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[Romegypt]

I am brainstorming an idea for a book. I have alreadys tarted the first little bit, and was wondering what you guys thought.

The idea is that to prevent crime, scientists made zombies. Then, congress built a huge wall around the abandoned chicago (This is 2060). Then, they threw 5 zombies into a bunch of prisoners, and let em loos in the abandoned city (There are woods and farm areas within the walls).

Every time the prisoners are all or most of them are dead, they capture the zombies, replace loot, like the apocalypse had just happened, and then put the zombies back in. Then they dump the prisoners back in.

The protagonist end up in there for a minor crime.
Thoughts?

[Romegypt]

Really? No thoughts?

[Araph]

You might want to move this to the Creative Projects board. I don't have any real opinions on the book (dystopian future stuff isn't really my cup of tea), but you might get more feedback there.

[GiglameshDespair]

The real question is "Why?"

What advantage does that give the government?

So more morally ambiguous scientists create zombies.
It's decided to use them as a new method of capital punishment? How? That wouldn't pass muster. Inhumane as all hell. Not to say normal capital punishment methods aren't.. but going from bad to worse generally isn't allowed.

So they're chucking people in there for minor crimes. Once again, why? Basically no one would like or accept the idea. Christians, with the defilement of the dead, people with basic morals, who think petty criminals getting ripped apart by ravenous ghouls is a bit disproportionate, the people paying for it, as it would be hugely expensive, impractical, and dangerous...

You'd have to maintain the wall. Chicago has a river, doesn't it? You have to block that off. The sewer systems, too would have to be sealed. You'd have to pay to maintain all that regularly, because if there's a gap, criminals/ zombies could escape. Having murderous corpses walking around you country is not popular with your constituents.

[Frumple]

I think what you'd need to answer that why is ALIEN INVADERS!

Stupid Evil ones, that conquer north america and then set up arenas like this for their debased amusement. It answers all the questions in one go -- why it's happening, where the tech came from, how they can afford it, and how containment works (It doesn't; the overlords just let the zombies disperse after a round and then corral them up and stick 'em back in afterwards. Most of the countryside surrounding these death games are deadlands.).

If you're going ham, you might as well go full ham, I say.

[miauw62]

The real question is "Why?"

What advantage does that give the government?

So more morally ambiguous scientists create zombies.
It's decided to use them as a new method of capital punishment? How? That wouldn't pass muster. Inhumane as all hell. Not to say normal capital punishment methods aren't.. but going from bad to worse generally isn't allowed.

So they're chucking people in there for minor crimes. Once again, why? Basically no one would like or accept the idea. Christians, with the defilement of the dead, people with basic morals, who think petty criminals getting ripped apart by ravenous ghouls is a bit disproportionate, the people paying for it, as it would be hugely expensive, impractical, and dangerous...

You'd have to maintain the wall. Chicago has a river, doesn't it? You have to block that off. The sewer systems, too would have to be sealed. You'd have to pay to maintain all that regularly, because if there's a gap, criminals/ zombies could escape. Having murderous corpses walking around you country is not popular with your constituents.

you could turn shoddy maintenance of the wall into a plot element and have the zombies escape :V

[Romegypt]

Zombie escape is saved for book 2

And yes, Aliens are a great idea!
(Not being sarcastic!) The government is secretly controlled by aliens! Thank you so much!!!!!!

[MrRoboto75]

So they're chucking people in there for minor crimes. Once again, why?

Perhaps he wasn't supposed to be there.  Some sort of bureaucratic mishap misplaced our jaywalker and some murderhead.  The minor guy is on zombie row, and the real bad guy is in some normal prison.

[Romegypt]

there are no normal prisons. Everyone from around the world goes here.
He got placed there for drunken fighting.

[Reelya]

I think the bigger plot hole is that they round up the zombies periodically, place loot around then dump the zombies back in with fresh prisoners. Why are they doing that when it's more costly and dangerous? It wouldn't "prevent crime" any better than capital punishment of dumping you into a zombie-infested hell-hole already would.

It would be more interesting if that didn't happen. Then you could have a secret prisoner society that's survived the zombie city for decades. Make it so what everyone including the hero believes about the zombie city is overturned about 1/3 of the way into the book. Play the basic story completely straight before that, then add the twist. Have the main part of that go for most of the rest of the book, then the finale takes about 1/6 of the book.

[Frumple]

Remember, Ree: Aliens. The whole thing isn't about preventing crime, it's about amusing the xeno puppetmasters -- crime prevention is just the flimsy cover for it. All questions answered

[MrRoboto75]

It would be more interesting if that didn't happen. Then you could have a secret prisoner society that's survived the zombie city for decades. Make it so what everyone including the hero believes about the zombie city is overturned about 1/3 of the way into the book. Play the basic story completely straight before that, then add the twist. Have the main part of that go for most of the rest of the book, then the finale takes about 1/6 of the book.

Literally zombie Australia.

[Cheesecake]

there are no normal prisons. Everyone from around the world goes here.
He got placed there for drunken fighting.

So the place is fucking huge then. If everyone around the world was sent here, that raises a lot of plotholes. So, all governments in the world agreed to this arena? Why wouldn't they keep normal prisons around? What crime warrants being thrown into a zombie city. And why are there only 5 zombies? I'm pretty sure an army of convicts could take them down easily.

[Reelya]

I think the 5 zombies were meant to be just the initial stock when they first made the city. He just said "bunch of prisoners", so presumably a few humans were zombified at a time until they had a zombie army. I'm still not sure why they periodically round up the zombies and redecorate the place "like the apocalypse just happened". Is the zombie city televised or something? In which case it's a zombie version of the Running Man.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093894/

If it's so hard to deal with crime, why do they zombify prisoners, let them loose, then have to deal with rounding up zombies? It sounds like it would be more hassle than just having regular policing. Or just bring back torture and the death penalty. Televising people being tortured to death would be every bit as effective as a deterrent as death by zombie, and less zombies to clean up later. Actually torture would be scarier, because a zombie or wild animal just kills you outright, whereas a torturer is a sentient being taking his time to extend your death as horribly as possible. I'd much prefer a zombie got me than being captured in a sadistic torturer's dungeon.

[Cheesecake]

Maybe the author intends for more of a tradition kind of thing, like Hunger Games. Prolonged torture and fun for the rest of the country and its loyal citizens.

Correct me if I'm wrong though.