Are the Zees already starving?

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

Hi, good evening from Germany!

The question of the day is: Are the zombies already starving in WA? In particular, are they getting more anxious each day because there is fewer fresh flesh to chew out by each passing day? Yeah, we all somehow like our little Zees, but, as Al Gore would put it, there is an inconvenient truth to be told. So I did some research on the internet.

For this reason, I went to a Calories calculator. For an ordinary male zombie, aged 30, six feet tall and an assumed high activity rate due to

• At home - you are very active with heavy lifting and other rigorous activities // E.g. hunting down humans
• Exercise - you participate in physical sports such as jogging or mountain-biking each day // (Going on a vacation trip to Boulder?)

it states that Mr. Z. will roughly need about 3000 calories each day. I say that this is a rather conservative assumption, but I may be horribly wrong.

The calculator states:

You burn 2970 calories during a typical day. Remember that this estimate is based on your body weight, height, age, gender, and your average level of activity.

You can use this information to help you figure out how many calories you should be consuming to maintain your weight. On active days, you'll need more calories, so it's okay to eat a little more than you would on an average day. But on more sedentary days, you may want to reduce your calorie intake. If you want to lose weight, try to stay below your calorie needs or increase your activity level. However, make sure you are eating nutritious meals and not restricting your calories too much - eating too little or losing weight rapidly can be unhealthy and dangerous.

Ok, without other information, the statement is meaningless. So I continued to google for the amount of calories in one pound of human flesh. And this is what I found: One pound = 1800 calories.

However, if you reconsider that most of the humans corpses seem to be already rotten or devoured by zombies (the still living prisoners left aside), when will the zombies begin to starve. There have been no reports or whatsoever on zombie cannibalism. Will we be able to rid of the Z-plague just by letting enough time go by? What are your thoughts?

YABC out.

[LiamKerrington]

Hi.

Funny thoughts.

As we know from various reports ...
a) them zeds seem to starve, as Pegs recognized in "Over the Airwaves",
b) the number zed-incidents (i.e. encounters with Regulars) is decreasing with the ongoing show - not only because of the winter, but also because there is another cause: lack of food; the decrease actually started pretty early on the show,
c) as Riley and Angel whitnessed them zeds gathered food; and since the number of dead bodies is not infinite, the "natural" ressources are limited as well;
d) finally Skittles mentioned that them zeds would even eat themselves; so, since the number of zeds (compared with the size of LA's population and working masses) never was so big, you can do the maths, right?

Thus: The threat of zeehs is decreasing due to starvation of them zeehs ... except for the Little Ones, the latest evolutionary step in the zombie-breed ...

All the best!
Liam

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

So we are moving towards a situation which resembles the first act of the film "28 weeks later" where there are no zombies left in the country?

[LiamKerrington]

No clue. Haven't watched 28 weeks later.

But the way it is in WA, it all makes sense. That's what I like so much about this show. It all makes sense.

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

So this is the TODO list for Michael as the Zees will die of starvation:

- survive Fort Irwin
- find out more about Pegs fate
- return to L.A. and put an end to the maller's threat
- get a shower, put on some new clothes
- continue your studies

That's about it for season 4?

[Cabbage Patch]

So we are moving towards a situation which resembles the first act of the film "28 weeks later" where there are no zombies left in the country?

I think you may be on to something.

We've had repeated references to how scarce the zombies have become. Victor and Saul commented on it around the time they saw the Army helicopter. Michael mentioned it when they were testing the KODI in Yermo. And we know that Datu and Hope didn't mention any zombie encounters when they were discussing their trip from Boulder to Fort Irwin.

Maybe the standard zombies were only intended to be a transitional type, with the Inklings serving as their successors. And their numbers were low for a reason, to prevent them from outgrowing their food supply in LA. After all, it only takes one.

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

I would like to add the following theory: There might be even more human colonies left on U.S. soil. I mean, just think of it, human flesh is a rare good, the Zees have no way to conserve the flesh. The best strategy would be to let some of the human encampments exist. As the LO seem to be able to command the zombie infantry somehow, they could have the dumb standard zombie attack the humans if necessary. It would be a win-win situation, the number of standard zombies is reducted by the human defenses while the timeframe within human flesh is available is significantly extended.

The question is, what if these resources are gone, too?

[LiamKerrington]

Hi there,

interesting idea.

About LO commanding Regulars ... Really? That slipped my attention. IF Little Ones remains some of their former-life-knowledge and IF they are capable of controlling their behaviour (the Boulder-event challenges the second IF at least ...), would they also be capable of reflecting on theories regarding benefit, win-win-situations etc.? I doubt that.
As far as I remember the "Smart Ones" and "Ink" were the ones people (Burt, Skittles) kept talking about that they seem to act more purposely and kind of more strategically (this whole Devil's Workshop- and Arena-Thing ...). And yet Ink and dudes swarmed any place with remaining survivors as hard and as heavy as possible. At the end of The War we encountered it once only that them zeds actually retreated - and not, because they planned to "farm the humans" as kind of a food-ressource, but more likely because the battle was far from being victorious in favor of the zeds ...

Besides all of this: The concept of Zeds "farming humans" as food-ressource is kind of ... Oscar Michael Foxtrott Golf - really creepy, dystopian at its best and very frightening ...

All the best!
Liam

[Witch_Doctor]

As the LO seem to be able to command the zombie infantry somehow, they could have the dumb standard zombie attack the humans if necessary. It would be a win-win situation, the number of standard zombies is reducted by the human defenses while the timeframe within human flesh is available is significantly extended.
The question is, what if these resources are gone, too?

Now, I may be wrong but I don't remember any instances of LO and Inklings giving commands but there are plenty of instances of Ink and maybe other Smart Ones doing so. Remember Randy keeping the other Zs away from Tanya? As far as regulating food consumption, in Chapter 10 part 1, something calls the Zs to the human remains pile for meal time. Something then calls them away (To stop eating?/ to the arena?/Both?)

What gets me is that we're back to the question of what makes them eat some yet turn others?

• Are turners slippery MoFos who got away?
• Why don't they continue to eat the turners? - Maybe be the time they turn they're too strong and aggressive to eat. Best leave them alone. Could be why they avoid the Large Ones.
• Do the Smart One regulate consumption/ turning? - Too few Zs and they are easily wiped out. Too many Zs and they consume all of their resources at their own peril. - Someone said that Zombie stories are never about zombies but are a commentary about society. Looks like KC is worried about conservation

[Witch_Doctor]

Osiris Cliffs version:

Zs eat all of their food now and starve tomorrow - like grass hopper.
Zs save some food later, eat later - like ant.