The Haze

[cupcakezombie]

I thought we might need a thread on The Haze what it is.

Here is what I think might be related
- Makes it hard to breath and causes nausea
- Doesn't seem to affect Saul
- Zombies are not in the area
- Also seems to affect other living animals including plants. Has it affected bacteria as well?
- Has an affect on vision and colour perception.
- Reflects camera flash like smoke or fog (particles in the air)
- Seems to get stronger the further in you go, or is this just that it has had longer to cause a reaction
- May come from cracks in the ground

We don't know the limits of the Haze. As well as wondering how much of an area it covers, how far vertically in the air and underground does it extend?
Does wind or rain have any affect on it or the area it covers?

What else have I forgotton?

[Cabbage Patch]

How about some things it doesn't seem to do.
- Neither Saul nor Victor mentions any sort of irritation to their eyes or sinuses. These are usually the first place you feel the effects of airborne chemical agents or particulates.
- Both Saul and Victor spend a lot of time describing what they see on the ground, but neither one mentions any unusal amounts of dust or ash on the ground, vehicles, etc. This could imply that the haze is a form of vapor (suspended liquid) rather than a result of combustion (suspended particulates), since the later should have left a blanket of dust or ash over the Ground Zero area.
- Most forms of haze are going to be distinctly warmer, or distinctly cooler than the surrounding air. Neither Saul nor Victor mentions any sort of temperature change when they're near the haze.

And some observations:
- If the haze causes people to transform into zombies the effect isn't immediate, which implies that it requires some critical period of exposure.
- Are the effects of exposure cumulative, or does it require continuous exposure to work? This could be critical for two reasons. First, if exposure isn't cumulative it would imply that the body has a mechanism for neutralizing or expelling the haze. Second, if it is cumulative then Victor is in particular jeopardy, since he has now been exposed twice (the first time driving to LAX with Pegs).

[cupcakezombie]

How about some things it doesn't seem to do.
- Neither Saul nor Victor mentions any sort of irritation to their eyes or sinuses. These are usually the first place you feel the effects of airborne chemical agents or particulates.
- Both Saul and Victor spend a lot of time describing what they see on the ground, but neither one mentions any unusal amounts of dust or ash on the ground, vehicles, etc. This could imply that the haze is a form of vapor (suspended liquid) rather than a result of combustion (suspended particulates), since the later should have left a blanket of dust or ash over the Ground Zero area.
- Most forms of haze are going to be distinctly warmer, or distinctly cooler than the surrounding air. Neither Saul nor Victor mentions any sort of temperature change when they're near the haze.

And some observations:
- If the haze causes people to transform into zombies the effect isn't immediate, which implies that it requires some critical period of exposure.
- Are the effects of exposure cumulative, or does it require continuous exposure to work? This could be critical for two reasons. First, if exposure isn't cumulative it would imply that the body has a mechanism for neutralizing or expelling the haze. Second, if it is cumulative then Victor is in particular jeopardy, since he has now been exposed twice (the first time driving to LAX with Pegs).

Excellent points
I was wondering about the cumulative effect, if it gets worse the longer you spend in it rather then the closer you get to the centre.

[Litmaster]

Speaking of culmulative effects....

1. I mentioned in the Ch. 28 thread that a pandemic outbreak with multiple epicenters (LA, Houston, Chicago, etc.) would most likely mean a bio-terrorist attack set off, simultaneously, by multiple operatives in multiple cities...

2. Though can I can't figure out why the need for underground explosions when a terrorist would much more easily just crack a vial in a trash can and no one would be the wiser where it came from.

3. And finally, what if there are 'cracks' and 'haze' in every city around the world, and this zombie-gas is continually leaking into the atmosphere, slowly turning the entire Earth's atmosphere toxic? Then a grim (and short) future awaits our heroes, indeed... (dun-dun-DUUUUUUN!)

[cupcakezombie]

Speaking of culmulative effects....

1. I mentioned in the Ch. 28 thread that a pandemic outbreak with multiple epicenters (LA, Houston, Chicago, etc.) would most likely mean a bio-terrorist attack set off, simultaneously, by multiple operatives in multiple cities...

2. Though can I can't figure out why the need for underground explosions when a terrorist would much more easily just crack a vial in a trash can and no one would be the wiser where it came from.

3. And finally, what if there are 'cracks' and 'haze' in every city around the world, and this zombie-gas is continually leaking into the atmosphere, slowly turning the entire Earth's atmosphere toxic? Then a grim (and short) future awaits our heroes, indeed... (dun-dun-DUUUUUUN!)

But what would they gain from turning all the world toxic?

[GeneTwo]

You forgot the are with the Haze kills Zombies and humans. Maybe there are layered effects to the Haze. The core is unknown. The next layer kills anything. The outer layer of the Haze turns humans into Zombies.

[7oddisdead]

But do we actually know that the haze kills zombies?..all we know is none are present..killing is an overstatement

[Cabbage Patch]

But do we actually know that the haze kills zombies?..all we know is none are present..killing is an overstatement

There was an interesting comment in one of the other threads (sorry, couldn't find it to give proper credit) that the zombies might be compelled to flee from haze, or things that look like haze. For evidence he cited the fact that the zombies left the area of the Tower when it collapsed in a cloud of dust, leaving the dead bodies behind. I wonder if the smoke from the fire during The War might have contributed to the zombies departure at that time.

If the haze turns people into zombies it would make sense to imbed a command to make them move out of the area once they've turned. I'd love to see this theory tested. I wonder if Burt had any smoke grenades in his hidden store room?

[Osiris]

But do we actually know that the haze kills zombies?..all we know is none are present..killing is an overstatement

You're an overstatement!

It would be interesting to see what would happen if Victor (not Saul because he sucks) was able to capture a zombie and take it to G.Z. to make a determination as to whether or not it would affect it the same way it does normal humans.