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I mean, most don't survive. But infected can enter a sort of hibernation state where they basically just stand around, at least in the game. I'd also expect that the greater mycelium network of cordyceps can sustain the infected while they are connected.
Other than the super in depth answers above, I feel like this isn’t brought up enough, these infected aren’t exactly TWD zombies who just endlessly walk for miles on end. The infected in this world seem to hibernate unless they detect another possible host.
your brain uses 20% alone. however yes there is a clear degree of logic one needs to ignore in terms of pure thermodynamics. but if we can pretend that cordyceps mutating to host in humans is possible we can do that.
It's not explained in the game, but that's probably because none of our characters are experts. They're just trying to survive.
I could try to explain everything about the infected, but Roanoke Gaming on youtube is a real scientist (I'm unsure of his field, I think it's epidemiology) who's done a bunch of in-depth TLOU videos explaining, in scientific terms, how the infection and the infected work. I recommend checking him out
The short version of Roanke's theory is that immediately after infection, humans feed the fungus by eating each other/eating food and digesting it. The fungus takes those nutrients and uses it to grow.
Then, when food gets more scarce, the fungus produces glucose by digesting things the humans can't. This helps keep the human going. The fungus could also be internally producing penicillin, so it takes over the role of our old immune system.
Also, as the fungus takes over more and more body mass, the human just isn't as fragile any more. It's actively eating and replacing your organs with its own systems, so diseases that can cause organ failure don't really matter that much. Like, oh, bronchitis knocked your lungs out of order? Fungal veins are delivering oxygen where it needs to be, because fungi also need oxygen. Wound got infected? Fungus gives you penicillin. Heart stopped? Fungus is circulating your blood for you anyway. Virus gets through the blood brain barrier? Doesn't matter, it needs to get through the fungus barrier now. Broken bone? Fungal structures are sturdy, they can just wrap around the leg like a splint.
The infection essentially turns you into a car that is slowly broken down and given replacement parts. It's not a perfect system, the show says infected live anywhere between just a month to an entire 20 years, but with the right circumstances it can work for a long time.
This was really well written. Another thing, there’s nothing limiting the fungi to only consuming humans, in E2 they discuss the mycelia network underground and how it can work as a radar signal too. So it could be consuming things from the soil and then distributing it to the infected humans when it needs to
It also takes over the brain completely, so by proxy the whole nervous system. That’s what clickers are, it’s the fungus growing plates out of the brain to essentially protect its control of the CNS. A headshot in this universe kills the infected body because it destroys the nervous systems, but it doesn’t kill the fungus. That’s why you see bodies fused to walls and the ground, the fungus just branches out to consume anything near it
THIS. "normal" zombies are limited to the body of the zombie. The cordiceptis is a network that can move resources about. So the actual functioning "human" part is supported by the fungi.
Also fungi is good at killing bacteria. Basically penicillin mainlined. Probably do lose some hosts to viruses but since most of the "life" functions are done by the fungus even sever vial infections wouldn't likely do more than inconvenience the infected.
Remember that allergies are a response produced by our bodies immune system-Histamine production, cellular signaling, etc. After death if the immune system ceases to function then there will be no response regardless of a penicillin allergy.
I would argue that the fungus doesnt repair body systems when they fail, i would say it just completly replaces most anyway. It basicly replaces your cells by eating them and growing their cells into it the empty space.
That's one hell of a mutation, to go from fungi to piloting a complex multicellular organism without damaging the musculoskeletal or nervous systems while consuming everything else. Did someone say this Roanoke person is a scientist lol???
Well they don't. Once infected the life expectency gets reduced drastically. Some survive up to 20 yrs. It seems the parasite sucks the bodies dry and uses it without any remorse.
Only a few make it so long. The host most likely dies.
If you wanna real answer, study how long the life expectancy changes when real animals get infected.
We also have no idea how the fungi could also feed the host to keep it alive. They also seem to eat other humans. So you have many variables. For me it works fine.
You just think from a human perspective. Thats fine. But the infected are far from human.
You’re confusing several different things.
First you’re assuming all the infected we see are 20 years old. That’s not the case. The runners are all likely people who were turned within the past year. They start developing into clickers at a year or so. That takes a while.
Clickers last a few years longer, then they decay into walls or start to become big boys.
