I think a nuclear facility would be the worst power source.. fuel for nuclear power plants is the hardest to find and manufacture. Solar or wind is where it's at. That way you don't have to go out and get anything.
Well you don't need to live right next to your power generator. You can have the power fed to your underground bunker. You'll just have to hope nothing happens to it or that you can get to it without getting infected. If it's spores that spread it, then all you'd really need is an airtight suit.
Well attacks have very little to do with the infection process...the most obvious solution for an almost unstoppable infection process is if it's a virus or bacterium that is spread through the air. Also, if the virus/bacterium caused the host to become contagious very quickly but didn't manifest symptoms until much later, it's almost guaranteed that it would spread like wildfire. There'd really be no way to tell who had it or who didn't, and by the time people understood how it was transmitted, it would already by far too late, and the virus/bacterium would have spread almost everywhere. Especially since conventional zombie lore states that zombism is spread through fluid contact.
Right, necrophiliacs are the first to go. I wouldn't mind the slow down in fresh material. I have plenty of books I haven't read and games I haven't played. A nuclear power plant could easily support a small community for several generations once you reduce the energy output from enough to power four cities to enough for one town. The Uranium-238 will last far longer than you'll need it. I'd be more concerned with melt-downs from the plants that are no longer being monitored. I hope the automatic shut-downs work when there's nobody around.
An underground bunker powered by geothermal energy could work, but underground lacks sunlight which would be darn helpful for purposes of growing food.
But maybe it's the parasiting, devouring nature of life that turns me off. Always needing to take from the outside, while other parts of nature are content to just be there without the need to take from other things. Not to say that they don't interfere with each other, but rocks don't really care that much when they're turned into sand by the waves. Maybe that's why I'm so fascinated with space and its planets. As far as we know, they just exist.
How do you know rocks don't care when they're turned to sand? Let me rephrase this. How do you know people care when they're destroyed? What is caring? IS IT REALLY ANYTHING?
Stay away from this dangerous thinking my friend. You'll turn into a philosopher hermit and accomplish naught but some published books and some child rape.
An underground bunker powered by geothermal energy could work, but underground lacks sunlight which would be darn helpful for purposes of growing food.
This is what happens when you fuck with geothermal energy. Add enough taps to this "renewable" source, and before you know it you've robbed the Earth of its finite reserves of heat. What is this heat good for? Well the sun isn't the only source of ocean currents and wind. I reckon a portion of the Earth's spin would also be robbed over time when the mantle turns from lubricant to friction-machine as a result of losing heat until our rotation is reduced to barely a 1-year-long day.
An underground bunker powered by geothermal energy could work, but underground lacks sunlight which would be darn helpful for purposes of growing food.
Actually, geothermal wouldn't work underground. Geothermal generates its energy by exploiting the difference in temperature between the heat source and the outside air. Underground, unless you had some pretty amazing ventilation (which would consume a fair bit of energy itself and let the spores in) all the air around the heat source would be the same temperature as the heat source itself, rendering power generation impossible.
Actually, geothermal wouldn't work underground. Geothermal generates its energy by exploiting the difference in temperature between the heat source and the outside air. Underground, unless you had some pretty amazing ventilation (which would consume a fair bit of energy itself and let the spores in) all the air around the heat source would be the same temperature as the heat source itself, rendering power generation impossible.
Yet another thing the Matrix movies got wrong.
Fine. Live in a huge, fortified dam filled with large algae farm tube things to produce your own air. Slap some solar panels all over it for a bit of energy-overkill, and keep big balconies attached to the side of it with something along the lines of bullet-proof glass (or any super-hard transparent material) roofing these balconies over to let any sun in so you can have gardens in them. Live safely ever after from any sort of zombies that might threaten you.
I often worry that if zombies attacked that they would not be anything like what we expect.
Imagine it, you bash a zombie's head in, the brute's skull gives a satisfying crunch, you turn, finished with your grim work. Moments later you feel dirty, crooked teeth gouge into your neck. and the creatures blood begins to burn you like acid.
That would be lame.
I hope the Cataclysm page goes through, it seems like a great idea and I'd love to contribute.
I often worry that if zombies attacked that they would not be anything like what we expect.
Imagine it, you bash a zombie's head in, the brute's skull gives a satisfying crunch, you turn, finished with your grim work. Moments later you feel dirty, crooked teeth gouge into your neck. and the creatures blood begins to burn you like acid.
That would be lame.
I hope the Cataclysm page goes through, it seems like a great idea and I'd love to contribute.
In a zombie cataclysm, then, rule number one is learn the rules of zombies for yourself.
I need to learn to fight with melee weapons. I've got a double bladed sword, much like Pit's in Smash Bros. But believe me, it is extremely difficult to fight well with that thing without cutting yourself.
Plus, it's hard to get the force necessary to decapitate.
In a zombie apocalypse, a sword isn't going to do you much good. Swords are useful when fighting against humans since they're light enough to be agile while being sharp enough to cut deeply, possibly piercing an internal organ in the process. The problem is, the only organ that's actually vital to a zombie is the brain, which is encased in bone that would be very difficult for a sword to cut through.
A better weapon for zombies would be a nice, heavy axe, since it would carry enough momentum to get through the zombie's skull so that you can cut apart its brain.
Axes would be able to get through a zombie neck, but they're far too slow and clumsy to be much good outside of one-on-one confrontations. And if your axe embeds itself in something, you'll either have to give up the axe or your life.
