What happens to walkers after...

edited August 2012 in The Walking Dead
wandering the Earth for a year or so? They are dead so they don't generate new cells. Do they decay to the point to were they just can't move any more? If this is the case all the survivors have to do is wait it out and all of the walkers will become immobilized or rot away. IMO there have to be some survivors that don't have the virus.

Comments

  • edited July 2012
    I am still hang up on the idea that a so important government facility, like CDC runs on fossil fuel and when that runs out, everything ends.

    But to be on topic: yea, they should slowly rot away to a point where they can't even move. But like it was said in another modern zombie series, the time of decay may vary and the winter cold will slow it down.
  • edited July 2012
    i would imagine they would rot away, be eaten by bugs and just get damaged naturally(falling getting cut/caught on things) but by a year they would all be more or less dead or immobile.

    but of course we are talking about magic, so it could last as long as kirkman says it lasts
  • edited July 2012
    It's pretty much what thestalkinghead said. If we were in Bioware's Forum of Mass Effect, I would certainly say that is "space magic". But I guess we can name it as " Zombie Magic". Or " Apocalypse Magic".

    Science don't applies much in those cases. If it did, wouldn't be fun.
  • edited July 2012
    This is covered in the comic. Read it.
  • edited July 2012
    This is covered in the comic. Read it.

    couldn't you just say what they covered in the comic?
  • edited July 2012
    Many times (later in the saga) in the comic books and the tv series they come across dead that are decomposed to the point of being too slow to be threatening, too weak to attack, or in some cases, completely immobile.

    Kirkman has stated that his zombies continue to decompose after reanimating, so logic would indeed dictate that at some point the zombies will be extinct. (assuming all new dead people are "dealt with," ones attacked by groups of walkers usually are eaten to the point there's nothing left to reanimate)

    I'm not sure if it's clear whether the zombies' diet or state of nourishment has anything to do with their strength.
  • edited July 2012
    Well, yeah. After a time, the zombies will be so slow, that they're not going to be a big threat.

    However, I think that we should remember one thing: You don't need to be bitten to reanimate. So long that are people alive, there will be zombies in their most perfect state. The time can deal with 'em, but still, unless the virus( or wtv it is) is destroyed or something... There are always going to exist.
  • edited July 2012
    humm, i would imagine the military and governments found this out first and are just hiding until it all finishes, where millions of people will emerge to a similar but smelly world, where the main difference is that dying is seen as a hazard to other people and it will all be dealt with differently, but basically the world would return to normal
  • edited July 2012
    Ahm... It just seems TOO good for TWD universe. And so, highly not possible.
  • edited July 2012
    Lin001 wrote: »
    Ahm... It just seems TOO good for TWD universe. And so, highly not possible.

    why would hershel survive if millions of people on secure bases across the world would die?, i have read the first hardback and hershel just grabs hold of the zombies by the scruff of their neck and guides them into the barn, why would intelligent military people get outsmarted by zombies?

    they may however conclude that saving the few survivors isnt worth the risk and they would just stay hiding until it all blew over
  • edited July 2012
    why would hershel survive if millions of people on secure bases across the world would die?, i have read the first hardback and hershel just grabs hold of the zombies by the scruff of their neck and guides them into the barn, why would intelligent military people get outsmarted by zombies?

    they may however conclude that saving the few survivors isnt worth the risk and they would just stay hiding until it all blew over


    Well, now that you're saying, it doesn't seems THAT impossible. But still, I don't think that people would like that type of ending...

    But yeah, a true zombie "apocalypse" would be really easy to manage. So, the only answer I have to you is " Zombie Magic".
  • edited July 2012
    yeah i'm sure the ending would be better than that, but even if i am in the right kind of area, kirkman would make it way more creative and cool
  • edited July 2012
    couldn't you just say what they covered in the comic?