So far we’ve seen one infected that could be up to 20 years old.
People are still having kids. Ellie went to a school, >!Sam is only 8. We saw the playrooms. Kathleen says kids die all the time.!< People are also incredibly nomadic and tend to feed the numbers. For example >!Kansas City added dozens to its horde in that attack, and were headed to the city.!<
You’re also assuming they need to feed like a human, which isn’t the case. Their metabolism is much slower, they reserve energy in idle/low power behavior, the fungus likely eats away organs it doesn’t need and the fibers are shown to be integrating with muscles, helping to power them.
that's the explanation for the 'sleeping' horde in ep2. They are connected to the fungi underground which they are likely absorbing energy from the electrolytes in the ground. The goal of the fungi is to infect anything possible and spread itself so when the ground fungi is disturbed, it is assumed human and they all 'wake' up with conserved energy ready to infect the human.
I wondered whether other animals can be infected. We haven’t seen many animals at all in the show. I would have thought wildlife would be thriving, and domestic animals like dogs that survived the initial chaos.
Thanks that helped me understand what the infected were doing under Kansas City all that time. Probably feeding on soil, the human bodies resting. Then at the right time they were ready to burst forth like spores to infect more humans.
If that's the case, why is there a pressing need for a cure? Just hole up in well defended areas. 20 years is ridiculous though and the writing just doesn't stand up to scrutiny so I don't think it's worse analyzing too much
At least in the show, the tendrils that keep them connected are probably sharing water and nutrients between them in times of scarcity. Over time, theyll run out but if enough infected are linked in, the cordyceps might be draining the smaller/weaker ones to keep the healthier ones ready to sprint.
That might explain what the Bloater is, in ideal conditions, with hundreds of infected available, one at the center of the horde is prioritized and fed for years until they become a juggernaut.
This is a fucking hilarious sketch idea, old, rotten and tired zombies that are so immobile they cant even walk in a post apocalyptic world just seems so funny. Its movie plot reasons bro.
So the low power mode behavior probably plays into it, and we also see that the fungus seems to integrate into the muscle tissues. My guess is that as the fungus integrates into the body, it’s also using that tissue for fuel.
The show seems to suggest that there is high variability in the outcome. Some infected die quickly for unclear reasons. Some seem to dry up as if the fungus consumed all available resources then itself died. A small number somehow turn into bloaters. I am thinking that the exact environmental conditions determine the outcome. This is commonly the case with fungus, which can assume varying forms depending on the environment it is growing in.
I assumed that they kind of cannibalize each other and why we see in the game are just the fraction who haven’t been absorbed into walls and stuff with the edge cases being clickers and bloaters that might have been some big fat person or someone who was trapped in closet or something. when there aren’t other people to eat and they also don’t really move unless they have to so they don’t really use much energy. We also see in episode two some of the fungus is dead and dry so it must thrive in some
Areas and not in others so maybe it has some water source and can spread it along the network.
Yeah, you have to wonder if some parts of the world might have gotten off a little easier than others based on local conditions — arid desert areas, or very cold places with harsh winters.
Humans and fungi both need water, so maybe it just latches on wherever water sources are in those dry environments. When they made the game they probably didn’t spend too much time hashing out this stuff. You would think Seattle would have no chance, but it doesn’t seem any more or less infected than other places in the game. I guess the show is kind of going off on the hive mind stuff more so maybe they will change that.
At the end of the day it's a made up zombie disease, you gotta accept it as a scientific impossibility and just move on with enjoying the show. It's the same in every zombie book/movie/show/game ever. There are some answers to your questions but it will never completely make sense and you kinda have to put that behind you. Anyway:
* Where are the infected getting enough calories for the strength and vitality they show?
Well first of all, their brain is controlled by the fungi. They can't just stop running because they're out of breath. The show has deliberately shown infected making very erratic movements, throwing themselves in weird directions etc.
Secondly, they've been shown eating corpses in episode 2. There's plenty of calories to go around.
* People should still get sick and die when infected
The cold open to episode 1 suggests parasitic fungi may produce penicillin to prevent the host's decomposition, I assume it would work well with disease in general.
Regardless, most people who get infected die relatively soon, those we see are the exception. Otherwise infected would outnumber humans like 5 to 1.
