I was sitting in bed at about 6 in the morning thinking about zombie defense. Then I thought about using manicans filled with meat as traps. Then i thought about three different methods of use. 1 you fill a dummie with meat and while the zombies are munching snipe them out. Now the problem is it might use valuable amo and the zombies might not go for dead meat. 2 Another way is putting a mine in the dumies so it blows there head sky high when the bite. The problem with this is that the to many dummies with mines close to eachother causes a chain reaction and you might not have enough mines. 3 The last way i thought would be trip wire. Like when you pull the string the gun fires. The problem with this is a you lose guns, amo and the fire might not hit the head. What do you guys think about these methods of defense. My favorit is the snipe them out method.
P.S. I hope you guys actually enjoy this post unlike my other 2 and i tried to spell better this time around.
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) |
I'm sorry i can not endorse this idea. Put a remote on the guns so you could control where they fire and for how long, then make sure that Zed would go for it. Helping your thought process, but I wouldn't try this period.
"I am the warrior in whom the old ways have combined with the new."
Lone, I know that you are trying really hard to contribute something new and informative and it is commendable that you are. That being said, I really, really, really, really, really, really don't like the idea of using mines in any context because they do not discriminate about who or what they kill. This is bad in my opinion. I do like the sniping idea, but why waste ammo if they are not harming or trying to currently harm you or someone else in the immediate vicinity. I don't see the point of hunting them until you had too. Now, if you already had the expendable equipment (and meat) then I would say that you have an ok idea. The major problem with this is that 'we' do not currently know if a zombie would or would not go after meat other than human. This leaves your plan somewhat flawed. I don't really like the idea of leaving weapons behind either but if you have the extra or they are expendable (almost out of ammo for one and no chance of finding some soon) then you might have a real option. There are a lot of factors that effect the whole idea and it could work.
"They drew first blood not me..." (Stallone in Rambo: First Blood)
Frankly,
I think zombie mines (and other booby traps) would be a great idea, provided that you wrote highly visible warnings that even the dumbest of the living could read. That is a major advantage that we, the living possess: Literacy.
I'd suggest a version of the tripwire mine, except it would be set at about neck height. And there would be a big sign somewhere nearby: "Keep Low! Zombie Mine Ahead!"
Civvies come running in terror from a horde of undead. They read the sign and keep low, running toward your secure position. The undead shamble forth, rabid with lust for human flesh. Boom! Boom! BOOM! Yep, I said three Booms. I want grenades swinging at head height from all directions. No mistakes.
That's what would be great about booby traps. They really don't need to be hidden too well. But you still need living human bait--preferably a volunteer with fast legs and a taste for danger.
I messed with Texas.
I'd suggest a version of the tripwire mine, except it would be set at about neck height. And there would be a big sign somewhere nearby: "Keep Low! Zombie Mine Ahead!"
Civvies come running in terror from a horde of undead. They read the sign and keep low, running toward your secure position. The undead shamble forth, rabid with lust for human flesh. Boom! Boom! BOOM! Yep, I said three Booms. I want grenades swinging at head height from all directions. No mistakes.
That's what would be great about booby traps. They really don't need to be hidden too well. But you still need living human bait--preferably a volunteer with fast legs and a taste for danger.
Who's to say that zombies will be stupid?
Zombie's might be as smart as they were prezombification.
Also, Ducking down with grenades swinging over you would kill you from shrapnel/explosion.
Because The Muppet Show Said So.
Generally speaking, mines are a bad plan for a few reasons:
This topic has come up before and people generally came to an agreement that mines were a bad plan.
All that needs to be said is this: FIRE = BAD
- Mines don't go away when the battle is over
- Mines are indiscriminate
- Mines are a waste of resources
This topic has come up before and people generally came to an agreement that mines were a bad plan.I know the above from personal experiance as the pile of explosives that we blew up the other day not only had our mines from desert storm in it but also Italien mines and russian ones and one of the EOD guys said he recently blew up a WWII german Mine. so keep in mind that mines are bad VARY bad and they are not worth the risk.
Will you hold me back? If need be I will leave you behind...
I'm not that dense. I think that everyone knows that standing underneath a swinging grenade would be a bad idea.
The civvies run under the booby trap and get PAST to a safe area. The zombies shamble, shuffle, scamper forward and run headlong into the tripwires.
