Dear Zombie Master: Plans for Apocalypse

by Jeff
(Rocky Hill, Connecticut, USA)

Dear Zombie Master,

I must apologize in advance for my question being long-winded, but from what I can tell it doesn’t appear to be covered on you FAQ list.

When a zombie apocalypse occurs, would amassing roughly 100 people and leaving to a pre-built and protected fortress to rebuild humanity be a
good idea?

My vision is as such. Find a location near myself, and chosen survivors, and build a settlement large enough to withhold the population, space for irrigation and farming, livestock, and room for expansion. It would be near running water, and quite possibly a terrain benefit of defense. Every survivor would learn skills necessary to living in such a condition: tailors, potters, farmers, lumberjacks (for lack of a better term), blacksmiths, miners, armed forces (though all would be trained to a certain degree with fire arms), technicians, doctors, the works.

I would assume with such conditions, life would almost revert to a semi-medieval culture. Ammo will eventually run dry, and use of copper and tin would be necessary to arm ourselves. Stone would be easier to build with due to the ease of repairs and abundance of materials. Modern technology would become something well treasured, and over a long period of time would be mystical in essence. Though at the same time, being as the ideas of modern tech is known to us, it may be able to manifest faster in scale than it had in the past. We already know what is possible, and how to achieve it.

So far, the one flaw I see is the lack of natural resources needed for such a lifestyle once the apocalypse occurs. Here in Connecticut for example, I know of no mines with metal ores. Another drawback would be disease. Remember the Black Plague? Sure ya do.

So I beseech thee, oh zombie wise one. How does such a course of action sound?

Jeff

Jeff,

I will first commend you for thinking ahead enough to try and keep civilization prosperous during the coming apocalypse. I do have a couple of things to throw at you though. First, it will be very difficult to build a secure facility that will house upwards of 100 people and keep it on the down low. The good news is that if you tell people what it is you are building, they will treat you like Noah building the Ark (believe me, I know). The bad news is that when the feces hits the pusher of air, everyone that laughed at you will be running you down. You will be faced with a 'do I leave them or let them in' moral dilemma that you must be prepared for. You will also have to store up enough food to feed your community until the first crops are able to be harvested and depending on the time of year, that could be around nine months.

It may be better to keep an eye on a ready made facility (prison perhaps) that you can sort of sit back and wait for it to become available. If you can hold out long enough for the inhabitants to be turned then you will be able to clean house pretty quickly. Again, keep in mind that you may not be the only ones that have that ready made facility scoped out.

I however believe that if enough of us keep to small pocket building (well fortified cabin out of the way of society, supplies for no more than 10 to 20 people) then we will be able to wait it out long enough for the intelligent people to get their small pockets organized and the stupid people to succumb to the horde. Then we can band together and start taking them out one at a time.

Don't give up - just make sure your logistics are in order before you start stocking up.

Good hunting and aim high,

The Zombie Master