Mary Questions Zombie Reproduction
I was writing a zombie-related post today and started thinking about the definition of life.
In biology class, anything which can [1] grow and [2] create more individuals of the same species (i.e. reproduce) are considered alive. Focusing on [2], if zombies bite people to create more zombies, is biting = zombie reproduction?
And if a zombie bites an unwilling human, does it count as rape?
Plus if a zombie can bite both male and female humans and still end up with a new zombie, does this make zombies hermaphrodites?
Then if a girl is up at 3AM on a Monday reading a book where zombies bite people, does that count as reading corn?
Disturbing thoughts, Dear Reader. Disturbing thoughts.
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I’d say it’s the virus/parasite that causes the zombification is the one that’s alive. The virus reproduces and shit, but the zombie itself is just a host. Also, zombies can’t grow, afaik.
I wasn’t sure zombies were alive. But I was curious how they satisfy #2 of the requirements for live organisms (if at all).
I also considered the virus angle but not all zombie stories use the virus theory. It’s a good excuse though and it solves the corn question nicely so thanks for bringing that up.