Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
-
Upload
graphic-policy -
Category
Documents
-
view
223 -
download
0
Transcript of Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
1/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
2/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
3/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
4/24
ZVR DIPLOMACYZVR DIPLOMACY
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
5/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
6/24
All diplomacy is a continuation of war
by other means.
Zhou Enlai
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
7/24
Illustrated by Michael Dubisch
Edited by Jeff Conner
Z V R
D I P L O M A C Y
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
8/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
9/24
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
Become our fan on Facebook facebook.com/idwpublishing
Follow us on Twitter @idwpublishing
Check us out on YouTube youtube.com/idwpublishing
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
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
10/24
Introduction
xi
The Last Defense of Moscow Steve Lockley
1
For King and Country Rio Youers
23
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
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
11/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
12/24
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!)
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
13/24
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
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
14/24
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.
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
15/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
16/24
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
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
17/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
18/24
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
1
THE LAST DEFENSE OF MOSCOW
Steve Lockley
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
19/24
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
20/24
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
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
21/24
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
4 Steve Lockley
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
22/24
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
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
23/24
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
-
7/27/2019 Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy Preview
24/24