OTHER WEAPONS

Imagination and improvisation are two invaluable assets during
clashes with the living dead. By all means, feel free to regard all the
materials around you as a cache of potential weapons. But always keep
in mind a zombie's physiology, and what your homemade device is
likely to accomplish.

1. Acm
Apart from fire, sulfuric acid is the best
way to completely destroy a zombie.
Implementing it is another matter. If
somehow you have the means to acquire
or produce large amounts of sulfuric
acid, treat it with the same respect you
would an incendiary weapon. Not only
is this substance as much a danger to
yourself as it is to the undead, the time
it takes to dissolve zombie flesh and
bone is considerable. Acid should be
used as a post-encounter disposal tool
rather than a combat weapon.

2. POISON
As there are hundreds of thousands of
lethal compounds in this world, it is
impossible to discuss them all. Instead,
we will review some basic rules that govern the physical and physiological
makeup of the undead. Zombies are immune to all types of
tranquilizers and irritants such as Mace and tear gas. Any compound
designed to halt bodily functions would be equally impotent, as the
undead no longer require these functions. Zombies do not suffer from
heart attacks, nerve paralysis, suffocation, or any other fatal effects
caused by poison.

3. BIOLOGICAL WARFARE
Wouldn't it be poetic to destroy beings infected by a virus with another
virus? Unfortunately, this is not an option. Virus attack only living
cells. They have no effect on the dead.
The same is true for all types of bacteria.
Several laboratory attempts have
been made to culture and spread necmtizing
fasciitis (a flesh-eating bacterial
disease) among captured zombies.
None have proved successful. Experiments
are now under way to grow a new strand of bacterium that
feeds only on dead flesh. Most experts are skeptical of its success.
Tests are ongoing to determine which of the many microorganisms
normally involved in decomposition continue to consume flesh in spite
of its infected nature. If these microbes can be isolated, reproduced,
and delivered in a manner not harmful to its user, they could be humanity's
first weapon of mass destruction in the battle against the living
dead.

4. ZOOLOGICAL WARFARE
Hundreds of creatures, great and small, feed on carrion. Employing
some of these animals to devour the dead before they devour the living
might seem the ideal solution. Unfortunately, all species, from hyenas
to fire ants, instinctively avoid zombies. The highly toxic nature of
Solanum appears to be encoded in the survival patterns of the animal
kingdom. This mysterious warning signal that Solanum emits, be it an
odor or some kind of "vibe" long forgotten
by humans, is impossible to
mask by any known substance.

5. ELECTROCUTION
As the zombie's muscular system is
basically that of a human, electricity
does have the ability to temporarily stun
or paralyze its body. Lethal results have
been seen only in extreme cases such as power lines used to completely
char a zombie's brain. This is not a "wonder weapon"-the
current that runs through power lines is enough to burn almost any
organic matter, living or undead, to a crisp. It requires twice the voltage
to stun a zombie that it does to stun a human, so common taser
guns are ineffective. Electricity bas been used to create a temporary
banier with water-filled, electrified ditches to keep ghouls paralyzed
long enough for a secondary fatal method to be employed. Several
such incidents have been recorded over the years.

6. RADIATION
Experiments are now being conducted to test
the effects of microwaves and other electromagnetic
signals on the brains of the undead, on
the theory that such a device could generate 0
massive, instant, lethal tumors in a zombie's gray matter. Research is
still in its early stages, and results have so far been inconclusive. The
only known instance when zombies came into contact with gamma
radiation occurred during the notorious Khotan Incident. In this event, the ghouls were
not only unaffected by rads that would have killed humans, but they
threatened to spread their contamination throughout the province.
For the first time, the world glimpsed a new and even deadlier threat:
the radioactive zombie. As much as this sounds like the product
of bad 1950s science fiction, it is, or was, a very real and historically
significant fact. According to records, the radioactive ghouls possessed
no enhanced abilities or magical powers. The threat they
posed lay in their ability to spread deadly radiation to everything
and everyone they touched. Even people who drank from a water
supply the ghouls had touched died soon afterward from radiation
sickness. Fortunately, the outbreak was crushed by the overwhelming
power of the Chinese army. Not only did this solution put an end
to this new danger-it prevented the disaster of the Khotan reactor
going critical.

7. GENETIC WARFARE
Some recent proposals recommend a variety of genetic weapons in the
war against the undead. The first step would be to map the genetic
sequence of Solanum. Next, an agent would be developed to rewrite
that sequence, ordering the virus to suspend its attack on human tissue,
turn on itself, or simply self-destruct. Instead of retraining the
zombie, we would retrain the virus that controls the zombie. If successful,
any of these agents would be a revolutionary breakthrough in
combating the undead. Through genetic engineering we could find an
actual cure. Celebration of this breakthrough, however, will have to
wait. The science of genetic therapy is still in its infancy. Even with
media attention and massive financial resources, both of which are
nonexistent, an agent to combat the virus will have to remain a theory.

8. NANOTHERAPY
Nanotechnology, the study of microscopic machinery, is only in its
adolescence. At present, experimental computer chips are being made
that are no bigger than a molecule! One day robots that small will be
able to perform tasks within the human body. These nanobots, or whatever
the accepted term will be, will one day destroy cancer cells, repair
damaged tissue, even attack and destroy hostile viruses. Theoretically,
there is no reason why they could not he injected by the billions into
a recently infected human to identify the Solanum virus and eradicate
it from the system. When will this technology be perfected? When will
it find its way into the medical profession? When will it be adapted for
combating Solanum? Only time will tell.