So there's a discussion going on in the gaming section about zombie games and, given that I'm trying to write a zombie fiction novel, I figured I'd plop the ideas for it down here so I can get some feedback and input. The novel's barely been written at all, and most of what I DO have is just concept and plot-skeletons, so almost every bit of feedback can probably be incorporated, provided it's good.
So far what I have is this.
Zombie catalyst: Suspected mutant cold virus displaying characteristics of Cordyceps fungi, possible fungo-viral convergence.
Means of infection: Blood transfusion via bite, direct injection. Airborne but for extremely short periods of time (virus does not survive long without a host). Say a zombie/carrier sneezes and you breathe it right in? Man you're boned.
Zombie type: Shufflers, walkers, joggers, sprinters, rage-sprinters, partially-intelligent, fully-intelligent.
The infection brings its own nasty side effects, as always. They start with standard cold or flu symptoms; fever, vomiting, coughing, sneezing, sometimes diarrhea. At first the virus is not 'shedding,' since it is in its weakest form at this point. However, these symptoms can manifest in extremely powerful forms quite early, which can kill the victim within a few hours by burning the host out through extreme fever and vomiting. The virus infects the brain stem first during this time, where it begins to assimilate itself into the cellular structure of the brain stem [and later the cerebral cortex, the rear brain, and inevitably the frontal lobes], thus beginning to over-ride the host's nervous system. As the infection progresses to the rest of the brain [and the body], the symptoms get worse and worse. The longer the symptoms drag on, the more likely the victim will die. When the host dies, the virus ceases to spread, but retains control over the regions of the brain it has started to merge with.
This results in the different zombie types. Depending on when you die, you will result in a different zombie. Death caused early in infection results in the extremely primal and slow shuffler zombies. Because their control is highly limited due to the minute level of viral assimilation, they cannot move quickly, perceive much [if anything], but are arguably the strongest. They literally have death grips and unfeeling strength, and are the most difficult to kill, requiring the specific destruction of the brain stem. These zombies are the most common but they also the most short-lived, succumbing within months to rot, decay, starvation, and dehydration. The virus adapts by using the rest of the infection spread through the body, breaking down unnecessary components and 'patching' the body up by essentially redirecting resources. Like plugging leaking holes on a sinking ship with a skeleton grew, basically. Slows it down, doesn't stop the inevitable demise.
Walkers are those who died after some extended time, usually 24 hours of infection. The virus has some control over the mid-brain, and total control of the cerebral cortex and brain stem, as well as much of the rear lobes. Walkers tend to have more advanced motor functions and most, if not full use of the victim's senses, making them much more difficult to evade or escape from. They can sometimes turn doorknobs, but cannot figure out much more than that, occasionally using clubbing instruments to break things or augment their attacks. Joggers are similar zombies where the virus took over more advanced functions of the human brain that allows them greater coordination, giving them enhanced speed and capability to chase their prey. Both of these zombies are less difficult to terminate, requiring the brain be destroyed, without specifically needing to destroy the brain-stem itself. These zombies also have some control over the host's systems, the virus working to compensate for organ failure, and allowing the body to function with minimal organ usage. Usually the heart, lungs, stomach, digestive tract, and sometimes the liver or kidneys are still functional, or at least semi-functional. Walkers and Joggers can survive for several months, if not longer, but are somewhat less common than Shufflers, though not by much. Destroying the functioning organs without destroying the brain will result in the Walker or Jogger perishing faster over time, though never immediately. For example, a Jogger whose heart is destroyed will only last a few more hours, though if the heart is damaged but still functioning somehow, it can live for weeks.
Sprinters and Rage Sprinters happen when the victim succumbs to the last displayed symptoms, when the fever and dehydration reach their peak. By this point the body will be sweating faster than it can replenish the liquids even if constantly hydrated, but in all truth, keeping someone alive past this point is not much better at all. Sprinters are zombies that have retained rudimentary levels of intelligence from the host, reading memories and instinctual behavioral patterns to a certain extent. Sprinters are named for their rapid, physiology-defying precision and speed. Capable of using tools to a greater extent, Sprinters have even been known to sometimes pick up a gun for use, though with minimal success; once the gun is empty they will never be able to reload, still incapable of grasping the mechanics of the firearm. They can open doors easily, and will kick in merely-locked doors if possible. Glass will not stop them at all. They are barely considered dead, and the Ragers even less so, most of their vital functions fully-functioning. Injuries sustained prior are known to heal rapidly afterwards, if superficial. Ragers are even more aggressive, like rabid beasts rather than mere animals, and can move at breakneck speeds, and are even capable of adrenal boosts, ignoring injuries that would otherwise terminate them. Sprinters and Ragers are much less common, thankfully, though they are also far more fragile, able to be terminated by aggressive damage to vital organs, though sometimes they will survive these injuries, though often they will revert into walkers or even shufflers doing so.