    I could, but after researching to answer you, I couldn't find where it was covered, what's been discovered yet or answer any of the question. Also, it's better to just read the comic.
  • edited July 2012
    I could, but after researching to answer you, I couldn't find where it was covered, what's been discovered yet or answer any of the question. Also, it's better to just read the comic.

    of course, you are right, reading the comic is better, but you basically said "i know something you don't know" and i really wanted to know what that was :)
  • edited July 2012
    The comics are way past one year deep into the Zombie Apocalypse and there are still fresh zombies. Everyone who dies become a zombie if you don't destroy the brain.
  • edited July 2012
    coryay113 wrote: »
    The comics are way past one year deep into the Zombie Apocalypse and there are still fresh zombies. Everyone who dies become a zombie if you don't destroy the brain.

    thats "Zombie Magic" preserving the bodies, we have to assume that the majority of the worlds population were undead in a few weeks, else an apocalypse scenario would never happen, so after however long the zombies unlive the majority of zombies would be dead.
  • edited July 2012
    of course, you are right, reading the comic is better, but you basically said "i know something you don't know" and i really wanted to know what that was :)

    Shit, I really wanted to have the answer. I think somewhere in the 90's run, there's a zombie that is totally rotted and useless, but I wasn't able to properly cite it. In the end all I could say is "There's an answer to your question, and it's a good one. Mmmmmbye."
  • edited July 2012
    Ultimately, it really does boil down to "zombie magic", it's not like Zombies are going to swat away the bugs eating and laying eggs in them, etc. (a case where insensivity to pain isn't a benefit), and they're completely helpless against ordinary putrefaction, they couldn't do a thing about that even if they had a mind to. This is especially true in the hot, humid Summer of a place like Georgia. By the end of the first week you're looking at zombies that're going to be riddled with maggots and the like, they wouldn't even have faces by that point, let alone eyes.

    At the point we're at in the game (about three months after the initial outbreak), there realistically wouldn't be much left of the Zombies from the original outbreak... even if we ignore injuries due to them doing things like stumbling off of cliffs, bridges, highways, falling down stairs, etc.
  • edited July 2012
    Mr._Wok wrote: »
    wandering the Earth for a year or so? They are dead so they don't generate new cells. Do they decay to the point to were they just can't move any more? If this is the case all the survivors have to do is wait it out and all of the walkers will become immobilized or rot away. IMO there have to be some survivors that don't have the virus.

    I don't recall the sources but I think in TWD universe the following applies:

    1) Walkers continue to decay. The longer they have been dead the slower they become. A fresh walker moves the fastest. On a tangent, the manner in which a person dies seems to affect haw fast they reanimate but I don't remember the specifics.
    2) The decay rate of a walker is much slower than say the decay rate of someone who died in our universe (assuming zombies don't exist in our universe ofcourse). Something to do with the zombie virus attacking the bacteria that would decay a body at the normal rate.
    3) Walkers may remain where they are, motionless, for long periods of time. If they are in a cool building this may slow the decay rate even more.
    4) Everyone is infected...bummer.

    Just guessing here, but I'd say a walker out in the elements moving around would "wear out" in a year. Just stay away from the head as it may still detect you and snap at you.

    It's the walkers that are in buildings, especially basements (or some place out of the elements and cool like a subway or long tunnel), that could last a long time maybe up to five years or more.
  • edited July 2012
    there is always the potential of preserved zombies eg, drowned in a vat of beer, dying of hunger and thirst in a desert like conditions (mummies), frozen (assuming that wouldn't kill the virus/whatever) then thawed.

    but after a while there would be no zombies left except for people dying
  • edited July 2012
    there is always the potential of preserved zombies eg, drowned in a vat of beer, dying of hunger and thirst in a desert like conditions (mummies), frozen (assuming that wouldn't kill the virus/whatever) then thawed.

    but after a while there would be no zombies left except for people dying

    Dry Heat or Freezing wouldn't help a zombie stay active either. In the former case you have the problem of dessication with the zombies eventually just turning into lumps of beef jerky. Arid environments basically suck the water right out of a body (and that nice, cool breeze doesn't actually help). In the latter case, it's important to remember that when the water in the body freezes it forms ice crystals, etc. which just destroys tissue (incidentally, a major problem with cryogenics).
  • edited July 2012
    Rommel49 wrote: »
    Dry Heat or Freezing wouldn't help a zombie stay active either. In the former case you have the problem of dessication with the zombies eventually just turning into lumps of beef jerky. Arid environments basically suck the water right out of a body (and that nice, cool breeze doesn't actually help). In the latter case, it's important to remember that when the water in the body freezes it forms ice crystals, etc. which just destroys tissue (incidentally, a major problem with cryogenics).

    i think in zombie lore if the muscle tissue still exists in any form it works "Zombie Magic" all the flesh on a zombie is dead flesh, no blood flow so no oxygen going to cells it's all dead, but as i said "Zombie Magic" makes all muscle tissue work even if damaged, im pretty sure mummified zombies are allowed in zombie lore
  • edited July 2012
    I try not to look that far into the lore of a zombie because i relize its fictional story and i try and keep it that way so i dont go spoling the story for myself like picking a movie to pieces because you notice how fake it is.
  • edited July 2012
    Lin001 wrote: »
    Well, yeah. After a time, the zombies will be so slow, that they're not going to be a big threat.

