Zombie Master

In a room of the laboratory, Sara Nakagawa and Sakura Kuroda sat facing each other with a large desk in between.

Sarah is a celebrity that even Sakura knows, and the fact that she is facing such an existence alone makes Sakura feel uncomfortable.

"Mr. Kuroda, don't be so nervous"

"Yes, Dr. Nakagawa"

"Sara is fine. I also call Mr. Kuroda Sakura."

"Yes, Dr. Sarah"

Then Sara drinks green tea on her desk and shows Sakura a small recorder that records the conversation.

"I want you to tell me what Sakura saw and felt outside. I've been mostly in the laboratory here since the outbreak of the so-called zombie apocalypse, so I want to know a lot about what's going on outside. TV I'm checking the internet and I've heard stories from overseas researchers and SDF personnel who come here regularly. I think that the story of an ordinary girl, Sakura, will be helpful in various ways. I also record it in this way. In some cases, it may be something that can be submitted to overseas researchers. "

Sakura had something to confirm immediately rather than that, but she swallowed the words when she saw Sarah's serious expression.

"……I understand"

And Sakura talks about what she sees outside as objectively as possible.He hides that he is not attacked by zombies and explains that he walked cautiously during the daytime when the zombies were slower than at night.

Zombie apocalypse occurred during the daytime on weekdays, so there is a clear bias in the places where zombies are wandering, and zombies are concentrated indoors such as commercial facilities rather than outdoors. It's true that even if some zombies are moving around in a fairly wide area, the risk of being found by zombies is significantly reduced if you choose your path carefully.

However, coming from the central part of Tokyo to this point is almost a miracle, and the Self-Defense Forces members have rebuked him for being barbaric.In fact, if Sakura was a normal human being, there were scenes where it wouldn't be strange to be attacked by zombies many times along the way.

"Hmm, I see."

When Sara finishes listening to the end, she switches off the recorder.

"This is the end of the recording. I will use it as a material for zombie behavior during the day."

"Yes"

And Sara stares at Sakura.Sakura is restlessly able to swim from side to side with that kind of gaze.Sakura has a story that she wants to cut out, but I hesitate to think that it may lead to undesired results.

(Even the doctor should have noticed me ...)

After glancing at Sarah several times, Sarah couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sorry. I wonder if I'm too mean."

"Eh? Eh?"

"You don't have to be vigilant anymore, because I'm the same as you."

Sakura took a deep breath at what Sarah's words meant.The shoulders that were stiff from beginning to end are relaxed, and both arms become dangling.

"Oh, I'm glad ... it was the same. If so, I should have told you right away."

Sarah apologizes and recommends tea confectionery to Sakura, who makes her mouth pointed when she is mean.

"I was just trying you out. If you're a child who talks about the secrets we have, no matter how much they are, without being wary of anything, I'll be careful about the future. I have to deal with it, but it seems that it was a melancholy. "

Then Sara stood behind Sakura and gently hugged her.

"Are you a doctor?"

"Good, I know I'm not alone."

That word was what Sakura himself felt.All the zombies outside were different from me.I was terrified that I might not be the same as myself, but that was resolved.Then Sakura entrusts her weight to Sarah, who hugs her from behind.

For a while, the two of them were completely absorbed in their feelings.

"Now, let's sort out the current situation for the future."

Sarah sat face to face again and cut out.Since the amount of information that Sakura has is overwhelmingly small, I wanted to give Sakura, who can be said to be a comrade, as much information as I do.Given Sakura's prudentness, I thought it wouldn't be possible to divulge that information.

"We researchers were quick to find out that the cause of the unprecedented crisis in human history, known as the zombie apocalypse, was an unknown virus."

"Oh, that's exactly what the government announced. On the Internet, in addition to the virus theory, there were alien aggression theory and resurrection from hell."

"But the mechanism by which the virus can change humans that much isn't known at all."

In the first place, it is difficult to say whether the virus really changed humans.So far, we have tried the main animal experiments except humans, but those animals did not show any change.However, human experimentation cannot be allowed.

On the other hand, in this unprecedented crisis, there is an opinion that the idea that a small number of sacrifices are unavoidable for humankind may be allowed.There are growing voices day by day that human experimentation should be conducted using death penalty prisoners before it is too late, but it is not even known how many countries have prisons functioning.Right now, we can't turn the army that far.

In fact, human experimentation has already begun in some countries where human rights are neglected, but such information is not currently shared with other countries.

In the human experiment, when a healthy human is injected with blood containing the virus, the human becomes a zombie, and the result does not change regardless of the shape of the virus, and Sara et al. Are almost certain of the experimental result. It's just what I expected it to be, and there are still no new discoveries.

"It's worth noting that it spread all over the world at about the same time. The day when the zombie apocalypse was publicly recognized is only a few days in the world. I can't confirm the situation in remote areas, so it's actually a little more. There may be an error, and conversely there may be no error. "

It can be said that it is very difficult to identify the source of infection if it does not spread from a specific area but is almost simultaneous all over the world.

