The Physics of Zombies V: Madores Rule of Zombie Longevity and the Zombie Erosion Formula David Madore,1 Robert

Madore 2 1. The Necropology Institute, Email: david@necropology.com 2. The Necropology Institute, http://necropology.com JOAN: The Journal of American Necropology, 2012, II (I): 1-13 This file version: April, 8 2012

I. Abstract Madores Rule of Zombie Longevity states that zombies do not rot in the traditional human biological sense, rather, they erode. We believe that zombies bodies do not repair themselves, thus, the erosion damage they incur on both the macro and micro levels is cumulative and permanent. We present a formula (ZEF: the zombie erosion formula) that calculates the probable factors involved in zombie erosion, and hence, the impact of that erosion on their longevity. We must prepare. Keywords: Zombies, Physics, Rot, Decomposition, Erosion Content: 1. 2. 3. 4. Introduction Zombies Do Not Rot - Zombies Erode ZEF: Zombie Erosion Formula Conclusion

1. Introduction This paper examines the notion of zombie longevity and puts forth a new theory that zombies do not decompose and rot away like a normal, human corpse does after death. We believe that zombies erode rather than rot. We begin our paper with an examination of human after-death decomposition and the differences between that process and what appears to be happening to zombies post-death. Our research has led us to the conclusion that human and zombie decomposition share very little in common and that human decomposition has multiple stages of decomposition that are missing in zombie decomposition. Deceased humans decompose due to microbes eating/disassembling the main body mass, chemical degradation at the cellular level and actions by various insects. Zombies do not decompose in that manner.

We believe that the main vector that causes a zombie to decompose is mechanical erosion from exposure to hazardous objects, predators, weather and several other factors that cause wear and tear on the zombies mass. In essence, humans rot away whereas zombies erode away. We believe that zombies are like pencil erasers they do not rot away, rather, they wear down. Like pencil erasers, zombies have a given starting mass that diminishes as it comes into contact with its environment and the damage caused thereby. Zombie physiology does not allow for the repair of damage to the system, thus, a zombies violent path through their undead life is always one of diminishment. We believe that zombie and human decomposition only appear to share similar stages and causes. We believe that zombies appear to be rotting away due to visible damage that mechanical erosion causes to the zombies faade. With all of the above in mind, we offer up the zombie erosion formula. The formula encapsulates the exponential factors involved in zombie erosion. We begin our discussion with an overview of human decomposition and how it differs from zombie decomposition. 2. Zombies Do Not Rot - Zombies Erode We believe the following about zombie decomposition: A) Zombies do not decompose following traditional human decomposition paths. B) Zombies erode and wear away. C) Over time, the damage from erosion mimics human decomposition. Let us begin with an examination of A zombies do not decompose in the same manner as humans. When a human dies, its body goes through several stages of decomposition. Zombies do not go through these stages and, therefore, are not decomposing in the same manner or rate as a dead human. Let us briefly review the stages of human decomposition and check them against observed zombie physiology in their after life to see if they also occur in zombies. Rigor Mortis In three to six hours after death, the muscles in the human body begin to stiffen. A complex chemical process is initiated after death due to the loss of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production in the human body. ATP is the basic energy unity of biological life. Once ATP production stops, normal metabolic functions cease to occur. One of these processes is the pumping away of extraneous calcium ions. Without the ability to pump away the calcium ions at the cellular level the ions will diffuse and bind with troponin and allow myosin and actin to bind to form lactic acid. This is the chemical cocktail that is used by the body to contract muscles, so, once it is present in muscle tissue the tissue contracts and stiffens.

Rigor mortis is the body stiffness that results from the muscles contracting due to a build-up of lactic acid and can last from a few hours to several days (depending on environmental conditions). During rigor mortis, the muscles in the body flex (contract) making the human body, as the saying goes, stiff as a board. Over time, as the muscle tissue itself begins to break down, rigor mortis recedes and the body returns to a supple state. Do zombies have rigor mortis? Nope. Unlike humans, zombies are frighteningly mobile and supple after death. The field reports are almost unanimous in this, as so: A human is bitten by a zombie. The human dies of its wounds. The human turns into a zombie after drawing its last human breath. Within moments, the now zombie human gets up, walks around and attacks anything it considers prey. Zombies are dangerous and mobile immediately after death and STAY that way. While we agree that some zombies seem to display stiff joints, slow gait and other factors that indicate muscular co-ordination and system difficulties, they do not display true rigor mortis. That is, they do not full-body stiffen for any appreciable or apparent time frame. Further, we know of no field reports or generally accepted tactic of waiting for a zombie to stiffen and utilizing that time to destroy the zombie. Right away we can see that a dead, but unbitten, human and a dead human-turning-into-a-zombie differ greatly in their reaction to the loss of life: dead humans display rigor mortis, zombies do not. Simply put? ZOMBIES DO NOT GO THROUGH A STAGE OF RIGOR MORTIS IMMOBILITY. Why? We believe that zombies continue to produce ATP after their conversion from human to zombie. 1 With ATP production in place and minimal ongoing calcium ion pumping occurring, rigor mortis is either cancelled or delayed. 2

