Zombies - The Walking UnDead
by Springwolf
The Ænigma Project is a discussion group focused on the realm of the supernatural, paranormal and mysterious events that sometimes take place in our lives. Through multiple view points and experiences, we seek to enlighten our listeners and elucidate that which has become hidden beneath the many layers of misunderstanding and fear. Join creator Paul Cagle with co-hosts Sushi and Springwolf for a weekly discussion, every Monday night at 9pm eastern.
On Monday night June 18, 2012, Paul Cagle, Sushi and Springwolf sat at their round table for The Ænigma Project and held a discussion about Zombies. Out of the headlines we take a look at Zombie lore, myth and magik. Where does the idea come from? Are they real? Does the Government have a Zombie Survivor plan?
Here's what we discovered.
The History Of Zombies
The beginning of the "Walking Dead" begins in Haiti, the first free black (Afro-Caribbean) republic in the world. In 1804 Haitians defeated Napoleon's Army and earned their independence. As an independent republic, they were free to develop their own culture without oversight or interference from European influences. As such, their culture is a unique blend of African beliefs in conjunction with Native West Indian Taino and European influences. Overriding nearly every aspect of their culture is religion, specifically Voodoun/Vodoun a mixture of African/Haitian beliefs and European Christianity.
As with most religions Voodoun includes a tension between good
and evil. And it is on the side of evil where we find the
concepts of the first Zombie lore. William F. Keegan at the University
of Florida explains "The word ZOMBI probably comes from the
Kongo word nzambi, which glosses as "spirit of a dead person."
According to EtymologyOnline.com; 1871, of W. African origin
(cf. Kikongo zumbi "fetish;" Kimbundu nzambi "god"),
originally the name of a snake god, later with meaning "reanimated
corpse" in voodoo cult. But perhaps also from Louisiana creole
word meaning "phantom, ghost," from Sp. sombra "shade,
ghost." Sense "slow-witted person" is recorded
from 1936.
When a person seriously irritates or abuses their family or
village, the abused seek help from the local a Bokor, a Voodoun
priest/priestess. After providing payment for their services,
the Bokor will take care of the irritating party. To the family
and village, justice is served and the victim dies. They are buried
and mourned. But the Bokor returns to unearth the victim who is
in fact still alive, but now under the control of the Bokor until
the priest dies. At that time any Zombies the Bokor has created,
also die.
In April 1982, noted ethnobiologist E. Wade Davis documented
in reports that two people who were supposed be dead had recently
returned to their villages. Apparent victims of Zombification.
Dr. Davis documented the symptoms described by the victims and
was allowed to watch the preparation of the Zombie poison. As
reported by Keegan, Dr. Davis recognized that the main ingredients
included fou-fou which we know as the porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix),
and the pufferfish (Sphoeroides testudineus). Both of these fish
contain a deadly nerve toxin, called tetrodotoxin.
Dr. Bruce W. Halstead describes the results of this type of
poisoning: "Symptoms of tingling about the lips and tongue
and motor in coordination usually develop within 10-45 minutes
after ingestion of the fish. The tingling may later spread to
other parts of the body. In some instances, the numbness may involve
the entire body, in which instances the victim may feel as though
he were 'floating'. Excessive salivation, extreme weakness, nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain may soon follow. Twitching
of the muscles, paralysis, difficulty in swallowing, loss of voice,
convulsions, and death by respiratory paralysis may ensue. More
than 60 percent of the victims poisoned by this fish die. There
is no specific treatment or antidote for puffer poisoning."
(From: Dangerous Marine Animals by Bruce W. Halstead, Cornell
Maritime Press, Cambridge, MD, 1959).
Additional symptoms have been recorded noting extremely low
blood pressure and drop in body temperature. Two symptoms that
would lead the average layman to believe someone has died. However,
some victims fall in and out of consciousness giving the illusion
of being one of the UnDead.
Other cultures may have their own and potentially earlier representations
of Zombies. Two early medieval skeletons were unearthed recently
in Ireland with large stones wedged into their mouths -- evidence,
archaeologists say, that it was feared the individuals would rise
from their graves like zombies. The skeletons emerged during a
series of digs carried out between 2005 and 2009 at Kilteasheen,
near Loch Key in Ireland by a team of archaeologists led by Chris
Read from the Institute of Technology in Sligo, Ireland and Thomas
Finan from the University of St. Louis.
