The Maker's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse: Defend Your Base with Simple Circuits, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi
Now that you’ve seen an overview of the projects that will save you from the zombies you might like to order some parts Each project includes a parts list specific to that build including quantities and Appendix A provides details of where you can buy all the parts listed for each project in the book Resources to Download Before the Zombies Rise The book has its own web page at http www nostarch com zombies where you will find further information about the book including errata and links to the source code used in the project That code is all available on GitHub at https github com simonmonk zombies Before the apocalypse strikes be sure to visit both URLs download all necessary files for the projects save them to a flash drive and keep that flash drive in your go bag The Internet will very likely cease to exist dur ing the apocalypse whether because everyone at your ISP becomes a zombie or because the electrical grid itself collapses but if you download these files ahead of time you’ll be one step closer to outlasting the undead With your files loaded and ready let’s look at what you can expect to happen during the apocalypse 4 Introduction
APOCALYPSE BASICS Before you start working on the zombie apocalypse survival projects in this book I want to show you exactly what kind of undead you'll be dealing with and share some tips about how to survive in a zombie infested world Of course you'll need parts to make your projects Fortunately one of the few benefits of a postapocalyptic world is that there's plenty of scrap material to scavenge So in this chapter I also include a guide to finding the parts you'll need But first let's look at the background of zombies
Zombies I find that people tend to consider themselves either zombie lovers or zombie indifferent Since you’re reading this book there is a good chance you’re a zombie lover like me The appeal of zombies lies both with the zombies themselves and in the postapocalyptic scenario that the survivors face You could likely defeat a single slow zombie quite easily a baseball bat to the head should do the trick nicely But in numbers zombies become a serious threat If you look up Zombie in Wikipedia you’ll find two entries Zombie fictional and rather worryingly just Zombie The nonfictional zombie is according to Haitian folklore a corpse that can be raised by magic to do its master’s bidding These folklore zombies are never going to be present in significant numbers to cause the sort of apocalypse portrayed in popular culture For a situation where most of the human race has died or been turned into a zombie we need some fictional zombies Types of Zombies Fictional zombies have roots in 19th-century fiction with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein but they became prominent in modern times through movies such as Night of the Living Dead Figure 1-1 Figure 1-1 Zombies from Night of the Living Dead The zombies depicted in Night of the Living Dead are classic slow zombies Slow zombies shuffle around as if in a daze searching for human flesh to eat Interestingly the zombies in this movie are able to use tools breaking win dows with rocks and bashing doors with hefty sticks Most zombies lose this skill in later film and TV depictions The portrayal of slow zombies may have reached its cultural zenith with the hit TV show The Walking Dead 6 Chapter 1
Slow zombies are the most common fictional zombies and this book focuses on the threats they pose There are however many other types of zombies as different filmmakers have sought to put their own imprint on the concept Table 1-1 lists some of the most important modern zombie por trayals along with some features of each type of zombie Eats Fast Slow Slow Table 1-1 Fictional Zombie Varieties Fictional depiction Night of the Living Dead Hell of the Living Dead Return of the Living Dead Slow Slow Human flesh Human flesh other zombies Human flesh especially brains Human flesh Alive Dead Dead reanimated Dead reanimated Dead reanimated Cause of outbreak Radiation Chemical leak Chemical leak Means of dispatch Head trauma Head trauma Head trauma Resident Evil Slow Alive Virus World War Z Fast Human flesh Alive 28 Days Later Fast Human flesh Alive Shaun of the Dead The Walking Dead Slow Slow Human flesh Human flesh Dead reanimated Dead reanimated Parasite Virus Virus Unknown Unknown Head trauma Head trauma Normal means Head trauma Head trauma All zombie types have a number of factors in common Chief among these is a desire for human flesh Another almost universal truth is that the only sure way to kill a zombie is severe head trauma Decapitation is highly effective Are Zombies Really Dead One important question is whether a person has to be dead in order to qualify as a zombie In some films such as World War Z the zombies are not dead but rather living humans who have been mentally altered by a virus or other parasite Some would argue that such creatures are strictly speaking not zombies at all The terminology of death is also tricky with zombies If a zombie is already dead how can you kill it again Although the zombie is a person who has died has the process of zombification actually brought the person back to life In that case zombies could certainly be killed for a second time Apocalypse Basics 7
