Could Humanity Survive a Zombie Outbreak Like in The Walking Dead? – HuffPost

Realistically speaking, could real-life humanity and real-life Earth withstand an uprising of the Walking Dead-style zombies? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

For most commonly envisioned zombie outbreaks in fiction, Humanity would have it under control really quick.

With only one person affected and the virus traveling by bite, scratch or entry of secreting bodily fluids (saliva, blood), the hospital would be put into lockdown. And just like that, the virus is not pretty but contained, will be studied, exterminated a few people will die and we will read in the newspaper about it. Life goes on, reckoning averted.

The element that makes the TWD virus so potent is the fact that everyone has it. Everyone is infected. No one knows howsome people say God, others its nature correcting itself, yet others believe the dead are getting back up because they have a destination to reach. But the point is: everyone who dies in whatever manner gets back up. Its a spin. The survivors are as much the walking dead as the actual dead walking.

Suddenly, everything becomes a little more dangerous. The first response to every possible event causing a casuality will be armed. Imagine a plain crashing survivors need to be helped, but first the area needs to be cleared of the walking dead. Even then, the area is not secure. Some take hours before they turn. The most hazardous occupation in the world will become hospital staff. Youll have to sign a waiver before they let you enter the premises to visit grandma.

And forget first aid. No ones going to teach first aid. Everyone is going to teach to stay the hell away and leave it to people who know how to handle a gun and will if need be. Youll have read about it on the internet: Lifeguard loses tongue and life after a fatal mouth to mouth. Refusing to render aid if you are able is a crime in some countries. Those countries will rethink that policy.

The TWD virus will drive most people apart and some together. Sects will crawl into the light of day and instead of a barn full of cyanide-dead people, there will be cyanide-dead come-back people, waiting for a buffet and the military.

There is no dignity in death and I mean now, without the TWD virus. Your muscles relax and you soil yourself. Its not pretty, smells worse, but its biology and you dont have to be there when it happens. With the virus, your loved ones will get the added bonus of your brains getting scrambled. Sentimental creatures that we are, we will probably not be allowed to stick a screwdriver through the ear, and also the hospital will want to pad the bill doing the deed for you. Thats the dead people who have live people around to make sure it gets done.

Lots of people just die. When my brother died, it took one or two days before anyone noticed. Walker would have happened. Thats one. Considering how many people die on average per day. Good luck delivering traumatic brain injury to all of them.

Humans are an adaptive bunch, so well find a way to live with it. Itll get a mention in the statistics: Yearly deaths by Walker (but with a fancier name). People way smarter than you or I will spend years of their lives figuring it out. Until then, were all time bombs, and people with less savory goals will find new and creative ways to use it to their advantage.

Historians would have a blast with this one.

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Could Humanity Survive a Zombie Outbreak Like in The Walking Dead? - HuffPost