Will You Survive the Apocalypse?

Do you have what it takes to survive an apocalyptic event?

Most of us think we do. And that might be a good thing. In life, sometimes confidence can compensate for weaknesses.

Ever since embarking on the challenging journey of writing what I hope is a smarter zombie story, I’ve consistently been drawn back to the opening question. One of the things I’ve found fascinating as I’ve begun immersing myself in the various subcultures (which I honestly never even knew existed previously) of zombie fandom is how much of a role environmental factors can play in survival. What draws many to post-apocalyptic tales is the rugged individualism, the insurmountable odds. But, inherent in that individualism is almost always an ability to craft innovative solutions to problems literally out of the things around you. If it’s just you and a zombie in a room, and all you have is a plastic container of stale fish flakes, perhaps it’s time to get creative.

As this line of curiosity and inquiry grew, I wondered just how much my own state of Oregon would influence my ability to survive an apocalyptic event. And then it metastasized into this series. My new zombie series begins in south Texas, and remains there through at least the first three books. Texas is a vastly different state than Oregon. Not just in terms of geography and ecology, either. The socio-economic factors expose significant dissimilarities between the two populations.

Perhaps the environment has shaped those social differences?

Regardless of any philosophical side quests, such as the one above, external factors do not limit themselves just to the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees. People possess an innate capacity to fuck each other over in ever-innovative ways that fascinates me. Would they indulge those base desires and petty disagreements when lives literally hung in the balance? Some would. And some would not. It may be this diversity, this plethora of differences in how humans approach the exact same problem, that allows zombie fandom to thrive.

In an apocalyptic scenario, people could be our greatest resource. When humans congregate together with other like-minded people, societies emerge. Those societies can exert such a power and influence that pyramids will soon rise above the jungle canopy to testify to the ever-present human desire to assert their dominance over nature. Or they can reveal the empathy and compassion some communities feel for the natural world. Neither society is inherently wrong. Carving pyramids in the jungle is a feat of brilliance just as much as finding ways to co-habitate with wolves. The point is that when humans cooperate around one common goal that becomes bigger than the individual, they can do amazing things.

But, people don’t always get along.

Sometimes people do horrendous things to each other. They dehumanize each other to the point where one human might consider another human in a class with zombies, even if that other person merely had an annoying laugh or didn’t like blackberries. In those scenarios, encountering other people can cause considerable distress, and, worse, a scratching, scrabbling fight to the death.

It is the dichotomy between good and evil that makes the human element so strong and poignant. And relevant. One might even say that the zombie tale is a metaphor attempting to analyze that very dichotomy. One might even begin seeing post-apocalyptic stories as symbolic of our own desire to fight what is toxic and evil in ourselves.

Moving on, characters are integral to any story. Characterization is perhaps my favorite part of the writing process. Perhaps even more so than in any other area of fiction, post-apocalyptic tales derive much of their success based on characters. Because these stories are about enduring optimism and the resiliency of the human spirit, making the journey almost into its own intangible antagonist, we must be drawn into the struggles and burdens of the characters we follow through the wastelands. The external events are only important because of how they impel the protagonist and his cast of cohorts to act- or not act.

Since we often see bits of ourselves in the heroes and heroines of story, the opening question may still be relevant to the discussion. Would you survive the apocalypse? What gives you that confidence, or lack thereof? What factors do you consider? Would you try to go it alone, or would you rely on a band of capable friends? Would you be afraid of raiders or receptive to the afflicted?

How we view an apocalyptic event depends on how we view the world, and how we view ourselves. The paranoiac prepper probably would have a comparative advantage in a true existential crisis. But, was it the paranoiac prepper who helped create the crisis in the first place?

Our external world will have a tremendous impact on how we fare both during and after an apocalyptic event. Most of us, of course, would die. If we didn’t, it wouldn’t be an apocalyptic event. But, for those genuinely curious about how they would do, the world around them holds many clues. And the worlds inside do, too. Because our thoughts and paradigms influence how we interact with the external environment.

Over the following days and weeks, I will be posting my list of how each of the fifty American states would fare after a general apocalyptic event. Because each state is different, in terms of natural resources and people, each state would have a different set of obstacles to overcome in a crisis. Some obstacles can be more equal than others. Following the complete breakdown of society, water and food would be more important than what brand of green juice Leah or Maxine had after their beach bottom workout.

The list was mostly inspired by an indomitable curiosity. Part of the inspiration also was the desire to tell a smarter zombie story. One of the reasons I have not always been an avid member of zombie fandom was because of the perceived insipidity and commercialization of the genre. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much the post-apocalyptic tale can mirror our own current realities and debates. Debates over when speech becomes anathema, debates over processes, debates over the proper role of government, they all have a central theme: external factors can play an important role in how I live my life.

One thing that did NOT inspire this list, however, is a desire to malign or put down any state, or the residents of any state. In my estimations, some states fared worse than others. That does not say every single resident of those states would die immediately (we’re all going to die eventually- just probably not from the zombie apocalypse). No political considerations were made. I did my best to eliminate any potential for value judgements.

Some of the factors I examined in compiling this list are: access to water, food, population density, basic medicinal plants or herbs, available fuel (for fires), proximity to nuclear reactors, crime rate, weapon ownership rate, survivalist knowledge, income, weather/climate, et cetera. All of these are fairly objective.

So, then, grays. Immediately following this post, I will begin with number 50 on the list. Stay tuned.

Exist and thrive, grays.

              We will meet again soon.

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2018. Copyright: William Gray.