to fall apart and decay into goo inside of a month either.


As for the fire weapon, nah, its way too dangerous to the humans using it. As was said, while EVENTUALLY the fire would kill the zombies, or at least destroy their bodies enough that its academic, being able to use fire in sufficient quantities in such a way that YOU dont get encircled and burned to death is a major problem. Im in favor of the frag method of conflict resolution. Lure the zombies to a wide open area, plant as many fragmentary bombs as you can put together around the whole location, then set them off. It probably wont directly kill a lot of them, but removing limbs or even just limb function isnt a bad idea. A swarm of zombies that cant walk is a lot less of an issue.

Someone also mentioned basically sniping zombies to clear out the area. Its a good idea, but you had better make sure you have a LOT of ammo. The last thing you want to do is lure a swarm of hundreds of zombies to your location then run out of ammo halfway through the house cleaning. But if you can pull it off, say you live next to a few good gun and ammo stores that you could loot to the bedrock, once you get the initial infestation cleared, you only have to worry about stragglers for the most part from then on out. Its not SAFE, but its safer. Of course, now you have 300 dead bodies to dispose of.

[Lord Torath]

Of course, now you have 300 dead bodies to dispose of.That's when you break out the Fire.

[Blackhawk748]

Go to my nearest Wal Mart and proceed to cement off the front entrances. We will use the rear loading docks which are several feet off the ground if we need to leave. Turn the roof into a water collection/garden area and live off of the vast amounts of stored food there.

Eventually we'd clear out the parking lot area and start to form a wall with semi trailers, then rip up the parking lot and use that for fields.

After that, slowly eliminate the zombies in the surrounding areas with sorties and live in our castle.

[Tyndmyr]

99% of the worlds population is dead and zombies, a 2:1 ratio wouldnt really help at that point. A 99:1 ratio would only be breaking even. You would have to average at least 150:1 to be killing off enough zombies for every surviving human lost to make the kill/loss ratio worth it when considering long term survival of the species. This isnt about stopping the zombie outbreak in its tracks, the zombie outbreak happened, it destroyed almost everything, and now 99% of the world is dead or brain hungry. And they arent going to fall apart and decay into goo inside of a month either.

See, the thing is, when you're in a location they can't get to, numerical odds are pretty trivial. They're zombies. They don't approach it intelligently. Gunshots? They'll stagger right to ya. And if you're too high up, they pretty much just sit there, reaching upwards, being the world's easiest targets.

Your ratio is only really limited by your available ammunition and zombies available. And if you run out of the latter, excellent!

Those sorts of odds look much, much worse if you're trying to fight the zombies in a place where they can get to you, though. Going to hide? Sooner or later, they will detect you. There's lots of them, after all. Going to wall them out? All defenses will fall under sufficient weight. Eventually, if you get *enough* bodies shoving, because you didn't kill them, even ridiculous fortifications get breached. Once you are noticed, of course.

If you run out of ammo, a large concrete block and a rope should suffice.

[Traab]

See, the thing is, when you're in a location they can't get to, numerical odds are pretty trivial. They're zombies. They don't approach it intelligently. Gunshots? They'll stagger right to ya. And if you're too high up, they pretty much just sit there, reaching upwards, being the world's easiest targets.

Your ratio is only really limited by your available ammunition and zombies available. And if you run out of the latter, excellent!

Those sorts of odds look much, much worse if you're trying to fight the zombies in a place where they can get to you, though. Going to hide? Sooner or later, they will detect you. There's lots of them, after all. Going to wall them out? All defenses will fall under sufficient weight. Eventually, if you get *enough* bodies shoving, because you didn't kill them, even ridiculous fortifications get breached. Once you are noticed, of course.

If you run out of ammo, a large concrete block and a rope should suffice.

I was replying to a guy who said that if we just killed zombies at a 2:1 ratio we would run out of zombies. He seemed under the impression that this was the start of a zombie outbreak and not the end of one where 99% of the world is dead or undead and killing 2 zombies per human isnt going to help much overall. I am aware that a good sniper nest and enough boxes of ammo to build a house out of means one man could theoretically kill all the zombies in audible range of high caliber rifle fire (which is pretty far really) with ease.

