Retrospective: Long Term Plans (pt. 2 of Terrorists! Plague! Zombies!)

  Going back in time for a bit, I went back and reviewed my old LiveJournal (June 2003 - September 2017) and found this gem I thought I'd share here too. Written in 2003, in the halcyon "before times, pre-Covid, pre-"The Walking Dead", I pondered what to do in a "28 Days Later" style disaster, in two parts. Much has changed in the 20 years since I first wrote this. I have two children now, and the very world has changed. Here are my un-edited "long term plans"Circa 2003. Enjoy.

Short term plans post here:

• Oct. 27th, 2003 at 2:09 PM

the story so far
LONG TERM PLANS


been a bit too busy to do much more on this until now, I had a good talk with arcanumveritas on the topic too . .so here goes

High security habitation:
as noted originally, I would go for a construction site (say a five of six story office building or some such), which I could easily modify to be "skilled climber only" access (once again assuming the zombies can't climb, only scramble.
This site could be readily fortified in the long term, (lots of raw materials and equipment just lying around. My ideal site would have a couple of buildings neighboring, from which a rope traverse could be strung (a two rope bridge - one for the feet, one for the hands), again working on the premise that the zombies can't cope with the skill needed.
Another feature of building sites are the region of clear ground surrounding them, generally, there needs to be room for all the equipment and material drops, so this leaves a pretty good killing zone around your encampment. Equipment keys may be found in the site office, as would plans and such. Having multiple redundant escape routs means that if you are chased home, you can get up either by your main route, or by any of the rope connected buildings on either side.
Hurricane fence around the site would be a plus (solid walls might be bashed down, but the flexi links would give more than break) it might be necessary to cross truss the poles of the fence to better brace them (another good point about hurricane fence is that it is see through, and you can shoot or spear through it without damaging it overly). Again, camping and adventure stores would provide ropes, slings, pullys and the like.
Ground floor should be cleared of all heapable debris, as should all the walls of the structure. First floor should be fortified with more hurricane fence and have noisemaker alarms (snapable twine tripwire holding a can of nails off the roof - I know this works, I’ve used it) around access points. Barrels of fuel or other pyrotechnics (like home-made napalm) could be tipped on approaching zombies, or even set the whole floor on fire - concrete doesn't burn too well, and you needn't set fire to the world, just enough to cook some zombie-ass.
Second floor should be barricaded but could be used for supplies (why would you want to haul stuff higher than you need to, except what was at risk from a "scorched earth" attack see above.
Habitation could be on the third floor (or other floors as long as there were a couple of roofs above you for heat retention in winter and coolness in summer. By lashing planks to concrete support beams it would be possible to nail heavy plastic sheets to enclose areas, making rooms out of bare floors. (Drilling concrete is hard to do right, and no power to drive your electric masonry drills either . . .)
Wood fires in 44 gallon drums for heating (in ventilated "rooms" - duh) to conserve bottled gas for cooking and water purification. Sanitation by over-the-edge-dunny, just like in castles. Sponge baths and retaining "grey water".

Personal Protection Equipment:
As previously stated; waterproof (gore-proof actually) rugged gear like motorcycle leathers and racing suits, motor-cross armor and helmets, 3mm wet suit, respirator/face-mask, gloves and such. In the long term, you would want several full sets, for yourself (replacements) and for any and all survivors you come across.
Industrial containers of cleaning products wouldn't go astray.

