The Title Says It All...

SOLANUM Solanum is the virus which infects the victim through the bloodstream, and enters the brain. It affects the frontal lobes of the brain, and in the process, all bodily functions cease. The heart stops, and the victim is left “dead”. The brain remains alive, but dormant. This is when the virus goes to work, beginning the “reanimation” process, in which the cells of the brain are mutated and the brain becomes a completely new organ. The most interesting trait of this new organ is it does not need oxygen. Once the “reanimation” is complete, the corpse’s bodily functions such as the nervous system, the digestion system, the respiratory system, and the immune system cease. The victim has now become a member of the “living dead”. A zombie.

Zombie Characteristics 1) The eyesight of a zombie is not any different than that of a human. 2) The hearing of a zombie seems to be roughly as well developed as a human. 3) The zombies’ ability to smell on the other hand seems to be much more acute than a humans’ ability to smell. 4) The Zombies’ sense of taste is very similar to that of a human. Ghouls have been very common to only having interest in living human flesh. A body which has been dead for roughly 13 hours is of no interest to a zombie. 5) The zombies’ sense of touch is not present. In the reanimation process, the nervous system completely shuts down. This causes a zombie to have absolutely no feeling. This gives a ghoul an advantage on living humans, because they feel no pain. 6) The decomposition of a zombie is its worst enemy. Micro organisms are constantly trying to eat away at our bodies. Our immune systems keep these micro organisms away. With no immune system functioning, a zombie has no protection against this micro-enemy. This means the average “life span” of a zombie is only in the area of 3-5 years. 7) The strength of ghouls is interesting. It depends on how strong the human was before reanimation. A zombie has the same amount of strength as the human, but they don’t have a functioning nervous system. This means that a zombie doesn’t need to stop and rest because they don’t feel the pain and exhaustion that we humans feel. One good thing about this is ghouls will get progressively weaker as time goes on because they will work their muscles until they literally disintegrate. 8) The speed of zombies is in my opinion, a godsend to humans. They have horrible coordination, making them have a slouch or limp, and a very unsteady pace. The fastest zombies recorded have an average of barely one step every 1.5 seconds. 9) The agility of zombies is one of their largest weaknesses. They have horrible coordination, making simple tasks such as climbing a ladder impossible. 10) Zombies have absolutely no memory of their former lives. Some people try to contain a loved one in hopes of the zombie recognizing them, but this does not work.

THE “VOODOO ZOMBIE” A common misconception of zombies is the so-called “voodoo zombie”. The voodoo zombie is said to be the creation of black magic, and not a virus. The idea of a voodoo zombie is that a voodoo houngan or voodoo priest can perform a ritual and use black magic to turn someone into a walking zombie. The priest makes the human inhale a special powder which is supposed to make their heart stop. What really happens to this person is their heart and all other bodily functions perform at their minimal pace. This gives the illusion of them being dead. Next the priest does the ritual on them and they are then buried. Once they are buried, they are dug back up the next day and they are supposedly “voodoo zombies”. This concept is very simple... The person has brain damage. The person wakes up in their coffin, and screams. They eventually go without enough oxygen for their brain, and by the time they are dug up, they have brain damage. Voodoo zombies are NOT real zombies. They can mildly communicate, they recognize people, and they don’t have a desire for human flesh.

THE HOLLYWOOD ZOMBIE A Hollywood zombie is a special kind of zombie. The idea of the zombie movie is a great idea, but as for the content, it is not very reliable. The zombie movie is made for the same purpose as every film’s purpose... To entertain. Zombies in the movies are usually very fast, and very agile. They can jump, run, and even sneak. Although these characteristics are very different from those of real zombies, they are still very entertaining to watch on the big screen.

Transference The most common means of getting the virus is from a zombie bite. This is not the only means of spreading the disease. Humans have also been recorded getting the virus by rubbing an open cut or wound against an open cut or wound of a zombie. Infected flesh has proved to be toxic, so make sure not to try to eat or swallow any.

The process of reanimation takes roughly 23 hours. These are the stages and symptoms of the virus. –Hour 1: Pain and discoloration of the infected area. –Hour 5: A fever of degrees. Chills, and vomiting. –Hour 8: Numbing of arms and legs, loss of muscular coordination, and increased fever. –Hour 11: Paralysis in the lower body, overall numbness and a slowed heart rate. –Hour 16: Coma –Hour 20: Heart stoppage. Zero brain activity. –Hour 23: Reanimation.

My Top 5 Zombie Survival Lessons Are: 1) Blades don`t need reloading 2) Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair 3) No place is safe, only safer 4) Use your head, cut off theirs 5) Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!

How a full outbreak could happen occur, and how it could be prevented. A full zombie outbreak happen. Improbable, yes. Impossible, no. What if there is a small outbreak in a small country. All the super powers of the earth would have the power to stop it BUT…. Maybe China thinks it’s the United States’ problem. Maybe the US thinks it’s Great Britain's’ problem. This would start a political crisis and the world would neglect the REAL issue and start to focus on politics. This small outbreak could very well continue to grow. This could result in a full outbreak of zombie chaos. This could all be avoided if the governments of this world would react practically.

The perfect cast to demonstrate The Zombie Survival Guide would be: Zach Galifianakis would be a perfect zombie for a comedic version of The zombie survival guide because he can look the part. Paris Hilton could be a great supporting actress for Taylor because she could play a prissy companion for the main character to have to put up with. And Taylor Lautner would be a perfect main character. It would draw lots of female attention to a movie which is otherwise made for mostly male viewers.

Theme: The title “The Zombie Survival Guide” suits the book fantastically. The reason for this is because that’s exactly what it is. Throughout the book it constantly reminds you that it is a “SURVIVAL” guide, not a “zombie hunting guide” or anything that involves you being a hero. The purpose of the book is to aid you in your survival, not teach you to be a zombie exterminator.

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