PREDICTIVE PROGRAMMING
(Hollywood Foreshadowing)

Predictive Programming is the concept whereby conspirators plan a false flag operation, they hide references to it in the popular media before the atrocity takes place; when the event occurs, the public has softened up, and therefore passively accepts it rather than offering resistance or opposition.

Season 1 Poster

1×06 – TS-19

ZOMBIE PATHOGEN
(THE WALKING DEAD)

Everyone in The Walking Dead universe somehow contracted the zombie pathogen that, for reasons and through means unknown, brings the recently deceased back to “life.” It is unknown where the disease originated from nor is it known whether if it’s a natural or a man-made disease. Scientist Dr. Edwin Jenner did not even rule out the possibility that the disease is of supernatural origin. The exact taxonomy of the pathogen is also unknown. Curiously, the pathogen itself does not kill its hosts. Instead it remains dormant, likely within neural cells in the brain, leaving its host visibly and physically healthy. Only when the host dies, does the pathogen become active, infecting and reviving neural structures in the brain stem and certain parts of the cerebellum, turning a human into a zombie. A zombie is thus a condition a recently deceased host enters when the pathogen is in its active stage.

Dr. Edwin Jenner: “It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal.“

Jacqui: “Or the wrath of God?“

— Jenner and Jacqui discussing the possible origins of the mysterious zombie pathogen.

Transmission

The zombie pathogen seems to possess two separate, but parallel modes of infection: latent and fluid contact/bites/scratches.

Latent: In The Walking Dead universe, most, if not every, human being on the planet is believed to be infected by a dormant strain of the zombie pathogen. It is currently unknown how one contracts the dormant stage of the pathogen, though its apparent total infection rate worldwide suggests it is either air-borne, water-borne, or both. Once infected, the virus spreads throughout the body through the blood, likely concentrating in the central nervous system. However, so long as the host remains alive, the pathogen remains latent or dormant within them and is asymptomatic to the host.

Fluid Contact/Bites/Scratches: Though physical contact with a zombie’s saliva or blood will not cause an individual fatal infection, any fluid contact with open wounds will lead to irreversible contamination of the individual. However, zombie bites are not fatal because of the dormant zombie pathogen. Rather, one possible explanation is that through bites, the active pathogen carried within zombies induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, further exacerbated by bacteria that reside in a zombie’s mouth. Scratches could cause similar infections for similar reasons, however, no one in the comic or TV-show has ever gotten the fever as a result of a scratch. While zombie scratches and clawing rarely cause fatal infections, the deep gouges generally left by zombie bites are almost always fatal; death can be potentially avoided if the bite is on an appendage, which must be immediately amputated. However, this does not always work, and bites on the torso, or on veins or arteries are universally fatal. Even if an amputation proves successful at removing the infection, blood loss and subsequent infection is also extremely dangerous due to the generally unprofessional execution of the procedure.

Symptoms of Infections

The zombie pathogen seems to possess two stages: a dormant stage and an active stage.

Dormant Stage

Michonne: “They weren’t bitten.“

The Governor: “Doesn’t matter. However we die, we all turn.“

— The Governor revealing the dormant stage of the infection to Michonne and Andrea.

As mentioned previously, during the dormant stage, the pathogen is asymptomatic. The host will thus remain healthy despite being technically ‘infected’ and will continue to remain so as long they are alive. After the host dies, the dormant pathogen enters the active stage and will begin the process of reanimating the body through the infection and reactivation of neural structures in the brain. No matter how an individual dies, unless their brain was severely damaged or destroyed, they will reanimate into a zombie following death.

Active Stage

“It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be…gone.“

—Dr. Edwin Jenner describing the active stage of the infection.

The pathogen enters the active stage when an individual dies and is responsible for the host’s reanimation as a zombie. When an individual is bitten by a zombie, the active pathogen is transmitted into them as well as a plethora of bacteria and other infectious agents that reside in a zombie’s mouth. In the event that amputation fails or is not possible, it is believed that the active pathogen then induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, causing a high fever, aches, extreme fatigue, and nausea. As the infection progresses, the active pathogen invades and spreads through the brain like meningitis, infecting synapses and other neural structures that are concentrated in the brain stem and parts of the cerebellum. At the climax of the infection, the adrenal glands hemorrhage and the brain completely shuts down. All brain activity would cease, followed by the major organs and the body would be clinically dead: no measurable brain activity, no reflexes, and no respiration or pulse. The time between the onset of the symptoms and death, followed by reanimation is very dependent on the severity, location, and quantity of the bite wound(s) of individuals who cannot be saved.

