High-Performance Zombies?

[DriveNASCAR]

Some movies have zombies that move in a very slow and awkward manner. Others show them as being able to run, jump, climb, etc. as well or even better than the living. Which is more likely to be accurate?

[COMBAT21B]

Honestly who knows...I assume it all depends on what they were exposed to...me...Well I am hoping for the slow Resident Evil style ones...LOL

[DTyra]

Pray for slow, prepare for fast, it's the only way to be sure.

[FleshEatingZombie]

I think it all depends on what causes the infection and how it affects the brain. I would think though that fast zombies would be more likely to occur as it makes more sense for a zombie to exist in more of a rage style rather than being reborn.

[Katrena]

Depends on the type of zombie we're dealing with.

A "traditional" dead person returning to life as a zombie would probably be slow because rigor mortis would set in. If a zombie with rigor mortis started to run, its extremeties would probably snap off. Even though rigor mortis is temporary, a zombie without limbs is a lot less of a threat.

A virus would be a different sort of threat because if it somehow prevented rigor mortis from setting in or affected different lobes of the brain in different ways, I'd say why wouldn't they be as fast as normal humans, if not super-human in speed?

[Pondo_Sinatra]

Depends on the type of zombie we're dealing with.

A "traditional" dead person returning to life as a zombie would probably be slow because rigor mortis would set in. If a zombie with rigor mortis started to run, its extremeties would probably snap off. Even though rigor mortis is temporary, a zombie without limbs is a lot less of a threat.

A virus would be a different sort of threat because if it somehow prevented rigor mortis from setting in or affected different lobes of the brain in different ways, I'd say why wouldn't they be as fast as normal humans, if not super-human in speed?

You bring up an interesting point. I've thought about this from time to time. There are a few things that I've been mulling over, see if I can make any sense.

The only "close to undead" I've ever had any experience with is animals with rabies (rabid raccoons and foxes are pretty common around here). Although their aggression and lack of fear are intimidating, in the ones that I have seen there's been enough brain damage done where they don't act "normal". I've seen them lunge and snap, but their eye-hand (or eye-muzzle, as the case may be) coordination stinks. Bad.

So I believe that if something similar would hit humans - where the "bug" doesn't really take over but merely destroys parts of the brain - *we* would possibly be nasty, but not really fast or dangerous (unless you get too close).

Now. What about a "smart" virus that settles into the brain and takes charge of a human being and turns them into a flesh craving monster?

Hmmm. A few things to consider there. Could a few billion viruses set up a thinking "network" in a human's brain to replace (or rewire) the normal processes that take place every second of every day? We're a bit more complicated than a remote control car. If you think of all the sensory input we process every second we're awake - all the colors, shapes, textures, smells, stabilization input from the inner ear, pressure, sounds, temperatures, that's a LOT of information to process and make sense of.

There's a whole lot of electrons moving around the brain, and without a reliable map, nothing foreign inside the brain could make heads or tails of that storm.

Now, could there be a virus that only targets certain areas of the brain and leaves the day-to-day activities alone, dealing only with the parts that make us "human"? Possibly, yes.

Could there be something that would make us faster/stronger? Well, I see a remote possibility of improving reaction time and reflexes, and maybe shutting off the pain feedback so we keep doing stuff that hurts in order to achieve the goal of filling our bellies with tasty human flesh, but I think people infected this way would still have the same limitations of their bodies to deal with.

A 350# couch potato wouldn't be able to run a 9 second 100 meter dash, and a 120# spoon-chested chess champ wouldn't be able to throw a car at you.

An infected Olympic athlete, though - now THAT would be some scary stuff right there.

[USPHack]

The thought of the fast type zombie scares the hell out of me, I hope for the shuffler zombie myself.

[Vindictus]

I actually just posted a similar topic in Zed combat tactics.

As far as a viral Z goes, all it would really have to do would be infect and cause massive growth of the areas of the brain that deal with hunger and anger as well as the adrenal gland, and it would draw blood away from the areas that deal with rational thought [Sorry, I'm not up to date on brain anatomy], causing a flood of what could be compared to crazy, hungry PCP addicts. As far as superhuman speed goes, if the Zeds are still alive, and they're running around looking for food all the time, they'd get faster and stronger quick, or they'd die. Doing nothing but running down and eating their prey, they'd get faster and stronger much quicker then the average human, who'd get tired and frustrated after the first fifteen rabbits he chased, and would go get a burger or some fruit.

So, an incurable virus that causes cannabalistic rage would probably create some scary, fast Zeds.

