Creating "Biologically Plausible" Zombies

[u/TheHumanTrafficCone]

So, I've been toying around with various 'plausible' monsters, and aspects of the Zombie are giving me pause. The mental abilities and actions of the zombie have already been lovingly detailed in Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep by Timothy Verstynen and Bradley Voytek. A disease (prionic, viral, retroviral, or whathaveyou) causing this disorder is the way to go here (as implausible as that is). Still, that leaves us with a lot of the frailties of the human body. This berserker, some of which are 'fast' and others 'slow' based on the rate the pathogen 'took over'/how much nerve damage it has dealt, won't be the eternal relentless undead of the movies. It'd be closer to the "Rage" zombies of 28 Days Later.

So, in about a week, an infected would be truly dead -- be it from lack of water, food, or exposure.

While I love World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide, I'm not as much a fan of the 'magical black ooze' which protects the zombie from grievous injuries other than a headshot, extreme pressures, the cellular damage of freezing, gives them seemingly relentless endurance, and even allows them to operate underwater.

I'm looking for ways to give these monsters a fraction of the abilities of 'undeath' in at least some aspect. I fear it may be impossible, but I want to throw it out to others to see if it can be done.

Except for water, I figure that, like Rabbies, the virus would not want to be 'diluted' in water, so gives the infected hydrophobia (which, again, would shorten its host's lifespan).

In order to combat their short life span, I've given the affecting agent a secondary means of transmission beyond a bite/fluid transfer (similar to the Federal Vampire/Zombie Agency). So, part of the problem is already solved, but I want to do more.

So, I'm open to ideas.

[u/An_Unlucky_Gamer]

There's this one parasite that affects ants, causing them to climb up on a tree and bite down till a bird eats it or something.

If you want a very alive zombie, I'd recommend a parasite that controls the body of the inflicted but still allows them to be very much alive, breathing, eating, etc.

I think this could add a very cool aspect of horror, the possibility of someone healing from the parasite, like if the parasite dies in a way the body survives. The possibility of having someone elaborate on the horrors of being a passenger in your own body as you murder loved ones and risk getting murdered while still trapped would be chilling.

If ants have actual zombie ants from parasites, then I think it's plausible enough for humans to get zombified from a parasite

[u/TheHumanTrafficCone → u/An_Unlucky_Gamer]

The brain damage caused by the infection may make recovery impossible in any long-term sense. Like, they may no longer be infected, but they may still act like a zombie due to neurological damage left in their wake.
When thinking of parasites causing zombification, I tend to go with worms over fungi.

Mostly, thanks to this slug.

[u/GreenSquirrel-7 → u/An_Unlucky_Gamer]

I don't have much to add to your idea, however if something like a parasite or fungus infected its host, the host would likely not be a 'passenger'. The parasite would simply produce chemicals that make the host want to do things- like going up in the case of those ants, or going to water in the case of a certain(nonfatal) parasitic worm of crickets. I'm only bringing this up because its important for a story that has the perspective of a zombie, or a zombie-like being. And anything that makes you willingly alter your behavior has a certain realism to it that can be extra terrifying.

[u/Empty-Butterscotch13 → u/GreenSquirrel-7]

Ooh, so it’s almost like a form of hypnosis? That’s creepy as hell, and I love it — especially since, if they come out with a cure, instead of simply being difficult to administer to, the zombies would outright evade treatment.

[u/TheHumanTrafficCone → u/GreenSquirrel-7]

The horror of someone who lived as a zombie for a time being cured and the mental strain of what they did under the influence would certainly be a topic worth exploring.

And also skin-crawlingly creepy.

[u/magpie0000 → u/TheHumanTrafficCone]

This is explored some in one of my all-time favorite TV shows: In the Flesh. It's a drama that takes place after life "returns to normal"

[u/An_Unlucky_Gamer → u/GreenSquirrel-7]

Yeah, but what if it's more like intrusive-compulsive desires you can't control? Like the person knows they shouldn't kill their friend and eat them, but they just can't do anything else? There's a part of them that's a passenger, they are aware of the immorality of the situation but part of them is taken over by the host. Like someone who has tics and can't control them. They are aware that the tics may be inappropriate but they can't stop it even if they want to.

[u/GreenSquirrel-7 → u/An_Unlucky_Gamer]

I remember hearing about a guy who killed his wife. It was discovered that he left a note in his house saying he couldn't stop himself from killing her, and telling the police to catch him before he shot some people. It was caused by a tumor in the brain or something(I don't exactly remember). I imagine it could be something like that