You've seen this scene played out in a dozen zombie movies, or other similarly themed horror films. Of the survivors of a great horrific apocalypse, a couple remains, and one of them becomes infected with whatever evil-causing disease that transforms humans into monsters. The other member of the couple ends up with just a few paths to take in the film. He either acknowledges she's dead to the world, and kills off her body, or he refuses to do it out of the memory of their love, and ends up dying himself.
We love Braaaaains. We also love Rocky Road, eating heads, and taking long walks on the beach
What's more important to you: love or logic? More specifically, if you had to choose between the needs of your heart or the needs of your head -- in a crisis situation -- which would win out? I think it's an important question to study, because the answers might surprise a lot of people. I also think it's important because like a lot of people, I grow more and more concerned about our world governments' ability to contain and control the next exceptionally virulent mega-plague when it erupts.
The question I mean to ask is this:
If your life partner (wife, husband, fiancee, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever) was turned into a zombie during the Zompocalypse, would you let her eat your brains so you could be with her in death, or would you shoot her in the head, to save yourself, and possibly the human race?
Corollary question: If you were turned into a zombie, and your life partner had to choose between letting you feed, or putting you down, what would you want him or her to do?
In other words, when the shit *truly* hits the fan, do you as a human being side with your emotional half - love - or your intellectual half - logic?
We have seen, and generally accept that the human species is capable, and in fact very often rises to the challenge of self-sacrifice, when the choice is yourself or your friends. Our greatest heroes have all been willing to lay down and die so others would live. This is a more personal, more challenging question, though. This is not a choice between you or your comrades dying. This is a choice of who will you kill? Yourself, or the love of your life?
I plan on studying this question intensely in the future. I think there's a case to be made that understanding how and why we respond in the way we do can help us better map and comprehend the human condition better than any question asked before.
Even though I've been thinking about this topic for some time, the impetus for today's post is the Absolute Write May Blog Chain. If you enjoy blogging, enjoy the company of smart, creative writers, and want to share in the fun of a monthly writing prompt, you should check it out. This month's prompt ("The Zompocalypse") is detailed here: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243695.
I also encourage you to check out everyone else's entry for the prompt. Those links are below.
dclary - www.hardhobbittobreak.com (link to this month's image)
orion_mk3 - http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to this month's post)
randi.lee - http://emotionalnovel.blogspot.com/ (link to this month's post)
Ralph Pines - http://ralfast/wordpress.com/ (link to this month's post)
writingismypassion - http://charityfaye.blogspot.com/ (link to this month's post)
dclary - http://www.davidwclary.com/ (link to this month's post)
SinisterCola - http://acgatesblog.wordpress.com/ (link to this month's post)
PragmaticPimp - http://www.unfoldingmyth.com/ (link to this month's post)
magicmint - http://www.loneswing.com/ (link to this month's post)
Diana_Rajchel - http://blog.dianarajchel.com/ (link to this month's post)
SuzanneSeese - http://www.viewofsue.blogspot.com/ (link to this month's post)
AFord - http://writeword.blog.com/ (link to this month's post)
J.W.Alden - http://www.authoralden.com/ (link to this month's post)
Nissie - http://www.paperheroes.net/ (link to this month's post)
MonkeyQueen - http://www.mylifewithmonkeys.com/ (link to this month's post)
areteus - http://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ (link to this month's post)
pyrosama - http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com/ (link to this month's post)
pangalactic - http://sonofflash365.blogspot.co.uk/ (link to this month's post)
Sweetwheat - http://gomezkarla.blogspot.com/ (link to this month's post)
Penelope - http://poet-slash-writer.blogspot.com/ (link to this month's post)
kimberlycreates - http://kimberlycreates.com/ (link to this month's post)