Why are the whole world almost at the same time in the first place?Normally, due to the long incubation period, the infected person moves unknowingly and gradually spreads around the world, and it is thought that the disease started when the infected person spread all over the world.

However, the victims bitten by a virus-infected person can be transformed into something different from humans in a minute.It can be said that there is no incubation period.There was an opinion that there is an incubation period for infections other than blood infections, but it is not possible to confirm this at present.

"The biggest feature of being infected with a virus is that it falls into what is called a" zombie ", and it makes me wonder if it has come out of the movie world."

So, once he stopped talking, Sara looked at Sakura with a serious expression.

"What kind of zombies did Sakura see until you came here?"

"What do you say?"

"Did you feel that there are different types of zombies? I'm alive ... No, I've only seen a few real zombies in motion. I saw a lot in the video, but the video is sensuous. You don't know what it is. You know, did you see the zombies and think it was different from you? "

Sakura nodded at the words.

"Yes, I thought it was different from me, but when I saw the doctor, I immediately realized that I was the same."

"When I saw Sakura, I immediately knew that she was like me, but I couldn't tell from the video. Sakura probably had hundreds, and possibly more than a thousand zombies, by the time she came here. You've seen it. Did you find any zombies that are different from the others? "

I'd like to ask you if you didn't see these zombies in more detail, but it doesn't make sense if you don't give any information and ask Sarah's supposed answer.

Sarah watched Sakura remember how she came to this point.

"... I felt that there were two types, yeah, three types."

Sarah's eyebrows move sharply to Sakura's words.

"Most of them were so-called zombies, but a couple of people ... no, I wonder if I should call them a couple of zombies, or monsters. After passing the macho, my muscles It was terribly swollen and agile. When I met it, I was really scared to hold my breath. "

"Oh, I encountered it. It's a small number, but it's highly aggressive, sturdy and dangerous. But Sakura-san was safe."

"Yes. It looks a lot different, but it feels almost like a zombie. It's not our companion, but it feels close."

"I have the same feeling about zombies, so I know what I mean. I mentioned earlier that there are three types, but what about the third type?"

Sakura unconsciously covers her mouth with her right hand with a confident expression.

"Well, some zombies give the impression that they are close to us. They look the same, but they are sensuously close to us. Occasionally ... well, I think I saw about 10 people. "

"Are there any features that make it different from other zombies?"

"One of them was a zombie girl who was about an elementary school student, but if it wasn't my mistake, I was muttering my mom only once. I was surprised and grabbed the child's shoulder and faced each other. But I wasn't a human, I was a zombie, and after that I just screamed like any other zombie, and I left the place because I couldn't see it. "

"The zombies who spoke the language got the impression that they were different from other zombies."

"I'm not confident that the words may be my misunderstanding, I'm sorry, but I'm sure I got the impression that it's different from other zombies. As I said earlier, it's closer to us than other zombies. It was a feeling "

Sarah nodded to Sakura's words several times, as she was convinced.

"Actually, I've never seen the real thing live, but there are certainly zombies who speak just a word or two with a shit-like feeling. In some countries, some have been captured. It was sent to the research institute and is the subject of research. And there is a video that actually speaks a single word .... Is it close to us? "

Sarah was silent for a while, but again stared at Sakura with a serious expression.

"From now on, I'll tell you something very important. Since this is a top secret, can you promise not to tell others?"

"Eh? Is that important to me?"

"Of course. Rather, I want to talk about it because it's the first time I met him."

Sarah said so and wrapped Sakura's right hand with both hands.Sakura blushes a little and nods a little.

"OK, of course I won't talk to others."

Sarah nodded satisfactorily at the words, then let go of Sakura's hand and spun out the words.

"What do you think zombies are like, Sakura-san?"

"Well, the dead have begun to move?"

"Yeah, in movies, the dead people start to move for some reason, and in most cases they attack humans indiscriminately. They are generally called zombies. I wonder if there is also a name called Living Dead or Walking Dead. "

Without knowing Sarah's intentions, Sakura has no choice but to make her eyes flutter.

But confirmation of the definition of zombies is necessary for us to talk about.

"I found out by examining zombies ... Zombies have stopped heart and breathing, but their brains are alive. They can measure brain waves that are weak but not brain dead."

When the heart stops, the blood flow stops and the brain loses oxygen.And if oxygen is deficient, brain cells will die.

However, the brains of zombies do not die without oxygen.There seems to be some secret that the virus invaded brain cells, but it is still unclear what the theory is to prevent brain death.

"Furthermore, the brain waves of a zombie who speaks a word in one word are almost the same as the brain waves of REM sleep."

"REM sleep?"

"There are several stages of sleep, one of which is REM sleep. It's a brain wave similar to when you're awake, and you're more likely to dream at this time. "

"that's……"

"It's possible that the brain is working almost normally."

Too unexpected, Sakura loses her word.

The sound of the clock hands in the room was strangely loud.