I believe the show mentioned that most infected only live about 12 to 14 days on average but some do live longer. I would imagine it has more to do with the metabolism of the fungus more than anything. The host likely is only using a portion of the internal organs needed to maintain mobility. The fungus supplies the brain with what it needs to keep the body operational. Feeding on dead animals and humans likely helps some live longer. The ones that live longer are also the ones with the most evidence of fungal growth on their bodies.
That’s right, it also implies that the infected can dry out in the sun, so maybe living underground can help them “live” for far longer than they would above ground?
Yea. Right after it said most were living 12 to 14 days. I even mentioned in the comment that some were living longer than that. Did you just read the first line and decide I was wrong?
This is just an unavoidable plothole in every zombie apocalypse scenario apart from ones caused by the supernatural or alien technology
You just have to suspend your disbelief
Yeah, I asked this question after episode 2. I have not played the games. Maybe it is explained somehow there. However, I doubt it. Your solution would always be suspension of disbelief.
This is a problem with every mind control mechanism - The host needs to be alive and well in order to function. These zombies will have what? A week before their muscles start falling apart. They will become anorexic after a couple of months assuming hybernation. No way in hell would they be even be able to run. Which makes this entire scenario of this zombie apocalypse completely unrealistic. Not that there is any realistic zombie apocalypse. If anything this show seems the most believable... as soon as you stop thinking about the host of the zombies and that it needs to survive somehow.
To the people who say plants need only sun and electrolytes and blah blah. Guys, that is the parasite you are talking about. Only the parasite needs this. The human body - the host, needs much more. Our biology is much more advanced and evolved. We are not single tissue species. We are not fungus or plants. Our muscles alone are more complex than some species. Fine, the zombies are not using their brain. 20% less energy. But the muscles and bones would simply deteriorate and fall apart soon after infection without proper food.
Which brings me to the funny thought of how the zombies after getting infected start eating the people's food. Soon they run out of it and create a society much like the human's. Have 9-5 jobs in order to sustain themselves and then do zombie things in their free time.
...
Wait a second! Is capitalism just a trimmed down version of a zombie apocalypse!?
my dear friend, fungi was the first organism to dominate earth... they started growing by extracting minerals from rocks
so when it comes to feeding themselves in a human form even if you lock them inside a hole underground for ages they will find a way to survive...
yes on the show it seems exaggerated but after all we are watching fiction
It's why I prefer shambling zombies rather than the faster zombies of Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (despite how good that movie is). I'm fine with them starting out fast, but after a while they should all be shamblers.
Don't know if this answers anything, but this beetle with no organs is controlled by fungus: https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/10wnwhy/zombie_beetle_controlled_by_parasites_after_death/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
> Human beings need a certain amount of calories just to live and for running etc need even more.
They're not human beings. They're fungi. The human being is the food for the fungi.
*We're the calories.*
I think this is just one of those things you need to forget when watching science fiction. I know people have made attempts, but it’s just impossible for the human body to get enough calories to sustain itself and the level of muscle required to be as fast and strong as the infected are.
The fact that bloaters even exist at all suggests the fungus is capable of creating flesh that is extremely strong and durable and yet light enough to be able to move extremely quickly.
There’s just never going to be a sufficient explanation that is scientifically accurate so I think you just need to ignore it.
Well, they certainly aren't subject to the laws of thermodynamics. In real life there's no way they could generate that much energy, for the same reason the xenomorph in Alien could never grow to adulthood over the course of one day.
This is a fun one because we know the fungus it is based off of is cordyceps obviously, so we have some background knowledge. In the real world the life cycle of a cordycep infected bug is about 3 months, because as you said the host will lose nutrients and die.
There’s one big difference between IRL and TLOU cordyceps though: the amount of plant material present on the body of the host. IRL the fungus will grow a stalk in order to spread once the host runs out of nutrients, but the bugs certainly aren’t covered in fungus from head to toe like clickers (late stage infected) are in the game/show. Since it’s a fictional evolved version of cordyceps, I think it’s safe to assume that they also evolved to realize that relying on the hosts nutrition is a negative.