But worst of all is to survive the symptoms. Those who survive the symptoms seem to come out of the fever-induced comas as if perfectly healthy. The virus has, by this point, overtaken the host entirely, subverting its conscious with its own. If the host dies at the very end of these symptoms while the virus is overtaking the frontal lobe, these will become Silents, or partially-intelligent zombies. For all intents and purposes, they look and sometimes act rather human, albeit a bit like they're stoned or spacing out or half-awake. Nevertheless, the victim is still partially-aware of the virus playing its body like a puppeteer, locked in a state of half-aware semi-life. Silents will not speak, or will speak in harsh, quick, guttural forms, though some will be capable of full sentences, though often without meaning to the words, if indeed they can manage to speak words. They will often attempt to use their limited cover to infect those around them, or they will attempt to escape, showing signs of self-preservation. They will return eventually, however, or infiltrate human groups for the purpose of spreading the infection.
If the host never dies, however, they will find themselves in a waking nightmare; aware, but incapable of self-control, self-thought, or self-function, a secondary awareness yanking theirs around from within. By this point the virus has managed to spread throughout the entire brain, usurping the victim entirely, over-writing their identity with the identity of the virus which has now gained self-awareness. Or rather, group-awareness. These 'zombies' are known as The Usurped, or Usurpers. They act like human beings, talk like human beings, and even display emotions like human beings...though sometimes their emotional output will be incorrect or misplaced, the virus having only a rudimentary understanding of emotional output, due largely to the division of connection between the viruses in the brain and in the chemical glands, resulting in feedback errors from time to time. Additionally, like all other undead, these 'zombies' will be incapable of feeling pain, which can give them away to groups of survivors they may infiltrate within. Outside of infiltration, these two types of zombies will show remarkable self-preservation, using cover, evading explosives and flames, blocking weapon strikes (or turning the strikes against the assailant), and avoiding survivors wielding firearms unless they can sneak their way to them undetected or for the purposes of getting amongst the survivors and being accepted. Furthermore, The Usurped will direct the undead hordes around them through manipulation of the pheromones of their victim, acting the horde-leaders, oftentimes from behind or out of view, or in places with good observation. Killing Usurpers leading a horde will not stop the horde; however, the horde will eventually disperse if it loses the target it was directed to, and it will cease cohesion until another Usurper gathers them up again, which can take days, if not weeks.
Gonna post up more later. This post is already long as fuck.
So far what I have is this.
Zombie catalyst: Suspected mutant cold virus displaying characteristics of Cordyceps fungi, possible fungo-viral convergence.
Means of infection: Blood transfusion via bite, direct injection. Airborne but for extremely short periods of time (virus does not survive long without a host). Say a zombie/carrier sneezes and you breathe it right in? Man you're boned.
Zombie type: Shufflers, walkers, joggers, sprinters, rage-sprinters, partially-intelligent, fully-intelligent.
The infection brings its own nasty side effects, as always. They start with standard cold or flu symptoms; fever, vomiting, coughing, sneezing, sometimes diarrhea. At first the virus is not 'shedding,' since it is in its weakest form at this point. However, these symptoms can manifest in extremely powerful forms quite early, which can kill the victim within a few hours by burning the host out through extreme fever and vomiting. The virus infects the brain stem first during this time, where it begins to assimilate itself into the cellular structure of the brain stem [and later the cerebral cortex, the rear brain, and inevitably the frontal lobes], thus beginning to over-ride the host's nervous system. As the infection progresses to the rest of the brain [and the body], the symptoms get worse and worse. The longer the symptoms drag on, the more likely the victim will die. When the host dies, the virus ceases to spread, but retains control over the regions of the brain it has started to merge with.
This results in the different zombie types. Depending on when you die, you will result in a different zombie. Death caused early in infection results in the extremely primal and slow shuffler zombies. Because their control is highly limited due to the minute level of viral assimilation, they cannot move quickly, perceive much [if anything], but are arguably the strongest. They literally have death grips and unfeeling strength, and are the most difficult to kill, requiring the specific destruction of the brain stem. These zombies are the most common but they also the most short-lived, succumbing within months to rot, decay, starvation, and dehydration. The virus adapts by using the rest of the infection spread through the body, breaking down unnecessary components and 'patching' the body up by essentially redirecting resources. Like plugging leaking holes on a sinking ship with a skeleton grew, basically. Slows it down, doesn't stop the inevitable demise.
