Would you?

Crooked Jack

In all honesty, if you could unleash a zombie virus on the world, would you?
Or if that's too much for your conscience lets say you have access to an infinite number of alternate realities, one of which is the same as this world except for the fact that 99 per cent of the population are zombie (were talking George A. Romero slow, shambling creatures here, not the scary 28 Days Later bastards, would you go there and stay permanently?

Canis Lupus

lol no, nevermind killing bajillions of people why would you want to live in such a world where simple day to day living would be a struggle and things like breaking a bone or getting an infected cut would be properly life threatening nevermind the brain eating zombies.

Old Tom

Crooked Jack wrote: »

would you?

Destroying my whole life? Destroying life of my family?
No, never.

downwithpeace

No on both counts.

Crooked Jack

I'm not saying I'd do it but it certainly would be a simpler life in some respects.

Crooked Jack

downwithpeace wrote: »

No on both counts.

Is your name street talk, you're "down" with peace like you're "down" with the kids. Or do you mean "down with peace" as in a Father Ted "down with this sort of thing."
Just wondering so I can make sense of your answer.

downwithpeace

Crooked Jack wrote: »

Is your name street talk, you're "down" with peace like you're "down" with the kids. Or do you mean "down with peace" as in a Father Ted "down with this sort of thing."
Just wondering so I can make sense of your answer.

Actually that question is the reason I came up with this name, it can be taken at either meaning

degrassinoel

Crooked Jack wrote: »

Is your name street talk, you're "down" with peace like you're "down" with the kids. Or do you mean "down with peace" as in a Father Ted "down with this sort of thing."
Just wondering so I can make sense of your answer.

usernames usually have very little to do with the person, if you're basing your answer on someones username you might want to rethink it, jus' sayin'

Zomg Okay

degrassinoel wrote: »

usernames usually have very little to do with the person, if you're basing your answer on someones username you might want to rethink it, jus' sayin'

Yeah, I mean, if people judged me off my username they'd never take me seriously.

...

Wait, they don't take me seriously anyway. Oh well.

kildare.17hmr

Fcuk no!

Parkwaydrive

I reckon if one could sleep and live the zombie apocalypse in your sleep time, and then continue the next time you sleep, I definitely would!

However, if one could only choose life as it is now and therefore make the two mutually exclusive, much as I hate this life, I think the risk is far too great and don't think I would unleash it!

Cork24

Crooked Jack wrote: »

I'm not saying I'd do it but it certainly would be a simpler life in some respects.

If you want a simpler life become a buddhist monk, and learn about true suffering.

Crooked Jack

Cork24 wrote: »

If you want a simpler life become a buddhist monk, and learn about true suffering.

What? No! That sounds awful. If the choice was that or zombie apocalypse I'd be dumping drums of the Z-Virus in the water supply.

Crooked Jack

Parkwaydrive wrote: »

I reckon if one could sleep and live the zombie apocalypse in your sleep time, and then continue the next time you sleep, I definitely would!

However, if one could only choose life as it is now and therefore make the two mutually exclusive, much as I hate this life, I think the risk is far too great and don't think I would unleash it!

You sound like you're just one more piece of bad news away from giving this zombie thing your full support.

aaronjumper

No way, having a Zombie plan is like having a fire escape, you would rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.

Also I would miss milkshakes and the internet.

Carter P Fly

I would

Parkwaydrive

What? I don't quite follow what you're saying.

Crooked Jack

Parkwaydrive wrote: »

I reckon if one could sleep and live the zombie apocalypse in your sleep time, and then continue the next time you sleep, I definitely would!

However, if one could only choose life as it is now and therefore make the two mutually exclusive, much as I hate this life, I think the risk is far too great and don't think I would unleash it!

I was just saying that it sounds to me like there is room to manoeuvre there.

Daisy M

Why would you think anyone would ever choose to unleash such a thing? Surely its the same as asking people if they would drop an atomic bomb.

