NEW Infection Theory

[Malador]

I don't think that it was mentioned in passing, it seems like it should have something to do with the whole thing. Either way, with *Possible Spoiler* Michael promising to take the fight to them *End spoiler** we should see a fair amount of light being shone upon the subject.

[Witch_Doctor]

Call me a moron, but the whole Radon Labs thing starts to sound a bit too wishful thinking-like. We need better evidence than that. If z-day was set up, the last priority would be laying out ID badge breadcrumbs.

I don't think that it was mentioned in passing, it seems like it should have something to do with the whole thing. Either way, with *Possible Spoiler* Michael promising to take the fight to them *End spoiler** we should see a fair amount of light being shone upon the subject.

Dang it, you both make good points!

On a side note, when did They mention passing Radon Labs?

[Malador]

I seem to recall Burt mentioning the lab when they killed the smart one that attacked them on the roof that Radon Labs was nearby. They were en route from the shop to the tower so I would think it would have to be in that general area.

[PhysicsLB]

but instead of speculating what it is and all that, lets stick to the raw facts, how does this thing react and behave, is it a virus, it is a contagious genetic virus, etc so on, when we started talking about saul and tonya being genetically immune we got off topic, lets sit down and work out what it could be or be a varient of.

who is immune and who isn't has no baring on the virus at all. it was even covered in this thread that Tonya said "if he was a slow turner, he would of been dead by now" which means its likely he just had blood posioning, WHICH is what saul got treated for, it makes sense, Tonya wouldn't know how to treat someone who was infected because the previous drugs weren't working. thats why the other slow turner got killed off by the colony.

now don't get me wrong i'm not saying that to be right or anything but i've always thought it was "too convienent" that someone would be immune, YES I KNOW HOW IMMUNUTY WORKS! (for the record i already knew so the fact i had it explaiend to me twice on this thread pissed me off i must admit, but i digress)

the point i am trying to make here is that to work out more accurately whats been doing what and who goes where would simply be a case of doing some kind of basic profile for the virus, for example, why is it only transferable through blood like an STD? does that have any bearing of its profile, it may be possible.

First, i'll apologize for explaining immunity. The way you had worded previous posts seemed to imply that you didnt fully understand it. that was a mistaken assumption on my part.

As for immunity not having a bearing: It actually does, insofar as the presence of an immunity would help us determine what type of vector it is. From there we can determine communicability, possible treatments, and even begin brainstorming on how illness prgresses and why it affects people differently (other variant zeds). My point with illustrating all these things regarding immunity is that depending on what scenario is true, we can identify the culprit. So saul and tanya's possible immunity is very germaine to this discussion. There is also a hole in your logic here: saul was unaffected by ground zero, but we can't determine if it was the drugs or a natural resistance. As we pointed out earlier, this was done on purpose to keep us from learning anything of value about the infection based on that event. If his drugs truly only affected his blood poisoning, then that event shows saul has a natural immunity.

As far as profiling the infection, i thought that was what we were doing. We've been analyzing the syptoms (zeds & the variants) and trying to determine if there is a second force at play here. If you look at the progression of the variant zeds, it seems to point towards intelligent design. Who that designer is will likely never be known until the very end.

I also have a follow-up for the blood transmission question: are there any instances where someone was turned without exposure to blood? I'm asking because i don't remember, and it's a good question. Especially since Tanya found no irregularities in the blood of the infected.

[PhysicsLB]

Another thing that bugs me is how do the smart ones fit in with the other special ones. Burt speculated that being a smart human made you a smart zombie. Skittles re-emphasized this when he warns against going near hospitals and 'book places' because of the brains. Therefore smartness seems to be a trait carried over from before infection.

The special ones appear to come from Ground Zero, as expressed by Kalani and C.J. But the runners, jumpers and behemoths have traits that EXCEED those of regular humans! The smart ones are just not as dumb as the other Zs. They don't have super human Khan Noonian Singh-like intelligence.

You make a really good point here. Also, like you point out: they seem to originate around areas with highly educated people and not ground zero. This would further support that there is something in ground zero causing these physical changes. Also, the fact that they aren't super smart would imply that there is someone/thing else controlling these changes and not TOWTM like some have speculated.

[Malador]

CJ said that she had to shoot someone who had been at ground zero, because exposure to the area had caused them to turn.

[PhysicsLB]

Ok. So knowing this, could it be airborne? At least to some small degree?

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

The question is - are there still jigsaw puzzle pieces left at Ground Zero? It will be quite interesting to see if all the information can be compiled into something useful at all.

[Malador]

So if the pathogen originally came from the fissures in the ground, wouldn't that lead more towards a bacteria of some sort? I thought that viruses were usually spread from a living organism to another, where exposure to an environmental disease were more commonly bacterial or fungal in nature.

[PhysicsLB]

The pathogen being released through fissures doesn't really jive with the order of events though, despite the incident of someone turning just from being there...
The infection started all over the globe nearly simultaneously. That seems unlikely for mother nature to pull off, at least without some help. Also, these fissures also seem to spur "evolution" of the zeds. These new species make zeds much more effective, especially when you factor in their appearance coincides with a certain level of societal degredation.

Regular/Smart ones - mass confusion and panic, high number of uninfected concentrated in small areas. No one knows what is going on, easily taken by surprise. Smart ones organize/lead to make the process more efficient.

Runners/Jumpers - uninfected have thinnned out considerably. Starting to arm themselves, building defensive positions, using cars/transport much more effectively. Zeds need to be faster/more agile to catch more dangerous prey.

Behemoths show up/jumpers die out - uninfected have become heavily entrenched, small arms incredibly common among survivors. Zeds need strength and durability to oeverpower their prey. Jumpers, while agile, lack speed and can be gunned down easier, causing their demise.

Little Ones - Survivors are heavily fortified, gaining access to heavier weapons, building a self-sustaining environment/less likely to leave fortifications. Need a smart/fast/strong/durable invading force to break defenses, allowing other zeds to infiltrate. Think Zed SWAT team.

The real outlier here is TOWTM and possibly randy. TOWTM is not only smart, it also has the abilities of a jumper/runner and seems quite durable (i think he's wearing a flak jacket correct?).