There was a bit more unpacking to be done on this topic, so I’m going to pick up where I left off. I’m assuming that you’ve used whatever knowledge you’ve gleaned from my blog post as well as the current canon of zombie lore to stay alive past the first seventy-two hours. Well done! This is where things go from mind-numbing to Hell on earth.
The Meek Will Not Inherit the Earth
It’s human nature to interpret events as we wish them to be, rather than how they are. Is it possible for us to truly see reality as it is, let alone understand it? Monks, priests and countless others of faith and conviction view the world and our mortal lives as the grand design within the confines of a snow globe on the desk of an omnipotent and transcendent being. Huh, that’s a lot to process. The most obvious fact of the new world order in the throes of the full-on zombie apocalypse is that you’re going to have to kill people. Or you can allow them to kill you. Or you can take the path of the pacificist and be eaten alive; choose one.
Until now, vampires, werewolves, and zombies lived comfortably only in our fertile imagination. As pure fantasy, it was all harmless fun. However, by unknown means, a fictional affliction has leapt from the pages of a comic book into the world of mortgages, health care copays and federal taxes.
Rather than go like sheep to the slaughter, we do what we do best; kill every other living thing. Think about it, what better use could there be for a 300-year-old vampire? Like cattle and chicken before him, his immortal life will become an order of magnitude worse in service to humanity. The poor wretch will immediately be imprisoned; enslaved; studied; dissected; vivisected; idolized; demonized; monetized and weaponized because that’s how we roll. I suspect that this is why Bigfoot has never been found. They use their superior intelligence and technology to avoid us savage primates!
My Ken vs. Your Kin
Part of the lure of zombies is that the sheer implausibility is liberating. Imagine a world in which you go about your daily life inflicting horrendous harm, even death upon others with no consequence. Sadly, some people choose to go on a murderous rampage and kill their loved ones as well as complete strangers. The pain they cause others and to society at large, is real and permanent. Most people require a significant threat to themselves or a loved one before they visit violence on the person of another. In a world overrun by zombie hordes, violence is the new norm. Everyone, regardless of age, relation, or gender is fair game when the time comes. Deal with it.
Until now, the dead have remained dead. There’s a universe of things we can’t do and don’t know. Fortunately, there’s always a billionaire with more money than sense or a nefarious, better world society working in the shadows willing to open another Pandora’s Box. Why? Because they can! I’m not a gambling man, but if I had to choose between the lethality posed to human beings by the fungi Cordyceps and the Rabies virus, I’d put my money on Rabies.
When in Rome
Right now, life is hellish and the silly progressive versus conservative debate of days long gone would be welcome. All the metrics by which we used to judge and condemn others have been abandoned. Well, most of them. Tribalism in a purer form will be the order of the day and it should come as no surprise that there will be even greater rifts along cultural, racial, and religious lines. A brutal pragmatism will be the foundation upon which many groups are built and survive.
You won’t be spoiled for choice but there will be plenty of light and dark meat on the menu. I will remind you again, people don’t eat people. Tread lightly and be careful what you ask for.
Murders, Herds and Packs
Now would be a good time to critically review how we got here. The question of what it means to be human would be somewhat irrelevant at this point. The better question is how to move forward in a fractured world in which we’re no longer at the top of the food chain? Perhaps the answer lies in living simpler and closer to nature.
Growing the food you eat, a few cattle, a handful of pigs and chickens are likely enough for a family. The family down the road grows corn and wheat and the friendly, though understandably skittish people across the river are handy with tools and build all sorts of things. And there you have it. A new beginning. No internet. No electric cars. No intellectual property attorneys. No hedge funds. Just small communities of people with no objectives other than surviving and looking out for each other. Quaint.
Natural Selection
Since the passing of the dinosaurs, Man has been the planet's top predator. We're far from the biggest, the strongest or the fastest, nevertheless, we're the most efficient hunters and brutal killers to ever walk the earth. The zombies will reach a point at which they're backgound noise. You won't always see or hear them, but they're out there, wandering aimlessly, looking for the unwary. All they know is an unwholesome and insatiable hunger. It may well be impossible to destroy them all and that's not the point. You can reach a point at which they can be managed, like the rash on your thigh that never goes away. Other men, however, will always be the true danger.
As long as someone is hungry, has a sick child or simply covets what others have- normal behavior- the danger to you and your group will remain high. It may be possible to integrate them into your group, or some members of your group may decide to break off and start something new with some of the others. Resource sharing will be critical and that's something spoiled children and billionaires, not to mention average Joes, have difficulty doing. However this plays out, it will be critical to keep the lines of communication open.
Avoid excess curiosity and don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Megacities and world-dominating multinational corporations are perhaps best as relics of the past. Mercy can only be granted from a position of power. When defending against and dispatching zombies, be utterly ruthless. Unless you plan on joining their number.
We’ve always dreamed of being more than we are and that’s unique to the human condition. For some, this dream becomes a deadly obsession. Quests for the Holy Grail, the Philosopher’s Stone and the Fountain of Youth all ended in failure and tragedy. Well, mostly. We have the few years we’re given and no more. Only gods and monsters live forever. For those of you still longing to be special; possessing the power of flight or invulnerability, remember the warning in Exodus 22:18: “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.”
Icarus flew too close to the sun and died. We're all going to die at some point, so let's settle for not flying too close to the sun.