"The Walking Dead" Needs an Engineer!

I'm sure all the engineers are in a bunker somewhere waiting for the zombies to die off....

Or on a boat watching the sharks take care of the problem.

I am annoyed that they are not bringing up the fuel problem. I know there is plenty of fuel but it would need to be helped after the first season.

But if they found a boat that burned bunker oil, they could all live on that thing and only have to fend off zombies by luring them into the water off a dock...oh, wait I guess that wouldn't make thrilling tv...I better get back to work because there is no future for me as a writer for AMC!

Drew K

The shows actual time line has only been about 2 years since Rick's waking up in the hospital. So all the fuel should be spoiling pretty soon. They can convert cars to burning alcohol or burning wood, like Eustice's truck on Mountain Men.

My sister in law made me a chess set like that many years ago. I thought it was a great idea then. To bad I don't play chess.

Yes, you do -- it's called, "life"; but, if you don't know it, you're not likely to win.

I think an engineer would ask too many dumb questions, like...

Shouldn't the batteries in these cars have died by now?

And make observations like "You have the wrong size glass!"

That's right, it isn't half full or half empty, it is twice as big as it needs to be!

Drew K

Seems to me the show is on it's way out when they start to resort to bed scenes rather than constructively address everyday challenges like dead batteries, bad gas, fresh water, dirty water. I like the thought the engineers are all in a bunker or on an island waiting for the zombies to decompose and fall apart. Ya know I get the whole survival thing but seeing that this show has such a wide range of young and older viewers it would be good to show how people could come together and resolve day to day issues other than to just kill something.

If they had an engineer they could produce power, clean water, add motion sensors!

Thanks for letting me rant

Since the big zombie mowing, there's been a couple of months that things have been quiet and they've had time to think about other things, rather than just surviving. Rick hadn't had any since Lori, and Michonne for longer than that and same for Carol. So now they have a bit there where people are looking for some companionship. You don't think that during all this time only Abraham, Glenn, Rosita and Maggie have been the only ones getting any do you?

"I like the thought the engineers are all in a bunker or on an island waiting for the zombies to decompose and fall apart."

Exactly, Engineers aren't the 'Adventurer' types, they're the 'Infrastructure' types.

You may find one or two in a trading settlement, struggling to keep the power flowing and the water clean, but most would end up grouping together where they can make little 'enclaves,' growing food and keeping the defenses secure. Look for them in places where you would find 'tech;' the power plants, mainly coal or hydro (as long as you can maintain the parts that wear out, hydro is forever; and who cares about EPA regulations when it's the end of the world, there aren't enough functioning coal plants left to make a difference anyway.), the factories, the workshops.

They'll also be a bit more distrustful of outsiders than the average settlement; the Engineer groups are likely to be small, and sitting on a small fortune in resources (stable fuel, available power, tools, fresh food, clean water), so they'll want to keep people out, not only to keep potential Walkers out, but also to prevent the Raiders from seeing what easy pickings they are. It's not being selfish; they're trying to protect the most valuable treasure inside the place; the knowledge and experience of the Engineers. Every Engineer lost is a major setback to rebuilding society after the Apocalypse runs its course, so they don't want to have to do any fighting they don't have to. Thick walls, maze-like entrances, multiple death-trap gauntlets, all to protect the Knowledge needed for After The End.

The EPA would have their hands full anyway with all the dead bodies contaminating water sources. They'd be a pain in the side of everybody living in the disposal of all the dead bodies lying around.

But is there an EPA left? or is it down to just some people running around screaming "I don't CARE if there are zombies attacking, and all heavy industry has died, and our global pollution levels have been reduced to pre-industrial levels, you need to fill out this 500-page Environmental impact statement before you cut trees down do patch that hole in your zombie wall!"

These guys would be prime candidates to be the 'butthole victim' to get eaten in a zombie attack while the audience cheers the Walkers.