[Orbit19]

It all depends on the situations and whether or not the zombie has been mutated by the virus or the enviroment. Most of us pray for slow zombies, unless we want to play a game of shoot everything and live for 15 minutes, we would be fighting the classic shufflers. That fact zombies could go at super-human speeds is very frightening, it's kind of like fighting a cheetah wanting to take a big bite out of you. I think the idea of zombies progressively getting faster and stronger is very possible. When cavemen were fighting to survive, they either died or they continued on and got more experiance and got better at what they did, it is kind of like how you have a hobby, you start out very poor and as time progresses, you continuously get better and better. Now that's about a few months at a single hobby or task that doesn't occur more than a few times a day. Zombies will be hunting non-stop trying to find a meal. I believe that zombies will start very slow and easy to kill, but as PAW starts to stretch out and it goes from days to weeks to months to years, zombies will die off on themselves, but the few left will be humanoid tanks, they will take entire groups to kill or incapacitate.

Also, zombies don't seem to be known to have an active brain, therefore they will be mumbling bags of flesh or they will be wired by primal instincts. Therefore, if they have to lose a few limbs and decompose before they get you, they will lose those limbs and decompose. They will also be getting you, zombies I believe will also mutate based on former human shape and levels of strength and agility. If you have an olympic gold medalist as a zombie, he will be extremely fast, if you have a bodybuilder or something as a zombie, he will be extremely strong and will take a few extra rounds to bring down.

Also, enviroment will likely tamper with the physical conditions of a Zombie. For instance, a zombie in an urban enviroment may be able to get through locations faster or find survivors faster than a zombie from the woods. The zombie from the urban enviroment will have better senses and will be able to locate survivors a lot better than the zombie from the woods, but the zombie from the woods would be able to last longer without food due to lack of survivors to feed on in the woods, minor things that can make a difference on the zombie your fighting against.

[DarkAxel]

A brain doesn't have to be physically damaged to cause a change in behavior. Simply altering brain chemistry is enough to produce rage-like zombies. This could be caused by an infection in the adrenal glands that make them go out of whack, It could be caused by an infection in the brain cells that alter the neurotransmitters produced by the cell, or both. Of course, some of the other side-effects could be uncoordinated movement, dizziness, drowsiness, vomiting, seizures, and even coma or death.

Now if the infection destroys brain cells, then the zed type could be up in the air, even with the same infection type. Say the infection is caused by a virus. The virus injects its genetic material into a neuron, hijacks its function, and bursts out to infect more neurons. Such an infection would resemble Alzheimer's, but with an extremely rapid onset and progression. Zeds caused by this virus could be fast, coordinated, and even intelligent at the beginning, but would degenerate to shamblers as the brain was killed off by the infection. An infected person could begin as a shambler if the virus attacks the lower brain functions first.

[craig_o]

Pray for slow, prepare for fast, it's the only way to be sure.

Sound advice.

[benreeper]

Some movies have zombies that move in a very slow and awkward manner. Others show them as being able to run, jump, climb, etc. as well or even better than the living. Which is more likely to be accurate?

Good day everyone,

I've thought about this. The Dawn of the Dead remake makes the most sense with their movement. They reanimate in seconds. The body is still warm. Rigor mortise does not have time to set in before they start moving. Also The Matrix offers an explanation of sort: this is not air your breathing. Since they are not breathing and using a biological processes to move, they should be as fast and as strong as their bones will allow. I believe that their muscles will never harden if they had not been so before being reanimated. The only thing that would slow them down would be broken bones so aim for the kneecaps.

EDIT: I'm talking about the dead variety of the undead.

[clarkins86]

I think that the more fresh a zombie is the faster it will move but as time goes by the corpse will decompose and the muscular structure will break down and the zombie will eventually be as fast as my 85 year old grandmother.And finally i have a question to ask,what about the brain?will it decompose and the zombie eventually stop moving?

[Vindictus]

If you assume that the zombies are literally walking dead people animated by unknown eldrich forces... Then no, because the eldrich forces are animating the body and don't care what condition it's in. Then you have the psuedo-undead viral zombie, a dead person animated by a virus that stimulates nerve endings in the brains. That type would eventually rot away. Then you have the not-dead-at-all viral zed, which is a person driven mad- specifically, sociopathically violent, with a few variations depending on the disease- which, not being dead, will not decompose at all and therefore will be able to survive a normal lifespan, given all necessities [Braiiiiiins....] are taken care of. Then you have the 'Prototype' zed, or a zombie that is actually a hivelike conglomorate of virus cells that mimics a human body for some reason, and which will reproduce itself asexually by infesting a host and devouring it from the inside out... Haha, that type you're just screwed.

[Nizo]

Some one posted something about super human speeds...

Well if a human were the run faster than 28mph than the ligaments in the leg would rip causing the zombies to resort to crawling

[Vindictus]

Some one posted something about super human speeds...

Well if a human were the run faster than 28mph than the ligaments in the leg would rip causing the zombies to resort to crawling

I'll point out that this assumes that a Zed's ligaments remain the same post-conversion, with no increase in the force that they can resist/survive, which isn't that safe of an assumption to make actually. It also doesn't take into account the possibility of running at, let's say 25 MPH, for an hour straight. The human body is built for endurance running, not sprinting, and it's possible to literally run for hours on end when properly conditioned. Increasing the speed of an endurance run to the physical limits would be something I'm sure all sorts of scientists, not to mention athletes and soldiers, would get serious hard ons for, and would be a good handwave for why exactly they created whatever retroviral plot device is required.