Crooked Jack

Daisy M wrote: »

Why would you think anyone would ever choose to unleash such a thing? Surely its the same as asking people if they would drop an atomic bomb.

well they did, didnt they? Two in fact. I just think it would be a way of resetting the clock. It would really refocus your priorities. Plus I love zombies.

ChaseThisLight

Never. Not for any reason.

And how could you possibly think unleashing such a virus would make life simpler? You'd be spending your days trying to survive, knowing that each day could be your last - and yes, I realize that even today, each day could be your last, but the threat of zombies and friendly (or unfriendly) fire multiplies that. There's nothing simple about trying to survive a world filled with zombies.

Crooked Jack

ChaseThisLight wrote: »

Never. Not for any reason.

And how could you possibly think unleashing such a virus would make life simpler? You'd be spending your days trying to survive, knowing that each day could be your last - and yes, I realize that even today, each day could be your last, but the threat of zombies and friendly (or unfriendly) fire multiplies that. There's nothing simple about trying to survive a world filled with zombies.

No job, no government, no such thing as money, no big brother, no celebrity news, no forms to fill out or bureaucracy to bow down before. Just living every day and living it as if it were your last. Sounds like the perfect tonic for someone who has become jaded by existence. And then when the zombies are wiped out we cant start society all over again but this time with the knowledge of our past mistakes.

ChaseThisLight

Crooked Jack wrote: »

No job, no government, no such thing as money, no big brother, no celebrity news, no forms to fill out or bureaucracy to bow down before. Just living every day and living it as if it were your last. Sounds like the perfect tonic for someone who has become jaded by existence. And then when the zombies are wiped out we cant start society all over again but this time with the knowledge of our past mistakes.

You'd only be trading those things for a harder life than you had before; the zombies may be wiped out eventually, but it will take a lot of work and hardships to get to that point. Wouldn't be worth it, in my eyes.

Daisy M

Crooked Jack wrote: »

No job, no government, no such thing as money, no big brother, no celebrity news, no forms to fill out or bureaucracy to bow down before. Just living every day and living it as if it were your last. Sounds like the perfect tonic for someone who has become jaded by existence. And then when the zombies are wiped out we cant start society all over again but this time with the knowledge of our past mistakes.

The zombies would include most people you ever knew. When the zombies were wiped out you would be left with a whole set of other problems like sourcing adequete uncontaminated food and water. There would be decomposing bodies everywhere with no one to clean up the mess. Rats would be rampant and would spread disease. Something as simple as a flu or bought of diarrhorea could be fatal. You would age quicker due to having to work physically hard in all weather, suffering sleep deprivation and having injuries and illness that couldnt be treated.


You my friend sound as though you need to go and find an uninhabited island and chill.:)

Zomg Okay

Crooked Jack wrote: »

we cant start society all over again but this time with the knowledge of our past mistakes.

Won't work. If there's one thing we humans are good at, it's not learning from past mistakes.

Crooked Jack

Zomg Okay wrote: »

Won't work. If there's one thing we humans are good at, it's not learning from past mistakes.

Then maybe we'll get lucky and the zombies will win.

downwithpeace

Crooked Jack wrote: »

No job, no government, no such thing as money, no big brother, no celebrity news, no forms to fill out or bureaucracy to bow down before. Just living every day and living it as if it were your last. Sounds like the perfect tonic for someone who has become jaded by existence. And then when the zombies are wiped out we cant start society all over again but this time with the knowledge of our past mistakes.

If your in a group then some sort of hierarchy will emerge, might be on top or might be at the bottom but either way your going to be stuck with politics. Just living from day to day even Zombie free will likely have some human interaction which if their survival views differ to yours then the peace and tranquility could be a dream of the past.

Crooked Jack

downwithpeace wrote: »

If your in a group then some sort of hierarchy will emerge, might be on top or might be at the bottom but either way your going to be stuck with politics. Just living from day to day even Zombie free will likely have some human interaction which if their survival views differ to yours then the peace and tranquility could be a dream of the past.

