Not to abuse asking the forum for advice here, but I need it... I'm working on a short story for a zombie-themed contest. There's not much of a prize, but I love zombies so much that I can't resist. That said, my story involves a bit of good ol' zombie luv. It occurred to me that the story takes place in the South, and it gets pretty warm here. The MC is still human so it seems like she would want to do what she could to prevent decay. I'm already using a bit of creative license in that they don't rot as normal bodies would rot, and depending on the infected - may or may not still have a few working bodily functions... And no, I'm not writing zombie erotica. Even going on the assumption that the zombies the MC is seeking out are slow-rotting and whole, it feels like minor repairs would still need to be made. Does anyone have any ideas as to how a young woman with access to only basic, abandoned small-town shops would go about this? I have a few ideas involving latex and rubber cement, but I'm not 100% pleased with any of my zombie maintenance plans.
The first thing that comes to mind, for me(I share the Zombie fanship) is simple stitching up to fix what damage has been done. But this assume the damage done by rot can be repaired by the body in question. Since this is unlikely, the only thing you could do to prevent further rot is to throw the zombies in the desert, or put them in a vacuum chamber. Neither are available to small southern towns, so, in my mind, there is nothing that CAN be done to fix or prevent further rot. However, you could still explain that the zombies are capable of being repaired, and just go with stitching/bandaging. May I say, the use of latex will not help your arguement of this NOT being Zombie Erotica! XD
Hmmm... Zombirotica. I see a new shelf at Borders coming soon. All joking aside, if you took enough license with the zombies not falling apart (literally), I can't see why a good romance could not be made to work. After all, Corpse Bride was rather good, and she was dropping parts everywhere! Also, as far as unconventional non humans are concerned, you could take a cue from Anne Rice's vampire novels. That stuff was practically soft porn at times, and those characters were quite undead.
How about putting some alchohol in the veins...it would ward off bacteria that would cause some rot, right? Isn't there a product like an invisible bandage that is a liquid you spread over a cut? If not, super glue is known to glue fingers together...well a cut could be mended that way on a zombie body. Hey, there's always good ol' duct tape to keep some unslightly flesh from flapping on the leg or forearm. Just some thoughts with what an average lady would have available. Good luck with the project. Terry
Thanks for the ideas! Hmm, how would alcohol in the veins work? I realize zombie's don't have much in the way of circulation going on, so would any remaining blood need to be drained? Is that something a young woman could do without embalming tools? There's probably some simple solution to that, but it's been a long time since anatomy class in high school. Bandages might work to some extent. I hadn't thought about that. She does consider herself rather hip, so she would probably try doing something fashionable with gauze. Lol, then neither will me mentioning the main character looted a sex shop to find proper "zombie harnessing" gear. That's why I was thinking latex. :redface:
Couldn't you use New Skin? That stuff works wonders with cuts sometimes, so I don't maybe it could work for a zombie.
I was also thinking that to prevent rot, one needs only to kill bacteria. Some good old hydrogen peroxide should do the trick, and have the added bonus of some drying effects. Fill a bathtub with the stuff, make the zombie bathe fairly often, and the decay should be slowed considerably. Rubbing alcohol would also probably work, but wouldn't have the same visual impact of the peroxide. Another option would be a liberal coating of Bacitracin. Keep in mind that the bacteria that cause decay are constantly present on and in the body. You would have to combat all of them in order to get substantial results. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_decay#Human_decomposition for more information on human decomposition. Also... Zombie Romance? Really?
If the flesh is dead, rot will set in, and bits will fall off. Peroxide will only break down the cells faster, and antibiotic creams will not be effective if there is no living immune system.
Eh, the only reason dead tissue decays is because it is broken down by bacteria. That bacteria is always present on your body. In order for growth, cells die, are broken down by bacteria, and new ones grow in. A dead cell in a bacteria-free environment will not decay. That's how mummification happens. The dead cells dry out and when coupled with an inhospitable environment (such as extreme cold, extreme heat, or acidic bogs) are preserved. A mummy could conceivably decay if placed in the right environment. The key to the whole thing is bacterial genocide. No bacteria to break down dead cells, no decay.
