Could there really be an actual zombie apocalypse?

[Jack Baker 698]

So I got to thinking, and a question came across my mind: "Could it be possible to create a zombie apocalypse?"

 

With all the movies coming out like Resident Evil and whatnot, I guess you could say the possibility seems more and more real: some mad scientist creates a mutant virus that turns one guy into a flesh-eating zombie, send it out into the world, and your all set.

 

What do you guys think?

Edited April 24, 2013 by ~Twisted Genius~

[Anonymous~ 591]

No, because zombies = dead people/corpses, and dead people have decayed muscles... so, maybe there is a chance that corpses COULD be reanimated, but they could barely walk, if even at all. Though, if alive people would go berserk, well... we are pretty much doomed. But as long as corpses and zombies go, it ain't happening imo.

[Starshine 16,333]

A-hem!

There have been a lot of movies about superheroes, and yet until now there is no spandex-wearing flying dude or dudettes on the headlines

 

I highly doubt any zombie virus that spreads via direct contact or saliva infection can go far, what with the militaries around the world still have their guns and all. You'll need an extremely viral, airborne virus that takes weeks or months for the undead symptoms to show and can go around in human carriers, infecting others without showing any kind of suspicious symptoms like increased body heat or whatever, so that the carriers can survive long enough to travel to other countries.

 

Source: a game named Pandemic 2

Edited April 24, 2013 by Starshine

[Jack Baker 698]

A-hem!

There have been a lot of movies about superheroes, and yet until now there is no spandex-wearing flying dude or dudettes on the headlines

 

I highly doubt any zombie virus that spreads via direct contact or saliva infection can go far, what with the militaries around the world still have their guns and all. You'll need an extremely viral, airborne virus that takes weeks or months for the undead symptoms to show and can go around in human carriers, infecting others without showing any kind of suspicious symptoms like increased body heat or whatever, so that the carriers can survive long enough to travel to other countries.

 

Source: a game named Pandemic 2

I'm not saying that movies like Resident evil could happen, I'm saying the way that they make zombies could be possible. I know that shit ain't real

[WildCard 1,037]

There already was something similar called the "Plague". I wonder if that was actually the inspiration of the Zombie stuff. There were people looking like corpses and if you came close to them, you became one too. It must have been horrible

[Planty 1,053]

I've read about a parasite that can mind controll rats to make them run into cats (where they then live and breed).

 

There is a similar parasite that 50% of humans have so If it mutated then that could have a similar effect to what's seen in zombie films

[Aaramus 449]

The traditional Zombie in terms of the dead being reanimated would be impossible I think the closest we could ever get to is something similar to what happened in I Am Legend. You have a human created virus (that was meant to be a cancer cure) which is then injected into millions of people which then causes them to lose their minds and run off violent instincts. Then you would have the whole apocalypse nature where so many people are affected that the Military and Governments can't control it as they would be infected as well.

 

So, it's very unlikely that the traditional walking dead would become reality, but something like a virus that effects human behaviour could possibly happen.

[TheFabulousPony 102]

Of course. (ib4 people tell me this isn't technically a zombie, I am generalizing). A simple mutated strain of rabies is all it would take. There are many different types of diseases and what not that could easily cause a zombie type apocalypse/scenario, not to mention all the different fucked up things the CDC has hidden away that if released could be quite disastrous. There are countless things that could cause a scenario like that. 

[Jack Baker 698]

Well, it could be like 28 days later, where they weren't zombies, just really pissed off people. Then you've got that Spanish film REC 3, where it was a mix of a possession/zombie thing.

[XrosOver 613]

Simply, yes. Likely? no. We do have research groups across the world who study and sometimes purposefully mutate viruses. This is not them trying to create a virus but create a counter to one our something else similar. Would they purposefully create a disease that causes mass psychosis and meat cravings? Most likely not.

[Goose 181]

Has any form of "mass zombification" ever happened to any species, ever? Not that I know of. Not gonna happen. Although fun to think about!

[GrimCW 658]

I've read about a parasite that can mind controll rats to make them run into cats (where they then live and breed).

 

There is a similar parasite that 50% of humans have so If it mutated then that could have a similar effect to what's seen in zombie films

bingo!

Theres also one that controls ants by taking over in a similar manner, and then invades the colony as such.

Zombification is entirely possible with a controller, but as a simple virus.. possibly not unless it actually managed to maintain the basics as described in The Walking Dead.

