Ghouls, Zombies, and Nuclear Fallout

Bethesda's Fallout series for PC and console gaming introduced us to a reality of zombies actually happening in a post-apocalyptic world. These zombies are intelligent beings called ghouls and many of them have created their own communities away from humans. Unlike the usual outbreak scenario, these zombies are the result of exposure to nuclear fallout.

The Fallout universe diverges from our own after World War II.  On October 23, 2077, people pile into vaults and full on MAD (mutually assured destruction) takes place. The effects of radiation mutilates animals and creates hideous rotting individuals overnight. http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline

Most people die from the radiation, but those with a genetic X factor become hideous monsters instead. When it comes to ghouls, radiation causes their skin to rot and ironically extends their lives by hundreds of years. In 2277, you can meet ghouls who survived the A-bombs of the Great War. Not only can these creatures talk, but their feelings will be hurt if you make fun of their appearance or use racist slurs like "zombie" or "brain eater".

Such slurs exist because of feral ghouls, people who were closer to the blast who lost their intellect and attack regular folks on sight. These are basically zombies. While some ghouls maintain their sanity for hundreds of years, others may lose their minds and join the ranks of the feral. The onset of zombie madness is accelerated by isolation. If a ghoul doesn't use his mind, he becomes a monster. Becoming a zombie is pretty harsh punishment for anti-social behavior. Moral of the story seems to be that giving up in a dangerous world has severe consequences.

The thing I find most interesting about this breed of zombie is that it cannot reproduce. Ghouls are sterile and their condition is not contagious. "There ain't any ghouls but old ghouls...We're the first and last generation of ghouls" (Typhon, Fallout 2). You will be swarmed by them if you go into the sewers, but once you've killed them all, you needn't fear that they will ever come back. If one bites you, you can just eat a squirrel on a stick and go to bed in a dirty pile of rags. Just hope you don't wake up next to this beauty from Fallout New Vegas.

Survival Tip of The Day:
If nuclear war is impending, get yourself to a government vault facility buried beneath 3 million tons of soil 200 feet underground. If this is not available, seal off windows and door cracks and once you're up against a dirt wall in the basement, pray to God that you have the genetic X factor to become a ghoul and be healed by radiation for the next 200 years.

"The future. Survival anywhere. We surpass the norms." - Set, Ghoul Leader of Necropolis, Fallout and Fallout 2.