World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

“I was a good soldier, well trained, experienced; I knew what I could do to my fellow human beings and what they could do to me. I thought I was ready for anything. [He looks out at the valley, his eyes unfocused.] Who in his right mind could have been ready for this?”

At the end of his interview with the narrator, Stanley MacDonald reveals the extent to which he believes no one could have been prepared for The Zombie War. Even though MacDonald is a soldier who has been hardened by his experiences, the war proves to him that there are scenarios that can break even the strongest individuals. His retreat to a monastery in the aftermath shows how many of the survivors have been humbled, as they are pushed to rethink life’s greater meaning and their individual purpose.

“I realized I practically didn’t know anything about these people I’d hated by entire life. Everything I thought was true went up in smoke that day, supplanted by the face of our real enemy.”

During his interview, Palestinian Saladin Kader reveals that the war has forced him to rethink all his previous held beliefs and prejudices. For Kader, decades of previous tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians suddenly become irrelevant. He sees that his staunch anti-Israel stance actually prevented him from listening to the warnings of others and understanding the truth. Kader’s words demonstrate that it is possible to put aside lifelong prejudices in the face of a common enemy.

“If there’s a hell…[giggles as he talks]…I don’t want to think about how many of those dumb shits might be waiting for me. I just hope they don’t want a refund.”

The concluding quote from the narrator’s interview with Breck Scott reveals the sentiments of those who seek only to profit off of the situation. Scott proves that he lacks compassion or remorse, as he renounces any responsibility for successfully manufacturing a drug that is essentially useless. He only blames others for taking him seriously and for failing to figure out that the drug has no value. Although he clearly understands his moral deficiencies, as he references going to hell, he has no regrets regarding his actions. The narrator’s interview with Scott is a reminder that such individuals exist, unapologetically seeking to profit off of humanity’s darkest hours.

“For every profiteer, or repulsive psychopath, there were ten good and decent people whose karma was still untainted.”

The quote from Ajay Shah, as he reflects on the onset of the Great Panic, reveals that the situation exposes humanity’s extremes. It brings out both the best and the worst of people. For Shah, this is the major lesson that can be learned from the event. As devastating as it is to witness humanity’s depravity, Shah is also able to see and benefit from its kindness.

“No one would have expected it, but then again, no one would have expected the dead to rise, now would they? Only one could have foreseen this, and I don’t believe in him anymore.”

During his interview, Ahmed Fazahnakian alludes to the fact that he has lost his faith in a higher power. The quote makes it evident that he has rejected his previous beliefs wholesale. While the unpredictable nature of the events that have unfolded lead some on the path to spirituality, they have inevitably led others, like Fazahnakian, to view the world as a godless place.

“You can’t blame anyone else, not the plan’s architect, not your commanding officer, no one but yourself. You have to make your own choices and live every agonizing day with the consequences of those choices.”

This quote from Phillip Adler during his interview demonstrates the heavy emotions he now carries with him. As a soldier who helps carry out a plan that involves abandoning civilians, Adler reveals how difficult it is to live with himself in the aftermath. He takes full responsibility for his actions and has to face the fact that he leaves people behind to die. Adler’s experience and sentiment shows that the war is not simply about destroying zombies but also involves controversial acts that for many bear a deep psychological toll.

“So many symbols of our national defense and none more spectacular than the statue of the Rodina Mat (Motherland). She was the tallest building in the city, a more than sixty-meter masterpiece of pure stainless steel. She was the last thing I saw in Kiev, her shield and sword held high in everlasting triumph, her cold, bright eyes looking down at us as we ran.”

In his interview, Bohdan Taras Kondratiuk recalls his last image upon fleeing Kiev of the Rodina Mat standing triumphant as the city is engulfed in flames. The impending destruction of the statue, a testament to Ukraine’s victory in World War II against Hitler, demonstrates that the war has rendered humanity and all of its various achievements obsolete. Regardless of what a nation and its people have previously suffered, endured, or triumphed over, they could not stop this new enemy without destroying civilization in the process.

“Yes, it was very hard for some, but a lot of them later admitted that they got more emotional satisfaction from their new jobs than anything closely resembling the old ones.”

As Arthur Sinclair, Junior explains in his interview, the war forces a fundamental reorientation of society toward basic survival. Those who previously thrived in white collar jobs find themselves working as laborers. Many are initially upset about having to do work they once judged as inferior, but eventually they come to take pride in what they do. The quote shows how the war has changed people’s perceptions of which jobs are essential and important.