Maybe. Maybe not. Only one way to find out.

jameverywhere

The fact that you're even asking this question is concerning.

Unless you were assured of your own immunity, being the person who unleashes the virus on the world pretty much guarantees that you will be one of the first infected. If not THE first. Which means, yay, you're a zombie, and you've just kickstarted the Zed apocalypse. Can't you find a less dastardly way of committing suicide?

If you were sure of your own immunity to the virus, and just wanted to live in a video game for a while, let me tell you, it would get old really fast.

How about this. Gather up all the camping gear you own, or all the supplies that you would want to use in a Zed apocalypse. Pack them into your car or onto a touring bicycle. Go off into the wilderness by yourself for a week.

drive until your car runs out of petrol, then abandon it because there's no petrol left. (skip this step if you chose the bike)

Eat out of tins, sleep in the dirt, pretend there are zombies around every corner and practice running away from them because, let's face it, you're not going to have a gun or ammunition by this point. For added reality points, camp somewhere with bears like in Alaska or where there are known mountain lions for added danger and adrenaline.

Pick up and go home when you're tired, sore, lonely, and out of food. (Or, get eaten by a bear.)


If you enjoyed it, congrats, you're crazy. Sell your house, buy more camping gear/cycling kit, and live in the woods for the rest of your life.


If you didn't enjoy it, congrats, you're just a regular guy. Go back to your normal life and feel guilty for secretly wanting to kill millions of people just to have a life that seems cool but actually sucks.

downwithpeace

Crooked Jack wrote: »

Maybe. Maybe not. Only one way to find out.

To much of a risk to test though.

Crooked Jack

jameverywhere wrote: »

The fact that you're even asking this question is concerning.

Unless you were assured of your own immunity, being the person who unleashes the virus on the world pretty much guarantees that you will be one of the first infected. If not THE first. Which means, yay, you're a zombie, and you've just kickstarted the Zed apocalypse. Can't you find a less dastardly way of committing suicide?

If you were sure of your own immunity to the virus, and just wanted to live in a video game for a while, let me tell you, it would get old really fast.

How about this. Gather up all the camping gear you own, or all the supplies that you would want to use in a Zed apocalypse. Pack them into your car or onto a touring bicycle. Go off into the wilderness by yourself for a week.

drive until your car runs out of petrol, then abandon it because there's no petrol left. (skip this step if you chose the bike)

Eat out of tins, sleep in the dirt, pretend there are zombies around every corner and practice running away from them because, let's face it, you're not going to have a gun or ammunition by this point. For added reality points, camp somewhere with bears like in Alaska or where there are known mountain lions for added danger and adrenaline.

Pick up and go home when you're tired, sore, lonely, and out of food. (Or, get eaten by a bear.)


If you enjoyed it, congrats, you're crazy. Sell your house, buy more camping gear/cycling kit, and live in the woods for the rest of your life.


If you didn't enjoy it, congrats, you're just a regular guy. Go back to your normal life and feel guilty for secretly wanting to kill millions of people just to have a life that seems cool but actually sucks.

Well firstly, my sincere apologies for wanting "a life that seems cool." I'll just sit here at the computer until my lungs finally give out under the weight of my tits.
Secondly, your assertions are just as much assumptions as mine are, neither of us know what it would really be like.
Thirdly, any Z-Head will tell you that zombies and bears have a number of subtle but key differences. (Zombie bears are an entirely different issue.)
Fourthly, I gave a second option where instead of causing the zombie apocalypse you travel to an alternate reality where it is already happening.
Thus meaning I wouldnt be killing millions of anything.

