Dead Flesh
Solanum - a deadly virus. It has always existed, it has always survived. It is transferred from person to person by fluid transfer, it is not waterborne but quite willing be borne by blood. Solanum is a fast acting virus, it works by traveling from the point of entry to the brain. It uses the frontal lobes for reproduction, killing the brain as their numbers increase at an incredible rate. The bodily functions cease. All organs are rendered useless, except the brain itself which is kept dormant - alive just enough for the virus to do its work. Its work is to completely mutate the brain into an organ completely independent of nutrition, respiration or the rest of the body. Once complete, the mutated brain, under the control of the Solanum, reanimates the body - this new form of life is in fact an extension of death, these are the living dead, the zombies. These zombies exist only to eat, it has no reason to eat, it just needs to eat. And it eats only meat - and it loves the meat of man.
The main way to transfer this disease is through the bite of one of the living dead themselves. There is no cure, no fast-acting remedy. Within 1 day you will be a zombie. Those who have mercy will shoot you, the pain of the disease is excruciating as it crushes your humanity. Infected flesh ingested however does not seem to transfer the disease, it is in fact a quick and painless way of suicide. Although Solanum affects all animals (and zombies will quite happily eat animals), reanimation only happens in humans, and occasionally dolphins.
Zombies travel at slow speeds, they lack the coordination to move fast, but they can travel for years - all insects that help with the decaying process reject Solanum except for a single type of bacterium. However they can exceed the normal limits of human strength due to the fact that they ignore, or are at least immune to, pain. They have the same senses as humans, except for their hearing which is phenomenal, and they feel nothing from their nerves which have long since been cut away from the brain. They do not possess any sort of conscious intelligence, only insect-like instincts. When they find prey they immediately start walking towards it, emitting a deep groan which attracts the attention of other zombies.
The question is: how do we defeat zombies? The answer: shoot them in their heads and run for a mile.
You all have a copy of Max Brooks': The Zombie Survival Guide, use it well and true. 2010 is a dangerous year to not have it.
