I have several unresolved conflicts
- There are zombies. There are "corpses" (of people). Some corpses are uneaten, some are 1/2 eaten. Then there are "piles of bones" (animal and human).
Given this: This indicates to me that some time has passed since "the event". Long enough to have uncleaned up human bone piles in the road, but not enough time for the existing "zombies" to have died out. Of course, maybe the "fresher" bodies/zombies are just recently turned/died survivors, which makes sense.
- There are "traders" in fully built "fortifications" (they don't live in houses/buildings). There are "survivor fortifications ( the POI's that are all made up of cars stacked up)
Given this: This indicates to me that some time has passed since "the event". Long enough for people to have built up their own fortified bases/homes. Why no one chose to re-use an existing place is a bit of a mystery. Maybe those that built up fortifications did so early, while people were still living in houses/apartments/etc.
- There is ample gasoline available.
Given this: Whatever occurred in this immediate area didn't cause people to panic/hoard gas or use it all up. Of course, its kind of an isolated area (surrounded by radiation). The zombification happened fast, or the survivors left after the war were few. Below I argue that the zombification happened fast in your area, with many survivors left.
- There are zombies everywhere (vs corpses everywhere)
Given this: Turning into a zombie in your area is a relatively recent event, and it happened quickly Sure, people may have been zombified earlier, but its almost like the zombification hit hard and fast, not giving people enough time to shot them and leave corpses everywhere. If they did, and corpses were cleaned up, there should be corpse burial grounds everywhere. There are *some* but not enough for all the zombies we encounter. (below i surmise the fast mutation is the result of mutation of the zombie virus caused by the nuclear fallout.)
- There are very few other "survivors" left
Given this: Turning into a zombie is a relatively recent event, and it happened quickly OR these are the people who are resistant to the zombification. I don't see survivors with bite marks on them, and if you get an infection (from a zombie hit) you die....so it would appear that the survivors are untouched but likely still able to be zombified (they are likely not immune). (more below. I conclude below you are immune from zombification, but not bacterial infection. No idea if the other survivors are also immune from virus or not)
- A supply plane keeps flying over, that you did not call.
Given this: somewhere is a working airport/depot that's trying to drop supplied for survivors. Since there is no place for this inside the radiation area, it can be surmised that the place is coming from outside the radiation area. Since the plane drops are "random" its possible someone is calling for that drop near that location.... and you are stealing their supplies
- There is a "destroyed" biome.
Given this: This is where the bomb(s) dropped. BUT there is no radiation!? So these were conventional bombs not nukes?
- You can't leave the radiated zone.
Given this: The zone is very large. Too large to drive out of, even in a hazmat suit. Which is not specifically a "radiation suit", but hazmat (biological only?)
- There is a government presence, and some people are wearing hazmat suits. Which is not specifically a "radiation suit", but hazmat (biological only?)
Given this: The government came in to help/contain/etc the zombie outbreak, not the nuke/radiation fallout.
So: To make all of the above "fit" I'd say that the event timeline is:
1. Conventional War (regular bombs dropped), then zombie outbreak (as biological weapon), military comes to "help", then nukes. Your area is unaffected by the radiation, as it is remote. Without adequate outside help to cull/clear dead people , zombie outbreak intensifies in you area.
2. Initial zombie outbreak, conventional war (regular bombs dropped) caused by outbreak, military comes to "help", then nukes. Your area is unaffected by the radiation, as it is remote. Without adequate outside help to cull/clear dead people , zombie outbreak intensifies in you area
I think #1 is more plausible?, as there is a lot of supplies/gas left around. People were not hoarding a lot when there were a lot of people, just some hoarding. The "conventional war before outbreak" means people were still not thinking too far ahead when the nukes/zombies appeared in masse. That is why you find hoards/caches of ammo/etc, but its not a house or warehouse full of it. People only began hoarding when the zombie outbreak started (after the conventional war) and they heard it on the news. Then they couldn't go out easily to use up gas/cars but were still buying stuff at the store when they could, this is why there's still food in gas stations/grocery stores/etc. (below: because zombification mutation happened fast, after initial zombification)
The above 2 timelines are not much different...BUT: The zombie outbreak likely may have mutated at some time (making it more infections/faster zombification), causing the large amount of "zombies" in the area vs living people. Maybe the nukes helped the zombie virus mutate? This seems plausible, as there were a lot of survivors, then they all zombified fast.
Additionally, radiated zombies appear, so they ran/wandered in from the radiated zones so they could have brought a mutation in. As well as how fast you die (turn into a zombie?) if you get scratched and do not treat the infection. but... the infection CAN be treated? This would lead to The infection is a bacterial infection that kills you, and the virus is also transmitted to you but hits you later, zombifying you *after* you die of infection. Which mean that, eventually, you should turn into a zombie..which means the virus infection is not super fast...but yet there are all these zombies running around and not corpses so it should be quite fast...
so therefore you are likely immune from the zombie virus, or at least the mutated virus.
The timeline, based on existing zombies/corpses and corpse count is say, 6-18 months from "initial zombie outbreak" to the day you wake up on the side of the road and "7 days" starts? Mostly based on he fast that there are "old corpses" hanging around no one cleaned up. Maybe they were eaten by animals. hard to say, but it doesn't feel like 'a day or a few weeks'. It feels like a few months at least once the zed outbreak started until "now". Yeah "feels like"
- You wake up "naked", by a car crash (usually?)
Given this: You were not wearing clothes, and everyone is dead around you (not zombies).
You were obviously kidnapped from your home where you were holed up (they took your clothes), so some of the dead may be who you were living with, but some are the kidnappers? This part is the weirdest for me. Either get some clothes when you wake up or wake up in a house/basement, don't wake up naked with people in the middle of the road.....unless you want to argue "hypothermia or drugs made you take your clothes off" or "you were having an orgy in the back of a car after a war and the car crashed" (this might actually be plausible though...hmmm...you were thrown from the car so you weren't wearing a seat belt).
ANOTHER POSSIBILITY:
The car swerved to hit you and crashed. You were naked and drunk and wandering in the road like an idiot because you had given up on everything. You then passed out, then awoke in the road. This final act made you sober up and decide to live. I like this explanation better.
There are a lot of plot holes, and I won't list them all here, but most of it has to do with:
- You have no radio/communication with anything, and never find a communication device, yet planes drop supplies.
- No one is trying to escape the area (they gave up? or they know they cannot?), instead choosing to stay put.
- There's a lot of traders, which should indicate there are lots of survivors still keeping them in business.
- No TV, radio, etc works but electrical items are not damaged (because you salvage and build with them). Of course, the EMP from a nearby bomb might only have affected "sensitive" electronics and not stuff you use to build.
- You never find cell phones, or working cars, or the power plant providing all the electricity (need a hydroelectric dam or some power POI?)
You cannot turn off a light that is on,
or vice versa.
- You find Dukes everywhere, which means the traders have been working for awhile, and everyone agreed upon Dukes as currency, even though they are made of brass and anyone could likely counterfeit them. You cannot "barter" with a trader without Dukes
- Nothing explains the "blood moon" occurring so often and on time.
- Any POI "light" that is using a battery would run out in a day, and you find a lot of POI's that have this.
EDIT:
- Yes, it's all guessing and not super logical
- Yes, I did spend all this time typing this up
