Zombie Cliche Lookout: A Crisis with Small Beginnings
In war, there is often an imbalance between offense and defence. Technologies develop at different rates, with some occasionally sprinting forward after some chance discovery, while others lag behind in the shadow of frustrating failures and setbacks. There are countless examples of this through history. The advent of gunpowder made centuries of development in armor obsolete. Barbed wire and machine guns turned the celebrated bayonet charge into bloody suicide. Even today, sophisticated hackers and security professionals wage a back and forth war as age side develops to techniques and technologies to give them an advantage, even temporarily.
Naturally, the zombies don’t really have the capacity to discover new things or manufacture tools and technology, let alone the ability to use them. They do, however, tend to have a lot of other zombies to disperse and surround a target, allowing them to constantly probe and push against the defenses. Sooner or later, they’re going to discover a weakness, and exploit it. Naturally, when I say “exploit” here, I don’t mean they’re doing so through strategy, only that the weak point becomes the path of least resistance.
About this Episode:
I know I’ve shown a lot of different scenes of gathering up lumber and boarding up doors and windows, which perhaps is a bit boring. I did so for a reason, however. I really wanted to show how much work would need to be involved, and in a very short period of time to ensure the zombies are kept at bay. Delay too much, or mess something up, and the zombies might just poke through somewhere. And if they get through in one place, they’re through everywhere.
Discussion Question: Efficacy of Zombie Defense
Bearing all this in mind, is there any truly effective zombie defense? In order for it to be effective, it would not only have to keep the zombies out, but also meet all of the survivors needs. That means there would be access to renewable food and potable water, as well as a way to safely dispose of waste to prevent disease. I kind of doubt this could be done in a terribly compact way; medieval castles spring immediately to mind.
Looking on the bright side of life, they’re getting a good view of just what escape routes might be viable, if there are any! 😀
It’s always good to look for the silver lining.
I also have a question, possibly a Discussion Question, for Dave: In what way could the zombie’s mindless mentality of always pressing on be exploitable to the survivor’s advantage? If these zombies are simple-minded, or imitate such behavior, then there’s a very good chance strategies exist that can deal with it and turn it to the defender’s favor. 😀
That’s a great one; I’m stealing it.
A few days ago, I remember that George R R Martin said that the The Walking Dead characters should hide in a castle, because it has watchtowers and all, plus its walls have already withstood army sieges and everything.
That’s exactly what inspired this question, actually.
Well, what a coincidence.
Hah, indeed. Good ol’ George.
Yes, a medieval castle is probably the best example for a perfect fortress, as the proper ones (unlike Versailles) are completely self-sufficient, are located on high ground, and if they have stood the test of time, they can stand the test of zombies. Also, if a section of it has been converted into a museum, you have the prospect of the original weapons used to decent the place. The only downside of a castle that I can see it that there are not many proper castles (not forts) in America or Canada. Montreal is a Citadel, though it is also a city full of people. Hypothetically, if the canadian military were to successfully Quarantine and restore Montreal, you could stone several million refugees in a pinch.
I like how you use Versailles as a counter example. I think this is a really good point. I always look at castles as very functional places, where palaces (like Versailles) are much more focused on form and comfort.
Also, as soon as I saw that zombie came through , I thought, “Welp. They be screwed.”
Hah, they just might be.
Dave…. you’re going to make my heart skip several beats with the possibilities of those kids ending up on the zombie all you can eat buffet.
Nothing adds to the drama like putting the livings of cute kids in jeopardy 🙂
i would say.
A Apartment complex with a flat roof, the stairs removed and a backyard.
The removed stairs gives a buffer zone, the flot roof makes for an easy access to rain Water and a place to plant a garden. The backyard provides earth and tools.
Better than a backyard could be a square-shaped apartment complex with a courtyard in the center for gardens. Cool idea!
You know the great thing about castles vs. zombies? You can stone the zombies to death from the safety of your castle, and in between zombie sieges, you can raid the rotting corpses for supplies and get your stones back, too! 😀 If they rot enough, they’ll also make quite handy fertilizer, assuming the corpses don’t contain poisons that stop plant life from growing on them! 😀
I do wonder, those zombies they’ve been killing at their front door earlier, have they had the chance to check any of them for supplies? I’d assume not, since the zombies in Dave’s comics have probably been queuing up to get their chance at biting someone! 😀 But with zombies you never know, there might just be gaps in the flow big enough to allow looting or raiding! 😉
They haven’t had the chance; if they get through this, that would be a good idea.
Excellent points; I wonder what sort of nasty stuff zombie corpses would leach into the soil.
Just for weirdness sake the place a lot of people in the town close to me is the Founder of Aflac house. It is built on top of a six story parking garage. Pretty much a modern castle.
Here’s a link if you want to see a picture of it:
http://wiki.worldflicks.org/aflac.html
Neat!
That isn’t a huge window the zombie has crashed through. Ted has hit it in the head while it is half way in the window… so the zombie is possibly going to plug it up and make it hard for other zombies to get in easily. Another one crawls in over the top, smash that ones head in as well and you have a zombie plug helping until reinforcements arrive. 🙂
Discussion question. I’ve always like the idea of an island, put a fence up around the whole island and patrol it for random zombies that may come through the water, and make sure there is a source of fresh water, room to plant food and you should be in a good space. Obviously island selection is the big key here, along with getting there.
For example, I’d be looking for islands in large fresh water lakes as opposed to the ocean. Lakes tend to be calmer than the ocean waves and storm wise and you have more fresh water supply for irrigation, drinking etc as needed, and if the crap hits the fan you can head for land in any direction.
So basically make it a big game of whack-a-mole? Not a bad idea.
Just saying Dave, having two blonde children and adding in a blonde zombie in a window did not do my heart good. I was sure that Kelly was being dragged out the window… 🙁
Well that’s a horrifying image; I didn’t even think about that.
“These kids are useless.”
Werd.
Hah
One thing I don’t understand with these survivors…why send the single person to barricade the large, exceedingly fragile window while two of them tackle a door that could have been temporarily blocked with furniture and such while the group work on weaker areas?
You know, that’s an excellent point.
My thinking way that people just sort of settled in where they were carrying stuff. The kids grabbed boards and went with their dad – the last person up the stairs – into the living room, while Vicky stayed to help Clark and Barb went off on her own. Not the best plan in the world.