Leaving aside the patronising video game comments and your "assurances" that it would get old fast (have you lived through one of these before) I still think I'd be tempted by it. There is a fairly significant part of me drawn to the apocalyptic. I think it would put a lot of stuff in perspective.

jameverywhere

I speak as someone who regularly goes out touring on a bike and has no problem camping out in nothing but a bivvy bag, eating trail mix and tinned fish and cycling 50 miles a day just 'cause I like it. I would qualify under my definition of "crazy" above except that I can only last for so long doing that before I want to check my email, talk to my mother on the phone, hang out with my friends, and sleep in a real bed for a while...



If you really wanted a cool life, you'd go out and DO something rather than sit around on the internet fantasizing about it. Okay, if you're completely ready for a zombie apocalypse, why not just quit your job, do something like hitchhike across Europe or kayak to New York or something crazy, death-defying... something that reorganises your priorities and makes you appreciate life more. If you really would unleash the Z virus to make your life what most would describe a living hell, surely you can find some other kind of sport or activity you seriously enjoy, and give up everything for that.


If you think an apocalypse would be a good life, how are you so sure that you'd survive? Are you physically fit? Do you have contingency plans? Do you have emergency supplies? If not, you might want to work on that first otherwise the experience for you would be very short.



Also, if you have a bit of money kicking around you could try the zombie shopping mall or manor house over in the UK. I'm actually signed up to do the shopping mall one on 15th June.


I totally get where you're coming from, wanting a life that comes from a completely different perspective, wanting to live in a video gam--as in just have cool stuff happen all the time. Which is why I'm training myself for physical fitness, going out camping and stuff, and am planning a cycle tour of Ireland in July and to cycle across America with my mates in summer 2013. Sure a zombie apocalypse won't happen so you won't get to experience that (except for a single day if you sign up for something like I mentioned above), but I'm sure you can find a kind of life that really is possible on this Earth, in this reality, and live the **** out of it and be happy and fulfilled, y'know?

I hope you find that, anyway.

Crooked Jack

Cant really shoot people in the head hitch hiking across Europe. Plus all that stuff costs money, of which I quite literally have minus amount, whereas Im pretty sure World War Z would be a freebie

jameverywhere

your desire to shoot people in the head is really alarming as well... but maybe you could take up archery or something? just throwin' ideas out there. Shooting guns at a range is fun but a lot more expensive... there's also hunting, and you get free meals out of that.

Crooked Jack

zombies arent people. See, this is why I'll survive the apocalypse and you wont. You'll run up to hug your zombified former wife whereas I'll shoot anything that moans

jameverywhere

you're the one who said "shoot people in the head", not me, dude. I was just quoting you.

Freudian slip?

ChaseThisLight

Crooked Jack wrote: »

There is a fairly significant part of me drawn to the apocalyptic. I think it would put a lot of stuff in perspective.

It's the apocalyptic nature of the ZA that draws me to all things zombie, just as much as the zombies do. I am really intrigued by the survival aspect of it. It's why I watch movies that deal with this, read books about it, research and plan what I will need to do, etc. I would love to go to the events jameverywhere mentioned (and is going to - I'm SO jealous!), I would even do as he suggested and go out and experience what he outlined - those are perfect examples of ways to experience the feel of a world where you have to survive without your daily comforts and/or your problems. As interested as I am in all of that though, I'd never wish any scenario that would make it happen, be it a virus or nuclear weapons, to come true just so I could experience it for real.

Also, since it's been brought up, for me, it's not about how many zombies I can kill, or about killing in general. I honestly don't want to have to kill anyone/anything; it's not something I would ever look forward to. The fact is, most people will probably find that actually killing someone/something is going to be a lot harder than you think.

Tzar Chasm

YES, yes I would

Some days I despair for this world, most days its just contempt and
very ocasionaly its merely apathy.

unleashing a Z apocalypse would be signifiantly easier than the current plan, which is to ignite the atmosphere and rid the planet of all Life, this would be species specific and would allow the rest of planet to live.