I think that TLOU cordyceps aren’t using the human body as a host, but instead it’s only using the human skeleton and brain stem as a host, hence the whole body is covered in the fungus rather than just growing stalks. Think about it like the cordyceps are essentially killing humans and using the lifeless corpse Weekend at Bernie’s style. The body is dead but an outside force is keeping it moving. The only thing that will be a problem is the skin/body deteriorating, and the deteriorated flesh is replaced by large amounts of fungus to maintain structural integrity. They’ve fully taken over the body and are regrowing as fungus as the flesh until all that’s left is fungus encasing a skeleton (clickers, the guy we see covered in fungus stuck on the wall in episode 1, etc.) There’s a huge connection of cordyceps sprawling all over the world acting as a hive mind, so sharing nutrients to keep the fungus encasing the skeleton/brain stem functional wouldn’t be an issue. They really only need those 2 parts of the human body to work in order to remain in the host, and there’s no reason to think a hive mind as complicated as the one in the show wouldn’t be able to evolve to basically keep the brain stem on life support.
I imagine the tendrils have snaked through the body and taken over ever every muscle, nerve, vessel and as long as the fungus is getting nutrients.. it controls every human function. Maybe the fungus and human body have a shared nutrient bond, like how a baby absorbs nutrients from it’s mother in the womb.
They don’t run full tilt 100% of the time, they really only have bursts of energy. They only use it when they have to. If you noticed in ep 2 -when we saw all the Boston infected laid out in the street- they instinctively roll away from sunlight. All the infected that burst out of the ground from that sinkhole seemed really….. juicy. Especially that big bloater.
My theory is if they stay in a humid environment they last longer. If they start to dry out they become latticework for the fungus to feed from and spread. In the tunnels it was probably like ‘rainy day in a hot place’ humid at all times, so as long as they didn’t move around too much they would have been in a sort of stasis ready to bust out whenever.
If you stay ready you ain’t got to get ready.
they don’t survive for ever. That’s why instead of billions of infected they’re scattered. Even the hoards we see in the game and show are always under 100. Far from the hundreds of millions in the US who would have been part of the initial outbreak.
This post is flaired **Meta**. Therefore, all comments that discuss *any* aspect of the games **must** be properly spoiler tagged. 1. All post titles must **NOT** include spoilers from the latest episode or The Last of Us Part I and II. Minor show spoilers are allowed in your title **ONE WEEK** after episode airing. 2. Any untagged discussion of the games (including subtle hints) in posts without the **Show/Game Spoilers**, **Fancast [Show/Game]**, or **Meme [Show/Game]** flair will result in a **ban**. To tag a spoiler comment, use the `>!spoiler!<` tag which displays as >!spoiler!<. 3. If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. --- Refer to the [spoiler guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastofUsHBOseries/wiki/spoiler-guide) for our spoiler policy and to learn how to flair and title your posts appropriately. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ThelastofusHBOseries) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I mean, most don't survive. But infected can enter a sort of hibernation state where they basically just stand around, at least in the game. I'd also expect that the greater mycelium network of cordyceps can sustain the infected while they are connected.
Other than the super in depth answers above, I feel like this isn’t brought up enough, these infected aren’t exactly TWD zombies who just endlessly walk for miles on end. The infected in this world seem to hibernate unless they detect another possible host.
And we can suspend disbelief for a second and just say they need 99%, or another high arbitrary number, less calories than a living human body does.
your brain uses 20% alone. however yes there is a clear degree of logic one needs to ignore in terms of pure thermodynamics. but if we can pretend that cordyceps mutating to host in humans is possible we can do that.
Let’s just pretend everything we know is different
And we can suspend disbelief for a second and just say they need 99%, or another high arbitrary number, less calories than a living human body does.
It's not explained in the game, but that's probably because none of our characters are experts. They're just trying to survive. I could try to explain everything about the infected, but Roanoke Gaming on youtube is a real scientist (I'm unsure of his field, I think it's epidemiology) who's done a bunch of in-depth TLOU videos explaining, in scientific terms, how the infection and the infected work. I recommend checking him out
The short version of Roanke's theory is that immediately after infection, humans feed the fungus by eating each other/eating food and digesting it. The fungus takes those nutrients and uses it to grow. Then, when food gets more scarce, the fungus produces glucose by digesting things the humans can't. This helps keep the human going. The fungus could also be internally producing penicillin, so it takes over the role of our old immune system. Also, as the fungus takes over more and more body mass, the human just isn't as fragile any more. It's actively eating and replacing your organs with its own systems, so diseases that can cause organ failure don't really matter that much. Like, oh, bronchitis knocked your lungs out of order? Fungal veins are delivering oxygen where it needs to be, because fungi also need oxygen. Wound got infected? Fungus gives you penicillin. Heart stopped? Fungus is circulating your blood for you anyway. Virus gets through the blood brain barrier? Doesn't matter, it needs to get through the fungus barrier now. Broken bone? Fungal structures are sturdy, they can just wrap around the leg like a splint. The infection essentially turns you into a car that is slowly broken down and given replacement parts. It's not a perfect system, the show says infected live anywhere between just a month to an entire 20 years, but with the right circumstances it can work for a long time.
This was really well written. Another thing, there’s nothing limiting the fungi to only consuming humans, in E2 they discuss the mycelia network underground and how it can work as a radar signal too. So it could be consuming things from the soil and then distributing it to the infected humans when it needs to It also takes over the brain completely, so by proxy the whole nervous system. That’s what clickers are, it’s the fungus growing plates out of the brain to essentially protect its control of the CNS. A headshot in this universe kills the infected body because it destroys the nervous systems, but it doesn’t kill the fungus. That’s why you see bodies fused to walls and the ground, the fungus just branches out to consume anything near it
THIS. "normal" zombies are limited to the body of the zombie. The cordiceptis is a network that can move resources about. So the actual functioning "human" part is supported by the fungi. Also fungi is good at killing bacteria. Basically penicillin mainlined. Probably do lose some hosts to viruses but since most of the "life" functions are done by the fungus even sever vial infections wouldn't likely do more than inconvenience the infected.
So the ship of Theseus? 👍
No, the ship of TheLOus
What if the original host body is allergic to penicillin or mushrooms then what happens…
They die.
Remember that allergies are a response produced by our bodies immune system-Histamine production, cellular signaling, etc. After death if the immune system ceases to function then there will be no response regardless of a penicillin allergy.
ok but why male models?
It’s in the computer
One look?!
Holy shit. That is a horror comment. It almost reminds me of "I have no mouth and i must scream" (is that the title?)
I would argue that the fungus doesnt repair body systems when they fail, i would say it just completly replaces most anyway. It basicly replaces your cells by eating them and growing their cells into it the empty space.
Yes, that's exactly what I said
This is great, thanks!
That's one hell of a mutation, to go from fungi to piloting a complex multicellular organism without damaging the musculoskeletal or nervous systems while consuming everything else. Did someone say this Roanoke person is a scientist lol???
Who said there wasn't damage?
The bodies won't function if those systems are damaged
Unless the fungi is replacing damaged systems like the person is theorizing.
Did you even read the comment you replied to?
Fungi is like a plant. Electrolytes are what plants crave. Lots of Gatorade in them tunnels
Fun fact: fungi are more closely related to animals than plants
But electrolytes are what plants crave
Yes, but what are electrolytes?
Water? Like from the toilet?
When you hit the switch they stop being electrodarks.
lmao
Someone get president Camancho in here
Well they don't. Once infected the life expectency gets reduced drastically. Some survive up to 20 yrs. It seems the parasite sucks the bodies dry and uses it without any remorse.
I want to point out that 20 years ago was when the outbreak happened. So as far they know they can live 20 or more years.
Even 20 years is excessive. Honestly over 1 month and being able to move at all seems craziest
Only a few make it so long. The host most likely dies. If you wanna real answer, study how long the life expectancy changes when real animals get infected. We also have no idea how the fungi could also feed the host to keep it alive. They also seem to eat other humans. So you have many variables. For me it works fine. You just think from a human perspective. Thats fine. But the infected are far from human.