Yea, thats why I suggested a desert! XD For the "New Skin", the body, Zombie, would still need to heal for it to be effective, but Zombies in the modern sense don't heal, they rot and eventually just fall over... Dead... I HAVE AN IDEA! Lets say that the source of the zombies is a chemical that spilled. She could go to the spill site and collect the stuff, and bath the zombies in it. Since that chemical would be both what causes zombification AND slows the decay! The problem would be she would need gear to protect herself from the chemical. Of course, it doesn't HAVE to be a chemical spill. That was just an example. XD
Peroxide does as much damafge to healthy cells as to bacteria in and around the cells. Ask any wound care specialist what he or she thinks of using peroxide on wounds. As for a bacteria-free environment, you won't find one. Even if you managed to clean out every bacterium within a body, you's have to encase the clensed body in an impermeable shell. There is NO immune system to prevent evensmall numbers of bacteria from taking hold and rotting the flesh. It is true that there are chemically inhospitable environments with regard to bacteria, but they only slow the degradation of flesh, and are also continually active against any bacterial growth that begins to take place. Such environments would not be particularly conducive to romance. Of course, zombies in their original meaning were not animated corpses, they were living people enslaved through drugs and mental domination. But I doubt that is what you were looking for for your story.
Vacuum... Cog, a VACUUM is inhospitable to EVERYTHING! The only creature I can think of that would survive a Vacuum is a waterbear, but they eat moss! XD But, yea, a Vacuum would be both hard to create and impossible to hug a zombie in... So... Yea...
I think peroxide might make matters worse, and I had no intention of having my MC near zombie ground zero. I've been considering packing zombies in salt. Either a tub of salt or soaked, salt-coved gauze. Would that work. Would jerky zombies still be lovable?
What about hybernating in restaurant's walk-in refrigerators and spraying (them) with the commercial industrial food preservatives? You could also play with the idea of small electric shocks stimulating minor cell regenerations (lasting for a day or so). The MC, could hot wire abandoned vehicles and shock (them) with the car batteries once in awhile. Or break into abandoned homes and stick a fork in a socket. LOL. (an interesting side note) I think the original "zombies" were stroke victims who went into a coma for three days and ended up being burried. Then they came out of their coma and dug their way out of the grave--only to find half their body paralyzed and their speech incoherent (as is often the case w/ serious stroke victims). So they would be dragging themselves along, dirty and in a very zombielike fashion, moaning, trying to find their loved ones. The whole town would reject them out of horror and only the osrtracized hag on the out-skirts of town would take them in and help them. You would have the perfect set-up for superstitious villagers to invent a story about the 'evil witch raising zombies' and 'controling' them.
The MC is actually still human. She's just preserving several zombies, or at least one in particular. There are no specific origins of zombies - none that historians know of. Sure, the concept of them is quite popular in voodoo and folk magics, but mention of zombie creatures has been around since BCE.
I'm sorry, I misunderstood your original question. There's no way anyone can know for fact that there is no 'specific' origin of the zombie legend. It's not uncommon for folklore and legend to have originated from something that was simply misunderstood.
Sounds to me like it's going to be a sad ending... She is trying desperately to slow her loves decay, and yet that is all she can do. She can only slow it. And really for how long? How long will he last? But still, she desperately tries. Sad. I like it.
This is more in response to what Arck said, but... If I was to do something like what your doing, Penny, I would have the MC just let her Zombie BF bite her whenever he is about to just fall apart... Seems like a nice ending for something with a darker theme...
I just assumed she was racing to get some sort of restoration 'cure' for him. Something that she knew of that could reverse it and bring him back to life. But the dark ending that Evil Ferret suggests does have a nice sound to it...
Heh, nothing quite like that, I'm afraid. I might drop a link if it's accepted, but - while not particularly happy - the ending isn't quite so dark... nor are her motives quite so noble. Which makes for an odd balance really. It's tough trying to make a story somewhat romantic without taking away too much... ... rot. At the same time, I don't want to attract fetishists. -.- A graceful balance is within my grasp, I'm sure.
Ahem. Any lady who wears stockings will tell you that nail polish fixes everything up - any kind of snag (skin, for your zombies) or run or tear...good ol' clear nail polish will nip it in the bud...for short while. Also, I read another zombie book (LOVED it!), and nail polish has formaldehyde in it. Ta-da! Instant embalming kick. Also - what's wrong with maybe just ice? Down South (where I come from), ice is from the gods. Anything that's messed up can be repaired with ice. Head wound? Ice. Bit your tongue? Ice. Socked in the eye for checking out another girl? Ice. Sprained ankle? Ice. Bleeding profusely? Ice. And if it can't be fixed - then you need a drink with ice to think about another solution.