People are idiots and they need to go, granted this includes me, but what the hell, the day I finally commit to the suicide urge I'm takingh you ALL with me.

jameverywhere

ChaseThisLight wrote: »

Also, since it's been brought up, for me, it's not about how many zombies I can kill, or about killing in general. I honestly don't want to have to kill anyone/anything; it's not something I would ever look forward to. The fact is, most people will probably find that actually killing someone/something is going to be a lot harder than you think.

She


also, +1 to this. I've gutted and cleaned fish, dissected worms, frogs, and pigs. . . I eat meat and have no problem with the death of animals. However, killing a mouse in a trap was kinda hard for me! Killing something human-shaped will surely be difficult, not something you get used to quickly...

ChaseThisLight

jameverywhere wrote: »

She

You know, even as I typed "he", there was this part of me that thought I should be vague and not use he or she, just so I'd not be assuming. My apologies, especially since I've been called "he" before, too.

also, +1 to this. I've gutted and cleaned fish, dissected worms, frogs, and pigs. . . I eat meat and have no problem with the death of animals. However, killing a mouse in a trap was kinda hard for me! Killing something human-shaped will surely be difficult, not something you get used to quickly...

Exactly. I imagine that's why some people, even people in law enforcement, hesitate at times when having to shoot someone. It's one thing to shoot at targets, or to shoot zombies/people in video games - and even to shoot animals (I know someone who went hunting, shot one deer, and decided it wasn't something they could ever do again). But to shoot a person - or an undead person - is a whole other thing.

Crooked Jack

jameverywhere wrote: »

you're the one who said "shoot people in the head", not me, dude. I was just quoting you.

Freudian slip?

I think you'll find i said you cant shoot people in the head. Im all for shooting zombies.

Daisy M

ChaseThisLight wrote: »

You know, even as I typed "he", there was this part of me that thought I should be vague and not use he or she, just so I'd not be assuming. My apologies, especially since I've been called "he" before, too.
.

By me . Us ladies are guilty of been a bit sexist in this forum, I can honestly say I have only ever met one other woman who has confessed to been a zombie fan, its great to see its more common than I realised.


Crooked Jack your ignorance on what the reality of a zombie apocalypse would be like would mean you would be among the first to be a snack. This is meant in the nicest possible way of course:). If your jaded by things like the government and money, you will be crying like a baby from hunger and fear.

Zomg Okay

ChaseThisLight wrote: »

But to shoot a person - or an undead person - is a whole other thing.

You have to take survival instinct into as well. You'd be surprised what you can do when it's "him or me".

Crooked Jack

Daisy M wrote: »

By me . Us ladies are guilty of been a bit sexist in this forum, I can honestly say I have only ever met one other woman who has confessed to been a zombie fan, its great to see its more common than I realised.


Crooked Jack your ignorance on what the reality of a zombie apocalypse would be like would mean you would be among the first to be a snack. This is meant in the nicest possible way of course:). If your jaded by things like the government and money, you will be crying like a baby from hunger and fear.

Im fully aware of what the reality of it would be and yet I still find myself drawn to it. I have no doubt hunger and fear would play a huge part in it, wouldnt be much of a zombie apocalypse without them, but still it calls to me.
Im not claiming I'd be some all conquering hero of the ZA, Im just saying there's a big part of me would like to be there

Crooked Jack

Zomg Okay wrote: »

You have to take survival instinct into as well. You'd be surprised what you can do when it's "him or me".

Yeah. you also have to take into account some other little minute details like 'they're already dead' and 'they're trying to eat me.'

ChaseThisLight

Zomg Okay wrote: »

You have to take survival instinct into as well. You'd be surprised what you can do when it's "him or me".

I can't find a direct link to the chapter in the book I read, but Matt Mogk, head of the Zombie Research Society, talks about this very thing, saying that when push comes to shove, we're not all natural born killers. He quotes Dave Grossman, the author of On Killing, a book about the psychological cost of taking a life:

More than 75% of us wouldn't fire a fatal shot at our enemy if our own lives depended upon it.