Zombies in Modern Culture
With the advent of atomic and nuclear weapons, the concepts of
black magik zombies has given way to chemical or technological
created Zombies. Ishiro Honda gives credit to the inspiration
of his creation, "Godzilla" to the 1945 Atomic Bombing
of Japan. Honda explained that Godzilla was the personification
of humanity's science and technology gone bad. As described by
James Turner in Forbes 2009 "The message was simple: With
atomic weapons, we had unleashed a monster that was beyond our
ability to control."
This idea has expanded into modern culture as nuclear and chemical
weapons were developed around the world. The distrust of large
greedy corporations, especially chemical companies and out of
control corrupt billionaires and politicians, have added
to that inspiration. George Romero's landmark 1968 film, Night
of the Living Dead created their unDead through Voodoun practices.
Biological mishaps have given way to a new crop of cultural concepts
and movies such as 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Planet
Terror, Quarantine and others.
In the early part of the 21st Century the Canadian government
funded a study to determine how civilization would deal with a
Zombie attack. The premise was based on the idea that a terrorist
attack could use a chemical weapon that may result in Zombie like
symptoms in the general population. The study was to focus on
two concepts, could Zombies be treated and "cured".
If not, how would the Zombies be controlled or disposed of to
limit the spread of the disease.
There's no doubt that the United States is also investigating
this issue. Though their study is labeled as chemical warfare
or a terrorist chemical attack. The fear of such an attack also
extends to the hysteria experienced by civilians. We've already
seen how the attacks on 9/11 have changed our perceptions, affected
civil liberties and impacted aspects of the Constitution. Imagine
for a moment if a chemical attack on several large cities were
to occur; how would neighbor treat neighbor? If you saw a neighbor
coming home drunk, but saw him drooling, stumbling and acting
out of character; you might think he had become infected. Some
people may simply call the authorities; where as others may take
matters in their own hands and in an effort to protect their family
an epidemic of shootings or community mobs perpetrating violent
acts may arise.
It's certainly a scary prospect. But the idea of technological
infestations may also be an item for concern. Chemists at the
University of Nebraska have created a humidity gauge by actually
'assimilating' living bacteria into an electronic circuit. This
appears to be the first instance in which a living cell becomes
a fixed part of the structure of an electronic device. It's one
of the first creations of biological nanobots.
In 2005 The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
reported on the potential to Cure
aging with nanobots? Mike Treder, writer of Responsible Nanotechnology
reports "Entrepreneur and inventor Ray Kurzweil’s
latest publication is called Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough
to Live Forever. Written with Terry Grossman, the book ‘purports
to make the scientific case that immortality is within our grasp,
thanks to modern technology.."
Throughout history science has always had two personalities.
Those that want to advance science for the benefit of humanity
and those that want to use it to control humanity. It's this second
group that is the most concerning with emerging technology that
may extend life or potentially control the brain. Imagine an army
of humans that can be regenerated through stem cell science and
controlled through nanotechnolgy. At what point do the ethics
of human rights fall by the way side in favor of the creation
and use of advanced technology and science that can be controlled
by a new breed of soldier? The time to ask those questions isn't
when the new zombie soldier is being deployed, but rather before
the technology appears in the testing lab.
Parasites & Disease
Parasites that turn victims into mindless, zombie-like slaves
are fairly common in nature. There's one called toxoplasmosa gondii
that seems to devote its entire existence to being terrifying.
This bug infects rats, but can only breed inside the intestines
of a cat. The parasite parasite infects the rats brain and tricks
it into doing the opposite of what it's instincts tell it to do.
Instead of running from a cat, it will go to where cats hang out
in order to be eaten. The parasite then finds it ways to the cats
intestines. It finds itself out of the cat through fecal matter.
An idea that is especially concerning for homes with litter boxes
and cats that live both inside and outside the house.
These parasites have been discovered in homes and have infected
humans. Generally those who have become infected by this brand
of parasite have seen a change in personality, becoming despondent,
argumentative and violent.
When Mad Cow gets in humans, they call it Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease. The symptoms of an infected human are eerily similar
to Zombie characteristics. A change in gate, an inability walk
in a straight forward direction, constantly falling or loosing
balance. Muscle spasms and Myoclonic jerks can occur. Hallucinations,
seizures and rapidly developing delirium or dementia is also reported.
All of which can also be associated with Zombie characteristics.
Stem cell research is another scary prospect when it comes
to human intervention. Science has already using stem cells to
re-generate dead cells. Reanimation involves the resuscitation
of body organs after circulatory collapse. According to Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Institute "The organ that limits successful reanimation of
organisms after cardiac arrest is the brain." They further
explain "It has been possible to reanimate the metabolism
and the function of nerve cell clusters and, in isolated cases,
to restore integrative neurological activities after an hour of
circulatory collapse at normal body temperature."
