I’ve always been a fan of post-apocalypse stories and games, but the part that really has my interest is not the world after the event, but the even itself. How did the world fall apart? Why are there crazies with mohawks driving in the middle of the desert and how did they get there? Who were they before everything can crashing down?
So, with that in mind I present a linked campaign for Zed or Alive that focuses not on the world of the dead, but the world of the living about to be dead. These are stories and scenarios featuring familiar places and people who unknowingly teeter on the knife-edge of the end of civilization. To paraphrase a song, it’s the beginning of the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
The zombie virus, more commonly called the Zed Virus, that shocked the world and plunged civilization into chaos for years (and in some places decades) is thought to have originated as a terrorist attack at the 2016 International Summer Olympic Games, held in Rio de Janeiro, in what was at that time the nation of Brazil. While there is some argument as to who was responsible for the release of the genetically engineered virus, most scholars believe that the culprits were Islamic militants. Indeed, the first encounter with the Zed virus was not in the humid streets of Rio but in the baking desert of the Libya.
The origin of the Zed virus itself is a mystery, as no pathogen has ever shown the ability to re-animate dead tissue, let alone control an entire organism and turn it into a savage cannibal. Genetic examination of the virus is difficult due to its rapid mutation and generational change. Samples taken and preserved from the initial outbreak are rare and closely guarded.
What we do know for certain about the Zed virus is that it was created by a person or person with an advanced knowledge of genetic engineering and virology. Mapping of the virus indicates elements from three other known viruses, including Bubonic Plague. While an advanced lab would not necessarily have been required, the creator certainly had access to a laboratory of some kind. The method of the initial release off the Zed virus is unknown, and there were no recorded incidents of terrorist-related violence at the Olympic Games. Security for the games was intense and literally thousands of law enforcement agents were watching for unusual events, so the method must have been truly covert. Some have suggested that misters provided to cool waiting attendees were the most ideal method of transmission but this is supposition at best.
After infection, the virus maintains an incubation period of three to seven days. At the end of the incubation period, the patient develops intense flu-like symptoms that last from 48 to 96 hours. During this time, the victim is usually incapacitated and highly infectious. Following this, many infected patients experienced a brief window (less than 24 hours) where they seem to be improving. At the end stage, the infected suffer from severe headache, fever, extreme aggression, and finally seizures and death. After medical death, an infected body is usually dormant for a few minutes before reanimation.
A History of the Undead Uprising by Megan Graham, published 2048