Max Brooks stated that the best melee weapon for decapitation is the Shaolin Spade. You can use the concave surface for quick forward stabbing motions and get through a neck a lot easier, according to him. But you'd have to keep it pretty sharp. I can see what he means though, you can probably get a lot more force in a forward stab than a sideways slice.
I think there's a misconception here about what it takes to keep zombies at bay. In the short term, you don't necessarily have to kill every zombie you come across, just prevent it from chasing you as efficiently. With that in mind, I think the best weapon is a small handgun and a fair supply of ammo. Aim low and try to take out a leg or two, and their shambling will be severely impeded. Sure, you say, the zombie can still pull itself along the floor with its hands, but I implore you to lie down on your belly and try the same thing. It's damn hard (though a zombie's persistence makes such a point moot), and slow enough to make a zombie walk look positively brisk. Take out their legs and casually walk in the other direction to relatively safety. Any melee weaponry is going to tire you out pretty quickly with all that swinging, cutting and stabbing, no matter how effective at removing heads it is.
Yes but what would you do if surrounded by a whole infected city. I think that’s where you would need something along the lines of an automobile or heavy machinery. I mean what better to crush a zombie skull than a Monster Truck
Keep in mind though, Mario, that the handgun could potentially attract a lot more zombies than a melee weapon. I guess this is a point where it really depends on what type of zombie you're dealing with.
Yeah, but you can't deny the unbelievable dosage of awesome that comes with somebody decapitating hordes of zombies with a double bladed sword.
The point of not using guns is that guns can eventually run out of ammunition. While the well prepared will not have to deal with that problem for a while, the even better prepared will have alternative skills for when ammunition runs low.
I think we should all take some time and learn to fight with a (practical) weapon, so that we are not unprepared. There are plenty of people out there who don't know how to properly swing an axe with control and accuracy, much less a Shaolin Spade.
As for hand guns, you can't go wrong with a Desert Eagle. Get yourself a stash of .357 or .44 Magnum rounds. If you head shot a zombie I promise you that you will not need a second shot.
I've always wondered if zombies die from head shots because you're taking out the hypothalamus. If that's how it works, then a piercing weapon could work very well. It's much less tiring than decapitating and it will take out the zombie immediately. Personally, I think the best supply of weapons when facing zombies would be a powerful handgun to cause as much bodily damage as possible for the same reasons listed by mario, a katana (you don't need to decapitate, just cleave the skull and the brain), 2 or 3 machetes (they'd be best for chopping off body parts and decapitation, but they're not as durable as the katana), a piercing sword (a rapier or a foil, it's easy to make precision hits and they're lighter), and finally, as many grenades as you can carry. You may need to clear large groups of zombies to pass through open areas. Al this should only add about 50 pounds, you'd be able to travel quickly even with all of it strapped to your back.
Comments
Now how could we create an unstoppable zombie infection process?
Hmmmmmmm..... maybe if they had psychic attacks?
Stay away from this dangerous thinking my friend. You'll turn into a philosopher hermit and accomplish naught but some published books and some child rape.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsAfgns05cE
This is what happens when you fuck with geothermal energy. Add enough taps to this "renewable" source, and before you know it you've robbed the Earth of its finite reserves of heat. What is this heat good for? Well the sun isn't the only source of ocean currents and wind. I reckon a portion of the Earth's spin would also be robbed over time when the mantle turns from lubricant to friction-machine as a result of losing heat until our rotation is reduced to barely a 1-year-long day.
Yet another thing the Matrix movies got wrong.
Fine. Live in a huge, fortified dam filled with large algae farm tube things to produce your own air. Slap some solar panels all over it for a bit of energy-overkill, and keep big balconies attached to the side of it with something along the lines of bullet-proof glass (or any super-hard transparent material) roofing these balconies over to let any sun in so you can have gardens in them. Live safely ever after from any sort of zombies that might threaten you.
Imagine it, you bash a zombie's head in, the brute's skull gives a satisfying crunch, you turn, finished with your grim work. Moments later you feel dirty, crooked teeth gouge into your neck. and the creatures blood begins to burn you like acid.
That would be lame.
I hope the Cataclysm page goes through, it seems like a great idea and I'd love to contribute.
In a zombie cataclysm, then, rule number one is learn the rules of zombies for yourself.
Plus, it's hard to get the force necessary to decapitate.
A better weapon for zombies would be a nice, heavy axe, since it would carry enough momentum to get through the zombie's skull so that you can cut apart its brain.
Max Brooks stated that the best melee weapon for decapitation is the Shaolin Spade. You can use the concave surface for quick forward stabbing motions and get through a neck a lot easier, according to him. But you'd have to keep it pretty sharp. I can see what he means though, you can probably get a lot more force in a forward stab than a sideways slice.
The point of not using guns is that guns can eventually run out of ammunition. While the well prepared will not have to deal with that problem for a while, the even better prepared will have alternative skills for when ammunition runs low.
I think we should all take some time and learn to fight with a (practical) weapon, so that we are not unprepared. There are plenty of people out there who don't know how to properly swing an axe with control and accuracy, much less a Shaolin Spade.
As for hand guns, you can't go wrong with a Desert Eagle. Get yourself a stash of .357 or .44 Magnum rounds. If you head shot a zombie I promise you that you will not need a second shot.