He states that it's not cowardice that stops you, it's your subconscious.

So I suppose, until you're in a situation of "him or me", you won't know until then if you could really do it. That said, I'd like to believe I'm not in that 75% when the ZA comes.

Crooked Jack

ChaseThisLight wrote: »

I can't find a direct link to the chapter in the book I read, but Matt Mogk, head of the Zombie Research Society, talks about this very thing, saying that when push comes to shove, we're not all natural born killers. He quotes Dave Grossman, the author of On Killing, a book about the psychological cost of taking a life:



He states that it's not cowardice that stops you, it's your subconscious.

So I suppose, until you're in a situation of "him or me", you won't know until then if you could really do it. That said, I'd like to believe I'm not in that 75% when the ZA comes.

Is this a human enemy though? because people really seem to be missing the fact that they're dead. If nothing else you'd be helping them out, putting them out of their misery. i mean if it was a virus and there was some kind of cure on the horizon I'd be less inclined to pull the trigger, but the walking dead, sure that's a...ahem...no brainer.

Daisy M

Crooked Jack wrote: »

Is this a human enemy though? because people really seem to be missing the fact that they're dead. If nothing else you'd be helping them out, putting them out of their misery. i mean if it was a virus and there was some kind of cure on the horizon I'd be less inclined to pull the trigger, but the walking dead, sure that's a...ahem...no brainer.

I believe it would take time to stop seeing them as humans and as zombies. They would see them walking and moving around and believe them to be alive but very very sick and wouldnt question their humanity. It would take most people quiet sometime to accept that such a thing as zombies was possible. There would be strong denial from the outset, scientists and medics would be adamant that it wasnt possible and would be trying to figure out exactly what virus would cause zombie like behaviour and looking for a cure.


In answer to your opening question, would I unlease a zombie virus if I could? No absolutly no way. You say you are jaded by life, but there are 7 billion people on this plane,t in the grand scheme of things you dont really matter. Your mind is working in a strange way if you think it would be ok to sacrafice humanity because your fed up!!

ThunderApple

hahaha, no. not with my lack of luck. I mean, come on, how stupid, sociopath and freaky one should be to do something like that?

ChaseThisLight

Crooked Jack wrote: »

Is this a human enemy though? because people really seem to be missing the fact that they're dead. If nothing else you'd be helping them out, putting them out of their misery. i mean if it was a virus and there was some kind of cure on the horizon I'd be less inclined to pull the trigger, but the walking dead, sure that's a...ahem...no brainer.

You seem to be missing the point that they are/were human, undead, yes, but resembling a human nonetheless. It won't be a video game, it won't be a movie or a TV show, it will be real life and I think it will be shocking for the majority of people.

Daisy M wrote: »

I believe it would take time to stop seeing them as humans and as zombies. They would see them walking and moving around and believe them to be alive but very very sick and wouldnt question their humanity. It would take most people quiet sometime to accept that such a thing as zombies was possible. There would be strong denial from the outset, scientists and medics would be adamant that it wasnt possible and would be trying to figure out exactly what virus would cause zombie like behaviour and looking for a cure.

You just described

Herschel from The Walking Dead.

But I completely agree. There are those out there - and I believe even those that think themselves to be experts on this - that when it comes down to it, will have a hard time transitioning.

Daisy M

ChaseThisLight wrote: »

You just described

Herschel from The Walking Dead.

But I completely agree. There are those out there - and I believe even those that think themselves to be experts on this - that when it comes down to it, will have a hard time transitioning.

Ha I did didnt I? There is another thread in this forum of a crazed man biting the face off another person and there have been a couple of links posted to one or two other zombie like attacks, and yet here on the zombie forum we are talking about it in a tongue and cheek manner because logic tells us its impossible. I wonder how long it would take the average person to accept/realise that the impossible happened? I think most of us would react too late:eek: