Zombies Evolved Read online

Zombies Evolved

  By Derick Campbell

  Copyright 2013 Derick Campbell

  Table of Contents

  Dedications

  Chapter Zero – Infection

  Chapter One – Prescription

  Chapter Two – Education

  Chapter Three – Sin

  Chapter Four – Faith

  Chapter Five – Doubt

  Chapter Six – Innocence

  Chapter Seven – Mortality

  Chapter Eight – Suspicion

  Chapter Nine – Trust

  Chapter Ten – Regret

  Chapter Eleven – Extinction

  Chapter Twelve – Salvation

  Chapter Thirteen – Redemption

  Dedications

  This is my first fictional book. It would not have happened at all if it wasn’t for my dear wife Dawn – who thought a sabbatical really should mean time away from it all. Thank you Dawn, I love you. I’d also like to thank my kids Parker and Rosie for all of your cool zombie ideas and encouragement.

  Sunil, Pankaj, and Bash – thanks for brainstorming over dinner and drinks. Props to Darryl for his geo-political, medical, and plot feedback – the zombie captain is for you. Thanks to Jeramy for the late night military discussions and detailed editorial feedback. And thanks to Marcia for help understanding how to deal with a crime scene and appreciating when search warrants are required.

  Several of the ideas from Book in a Month, by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, helped me organize my thoughts and write Zombies Evolved in twenty five days. The Writer’s Guide to Character Traits, by Dr. Linda Edelstein, was also a useful reference for character development.

  If you have a good idea for the author of this eBook or the movie sure to follow, email it to [email protected] or complete a review through https://ZombiesEvolved.com.

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in derivative works without prior permission from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter Zero – Infection

  Dr. Jake Zachman set out to change humanity by improving our quality of life. Little did he know that his creation would have just as much impact upon how we die.

  Most would say that Dr. Zachman was an international biochemistry expert far before he received his PhD from the University of British Columbia. Shortly after he retained his degree in 2011, with his many patents and the university’s blessing, he pulled together a half-dozen financiers to start his own blood research lab in the medium-sized city of Kelowna, BC.

  He would tell people that the golf, wine, and outdoor activities are what attracted him to Kelowna – but those closer to him knew it had more to do with a girl he admired from afar.

  And there he studied blood. Or more importantly, blood clotting and what he could do about it.

  Many of the people that pass away each year die due to blood clotting – or more specifically one of the many health effects of blood clots. Prevent the flow of blood in the right place and you cause a brain hemorrhage that can result in a stroke. If blood flow is constrained in the heart, a heart attack can result for similar reasons.

  When he was just a boy, Jake’s father Earl passed away due to a heart attack at the young age of thirty nine. Everyone whispered that Earl had died young as his father before him, and they worried about Jake. Jake acted like he didn’t hear these stories and gossiping around him – but he heard more than enough to know that his blood too would eventually conspire to kill him.

  With an unquenchable (and unusual for his young age) thirst for medical knowledge – Jake learned that various forms of cancer increase clotting, as does heart disease. The constricted blood vessels that typically occur with age also make it easier for the blood to coagulate and clot. As he learned more, his nemesis grew larger and darker, and his interest in correcting problems of the blood set his educational course.

  Jake’s mother Gwen lived on for many years – healthy and eventually happy, more or less. In her later years she would develop symptoms consistent with Parkinson’s disease. While Jake was an undergrad student her memory would occasionally fade and become unpredictable. Her problems became worse while he was a grad student.

  In addition to strokes and heart attacks, researchers learned in 2011 that more health problems than most people realize are caused by blood clots, including muscle tremors, restricted movement, muscle fatigue, stooped posture, and even memory loss.

  While still in school, Jake learned that yet again, health problems related to blood clots were targeting his family. His passion for understanding this area of medicine and research grew even more – if that was possible.

  Dr. Zachman was clever to combine this massive set of health troubles into a single problem statement: “how do we prevent or eliminate blood clots the minute they appear?”

  He enumerated the collective set of health issues and the massive market potential that could be addressed by solving this one problem. With this pitch, he was able to hook a half-dozen investors, wealthy family and friends, into learning more.

  He took them (under non-disclosure) through his detailed plans of attack – and shared the numerous glowing references he amassed as a university researcher from world-wide experts. Not to mention that he had recurring funding plans through patent licenses to major drug companies on the way.

  They each signed up as multi-million dollar investors on the spot, and this provided the starter capital necessary to equip the lab and fund sign-on bonuses for a small but incredibly bright staff.

  And so – “Blood Behaviour Labs” was born – soon to become a major contributor to every country’s history books, and the destiny of humanity itself.

  Dr. Zachman spent the first year building a small team of international rising stars and investigating several potential lines of research. Together, they calculated the probabilities of success in each area through rapid prototype research and lab testing.

