zombies vs robots: diplomacy preview

7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview

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ZVR DIPLOMACYZVR DIPLOMACY


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All diplomacy is a continuation of war

by other means.

Zhou Enlai


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Illustrated by Michael Dubisch

Edited by Jeff Conner

Z V R

D I P L O M A C Y


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ZVR ALT-LITEDITOR/DESIGNER: JEF F CONNER

ASSOCIATE EDITOR/TZVR: CHRIS RYALL

ASSOCIATE DESIGNER: ROBBI E ROBBINS

ZOMBIES VS . ROBOTSCREATORS: ASHLEYWOOD & CHRIS RYALL

ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS: DIPLOMACY!. AUGUST, 2013. FIRST PRINTING. Zombies vs Robots 2013 Idea and Design Works, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The IDWlogo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Editorial offices: 5080 Santa Fe St., SanDiego, CA 92109. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of a rtwork used for review purposes, none of the contentsof this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC . Printed in Korea.IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork.

www.IDWPUBLISHING.com

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Ted Adams, CEO & Publisher Greg Goldstein, President & COO Robbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic ArtistChris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief Matthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial Officer Alan Payne, VP of SalesDirk Wood, VP of Marketing Lorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital Services

IDW founded by Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko, and Robbie Robbins

ISBN: 978-1-61377-646-9 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4

Diplomacy is the velvet glove that cloaks the fist of power. Robin Hobb


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Introduction

xi

The Last Defense of Moscow Steve Lockley

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For King and Country Rio Youers

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Soul Killer Robert Hood

65

The Harrowing Gary McMahon

113

Timka Ekaterina Sedia

139

Beheaded by Whip-wielding Nun Simon Clark

163

Exclusion Zone Dale Bailey

187

Spinbot Simon Kurt Unsworth

229

Los Autores

269


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xi

Introduction

Jeff Conner

THE WORLD OF Zombies vs. Robots is vast and varied, dangerous

and disgusting, brutal and bloody. Most of its stories are set inthe United States; a logical situation since the pernicious Z-virus

was first introduced by American scientists. Also stamped Hecho

en USA are the hastily banged-together warbots; wise-cracking

walking tanks tasked with containing the gnawing zombie hordes.

Thus, the domestic bias of our ZVR stories is quite understand-

able.

Unlike our brain-addicted zombies however, IDWs plucky ZVRscribes originate from all parts of the English-speaking world, and

beyondnamely Canada, Australia, the UK and Russia (with an

ex-pat or two now based Stateside). Through happy circumstance,

of the thirty-plus stories brewed up in IDWs Lab of Loathsome Lit-

erature, four are set in the United Kingdom, and four in Russia.

How can one resist the urge to match up these tales of rot, rust and

resistance into an international ZVR Fight Club? A battle of the

bands sort of deal, with you the reader being the ultimate winner.

(Clearly, this editor succumbed to this temptation of terror and ad-

venture on beleaguered foreign shores!)


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Diplomacy is the way that governments negotiate with each

other; even when at war (which is what usually happens when

diplomacy fails). Will Rogers, the great American philosopher andhumorist, joked that without diplomats surely wars would end

much sooner. (He also described diplomacy as saying Nice doggie

while looking for a rock.)

Diplomacy can also refer to how people (rather thanpeoples)

negotiate interpersonal relationships. In this sense everyone is a

diplomat, some more skilled than others. The endless ebb and flow

of personal diplomacy, that symphony of strategy and emotions,

generates most of our drama, both commercial and personal.

But what does diplomacymean in the ZVR context? Clearly the

robots and zombies are not negotiating much of anything. The

zombies want human brains and nothing else, so their interest in

their robot foes is basically zero. You simply cant reach an under-

standing with unthinking brain-eaters found in ZVR, while the

chatty warbots solely exist only to slaughter said zombies (and you

best try to keep out of the crossfire). In other words, it takes twoto negotiateand by definition these two parties have a failure to

communicate; its more likely that they cant even conceive of it.

Aside from the geopolitical undertones (and well get to them in

a moment), what this collection most concerns itself with is how

the beleaguered humans in ZVR world negotiate with each other

(or oneself, in some cases) when confronting dead folks walking.

Can human relationships (as we normally understand them) pre-

vail in the face of such horrific onslaughts? Well, that all depends,

as the definition of human can be awfully elastic during such

times.

Now, one would think that if science can eradicate small pox and

polio, even commute the death sentence of AIDS, then the Z-virus

could also be dealt with in some fashion. And yes, some of our pro-

tagonists are trying to do just that (theres no shortage of test sub-

jects). Obviously mere science cannot cure the zombie plague; amilitary element must be involved as well. Test tubes and flame-

throwers, working together like labor and management.