 

*ignore this next part, tis somewhat OT*

 

 

On a fun not so zombie, but sure seems like it note.

My father had a dog once that was OLD when he was a kid. So my grandfather went and took his shotgun and the dog out to the woods behind their house (some 1/2 mile past a field) and shot the dog square in the back of the head.

 

next day my father was checking the chickens for eggs and saw the dog in his dog house next to the coop, went in and told his father, to which he recalls exclaiming "The hell he is!".

Sure enough when he went to check, the dog was there laying in his house dead with a hole right in the back of its head....

 

kinda creepy.... thing managed to actually make it all the way home and go peacefully in his own house...

Edited April 24, 2013 by GrimCW

[aRegularPony 306]

This depends on your definition of zombie. Reanimated undead, probably not. Flesh eating humans, already a real thing. A virus that turns person into mutant, possible. That's my opinion, anyway. I say possible to the virus because, well, it doesn't seem very far fetched. All things considered.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

No,it is not possible, for several reasons.

 

• We have extremely sophistacated disease control in this day and age
• We have guns. Not just guns, but VERY ADVANCED weapons, just recently, the US started equipping Navy ships with WEAPONIZED LASERS, not to mention the new minigun that fires 50 bullets a second...
• The undead could not heal their wounds, trip down one goddamned staircase and they're done for
• People are not stupid enough to stand next to a flesh eating zombie and get infected
• Such infected would be easily dealt with opponents, if such an apocalypse started, it would last about twelve seconds before all those infected were dead.
• Even barring all of the above, mindless flesh eaters could be stopped by the basic technology called a "fence".

And that is why you don't have to worry about zombies, OP.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Harmonic Revelations

[Envy 6,162]

I'd really hope not. No matter which way it would happen, it would be terrible. I'm sick and tired of people treating this scenario liked it'd be oh-so-cool, and how they'd destroy zombies in the head just like in a video game. A zombie apocalypse would suck, and those who think they're prepared would probably be some of the first to die. lol

 

I have no idea why people are so obsessed with this idea.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

bingo!

Theres also one that controls ants by taking over in a similar manner, and then invades the colony as such.

Zombification is entirely possible with a controller, but as a simple virus.. possibly not unless it actually managed to maintain the basics as described in The Walking Dead.

 

*ignore this next part, tis somewhat OT*

 

 

On a fun not so zombie, but sure seems like it note.

My father had a dog once that was OLD when he was a kid. So my grandfather went and took his shotgun and the dog out to the woods behind their house (some 1/2 mile past a field) and shot the dog square in the back of the head.

 

next day my father was checking the chickens for eggs and saw the dog in his dog house next to the coop, went in and told his father, to which he recalls exclaiming "The hell he is!".

Sure enough when he went to check, the dog was there laying in his house dead with a hole right in the back of its head....

 

kinda creepy.... thing managed to actually make it all the way home and go peacefully in his own house...

I got it! I have just invented a technology to keep shambling flesh eating morons away from you and your family. Be prepared to be in awe, gentlemen.

[Potato Sprout 109]

Once again, depends on what your definition of a zombie is.

Reanimating dead things, I don't think that's possible unless they died quite recently and there's possibilities that you could renew the well "dead things"... I'm not a doctor and neither do i intend to become one.

 

But when we're talking about viruses or parasites, it could BE possible. But I don't really think that's going to happend unless we alot of cash and work got put into it. I can see the advertisements "Help us raise the dead so we can bring death to everything. Donate at our website: Zombiehorde.idoit" (I'm not very good at jokes)

 

So yeah, I think we could create one, but I don't really think we will. Because that would be very stupid...

[GrimCW 658]

 

• We have guns. Not just guns, but VERY ADVANCED weapons, just recently, the US started equipping Navy ships with WEAPONIZED LASERS, not to mention the new minigun that fires 50 bullets a second...
•  

 

Not that the military is going to give a hoot about the average civi when/if the time comes :/

Oh sure they'll get a number to safety, but the rest of us... well, as things are we're being disarmed so we're pretty screwed

 

as to the fence.. wouldn't take much to beat them down, as seen in any zombie movie. When the senses are all nulled, beating on a fence until it breaks or you break, and then having dozens of people doing this.. well... that fences days be numbered

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

Not that the military is going to give a hoot about the average civi when/if the time comes :/

Oh sure they'll get a number to safety, but the rest of us... well, as things are we're being disarmed so we're pretty screwed

 

as to the fence.. wouldn't take much to beat them down, as seen in any zombie movie. When the senses are all nulled, beating on a fence until it breaks or you break, and then having dozens of people doing this.. well... that fences days be numbered

The military higher ups might not care, but the military is made up of people, just like you and me. My entire family has military history, and I can only assume that they would care enough to help.