  They selected their top three research areas, split into smaller teams, and set short term goals and inspection points to help ensure each team regularly received peer feedback and encouragement.

  They all agreed that the ideal solution would allow for proactive application – waiting for health problems to show up as clear symptoms is often too late for stroke and heart attack victims. Likewise, many other brain and health-related problems are caused by undetectable blood clots.

  Shortly after, they eliminated blood thinners as an effective approach – many scientists were already in this field of study, and the fact that blood thinners often cause more health problems than they solve made it unworkable for an ideal solution. The mitigations they had hoped to pursue each led to dead ends – blood thinners were too problematic for proactive applications.

  Dr. Zachman was convinced the solution to this problem lie in the chemistry of the blood. A reaction within blood itself – that would know and act when a clot was nearby. The answer, he discovered, is oxygen; or rather, the lack of oxygen.

  The main purpose of blood is the delivery of oxygen (and nutrients) to the body. When a clot occurs, the blood near it continues to deliver oxygen in that area, until it runs out. With a clot in the way, blood in the area has no way to replenish its supply of oxygen.

  Dr. Zachman led the team to a tremendous significant breakthrough. He created a biochemical reaction in blood, which responds to a lack of oxygen. They created and fine-tuned a proprietary organic carbon compound that causes oxidation in blood, reacting to the righ
t balance of CO2 and the absence of oxygen.

  In cases of clotting, the compound causes a localized biochemical/electrical reaction and creates oxygen, heat, and pressure – breaking down the clot while it is still weak – allowing the blood to flow again. They proved their results through distressed animal testing, while ensuring that blood flowing naturally would not have sufficient time or chemical makeup to cause the same reaction.

  The team, thrilled with their success, discussed the challenges they still faced. Primary among them was the need to saturate the entire body with their compound – to ensure that the reaction would occur at the time and place needed as blood courses throughout the body.

  This would be unnecessarily uncomfortable to apply in sufficiently large doses, and would gradually dissipate from the body – requiring regular re-administration. They projected that the drug volumes required to do this across a large populations of people didn’t seem feasible. They needed a better solution.

  What they needed, they decided – was a product that could replicate itself in the human body. They needed a viral deployment mechanism.

  Thanks to Dr. Zackman’s forward thinking, they already had a leading immunobiologist on staff – who could jump start the team’s efforts. They studied related research in everything from microbial metabolism to government-sponsored flu vaccines. It took them over a year to crack the problem, only once requiring additional funding from new backers. They recreated their biochemical/electrical reaction through self-replicating bacteria – a bacteriophage derivative – one that thrives in the bloodstream without dominating.

  In hindsight, it turned out to be far easier than expected. It was as if the virus was waiting to be found.

  Everyone at the lab agreed that “Zachman-virus” (or z-virus, shortened) was the appropriate name – in tribute to Jake’s insight and leadership. They were excited about future prospects as they looked ahead to years of clinical testing and research. Perhaps a partnership with a billion dollar player would be required, or should they attempt to forge ahead alone? The team was excited to discuss the many paths their future could take.

  After much discussion and debate, Dr. Zachman decided that they needed they help of a large and established commercial pharmaceutical company to take them through these ever-important (and heavily regulated) steps. Using his professional connections, considerable personal charm, and business savvy – he quickly arranged a very attractive acquisition package with PharmaCom Family, a billion dollar multi-national corporation focused on medicine discovery, development, and distribution.

  Blood Behaviour Labs became a wholly owned research lab of PCF within a few months, with healthy bonuses for each scientist and a substantial return on investment for the lab’s investors. PCF fully acquired all of the recent intellectual property of BBL with confidentiality and one year minimum commitments from each BBL researcher.

  Shortly thereafter, in the year 2013, the metaphorical “bomb” dropped on the lab. Their virus had a terrible side effect – one that wasn’t discovered in the lab.

  It was unfortunate that Zachman was Jake’s given name – this made it all the easier for the press to call his creation the “zombie-virus”. Considering the effects, perhaps they would have called it that anyway.

  Reporters and investigative writers have looked back at this point in history in great detail – several books have been published. Some of them called for greater biomedical research regulation (ensuring rigorous employee background and security checks), others called for increased distrust of other countries and a reduction or elimination of the numbers of resident aliens permitted into North America.

  What they generally agree upon is that one of Dr. Zachman’s top researchers stole the virus and took it with them to Singapore, where they made millions selling it to local business Southampton Pharmaceuticals Co.

  SPC was a minor player back then – they profited providing inexpensive drugs to third world nations by violating international intellectual property rights, taking advantage of the lack of legal enforcement in their countries of business.

  Limited government oversight and ruthless bribing of public officials (through monetary and criminal influence) allowed them to bring the Zachman-virus to market before anyone in Blood Behaviour Labs, PharmaCom Family, or North America realized it was even missing.

