Zombie Gazette

I have never been satisfied with the general SciFi explanation of zombies being caused by a viral plague, for two reasons. The first is that no virus can raise the dead; Max Brooks's solanum virus is especially unrealistic (but, see below). The second is that, in my opinion, zombies themselves are sufficient as a plague; we don't really need some kind of biological plague to explain them, and to some extent it "demystifies" them by making them mundane.

Even so, I can't help imagining alternative explanations, both because I am fascinated by how it could work, and because the Sir Differel stories, at least, are science fantasy as well as dark fantasy, so the characters themselves in-story would try to understand zombie reanimation scientifically.

I did, however, make one compromise: with two exceptions, no zombie is a true reanimated corpse, but at some point during the conversion process the brain briefly shuts down, resulting in "brain death" even though the rest of the body still functions. As such, "reanimation" is used as a term of convenience to indicate the process by which a victim is turned into a zombie. Also, with two exceptions, the defining characteristic of a zombie is an insatiable appetite for human flesh. Zombies can be destroyed by any normal means, but depending upon the nature of their reanimation brain damage is the only way to shut them down immediately, otherwise they will continue to attack until their brains die of oxygen starvation. With one exception, zombies do not decay, but they can have wounds and injuries. Though they can heal damage and have a working immune system, their wounds can become infected, leading to gangrene. The lifespan of a zombie varies depending upon its state of "health" and the nature of the cause of reanimation, but since it is incapable of looking after itself, it inevitably succumbs to some kind of collapse.

Biological Zombies

These are created by one of five known diseases that attack the brain, destroying or modifying it in some fashion. The damage is severe and permanent, rendering the victim a virtual, but active, vegetable. They have no intelligence or will of their own, and they operate purely on instinct, making them uncontrollable. Each disease is highly contagious, transmitted by body fluids and physical contact, usually through bites and/or scratches, and is 100% "fatal"; that is, no one afflicted has ever fought one off and avoided reanimation. However, prophylaxis and treatment may still be possible. Incubation periods vary, but with one exception the diseases are painful and debilitating, and have strong characteristic features that make them unmistakable.

Fungal Disease --- Incubation period 12-42 hours depending upon location and severity of infecting damage. This is a yeast that devours the cerebrum, leaving the mid and hindbrain intact. It produces a creature most like the zombie of cinema, with palid gray skin and a "thousand yard" stare, though it is more resistant to infection than others because the fungus produces anti-bacterial agents. This is the only disease organism that forms a macroscopic colonial structure: a fungal mass that replaces the brain. It is also the only organism that takes over some functions of the brain. It can even mutate into an intelligent form that is capable of speech and independent self-directed action.

Regenerative Virus --- Incubation period 18-27 hours depending upon severity of infection. This is a man-made virus that was designed to impart a regenerative ability to any person it infected. Though originally designed to infect though inhalation, it mutated to be purely fluid-borne, though there is some concern it could mutate back to an airborne variety. Unfortunately it also damaged the brain, but while the brain could regenerate, it lost its memories, personality, and intelligence. The virus destroys other tissues as well, though they too regenerate, so these zombies are usually covered with open sores. They are more deliberate in their actions than other zombies and have been observed to actively scan their surroundings to pinpoint prey, but they still operate entirely by instinct. They can move faster than most other zombies, but they still lack general coordination. These tend to be the longest lived of any zombie and can be the most difficult to destroy.

Rage Virus --- Incubation period 3-5 hours. This is another man-made virus that was designed to turn victims into mindless killing machines. They are characterized by an intense rage that drives them to attack anything that moves and tear it apart. They have also been observed torturing and raping victims, and they are the only zombies seen to use weapons. They are the fastest, most well-coordinated of all zombies, and the most normal looking, but they are also the shortest lived. The disease hyperintensifies their metabolism, heightening their need for food. Consumption of human flesh is only an incidental part of their attacks, so they do not gorge themselves like other zombies. Since they kill or drive away all prey in their immediate vicinity, they tend to starve to death in a matter of weeks, even days.

Prionic Disease --- Incubation period 72 hours. This is a naturally occurring protein that causes something similar to mad cow disease in humans. These zombies are very similar to the fungal zombies in behavior, except they are blind. They hunt by hearing and smell. Their skin has a mottled coloration with many fine lesionous cracks. This disease may be the oldest in existence, and is the only one that can affect other animals in the same way, though not necessarily with the same results.