I think it would be cool to see someone from the EPA show up concerned about Daryl pouring gasoline in the pond and setting it on fire to burn walkers. Being adament about it like Morgan and his All Life is Precious philosophy.

"the knowledge and experience of the Engineers. Every Engineer lost is a major setback to rebuilding society after the Apocalypse runs its course"

Yea same goes for manufacturing capabilities. Are we in the midst of a different type of Apocalypse now?

Yes, yes we are.

There was Deanna's husband. He was an engineer and was the one that designed the wall that surrounds Alexandria. That's about all he did with his knowledge. Although I'd have to say a failed engineer since he had all the bracing on the side where the force would be coming from. They wanted it to look pretty from the inside.

Then there is Eugene. He may not be an engineer but he knows things. If you paid attention, one time they showed him reading a history book and levels up and puts his perk point into Lockpicking. He's been pretty good about being the McGyver of the group. He's also the one that has been keeping the electronics running for things like the Solar Panels.

Eventually they're going to have to start converting cars to either run on burning wood or alcohol. Because fuel is going to start going bad and should be anytime now. They're going to need to do things like do mould castings and learn to make things like rubber for gasket material.

They can start making runs on the libraries and colleges to find pubications for the topics that are important.

There would be millions of gallons of jet and diesel fuel resting in tank farms across the country. The low flash point fuels like gasoline are usually in floating roof tanks that require frequent attention to keep the drains clear otherwise the floating pans fill up with water and cause big problems. High flash point fuels usually go in tanks with cone roofs with pressure / vacuum vents and can sit happily for a long time. Fire up the pumps a few times a year to circulate the fuel between tanks, drain off the water and you have enough fuel for a lifetime.

You could even outfit a motorcycle with a diesel for Daryl.

Drew K

That's good to know.

I'm concerned about those cars, like the shiny new one that Daryl and Rick had a couple episodes ago. Almost as if it arrived brand new from the factory.

Meh, it could have been kept in a garage. I would buy it if they were all driving diesels by now, but 2 years is a bit much for ethanol blended gasoline. The gasoline in the fuel terminals doesn't have any ethanol in it yet. It has an octane rating in the low 60's and would run like crap in modern cars without ethanol blended in with accurate quantities.

Drew K

With all that rotting flesh, you think it would be easier to smell the walkers than to actually see them. They might also be tipped off by the swarm of flies circling those decaying corpses.

Good answer. You could sound your ship's horn and attract a ton of walkers into the ocean. Or when they reach the shore, lob a few shells at the masses for fun.

I think I would go with a carrier....it would have enough supplies to last forever....with a few gunships to copter ashore occasionally for supplies blowing the crap out of everything that moves....big fishing nets for fresh fish and start a farm right on the deck...endless fresh water supply....ability to circle the globe looking for good spots...

Can't be nuclear carrier. Things break and things like replacing all the copper tubes in the condensors have to be done periodically, which requires a yard period. You only have fresh water all the time if the evap system is working and there is a lot involved in that process, such as scrubbers, and no there isn't an endless supply of food. You might have a few cases of dehydrated canned goods and pasta and rice but no fresh veggies, those perish and won't really last very long if you're supporting a community of people. You'll have to bring dirt up onto the flight deck to plant produce. There are lots of voids and trunks and fan rooms, where poisonous gasses are trapped. So the risk to others becoming overcome by poisonous gasses and becoming a walker is ever present. Sure a carrier poses it's qualities as a sanctuary but it still has it's dangers.

I'm sure Sheldon Cooper would not agree with you. "Hello Oompa-Loompas of science."

"Hello yourself, Sheldon. You ever hear the name we Engineers use for you guys? We always say you live in the 'low oxygen zone,' because your heads are in the clouds, and you don't understand anything except your own narrow disciplines. Do you even know how to set up your own experiments, or do you have to wait for us 'Oompa-Loomas' to come along and decipher your whiteboard doodles and build your experiment for you?"