My Musings

Humans vs Zombies

I like zombie stories...sometimes.

What makes zombies terrifying, in my opinion, is their unstoppable nature. I think the computer game Myth II: Soulblighter said it particularly well. "I thought I knew what fear was, or that I had known fear. I was wrong. This night I have experienced true fear. The army of the Dark is upon us and it has no end. They march toward us, shoulder to shoulder, for as far as the eye can see. The very Earth must be crying out at the weight of them."

The undead shuffle slowly forward, their movements jerky and uncoordinated. It's possible to escape them even when moving at a brisk walk, but no matter where you go, they'll keep following. When you rest for the night or stop for a moment to eat a bite of food, the shambling hordes of the undead are still coming, staggering closer and closer with every moment.  It's very similar to a gradual flow of lava. While the lava isn't fast, it doesn't have to be as it will catch up with you in time. Like the zombies, the lava represents a slow and creeping terror of inescapable death.

Fighting the undead is a simple matter as a shot to the head with a gun or any form of bladed or blunt instrument will work. However, the undead are numerous, and every one dispatched only makes way for a dozen more. Eventually, you'll run out of ammunition, or your arms will get tired swinging a weapon, and the zombies you haven't put down will get you.

The true horror of zombie stories is nothing you do will matter. How far you run, how hard you fight, or even how much ammo you have, none of it matters because the undead just keep coming. They pursue relentlessly. They attack in numbers without end. Sooner or later, chased to the point of exhaustion and attacked in swarms until your defenses are worn down, the zombies will claim their prize, and you will die. Unless some form of sanctuary is in place, or a cure is found, everyone in the story is going to be zombie food.

In the vast darkness of the post apocalypse, there is a ray of hope. Small groups, or determined individuals, have been known to survive, carving out a new life for themselves in what's left of the world. It's awesome to see them overcome impossible odds and prevail against untold numbers of undead. It's like David and Goliath, an underdog story where the good guy is at a severe disadvantage but ultimately prevails. It's inspiring.

That being said, there are some people who don't have the best reaction to the end of the world. With lawlessness and growing desperation, I can easily see how bands of raiders, savages, and psychotics would be prevalent and pose a threat to the good guys fighting the undead. I even put some of these dangerous folk in my zombie books.

However, some writers of zombie material, and I'm not going to mention the Walking Dead by name, seem to think these unrestrained fiends are the greatest threat of the post-apocalypse. I respectfully disagree.

A group of bandits with rifles, knives, maybe a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat are a threat, perhaps even a very significant one, but I'm inclined to think the millions of flesh eating zombies relentlessly trying to make a picnic out of you are a far greater hazard.

The problem with bandit groups being perceived as the biggest threat in zombie stories is the plot will focus in on them and the story becomes humans vs humans, diverting from the entire essence of the genre. We already have humans fighting each other. The TV news and the Internet are full of stories about those who are a disgrace to the human species; some of these people go to jail while others get elected to political office. Maybe that's where we got the term pros and cons.

My point is, I watch and read zombie material because I want to see humans vs zombies. The plot lines shouldn't be distracted by small bands of lunatics. Once in a while, something with the bad humans might crop up, but I think we should keep zombie stories primarily focused on the zombies.

What do you think?