    However, I think that we should remember one thing: You don't need to be bitten to reanimate. So long that are people alive, there will be zombies in their most perfect state. The time can deal with 'em, but still, unless the virus( or wtv it is) is destroyed or something... There are always going to exist.
    Now that people know what's what, new dead are manageable.

    Or to paraphrase Mira Grant's Feed:

    Gov. Tate: "Hey, when we loosened gun control, the murder rate went down."

    Georgia Mason: "Actually, forensic scientists have stated that it is impossible to tell if a head shot occurred pre-death or post-amplification on a recent corpse. And since the body undergoes viral amplification on death, and all zombies are put down with head shots, there is no way to get an accurate murder rate any more."
  • edited July 2012
    Goldrock wrote: »
    I try not to look that far into the lore of a zombie because i relize its fictional story and i try and keep it that way so i dont go spoling the story for myself like picking a movie to pieces because you notice how fake it is.

    i didnt just open my big book of zombie lore, i mean lore as in examples in films and such, it doesnt matter if you find flaws in the logic of zombies you just insert "Zombie Magic" into any holes in logic or science, or what better known as suspension of disbelief
  • edited July 2012
    Shit, I really wanted to have the answer. I think somewhere in the 90's run, there's a zombie that is totally rotted and useless, but I wasn't able to properly cite it. In the end all I could say is "There's an answer to your question, and it's a good one. Mmmmmbye."

    You're right. I believe you're talking about the zombie that Glen or Maggie stumble upon that can barely move. I can't remember fully whether it was due to decay or if it was because of the weather (or a mixture of both). I think that happened at the end of winter though I can't remember.
    I think it happened just before Rick's group ran into Abraham's. I know it was before they meet that "representative" of their current settlement.

    I'll flip through the books and double check this afternoon, shouldn't take long.
  • edited July 2012
    You're right. I believe you're talking about the zombie that Glen or Maggie stumble upon that can barely move. I can't remember fully whether it was due to decay or if it was because of the weather (or a mixture of both). I think that happened at the end of winter though I can't remember.
    I think it happened just before Rick's group ran into Abraham's. I know it was before they meet that "representative" of their current settlement.

    I'll flip through the books and double check this afternoon, shouldn't take long.

    There's that, and also I think all of the zombies freeze or stiffen up during the winter regularly.
  • the problem with picking up a random issue of a series of comics is you dont know what the heck is going on, without trying to track down all of the issues, leading up to the one you began on.

    not all of us have the time/ resources/ level of interest to see this through. this may change, but is as of yet undetermined.

    that being said, i have never, ever, read the comics.

    i tried the demo, and enjoyed it. therefore i now own the first two episodes.

    it seems to be easy to offend people that are big fans of the books (thats understandable) but what they arent comprehending is not all of us are like that too, we simply have questions, or would like to share thoughts about solely the game.

    if there are specific events that are shared by both the comics, and the game, that might help curtail some of the "go read the comics" flack that in all honesty isnt helping those of us that have come to the walking dead video game forum for answers.

    that is all, thanks.
  • edited August 2012
    zombies lay eggs
  • edited August 2012
    the problem with picking up a random issue of a series of comics is you dont know what the heck is going on, without trying to track down all of the issues, leading up to the one you began on.

    not all of us have the time/ resources/ level of interest to see this through. this may change, but is as of yet undetermined.

    that being said, i have never, ever, read the comics.

    i tried the demo, and enjoyed it. therefore i now own the first two episodes.

    it seems to be easy to offend people that are big fans of the books (thats understandable) but what they arent comprehending is not all of us are like that too, we simply have questions, or would like to share thoughts about solely the game.

    if there are specific events that are shared by both the comics, and the game, that might help curtail some of the "go read the comics" flack that in all honesty isnt helping those of us that have come to the walking dead video game forum for answers.

    that is all, thanks.

    I'm sure. Wink. There's other ways. Wink. To get caught. Wink. Up. Wink. On the comics. Wink. If you. Wink. Get. Wink. My. Wink. Dri. Wink. Ft.

    *Looks to the shadows.*
    I was never here!
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