DrElena van der Nacht

"We are still assessing the full impact of the War; its effect on the population, animal species, economic recovery and many other things, but one thing we do know, is that we, as a species, were very lucky to survive."

We sit quietly in the packed Great Auditorium in the United Nations offices in Geneva. Dr van der Nacht is lecturing on the post-war world. For many people who are unable to travel, this is a previously unseen insight into how many parts of the world adapted, survived (or in some cases, didn't) and how they tackled the Zombie menace. As fuel is still at a premium and border controls are still in place, travel is still strictly limited. Thankfully, the world-wide-web is back online, so the surviving millions around the world can see the live broadcast if they have access. The world TV network that has recently managed to plug into some of the old broadcasting satellites, will also broadcast the lecture live.

Dr van der Nacht continues:

"As we know, the infection spread quickly. The end result of this was often a mass migration of the populace away from the cities, a panicked flight to perceived safe areas. Most of the fleeing population almost instinctively sought out the less populated zones, government-controlled areas or strongholds of some sort. Many people took to the seas or lakes, many more clubbed together in small units for the purposes of defence, or pooling of resources. Eventually, many refugees managed to join up with various army groups and formed part of the fighting defences that saved the fragile remnants of humanity.

"Regardless of colour, creed, nationality or religion; we, as the human race lost millions of people around the world simply to starvation or disease. We, the technologically advanced, tool using ape, Homo Sapiens, got caught napping.

"Right, all dramatism aside, some numbers to start you thinking a little.

"At the start of the war, the world's population was approaching seven billion people. At the time, this was increasing by approximately eighty million a year. The following numbers are my estimates, based not only on my own experiences but accounts from various colleagues. The percentages will obviously vary, depending on location.

"As I said before; at the start of the war, this planet had approximately seven billion souls going about their mundane little, Zombie free lives. All most of us had to cope with were children and road rage.

"After only two weeks of the infection, we estimate that this number had halved.

"The virus spread incredibly fast to begin with, infecting about a quarter of the world's population. After that, the rate of infection slowed dramatically as people ran for cover. Another quarter or so of the population died in the first year of the War from various causes as I mentioned earlier; predominantly starvation and disease.

"The remaining nine years of the war have reduced the world's population from its original seven billion to approximately seven million people. We are a shadow of our former selves, and yet we continue on. Less than one in one-thousand of us survived the Zombies, but survive we did.

"As a race, we were so cosseted by modern society that when we did have to revert to nature to try and survive, in many cases, we just simply didn't.

"Heading north, south, or to altitude did have the advantage for at least part of the year, of extreme cold. The cold was an enemy to survival, but a great boon to reduction, or indeed cessation, of Zombie movement. Sadly, cold didn't kill the Zombie, it merely paused it where it froze. Once spring came, so did the Infected.

"In many instances, man as a species reverted to an almost medieval level. The world, in general, was suddenly out of the control of the authorities; guns were rendered useless by the eventual consumption of available ammunition, and limited munitions production. In true medieval fashion, man retreated behind the high defences of his forefathers, arming himself with old-fashioned weaponry, sometimes even suits of chain mail or improvised suits of armour. Hand weapons became the norm.

"All across Europe, China, Russia, India, and the other cradles of ancient civilisations, man took to castles, forts, monasteries, cathedrals, and anything that had sturdy walls or defences, or that could be quickly adapted to form a barrier. In the more modern civilisations (and yes I am aware that this is a sweeping generalisation) such as America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, people utilised other fortress-like structures, such as sports stadia, government facilities, and prisons: anything really that could be easily barricaded, and had large areas of grass that could be utilised instead for production of crops.

"Through necessity, the human race is at its most inventive, when in a state of war.

"People formed new communities, such as the floating cities of the great lakes in Canada and America: they migrated to islands; although some of these such as the Seychelles were so low to sea level, that they were overrun by swarms, which appeared from the surf in a killing wave of moaning death.

"People barricaded themselves in subways, in tower blocks, in communities of tree-houses, and in systems of caves that you could only get to via a system of ropes and lifts. Little clusters of humanity clung on in the most unlikely of places. Nuclear submarines, the space stations in orbit, the London Underground, the Eiffel Tower, you name it, someone, somewhere did it. But, more importantly, they survived.

