How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
Reading for me has become a passive activity - one that I only take to when I’m waiting for the plane to take-off, taxi to the terminal or eating alone at a restaurant in Denver. I still thoroughly enjoy it, but since I base a lot of what I do on efficiency, there’s rarely a time when I can justify spending the time to do so.
I picked up the novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War quite some time ago, but have only now started reading it that I’m in full-swing travel mode again and have an ample amount of idle time. The novel is a series of interviews with survivors from the fictional (?) zombie war - how they survived, and what they experienced.
The story is peppered with really thought-provoking social commentary and gives an epic stage for showcasing the human condition. I’ll keep from spoiling it foryou (since I haven’t finished it yet myself), but I thought I’d share a strategy that one of the characters explains that they proposed in containing the zombie scourge.
A problem they faced in this war is that conventional war tactics were completely useless against the zombies. American “Shock & Awe” strategies were completely ineffective against an enemy that could not experience fear, and there was no salvation against an enemy who could survive drowning, burning, being torn to pieces or exposed to extreme environmental conditions. All you could do is blow their brains out.
Stick together
The outbreak was way too far out of control by the time any sort of defense could be organized, and armed forces were so weakened and spread out to do anything about it. They would have to withdraw to a special safe zone like an island or mountainous area to eradicate any immediate local infestation and then defend against further attacks.
There’s no way to save everyone
Only a small fraction of the population could be safely evacuated, and this fraction would have to be selectively chosen to keep society going once things settled down in terms of labour pool.
And easily the most controversial suggestion by this character…
Herd the rest of the survivors as bait
Distracting the living dead from the actual evacuation would be of critical importance due to their numbers, and this would involve herding the survivors that would not be evacuated into isolated areas, defending them, and even resupplying them to keep the hordes away from the rest of the survivors.
I haven’t read far enough ahead to see how effective this strategy is, but it really gives you an idea about how unsettling the book is in how it forces you to think logically, but often that is contradictory to being humane in a situation like this. The really intriguing parts of this novel are those that deal with how different societies and governments reacted (or failed to react) to the enormity of the situation. I’d highly recommend giving it a read!
Photo by James Calder
Where’s my jetpack?
Based on pop sci-fi and my best estimates, we should be living in swingin’ 70’s-esque space stations and having robot butlers serve our every need. So what’s the deal, scientists? “Where’s My Jetpack?” seems like a valid question at this point (and also makes for a great t-shirt!) and sounds like it would make a damned interesting book, too. [via Fimoculous]
In Where’s My Jetpack?, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson takes a hilarious look at the future we always imagined for ourselves. He exposes technology, spotlights existing prototypes, and reveals drawing-board plans. You will learn which technologies are already available, who made them, and where to find them. If the technology is not public, you will learn how to build, buy, or steal it. And if doesn’t yet exist, you will learn what stands in the way of making it real.
Seen Reading in TO
Now that I’ve picked up reading again with a vengeance, I’m starting to look for ways to discover new books to read. Julie Wilson writes a blog called Seen Reading, and she probably best describes it herself.
1. I see you reading.
2. I guesstimate where you are in the book.
3. I trip on over to the bookstore and make a note of the text.
4. I let my imagination rip.
5. Readers become celebrities.
6. People get giddy and buy more books.
Think that sounds interesting? Then read how it all got started. I started following her blog because of how original the concept was, but have since started gathering reading ideas from it. Best of all, Julie’s a Toronto native, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself the subject of a new type of fiction if you’re seen reading in the city.
My reading list
I’ve added a link in the sidebar to my profile on All Consuming, a sister site of 43 Things/Places, where you’ll find what I’m currently reading and what I intend to read. I’m really enjoying the End of the Alphabet so far, though it’s a bit short. I just picked up World War Z yesterday, so that will likely be next in the queue.
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Adam is a User Experience Specialist at IBM in Toronto and also produces content of all kinds around the Web.
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