We believe that zombies continue to produce ATP after death. ATP is the basic energy unit of life for both plants and animals. Our discussion of this subject can be found at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/64059621/ThePhysics-of-Zombies-III-Madore%E2%80%99s-Rule-of-Zombie-Photosynthetic-Vitality
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We believe that calcium ion pumping in some zombies is likely not up to 100% of what living humans pump. Some zombies act like prize fighters in the tenth round of a challenging fight they walk with extreme stiffness, arms and legs swing slowly and without force and some appear to have an altered, shambling gate. This could be accounted for by an overabundance of lactic acid due to inferior calcium ion pumping. It appears that the zombie bacteria that is causing ATP production is not overly concerned (to anthropomorphize the bacteria and give it intent) with muscle maintenance.

Putrefaction and Bloat The next stage in human decomposition is putrefaction. 3 Putrefaction is the breakdown of proteins in the body after death. Putrefaction generally occurs due to two factors: First, ATP production has ceased and normal cell and total system metabolisms are unbalanced and the proteins begin to come apart on their own due to a lack of metabolic maintenance (i.e., they come unglued and break up). Second, anaerobic microbial bacteria in the human digestive tract proliferate and begin to eat the bodys proteins and break them down into smaller constituent components. Putrefaction is the aspect of decomposition that is most closely related to the common notion of rot. Putrefaction is the stage of decomposition where the internal structures of the body begin to come apart on the cellular and system levels the bodys structures break apart, gasses build, the body swells up and it is where the stink of death comes from. Zombies, despite popular belief, do not enter into a state of true putrefaction after turning into zombies. Heres why: The central aspect of putrefaction is the breakdown of proteins in the human body that can no longer sustain themselves or be sustained by the host system. Without the support of a human body in their maintenance, proteins begin to break down and fall apart. In addition, proteins are stored fuel and when the host system can no longer support their maintenance, they become easy prey for microorganisms both inside and outside the human body that would like to feed on them. Once the living systems guard is down, the feast begins. In zombies, however, ATP production is maintained after death and the human bodys cells (including those with protein) are maintained in a slave / symbiotic state by the invading bacteria. 4 The zombie bacteria quickly does a wholesale takeover of the entire body, shutting off certain functions, turning on others, but on the whole, the proteins are not abandoned to survive on their own.
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Yes, we know that a concurrent stage and even slightly before putrefaction - is autolysis. However, it simply doesnt happen in zombies. Autolysis is self-digestion of the cells cells are given an apoptosis command and begin to break down. Except that just doesnt happen in zombie - the cell walls do not break down. The cells do not break down because ATP production is still in place and internal-to-cell metabolic systems remain active. Thus, while we are aware of autolysis we simply do not see any signs of it in zombies and are leaving it out of this discussion there really is no need to muddy the waters.
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Here is some interesting news: We are almost certain at this point that it is indeed a bacterium that is the cause of the zombie plague and not a virus or other biological agent. We believe that a bacterium, following the same path as the original endo-symbiotic bacteria (that created life as we know it) has created a new form of life zombie life. We will be covering this in a future paper on How to create a zombie NOW! which will detail all the steps required to make a zombie at home (that is, if your home is a well-stocked gene lab with surgical room). We feel confident that we can make a zombie and well share that information with all of you. So, theres that to worry about we can make a zombie - sleep well.

Essentially, zombie bacteria invades a cell, sets up ATP production and keeps basic life functions running on the cellular level fueled by ATP energy cycles. 5 As a result, the microbes that would seek to consume the bodys proteins are kept at bay on a cell-by-cell basis and putrefaction on a grand scale never takes hold. 6 The most obvious evidence for the lack of true putrefaction in zombies is that the most common aftereffect of putrefaction is bloat. Wheres the bloat? The best evidence that zombies are not truly putrefying is the lack of observable evidence for the consequent last stage of putrefaction bloat. Zombies, in general, do not bloat. Bloat is the buildup of gasses inside the human body that result from the waste products of the microbes feasting on the corpse. The microbes eat proteins and give off gas in their wake. Decomposing bodies will fill with this gas and, while some of it may leak out of the various human orifices over time, the buildup often forces a general bloat across the entire human body that stretches the skin to bursting. Plainly stated, bloat just doesnt happen with zombies. Few, if any, zombies display traditional bloat across their bodies and many seem entirely intact many months after they have died and turned. Putrefaction happens because microbes are eating, the gasses build up and all zombies should appear to be bursting or have burst if this were the case. Most zombies, while indeed in a state of disrepair and damage, do NOT display the signs of bloating or post-bloating. They do not appear to have entered or passed a true putrefactive stage. Rigor mortis, putrefaction and bloat are essentially internal aspects of human decomposition. Rigor mortis involves the muscles inside the body. Putrefaction and bloat are caused mainly by the internal microbes and subsequent gas build ups. However, human decomposition is also normally aided by external decomposition agents: insects. Let us examine whether or not insects consider zombies to be in a state of decomposition. Where are the flies? As we find flies on corpses particularly distasteful we will not remain on this aspect long, except to dismiss it. If zombies were following normal decomposition patterns that human corpses follow they

Again we refer you to our ATP production paper - http://www.scribd.com/doc/64059621/The-Physics-ofZombies-III-Madore%E2%80%99s-Rule-of-Zombie-Photosynthetic-Vitality

However, they may be putrefying on a sporadic rate on a micro level lets look at a single zombie cell. It may burst and the interior bacteria may die. This would then leave the zombie cells components to rot away they may become food for other microbes and have putrefaction on the cell level, but not the system level. Millions of combined cells with microbes feeding on them and releasing gasses might cause a zombie to have the stink of death. This could be achieved through a few million cells being corrupted without any discernible impact on the overall systems functioning a few million cells may cause a smell, but a few trillion cells (the entire zombie) will still eat you.

would become excellent breeding grounds for many different species of insects. However, we do not find this to be the case. The most familiar insect species is the common house fly (L. Musca domestica). House flies just love big piles of rotting meat. They lay their eggs in the meat and the eggs become larvae (maggots) that feed on the flesh. These in turn become flies that will, in turn, continue the cycle and lay their own eggs in the rotting meat. The average female house fly can produce up to 500 offspring in day. One would expect if that there were a million corpses in a city that a near infinite number of flies would be filling the skies immediately above and around those corpses. The sky would be black with flies. If zombies were rotting away, like human corpses do, they would be covered in flies and maggots. We simply do not see that in zombie infection areas. The skies are not filled with flies. Zombies are not covered in flies. They are not covered in emerging and feeding maggots. Zombies look pretty bad, but they dont look that bad! Not even house flies think zombies are rotting! Zombies simply do not seem to have true rigor mortis, true putrefaction, true bloat, insect infestations or any of the other traditional signs of rotting away. 7 So, were on to something here! Theres no obvious rigor mortis, no obvious putrefaction, no obvious bloat why the hell do zombies look so damn bad? Why do they look like they are rotting? Well, heres why: Erosion! Zombies, in general, look like hell. They often have missing skin patches, torn clothing, and deep gouges in their flesh. They sport never-healing wounds, missing limbs, torn clothing and they look an awful lot like rotting human corpses. The resemblance is an illusion. We believe that a zombies resemblance to a rotting human corpse results from an accumulation of physical damage incurred by the zombie as it travels through the world in search of prey. Damage to zombies is cumulative. Let us, for a moment, examine a single zombie that is displaying a bit of damage that most would ascribe to rot. The zombie has the following damage: Missing eye, torn scalp, open wound on cheek, open wound on throat, two fingers on left hand and missing right hand it also has torn clothing, missing shoes, damaged feet and an exposed bone in forearm. Did it rot into that condition or erode into that condition?
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And those are just the first stages of decomposition! There seems to be no evidence for the advanced stages of decomposition such as liquefaction (the body mass, minus skeletal features turns into a soup) or active skeletal decay. Yes, its pretty clear; zombies do not decompose in the same manner as humans.