Weapons:
As long as there are zombies in your area, there are going to be risks, and after a while, "culling" may prove to be worthwhile (once you are established and secure). Assuming you are not directly competing for resources (-do- the zombies eat or drink?) they still want to kill -you-, and will not stop trying. But you have the use of your thumbs, and long range firearms. Raiding the few rifle stores in the city, police stations and maybe local army barracks might yield some more firearms, and whilst I would keep my shotgun and sword handy at all times, you could do with some rifled weapons to pick off zombies at range. By setting up a killing zone somewhere (not near your habitation, you don’t want to advertise) again, a raised secure location, with a clear field of fire, you could draw the zombies to you; car horns explosions, yelling, etc and pick them off. The risk is of course being overwhelmed. Several fall back positions are essential, as is not only a supply of easy to access ammo, but also of weapons, in case of jams and fouls, just ditch it and grab another - you can always get it back later, its not like they are going to steal it . . . )
Military hardware might be an option if you know where to get it, and there is anything you can use laying around.
Home made explosives and pyrotechnics would likewise be good if you know how to make them (I can do some) but may be just too difficult to use effectively.
Traps around your area (sign-posted for any survivors who stumble into your area [zombie’s cant read]) would also be good; deadfall, pits, spikes (swinging and emplaced). No need to go non-lethal, that will just end in catching a loud zombie, who will bring more friends, and wreck your trap.

Transport:
Likewise, i'd stick with the diesel flat-bed truck i initially proposed, unless i came across an army UNIMOG or ASLAV
and again; stockpile spares, fuel and another vehicle. arcanumveritas suggested that when traveling, coasting the last 500m (as best you can) before stopping and getting out of your vehicle would enable you to arrive without alerting the zombies.
Having a boat might also be of some use, its a mobile habitat, and could move you to one of the islands off the coast, but you would have to see if zombies could swim first to check whether or not that would aid you overly. Similarily any of the big ships in the harbour would make quite the prize, once any gang-planks were knocked down, and ropes were made secure (keeping zombies off) but big ships require crews and skill to move. But they would be nice and secure to live on.

Supplies:
Venturing out would probably be the most dangerous task a survivor would face, and should be done as infrequently as possible, and be done as prepaired as possible. Mid morning departures and late afternoon arrivals avoiding dusk and nightime travel, when not only the zombies are more active, but also visability is lowest. Securing the exit point would be the first step, either by leaving as quitely as possible, and resecuring the perimiter defences, or ifthere are zombies in the area, by killing them off as quickly and efficently as possible, and leaving rapidly. This would leave your compound exposed, and would require patrolling of the interior upon your return, which, would take time, so would by necesity cut excursion time, to allow for daylight search time.
Once local supplies had been exhausted, it is likely that further and further travel would be needed to reteive supplies. By avoiding major routes (Highways and Freeways) which would probably be clogged with abandoned cars you could still reach suburban shopping centers. Backing up the truck, and loading packaged goods in bulk directly from store-rooms would be quick and efficent. Once local and suburban supermarkets are exhausted (which would take some time) the outlying supply depots would be next in line. By collecting supplies in bulk (keeping in mind a balanced diet, as best you can with tins) you would be able to supply yourself for quite some time with a couple of truckloads. Likewise army bases (if you can get to them) would be filled with all kinds of goodies. However, raiding large greeneries may well supply you with garden vegatables and fruits-trees, which you could populate your upper floors with, giving you a source of fresh vegitables, as would orchards and the like, there are several only just out of Melbourne. You might even collect livestock from the proximal farms and bring them back either live, or as fresh meat.
Hopsitals have supplies of medication, saline, and surgical gear, but most of the pharmesuticals have short shelf lives and many need to be chilled.

Community:
Ok, so now io get to address the "save the girls from the college dorm" suggestion taavi made, untill i was situated, i wouldnt go looking for other people, no way in hell. But once settled, it would be worth while. In fact, very worthwhile. An extra set of eyes means extra security, be it on an excursion, or while constructing defences (long, hard and noisy) and if nothing else, for the community of it.

Rescue:

(more to follow)

Retrospective: terrorists? plague? zombies? what i'd pack for 'the hills'

 Going back in time for a bit, I went back and reviewed my old LiveJournal (June 2003 - September 2017) and found this gem I thought I'd share here too. Written in 2003, in the halcyon "before times, pre-Covid, pre-"The Walking Dead", I pondered what to do in a "28 Days Later" style disaster, in two parts. Much has changed in the 20 years since I first wrote this. I have two children now, and the very world has changed. Here is my un-edited "short term plans"Circa 2003. Enjoy.