Protist Disease --- Incubation period 1-2 weeks. This is a free-living waterborne amoeboid protozoa that causes initial infection through ingestion of cysts in contaminated water. As such, this organism is nicknamed the "zomoeba". The cysts hatch in the intestines, and while some form new cysts which are excreted with the feces, others penetrate into the blood stream and migrate to the brain. Unlike other diseases, however, the amoebas do not injure the brain directly, but cause encephalitis and meningitis, producing pain, fever, photophobia, confusion, dissociation, altered consciousness, dementia, hallucinations, and finally permanent brain damage. The amoeba also produces a psychotropic and psychedelic drug similar to LSD. Hence, reanimation is less a matter of physical damage and more one of behavior modification. In ages past, a victim might become convinced he suffered from demonic possession, or had turned into a werewolf or a vampire. In the Caribbean victims could believe they had been transformed into a Haitian folk-culture zombie by a sorcerer, and the symptoms and resulting behavior are very similar to the pharmacological zombie (see below). In modern times, however, the victim tends to presume he is turning into a cinematic zombie and acts accordingly. As such, unlike other diseases, the victim retains his intelligence and rationality, though not his original personality or his sanity. Also unlike other diseases, the victim's reanimation can be reversed if there is no permanent brain damage, using drugs to kill the amoeba and reduce brain swelling, providing supportive care to control side effects, and conducting psychotherapy to deal with the behavioral and delusional problems.

Vermiform Disease --- Incubation period 1-3 months depending upon extent of environmental contamination. This is a free-living nematode parasite that can infect the brain. It could be considered the stealth plague, because it has the longest incubation period of any zombie disease and is virtually asymptomatic. The eggs can enter into any break in the skin no matter how small, and once in the blood stream are carried to the brain. There they hatch and the nematodes begin eating the brain. More eggs are shed in feces and can contaminate food and water, though infection through ingestion occurs at a lower rate. Damage is slight, but progressive since the brain is largely unable to heal itself. The only indication of infection is a gradual loss of concentration, memory, and motor coordination, progressing to muscular abnormalities, seizures, dementia, and eventual psychosis. An entire community can become infected, and no one will know until they experience a mass psychotic break and go on a rampage. By then, however, the higher cognitive functions have become so impaired that the victim operates mostly or entirely on instinct. They appear normal, though they can sustain injuries after reanimating, and they behave similar to the regeneration virus zombie. However, the nematode continues to consume the brain, and after 12-18 months the damage becomes severe enough that the creatures are unable to attack or even move. When it finally dies and decays, the nematodes are released back into the environment to await reinfection of a new host. It has been speculated that the nematode evolved this lifestyle as a method to distribute itself far beyond its local habitat. However, it has not been observed to infect other animals.

Pharmacological Zombies

These are created by a two-step process invented by Haitian sorcerers. A victim is given a drug based on tetrodotoxin, a powerful and frequently fatal neurotoxin found in the flesh of the puffer fish. It simulates death, at which point the victim is buried. Later, the sorcerer digs him up and administers a second drug based on dissociative psychoactive chemicals derived from the devil's trumpet, a plant of the Datura genus known as "the zombie's cucumber". This drug induces a state of delirium in which the victim is unable to differentiate reality from fantasy, as well as amnesia, sensory distortion, and alteration of perception. Feelings of extreme detachment allow the victim to perform any act the sorcerer demands, even those that he would not normally do. An interesting side effect is mydriasis, which causes painful photophobia, accounting for the zombie's legendary fear of sunlight. The sorcerer can maintain this trance-like state as long as he continues to administer the second drug, and after prolonged exposure the victim can experience a psychotic break, complete with hallucinations. He can then run amok. Even if this doesn't happen, the second drug eventually causes severe and permanent brain damage, either killing the victim, reducing him to a vegetable, or inducing dementia. However, if rescued in time, treatment with gastric lavage, activated charcoal, and physostigmine, as well as ending continued administration of the second drug, can allow for a complete recovery.

Unlike other types of zombies, these do not have an insatiable appetite for human flesh. However, when they run amok they have been observed to bite, scratch, chew, even dismember anyone they catch. They are slow, walk with a shambling gate, and show little if any emotion. Though the most unlike any other form of zombie, their dissociative state renders them largely immune to pain, so they can be just as difficult to kill. However, they cannot infect those they attack, since they are created by drugs rather than a disease.

Technological Zombies

These are created by the application of some form of technology. As such, they are sometimes called "artificial" zombies. Being as there are only two known examples with widely varying characteristics, no common features can be described for this group, other than the obvious. They can be destroyed by any normal means, but depending upon the nature of the technology used, they may possess defenses and immunities that render them invulnerable to certain forms of attack. However, brain damage can still render them inoperative.

Nanorobotics --- Incubation period 60-90 minutes. These are created by nanoscale robots ("nanites") that stimulate and manipulate the nervous system. The origin of the nanites is unknown, but is certainly extraterrestrial. It is speculated that they were created to treat neurological disorders in which portions of the brain, sections of the spinal cord, or individual nerves either malfunction or cease to function altogether. The nanites do not repair the damage so much as act as surrogates, taking over the function of the afflicted neurotissue and stimulating what tissue is still functional. So far they have only been encountered on one extraterrestrial planet, an alternative Earth that is connected to other worlds by a network of artificial wormholes controlled by "gates", torus-shaped structures that open wormholes to another gate in the system. It is speculated that an infiltration team visited the world of the nanites incognito when one member (Patient Zero) was injured and was treated with the nanites. Neither he nor anyone else on the team realized this, and upon their return he introduced the nanites to his world, probably by donating blood. Whether the people of that world discovered them is unknown, but in healthy people they lay dormant until some part of the nervous system malfunctioned or shut down, such as in death.

