Let's Pretend: If It's Not a Virus, What Else Could It Be?

[yarri]

My 2 cents... *puts on my tinfoil hat*
Stem cell research. Someone at the "labs" was using stem cells to cure a host of mental and physical diseases and it when horribly wrong....


*takes off the tinfoil hat* Ok seriously, my theory is it was something used to stimulate the portion of the brain that deals with aggression. Someone at the lab was trying to change the brain chemistry in a person with high levels of aggression and calm them down and it didn't work like they had hoped for.

[Rock Daddy]

Really good ideas. I was wondering myself because it must be something crazy. Wouldn't a virus be too cliche? But what puzzles me is... it happened simultaneously in all major cities. (at least that's what the news report on the tivo said before it cut out...) So... it wasn't an accident???

[cycogod]

sounds a bit like were the Day by day seires is goin

yep- the crazy wave

[mem]

scientists working on the fountain of youth and keeping tissue alive beyond death....no wait that is resident evil crap !!

not that RE is crap but Crap ! as in that isnt an original idea

[Eviebae]

What if this plague comes from some totally undiscovered branch of science? That'd be like the Black Death back in the day- people were baffled about what was causing it. We know what it was now (Bubonic plague) because we have microscopes etc. What if the modern world doesn't have the tools yet to even DETECT whatever's causing the 'Zombie Plague'?

Like how dust motes drifting in the sunlight look like their movement is random until you factor in heat. That's very Lovecraftian--he was big on the concept of "unknowable."

Something we classify as a disease could be actually be a creature from an upper dimension moving through ours. When you read how we would look to a Flatlander, it's interesting to try and imagine what something that exists in, say, 9 dimensions would look to us...

Or it's caused by the impact of a spectrum (like color or sound) that we can't perceive. The more abstract it gets, the more I likes it.

[Eviebae]

Here's some more ideas, well, most of them we've talked about: http://www.cracked.com/article_15643...ly-happen.html

By David (John Dies At The End) Wong

[HardKor]

how: no idea...gets put in bottled water ment for shipment to troops in the middle east???

It was Pete! He spiked his competitors water so he could corner the market after the outbreak. It's all coming together!

[cPT.cAPSLOCK]

Bacteria or parasite, probably in the brain. But medically speaking (as far as that goes), highly unlikely.
A parasite is possible though:
For example, one of the hosts in a flatworm's (a type of parasites) cycle is an ant. Flatworms find a cosy spot in the ant-brain, and literally take control of the ant's body.

[Eviebae]

Bacteria or parasite, probably in the brain. But medically speaking (as far as that goes), highly unlikely.
A parasite is possible though:

How about saying it's been around a really long time, but has either been rediscovered or weaponized. You could say it's what was used to create the Norse Berserkers.

From Wikipedia:

His (Odin's) men rushed forwards without armour, were as mad as dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and were strong as bears or wild oxen, and killed people at a blow, but neither fire nor iron told upon them. This was called Berserkergang.[5]

[Beaumont]

/\
this

Zombies we all understand, but the behemoths have me puzzled as well. It's a nice twist.

Viruses don't turn a man-sized creature into a hulking giant wall-smashing carnivore.
I like the nanobot idea. Rebuilding the tissue on a cellular level to turn you into something else. Very creative.

Yeah that's a cool idea but if it is a virus maybe it could depend on the biological interaction with each individual rather than just a blanket effect on all infected.