“The truth was that we were standing at what might be the twilight of our species and that truth was freezing a hundred people to death every night. They needed something to keep them warm. And so I lied, and so did the president, and every doctor and priest, and platoon leader and parent. ‘We’re going to be okay.’ That was our message.”

Movie director Roy Elliot confesses during his interview that his movies are based on lies, but they have singlehandedly kept many people from succumbing to despair and death. His quote shows that individuals in power may create propaganda based on lies because they believe it’s the only way to create hope. The truth is too hard for most people to bear, hence the development of ADS, so they deliberately concealed it.

“Maybe she was just a scared, lonely voice that did what she could to help another scared lonely voice from ending up like her. Who cares who she was, or is? She was there when I needed her, and for the rest of my life, she’ll always be with me.”

Air Force Pilot Colonel Christina Eliopolis insists to the narrator that she didn’t invent Mets despite evidence presented by the narrator that Mets may never have existed. The fact that Mets may not have been real raises a number of possibilities as to who—or what—she was. The quote leaves open the idea that Eliopolis may have been guided by a higher power or perhaps tapped into some deeper part of herself that led her to safety. It suggests that the undead may not be the only supernatural being on earth.

“They were viewed very much like castles, I suppose: as crumbling, obsolete relics, with no real modern function other than as tourist attractions. But when the skies darkened and the nation called, both reawoke to the meaning of their existence. One shielded our bodies, the other, our souls."

Although David Allen Forbes knows the British royal family are often viewed as meaningless vestiges of a bygone era, he finds they prove their undeniable value to humanity during the war. Forbes views them as the best kind of people, who sacrifice themselves and their assets for the greater good and save many lives in the process. For Forbes, they demonstrate they were never irrelevant, although perhaps their importance is not revealed until all of humanity nears extinction.

“So I explained that, like any garden, Japan could not be allowed to wither and die. We would care of her, we would preserve her, we would annihilate the walking blight that infested and defiled her and we would restore her beauty and purity for the day when her children would return to her."

Sensei Tomonaga Ijiro reveals that he finds his true purpose in life when he meets Kondo Tatsumi in the Hiddaka Mountains. Ijiro’s perilous journey has finally shown him exactly what he—and other survivors—are meant to do. Ijiro often struggled in the past with his self-worth, but when Tatsumi tells him that Japan is abandoned, he is able to recognize and understand his indispensable value as a gardener in the face of humanity’s near-total destruction.

“They showed us the meaning of democracy…freedom, not just in vague, abstract terms, but on a very real, individually human level. Freedom isn’t just something you have for the sake of having, you have to want something else first and then want the freedom to fight for it.”

Seryosha Garcia Alvarez discusses how Cubans came to embrace the ideas of democracy and freedom in their country. Alvarez gives Americans the credit for demonstrating that these ideas not only hold value but are also achievable. The quote shows that he considers himself enlightened for understanding the true meaning of freedom and for being part of its implementation in his homeland.

“The monsters that rose from the dead, they are nothing compared to the ones we carry in our hearts.”

Admiral Xu Zhicai makes this observation when recalling Captain Chen’s realization that he may have killed his own son in battle. Zhicai suggests that the war has forced humanity to face itself. It has shown the survivors there are monsters residing inside of all people. They cannot hide from their true character when the survival of the species is at stake.

“Sometimes I’m asked if we regretted our decision to stay aboard. I can’t speak for my mates. On their deathbeds they both said they’d do it all over again. How can I disagree?”

Terry Knox insists to the narrator that he has no regrets about his decision to stay on board the International Space Station during the crisis. Despite being subjected to lethal doses of cosmic radiation, Knox believes he carries an important purpose by staying in space. His attitude about his decision reveals a noble sense of self-sacrifice that is present among some of the survivors. He accepts that his inevitable, impending death is a necessary part of his heroism.

“And what if that future saw another rise of the living dead? Would our descendants rise to mee them in battle, or simply crumple in meek surrender and accept what they believe to be their inevitable extinction? For this reason alone, we had to reclaim our planet. We had to prove to ourselves we could do it, and leave that proof as this war’s greatest moment.”

The American President’s speech aboard the USS Saratoga as recalled by Ernesto Olguin marks a turning point in the Zombie War. The President’s words demonstrate that humanity has not been fundamentally broken and segments of it believe humanity can prevail. While reaction to his rallying cry is divided, his words resonate and manage to gather enough support for an offensive attack to be carried out.