ZvR Diplomacy

xii


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Introduction xiii

So its not the terms of peace that inform ZVR Diplomacy, but

the terms of survival. People can be pretty tough when the zombies

are at the door, but societies and civilizations crumble regularly,often from self-inflicted wounds. What will happen once all the

brains are eaten, Mr. Zombie? Will you develop a taste for large

animals? Or will our warbot would-be saviors ultimately prevail

before their power cells run dry? Is it only after human extinction

that the Z-virus will finally burn itself out, its zombie hosts perma-

nently bereft of brains, whithering away to dust and allowing our

ravaged planet to return to its pre-human Eden state?

As noted, this books menu of Russian and British responses to

the zombie pestilence (and its subsequent warbotic rejoinder) was

not consciously planned. All the better I say, as unintended inspi-

ration is usually the most pure. And these stories are pure inspira-

tion of the finest order.

This collections presentation of such rarified purity features:

Steve Lockleys tale of farmers and soldiers making a last stand

against waves of shamblers (Steve is from the UK); Rio Youersadroit depiction of British patriotism in the face of the undead in-

vasion (born in England, Rio lives in Canada); Robert Hoods

chiller about a mans soul trapped in a warbot (Robert hails from

Australia); Gary McMahons evocative look of how a priests efforts

to cope with the zombie plague contrasts sharply with his govern-

ments (Gary is from the UK); Ekaterina Sedias meditation on

honor and love in the face of horror (born in Moscow, the storys

setting, Ekaterina now calls New Jersey home); Simon Clarks giddy

revelation about a warrior nuns ultimate sacrifice (Simon is a UK

resident); Dale Baileys pulpy Chernobyl meltdown (Dale lives in

North Carolina); and Simon Kurt Unsworths apocalyptic take on

British pride colliding with American imperialism (Simon lives in

the UK). And its all held together by the giddy art of versatile mas-

ter artist, Michael Dubisch (who lives in Arizona).

Saying and doing nasty things in a nice way is one descriptionof diplomacy, ZVR Diplomacyachieves that and more.


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IDW PUBLISHING

San Diego, CA

2013

Edited by Jeff Conner

Illustrated by Michael Dubisch

A Zombies vs Robots Collection

DeFumo In Flammam

ZVRD IP L OMCY


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A

FIGURE STUMBLED through the trees and a shot fired out. The

bullet had caught him in the shoulder but he stayed on his feet,stumbling through the snow. Another shot and another, until the

figure fell to the ground and did not move again. There was a cheer

from the ranks; row upon row of conscript and professional soldier

alike. And then there was nothing but silence as they waited in case

the body started to move again.

Gromyko! The young man heard his name being called out

and he saw a uniformed officer calling for him. He hoisted hisscythe so it was above the heads of the men he had to pass to get to

the end of the line and made his way slowly towards the soldier.

Sir, Gromyko said when he reached the man.

They tell me that you grew up near here, the man said. This

was General Levitch, the man given command of the battle that was

about to take place. They all knew that there would soon be a mass

of the zombies stumbling from the woods now that the first one

was dead. It was only a matter of time

Yes sir, he confirmed. He had grown up on a farm that skirted

the forest, and now he worked it with his father, scraping out a

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THE LAST DEFENSE OF MOSCOW

Steve Lockley


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even in the snow Gromyko knew where they ran and where the

run-offs gouged scars in the ground beneath the blanket of white.

Glancing back down the hill the scale of the assembled troopswas even more impressive than down there on the ground. At the

front were the farmhands and factory workers called upon to swell

the ranks, behind them the uniformed solders with rifles at the

ready. Though it was only from this standpoint that Gromyko could

see the truth of the situation. The soldiers could not shoot at the

zombies, even if such a tactic was likely to prove fruitful, while the

peasants with scythes and pitchforks stood in front of them. They

were not there to kill zombies but to deter deserters. On long winter

nights by oil lamp, Gromyko had read about the tactic being used

in ancient times; the Romans had placed forces gathered from

defeated tribes into the front ranks of their army to draw the fire of

the enemy. Cannon fodder before cannons had been invented.

To one side, away from the immediate danger were huddled

the old and the infirm, the women and children and behind them the

great hulking machines that their defense may ultimately rely on;the robots. The great brass and steel machines, which wheezed and

squealed with each motion, were impervious to the attacks of the

zombies and unstoppable. They had not been called upon for

years but now they had been called back into action, prepared to

see action at last. At the moment their engines were silent, their

hydraulics relaxed and they stood like puppets whose strings have

been momentarily relaxed.

Varos urged him on, drawing Gromyko from his thoughts and

he pushed on, the soft snow making the going more uncertain. On

the crest of the hill stood the farmhouse he had lived in all of his

life, the house empty now and the animals left unattended in one

of the barns. His father had wanted to leave the doors open in case

they should not return to feed them. He could not dare to imagine

them starving to death or the pigs turning on themselves when the

food ran out. Gromyko convinced him to keep them safe, for with-out the animals there would be no future for them; nothing to fight

for, nothing to protect.

The Last Defense of Moscow 3


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As they skirted what they knew would soon be the battlefield the

tree line grew closer. The creatures were supposed to move in a

fairly straight path. They would continue in the valley towards thelines of defenses, the rows of sharpened metal farm implements

ready to be used against the zombies.