[Rater202]

Attempt to summon a/the Devil and sell my soul for the ability to conjure and control vast amounts of corpse destroying hellfire. Then comes the purge.

Should this fail for whatever reason(the devil not being interested, magic not existing), well, I've got thick clothing, a machete, a pickup truck, and vague ideas of where to find an army/navy surplus store.

[Porthos]

I see many plans to deal with zombies. I see far fewer plans to deal with all the other humans running around.

As most folks know who watch zombie movies, THEY'RE the real danger. :smallwink:

[Samzat]

Short term: While the zombies are still and isolated incident, go out west and buy a rifle, a suit of plate armor (there are some places that make this for reenactment) and a halberd (collection and reenactment people make these too) and plenty of ammo. Pack these all in a car, and find people who are fortifying a location. Assist them in their fortification. Support expansionism within the settlement, clearing zombie dense areas with the halberd and plate (pikes are super easy zombie killers, and a halberd has a pike on it). Save the rifle for the possibility of human threats, as well as hunting. Aid in manual tasks, agriculture, and occasionally useful knowledge. Bring blacksmithing manuals to maintain your armor and weapon and make new tools (I already have that). Avoid political conflict in town.

[Tyndmyr]

I was replying to a guy who said that if we just killed zombies at a 2:1 ratio we would run out of zombies. He seemed under the impression that this was the start of a zombie outbreak and not the end of one where 99% of the world is dead or undead and killing 2 zombies per human isnt going to help much overall. I am aware that a good sniper nest and enough boxes of ammo to build a house out of means one man could theoretically kill all the zombies in audible range of high caliber rifle fire (which is pretty far really) with ease.

Oh, yeah, that's fair. You pretty much have to start with the apocalypse in full swing to make the scenario interesting. If it starts at say, patient zero, the scenario is pretty short and easy. You need most of humanity to have already be turned somehow, or the problem is basically instantly solved.


I see many plans to deal with zombies. I see far fewer plans to deal with all the other humans running around.

As most folks know who watch zombie movies, THEY'RE the real danger. :smallwink:

While everyone's big on defending themselves from mutated raider hordes or what not, the historical response to disaster isn't usually *that* bad. Yeah, you might have a few looters or what not, but mostly, when humanity is scarce, other people become a more useful asset. That guy has medical skills? Holy crap, doctors aren't just lying around. You should probably not kill him for a can of beans. Even if they're not particularly skilled, why would you want to make the odds against the zed worse by capping your own side?

Teamkilling is never a winning strategy.

[Ursus the Grim]

a suit of plate armor

I really wouldn't recommend that.

Even for those conditioned to wear it, 'plate armor' isn't generally an all-day endurance armor. It slows you down a little and swinging around that halberd is going to wear you out even faster. There's lots of places for grasping fingers to snag you on a suit of armor like that. While it might save you from a single zombie trying to nip off your arm, its not going to help you when you get overwhelmed and treated like a can of tuna fish.

[Tvtyrant]

Sharkmail is the best anti-zombie armor we have, as humans cant bite through it and it covers the whole body. If you are smart you are in a vehicle/building most of the time, so you are really trying to prevent the random guy in the closet routine.

[Trekkin]

I'm amused by how many of these plans revolve around dealing with zombies. I'd be much more concerned about dealing with other survivors; they're likely to be just as hostile as zombies but much better at using tools. With that in mind, here's my plan, working on the assumption that I'm at work when I recieve certain knowledge of the zombie apocalypse. (Given my working hours, this is a good assumption.)

