"Ctrl-Z" drabbles by John Judge

Unnatural Selection

Ctrl-Z #4

CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing became humanity’s greatest weapon in the global fight against an outbreak of the Marburg Virus (MARV) in 2012.

Breakthroughs in editing techniques eventually produced the LZRS protein; an elegant, sophisticated vaccine. Able to track down MARV and alter DNA within the body, it was widely dispersed and administered.

It quickly became mankind’s salvation. For a short time.

Although it eradicated MARV completely when introduced to infected patients, LZRS ultimately broke free of its operating parameters, modifying its own genetic code in the wild.

The end result: humans were no longer the dominant species on the planet.

See No Evil...

Ctrl-Z #3

For all its elegance, the Lazarus virus still has weaknesses.

Infected hosts immediately lose object permanence - the ability to track the displacement of invisible targets, an element of cognition in the prefrontal cortex.

Such traits are observable in infants as young as eight months old, as they develop understandings of causality and goal direction. Hide a toy or treat from them, they will actively seek it out.

The infected do not have that compulsion. Field studies have shown that breaking line of sight, even for a few seconds, could save your life.

(From: LZRS Behavioral Genetics, Dr. Nicole Gilbert, PhD)

Psychological Warfare

Ctrl-Z #2

Prep all you want.

Stock up on supplies, find a safe hiding place underground or behind three feet of concrete. But if you’re not prepared for the tsunami of shrieking and wailing you’ll be subjected to when the horde comes calling, you may as well end it now.

Consider this: the undead take all human abilities to the extreme. One revenant can howl at over 120dB - equivalent to a jet engine – for days on end. How long could you last in proximity to a few hundred, or even a few dozen?

(Excerpt from a found journal - London, February 2013)

PSA: Stay out of Reach

Ctrl-Z #1

Weapon Number One in the Undead Arsenal: The Power Grip.

Opposable digits - in combination with an immunity to lactic acidosis and muscle fatigue - allows reanimants to maintain a vice-like grip upon prey indefinitely.

Dynamometer tests in our labs have shown that, with sufficient purchase, an undead female host weighing 50kg can sustain tolerances of up to 300kg in each hand before catastrophic bone and muscle failure occurs. When faced with such Olympian levels of strength, the message is clear:

DO NOT let them grab hold of you.

(Taken from an extract in the ‘Journal of Undead Biology’ - September 2012)