It sure looks like it is rotting! If we came face to face with it for the first time, in that condition, we might assume it has rotted into that state. The eye rotted away. The scalp rotted away. The cheek rotted away. The fingers rotted off. One hand rotted off. The arm is rotting away and the bone becomes exposed. However, did it really rot that way or is something else to blame for its condition? Is it rot or cumulative damage? Now, let us assume that we know this zombie personally. Let us assume we have observed this zombie since it turned. Let us assume we are in a safe and secure location and that we have seen this zombie transform from human to zombie. We have seen the following things: Day One: Human being trapped on street with zombies has its throat ripped out by attacking zombies. Human is forced to the ground - throat destroyed and thrashing into a violent death. The human becomes still after death. After a few moments, it rises to its feet and begins scanning for prey. Finding none it roams around the street in front of our fortification allowing us to continue examination. Excepting the throat wound, it appears to be a functional, uninjured human being at least from behind. Day One Erosion Damage Accumulation: Throat wound. Day One Rot Accumulation: None. The human/zombie did not go into rigor mortis. It rose immediately after death and remained mobile. It did not remain on the ground and did not begin putrefaction or bloat. The zombie appears to be a normal zombie and not a distended, gas-filled human corpse overrun by flesh eating microbes. No flies are present. Day Two: The zombie encounters an armed party traveling in a vehicle making its way slowly down the street. The zombie attacks the vehicle, grabbing at the cage-reinforced windows with its hands. The occupants slash at the zombie. One occupant slices off the fingers on one hand while another occupant manages to remove one of the zombies hands entirely with a single swing. Day Two Erosion Damage Accumulation: Throat wound, missing fingers and missing hand. Day Two Rot Accumulation: None. It is still mobile, no rigor mortis. The zombie has not bloated. The belly has not expanded and burst. No flies are present. Days 3-30: The zombie chases a car, catches its arm on a bumper opening a bone deep gash. The zombie encounters a shovel wielding human who swings at its skull tearing away the skin and scalp. The zombie attacks another human, the human presses his thumb into the zombies eye socket and pops the eyeball. The zombie lost its shoes on day four and has been shuffling around on the street without them for weeks the zombies feet are becoming ragged from the non-stop walking and occasionally being run over as it attacks moving vehicles. A human shoots a spear gun at the zombie, narrowly missing a direct head shot and instead opens a gash on the zombies cheek.

Days 3-30 Erosion Damage Accumulation: Plenty. Throat wound, missing fingers, missing hand, torn scalp, cheek wound, ragged feet, etc. Days 3-30 Rot Accumulation: None. It is simply a damaged human now turned zombie. We may not return to our opening statements regarding zombie decomposition: A) Zombies do not decompose following traditional human decomposition paths. B) Zombies erode and wear away. C) Over time, the damage from erosion mimics human decomposition. A Examined: Zombies do not have debilitating rigor mortis. Nor do they truly putrefy, bloat or attract and propagate vast fly populations. B and C Examined: Zombies do not heal. When a zombie incurs a wound it remains. If you slash a zombie in the face with a machete and return to that zombie a month later, the slash will be the same size or larger. 8 If you tear off a zombies scalp, the wound remains open and does not scab or scar over. If you gouge a zombies arm down to the bone, that bone will be forever visible. They look like they are rotting because of cumulative physical damage. We can now safely leave rot behind while examining the probable factors that affect how long a zombie may last. So, lets do that! Let us look at what really effects how long a zombie will last the Zombie Erosion Formula! 3. ZEF: Zombie Erosion Formula Let us begin with an analogy: Zombies are like pencil erasers with repeated friction they will wear away. Neither pencil erasers nor zombies are capable of self-regeneration of lost mass. All damage is cumulative both start at 100% and decline towards zero over time. Zombies dont rot, they wear down. We present a formula that describes and predicts zombie wear and tear from the multiplicity of forces that wear away the initial body mass of zombies: ZE = (ZM + CL) ((W + (OH * di) + (P*di) + (SiSD * di )) * t) Where: ZE is zombie erosion, ZM is Zombie Mass, CL is Clothing, W is Weather, OH is Obstacles & Hazards, di is Detection Impairment, P is Predators, SiSD is Self-inflicted Siege Damage, and t is time.

Why larger? Well, thats actually the point of this paper. If the slash leaves skin flaps on either side, those flaps could catch on something and tear the wound open and make it larger. Likewise, if the wound is in an area that receives a lot of movement the slash in the skin will be worked open by the movement causing the wound to grow. Thus, a simple slash on the cheek can broaden and lengthen if the jaws of the zombie are opening and closing on victims and the cheek wound is positioned along a wear line.