First, I'd trip the fire alarm, closing all the fire doors and neatly sectioning off the building. Then I'd put on BSL-3 PPE over my normal labwear, grab a broom handle and a bag of zip ties, and start clearing the building, securing the zombies as I go. First stop is the security system, so I can remotely lock all those sealed doors from at least one direction and more importantly seal off all the outer doors. Then I'd just wheel enough surplus lab equipment behind the doors to barricade them. With the building sealed and the other survivors quarantined/calmed down and generally tended to, I'd start soliciting input on a plan to secure the other labs and support buildings. Most of them have a security setup similar to ours, so it'd be relatively straightforward to lock down the doors either through the steam tunnels or from the parts of the building close enough to lower a ladder over. Worst-case scenario, we make grapnels. Priorities include the botanical laboratories, the makerspaces, any place sufficiently greenwashed to have a solar roof and the thermal control plants. I'd say the hospital, since bedbound people probably become bedbound zombies, but I suspect other people will think the same thing.

Then we start building. People's lunches and LB agar can sustain us while we relocate and solar-power the aeroponics units; the aeroponic nutrients will last until we can get wind-powered aquaponics up and running (coincidentally, we have wild stocks of tilapia within relatively easy reach.) In a similar vein, we have access to enough stored water to hold us until we can get a solar still going, and while the hospital itself is probably a no-go, the surrounding facilities hold a wealth of repurposable medical equipment. We need those capacitors if nothing else. The basic plan, then, is to hold out and farm while all the fellows in the bunkers run out of ammunition, trusting to the barricades (and probably some nets and electrified fences) to keep the zombie buffer where we want it. Once the food and water supply is stable, we start work on the necessary apparatus to turn mulched zombies into biodiesel (necrodiesel?) -- and, assuming the helipads are all vacant, an ultralight helicopter or perhaps an autogyro, using the aforementioned makerspaces and maintenance tools, to survey more of the countryside. If we have time, zombie attractant would be a worthwhile avenue of research; again, the more zombies between our barricades and the outside world, the more blatantly we can build things without running an unacceptable risk of being raided and overrun.

Mid- to long-term, we assemble enough apparatus to begin synthesizing polyamide films in quantity and convert the nearby football stadium into an aerodrome. My long-term plan is essentially a fleet of necrodiesel zeppelins to salvage remote locations and transport cargo between remote facilities; we have more than enough cerium oxide and yeast fermenters with which to supply the hydrogen. At the farthest forseeable extreme, those zeppelins would also be the launch point for nearspace surveillance of ever-larger swaths of the country looking for other survivors, at which point there are too many variables to plan effectively.

[Traab]

Oh, yeah, that's fair. You pretty much have to start with the apocalypse in full swing to make the scenario interesting. If it starts at say, patient zero, the scenario is pretty short and easy. You need most of humanity to have already be turned somehow, or the problem is basically instantly solved.



While everyone's big on defending themselves from mutated raider hordes or what not, the historical response to disaster isn't usually *that* bad. Yeah, you might have a few looters or what not, but mostly, when humanity is scarce, other people become a more useful asset. That guy has medical skills? Holy crap, doctors aren't just lying around. You should probably not kill him for a can of beans. Even if they're not particularly skilled, why would you want to make the odds against the zed worse by capping your own side?

Teamkilling is never a winning strategy.


The problem is the herd mentality. Lets say me and my group of say, a half dozen people run across your compound while out on a scavenging run. Both sides are armed, both sides have something the other would like, and both sides are aware of how badly things could get if the other side has treachery in mind. (Why trade for supplies when we can take?) Its POSSIBLE things go smoothly, but its just as possible for things to go very bad. MAD only works until someone is scared enough (or evil enough or crazy enough) to pull the trigger. And thats assuming both sides ARE equally armed.

Its easy to say that historically disaster response isnt that bad, but whens the last time in recorded history every government everywhere collapsed and 99% of the population is dead in a short time frame? Where the law was whatever you decided it was and had the strength to enforce? While groups would likely form rather fast, its what happens when the groups meet that gets sticky. Who is willing to basically hand over their sovereignty to the other and join up? Who is willing to risk that THIS group of survivors are decent people and not flesh eating cannibals who worship the zombies as their gods?