It is speculated that on the nanite world, when people died the nanites were somehow deactivated. However, when Patient Zero died this was not done, and after a brief period of time, a few hours at best, the nanites reanimated his corpse. By then his brain had been damaged to the point where he was little more than an instinct-driven beast. It is unknown whether the apocalypse started with him or one or more of the others who received his nanites, but depending upon how many people had them and widespread they were, it is possible one or more outbreaks occurred in places where there were no effective methods to contain them. It is also unknown if the nanites "mutated" to a waterborne or airborne form, but it is speculated that they mutated to an infectious form that could spread like one of the above diseases, including the ability to kill the host rather than wait for him or to die.

Because these zombies are true reanimated corpses, they continue to decay, until there is nothing left to reanimate. However, since the nanites require an intact nervous system, particularly the brain, to reanimate a corpse, when that degenerates sufficiently the zombie becomes inactive even if its body is still largely intact. These zombies go through five stages as the nervous system degenerates. Runners are recently killed zombies and are the greatest threat. Walkers lose sufficient coordination that all they can do is walk. After that comes the Shambling stage, the Crawling stage, and finally the Palsy stage, where the zombie can only quiver. Even at this last a zombie can still bite, but once it collapses it is unable to attack, though it remains infectious. It's unknown how long these zombies can last from initial infection to final collapse, or even if this varies with individuals, but zombies of various stages can be found mixed together, and even a Palsy can start a new infection cycle in a new location. Behaviorally these zombies would progress from near rage virus demeanor to fungal zombie demeanor as they progress through the stages.

Borg --- Incubation period unknown; part of the manufacturing process. These are named after the Borg of the Star Trek franchise, because they are created using cybernetic implants, genetically engineered parasites, controlled mutations, and psychotropic drugs. They have no insatiable appetite for human flesh, neither are they unusually violent. They are unable to infect anyone they attack, but they can render people unconscious with electric shocks or soporific drugs for later processing. (In this respect they are more like the early Borg than the later depictions.) They are under complete control by their manufacturers or owners, and are rendered sociopathic to eliminate any empathy and emotion, but retain their intelligence and something of their individual personalities. They are likened to zombies because of their complete lack of self-will; if not operating under direct control or transmitted orders, they engage in no self-directed activity, and at best operate under instinct.

There are many different varieties of these zombies, with various types and amounts of implanted sensors, data recording and analysis devices, armor, and weapons. The most commonly encountered are Infiltrators for espionage, sabotage, and assassination; Recon Drones for reconnaissance; Skirmishers for harassing and disrupting enemy formation, and striking behind enemy lines; Hoplites for main battle combat; and Grenadiers for assault, acting as shock troops. The degree of self-autonomy varies inversely with amount of armor and weaponry carried. Infiltrators are controlled by a per-programmed set of instructions and occasional direct transmissions or relayed code words, but generally have enough autonomy to evaluate a situation and modify their actions according, whereas Grenadiers are little better than remote-controlled automatons.

At present, the only known Borg zombies are those manufactured by The Mhoriggan Group in violation of UK law and Orders in Council.

Supernatural Zombies

These are true reanimated corpses caused by unknown and technically unknowable supernatural forces. Stories of them go back thousands of years---they are mentioned in The Epic of Gilgamesh---and can be found all over the world. The Norse told of the draugr, the English of the barrow-wight, the Arabs the ghoul, the Chinese the jiāng shī, the Egyptians the mummy, the Hindu the vetala, the Germans the wiedergänger, the Inuit the atshen, the Japanese the jikininki, the Tibetans the ro-lang, and the Algonquians the wendigo, to name a few. Even revenants and vampires, often described as ghosts, could be reanimated corpses.

Any corpse in any physical state can be reanimated, the only restriction being there must be enough tissue to articulate the skeleton. Hence, animated skeletons are not possible. Though they consume human flesh, it is just one aspect of their overall mode of attack, which includes disembowelment and dismemberment. Despite being corpses, they do not decay. The supernatural force that creates them stops decomposition at whatever point it had reached before reanimation. Unlike other zombies they are intelligent and cunning and have a will of their own, but it is inhuman. They have been observed torturing and raping victims. They cannot infect the living, but anyone killed is likely to be reanimated as a zombie if reasonably intact. They cannot be destroyed by any normal means, not even by damaging the brain (if there is one). If not disenchanted, they must be shredded, immolated to ash, liquified, corroded to dust, or otherwise disintegrated. Simply dismembering them or chopping them to pieces is insufficient, because the bits and pieces can continue to act on their own (though if the pieces are small enough they can do little harm).

Outbreaks of these zombies are rare, and are generally limited in size and scope. Which is fortunate. A full-on apocalypse would see every corpse rise up from its grave, tomb, or morgue to rampage across the world. As related in The Epic of Gilgamesh: "And the dead will outnumber the living!"