World War Z

Max Brooks
Literary Fiction
Pages 111-137

The world has been completely infested with Zombies and humanity number one concern is survival. The Redeker plan was initiated throughout the world and saved many people's lives. Paul Redeker is seen as an angle and a devil because of his soulless plan. Redeker wrote a detailed planned that would ensure the survival of the human race, but led to the sacrifices of others. Paul Redeker even admits that he sometimes believes he has no feelings towards human life; thus, people refer to him as a souless devil. His plan was simple, refugees where to be evacuated to safe sites guarded by military personal and protected by natural land forms (hills, mountains, rivers). Then all routes toward the safe zone are to be destroyed before the Walking Dead could reach them. Unfortunately, this would also leave millions of civilians still in the infested areas. Redeker planned for this and instructed that they were left as sacrifices and to be with supplied with weapons by airdrop. They were to kill as many Zs as they could before their defenses collapsed. Redeker's plan may have been cruel, but it's what allowed humanity to make it through World War Z. Brook interviewed a man named Bohodan Taras, a man who was stationed at the Ukraine safe zone border line. He witnessed the militarise wrath as the pressure of oncoming Z threatened the safes zone security. Taras inspected refugees for any signs of being infected before they entered the safe zone, but as soon as the Zs appeared all hell broke lose as refugees tried to ram through the barricade. The government took action, a fighter plain boomed the entire bridge with toxic gas. the gas had no affect on Zs, therefore all the humans that died that were infected would come back to life. Therefore, the government ensured that no Zs would enter the safe zone, but at the cost of thousands of lives. Taras and the military then killed the Zs and blew the bridge preventing any Zs or humans from reaching the safe zone.

I believe that the choices that the government made in this book would be very similar to the choices our government to day would execute if an infection of this magnitude ever broke out. I do find it cruel that the government believes that they can't save everyone and in order to protect a select few they would have to sacrifice many lives. The Redeker plan was inhumane, but i believe it was the best solution. However, the fact that the government would kill and millions of its own people to ensure human survival shows people's natural instincts when the fate of all humanity is on the line.