• Oct. 17th, 2003 at 11:50 PM

so after watching 28 days later i've been thinking about what I would do in the event of discovering that I needed to escape. Now, I have the advantage of having already had to do this for real just before the first Gulf War in '90 (well we never actually left, but we were packed and ready), but I thought I'd have another think, as an excersise in logistics. Major movie spoilers included as background, beware.


Situation:
Terrorists (or misguided animal rights activists) have released a virus which zombifies anyone who gets infected (infection is by fluid-fluid transfer, limited direct aerosol and requires a primate host). The infected undergo minor physiological changes, but psychologically are rendered incapable of rational thought and most survival instincts, such as fear of fire, and presumably feeding and drinking. Their only actions are rest and the pursuit of non-infected individuals to attack and kill or infect. Within days of release the plague has spread throughout urbanised areas, and whole population centres vanish. Government efforts to slow the infection are overwhelmed. Infrastructure such as power, water, gas, food distribution and communications cease. Perhaps one in one hundred thousand people is neither infected or killed. Presumably the infection is worldwide, but this is unknown, without a means of communication.

You (me) wake to find yourself in an empty room, an empty hospital, and empty world. signs of chaos abound; looted shops, car wrecks, and bodies, many many bodies. Scattered newspapers and graffiti indicate the end of the world.
You meet a couple of other survivors, they tell you the rest. You meet some of the infected and flee, some are killed as is one of your fellow survivors, by the other.

What do you do?
First up, I would hole up and assess the situation, it would be freaky and I'd be very freaked out and need a chance to think.

The it would be logistics time.
Where to live? Do you risk the city, or head out into the country? There are supplies in the city, and they count.

So, short term,
high security habitation:
in my opinion, most buildings are not equipped to hold off ravenous hoards, too many fire escapes, glass fronting and the like, sure buildings without fire escapes are "death-traps" but for fighting off the zombies, you want security of flesh, not just of mind. Why not a bank? you might ask, well, most security requires power, to open (and lock) all those magnetic locks, un bolt all those doors and the like. Without power they just sit there, jut like in the movies, they need to be 'opened' by skilled people with tools. well, that's not me, I'm a guy all alone in a dead city. then I thought height. office towers and the like, still, fire escapes. this would require a bit too much fortification. whilst the zombie masses cant do locks and such, I figure they could probable shamble over blockades, bash through simple reinforcing and the like. ever try to cut a fire escape down? it wouldn't be easy.
The other problem with high density populations like in towers would be the resident zombie population, odd are, the more people that used to be there, the more zombies there are now.

So in the end, I figure in rooftops, places where it takes quite a bit of skill to get up to, like factory rooftops or construction sites, where the stairs aren't up yet (remember the lifts aren't working). Go high enough to see around, and to give some space between any noises you make and the zombies listening for you. Get rope (climbing or hardware stores, there are several in and around Melbourne, most cities would have them) Knock down any scaffolding that gives access. When you need to get up, use your rope, when you are up, pull it up after you. Build some shelter, secure as best you can with what you have.

Personal Protection Equipment:
So you splatter mrs zombie with a baseball bat, that's great, did you make a mist of her brains all over yourself? woops.
Raincoats, plastic raincoats. Rubber gloves! Goggles and dust masks! id head to a fire station, get a face mask, and a fireman's outfit. Or motorcycle gear, nice and new from the empty shops, wack a raincoat over that and you have a splatter and tear resistant set of armor. Sure, if you know where to find riot gear, go for it.
Detergent and antiseptic! wash wash wash change clothes, get out of splattered gear if its not sealed up good. You may get hot, but when your have to go out, do it safe. Get some body armor, once again, motorcycle shops have it. Some 3mm wetsuit probably wouldn't go astray either, not too heavy, or thick, but tough waterproof and resilient.