The ZEF shows that zombies may erode by multiple erosion routes simultaneously and at different rates.9 Let us now take a look at the individual factors involved and then put them all back together in the formula. We will examine the rationale behind including each of them and how they affect the one way trip to oblivion the zombie is making. The Erosion Factors ZM: Zombie Mass This is the initial starting body mass of an individual zombie. Mass, here, is the traditional physics definition of mass the constituent components and matter that make up the zombies body. CL: Clothing This is the initial clothing a zombie may be wearing when it is turned. We have included it in the formula as it represents a level of protection to the zombie during its frictional encounters with the outside world. A clothed zombie will be better protected against wear and tear damage than a naked one. Example: Two zombies enter a forest. While in the forest, a fire begins. One zombie is a former fire fighter and is still wearing his protective gear. The other zombie is naked. The clothed zombie will receive less damage from the forest fire than the naked zombie. Over time, both the zombies mass and clothing will be worn away. All other factors in the formula serve to diminish both clothing and body mass. OH: Obstacles & Hazards Obstacles and Hazards include any non-intelligent objects and events that cause damage to zombies when encountered or experienced (but not including directed attacks and self-inflicted damage which are detailed separately below). Obstacles and Hazards include such things as forest fires, cliffs, barb-wired fences, being struck by a passing convoy of fast moving vehicles, deep holes, rock slides, weak floors that break and cause a great fall, falling trees, explosive geysers, icy ledges above steep drops, rotted rope bridges, collapsing ceilings, fording a swift rocked-filled rivers, etc. Essentially, any event or encounter with an object that causes damage to a zombie that creates a loss of body mass is an obstacle or hazard in the formula.

Those familiar with physics will of course see that zombie erosion and the ZEF are exponential decay processes. One could easily use this formula to determine zombie half-life and other exponential decay results. Other examples of exponential decay in physics and science include Poisson processes, radioactivity, and resistance in electrostatics and all over the damn place in thermodynamics. Its pretty common in physics but has never been applied to zombies before till now. Its what we do.

W: Weather We have included weather as an erosion force as it may directly reduce the body mass of a zombie. For example, a zombie in a heavy sand storm may lose body mass due to the scouring effects of the passing wind and sand. Likewise, a sufficiently heavy bombardment of hail stones may cause a loss of body mass as various loose pieces of the zombie are knocked off or broken. Extreme heat and cold may also cause zombies to lose body mass through dehydration or via ice-fissures, causing cracking, fracturing and mass loss respectively. Weather also affects the severity of obstacles and hazards; however, again, here in the formula we are using it in its direct erosion (friction) force capacity. 10 P: Predators Predators are any human or non-human attacker that causes the zombie to lose body mass and/or functional use of any of their body mass. A human that hits a zombie with a machete and removes the zombies arm is a predator. A grizzly bear that swipes a zombie leg off with a clawed paw is a predator in the formula. SiSD: Self-inflicted Siege Damage SiSD is any erosion damage that that zombie causes to itself from its interactions with the outside environment. SiSD is a slightly complicated erosion route to explain. An example will speed understanding: A zombie sees a human enter a room with a steel door that is covered in spikes. The zombie rushes to the door and begins to pound on the door. The zombies hands come into repeated contact with the spikes on the door being impaled and pulled free and impaled again and again and again and again. Eventually, the zombies hands and forearms become pulped flesh and the zombie loses body mass. A

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Weather is tricky. Sometimes it acts like a direct frictional force sand storm. Sometimes it acts as a force multiplier a wet obstacle, a blinding sand storm that causes you to fall off a cliff you didnt see. However, when weather is not directly affecting the deterioration of flesh we feel it is adequately covered by the other factors. That is, when it is weather causing the zombie to walk around essentially blind (i.e., a heavy downpour causing low to no visibility) it is included in di in the formula. When it makes an obstacle wet and harder to cross, it is per force included in the OH itself. That is, its a wet obstacle but still just an obstacle. However, sometimes weather has a direct application of force on a zombie, as in: sand directly scouring the zombies surface area and removing mass. Therefore, while it could be used as a modifier for other factors we are using it as a direct factor when it appears in the formula.