Once again science is on the cutting edge of technology and
focused on what they can do. Yet as the movie line from Jurassic
Park goes "Your scientists were so concerned about whether
they could, that they didn't stop to ask if they should".
Science has long had this problem of looking into the future before
considering all the ethical consequences. On top of that, they
constantly disregard the spiritual. Whither they believe it or
not, a large portion of the world still has a spiritual belief
system that gets them through life. Taking these beliefs out of
the equation not only does a disservice to these people and their
families.
From a metaphysical perspective, this is something that concerns
me. Anyone who believes in reincarnation might ask questions here
as well. If you believe that life is the place to learn lessons,
redeem karma in order to advance the soul toward enlightenment;
how does a never ending life, or a regeneration of life affect
that journey?
"Bath Salt" Zombies
Today's news is disheartening and down right scary in relation
to Zombie attacks. Florida has seen a new type of Zombie, a voluntary
drug induced version. At the end of May 2012 Miami Police were
confronted with a naked man eating the face off a homeless man.
When ordered to stop, the Zombie turned and growled at police
then continued his attack on his homeless victim.
Subsequent toxicology reports show the Zombie had taken an
overdose of a new street drug referred to as "Bath Salts",
a new potent form of LSD. A chemical cocktail that produces a
severely high body temperature that typically would incapacitate
the average human. Emergency room physician Dr. Paul Adams said,
"Cocaine and new LSDs ... cause delirium, which means
you don't make sense when you take them, and when you don't make
sense and you don't control your emotions, you don't control your
actions, you find yourself in circumstances you just don't want
to be in."
This new synthetic hallucinogen first appeared in Europe and
raced across the Atlantic to the U.S starting in Louisiana. It
has been recently proliferated around the country and has been
causing alarm in emergency rooms nationwide. The Daily Beast reported
on May 29, 2012:
The American Association of Poison Control Centers recorded
303 incidents of people ingesting, inhaling or absorbing bath
salts in 2010, a figure that skyrocketed to 6,138 last yeara more
than 20-fold rise. As of April 30, the AAPCCs 57 centers have
noted 1,007 cases this year, despite the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration imposing a ban last year on the chemicals used
to make the drug.
Dr. Mark Ryan, director of the Louisiana Poison Control Center
explains "The particularly alarming thing we noticed when
we started seeing these cases were the extremely bizarre symptoms,
the superhuman strength, the hallucinations. With something like
LSD, often the hallucinations users describe aren't horrid things;
what people describe on these bath salts are extremely harmful,
he said. "They are seeing monsters, soldiers trying to kill
them, and they're extremely delusional. They see things going
on around them that aren't real ... People have taken guns and
shot at houses because they were hearing voices inside. There
have been murders associated with bath salts, a man cutting into
his own body to take out wires he thought people had put in there."
Emergency Rooms have documented victims of these new drugs
developing temperatures between 104 and as high as 106. Doctors
are astounded by the violent activity produced by these individuals,
even under the influences of such high temperatures. The body
temperatures explain the common appearance of nudity in these
new Zombies as individuals are trying to escape the heat produced
by their own bodies. But the high temperatures add to the delirium
as well as adding to the physical ailments experienced by victims.
Individuals don't take in fluids while under the influence of
these drugs, along with the high body temperatures, they can literally
burn up and experience dehydration. Another symptom that can cause
death if untreated.
This new modern chemical induced Zombie may be the beginning
of the warnings prophesied in those Hollywood movies. Sadly, it's
voluntarily induced and it can infect any family, any where and
create any victim of any age, race or religion. We may walk into
a theater saying to ourselves we're ready to be scared by Hollywood
imagination and myth. But today, life imitates entertainment and
Zombies have become real.
Links:
- Sushi's Links - http://aenigmaproject.com/sushis-links
- A Brief History Of Zombies - Forbes @ http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/29/oreilly-godzilla-science-technology-breakthroughs-zombies.html
- History of Haitian Zombies @ http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/12/09/1260445.htm
- Did Zombies Roam Medieval Ireland? @ http://news.discovery.com/history/zombie-skeletons-ireland-grave-110916.html
- Miami Police Shoot Zombie @ http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/05/26/miami-police-confrontation-men-leaves-1-dead-1-hurt
- The Daily Beast - Zombie Attacks @ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/29/did-bath-salts-spark-miami-s-gruesome-zombie-attack.html
- Family claims dead boy sat up during funeral @ http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8480094
- 5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen
@ http://bit.ly/M1CJX6
- Reanimation Research @ http://www.2000plus.mpg.de/e/90/article
- The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies @ http://ieet.org
© 2012 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
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