The Theory of Nothing

Will there be a Zombie Apocalypse?

Will there be a Zombie Apocalypse?

This idea has been made a part of popular culture by TV series like the Walking Dead and a whole bunch of movies, such as Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies. According to Wikipedia, there have been 387 zombie movies. Good heavens!

Originally, a zombie was germane to Haitian Voodoo religion, which involves the practice of magic and witchcraft. Basically, a zombie is an animated corpse. This is a spiritual process involving astral projection of a soul. However, investigations into many cases of supposed zombies show that some sort of drug was used to put a living person into a dreamlike state or suspended animation from which they could be re-awaken. A popular neurotoxin for this purpose is Tetrodotoxin, a secretion of the pufferfish. A psychotic state is a feature of Voodoo and has been a popular culture concept for quite some time. Some have also suggested that this dreamlike state could be the result of schizophrenia. That sounds rather farfetched.

However, the zombies of popular culture are true animated corpses made popular in the now famous cult film: The Night of the Living Dead, which has spawned many knockoffs. These undead people were not called zombies when the film came out, but fans applied the term later. This movie and its sequels introduced the idea of zombies eating living people’s brains.

The popular concept of a zombie is depicted in the movie ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ TV series. This form of zombie is the result of a virus that kills people and then makes them into animated corpses that have an insatiable appetite for the flesh of the living. The living must shoot and kill these zombies--usually through the head--to survive. Otherwise they’re bitten and infected only to turn into those they previously killed. Makes for some exciting horror action, doesn’t it?

But, is this apocalyptic nonsense possible? The answer is a surprising maybe. There are at least five ways this could happen. One possibility is a brain parasite. Once infected by such an insidious creature a victim could be taken over by the parasite and become brain dead but still animated. Another possibility is a neurotoxin that could attack the brain and cause a similar effect. A neurogenesis agent (such as a Cannabinoid, a chemical that acts in the brain to repress neurotransmitter release) could keep a person in a state of suspended animation. Things like this are probably being worked on for biological warfare purposes. Another possibility would be a nanobot, a tiny robotic machine that could be injected into the bloodstream and cause a person to be assimilated like a Star Trek Borg. Ugly thought, that one!

The most logical thing that could cause a zombie apocalypse is what is know as a Rage Virus, essentially a virus that causes a person to become a pathological killer, made popular in the 2007 movie ‘Rage.’ The result could make an infected person resemble a zombie. I suppose you could consider this virus something like the rabies variety.

All of these things sound nasty to me. Yuck!

Thanks for reading.