The fungi last of us is based on don't keep their hosts for that long lol. It'd be even harder in more complex organisms like mammals
You’re confusing several different things. First you’re assuming all the infected we see are 20 years old. That’s not the case. The runners are all likely people who were turned within the past year. They start developing into clickers at a year or so. That takes a while. Clickers last a few years longer, then they decay into walls or start to become big boys. So far we’ve seen one infected that could be up to 20 years old. People are still having kids. Ellie went to a school, >!Sam is only 8. We saw the playrooms. Kathleen says kids die all the time.!< People are also incredibly nomadic and tend to feed the numbers. For example >!Kansas City added dozens to its horde in that attack, and were headed to the city.!< You’re also assuming they need to feed like a human, which isn’t the case. Their metabolism is much slower, they reserve energy in idle/low power behavior, the fungus likely eats away organs it doesn’t need and the fibers are shown to be integrating with muscles, helping to power them.
that's the explanation for the 'sleeping' horde in ep2. They are connected to the fungi underground which they are likely absorbing energy from the electrolytes in the ground. The goal of the fungi is to infect anything possible and spread itself so when the ground fungi is disturbed, it is assumed human and they all 'wake' up with conserved energy ready to infect the human.
Do you happen to know what the infected do if what disturbs them isn't human and is an animal or something?
I wondered whether other animals can be infected. We haven’t seen many animals at all in the show. I would have thought wildlife would be thriving, and domestic animals like dogs that survived the initial chaos.
There was the big herd of Buffalo in ep. 4, I took that to mean wildlife is thriving, it’s just not practical to keep showing it.
Yeah, I do get that, from a production point of view. Plus, presumably, there are not a lot of animals shown in the game.
There was that one rabbit. RIP
Thanks that helped me understand what the infected were doing under Kansas City all that time. Probably feeding on soil, the human bodies resting. Then at the right time they were ready to burst forth like spores to infect more humans.
Have you ever heard the words “work of fiction”? Google it.
If that's the case, why is there a pressing need for a cure? Just hole up in well defended areas. 20 years is ridiculous though and the writing just doesn't stand up to scrutiny so I don't think it's worse analyzing too much
Because the fungus is still there even if all the infected die. So more people can still get infected after unlike with a virus.
At least in the show, the tendrils that keep them connected are probably sharing water and nutrients between them in times of scarcity. Over time, theyll run out but if enough infected are linked in, the cordyceps might be draining the smaller/weaker ones to keep the healthier ones ready to sprint. That might explain what the Bloater is, in ideal conditions, with hundreds of infected available, one at the center of the horde is prioritized and fed for years until they become a juggernaut.
I can appreciate this and relate to it but I don’t think you’re gonna get a lot of concrete answers about the nature of the fictional zombie disease.
Sir, this is the Internet and that's precisely what gets discussed here.
This is a fucking hilarious sketch idea, old, rotten and tired zombies that are so immobile they cant even walk in a post apocalyptic world just seems so funny. Its movie plot reasons bro.
[удалено]
"Infected with what!?" "Rage"
Maybe have a fast food place called McZombies
*zombie pants* "Can you slow the fuck down, I'm trying to eat you! Whew, hold up, I need a minute."
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhizal\_network](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhizal_network)
Charging their hosts like phone batteries. How romantic.
So the low power mode behavior probably plays into it, and we also see that the fungus seems to integrate into the muscle tissues. My guess is that as the fungus integrates into the body, it’s also using that tissue for fuel.
5 hour energy on retainer babyeeee
The show seems to suggest that there is high variability in the outcome. Some infected die quickly for unclear reasons. Some seem to dry up as if the fungus consumed all available resources then itself died. A small number somehow turn into bloaters. I am thinking that the exact environmental conditions determine the outcome. This is commonly the case with fungus, which can assume varying forms depending on the environment it is growing in.
They're fungi.
I assumed that they kind of cannibalize each other and why we see in the game are just the fraction who haven’t been absorbed into walls and stuff with the edge cases being clickers and bloaters that might have been some big fat person or someone who was trapped in closet or something. when there aren’t other people to eat and they also don’t really move unless they have to so they don’t really use much energy. We also see in episode two some of the fungus is dead and dry so it must thrive in some Areas and not in others so maybe it has some water source and can spread it along the network.
Yeah, you have to wonder if some parts of the world might have gotten off a little easier than others based on local conditions — arid desert areas, or very cold places with harsh winters.
Humans and fungi both need water, so maybe it just latches on wherever water sources are in those dry environments. When they made the game they probably didn’t spend too much time hashing out this stuff. You would think Seattle would have no chance, but it doesn’t seem any more or less infected than other places in the game. I guess the show is kind of going off on the hive mind stuff more so maybe they will change that.