“I’ve seen it. I’ve seen what it does. The bites don’t turn you, but the infection is not treatable. Infection kills you like anything else.“

—Liza Ortiz describing the infection to Travis Manawa.

In “The Good Man” of Fear the Walking Dead, Elizabeth Ortiz, after spending time with military doctor Bethany Exner, implies that all the infection itself from the bites does is kill the person. The reanimation comes from the person dying as it would if they died of something like a gunshot or stab wound.

Those bitten experience the following symptoms as the infection progresses, ending in death:

Dizziness

Weakness and fatigue

Fever

Delirium/hallucinations

Chills

Nausea/vomiting

Pale skin

Diluted pupils

Soreness

Fluid discharge

Spontaneous aggression or anger

Fainting

Hair loss and missing scalp pieces

Dehydration

Coughing up Blood

Pale yellow sclera (video game only)

Delirium (video game only)

Internal hemorrhaging

Organ failure

Source

The Walking Dead – Season 1 (2010) Trailer

THE WALKING DEAD (2010)
[AMC]

The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard—together forming the core of The Walking Dead franchise. The series features a large ensemble cast as survivors of a zombie apocalypse trying to stay alive under near-constant threat of attacks from zombies known as “walkers” (among other nicknames). However, with the collapse of modern civilization, these survivors must confront other human survivors who have formed groups and communities with their own sets of laws and morals, sometimes leading to open, hostile conflict between them.

Andrew Lincoln played the lead character of Rick Grimes until his departure at the end of the ninth season. Other long-standing cast members have included Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Josh McDermitt and Christian Serratos. The Walking Dead is produced by AMC Studios within the state of Georgia, with most filming taking place in the large outdoor spaces of Riverwood Studios near Senoia, Georgia. The series was initially adapted from the comic by Frank Darabont, who also served as the showrunner for the first season. However, conflicts between Darabont and AMC forced his departure from the series and resulted in multiple lawsuits by Darabont and others. Glen Mazzara, Scott M. Gimple, and Angela Kang have also served as showrunners.

The series is exclusively broadcast on AMC in the United States and internationally through the Fox Networks Group. The series premiered on October 31, 2010. The tenth season premiered on October 6, 2019, and has been renewed for an eleventh and final season. AMC have also further developed the series into related media; a spinoff series, Fear the Walking Dead, premiered on August 23, 2015, and is currently airing its sixth season. A second spinoff, a two-season limited series, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, premiered on October 4, 2020. AMC announced plans for three films to follow Rick’s story after Lincoln’s departure. In 2020, two further spinoffs were announced: one focused on Reedus’ and McBride’s characters and an anthology series to feature individual character backstories.

Beginning with its third season, The Walking Dead has attracted the most 18- to 49-year-old viewers of any cable or broadcast television series, though viewership has declined in later seasons. In addition, the series has been overall positively received by critics. It has been nominated for several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and the Writers Guild of America Award for New Series.

The Walking Dead will conclude in 2022 after the eleventh season commences airing on August 22, 2021.

SERIES OVERVIEW

The Walking Dead takes place after the onset of a worldwide zombie apocalypse. The zombies, colloquially referred to as “walkers”, shamble towards living humans and other creatures to eat them; they are attracted to noise, such as gunshots, and to different scents, e.g. humans. Although it initially seems that only humans that are bitten or scratched by walkers can turn into other walkers, it is revealed early in the series that all living humans carry the pathogen responsible for the mutation. The mutation is activated after the death of the pathogen’s host, and the only way to permanently kill a walker is to damage its brain or destroy the body, such as by cremating it.

The series centers on sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes, who wakes up from a coma. While in a coma, the world has been taken over by “zombies.” He becomes the leader of a group of survivors from the Atlanta, Georgia, region as they attempt to sustain and protect themselves not only against attacks by walkers but by other groups of survivors willing to use any means necessary to stay alive.

Source: Wikipedia