The Walking Dead

[KGator]

Although that would also mean that not everyone who dies would turn into a zombie.

Why would you think that? If everyone has the virus, then everyone becomes a zombie upon death. The bacteria just explains how a simple zombie bite kills.

Why would everyone have the virus? Not everyone would have it because you still have to obtain the disease from an infected source. Someone who catches Hepatis A (one of the most contageous known diseases) in Atlanta is not going to mean everyone in Savannah is now infected.
This is in reference to the dual pathogen theory so there would still need to be a vector of transmittal.

Its also a hell of a lucky coincidence. Because if these two pathogens didn't happen to become known at exactly the same time you would have dead people turning into zombies but their bites would be no worse (maybe a little worse due to the decaying state of the biter) than a bite from a living person. Any pathogens they transmit would be those already found today (mostly treatable) and not as lethal.

If the disease was just "magically" spread by something that everyone is exposed to (say radiation from the sun) then we are presented with the interesting scenario where anyone who has died previously and whose brain has not decayed beyond some point of non-use would be reanimated in their graves, mausoleums, morgues, etc. Although if you take the starving idea presented later in TWD . . . they might not be able to do anything???

The movie "Fido" used radiation from outer space as the cause of zombieism so everyone who died would become a zombie. If Grampa keels over from a heart attack . . . lookout!!!

 

[KGator]

Although that would also mean that not everyone who dies would turn into a zombie. Just those who have had previous contact with the infected (as most of the series survivors shown could be assumed to have done).

If by "contact," you mean fluids, bites or a scratch, then that does not apply to Randall--the prisoner Shane murdered, but reanimated after death. As far as we know, Randall never had physical contact with a walker.

Good point! Although being in the vicinity (surrounded really) by walkers leaves the possibility that it could have been transmitted by an airborne vector (zombies pass it in the air and it floats into Randall's nasal passages one day). Which brings a question, do zombies breath? Even if they didn't perhaps decaying skin or other remains could be blown into the air.

 

[Morpheus 02]

The other theory is that the zombie virus is nanobots (like in Revolution) , which have spread all over the world. The sudden pandemic could be due to a worldwide signal sent...perhaps testing something (I..e nothing to do with the virus) that signals all the nanobots to activate the virus.

It was simultaneous, so all the military, etc.were not prepared.

The "bacteria" (my nickname) is another byproduct of becoming a Walker -- in addition to "life" and "hunger"

 

[Tom]

It's really pretty simple:

The show established that everyone has the virus, so when you die you turn unless you brain is injured.

It would make sense that a highly pandemic air born virus got out, it stays dormant until you die. People who were already dead (in graves etc..) can not get the virus because they could not breath (obviously), thus you have to be alive to get the virus in the first place.

After the air born infection, as people started to die of 'normal' causes (accidents, nature death etc..), they started to reanimate. Since the virus was now in an active state when they bit other humans, it activated the bite victims dormant virus. The active virus in a living human creates fever and burns them out until they die. Then, minutes to hours later the virus is active in a normal dead host (as it was probably designed that way) active in only there brain stem. With no higher brain functions the zombie acts only on instinct.

Zombies don't breath, btw

So a dormant virus in contact with an active virus, it will pre-maturely activate the victim's dormant virus, when the virus is active (in a living person) it clashes with living brain functions (since it's trying to run its own functions), thus overloading the brain burning it out. The brain loses the battle and the virus now has a place to run in.

What's scary is, I can totally see how scientists can make something similar, the trick is how does the virus stay fueled to run, that is where you have to have a little suspension of disbelief.

 

[sojourner]

Although that would also mean that not everyone who dies would turn into a zombie.

Why would you think that? If everyone has the virus, then everyone becomes a zombie upon death. The bacteria just explains how a simple zombie bite kills.

Why would everyone have the virus?

Becaue it's already been stated in the show that everyone is.

If the disease was just "magically" spread by something that everyone is exposed to (say radiation from the sun) then we are presented with the interesting scenario where anyone who has died previously and whose brain has not decayed beyond some point of non-use would be reanimated in their graves, mausoleums, morgues

I would guess that you have to have been alive when you encounter the virus to be reanimated. Thus, previously dead bodies are not affected.

As for the "coincidence" of the bacteria transmitted by bites showing up at the same time, maybe it's a common bacteria that only becomes deadly in the presence of the virus.

 

[wissaboo]

They have said in the past that all the bodies in cars had head trauma. That was why they didn't reanimate.

also, just because we don't see zombies using tools or dolls every time we see them doesn't mean they all don't have that capability. Milton was trying to prove that they retained some memory so the concept is there.

 

[sojourner]

Milton failed.

 

[Pavonis]

Milton's experiment was poorly considered. Having a human in the room makes the walker immediately focus on killing the human. They should have left the old man in the room alone, and simply observed the walker for a time. Perhaps they could have rigged some remote triggers to observe the walker's response to music or voices.