"Governments all over the world put into place emergency plans. Many countries went into immediate lockdown and managed to control the influx of Infected travellers. The harshest regimes, with the tightest border controls, survived. Many succumbed to other things later, such as the swarms or disease. The governments of the world reacted in many different ways. The Russian army and air force for example, were ordered to bomb huge areas of densely populated cities. This, in their eyes, would reduce the number of people who could be infected, by the simple method of culling their population. In a similar way to the UK government, they had a list of people they thought they would need to help them make it through the epidemic, or that would useful in the post-war rebuilding. These people were saved; the rest of the populace was sacrificed.

"The British are perhaps unfairly compared in this instance though, as they retreated to the offshore community of the Isle of Wight, and although they didn't cull the general populace; they, along with all the other major governments had little or no choice, but to leave large parts of the general population to fend for themselves as best they could.

"And they did.

"Thankfully, at the start of the spread of the virus, people were generally made quite quickly aware of the threat posed, what to look out for and how to deal with a Zombie.

"Aim for the head.

"The main problem was the sheer number of them. Generally, people had no alternative but to get out of the way somehow, fend them off, and protect what they had.

"Discretion was most certainly the better part of valour in this instance. Faced with an implacable foe, mankind fought a desperate rearguard. Convoys of refugees fled from the cities of the world. Some were left to their own devices, some were bombed, and some were wiped out by the infected who inexorably caught up with them and wiped them out. But, some, against all the odds survived, to reach safe havens or government-controlled areas. Then, the fight against the Zeds, and for the continued survival of the human race truly began.

"All over the world, people adapted. They developed new weapons, new methods of fighting, and modified existing survival techniques to hold on to life. Pockets of resistance became rallying points for humanity, and as the various governments started to advance from their strongholds, these pockets became links in a chain that held together.

"We've all heard stories of how people survived, and the desperate measures some people had to resort to, to do so. Cannibalism, for example, is not a story: it is a fact. As in all tragedies, the full range of human traits has come to the fore. Even now, we still have several city-states dotted around the world that are lead by Emperors or Kings, and they continue to refuse to recognise the governments who lead them prior to the war. There are reports of slavery, piracy, mass murder, and warmongering. There are also stories of great fortitude, heroism, and sacrifice. Thankfully, there are far more of these, than the former.

"At the start of the war, virtually all petty little disagreements were forgotten in the face of something so overwhelming, that it threatened the very fabric of the modern world. Prior to the world communications network going down, all the major powers agreed not to deploy nuclear weapons. We should be immensely proud of that.

"There were skirmishes along some ancient borders, but these were soon forgotten in the face of the greater threat. Battles were fought all over the world and ultimately, we have won the war. While there are still some White Zones that remain, we are now tracking the remaining swarms; we are developing new weapons to counter the threats posed by the remaining Infected, and ongoing research is being carried out to find a vaccine.

"So, you ask, where do we go from here?

"We as a race face a mammoth task. Thankfully, the Zombies were only really interested in one thing. Food. They did not destroy infrastructure, destroy communications or wage a clever war.

"We still have knowledge.

"We very quickly restored power; production of food, clothes, and munitions. We know our enemy, where they are, and rough numbers of those remaining. It is estimated that there are still more Infected on this planet than there are humans. The depths of the ocean will harbour them for centuries, but we are aware of them. The White Zones of Iceland, Japan, much of China, and South Africa will be cleared and reclaimed. Eventually.

"What we are still finding out is the cost to our pride, our mental stability, and our planet. Although animals were not susceptible to the virus, they were susceptible to being eaten. Thousands of warm-blooded species have now vanished. The planet, however, may be grateful. We are polluting far less now, simply because we cannot.

"So. What now?

"Now, we build.

"We complete the task and take back the planet from the Zeds, and make it ours once more. We clear the menace of this virus so that our children can bathe in the seas and lakes again.

"Once more, we must look up beyond our current horizons, and learn to dream again without fear.

"Then, perhaps, once more we can reach out to the stars."