  SPC’s illegal distribution channels were already in place – quietly ignored by recipient countries, due to the medical benefits received by their underserved populations. The virus was easy to reproduce (by design), and their revolutionary “anti-aging cure” took much of Asia, India, Latin America, and Africa by storm. SPC’s existing market presence and seemingly European name provided sufficient credibility to would-be buyers.

  Thankfully, SPC set a high price on the anti-aging cure – which constrained its purchase and distribution to only those wealthy enough to afford it. Their customers were often older, respected, well established people with disposable income and a desire to postpone the effects of aging.

  Think of how unimaginably terrifying it was – to witness these established, community leaders turn into mindless zombies overnight.

  To be fair, they didn’t all turn into zombies – at least not right away. “Zombies” isn’t really the right word to describe their medical condition, as Zachman would proclaim later. But to everyone around them – and more importantly, the world press – zombies became the word used to describe the people in this condition.

  The biochemical reaction of the z-virus definitely acts as a useful blood clot countermeasure. If this was the only effect, the market success and health impact of the product would have been phenomenal. As it was, their customers did in fact receive many health benefits, extending their length and quality of life.

  But what happens when the infected die, and who would have thought this a necessary test?

  In virtually all cases, death causes blood to stop flowing. Oxygen throughout the body is consumed, providing the necessary environment for the biochemical/electrical reaction of the virus to take effect. The reaction takes place across the entire body – and brain – all at once.

  The shock to the system is not unlike that provided by a defibrillator, although the effective intensity is much greater and more direct. When death is caused by heart failure or the body going into shock, the electrical reaction restarts the heart, while providing fresh oxygen to the body and lungs. Life resumes, and the infected often have another chance – as long as death was not caused by severe physical trauma.

  The brain doesn’t fair as well, unfortunately. The power of this electrical shock, heat, and pressure – occurring throughout the brain all at once – is too much for the sensitive tissue within. The skull is no help whatsoever, giving the infected grey matter very little room to expand under these exceptional circumstances.

  Research suggests that as much as 50% of the brain is damaged during a typical post-mortem reaction to the z-virus. The more advanced and fragile aspects of the brain are injured the most, leaving behind a hearty “reptilian core” – responsible for survival instincts like hunting for nourishment, fight or flight behavior, and a persistent interest in procreation. The rules and norms expected of a modern, civilized, human animal do not persist.

  Touch and pain reception are reduced by the event. Portions of the brain not well understood, but thought to monitor the body for trauma and react accordingly, seem affected as well. Together, these symptoms allow the infected post-mortem living to endure conditions that would incapacitate normal humans.

  Physical changes occur with turning. Eye pigmentation often becomes lighter, and on rare occasions the eyes turn incredibly pale. Asian and darker skin tones can take on a grey tint, and pale white skin can take on a reddish hue. In very rare occasions, people show bright red varicose veins after turning.

  Some have suggested that these “original zombies”, as they have since come to be known, may have some enhanced senses – such as vision and smell. The pr
inciple being that their brains are no longer encumbered by all of the “distracting” thinking of the ego and super-ego. This presumably leaves more cycles to dedicate to the needs that remain.

  Several videos, books, and even comics have documented the carnage caused by these original zombies between the years of 2013 and 2015 – especially in the early years when people didn’t know what caused them or what they were capable of. While the z-virus is blood-based and continues to spread (notably) beyond the customers originally infected, the zombies themselves did not end up being a significant source of trouble for any nation’s army or city police to handle.

  There were no packs of zombies or zombie villages as the sensationalist press have suggested. The conditions necessary to turn an infected into a zombie are infrequent enough to allow people to react once they realize what and who they were dealing with.

  Killing an original zombie was not as theatrical as cinematic fiction suggests – anything that can kill a normal person will usually do, with some exceptions. People just aren’t used to killing their neighbors to protect their community – some zombies did more damage than others.

  Acts of rape, violence, and even cannibalism were reported. The worst documented cases occurred when an infected turned while living with only one or two other people – such as an elderly couple or small family.

  Once the original source of the virus was located – Zachman himself was crucial to this important discovery – the United States government took action. PharmaCom Family (including Blood Behaviour Labs) and Southampton Pharmaceuticals were effectively placed under the oversight of a joint “Z-Virus Task Force” between the Department of Homeland Security and the Centers for Disease Control.

  Permission for this intervention was granted by the Canadian and Singapore governments. Some have suggested that the underlying though unspoken threats (at least publically) of US military action influenced these decisions.

  Dr. Zachman and several of the original z-virus scientists immediately went to work to find a cure, with the support of government funding and resources. Unlike flu vaccines – which are easy to develop by comparison – the z-virus was made by a new bacteriophage derivative that is not well understood by scientists, and can’t be counteracted in the same manner.