Perusing the internet the other day, I came across a list of futuristic weapons that are being developed and tested throughout the world. These weapons range from lasers, to sonic emitters, to microwave guns. Some of these weapons are already in use within various military and police forces. Regarding zombies, I think they could have some very interesting and useful advantages over regular weapons.
Dazzler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzler_(weapon)
The Dazzler is a gun that emits light of a certain wavelength that, when directed towards a human, causes intense discomfort and temporary blindness. This weapon is in use, and has been utilized by the US military on a number of occasions. This weapon could be used to incapacitate zombies and make them much less of a threat by getting rid of one of their only abilities besides walking and biting, and possibly smell. This weapon is designed to only cause temporary blindness, but stronger versions could feasibly be made. In 1995, there was United Nations ban on weapons that could permanently blind. The reasons are obvious; a blindness gun would probably be the most unethical weapon ever created. However, when used against zombies, I'm sure this moral issue would disappear. If made stronger, this weapon could easily blind a whole horde of zombies. One could then get creative and try to utilize the blind zombies in some way, or just waltz around casually and bash their skulls in.
Active Denial System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Denial_System
The Active Denial System is a riot control weapon used by the US military and other institutions prone to riot-like activity such as prisons and embassies. This non-lethal weapon is usually mounted on a vehicle, where it can be aimed where needed. It works similar to a microwave oven; emitting energy in a beam of high-frequency waves. A microwave emits the energy at 2.45 GHz, however the ADS creates a much stronger beam; emitting energy at 95 GHz. When hit by the beam, humans feel an intense sensation of pain and discomfort in about 3 seconds, as they are literally being cooked. These waves only penetrate so far into the skin, however they can cause burns if left active for a longer period of time. This weapon's effects on zombies would depend on how much they could feel pain, and if that would deter them at all. If so, zombies would simply become confused and incapacitated, leaving them open to attack. If zombies didn't care about pain, then you would have slightly cooked zombies eating you. However, like the Dazzler this weapon could potentially be upgraded to a more lethal version if the need arose.
Lightsaber
The other two are actually possible, however who can deny that running around slicing zombies apart with an ever-sharp light sword wouldn't be fun? Lightsabers would be useless fighting against human enemies, because they would shoot you in the face (unless you're a Jedi, and you're not), however zombies are a different story. They would be distracted by the pretty colors, and then left defenseless as you slashed them apart. You could even throw in some pointless spins and flips, because hey, why not?
You might say, "that's stupid, lightsabers aren't real." to which I would say, "neither are zombies."
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Interesting, but on the other hand, the relationship between futuristic energy weapons and zombies has a dark side too. About a year ago, I remember reading an article about a Russian experiment with a vehicle-mounted gun that used some kind of high-frequency science-powered wibbly-wobbly beam thingy (I'm a polisci major, cut me some slack here) that directly affected the victim's brain. It could theoretically be used to implant suggestions, like "stop protesting and run away" or more likely, "kneel before Putin." But most disturbingly, there were rumors that it could actually reduce people to a mindless, zombie-like state. Of course, the article had a sensationalist title that was something along the lines of "RUSSIAN ZOMBIE GUN WILL KILL US ALL!" even though the thing is still on the drawing board. Nevertheless, those tinfoil hats may come in handy some day...
This is an interesting post both in terms of the content itself and in terms of how the implications it carries resonate with some of the themes we've discussed in class. I think Kevin brings up a good point here: while these weapons all seem cutting edge (pun intended) and potentially useful against a zombie horde, they also seem like they could be used to create a zombie(-like) horde just as easily. One of the most pervasive themes in zombie narratives seems to be a kind of stretching the bounds of nature via science and medicine to the point of monstrosity, the idea that by pushing the limits of science too far, we wind up face to face with the obscene and horrifying things that they are capable of (which is one of the most fundamental antagonisms taken up by the science fiction and horror genres). That being said, while it seems that, yes, in theory something like the 'dazzler' or the 'active denial system' (truly a horrifying weapon if ever the was one - and what a totally weird, eerie name) COULD be modified in the event of a zombie outbreak, it seems to me that frying large groups of people's brains or possessing the ability to render an entire population blind is far more likely to PRODUCE a massive horde of stumbling/brain-dead zombie-like creatures than kill them.
Cool weapons, not sure I'd trust them in the hands of the general population though. It seems inevitable that they would be used on other groups of people perhaps even more so than on the zombies. That being said, it would be pretty sweet to cruise through the zombie apocalypse with a light-saber.
A lot of zombie stories not only deal with human vs. zombie conflict but also human vs. human conflict. You'd have to wonder what kind of effect these weapons would have on relations between people and whether they would be used for good or not
Agreed. They are a great idea in theory, but people tend to forget about what could happen when its human against human as well.