Zombie Cliche Lookout: Operational Security
While most survivalists and preppers aren’t getting ready for a zombie apocalypse, they are trying to be prepared for any hardship, from temporary financial stress to natural disaster. While it’s always interesting to see all their weapons and gear, that is only one small aspect of their lifestyle. One thing that often gets forgotten, especially in the era of shows like Doomsday Preppers, is the necessity of keeping a low profile. While zombies won’t seek out people with more or less preps, other survivors might certainly show up where they think they might be able to score a handout. And when things get truly desperate, they won’t be taking no for an answer.
This holds true whether you’re preparing in advance of some unknown disaster, or simply trying to live through the current one. People can’t plan to steal all your stuff if they don’t know you’re there, let alone what you might happen to have with you. That doesn’t stop some bad guys from stumbling across you, of course, but it does mitigate a bit of risk, and that’s really about all you could hope for anyway.
About this Episode:
We’re teasing out a couple different things at the moment. Foremost is Joy and Michael’s motives. Are they just fellow travelers trying to survive the zombie outbreak, or do they have more sinister ideas? Second is the whereabouts of Inez, Brent, and Murphy. They were last seen leaving the small convenience store with supplies (and a leg wound for Murphy). They could show up at any minute, and may easily misread this situation.
Discussion Question: The Monster is Man
It’s not exactly a new idea that fellow living humans are the ultimate bad guys. This trope is a mainstay in zombie stories, but it shows up in a ton of other places too. There are more than a few episodes of The Twilight Zone that milk this premise, and let’s not forget about The Day the Earth Stood Still (the original, not the crappy remake).
With that in mind, how would you prepare your group’s defenses to be able to defend against both zombies, and hostile survivors? And don’t assume that those survivors will be obviously hostile; they might be a lot sneakier than that.
Typo alert, Zombie Cliche Lookout, first sentence: of–>for
Same section, second sentence: interesting–>interested
Same section, second paragraph, last sentence, after the second comma: bit–>big
About This Episode, fourth sentence: there–the
Same section, fifth sentence, within the brackets: would–>wound
Discussion Question, second paragraph, first sentence, after the comma: groups–group’s *Note the apostrophe that’s missing, I reckon this is better worded as a possessive, not plural, case.
Wow, that’s a lot of typos this time around. Yikes.
Fixed all, thanks.
By the way, shouldn’t Stewart be saying others, not other? 😀
Oh, right you are. I’ll get that fixed.
I would say a simple test would work well enough. Check the people out. Any weapons that they have that would be impractical fighting zombies and are bloody anyway? Or an excessive amount of duct tape and rope… Also, you can get a pretty good read on some people just by talking to them. Ask about what they did before the sh*t hit the fan. Cop = safe normally, Lawyer = iffy…, Prison executioner = probably dangerous, hardcore murderer and psycopath = not safe. Bady language, lack of sadness when talking about people they have lost, smiling when recounting how they killed a guy who tried to take thier stuff etc.
Some good thoughts here, but it relies on that person being honest, stupid, or both. If you had a psychopath that was willing to lie and hide evidence, it would be a lot tougher.
One thing veterans often say is that they want to go back to the combat zone because it is so much simpler there. You know who the enemy is and what you have to do.
Same thing when the zeds come. The zeds are not the enemy. They are a new part of the environment that has to be dealt with. Like rush hour traffic.
Your enemies will be those who are working for their survival at the expense of yours. These could be those in your group like the previously mentioned alcoholics or groups of motorcycle riding marauders.
Best defense = information. You can not lock yourself away in your little hidey hole with your MREs and think you are safe. Constant recon of your area and establishing contact with other groups to keep yourself informed and have ready allies is how I would go.
I like the way you break this down, Rattraveller. It is always nice being able to see good guys and bad guys in a very black and white fashion. It simplified things substantially.
Discussion of how many people in their group seems to be Stewart’s strong point, although Russell seems to have a bit of a handle on the situation and has wisely told the younger of their group to start shutting up! Hopefully Stewart takes the hint and doesn’t go rebel without a cause on them! 😀
Good read, sir. Stewart can react to Russell in a variety of ways; let’s see how mature he can be.