Poll: Could a zombie APOCALYPSE actually occur?

[Bellvedere]

If your talking about a traditional zombie outbreak then I'm thinking not. Being unable to heal themselves, the slack of self preservation instinct, being a dead body with no way to self regulate in weather extremes, and the incredibly ineffective method of transmission (biting) means that zombie virus probably is 't going to be a serious threat.

I mean in 28 weeks later everyone just waited for all the zombies to die out. If the infected are so obvious, and had no other transmission methods besides biting, in real life it could probably contained pretty easily.

I suppose if the infection could be spread to animals especially insects, had other transmision methods, had a long time between infection and displaying any symptoms then it would be a far bigger problem but in that case why would it need to be a zombie virus rather than any new disease.

 

[Rednog]

the initial confusion at hospitals should be enough to start a spread

I've been confused about this trope in zombie stories, real hospitals have plenty of armed security/police men. Also considering the nature of microbiological testing and other hazardous materials used in some testing, most (if not all hospitals) have alarms that would get sent out to SWAT/guys who shoot first ask questions later, who would be on the scene in a matter of minutes.

 

[Eternal_Lament]

No, probably not. Most likely it would stem from one area, and it would be easy to quarantine and deal with. On the off chance that it took place in multiple areas, I still doubt that zombies are going to win out against current military tech. Further, I think that, since zombies are sort of well known, that most people would sort of have an idea to stay back

 

[Astoria]

Worst case senario would probably be something like in Doomsday where they block off the infected area completly and just wait for the disease to wipe itself out. I doubt it would even get to that though, from what I understand most countries have emergency plans for situations like this so they can react pretty much instantly.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Honestly, one guy with proper military equipment and armor could probably deal with thousands.

Every zombie apocalypse scenario I've seen paints the world's military as extremely incompetent.

 

[aceman67]

Its already happened, can't you see those drones in government 'trying' to lead the country? Zombies I tell you.

 

[Saulkar]

Only after the laws of thermal dynamics are patched from reality.

 

[D-Class 198482]

It is generally possible for a zombie virus to happen - two big viruses collide and they cause a weird reaction in the brain. If it gets very bad, and it follows the rules of 'Headshot-only', yes, a full-blown apocalypse could happen.
Bar the windows lock the doors scan the airwaves look for more
WITH MADDENING STATIC ON THE RADIAAAAAA

 

[Platypus540]

No, even by Walking Dead transmission rules instead of the classic "only biting," for 2 reasons.

1: It's wildly unlikely that the government and especially the military, at least in first-world countries, would actually collapse. Things would get bad, but they'd get cleaned up by the army eventually (Helicopters, tanks, and trained soldiers beat zombies any day), and even by Walking Dead rules people would eventually figure out a way to dispose of people before they turned.
2: People know what zombies are in the real world, so we wouldn't be completely surprised.

 

[Souplex]

Under normal rules, no.
Under Walking Dead comic rules: Maybe. (In the comic, it's established that everyone is infected with the zombie virus, but it doesn't take hold until you die. A zombie bite overdoses you on the virus, causing you to change rather quickly)

 

[Abomination]

Even with Walking Dead Rules of everyone suddenly being infected by default and zombification only realising upon death and sped up by direct fluid ingestion. Even savvy civilians would be able to hold their own. A mix of sports equipment could render a citizen immune to being bitten while still having the capability of dispatching zombies by themselves.

Military personnel with automatic weapons, combat training, armoured vehicles, personal body armour, and close quarters combat training would be even more capable. I can not see civilization being destroyed.

It would require a L4D type of virus - that only has very few immune to the disease, airborne infection is possible and it mutates individuals into various types like the Tank, capable of sustaining substantial small arms fire - for true fall of civilization to occur.

 

[Mr F.]

First I thought no. I voted no.

Then I started thinking.

A zombie apocalypse could bring around a REAL apocalypse. For all of the above reasons I don't think it would destroy us, the actual virus that is. But a power vacuum caused by a virus breaking out in China or India, hell, a zombie virus popping up in Kashmir could cause world war fucking three. I think it could be something that causes a war to break out.

Places within central Africa (DRC, CAR, places like that) simply could not prevent an outbreak like the Rage virus from devastating, well, EVERYTHING. That could seriously fuck up global supplies of shit. Hell, Oil supplies getting fucked up in Saudi and the rest of the Arabian peninsular could fuck things up.

What would happen if a zombie outbreak happened in the Gaza strip? In most fictions its accepted that at the start it looks like mass civil disobedience. But Hamas and Fatah do not have the power to prevent an outbreak and if they started gunning people down to do so you can gauruntee that Israel would get involved. A few Israeli airstrikes, "Riots" on the border as "Refugees" pile across, what would seem to be mass murders... Fuck, it would get the world properly involved.

