Quote:
Originally Posted by jinlo
The steel reinforced wall built with an angled top is believed to be one of the best barriers against Zombies. This got me thinking of other barriers, including some of the worst. In doing so, I considered one barrier that I feel helps illustrate the three laws which started this thread. I offer the mine field.
On one side of the mine field is a pack of Zombies. On the other side is a small collection of humans hoping to survive the undead onslaught. Since the first law states that Zombies will seek out the living, it's pretty obvious what happens next. The Zombies enter the mine field.
Let's say there are a dozen or so Zombies that now go shambling through the field. BOOM! One hits a mine. You now have little tatters of Zombie flesh all over the place and perhaps the top third of a Zombie body struggling in the dirt. Do the other hungry Zombies stop to pick up the flesh for a bit of a snack or to feast on the brains of the incapacitated Zombie that's now an easy target? Absolutely not. Why? Second Law: A Zombie shall not eat another Zombie.
Instead, the remaining Zombies move forward completely focused on the living humans on the other side of the mine field. Boom! Boom! Boom! And still they move onward, disregarding the mayhem and the obvious danger to themselves. And thus we see the implications of the Third Law. Zombies will disregard obvious hazards while focused on their prey.
This illustrates why a mine field is a fairly useless barrier. The psychological power of a mine field is a potent weapon. If an enemy believes one wrong step toward you is going to blow him into next week, he's going to think twice about charging you. Heck, sometimes you don't even have to plant the mines, just put up a warning sign - "Danger! Mine Field. Proceed at your own risk!" This normally ends any trespassing problems. Zombies, however, won't bother to read the sign. They simply don't care.
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This provides an excellent illustration of the three laws, especially the last one. Self-preservation is simply not a consideration when it comes to the long-term zombie, although it might be a small (and quickly diminishing) factor when it comes to the newly zombified.
Considering the types of barriers that are available, this leads to a question: Are zombies affected by music? Specifically: Will certain types of music attract or repel zombies?
In the video for "Thriller," Michael Jackson demonstrated an effective use of music as a weapon against zombies. If music is effective in this manner, it would provide many possibilities in the field of zombie defense. Let's say that zombies are attracted by heavy metal, and are repelled by disco. It would be possible to drive the zombies away by the judicious use of speakers to send them away.