An important question that every young university student must face at some point in their lives has been on the minds of your Tertangala editors: what is your have a zombie apocalypse survival plan?
In 20 years-time, (because let’s be honest, the outbreak is imminent) when the dust has settled and the last zombie is classified as brain dead, what will you say when they ask the question “where were you when the apocalypse began?”
Zombies are, in our opinion, more implausible than impossible. Maybe not the whole ‘dead rising from the grave’ thing but if you think about it, a disease attacking the brain, causing violent and irrational behaviour doesn’t sound so far-fetched. There were actually a few supposed cases of real “zombies” in Haiti. A researcher, Wade Davis, claimed to have discovered what he called a zombie powder back in 1985 (oh the 80s, you were so wacky). This was really surprisingly recent, since we assumed this stuff should have been happening, you know, before we learnt about that little thing called science. Davis suggested that there were two powders which would enter the blood stream (usually by a cut) and could be used to turn some Haitians into zombies. The first powder supposedly contained tetrodotoxin, which is the neurotoxin found in pufferfish and the second, a dissociative drug similar to datura. Davis said that together, these powders produced a death like state and victims would seem to die and be buried only to “re-awaken” into a psychotic state.
Creepy right?
Luckily, there were a lot of scientific inaccuracies in Davis’s work, so don’t call it quits just yet.
In terms of a survival plan for the inevitable, It’s okay, The Tert’s got your back. As it turns out, there’s actually some science behind the perfect hideout.
According to a team of statisticians from Cornell University in the US the best place to hide out is a remote and rocky area… Uluru anyone? With the best places to avoid infection being “remote [and] sparsely populated locations”.
“Given the dynamics of the disease, once the zombies invade more sparsely populated areas, the whole outbreak slows down- there are fewer humans to bite, so you start creating zombies at a slower rate,” lead statistician, Alex Alemi, stated.
That means, contrary to popular zombie survival theories, a shopping mall or your local pub are not the way to go. Unless, of course, you’re content in living your last days eating cheap fast food and trying on clothes you’d never be able to afford in real life or getting so drunk your chances of a nudie run through a bloodthirsty horde are quite high.
This issue of the Tert is packed full of nerdy goodness, from Star Wars and Spiderman movie speculation to Sexism in Cosplay and Censorship in China. We also have a bunch of great reviews on books, games, movies and music (definitely check out the 20 Games for Under 20) as well as an amazing artist profile with Ian Bool. This is our favourite issue so far, with more articles than ever before on everything techy, nerdy, gaming, geeky and relating to the environment. So, before you head off to the middle of nowhere to begin your new zombie free existence, check out some of the article for an awesome read. And as always, let us know what you think at thetert@gmail.com or on the website, http://www.tertangala.net
By Rebecca Wiggins and Gemma Mollenhauer
UOW101 