Walkers are those who died after some extended time, usually 24 hours of infection. The virus has some control over the mid-brain, and total control of the cerebral cortex and brain stem, as well as much of the rear lobes. Walkers tend to have more advanced motor functions and most, if not full use of the victim's senses, making them much more difficult to evade or escape from. They can sometimes turn doorknobs, but cannot figure out much more than that, occasionally using clubbing instruments to break things or augment their attacks. Joggers are similar zombies where the virus took over more advanced functions of the human brain that allows them greater coordination, giving them enhanced speed and capability to chase their prey. Both of these zombies are less difficult to terminate, requiring the brain be destroyed, without specifically needing to destroy the brain-stem itself. These zombies also have some control over the host's systems, the virus working to compensate for organ failure, and allowing the body to function with minimal organ usage. Usually the heart, lungs, stomach, digestive tract, and sometimes the liver or kidneys are still functional, or at least semi-functional. Walkers and Joggers can survive for several months, if not longer, but are somewhat less common than Shufflers, though not by much. Destroying the functioning organs without destroying the brain will result in the Walker or Jogger perishing faster over time, though never immediately. For example, a Jogger whose heart is destroyed will only last a few more hours, though if the heart is damaged but still functioning somehow, it can live for weeks.
Sprinters and Rage Sprinters happen when the victim succumbs to the last displayed symptoms, when the fever and dehydration reach their peak. By this point the body will be sweating faster than it can replenish the liquids even if constantly hydrated, but in all truth, keeping someone alive past this point is not much better at all. Sprinters are zombies that have retained rudimentary levels of intelligence from the host, reading memories and instinctual behavioral patterns to a certain extent. Sprinters are named for their rapid, physiology-defying precision and speed. Capable of using tools to a greater extent, Sprinters have even been known to sometimes pick up a gun for use, though with minimal success; once the gun is empty they will never be able to reload, still incapable of grasping the mechanics of the firearm. They can open doors easily, and will kick in merely-locked doors if possible. Glass will not stop them at all. They are barely considered dead, and the Ragers even less so, most of their vital functions fully-functioning. Injuries sustained prior are known to heal rapidly afterwards, if superficial. Ragers are even more aggressive, like rabid beasts rather than mere animals, and can move at breakneck speeds, and are even capable of adrenal boosts, ignoring injuries that would otherwise terminate them. Sprinters and Ragers are much less common, thankfully, though they are also far more fragile, able to be terminated by aggressive damage to vital organs, though sometimes they will survive these injuries, though often they will revert into walkers or even shufflers doing so.
But worst of all is to survive the symptoms. Those who survive the symptoms seem to come out of the fever-induced comas as if perfectly healthy. The virus has, by this point, overtaken the host entirely, subverting its conscious with its own. If the host dies at the very end of these symptoms while the virus is overtaking the frontal lobe, these will become Silents, or partially-intelligent zombies. For all intents and purposes, they look and sometimes act rather human, albeit a bit like they're stoned or spacing out or half-awake. Nevertheless, the victim is still partially-aware of the virus playing its body like a puppeteer, locked in a state of half-aware semi-life. Silents will not speak, or will speak in harsh, quick, guttural forms, though some will be capable of full sentences, though often without meaning to the words, if indeed they can manage to speak words. They will often attempt to use their limited cover to infect those around them, or they will attempt to escape, showing signs of self-preservation. They will return eventually, however, or infiltrate human groups for the purpose of spreading the infection.
If the host never dies, however, they will find themselves in a waking nightmare; aware, but incapable of self-control, self-thought, or self-function, a secondary awareness yanking theirs around from within. By this point the virus has managed to spread throughout the entire brain, usurping the victim entirely, over-writing their identity with the identity of the virus which has now gained self-awareness. Or rather, group-awareness. These 'zombies' are known as The Usurped, or Usurpers. They act like human beings, talk like human beings, and even display emotions like human beings...though sometimes their emotional output will be incorrect or misplaced, the virus having only a rudimentary understanding of emotional output, due largely to the division of connection between the viruses in the brain and in the chemical glands, resulting in feedback errors from time to time. Additionally, like all other undead, these 'zombies' will be incapable of feeling pain, which can give them away to groups of survivors they may infiltrate within. Outside of infiltration, these two types of zombies will show remarkable self-preservation, using cover, evading explosives and flames, blocking weapon strikes (or turning the strikes against the assailant), and avoiding survivors wielding firearms unless they can sneak their way to them undetected or for the purposes of getting amongst the survivors and being accepted. Furthermore, The Usurped will direct the undead hordes around them through manipulation of the pheromones of their victim, acting the horde-leaders, oftentimes from behind or out of view, or in places with good observation. Killing Usurpers leading a horde will not stop the horde; however, the horde will eventually disperse if it loses the target it was directed to, and it will cease cohesion until another Usurper gathers them up again, which can take days, if not weeks.
Gonna post up more later. This post is already long as fuck.