How did the gunshot manage to stop it? Gromyko asked,

pointing at the fallen body just beyond the edge of the tree line.

And how come theres only one of them? Where are the rest?

They will be here soon enough, the young officer said.

But a single shot? he could not believe how easy it had been

stopped.

He was not a zombie; not one of them.

Not one of them?

If he had been one of them the gun shot would not have stopped

him. It was Dimitri. He was sent into the forest to see how far away

they were.

And someone shot him? Gromyko could not believe what he

was hearing. They had killed one of their own and no one seemedto care, but was it by mistake or just in case?

Varos said nothing, just lowered his head and followed carefully

in Gromykos footsteps. We have to position ourselves at either

end of the trench. He pointed to the dark scar that ran for almost

a quarter of a mile; a ditch that had been dug with the sweat of sol-

diers and peasants alike and filled with brushwood and valuable

straw that had been soaked in petrol. When the zombies come out

of the woods we set fire to it. Not before.

And then?

And then we run. If we can rejoin the ranks then so be it, but

the General has made it clear that ensuring that the fire burns is

more important than our safe return.

Thats very nice of him.

He is confidant that his plan will destroy enough of the creatures

that we will not be needed in the ranks. If they get through thenthe poor sods standing at the front will be caught between the devil

and the deep blue sea. They will have to kill or be killed. If they are

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bitten the soldiers behind them will be only too quick to make sure

that they dont get the chance to infect anyone else. He drew a fin-

ger across his throat and that was all Gromyko needed.

THE FIRST OF the zombies stumbled from the trees and despite being

hit by rifle fire it did little more than lose its footing for moment

and slow its momentum before moving again. This was the real

thing; it was going to take a lot more than that to stop it. Gromyko

was already in position at the far end of the trench and on Varos

signal set fire to the oil-soaked brushwood barrier that sat in the

trench. He could not believe that the zombies had so little residual

intelligence that they would walk straight into it, but that was not

his concern. He had a job to do and no matter how he looked at it

he could be one of the lucky ones who would have the chance to

walk away.

A great gout of flame rose up, sucking the oxygen from the air,

singeing Gromykos hair and scorching his face, but he managed to

hold on to the piece of wood he had used to ignite the barricade.He grabbed a handful of snow and used it to cool his skin before

following the line of brushwood, touching the flame to it at intervals

to ensure that the whole length was quickly ablaze. Snow and ice

fizzed as it melted and evaporated in an instant in the heat that

burst out, turning the ground where Gromyko was standing to

slush beneath is feet when previously it had been hard as iron. Once

he passed the halfway point he had reached the stretch that Varos

had set fire to and they both threw their wooden torches into the

inferno before running back the way they had come.

Even as they watched, back on the bank and pausing to catch

their breaths, what must have started as a trickle of ones and twos

of the zombies coming from the woodland had become a torrent,

a great surge of stumbling corpses, a tide that had nothing to direct

it and it moved inexorably towards the fire.

Perhaps it will work, said Gromyko.Perhaps. It may thin out the numbers but I do not think it will

be sufficient on its own.

The Last Defense of Moscow 5


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The first of the zombies reached the burning barricade but did

not even break its stride as it stumbled in the fire, its ragged clothes

bursting into flame and its flesh burning as it fell onto the bonfire.It was followed by another and another, each one pushed by the

mass of bodies behind. There was a great cheer from the ranks as

the defense seemed to be doing its job and from their standpoint

at least, it must have looked as if they would not be called into

battle today. Gromyko could see that their celebrations would be

short lived. The flames destroyed some of the bodies that stum-

bled into them but the mass of bodies that was still pouring from

the trees would eventually break through the defense. The flames

though, would mask the size of the horde from those who waited,

until it was too late.

We have to warn them.

Warn them about what? The fire is doing its job for the moment

at least. Any that manage to break through will be ablaze and easily

dispatched once the robots are sent into the fray.

Gromyko wished he shared the other mans confidence. All heknew was that many of his friends would believe they were safe now

and that the enemy would soon be defeated. The walking corpses

continued relentlessly moving onwards, their bodies adding to the

pyre as the brushwood began to sink into the trench sending sparks

flying into the sky. Rotting flesh burned and filled the air with a

stench more acrid than that of the burning oil, human fat rendered

turning rags and bones into walking human candles, oblivious to

what was happening to their bodies, until muscle and sinew burnt

to nothing and they collapsed to the ground unable to move but

still dangerous.

The weight of bodies, still thrashing in the flames, pressed heav-

ily on the quickly charring barrier until the fire seemed to consist

only of fallen corpses. Still they poured from the forest, a never end-

ing tide until at last the weight of bodies began to dampen down

the fire and clambering over the smoldering corpses the zombiesemerged from the smoke. First in ones and twos but then a torrent

of them stumbled through until it was as if the barrier no longer

6 Steve Lockley


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