Weapons:
Lets be fair, zombie comes after you, you want it to go away, quickly, and from as far away as you can. Me, I know pointy things. screw baseball bats. screw having to hit someone multiple times to put them down. I'm going swords. Sword verses bare-hands gets messy quickly. But that puts you very close to the action, and given the choice I'd be a bit further away. so what to do? a spear or lance is a good idea, especially if you have a cross bar on it, good for sticking your zombie and holding them at bay till the 12 inch, broad leaf head does its job. Even then, that's a bit close for me, id rather not be close enough to have to go hand to hand. That brings us to projectile weapons. initially I thought of bows; quiet, light but a bit slow between shots. Rifles? well not as prevalent in Melbourne as in the US, but more so than in the UK, but again, there are problems, they are loud, and alert the zombies as to where you are and like an arrow, a bullet is a precision object, it either hits or misses. my answer, shotgun. packs a punch, good enough range for venturing out for supplies with added bonus of spray, for those close in situations where seconds would count. sure its loud, but if you are using it defensively they already know you are there. If you were taking the fight to the zombies (which I wouldn't want to) then you might want to find some military hardware (good luck).

Transport:
Diesel, there are lots of trucks, they have big tanks and there would be lots of fuel sitting around. (petrol stations would not work, they have pumps). Flat bed trucks are the way to go I think, plenty of storage room, no where for zombies to hide, pretty good pickup, and range. get one with a bull-bar and you are all set for zombie bashing fun. jerry cans of extra fuel just in case. make sure its got a jack and spare tyres.
Actually finding a vehicle might be an issue to start with, if everyone is dead, where are the keys? I would start looking for depots, "leave your keys" parking lots and the like, get -something- and upgrade later.

Supplies:
No power, no water, no food distribution.
Fresh produce would be all rotten or going that way, but canned and preserved good will last for ages. Presuming they haven't already been looted, supermarkets would be a goldmine of supplies, so would the distribution centers that supply them. Bottled water has become very popular and can be found in bulk. Canned meats, vegetables and fruits are all easy to find as are vitamins and antiseptics. Rice lasts forever if its kept dry and pest free, and also comes in bulk, but needs to be cooked. Batteries and torches, gloves and salt.

Camping stores would supply cooking stoves, sleeping gear and outside wear and adventure gear (ropes, harness and such)

Hospitals would have medical supplies, but how many of us know how much of what to take and when? I can plug a hole, and -look up- antibiotic dosages, but that's long term as far as this scenario goes. They also have plenty of cleaning agents and protective gear.

Syphoning water from tanks would work for a while, until the rains, likewise fuel, from parked vehiclesPart 2 here:

Movie Reviews : Pandemic, Hell, Ravenous

I took the two weeks after Easter off work to be home over the school holidays. I managed to squeeze some apocalyptic movies into my allotted couch potato time when impressionable eyes were elsewhere. I promptly lost this post...   Here's what I thought:

Title:  Pandemic
Year: 2016
Director: John Suits
Origin: USA
Mood: Grim
Style: dark First Person Shooter, suspenseful
Apocalypse Type: Zombie plague
Apocalypse Level: Almost absolute. Total social breakdown.
Antagonists: Cannibalistic bite-infecting fast zombies
Protagonists: mixed military civilian Search & Rescue crew
Outcome: Grim.

CDC doctor embedded with a military refuge in LA is sent out on a Search and Rescue mission to extract the team send to a school supposedly full of survivors. Its established her family live in LA and she suspects are still alive. The 5 stages of infection are established: 1) Flu like 2)debilitating bronchitis 3)aggressive and conscious 4) death-like coma 5) fast hyper aggressive zombie. Infection is spread by exposure and bites. S&R crews equipped with biohazard suits including suit radios and helmet cams with green screen night-vision option. Teams include a medical specialist, a driver, a shotgun equipped gunner and a red-shirt navigator.

It is established that a vaccine is available to combat a Level 1 infection but is in limited supply and only available for the Dr. The crew is expendable. A “field infection test” gun is available to determine if survivors are infected. The Crew is sent out in a modified school-bus to retrieve the previous crew and any survivors from the school and along the way are attacked by swarms of Level 1-3 infected, including a honey-pot roadside trap. Combat is handled via FPS style helmet-cam vision which is a decided improvement over hand-held “found footage” handy-cam shakey-cam styles often used in the genre.