zombie may continue to damage (erode) itself in perpetuity as long as it believes prey capture will result from its injurious actions. 11

di: Detection Impairment Detection impairment itself is not an erosion force. It is a modifier (multiplier) that causes an increase in the rate of erosion from the other forces. Detection impairment comes in to play when the zombies physical senses are damaged and/or missing and it cannot react to and/or avoid: Obstacles & Hazards, Predators or Self-Inflicted Siege Damage. Detection impairment means a zombie that cannot see, hear or has lost the use of any or all of its environmental detection senses. Example of how di modifies and increases OH: A zombie on top of a tall building will normally not fall off the edge of the roof if otherwise not Detection Impaired. However, a zombie that has lost the use of its eyes (e.g., being previously blinded by an attacker) will eventually wander off the roof and thus the OH erosion is increased when di is present. Example of how di modifies and increases P: A zombie that cannot sense an attacker approaching it (because it has no eyes and ears) is going to receive a harsher attack from a predator than if it could sense and counter-attack the predator. Example of how di modifies and increases SiSD: A zombie sees a human enter a room protected by a spiked steel door. The zombie begins to pound on the door, causing damage to its hands. A human reaches out with a weapon through a slot in the steel door and pokes the zombies eyes out and lops off its ears. The zombie is unable to see the human leave the locked room through a second, nearby door. It continues to pound on the spiked door and continues to increase the damage it is receiving. Without di the zombie would receive less damage, ergo, di acts as a multiplier.

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We have written a paper on the subject of zombie attraction to prey and the severity it can reach. It can be found here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/57439058/The-Physics-of-Zombies-Madore%E2%80%99s-Rules-ofZombie-Cohesion-Zombie-Cells-and-Super-Cells-Zombie-Black-Holes-Zombie-Cell-Stress-Fission-and-Zombie-Qui

Let us put them all back together and see if it makes sense: ZE = (ZM + CL) ((W + (OH * di) + (P*di) + (SiSD * di )) * t) Here is how that formula looks to us in words: Zombie erosion (ZE) comes about when a zombie of a given mass (ZM), which may or may not be protected by clothing (CL), encounters extreme weather (W), damaging obstacles and hazards (OH), attacks by people and animals (P), and/or smashes itself against damaging surfaces in an attempt to reach prey (SiSD). All of these things are worsened when the zombie cannot adequately sense and avoid attacks and dangerous places (di). Over time (t), when exposed to erosion, zombies wear down just like pencil erasers. The long and short of it: zombies erode. 4. Conclusion Zombies look like rotting human corpses but they are not. Zombies do not go through the accepted stages of normal human post-death decomposition. They do not have noticeable rigor mortis, putrefaction or bloat stages after death. They are not attacked or consumed by micro-organic or macroorganic pests or bacteria. As opposed to human-like rotting, zombie decomposition is caused by erosion. Erosion comes in many forms: weather, predators, encounters with obstacles and hazards all serve to damage and decrease a zombies mass. All of these factors are increased in their potential and actual potency if the zombie can no longer sense and counter-act the forces acting upon it. Our presentation of the Zombie Erosion Formula (ZEF) clarifies this process and presents a practical measure of these forces at work. Our previous statement bears repeating: Zombie erosion comes about when a zombie of a given mass, which may or may not be protected by clothing, encounters extreme weather, damaging obstacles and hazards, attacks by people and animals , and/or smashes itself against damaging surfaces in an attempt to reach prey . All of these things are worsened when the zombie cannot adequately sense and avoid attacks and dangerous places. Over time, when exposed to erosion, zombies wear down just like pencil erasers. Lastly, one does wonder about the longevity of a zombie that is not encountering any erosion forces. That is, what happens to a pristine zombie in a closed, environmentally stable, container? We believe that a zombie that is receiving adequate photosynthetic support is limited in its survival only by the atomic and quantum stability of its constituent matter. We believe that zombies are photosynthetically powered ATP production machines. As long as ATP production remains a zombie should be able to essentially live forever on the cellular level apoptosis has stopped and the only limiting factor to cell death is the actual physical rupturing of the cell through physical action. If the cells remain

intact and photo-synthetic power is received zombie cells, and thus, zombies, have no discernible shelflife. If all other erosion factors are dismissed, a pristine zombies shelf-life might stretch into millions of years certainly tens of thousands. Even long after most zombies have disappeared in the outside erosionfilled world, humans must be ever vigilant when searching locked rooms, deep caves and other stable areas. The fear that a sheltered zombie may be lurking behind every corner will persist for centuries after the start of the infestation! We must prepare

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