Zombies (Remake)

## Zombies

"*Pathogenic identity: **UNKNOWN**. Symptoms: organ failure, death.
**NEW STRAIN DETECTED:** symptomless, activated upon **BRAIN DEATH**. Terrestrial nature: **UNKNOWN***"
—Military report on the zombie pathogen[src]

**Zombies**, also commonly called **walkers**, **ghouls**, **infected**, **strangers** and **muertos**, are an antagonistic force that serve as the primary catalysts for the events within *The Walking Dead: Strain Zero* and its continuity. They serve as universal antagonists.

In *Strain Zero*, zombies are the result of a mysterious infection, possibly extraterrestrial in nature, called Lazarus Brain Infection (LBI) that has seemingly infected every living human, causing a series of mass deaths that culminated in Outbreak Day in October 2003; the human population undergoing senescence - therefore the entire adult population - was disproportionately affected, leaving very few people beyond their mid-20s alive. While the vast majority were outright killed by the infection, a significant number rose from the dead, transforming into zombies. Although not truly deceased, zombies decay due to the infection metabolising their soft tissues, causing the creatures to instinctively devour anything they find in order to "replenish" their decaying bodies; those that reach an advanced state of decay cease to function altogether.

A drastically different strain of the zombie pathogen appeared a few years after the global outbreak that, instead of reanimating them, transforms those infected into darkdwellers. A fourth variant created by the Contingency's Project Lazarus gave rise to the einherjar in California.

## Overview

Reanimated human beings, while not immortal, will not "die" under typical conditions that would ordinarily cause the death of a living person. They do not appear to feel or respond to pain, can survive even the most brutal injuries, and despite their bottomless appetite for flesh, they do not need food, water, or sleep to function. They show no other bodily function that relates to a human, showing no signs of self-healing and only respond to extreme temperatures.

The brain maintains limited abilities of the body, allowing for movement of the limbs (provided that they are not decomposed to the point where the bones are not strong enough to bend without breaking), jaws, neck, and even the use of its sensory systems. While the walkers are notoriously weaker than humans, the only way to kill one is to destroy the brain. Despite severely weakened frames, they will continue to hunt for living animals to consume.

Even when decapitated, the head will remain active, even though it would be practically harmless at such point. Zombies are relatively weak and unintelligent as individuals but are dangerous in large numbers and in tight spaces.

As a species, zombies do not evolve and are permanently doomed to just deteriorate until there's nothing left but the skeleton.

### Pathogen

Everyone in the new continuity of *Strain Zero* somehow contracted a novel pathogen called "Lazarus Brain Infection", or LBI. While it remains poorly understood, the clandestine Contingency was able to study some aspects of its nature; while it is unknown where the disease originated from, nor whether it is a natural or a man-made disease, LBI is known to possess several behaviours found in other pathogenic organisms: it appears to be a living organism; replicates similarly to many viruses; is immune to all known antibiotics; expresses its proteins in a similar method to bacteria; can trigger hormone cascades; and deploys "sheaths" of "overlord protein" that invade, take control of, and necrotise living tissue.

Curiously, the pathogen itself does not kill its hosts; instead it remains dormant, likely within neural cells in the brain, leaving its host visibly and physically healthy. Only when the host dies does the pathogen become active, upon which it deploys "sheaths" that infect and revive neural structures in the brain stem and certain parts of the cerebellum, turning a human into a zombie. A zombie is thus a condition a recently deceased host enters when the pathogen is in its active stage.

### Transmission

The zombie pathogen seems to possess two separate, but parallel modes of infection: latent and fluid contact/bites/scratches.

* Latent: In *Strain Zero*, most, if not every, human being on the planet is believed to be infected by a dormant strain of the zombie pathogen. It is currently unknown how one contracts the dormant stage of the pathogen, though its apparent total infection rate worldwide suggests it is either air-borne, water-borne, or both. Once infected, the virus spreads throughout the body through the blood, likely concentrating in the central nervous system. However, so long as the host remains alive, the pathogen remains latent or dormant within them and is asymptomatic to the host.
* Fluid Contact/Bites/Scratches: Though physical contact with a zombie's saliva or blood will not cause an individual fatal infection, any fluid contact with open wounds will lead to irreversible contamination of the individual. However, zombie bites are not fatal because of the dormant zombie pathogen. Rather, one possible explanation is that through bites, the active pathogen carried within zombies induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, further exacerbated by bacteria that reside in a zombie's mouth. While zombie scratches and clawing rarely cause fatal infections, the deep gouges generally left by zombie bites are almost always fatal; death can be potentially avoided if the bite is on an appendage, which must be immediately amputated. However, this does not always work, and bites on the torso, or on veins or arteries are universally fatal. Even if an amputation proves successful at removing the infection, blood loss and subsequent infection is also extremely dangerous due to the generally unprofessional execution of the procedure.