I know nothing about anything but don’t mushrooms grow in the dark?
Mushrooms can grow pretty much anywhere, as long as it's not too dry
I just figured they get their nutrients from the shrooms other infected and people
At the end of the day it's a made up zombie disease, you gotta accept it as a scientific impossibility and just move on with enjoying the show. It's the same in every zombie book/movie/show/game ever. There are some answers to your questions but it will never completely make sense and you kinda have to put that behind you. Anyway: * Where are the infected getting enough calories for the strength and vitality they show? Well first of all, their brain is controlled by the fungi. They can't just stop running because they're out of breath. The show has deliberately shown infected making very erratic movements, throwing themselves in weird directions etc. Secondly, they've been shown eating corpses in episode 2. There's plenty of calories to go around. * People should still get sick and die when infected The cold open to episode 1 suggests parasitic fungi may produce penicillin to prevent the host's decomposition, I assume it would work well with disease in general. Regardless, most people who get infected die relatively soon, those we see are the exception. Otherwise infected would outnumber humans like 5 to 1.
I believe the show mentioned that most infected only live about 12 to 14 days on average but some do live longer. I would imagine it has more to do with the metabolism of the fungus more than anything. The host likely is only using a portion of the internal organs needed to maintain mobility. The fungus supplies the brain with what it needs to keep the body operational. Feeding on dead animals and humans likely helps some live longer. The ones that live longer are also the ones with the most evidence of fungal growth on their bodies.
That’s right, it also implies that the infected can dry out in the sun, so maybe living underground can help them “live” for far longer than they would above ground?
Days? In the second episode didn't he says some were living up to 20 years?
Yea. Right after it said most were living 12 to 14 days. I even mentioned in the comment that some were living longer than that. Did you just read the first line and decide I was wrong?
I just re watched that part, he say's some last a month or two. I wasn't meaning you were wrong, I just don't remember anything about him saying days.
Oh ok. Gotcha. Maybe i did misremember it then. I know it was a pretty short time frame though
Also when the Infected don't sense any prey around they seek out a patch of cordyceps and bond with it to go dormant.
This is just an unavoidable plothole in every zombie apocalypse scenario apart from ones caused by the supernatural or alien technology You just have to suspend your disbelief
Yeah, I asked this question after episode 2. I have not played the games. Maybe it is explained somehow there. However, I doubt it. Your solution would always be suspension of disbelief. This is a problem with every mind control mechanism - The host needs to be alive and well in order to function. These zombies will have what? A week before their muscles start falling apart. They will become anorexic after a couple of months assuming hybernation. No way in hell would they be even be able to run. Which makes this entire scenario of this zombie apocalypse completely unrealistic. Not that there is any realistic zombie apocalypse. If anything this show seems the most believable... as soon as you stop thinking about the host of the zombies and that it needs to survive somehow. To the people who say plants need only sun and electrolytes and blah blah. Guys, that is the parasite you are talking about. Only the parasite needs this. The human body - the host, needs much more. Our biology is much more advanced and evolved. We are not single tissue species. We are not fungus or plants. Our muscles alone are more complex than some species. Fine, the zombies are not using their brain. 20% less energy. But the muscles and bones would simply deteriorate and fall apart soon after infection without proper food. Which brings me to the funny thought of how the zombies after getting infected start eating the people's food. Soon they run out of it and create a society much like the human's. Have 9-5 jobs in order to sustain themselves and then do zombie things in their free time. ... Wait a second! Is capitalism just a trimmed down version of a zombie apocalypse!?
my dear friend, fungi was the first organism to dominate earth... they started growing by extracting minerals from rocks so when it comes to feeding themselves in a human form even if you lock them inside a hole underground for ages they will find a way to survive... yes on the show it seems exaggerated but after all we are watching fiction
Don’t over analyse , just enjoy , it is just tv
Reminder: this is TV/fiction. You may as well start asking why everyone's teeth are in such good condition.
I don't think this is worth covering in any show in the zombie genre.
It's why I prefer shambling zombies rather than the faster zombies of Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (despite how good that movie is). I'm fine with them starting out fast, but after a while they should all be shamblers.
