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If a measure of society continues in the post-apocalyptic world, there will be people feverishly trying to design a 'wonder weapon' to win back Earth for the Normals. But what will that be? Traditional weapons are only of limited use- most modern heavy weapons are complete overkill, and difficult to maintain or operate without considerable training.
I'm leaning towards chemical/biological solutions. Let's look at the body of a zombie. Its' internal organs aren't functioning, or at the very least functioning at a reduced or slowed rate. It (usually) have an intact skeleton, flesh and muscles to move it about, and to power those muscles it must have some sort of respiration system. It has a partially fuctional nervious system and brain.
Now, aside from brute force, how can we damage these things? Let's take a look.
A zombie is basically a walking corpse. Historically, after a battle or plague in which there were a lot of corpses hanging around, they would bury the bodies and try to speed decomposition. We can do the same thing here- they are dead, and are rotting, even if at a greatly slowed rate. Powdered lime, dropped from an aircraft or sprayed with crop-dusting equipment, would work admirably. Based on the rate of decomposition of a normal body and lime's necrotic abilities, a rough estimate of 2 weeks is how long it will take to rot a zombie's flesh down to the bone with lime. It loses muscles and tendons, it can't move.
We could hit the respiration system as well. Chlorine gas would work the best in this situation, because of its' chemical formula- your lungs are wet, or at least damp, right? Guess what happens when chlorine comes into contact with H2O- a double-displacement reaction occurs (or a synthetic reaction, I'm not up to par on this crap), and pure sulphuric acid is formed. It killed innumerable soldiers in trenches in the First World War, and it will act in the same way with zombies. Any open wound, any bit of moisture on the skin would result in open wounds that would grow deeper until the acid was diluted- the lungs completely destroyed. No oxygen to the brain, no zombie. This is, in my opninion, the best solution, as it's potent and easy to make- I've made aqueous chlorine before, and if I had just dried it out and heated it in a dry oven (I consider myself a bit of a chemist), I could have made chlorine gas- and killed myself in the process, if even the tiniest leak was present.
A more advanced solution is nerve gases. Certain chemical mixtures permanently damage or block the nervous system and brain from working properly- for example, an invisible, odorless gas the Germans used in the trenches produced no discernable effects for the first 8 hours, meaning soldiers could inhale huge amounts and not notice. Then they lost feeling and then mobility in their limbs- their nerve receptors were shredded. It produced many a quadriplegic in its days. Although difficult to produce, if the other methods don't work this is a sure-fire solution- after all, a zombie can only be surely killed through brain damage.
Things like these will never replace bullets or blades, but it presents one of the first concievable methods of striking out at hundreds of thousands of zombies across a very large area, possibly winning it for humanity and securing our continued existance, un-altered, on this planet.
Got anything to add or any questions?
Be afraid. Hogan is worse than any zombie.
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I can instantly see a big problem when you combine the phrase "biological weapon" and "Chlorine gas". That problem, of course, being that we are still going to be inherently as human as those zombies we use this stuff on. Biological and chemical weapons, especially in a dystopic civilisation, are simply far too dangerous. Chlorine gas, for example, will shift in its diffusion direction with every gust of wind, potentially going straight after you. Powdered lime could do the same, destroying the few crops we'd be able to get. Once we get into nerve gases we're just asking for trouble. It's like operating a meth lab in a blazing oil field.
Bury deep, pile on the stones
Yet I will, dig up the bones
I think there is a problem when someone on this site mentions chlorine gas -- as far as I'm concerned, there should be so little interaction with chlorine in dystopia that we almost forget what it is. Chorline is bad stuff.
All that needs to be said is this: FIRE = BAD
It's really not all that bad, and I can speak from experience- the first time I made chlorine gas (and the last, at least in gaseous form) was when I was making hydrogen through electrolysis- using saltwater [NaCl (aq), which is where the chlorine came from]. It probably had something to do with the bleach and peroxide I used to clean the jar, but a few minutes after I added the contacts into the water I noticed a yellowish haze in the jar. Being the idiot that I am, I immediately flipped over the jar to pour it out.
Needless to say, I likely inhaled a small amount, because I went into a coughing fit and started sucking water out of the tap to try and stop it. It worked, but now I'm really careful about containation.
If you're curious, I'm just a big chemical nerd. I love synthesizing and decomposing things into other forms- it's fascinating what you learn. For example, you can make gunpowder out of soil, sulphurite fertilizers and wood charcoal. If I had the time, I could build primitive firearms and explosives at home with equipment on hand.
But yes, I believe things like this are worth the risk. Almost all chemicals that damage your internals enter through open wounds or the respiratory system, so gas masks and talcum powder to dry out the skin is ample protection while working with dangerous materials like this.
Be afraid. Hogan is worse than any zombie.
Not convincing. These things are dangerous. You haven't proven it to be otherwise.
All that needs to be said is this: FIRE = BAD
It might be easy to do in present states, but a dystopia is a heck of a lot different. I myself know how to turn coal, water, and high-proof booze into primitive napalm, but that certainly doesn't mean I'll be doing it for use against the undead. In a dystopia we'll be lucky enough to get any water, let alone saltwater or limewater.
Bury deep, pile on the stones
Yet I will, dig up the bones
They are dangerous, just like any other improvised weapon we may yield. Flamethrowers can ignite and set their wielders on fire, and guns can overheat and misfire, possibly injuring the user. Hell, you can cut yourself with a knife. The point is that, with a few simple precautions, they can be turned into potent weapons of destruction, because a zombie can't wear a gas mask. For example, you can piss on a rag and hold it against your face to provide protection from chlorine gas until the urine dries out- simple, effective, and preparable in seconds.
We should use our intelligence as a prevention against damage- think of it a a safety valve, killing the unintelligent zombie masses and sparing the humans who can put on a gas mask or get away from the rolling green cloud of gas.
Not to mention that these should only e sued in favourable winds- wait for a breezy day, and release the gas upwind of your location.
Be afraid. Hogan is worse than any zombie.
Okay. Chlorine gas, like fire, does not make sense to use against zombies. Yes, all weapons are dangerous, but the key is, there is safety built into them -- a gun fires in one direction, a knife has a handle. You would have to construct a makeshift lab, combine the proper chemicals to obtain the chlorine, and you must contain it in a non-corrosive container, all without spilling any. Then you must take this contained gas and find a way to direct it at the zombies -- which, mostly, relies on the wind -- a less than predictable force. This, I would contend, will likely not be sufficient to kill the zombies, as the air dispersal method will cause the chlorine gas to be less concentrated. I think the most this would do is turn a group of zombies into a group of ugly, possibly slower moving zombies.
Not worth the effort.
All that needs to be said is this: FIRE = BAD
I could see powdered lime working well if you had dug a huge trench or pit and dumped it in on top of the zeds. As for chlorine gas, I want nothing to do with the stuff and the same goes for the nerve agents.
Carpe Noctem
