As the walking dead rise up throughout the world, a few brave doctors attempt to find a cure by applying forensic techniques to captured zombies. On a remote island a crack medical team has been sent to explore a radical theory that could uncover a cure for the epidemic. Based on the team's research and the observations of renowned zombie expert Dr. Stanley Blum, The Zombie Autopsies documents for the first time the unique biology of zombie organisms. Detailed drawings of the internal organs of actual zombies provide an accurate anatomy of these horrifying creatures. Zombie brains, hearts, lungs, skin, and digestive system are shown, while Dr. Blum's notes reveal shocking insights into how they function--even as Blum and his colleagues themselves begin to succumb to the plague. No one knows the ultimate fate of Dr. Blum or his researchers. But now that his notebook, The Zombie Autopsies, has been made available to the UN, the World Health Organization, and the general public, his scientific discoveries may be the last hope for humans on earth. "Humanity has a new weapon against the living dead and that weapon is Steven Schlozman!" -- New York Times bestselling author Max Brooks "I've written and made films about zombies for over forty years. In all that time, I've never been able to convince my audience that zombies actually exist. On page one of The Zombie Autopsies, Steven Schlozman takes away any doubt. This fast-moving, entertaining work will have you chuckling...and worrying." -- George A. Romero, director of Night of the Living Dead "Gruesome and gripping! Steven Schlozman reveals the science behind zombies from the inside out." -- Seth Grahame-Smith, New York Times bestselling author of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter "With The Zombie Autopsies, Steven Schlozman redefines 'weird science' for the 21st Century. Brilliant, bizarre and wonderfully disturbing." -- Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin and Patient Zero "Dr. Steve's Zombie Autopsy will charm and excite a new generation into loving science." --Chuck Palahniuk, New York Times bestselling author of Fight Club
Release date:
March 25, 2011
Publisher:
Grand Central Publishing
Print pages:
205
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The enclosed documents are highly classified. They are exact replicas of the recently recovered handwritten notes of Dr. Stanley Blum, the last scientist sent to the United Nations Sanctuary for the study of ANSD and “zombie” biology. After careful examination, World Health Organization and United Nations officials have reason to believe that these writings may contain groundbreaking data regarding the nature of the ANSD pathogen. Furthermore, it is possible that this information represents both a key to a viable cure, as well as the most definitive evidence to date that the ANSD virus was artificially manufactured—human made—and therefore did not occur naturally. The importance of these potential conclusions cannot be overstated.
One-third of humanity has perished from the plague. Two point three billion people have died, and countless more are quickly moving toward the final stages of disease. There is reason to believe that in a short time nearly everyone on Earth will be infected. The virus continues to spread exponentially, and all attempts at a vaccine or a cure have failed. Scientific and industrial infrastructure is rapidly faltering. Early attempts at controlling the spread of disease via nuclear and non-nuclear incineration have left the planet in an ecologically fragile state. Current computer models suggest that civilization can only survive for approximately another decade before we face total destruction. These are indeed dire times. The information in this journal may very well represent our last hope.1
Less than three years ago, the idea that a “zombie plague” would threaten all of humanity was preposterous. Indeed, the very nature of this claim prevented swift and decisive action from the world community. Nevertheless, “zombie” is arguably the most recognizable term for those who have been infected with ANSD and have reached the fourth stage of the disease.
Ataxic Neurodegenerative Satiety Deficiency Syndrome (ANSD), the internationally accepted diagnostic term for what is more commonly referred to as zombiism, continues to spread unabated. While some islands remain disease free, ANSD is otherwise present on every major landmass. Most of the governed world is under martial law. The signs and symptoms of the disease are universally known, but the disease itself appears both indestructible and untreatable.
In July 2012, the United Nations established a study site on the island of Bassas da India in the Indian Ocean. The official charter for this site called for a laboratory setting where the world community could focus its efforts on the scientific study of ANSD, including anatomic explorations of zombies themselves, as well as molecular investigations of the presumed contagion. This site is formally known as the United Nations Sanctuary and Study Site (UNSaSS) but is more commonly referred to at the UN bunkers as the Crypt. Those who volunteer to participate in the work on the island understand that a return to the bunkers is not permitted and scientists started referring to the site as the Crypt in an effort to acknowledge the blunt reality of their important and difficult tasks.
On 11 November 2012, the UN received its last message from the Crypt. The message was a radio transmission, and, as with most digital communications, the content was badly garbled due to nuclear interference. It is important to note that we had not received any e-mail contact from the island for some time, and the voice message was received over a little-used commercial satellite frequency. Voice analysis has suggested with reasonable certainty that the communication was from Dr. Blanca Gutierrez, who was at that time the resident microbiologist on the island. After significant digital analysis, the message reads as follows:
Status… gent. Hype.... ....new. Diff… virus. Vaccine… ble
An international group of scientists, policy makers, epidemiologists, and ethicists has theorized that Gutierrez had new information regarding a viable vaccine. It is unclear whether “hype” refers to “hyper” (a possible acceleration of disease progression) or, more likely, to the hypothalamus, a region of the brain oddly not affected by ANSD infection. The “-ble” suffix at the end is consistent with words such as “possible,” “viable,” or, conversely, “impossible.” We are fairly certain that “gent” is most consistent with the word “urgent.”
No further communications were received, and attempts to communicate with the island were unsuccessful. At that time, UN records show that Gutierrez’s team included Dr. James Pittman, a Canadian anatomist and medical illustrator; Dr. Anita Gupta, a leading virologist from Delhi; as well as three military attachés. There were also an unspecified number of infected humanoids in the holding facility.
On 14 November 2012, a team of three individuals was sent to investigate the Crypt in an attempt to regain contact with Gutierrez and her colleagues. Dr. Sarah Johnson, a Scottish neurobiologist and expert in viral brain infections; Dr. Jose Martinez, the chief forensic pathologist for the former New York City; and Dr. Stanley Blum,2 a neurodevelopmental biologist with the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), were selected for the mission. While Drs. Martinez and Johnson were chosen for their scientific expertise, Blum’s orders were to record the findings of the team and to ensure that these findings were reviewed by scientists in the international ANSD research community.
All three set out in separate automated transport planes programmed to bypass the security apparatus at the UNSaSS. Unfortunately, only Dr. Blum arrived safely on the island. After an automated transmission from Dr. Blum signaling his arrival, communication with the island was lost altogether.
At that time, ANSD experts felt the risk of further exploration of the Crypt was too great. Researchers on the island were genetically manipulating the virus, and ANSD experts were consequently reluctant to potentially release an even more dangerous form of the contagion from the sterile confines of the study site. However, as already noted, world conditions continued to rapidly deteriorate. The decision was therefore made to pursue excavations of the Crypt with the primary goal of understanding the final transmission from Gutierrez.
After extensive precautions, the study site was thoroughly investigated for seven days, 8–15 January 2013. Three of the seven surveyors have since died from ANSD, and the remaining four have all shown signs of progressive infection. We are grateful for the courage and sacrifice made by those who co. . .
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