Ground Zero: The infection that ended society. How Did it Start?

[Eviebae]

i love this idea!

The only problem is we are centuries away from this sort of technology or science. We can fiddle with DNA, target gene sequences and get viruses to deliver gene therapy...sorta.

When a virus jumps hosts it often kills, something it doesn't want to do because it wants us to walk around coughing without covering our mouth and not washing our hands. They want taxis, not corpses. Whatever this is, it makes people mutate in very specific ways and it doesn't kill them.

I mean, you could have an evil mad genius somewhere...

[Grognaurd]

The only problem is we are centuries away from this sort of technology or science. We can fiddle with DNA, target gene sequences and get viruses to deliver gene therapy...sorta.

When a virus jumps hosts it often kills, something it doesn't want to do because it wants us to walk around coughing without covering our mouth and not washing our hands. They want taxis, not corpses. Whatever this is, it makes people mutate in very specific ways and it doesn't kill them.

I mean, you could have an evil mad genius somewhere...

But, dude! There are ZOMBIES running around eating people! If the listener is going to suspend disbelief and allow a rampaging zombie horde with some running about 50MPH, I think one should be able to accept a virus theory.

There really are not tooo many ways to do it.

A small chemical? Warps the mind of the person. But, Wouldn't it dilute out as it is spread from zombie to person etc?
A biological? a prion or hormone or something that the body can make and reproduce itself. Somehow it activates a positive feedback loop in the normal person when biten and transforms them.
A Microb I will just make it general. Have it encompass virus / bacteria / eukaryotic / small multicellular parasite.
A puppet master. A larger organism that usurps the brain and spinal column. Unlikely, but including it
Hardware. Some sort of man-made nanite thingamabob or something similar.

I think the lack of evidence of seeing anything leads to it being something small. Not a big puppetmaster hanging on the back of the zombie. Although a tiny one can not be ruled out. I do not think it is a chemical. I just think the authors would think it would diffuse through the population. In addition, we have strong evidence that the zombies sleep and eat. This indicates a metabolism and they would most likely "pass" the chemical our of the body.

A prion is something that is only recently showing up in sci fi. I would still consider it a "fresh" idea. It can mess with some cellular structures and modify behavior (Mad Cows Disease) But, the amount of information that the prion contains is very small. One would be hard pressed to make a case that it genetically manipulating zombies. But, take the prion as a base and instead of genetic transformation of the species think Frankenstienian. Graft extra muscles to the frame, Spice multiple bones together all kinds of crazy stuff. Muscles can still contract and the body can flex as much as 12hours after death as long as they are supplemented with an electric current. Yea, the idea has been around a while, but what is old is new, right?

A DNA based vector (virus or other) could possibly rewrite genetic code to bring about different types of zombies. There are many examples in nature where a DNA-based vector modifies the behavior of its host. I think everyone is generally familiar with this.

So, if I have to take the plunge and make the call I will go with Biological Agent (Prion) / Frankenstein. It is one of the fresher zombie ideas out there.

[clparson]

Just thought I would add my two cents here. Lets not forget meningitis and also the various fungi that invade the minds of other animals. For instance, there is a fungi that infects the brain of ants and causes them to wonder around to a branch and bite the branch. After the ant has a firm grip on the branch, the fungus kills the ant and grows out of its head. It releases spores to infect other ants. I don't think it would be a stretch for some kind of fungi like that to evolve and mutate to take over human minds. Dum dum dum!

[clparson]

I think the zombies in We're Alive is caused by ALIENS!!!! Perhaps ground zero was actually a crash site of some kind.

[Nevermatter]

I think the zombies in We're Alive is caused by ALIENS!!!! Perhaps ground zero was actually a crash site of some kind.

Oh god I hope not, I think KC has done an awesome job of just having one fantasy element (zombies). I hate it when stories star using more fantasy to explain fantasy. I'm looking at you Leviathan Chronicals!

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

Did we just start another thread about HOW this started? LOL.

[Jeebogs]

Another theory which would be interesting is if the infection was spread in an inert state in tattoo ink and activated by a certain frequency.

I like this idea, but perhaps not in just tattoo ink, but in a particular food brand - not all people adhere to the same brand.
When a secondary activation compound is then released into that same product, we see the people, already impregnated with the 'sleeper' virus, then turn. It would help explain the global impact of the simultaneous infection. Or like you've said Eviebae, the activator could be some kind of sound frequency or radiation that could easily be set off around the world from various centres.
All this would kind of hint toward a massive global conspiracy though.....

[7oddisdead]

Bump it on up

[7oddisdead]

so...ive been researching infrasound waves and the effects on the human body. the decription pegs and victor give are similar to the effects of infrasound on the human body, the frequency would have to be at a very high db level to produce the kinds of affects they felt in such a short time frame...the interesting thing about the infrasound theory...is the varing affects it can have on the human body....example; a wave of 8 to 14 hz at 70db is a fda recognised form of massage therapy...and a 8hz tone at 120db will cause nausea, headaches, loss of balance, motor function, etc....after some exposure time..not immediate though..so how low of a freq. and how high a db would the thing at ground zero have to be???....still looking into that..also does not explain how one goes from being nausious and choking to a zombie flesh biter....but hey its something

[mastafigz]

Just reading through this thread I noticed a big argument against an airborne virus. nikvoodoo said everyone would have to be immune to it to not get it. It is possible that when the virus is in an infected human, it evolves because of the host. What if the virus evolves and it now spreads from person to person?