[Blackhawk748]

I do feel the need to point out that humans have a tendency to not brutally murder each other ala Fallout when a massive disaster strikes. Typically because it doesnt help them to kill other survivors.

[Tyndmyr]

The problem is the herd mentality. Lets say me and my group of say, a half dozen people run across your compound while out on a scavenging run. Both sides are armed, both sides have something the other would like, and both sides are aware of how badly things could get if the other side has treachery in mind. (Why trade for supplies when we can take?) Its POSSIBLE things go smoothly, but its just as possible for things to go very bad. MAD only works until someone is scared enough (or evil enough or crazy enough) to pull the trigger. And thats assuming both sides ARE equally armed.

Not dying is why you would trade for supplies you could take.

If a group opts to fight, they have what, maybe 50/50 odds of coming out alive in this situation? And that doesn't mean your team is intact. Winning might comes with casualties. Even being wounded in the zombie apocalypse is probably really bad. Risk of infection, less medical care about. Not good for your average lifespan.

If you make a habit of doing that, you die off. EVERYONE who makes a habit of starting fights will die off. Even if the fights aren't equal. Eventually, simple math beats you. Someone gets a lucky shot off. Someone dies of injury and disease as a result. Even if successful, you're literally killing off the people around you. Those people are assets, alive. They kill zombies. They have useful skills that you can trade for. Dead, they're not helpful. In a world where 99% of people are gone, those skills are important.


Its easy to say that historically disaster response isnt that bad, but whens the last time in recorded history every government everywhere collapsed and 99% of the population is dead in a short time frame? Where the law was whatever you decided it was and had the strength to enforce? While groups would likely form rather fast, its what happens when the groups meet that gets sticky. Who is willing to basically hand over their sovereignty to the other and join up? Who is willing to risk that THIS group of survivors are decent people and not flesh eating cannibals who worship the zombies as their gods?

I don't want to delve too much into real world politics, but mass death events have definitely happened, and dramatically enough that at least local government is pretty powerless. Volcanic eruptions, things of that nature.

We've managed to muddle through, and mostly not become flesh eating cannibals when this happens. Mostly, people are focused on surviving, and helping those they know. There isn't a great deal of extra time and resources to pour into starting pointless fights.

[Trekkin]

Zombie apocalypses differ from natural disasters, though.

Broadly speaking, natural disasters happen over a time frame of hours to days, albeit with a protracted aftermath while chronic hazards are cleared and infrastructure is restored, and people plan to weather both; the same folks putting up storm shutters before the hurricane are also buying bottled water and canned soup. Thus, the near-term survivor pool is enriched for people who are also okay for the duration.

But zombie apocalypses are disasters you can shoot. That's part of what makes the trope so appealing. Furthermore, they're disasters that keep going until they're shot. The near-term survivor pool skews not to the prepared, but to the armed and/or dangerous, who may not necessarily have any other supplies. So, the day after Z-day, some subset of the population doesn't have basic necessities but does have the means to compel those necessities from others, and for those people the math behind picking fights is very different. They're probably not going to see next month if they keep endangering themselves, sure, but they're definitely going to die in days without water unless they find someone with whom to "share", amicably or not. Furthermore, as the apocalypse wears on, more and more of them are going to turn up when supplies run low. If they run out of bullets first, they're zombies; if they run out of food, they're functionally where our armed-but-starving subpopulation started. They don't even have to run out of anything, just disagree with some other survivor about something they consider a matter of life and death. There tend to be a lot of such matters in an apocalypse.

Even setting aside the irrational ways we decieve ourselves about how likely we are to win fights, the zombie apocalypse implies a persistent subpopulation with the means and rational motive to start them -- and those arguments about the long-term odds of surviving hostilities literally cut both ways. Thus my contention that the ability to see off hostile survivors with minimal risk is at least as important as the ability to deal with zombies.

[Kio]

1. Plug the bathtub and turn it on
2. Collect all non-perishables and move them upstairs
3. Destroy the stairs
4. Wait for the zombies to decompose