And, you know what? Heck, the zombies could be intelligent. They could grow bat wings. They could shoot lasers out of their orifices and give birth to tiny pegasi that have machine guns. Then my tripwire idea would really be worthless. Those darn machine gun toting zombie pegasi would just fly right over.
But can someone, anyone establish at least a basic definition for a zombie on this site? Then, for the love of something holy, we could plan for a creature who is driven by its insatiable need for living human flesh--and who, let's equivocate, does not appear to be Hooked On Phonics?
Otherwise, what makes a zombie different from a vampire? Oh yeah vampires can turn into bats and fly and don't like garlic. Hey maybe zombies don't like garlic either. Maybe there are bat zombies who like to suck blood. If we are so ambivalent about a concise definition of the zombie threat, then we must prepare for everything--therefore preparing for nothing. Maybe zombies could grow scales and shoot fireballs. Then how do I prepare?
I see there is a dictionary attempt. I'll try to back up my grousing with a universal/equivocal zombie definition.
I don't know. Put it to a vote or something.
I messed with Texas.
I did what I could in the FAQ Page. It leaves a lot of gray space.
Specifics aside, I think what malachi is suggesting is that we shouldn't underestimate zombies -- if we make too many assumptions we may find ourselves in a situation we were not anticipating.
That said, I think you still need to weigh the consequences, as I see it, there are far more negatives than positives. While it can provide a way for us to get rid of zombies without much effort, because of (a) the danger of mines after the conflict; (b) the possibility for collatoral damage during conflict; (c) and the resource requirements, mines are simply not practical.
All that needs to be said is this: FIRE = BAD
Throughout human history mines have been used effectively to guard one's perimeter or deny ground to the enemy--especially when one doesn't have the manpower to do it in person. If they didn't work, we wouldn't still be using them.
In reality, mines are an ethical mess. Like cluster bombs, mines do serve a purpose by providing a tactical advantage to one's soldiers. However, they have lasted for decades, causing death and harm to an innocent civilian population. I'm for banning them. The unintended consequences outweigh the military advantages.
In the purely fictional realm of fighting Zed, if I have enough resources (a big if) I'm going to mine the heck out of my perimeter. Mines don't sleep. Mines don't daydream. Mines don't abandon their position, and run away cowering in fear. They go boom and tell me that someone has arrived.
And, if Zed can read, then what is the difference between Zed and me? It's no fun if zombies are given exceptional powers. And, if we're abiding by any Romero-ian traditions, don't the survivors write "Alive" on their buildings? I can't see how writing "This Area is Mined" would ruin any of the fun of preparing for Zed. I think it's quite a nifty strategy. "If You're Alive, Follow the Yellow Line." There, I have my mine field, and have minimized the possibility of offing a fellow human.
Finally, going back to the idea of overall preparedness, I'm preparing to be vastly outnumbered. I'm preparing to engage in assymetrical warfare whenever possible: mines, booby-traps, kill zones, tiger traps filled with quick lime, anything that might catch a Zed without me there personally to accomplish the task.
I mean, I might not have a gun. What if I am down to household chemicals and milk jugs? Am I not supposed to mine my perimeter, because of the unintended social consequences? Hardly. That's like saying, "don't shoot at Zed, the bullet might shoot through and kill another civilian." I'm all for running away. But, if I have to hold a position (and I have the time and resources)... then dirty tricks, including mines, will abound.
St. Claymore
I messed with Texas.
That's an arrogant view of human history if you just consider the last 2000 years 'human history', but that's hardly the point I want to focus on.
Let's ignore whether zombies can read a sign or recognize a mine -- that might work to your advantage in some way, in fact: if you lay down a mine field and mark it as such, zeds will avoid that area, but, as I said, I'm not going to go into the discussion of whether zeds can recognize mines at all. What I say about mines is said about them generally.
We may never agree on this one, but I think that mines are simply too dangerous with too high of a risk for collatoral/incidental damage. I'm hardly talking about a stray bullet -- that's a mistake that happened in the crux of the situiation. Mines will continue being an issue long after zombies are gone and people want to line in the rest of the world outside their own base.
Using mines is equivelant to salting the earth -- it becomes unusable for many (many, many) generations. It simply doesn't make sense.
All that needs to be said is this: FIRE = BAD