Conservatives. A lot less wear-and-tear on their brains.
I've been making notes toward a zombie story for a few months now, and I keep wondering: why don't zombies eat each other's brains? Why do they only go after the brains of the non-zombified? Sure, you can argue that zombies only like fresh brains, whereas their own, being dead, are all rotten and stinky and don't taste good.
The problem I find with this solution is that zombie brains must still be functioning on some level, because blowing their brains out with a gun is guaranteed to kill them. If they could function with a completely decayed brain, this would not be the case.
Obviously, I'm too much of a Hard-SF writer to understand Horror...
I've always assumed that the General Model of Undead (GMU) is that after becoming undead someone no longer produces a vital biochemical that is required for continued existence, so they have to steal it from others.
With vampires, its something blood based, so they have a need for non-vampire blood (as vampire blood lacks the missing chemical), and gain a great hunger for it.
Zombies seem to stop producing a major neurochemical they need, and similarly gain a great hunger for it.
Of course, sucking blood and eating brains is a very poor way to try to replenish these missing chemicals, and there are questions about why the creatures no longer need to eat normal food, but I'm sure an explanation of that can be found as well.
Now, the thing to do is write a hard science fiction horror story where the stalwart fighters are trying to hold off the brain-eating and blood-sucking hordes long enough for the scientists to figure out WTF is really going on.
I think it was the second Romero picture - Dawn of the Dead - where some scientist who looks like Louis Del Grande insists that in order to classify zombies, you must remember they are not cannibals, because they do not eat their own kind. Turning this around indicates that zombies are a different species from humans. For whatever that's worth.
Of course, Romero's shambling undead don't limit themselves to brains.
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Date: 2006-05-28 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-28 10:01 pm (UTC)I'm on a diet.
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Date: 2006-05-29 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-29 03:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-29 05:21 am (UTC)I've been making notes toward a zombie story for a few months now, and I keep wondering: why don't zombies eat each other's brains? Why do they only go after the brains of the non-zombified? Sure, you can argue that zombies only like fresh brains, whereas their own, being dead, are all rotten and stinky and don't taste good.
The problem I find with this solution is that zombie brains must still be functioning on some level, because blowing their brains out with a gun is guaranteed to kill them. If they could function with a completely decayed brain, this would not be the case.
Obviously, I'm too much of a Hard-SF writer to understand Horror...
no subject
Date: 2006-05-29 04:07 pm (UTC)With vampires, its something blood based, so they have a need for non-vampire blood (as vampire blood lacks the missing chemical), and gain a great hunger for it.
Zombies seem to stop producing a major neurochemical they need, and similarly gain a great hunger for it.
Of course, sucking blood and eating brains is a very poor way to try to replenish these missing chemicals, and there are questions about why the creatures no longer need to eat normal food, but I'm sure an explanation of that can be found as well.
Now, the thing to do is write a hard science fiction horror story where the stalwart fighters are trying to hold off the brain-eating and blood-sucking hordes long enough for the scientists to figure out WTF is really going on.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-29 04:25 pm (UTC)Of course, Romero's shambling undead don't limit themselves to brains.
t!
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Date: 2006-06-01 02:57 am (UTC)or something.
Zombies are a bit slow, right?