 

Get a metal fence, maybe a door or two. My point is that if we ALL have the common sense not to stand directly in front of a creature that wants to eat our flesh, there will not be enough undead to knock down a fence.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Harmonic Revelations

[GrimCW 658]

The military higher ups might not care, but the military is made up of people, just like you and me. My entire family has military history, and I can only assume that they would care enough to help.

 

Get a metal fence, maybe a door or two. My point is that if we ALL have the common sense not to stand directly in front of a creature that wants to eat our flesh, there will not be enough undead to knock down a fence.

 

to that i agree fully

metal fences are expensive though.. and linked ones can be climbed over.. hmm... electric won't help.... bah, just find the nearest abandoned house with a tin roof and scavenge 

[Meirno 550]

I love zombies, but realistically speaking, there could be zombies but there wouldn't be an apocalypse.

 

Why I say this, scientists, back way before laws and stuff hindered them. There is a video you can look up, I'll give some details in spoilers below. It's kinda bad, so if you're soft hearted I wouldn't recommend it.

 

But yes they can reanimate bodies. BUT, unless they ever develop a way to restart brain function; it would just be a twitch, flailing body. It wouldn't have the capacity to carry a body around. It wouldn't be able to balance itself or understand how to function.

 

Now if they were able to jump start a brain and get it to function again. (Could or could not be possible, since I have no clue how brains work), it's possible that it could bring back a somewhat working human, but I think the stereo type zombie eating brains and travelling in packs would be false. If anything, we'd revert back to our primal instinct. You know, shelter, territory and food. I don't think homo sapiens have ever been cannibalistic in nature(I'm not fully sure of that) I don't think we'd have a zombie eat human population, but a zombie eat pets population.

 

Now, the part about the disease, I don't think that could happen. It'd take a massive amount of effort to restart a brain to the point where it would function. I don't think a disease of any kind would be able to do that. It would have to be human make zombie kind of issue. Zombie factory style.

 

 

The video I was talking about is a Russian video, from around the 40's or 50's, about scientists taking the severed head of a dog, and pumping blood through it. Then running different tests on it. There is pain test, hearing test, common simple reflexes. They flick it's ear, and it will wince, or tickle the whiskers and such. But like I said, it's a severed head, several hours after death so... Kinda weird to watch.

 

 

[Rainbow Dash Loyalty 1,275]

I'm not sure about an apocalypse, but if you really think about it there are actual crazy, living cannibals out there in the world and it really freaks me out that there are actual people that eat their own kind. I guess that's the closest thing to a zombie in real life at the moment and I hope nothing worse will exist in the future.

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

A-hem!

 

I was thinking of exactly that article.  While I think that perhaps the 'zombie' part is plausible (not necessarily the reanimated dead, but instead being disease-ridden cannibals), the 'apocalypse' part is a little far-fetched.

[Groovyle 43]

No.

I think it's not possible at all, by virus or something related like in games.

As far as I know, the only creature that "thinks" are humans. Virus, like animals (or plants), just find a way on how to survive, which is by feeding.

Even if a virus gets inside human brain, the brain won't operate. The organs too. If they're able to walk, it means that the brain and organs run normally like normal humans, which includes heart, lungs etc. And if the body runs like normal, they won't be those pain-immune creature. By these "theory" of mine, then they're just a slightly different human.

Phew, so many if statement.

Or if you talk about "zombies" that are controlled like robots, then it's not zombie, but human robot. Would happen by the time human knows how to control other brain. And I think this won't happen.

 

If you're (too) religious, then this would happen by considering the "God"s will, but it's weird to think this way.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

to that i agree fully

metal fences are expensive though.. and linked ones can be climbed over.. hmm... electric won't help.... bah, just find the nearest abandoned house with a tin roof and scavenge 

Actually just get the chain link fences that have the tops that tilt outwards so that they cannot be climbed over. That would take care of the bulk of your problems.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Harmonic Revelations