Hell, an endurance runner at 10 mph would be scary. Talk about a super-persistant predator!

[Burnt Toast]

I would imagine they (zeds) appear normal, functions like normal but have a pale milking tone skin complexion and void of expression. Completely emotionless and having that 1000 yard stare.

[Pondo_Sinatra]

I would imagine they (zeds) appear normal, functions like normal but have a pale milking tone skin complexion and void of expression. Completely emotionless and having that 1000 yard stare.

There's 3 or 4 guys at work that fit that description....

[ronnycage]

i think zombies should be slow... unless they eat a person who just had a 5 hour energy... then they should go nuts!

[Burnt Toast]

i think zombies should be slow... unless they eat a person who just had a 5 hour energy... then they should go nuts!

Or worse, a junkie hopped up on meth and a combination there of. An athlete on roids turn zombie eating a meth head

[Cockroach]

Interesting topic.
I would think most ZEDS would be slowish, given their undead nature..
But look at the super human Night Walkers in I Am Legend movie. Do they qualify as zombie, vampire ofr some hybrid?

[Number_D]

I've always felt that the concept of fast zombies just wouldn't lead to a devastating spread of the Z virus. It's my impression that zombies are looking to eat you, not take a bite and let you go. If zombies were sprinters, or even joggers who never get fatigued, They would be a small group ripping people to shreds because the odds of getting away with enough of your body intact to reanimate yourself wouldn't be as likely. The virus would spread because no one would realize what it was at first and they would mistake zombies for a generally sick person. When they tried to help the zombie would attack and all it would take is one bite and whether the person got away or not, they would be infected and it would be too late. The element of surprise and the eventual overwhelming numbers are what would turn a localized zombie outbreak into a zombie apocalypse.

[squinty]

Depends on the type of zombie we're dealing with.

A "traditional" dead person returning to life as a zombie would probably be slow because rigor mortis would set in. If a zombie with rigor mortis started to run, its extremeties would probably snap off. Even though rigor mortis is temporary, a zombie without limbs is a lot less of a threat.

A virus would be a different sort of threat because if it somehow prevented rigor mortis from setting in or affected different lobes of the brain in different ways, I'd say why wouldn't they be as fast as normal humans, if not super-human in speed?

You bring up an interesting point. I've thought about this from time to time. There are a few things that I've been mulling over, see if I can make any sense.

The only "close to undead" I've ever had any experience with is animals with rabies (rabid raccoons and foxes are pretty common around here). Although their aggression and lack of fear are intimidating, in the ones that I have seen there's been enough brain damage done where they don't act "normal". I've seen them lunge and snap, but their eye-hand (or eye-muzzle, as the case may be) coordination stinks. Bad.

So I believe that if something similar would hit humans - where the "bug" doesn't really take over but merely destroys parts of the brain - *we* would possibly be nasty, but not really fast or dangerous (unless you get too close).

Now. What about a "smart" virus that settles into the brain and takes charge of a human being and turns them into a flesh craving monster?

Hmmm. A few things to consider there. Could a few billion viruses set up a thinking "network" in a human's brain to replace (or rewire) the normal processes that take place every second of every day? We're a bit more complicated than a remote control car. If you think of all the sensory input we process every second we're awake - all the colors, shapes, textures, smells, stabilization input from the inner ear, pressure, sounds, temperatures, that's a LOT of information to process and make sense of.

There's a whole lot of electrons moving around the brain, and without a reliable map, nothing foreign inside the brain could make heads or tails of that storm.

Now, could there be a virus that only targets certain areas of the brain and leaves the day-to-day activities alone, dealing only with the parts that make us "human"? Possibly, yes.

Could there be something that would make us faster/stronger? Well, I see a remote possibility of improving reaction time and reflexes, and maybe shutting off the pain feedback so we keep doing stuff that hurts in order to achieve the goal of filling our bellies with tasty human flesh, but I think people infected this way would still have the same limitations of their bodies to deal with.

A 350# couch potato wouldn't be able to run a 9 second 100 meter dash, and a 120# spoon-chested chess champ wouldn't be able to throw a car at you.

An infected Olympic athlete, though - now THAT would be some scary stuff right there.

The virus would just have to zero in on cells in the amygdala, and cause a flood of chemically produced aggression sufficient to drown out higher thought processes. Hand eye coordination and such wouldn't necessarily be affected. Bad mojo. Even worse if the virus was a weaker strain so that the individual experienced overwhelming aggression, but not so overwhelming that they couldn't use tools or think strategically. Then, instead of Zombies you'd have an epidemic of Charles Whitman's.
Zombies instead, please.

[AwPhuch]

I hate virus ragers...man..I hope the zeds are slow lumbering stumbling bumbling chunks of non-intelligent rotting meat

Otherwise...we are ALL screwed!