 

[Trekker4747]

Well that, and Andrea shooting the Walker when it seemed like Milton might be getting something resembling results. But his methodology did seem flawed.

 

[Pavonis]

Not sure what you mean. Andrea stabbed the old man in the head to protect Milton. When did she gun down other walkers involved in Milton's experiments?

 

[Trekker4747]

Stabbed him, whatever. But Milton thought the Walker tensing on the bed was a sign his "experiment" was working and wanted the strap removed. It seemed Andrea was quick to kill the Walker before it was a meaningful threat or Milton could get confirmation on his test. With the arm undone the Walker still would have had both legs and the other arm strapped to the bed (as well as the torso? I think?)

 

[Pavonis]

Reaching for Milton was, at best, an ambiguous act by the walker. That's what they do. The fact that maybe the old man was remembering something isn't enough to risk Milton's safety. They needed to leave the old man alone to see what an otherwise unstimulated walker would do while alone.

 

[Trekker4747]

Perhaps, and maybe I need to watch the scene again, but it didn't seem to me Milton was under any immediate threat considering the Walker was still mostly restrained. But I do agree there may have been a better way to perform the study without him needing to be in the room but limited resources, I guess.

I still think the Walkers don't strictly have "memories" probably just more autonomic responses to stimuli, whatever that may be. Using tools and such (the Walker with the rock at the door) may be more inherent to "fresh" Walkers whose brain still hasn't largely degraded with the passage of time, maybe the earlier one turns the better intelligence they have (as the brain would be "less degraded" as it reactivated sooner.) But I don't think most of this is all that important to the story they want to tell as since the end of Season 1 it seems not much time at all has spent on trying to explain the Walkers and exactly what's happened over the last year-plus.

 

[KGator]

It's really pretty simple:

The show established that everyone has the virus, so when you die you turn unless you brain is injured.

It would make sense that a highly pandemic air born virus got out, it stays dormant until you die. People who were already dead (in graves etc..) can not get the virus because they could not breath (obviously), thus you have to be alive to get the virus in the first place.

After the air born infection, as people started to die of 'normal' causes (accidents, nature death etc..), they started to reanimate. Since the virus was now in an active state when they bit other humans, it activated the bite victims dormant virus. The active virus in a living human creates fever and burns them out until they die. Then, minutes to hours later the virus is active in a normal dead host (as it was probably designed that way) active in only there brain stem. With no higher brain functions the zombie acts only on instinct.

Zombies don't breath, btw

So a dormant virus in contact with an active virus, it will pre-maturely activate the victim's dormant virus, when the virus is active (in a living person) it clashes with living brain functions (since it's trying to run its own functions), thus overloading the brain burning it out. The brain loses the battle and the virus now has a place to run in.

What's scary is, I can totally see how scientists can make something similar, the trick is how does the virus stay fueled to run, that is where you have to have a little suspension of disbelief.

That's an interesting and plausible theory to explain the spread of the virus.

However saying that accepting the notion that zombies do not have to breath or drink with any ill effect - that the zombie virus doesn't replenish the energy of or apparently have means to heal the biological entities they have taken over and yet they survive and thrive . . . requires a "little" suspension of disbelief is like saying that the temperature in the artic is a "little" cool.

The fact that Rick somehow survived in a hospital bed for days or weeks without any nourishment or resources (IVs last for at most 24 hours) and was (all in all) in pretty good shape is a "little" suspension of disbelief. Accepting that Zombies no longer follow established science or physics is a "huge" suspension of disbelief. Its more along the lines of "magic" than science and no one theory can explain it. If Zombie victims really do "die" in terms of the natural functions that humans need to do to survive then its impossible to theorize their existence based on the rules of the universe as we understand them.

For example, if the zombies really only use the small portion of the brain that we were told in the CDC episodes, half of the head tramua attacks we see in the battles shouldn't really stop the zombie target.

 

[Tom]

Yes you would have to hit the brain stem, but perhaps a head shot near the stem will drain the stem of the fluid the virus is living in.

In the real world if you heart is not pumping and your circulatory system is not functional I don't see anyway these zombies can move, brain function or not. Rigor mortis (rigid stiffening of skeletal and cardiac muscle shortly after death) would also be a major factor to inhibiting movement.

 

[ThunderAeroI]

Well, rigor could be one reason why their movement should be jerky at best. Its just easily for the tv show ot have more fluid zombies than bumbling idiots that can't move at all.

 

[Ethros]

Season 4 trailer!!

(I imagine that link will be removed soon enough, just do a youtube search if so, I doubt it will be hard to find before long)

 

[jbny67]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSi2fJALDyQ[/yt]

 

[sojourner]

Looks like Daryl gets to take a shower or two this season.

 

[Trekker4747]

Seems the Walkers are forming into larger and larger herds.