BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS

A. Intelligence

It has been proven, time and again, that our greatest advantage over the

undead is our ahility to think. The mental capacity of the average zombie

ranks somewhere beneath that of an insect. On no occasion have

they shown any ability to reason or employ logic. Attempting to

accomplish a task, failing, then by trial and error discovering a new

solution, is a skill shared by many members of the animal kingdom hut

lost on the walking dead. Zombies have repeatedly failed laboratory

intelligence tests set at the level of rodents. One field case showed a

human standing at one end of a collapsed bridge with several dozen

zombies on the orher side. One by one, the walking dead tumbled over

the edge in a futile attempt to reach him. At no time did any of them

realize what was happening and change their tactics in any way.

Contrruy to myth and speculation, zombies have never been observed

using tools of any kind. Even picking up a rock to use as a weapon is

beyond their grasp. This simple task would prove the basic thought

process involved in realizing that the rock is a more efficient weapon

than the naked hand. Ironically, the age of artificial intelligence has

enabled us to identify more easily with the mind of the zombie than

that of our more "primitive" ancestors. With care exceptions, even the

most advanced computers do not have the ability to think on their own.

They do what they are programmed to do, nothing more. Imagine a

computer programmed to execute one function. This function cannot

be paused, modified, or erased. No new data can be stored. No new

commands can he installed. This computer will perform that one function,

over and over, until its power source eventually shuts down. This

is the zombie brain. An instinct-driven, unitask machine that is impervious

to tampering and can only be destroyed

B. Emotions

Feelings of any kind are not known to the walking dead. Every form

of psychological warfare, from attempts at enraging the undead to provoking

pity have all met with disaster. Joy, sadness, confidence, anxiety,

love, hatred, fear-all of these feelings and thousands more that

make up the human "heart" are as useless to the living dead as the

organ of the same name. Who knows if this is humanity's greatest

weakness or strength? The debate continues, and probably will forever.

C. Memories

A modem conceit is that a zombie retains the knowledge of its former

life. We hear stories of the dead returning to their places of residence

or work, operating familiar machinery, or even showing acts of mercy

to loved ones. In trnth, not a shred of proof exists to support this wishful

thinking. Zombies could not possibly retain memories of their former 

lives in either the conscious or subconscious mind, because neither

exist! A ghoul will not be distracted by the family pet, living relatives,

familiar surroundings, etc. No matter who a person was in his

former life, that person is gone, replaced by a mindless automaton with

no instinct other than for feeding. This begs the question: Why do zombies

prefer urban areas to the countryside? First, the undead do not prefer

cities, but simply remain where they are reanimated. Second, the

main reason zomhies tend to stay in cities instead of fanning out into

the countryside is because an urban zone holds the highest concentration

of prey.

D. Physical Needs

Other than hunger (discussed later), the dead have shown none of the

physical wants or needs expressed in mortal life. Zombies have never

been observed to sleep or rest under any circumstances. They have not

reacted to extreme heat or cold. In harsh weather, they have never

sought shelter. Even something as simple as thirst is unknown to the

living dead. Defying all laws of science, Solanum has created what

could be described as a completely self-sufficient organism.

E. Communication

Zombies have no language skills. Although their vocal cords are capable

of speech, their brain is not. The only vocal ability appears to be a

deep-throated moan. This moan is released when zombies identify prey.

The sound will remain low and steady until physical contact is made. It

will then shift in tone and volume as the zombie commences its attack.

This eerie sound, so typically associated with the walking dead, serves

as a rallying cry for other zombies and, as has been recently discovered,

is a potent psychological weapon.

E Social Dynamics

Theories have always proliferated that the undead function as a collective

force, from an army controlled by Satan to an insect-like

pheromone-driven hive to the most recent notion that they achieve

group consensus by telepathy. The truth is that zombies have no social

organization to speak of. There is no hierarchy, no chain of command,

no drive toward any type of collectivization. A horde of the undead,

regardless of size, regardless of appearance, is simply a mass of individuals.