### Symptoms of Infections

The zombie pathogen seems to possess two stages: a dormant stage and an active stage.

#### Dormant Stage

As mentioned previously, during the dormant stage the pathogen is asymptomatic. The host will thus remain healthy despite being technically 'infected' and will continue to remain so as long they are alive. After the host dies, the dormant pathogen enters the active stage and will begin the process of reanimating the body through the infection and reactivation of neural structures in the brain. No matter how an individual dies, unless their brain was severely damaged or destroyed, they will reanimate into a zombie following death.

#### Active Stage

The pathogen enters the active stage when an individual dies and is responsible for the host's reanimation as a zombie. When an individual is bitten by a zombie, the active pathogen is transmitted into them as well as a plethora of bacteria and other infectious agents that reside in a zombie's mouth. In the event that amputation fails or is not possible, it is believed that the active pathogen then induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, causing a high fever, aches, extreme fatigue, and nausea. As the infection progresses, the active pathogen invades and spreads through the brain like meningitis, infecting synapses and other neural structures that are concentrated in the brain stem and parts of the cerebellum. At the climax of the infection, the adrenal glands haemorrhage and the brain completely shuts down. All brain activity would cease, followed by the major organs and the body would be clinically dead: no measurable brain activity, no reflexes, and no respiration or pulse. The time between the onset of the symptoms and death, followed by reanimation is very dependent on the severity, location, and quantity of the bite wound(s) of individuals who cannot be saved.

Those bitten experience the following symptoms as the infection progresses, ending in death:

* Dizziness
* Weakness and fatigue
* Fever
* Delirium/hallucinations
* Chills
* Nausea/vomiting
* Pale skin
* Dilated pupils
* Soreness
* Fluid discharge
* Spontaneous aggression or anger
* Fainting
* Hair loss and missing scalp pieces
* Dehydration
* Coughing up Blood
* Pale yellow sclera
* Delirium
* Internal haemorrhaging
* Organ failure

In the case of the original adults, the virus caused total brain death and organ failure, causing them to cough up blood.

### Reanimation

The dead corpse of anyone that dies for any reason will reanimate as a zombie unless the brain of the individual is badly damaged or destroyed, or the person was dead prior to the outbreak. When a person dies, the active pathogen they carry enters the active stage and reactivates critical areas of the brain that it infected, specifically the brain stem and some parts of the cerebrum and cerebellum that support necessary vital systems such as movement, resulting in reanimation after a variable amount of time. Since the active pathogen only reactivates the brain stem and not parts of the brain such as the frontal lobe and neocortex that are responsible for higher-order brain functions, the reanimated person retains only a physical resemblance to their former self.

### Zombification

Zombies have the ability to detect scents and can differentiate between the living and the dead; they prefer to feed on living flesh. Covering one's self in the scent of decay can act as a camouflage. They can also use sight to distinguish the living from the dead, although they seem to have poor eyesight as their irises fade and decay over time. They make up for this with heightened senses of hearing and smell. Darkness seems to have little effect on zombies' senses at close range, and in areas devoid of light they can still find their way around as they would in the day.

Individual zombie strength depends on the physical makeup of the individual and on how long they have been reanimated. When attacking, zombies often become more lively, exhibiting full-body effort, and can produce enough force to quickly overwhelm an adult human. Zombies have been shown to be able to rip open human and animal victims with ease, and they can even rip off human limbs with enough force. As zombies decay, however, their muscles, and consequently, their entire body, becomes slowly, but surely, weaker.

Zombies feel no pain. Although slow and seemingly unintelligent when not active, they can react quickly to sufficient stimulation, and can rapidly overpower a victim they have taken by surprise. Though their bodies are no more or less durable than a non-decomposed human body, they can absorb all manner of physical damage, even when badly decomposed. Anything other than a head attack, spinal cord severing, or dismemberment leaves them seemingly unfazed. As long as their brain remains intact, everything that is attached to the brain can continue to function as normal, even if only the skull remains and is severed from the body.

Other than a mostly intact brain, zombies don't appear to require any vital systems or organ functions to survive, although their ambulatory functions do decrease as their level of decomposition increases. Sufficient physical damage can slow them down, or render them incapacitated.