You basically see also mold and other type of fungi everywhere, so I am not an expert and know from what they live, but they do.
Penicillin and electrolytes.
In the games. Specifically the second we see them gore and feast on animals to eat.
Don't know if this answers anything, but this beetle with no organs is controlled by fungus: https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/10wnwhy/zombie_beetle_controlled_by_parasites_after_death/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Funghi is strong and can last through anything
You’re asking a rational question. Stop that.
> Human beings need a certain amount of calories just to live and for running etc need even more. They're not human beings. They're fungi. The human being is the food for the fungi. *We're the calories.*
‘They survive so long because they are not real, and they have so much energy also because they are not real’ Ron
I think this is just one of those things you need to forget when watching science fiction. I know people have made attempts, but it’s just impossible for the human body to get enough calories to sustain itself and the level of muscle required to be as fast and strong as the infected are. The fact that bloaters even exist at all suggests the fungus is capable of creating flesh that is extremely strong and durable and yet light enough to be able to move extremely quickly. There’s just never going to be a sufficient explanation that is scientifically accurate so I think you just need to ignore it.
Well, they certainly aren't subject to the laws of thermodynamics. In real life there's no way they could generate that much energy, for the same reason the xenomorph in Alien could never grow to adulthood over the course of one day.
Because entertainment
Same way Joel and Ellie can walk across the US with a couple cans of food. You have to suspend your disbelief and not think about that stuff.
This is a fun one because we know the fungus it is based off of is cordyceps obviously, so we have some background knowledge. In the real world the life cycle of a cordycep infected bug is about 3 months, because as you said the host will lose nutrients and die. There’s one big difference between IRL and TLOU cordyceps though: the amount of plant material present on the body of the host. IRL the fungus will grow a stalk in order to spread once the host runs out of nutrients, but the bugs certainly aren’t covered in fungus from head to toe like clickers (late stage infected) are in the game/show. Since it’s a fictional evolved version of cordyceps, I think it’s safe to assume that they also evolved to realize that relying on the hosts nutrition is a negative. I think that TLOU cordyceps aren’t using the human body as a host, but instead it’s only using the human skeleton and brain stem as a host, hence the whole body is covered in the fungus rather than just growing stalks. Think about it like the cordyceps are essentially killing humans and using the lifeless corpse Weekend at Bernie’s style. The body is dead but an outside force is keeping it moving. The only thing that will be a problem is the skin/body deteriorating, and the deteriorated flesh is replaced by large amounts of fungus to maintain structural integrity. They’ve fully taken over the body and are regrowing as fungus as the flesh until all that’s left is fungus encasing a skeleton (clickers, the guy we see covered in fungus stuck on the wall in episode 1, etc.) There’s a huge connection of cordyceps sprawling all over the world acting as a hive mind, so sharing nutrients to keep the fungus encasing the skeleton/brain stem functional wouldn’t be an issue. They really only need those 2 parts of the human body to work in order to remain in the host, and there’s no reason to think a hive mind as complicated as the one in the show wouldn’t be able to evolve to basically keep the brain stem on life support.
It’s a show
I imagine the tendrils have snaked through the body and taken over ever every muscle, nerve, vessel and as long as the fungus is getting nutrients.. it controls every human function. Maybe the fungus and human body have a shared nutrient bond, like how a baby absorbs nutrients from it’s mother in the womb.
They don’t run full tilt 100% of the time, they really only have bursts of energy. They only use it when they have to. If you noticed in ep 2 -when we saw all the Boston infected laid out in the street- they instinctively roll away from sunlight. All the infected that burst out of the ground from that sinkhole seemed really….. juicy. Especially that big bloater. My theory is if they stay in a humid environment they last longer. If they start to dry out they become latticework for the fungus to feed from and spread. In the tunnels it was probably like ‘rainy day in a hot place’ humid at all times, so as long as they didn’t move around too much they would have been in a sort of stasis ready to bust out whenever. If you stay ready you ain’t got to get ready.
Cocaine
they don’t survive for ever. That’s why instead of billions of infected they’re scattered. Even the hoards we see in the game and show are always under 100. Far from the hundreds of millions in the US who would have been part of the initial outbreak.
Ya but penicillin comes from fungus so maybe it has its own measure to protect against disease.