“I just knew I felt good, better than I had the entire war. I knew it was gonna be a real, long-ass road. I knew our campaign across America was just beginning, but hey, as the prez said later that first night, it was finally the beginning of the end.”

Recounting the aftermath of America’s first major offensive, Todd Wainio expresses a sense of a turning tide as well as a long-awaited sense of relief. For Wainio, America’s victory indicates that humanity can potentially triumph and annihilate the zombies. Wainio’s attitude is demonstrative of humanity’s endurance and refusal to surrender against a seemingly indestructible enemy.

“Officers killing soldiers had cost us too many good officers, and soldiers killing themselves had cost the Lord too many good souls. Suicide was a sin, and we, his servants—those who had chosen to be his shepherd upon the earth—were the only ones who should bear the cross of releasing trapped souls from infected bodies!”

When Father Sergei Ryzhkov discusses the religious zeitgeist that sweeps his country during the war, his insistence that men of the cloth like himself are God’s chosen ones to kill those who are about to turn into zombies, he opens up the question as to whether he is simply committing murder in the name of religion. The narrator pushes a question about alleged “death squads” that assassinate individuals under the guise of “purifying” them (297), but Father Ryzhkov pleads ignorance in response. The quote reveals that the instability caused by the Zombie War has made it possible for survivors to claim a connection to God and act in a number of ways—both good and bad—in His name.

“Fifteen thousand souls in just three months. Fifteen thousand at a time when the war was winding down all over the world. ‘Go! Go! Fight! Fight!’ It didn’t have to be that way.”

Andre Renard decries the decision to go on the offensive against the zombies. Fifteen thousand people die in the process, including his brother, and Renard alleges it’s an unnecessary tactic designed only to create a new breed of heroes. His view and experience in the tunnels beneath Paris are some of the worst of the war and lead Renard to a perspective that is the polar opposite of American soldier Todd Wainio’s. While Wainio comes away from combat with a spirit of optimism, Renard retreats into a lonely life of contemplative solitude.

“I could feel Doctor Chandra’s eyes boring into me. He never came over though, never let on that there was anything wrong. When we boarded the barges on the banks of the Hudson, we managed to lock eyes. He just smiled and shook his head. I’d made it.”

Todd Wainio recalls how army psychiatrist Doctor Chandra never escorted Wainio away like he does so many others. Ultimately, Chandra indicates to Wainio that he’s made it through the war with his sanity intact.  Wainio proves to be one of the strongest survivors of the war, fighting throughout with unrelenting strength and courage. He provides an example of the American military at its most effective and shows that humanity, given the right mindset and physical prowess, can triumph over the most dire and threatening situations.

“That is why they’ve let you into our country, to hear our stories, to ask your questions. You’re being used too, you know. Your mission is to tell the world of ours, to make them see what will happen if anyone ever tries to fuck with us. The war drove us back to our roots, made us remember what it means to be Russian. We are strong again, we are feared again, and to Russians, that only means one thing, we are finally safe again!”

For Russians like Maria Zhuganova, the war has unleashed an intimidating patriotic zealotry. Although she is dubious about the religious fundamentalism on which the new nationalistic fervor is based, she reveals through the quote that they are intricately tied. Her patriotism is religious in nature, as it is predicated on a fanatical faith in the Motherland and a belief that it will always protect and defend her. Her tone seems an ominous foreshadowing of the complicated diplomatic relations that are emerging post-war.

“I know I come off as a little too optimistic, because I’m sure that as soon as things really get back to ‘normal,’ once our kids or grandkids grow up in a peaceful and comfortable world, they’ll probably go right back to being as selfish and narrow-minded and generally shitty to one another as we were. But then again, can what we all went through really just go away?”

Although Joe Muhammed is hopeful that the world is permanently changed for the better after the war, he briefly waxes cynical about the future. The quote suggests that, as optimistic as people like Muhammad are, there is also a concern that humanity hasn’t learned anything. Muhammad wants to believe that the Zombie War happened for a reason and humanity will be the better for it. However, he knows he could easily be proven wrong.

“I’ve heard it said that the Holocaust has no survivors, that even those who managed to remain technically alive were so irreparably damaged, that their spirit, their soul, the person that they were supposed to be, was gone forever. I’d like to think that’s not true. But if it is, then no one on Earth survived this war.”

Like Joe Muhammed, Jurgen Warmbrunn, who survived the Holocaust as a child, worries like that there is a dark side to the post-war experience. While he hopes people will come away better, he fears that they may be fundamentally broken. The quote indicates that there is a lingering sense of ambiguity about the future, despite a clear spirit of optimism.