Only recently reanimated zombies, known as "runners", are capable of fast and agile movement; compared to humans, advanced zombies have rather limited mobility. Unstimulated, zombies stand still, or shuffle around slowly. When in this state they are sometimes referred to as "lurkers," as they can quickly activate, attack and kill. Zombies can also be found lying on the ground or in piles of other bodies, and can appear to be dead until stimulated. If they are pursuing a possible victim, zombies can move somewhat more quickly, roughly equivalent to a very light jogging pace. They can also lunge very short distances to grab close prey. They are difficult to shake off if they do manage to grab their victims, often allowing their arm to be ripped off before they will begin to let go.

### Behaviour

A reanimated body responds to stimuli such as light, scent, and loud noises. Oddly, even if the head is separated from the body, as long as the brain is intact, the head will still attempt to eat anything within reach. The body of a zombie does appear to be truly dead, which means that it does not feel pain, has little reflexes, and wounds to it will not heal; its rate of decomposition slows drastically but does continue.

There is anecdotal evidence that some retain vestigial elements of memory and personality and this is shown some repeating behaviour such as clinging to possessions, attempting to open doors, and even using large rocks to break through windows and doors. Zombies though are incredibly unintelligent and generally unable to use tools or understand the need for them. It has been hinted at that newly reanimated corpses retain some basic sense of intellect and perhaps memory and can perform very basic tasks such as opening doors. They have no sense of self-preservation other than eating, and will not react at all to the deaths of other zombies or to potentially lethal dangers to themselves.

Zombies instinctively bite whatever prey they come in contact with, but have also been observed clawing at, tearing, and even punching humans and animals in order to topple them.

There is only one way to kill a zombie: destroying the brain. However, they can be stopped by severing the head from the body - although the head remains alive - or by severing the spinal cord, although this again will not kill them.

### Eating Habits

Zombies are mindless vessels that eat compulsively; however, there is a reason for this: zombies instinctively hunt for flesh in order to replenish their own as the pathogen metabolises their necrotic soft tissues. Consuming flesh also appears to slow down the decomposition process of their bodies.

## Variants

There are several variants of the infection, ranging from the original that was responsible for the mass deaths in October 2003 to the "dormant" variant within the brains of those who were infected before undergoing senescence (i.e. mostly those younger than their early to mid 20s).

### Shamblers

In the case of the original strain, the vast majority who were infected died of total organ failure without reanimating; the handful that did, however, returned as undead creatures heavily resembling zombies. This "first generation" of undead, nicknamed "shamblers", are very similar to classic zombies from folklore and pop culture: slow, flesh-hungry and unintelligent. Soon after death, the zombie begins to decay like a regular corpse as the pathogen metabolises the necrotic soft tissues; zombies with ample access to food appear to decay much slower than starved zombies, suggesting that it is possible that the undead possess an instinctual urge to replenish their own decaying flesh by devouring that of the living.

Shamblers react to virtually any external stimuli, especially sound and smells. When several shamblers respond to the same stimulus they group together into clusters; as clusters grow larger their sound attracts other clusters, eventually forming a herd that moves as one. Even if an individual shambler does not react to a stimulus they will usually follow another that has, causing large groups to form that mindlessly follow the decaying instincts of a single individual. They also rarely attack one another.

These grouping behaviours can be used by survivors as a form of defence: since shamblers react to one another, rendering an individual incapable of attacking - i.e. cutting off its jaws - will usually prevent other shamblers from also attacking. Since their sense of smell is tuned to seek out living flesh it is possible for survivors to camouflage themselves by hiding their scent, therefore making them "invisible"; this is accomplished in two known ways: covering oneself in zombie blood and guts or lining one's clothes with charcoal.

While the decay process is slow and feeding can slow it further, by the events of "*Divide*" - eight years after the outbreak - most shamblers are heavily emaciated, with some ceasing to function altogether.

#### Bloaters

Bloaters are a special case of shambler where the body has swollen from the build-up of decomposition gases.

### Revenants

Zombies that arise from the "dormant" variant are very different from the first generation. The second generation, nicknamed "revenants" by survivors, reanimate inside an hour and retain much of the strength, agility and speed of their living selves, allowing them to chase and overpower their prey. They also demonstrate problem-solving intelligence, such as opening doors, performing ambushes, climbing barriers and avoiding traps, making them extraordinarily dangerous. Every human that survived the initial outbreak is infected with the "dormant" strain, and any form of death other than trauma to the brain will cause them to reanimate.

Some revenants are faster and more aggressive than others, while others appear more intelligent; nonetheless, they all react viciously to external stimuli such as sound, scents and light. They are far less likely to sit and wait for passing prey and usually blindly attack anything in front of them, even other zombies if they get in the way. Like shamblers, revenants demonstrate herding behaviour but will typically break rank and move ahead. While their sense of smell is significantly greater than first-gen zombies, revenants can still be bypassed by wearing zombie guts as camouflage. Revenants are also not immune to the decay caused by the infection; given enough time, revenants lose the higher thinking and motor skills of their living selves, causing them to more resemble the first generation. Even so, some revenants retain the ability to climb walls and use tools such as bricks and stones long after advanced decay has set in.