I guess I am saying that whilst I do not think that a zombie apocalypse could occur, an outbreak of the zombie virus could cause the apocalypse.

Off Topic: Even as someone who is looking forward to the new series of Black Mirror (4 days away WOOO) I AM SO SICK OF HAVING TO TYPE IT IN. Type it in to watch things, type it in to post... Christ.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Honestly, one guy with proper military equipment and armor could probably deal with thousands.

Every zombie apocalypse scenario I've seen paints the world's military as extremely incompetent.

Not to mention the ordinary police. A human criminal is going to be much more intelligent and therefore dangerous than a zombie, and the police can deal with them. It's hardly uncommon for a criminal to attack police is much the same way zombies would, and it usually does not go well for them at all.

...

Personally, I like Necromunda zombies, they are somewhat dangerous, but much less dangerous than everything else in the game. There's mention of the odd apocalypse type thing, but given that everyone is armed to the teeth and ready to fight each other or anything else over any reason, it's not a great place for zombies.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

I've finally begun watching The Walking Dead (I live in SA, torrents is my TV) and I wondered, you read the topic. Here I assume 30 Days Later rules, i.e. infection is spread through bodily fluids.

Now, say that the disease spreads in a fairly populated area, where it can get a foothold. But, wouldn't a proper military quarantine quickly quell the outbreak, or even civilians defending themselves.

The human body can't survive without water for three days, they'd die out pretty quickly.

Sure, an outbreak could occur, but I doubt it'd be the end of the world. Thoughts?

Are zombies, as in the "28 days later" fast virus zombies? Sure. Funguses make snails and ants try to spread the fungus to other creatures by taking over their minds. Rabies turns many animals like dogs and deers into mindless creatures doing everything it can to bite other creatures. Some fungus or virus turning humans into raving mad men is entirely possible.

This causing the Apocalypse?

No.

Let's go back to the rabies example. Think of some of the creatures that actually get rabies. Dogs, wolfs, mountain lions. These are creatures who have spent the last tens of millions of years, they been evolving to best be able to bite things. Yet, rabies is an extremely RARE disease even in the wild. Biting is just a really, really bad way to spread disease to a wide population. Humans are some of the worst animals on the planet in the biting department. Unlike the air, via touch or sex, there is no stealthy way to spread a virus via biting. Humans being attacked will either run or fight back.

Now, there, is the problem of distance. Going just on your legs, it take a LONG @$$ time to get anywhere at any speed humans have achieved. The fastest any human has ever achieved is just above 30 miles an hour, in extremely short bursts by the fittest humans on Earth. Your drive to the grocery would take hours on your feet. Distances between major cities would take DAYS. All the while the elements are either burning the zombies skin, freezing off, people using cars are getting farther away, and more zombies fall off cliffs, breaking bones by tripping, and being picked off by the military.

Now, we have the problem of human military. Zombies can't fly, don't have any way to retaliate against people with guns over half a mile away, and teeth don't even dent tank armor. Many tank crews call enemy infinitry "crunchies." Even if zombies have completely covered a tank, it won't even slow down the 80 ton beasts. Any zombies would be made pancakes.

That isn't even factoring all the laws of physics fighting against the zombies just existing.

 

[SweetShark]

Romero movies never actually say what the cause of the zombies is, they tend to just show up. In Night of the Living Dead it was implied that it was some kind of cosmic radiation but in all the successive movies it's just some kind of unknown pandemic.

Romero is standard. infection that kills then resurrects the dead

So, what is it then?

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Resident Evil first went off modifying the Ebola Virus so I don't actually know if such an outbreak could ever occur in our reality.

Unless we become masters of virus splicing along with a decent understanding of manipulating how to control the host with such a virus.

Honestly if it were to ever occur I would hope it would start out like RE 2-3 and start in some small town and then work it's way around the west of the world since modern times have become too mundane and boring.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus

 

[Auron225]

Not a chance.

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

At all. Here are 7 damn good reasons why all zombie movies/games BEGIN with most of population already dead/turned.

 

[Myndnix]

Not even remotely close to something that could really happen.
Hell, zombies themselves couldn't exist in reality. Nothing could change a human's (or any other animal's) biology so radically like that. Biology is a little more complicated than that.

 

[Angie7F]

Maybe it is possible.
But if it really happened, I would not even try to survive it so it wouldnt really matter to me.

 

[hazabaza1]

If it's spread from bodily fluids and the such? No chance. Military would gear up and take out the threat before it escalates, I'm guessing.
If it was like, Walking Dead infection

Spoiler

we're all infected and all it takes to turn it dying

then it'd be more likely. I guess eventually shit would go down.