Relegated to foot travel and separated, the team struggles to make it back to the compound alive, battling the infected with improvised weapons, the crew locates the Dr’s daughter and eventually make it back to the compound in a scavenged ambulance with heavy casualties. An enjoyable if predictable zombie plague movie with some nice hooks, and not too many “close the damn door” stupid movie trope survivor errors. The medical science may have been flakey and the crew certainly wasn’t a front line unit, but they weren’t pitched as one either but it was a realistic enough “get it done” movie.



Title:  Hell
Year: 2011
Director: Tim Fehlbaum
Origin: German-Swiss
Mood: Grim, Gitty  dystopian escape and evacuation road-tip
Style: stark and bleak
Apocalypse Type: Environmental disaster. Drought, famine, scorched Earth
Apocalypse Level: Almost absolute. Total social breakdown. Near total Biosphere destruction
Antagonists: the Sun, other survivors and scavengers
Protagonists: family of survivors
Outcome: Grim.

Final Thoughts: get some effective hand weapons that you can use!

An upswing in solar activity has blasted the Earth, baking the surface, evaporating water leading to widespread drought, famine and death. In typical Mad Max style, survivors scour the wasteland for food, fuel and water in a cramped and stuffed station-wagon with bars on the windows. Goggles and dust masks are all the rage. Desperate survivors battle lone hermits for petrol station supplies and we get an idea that exposure to the sun leads to 2^nd and 3^rd degree burns and blindness rapidly. Some excellent post-apoc scavenging in the checking of toilet tanks and hydronic radiators for good water! Poor personal security movie-tropes made me yell at the screen.

Downed power pylon over-road made for an excellent improv road-block and ambush point, but removing it was not when I would have chosen to teach my child-survivor how to drive. Good scavenge the flipped wreck scene gave an opportunity to “split the party” as well as a chance for a piss-break to establish the adult female got her period and was not-pregnant, contraception being an issue often overlooked in survival movies.  

Raiders kidnap the child and in the ensuing pursuit the male survivor badly breaks his ankle. Taking shelter in a mountain side rail tunnel the female lead sets off alone to rescue her sister and “get help”. She encounters survivors who operate a farm and discover they are cannibals, escaping a “marry-in or get eaten” proposal, the ensuing flight through open ground sheds some of the “sun is a murder ball” tension built up earlier.

The survivors take shelter in a cave in which they find a ready source of water. Survival looks bleak but possible.

Final Thoughts: better married to a cannibal than served to one as dinner

Title:  Ravenous ( Fr. Les Affamés)
Year: 2017
Director: Robin Aubert
Origin: Fernch Canadian
Mood: Suspenseful, realistic setting
Style: believable escape and evacuation road-trip
Apocalypse Type: Infectious Zombie plague
Apocalypse Level: Almost absolute. Total social breakdown. Zombie swarms
Antagonists: Cannibalistic bite-infecting fast zombies
Protagonists: family of survivors with kids
Outcome: Grim.

In the woods in rural Quebec a farmstead is holding out against the zombies by being vigilant, quiet and risk-adverse. Two adult male friends patrol in a pickup truck until lone is lost. The survivor finds a bound woman with a suspicious bite mark who claims it was a dog not zombie. He befriends her and takes her with him. They encounter   a small girl and take her in.  Returning to the farmhouse they encounter a group of zombies building towers out of trash in a peculiar ritual. They accidentally alert the swarm of their presence and their flight leads the swarm to their farmstead. Instead of barricading and bugging-in the opt to bug-out and go cross country to a cold-war bunker they are aware of.

Taking limited supplies from the dwindling larder of the farmstead the survivors make a harrowing flight through woodlands relying on bush-craft and stealth to avoid roaming zombies and other hazards. Good use of hand weapons ( machete and hatchets) to avoid the noisy pump-action shotgun. They escape detection by mimicking the zombies carrying items to the ritual piles and eventually make it to the bunker only to discover its been stripped bare of resources. A note suggesting  a direction to search for more survivors is discovered before the swam arrives and decimates the survivors. (They didn’t close the bunker either).

Final thoughts and lessons: They should have bugged-in where they could. A stocked trap-door cellar would probably have been secure against fast-but dumb zombie swarms.