### Darkdwellers

    When someone infected with the dormant strain of LBI succumbs to natural causes, such as cancer, they reanimate in seconds and transform into aggressively territorial creatures dubbed "darkdwellers" or "shriekers".

Like revenants, darkdwellers remain fast and agile well after infection and possess an animal-like intelligence, but one far greater than the decaying revenants; for example, they have been known to back off when their prey fights back or leaves their territory, form mating pairs and faintly recognise their loved ones. Another key difference is that darkdwellers can be killed via trauma to the entire body, such as blood loss or drowning, unlike regular zombies which can only be killed by a blow to the brain. They are also known to walk and run on all fours, and, in the ruins of Fargo at least, are skilled climbers. While their bodies do not decay, all darkdwellers possess distinctive white skin and tend to avoid sunlight.

#### Proto-Dwellers

Those bitten and infected by darkdwellers transform into "proto-dwellers", highly aggressive creatures that actively avoid sunlight while not retaining any form of higher intelligence; in effect, they are a cross-between a revenant and a darkdweller.

#### Pale Ones

The Pale Ones are mutated creatures born of darkdwellers, making them the first generation of natural-born zombie. Pale Ones demonstrate none of the restraint shown in normal darkdwellers, since there is no human remnant to restrain them, and are much more animalistic than their parents. Like darkdwellers, Pale Ones avoid sunlight, hence their name, and prefer to hunt in packs.

### Listeners

Having evolved between 2011 and 2023, listeners are a particularly dangerous variant that rely on sound to hunt more than their other senses. Listeners arise from a mutant variant that causes necrosis of the eyes before the rest of the body's soft tissues, rendering them blind. As such, they use echolocation to "see"; listeners are known to snap their jaws and randomly lash out with their arms to generate noise.

### Einherjar

The fourth variant of the infection gives rise to creatures called "einherjar", a unique type of infected that retain their human intelligence while possessing the aggression and durability of zombies; they can be considered, in essence, a human-zombie hybrid. Thus far, they have only been encountered in northern California and appear in *So Help Me God*, while they are absent in *Strain Zero*.

## Nicknames & Terms

While the term "zombie" does exist within *Strain Zero* universe, it is seldom used. This is explained that the young survivors of the apocalypse are uncomfortable with using the term. Instead, they use different terms to refer to the zombies.

## Characters That Turned

* Mr Dawid
* Crying Girl
* Kate
* Stephan

## Trivia

* Upon death, the virus reactivates the brain stem and the occipital lobe, explaining the zombies' strong sense of smell and hearing.
* Zombies are not technically "dead" and are "activated" when neuron activity slows to the edge of total brain death. They decompose due to the infection metabolizing their soft tissues.
* When zombies initially reanimate, they maintain a modicum of motor skills, are capable of running and great feats of agility, and have decent vision. However, as their bodies decompose they become more like the classic slow, lumbering monsters they are often portrayed as in other media. In addition, zombies eventually go blind and deaf.
* Zombies are shown to be heavily affected by changes in temperature:
	+ Whilst in hot climates, zombies seem to have weaker senses but faster and more active movements and they are also drawn to heat and light, especially fire.
	+ In contrast, during winter and cold temperatures, zombies are noticeably slow and lethargic but with heightened senses, which they require in order to find and kill prey.
* A military document in "*Around Every Corner*" hints that the zombie pathogen may be extraterrestrial in nature.

## References

1. ↑ Henry discovers this technique by accident while trapped in the mall in "*A Long Road Ahead*"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ben and the other camouflaged prisoners at the Black Building avoid several revenants while walking through a herd
3. ↑ The technique used by the Frontiersmen
4. ↑ Henry, Sarah and Ben are ambushed by revenants on a supply run, causing Henry to be pinned under a fallen helicopter blade, in the prologue of "*A Long Road Ahead*"
5. ↑ Sergei and Nancy claim that decayed revenants still had the intelligence to recognise which parts of their fence were weakest and climb over
6. ↑ A single revenant learns to avoid Eden's traps in "*Gasman*"
7. ↑ The only two named darkdwellers yet encountered - the Mother and Carl McKenzie - both died of cancer before reanimating
8. ↑ The transformed Carl confronts Henry in the forest and leaves him be after recognising his scent in "*Conquer*"
9. ↑ Drew kills his first darkdweller by shooting it with two arrows
10. ↑ When they both fall into the Red River, Kieron manages to trap a darkdweller underwater, drowning it