Possible Causes for the Situation

Much speculation exists as to the cause of the Malton Incident. Many of these outbreaks center around news stories, read from newspapers found in the streets.

Bird Flu

Newspaper:

It's dated from last June. The main story is about bird flu. You skim it and throw it away.

The avian flu is a disease which has been causing a real-world stir from 2003 on. It is also mentioned in news stories from various newspapers found in Malton, and may have contributed to or caused the zombie apocalypse.

Cemetery Overcrowding

Newspaper:

It's from May last year. There's a page-nine story about cemetery overcrowding. You skim it and throw it away.

One theory as to the origins of the zombie threat involves the problem of cemetery overcrowding. Some think that because the bodies were closer together it made it easier for a virus to travel, while others think that it was simply disrespect that caused the dead to rise, or that the dead were protesting poor conditions, and went on strike, but the strike turned violent.

An alternative explanation for these newspaper stories hold that overcrowding was not the cause of the outbreak, but rather an effect of it. This view speculates that whatever caused the first zombies to rise had an incubation time, and that before people rose as zombies, they had to die. This would mean that people started dying in large numbers, were buried (possibly in massgraves), and then rose as zombies.

However in graveyards the grass between the headstones seems smooth and undisturbed, suggesting that the undead who roam the streets today have never been buried.

Cremation of Corpses

Magazine:

It's titled "Sci-Fi Weekly." The main story is about "Dead Cannabis". You skim it and throw it away.

Some believe that the cause of the outbreak involves the cremation of bodies after death. The smoke which is produced during the process exposes itself into the atmosphere only to be inhaled by the unknowing citizens who then become mindless versions of themselves. However, the smoke itself would have to contain a biochemical that reacted with the human tissue which is unknown.

There have been jokes dictating it as "Dead Cannabis", since the end result are brain eating zombies.

Meteor Shower

Newspaper:

It's from June last year. The cover story mentions a meteor shower, with full-colour photos. You skim it and throw it away.

A meteor shower is the subject of one of the news stories that may be read in newspapers found around Malton. It is a possible cause of the current zombie presence in Malton, as meteor showers are often associated with unknown cosmic rays and other curious extraterrestrial elements.

MRSA

Newspaper:

It's a copy of the local paper from May last year. The main story is about MRSA in local hospitals. You skim it and throw it away.

MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a gram-positive cocci bacteria. It commonly lives on the skin of humans and has had increasing antibiotic resistance since the discovery of penicillin. According to one conspiracy theory about the zombie outbreak, NecroTech had been experimenting with weaponized Staphylococcus derived from MRSA, which escaped... or was permitted to escape. Do not confuse the condition with the group residing in Stanbury Village, the Malton Resistance Syndicate of Atlantis.

Newspaper:

It's a copy of the local paper from July of 2005. The main story is about MRSA experimentation. You skim it and throw it away.

MRSA was clinically tested in weaponized form during an execution sentence in the city of Malton. The results haven't been released due to inconclusive response from those involved.

Necrotech

Newspaper:

It's from last year. There's a bland interview with the head of NecroTech. You skim it and throw it away.

Newspaper:

It's a copy of the local paper from June 2005. There are a lot of adverts for NecroTech in the 'situations vacant' section.

Many conspiracy theories center around the Necrotech Corporation for its shady role in the zombie outbreak. This is likely, as "necro" is the Greek prefix for dead.Put this together with tech, you get Dead Technology, which sounds like a coincidence as there is a zombie outbreak. There may be 'situations vacant' because a number of NecroTech scientists have been killed, possibly by something which turned them into zombies, starting the outbreak.

Neurogenesis

As seen in ... Laboratories around the world.

What is it? You know all that conversy out there about stem cell research? Well, the whole thing with stem cells is that they can basically be used to re-generate dead cells. Particularly of interest to zombologists like ourselves is neurogenesis, the method by which they can re-grow dead brain tissue.

You can see where this is going.

How it can result in zombies:

You wanted the undead to make an appearance in this article? Well, here you go, you creepy bastards. 

Science can pretty much save you from anything but brain death; they can swap out organs but when the brain turns to mush, you're gone. Right?

Well, not for long. They're already able to re-grow the brains of comatose head trauma patients until they wake up and walk around again.

Couple that with the new ability to keep a dead body in a state of suspended animation so that it can be brought back to life later, and soon we'll be able to bring back the dead, as long as we get to them quickly enough.

That sounds great, right? Well, this lab dedicated to "reanimation research" (yes, that's what they call it) explains how the process of "reanimating" a person creates a problem. It causes the brain to die off from the outside in. The outside being the cortex, the nice part of you that makes humans human. That just leaves the part that controls basic motor function and primitive instincts behind.

You don't need the cortex to survive; all you need is the stem and you'll still be able to mindlessly walk and eat and enjoy Grey's Anatomy. This is how chickens can keep walking around after they've been beheaded (including one case where the chicken lived for 18 months without a head).

So, you take a brain dead patient, use these techniques to re-grow the brain stem, and you now have a mindless body shambling around, no thoughts and no personality, nothing but a cloud of base instincts and impulses

That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we like to call a real, live, undead fucking zombie. So there.

Chances this could cause a zombie apocalypse: Think about it. Under every legal system in the world, all rights and responsibilities are terminated at death. All it takes is someone with resources and a need for a mindless workforce of totally obedient slave labor.

How long until somebody tries this? We're betting somebody in the world, maybe North Korea, will have a working zombie by Christmas.

Night of the Living Dead Theory

The murders are being perpetrated by the recently deceased who have returned to life, dubbed 'ghouls'. Experts, scientists and military are not sure of the cause of the reanimation, but one scientist is certain that it is the result of radioactive contamination from a space probe that exploded in the Earth's atmosphere

Popsicle Pete's Spooky Powers

Rumors persist that the mysterious Popsicle Pete has summoned the disaster in Malton for furthering his goal of assimilating the world.

The Nackles Hypothesis

Named for the Harlan Ellison short story, "Nackles," in which the eponymous anti-Santa who began as a mean-spirited story was brought to life by the power of belief alone, this is the idea that widespread viewing of zombie movies lead enough people to believe in zombies that zombies spontaneously began to appear. Although there is no evidence whatsoever to back the Nackles Hypothesis, it has gained joking acceptance among many survivors. It is unclear where the Nackles Hypothesis originated, but it was first recorded somewhere in Free Zone North.

The Hell Theory

As most people know, Hell is the place where it's alleged that horrible people go to after death. Most religions have there own concept of Hell. The Hell Theory is that Hell has been filled up, and the dead are no longer able to enter. Those destined for Hell are not allowed in either Heaven nor Hell, and walk the earth. One conclusion is that God (or the Creator) is punishing humanity for many hundreds of years of sin. The main idea of this theory can be heard in George Romero's film Dawn of the Dead. "When there is no more room in Hell, the Dead will walk the Earth."

Toxoplasma Gondii

Magazine:

It's titled Bio-Quest. There's several bland interviews with head scientists of Malton concerning Toxoplasma Gondii. You skim it and throw it away.

Tissue cysts are ingested by a cat (e.g., by feeding on an infected mouse). The cysts survive passage through the stomach of the cat and the parasites infect epithelial cells of the small intestine where they undergo sexual reproduction and oocyst formation. Oocysts are shed with the feces. Animals and humans that ingest oocysts (e.g., by eating unwashed vegetables etc.) or tissue cysts in improperly cooked meat become infected. The parasite enters macrophages in the intestinal lining and is distributed via the blood stream throughout the body.