If several hundred ghouls converge on a victim's location, it

is because each one is drawn by its own instinct. Zombies appear to be

unaware of one another. Individuals have never been observed to react

to the sight of one another at any range. This goes back to the question

of sense: How does a zombie distinguish between one of its own and

a human or other prey at the same range? The answer has yet to he

found. Zombies do avoid one another in the same way they avoid inanimate

objects. When they hump into one another, they make no attempt

to connect or communicate. Zombies feasting on the same corpse will

tug repeatedly on the meat in question rather than shove a competitor

out of the way. The only suggestion of communal effort is seen in notorious

swarm attacks: the moan of a ghoul calling others within earshot.

Once they hear the wail, other walking dead will almost always converge

on its source. An early study theorized that this was a deliberate

act, that a scout used its moan to signal the others to attack. However,

we now how that it happens purely by accident. The ghoul that moans

at the detection of prey does so as an instinctive reaction, not as an alert

G. Hunting

Zombies are migratory organisms, with no regard for temtory or concept

of home. They will travel miles and perhaps, given time, cross

continents in their search for food. Their hunting pattern is random.

Ghouls will feed at night and during the day. They will stumble

through an area rather than deliberately searching it. Certain zones or

structures will not he singled out as more likely to contain prey. For

example, some have been known to search farmhouses and other rural

structures while others in the same group have moved by without even

a glance. Urban zones take more time to explore, which is why the

undead remain longer in these areas, hut no building will take precedence

over another. Zombies appear to be totally unaware of their surroundings. 

They do not, for example, move their eyes in a way that

would take in the information of a new setting. Shuffling silently, with

a thousand-yard stare, they will wander aimlessly, regardless of location,

until prey is detected. As discussed earlier, the undead possess an

uncauny ability to home in on a victim's precise location. Once contact

is made, the previously silent, oblivious automaton transforms into

something more closely related to a guided missile. The head turns

immediately in the direction of its victim. The jaw drops, lips retract,

and, from the depths of its diaphragm, comes the moan. Once contact

is made, zombies cannot be distracted by any means. They will continue

to pursue their prey, stopping only if they lose contact, make a

successful kill, or are destroyed.

H. Motivation

Why do the undead prey upon the living? If it has been proven that

human flesh serves no nutritional purpose, why does their instinct

drive them to murder? The truth eludes us. Modem science, combined

with historical data, has shown that living humans are not the only

delights on the undead menu. Rescue teams entering an infested area

have consistently reported them stripped of all life. Any creatures, no

matter what their size or species, will he consumed by an attacking

zombie. Human flesh, however, will always he preferable to other life

forms. One experiment presented a captured specimen with two identical

cubes of meat: one human, one animal. The zombie repeatedly

chose the human. Reasons for this are still unknown. What can be confirmed,

beyond any shadow of doubt, is that instinct brought on by

Solanum drives the undead to kill and devour any living creature they

discover. There appear to be no exceptions.

I. Killing the Dead

While destroying a zombie may be simple, it is far from easy. As we

have seen, zombies require none of the physiological functions that

humans need to survive. Destruction or severe damage of the circulatory,

digestive, or respiratory system would do nothing to a member of

the walking dead, as these functions no

longer support the brain. Simply put, there

are thousands of ways to kill a humanand

only one to kill a zombie. The brain

must be obliterated, by any means possible.

J. Disposal

Studies have shown that Solanum can still

inhabit the body of a terminated zombie for

up to fortyeight hours. Exercise extreme

care when disposing of undead corpses.

The head in particular possesses the most

serious hazard, given its concentration of

the virus. Never handle an undead corpse

without protective clothing. Treat it as you

would any toxic, highly lethal material. Cremation is the safest, most

effective way of disposal. Despite rumors that a pile of burning corpses

will spread Solannm in a cloud of smoking plague, common sense

would dictate that any virus is unable to survive intense heat, to say

nothing of an open flame.

K. Domestication?

To reiterate, the zombie brain has proved, so far, to he tamper-proof.

Experiments ranging from chemicals to surgery to electromagnetic

waves have yielded negative results. Behavioral modification therapy

and other such attempts to train the living dead like some kind of pack

animal have similarly met with failure. Again, the machine cannot be

rewired. It will exist as is, or it will not exist at all.