When The Zombies Come

If you love an idea, let it go. Forget about it.

If it comes back, it's worth doing.

I have so, so many projects that I now apply this simple, brutal test to all of them. LaserTrap was one of the recent survivors; people kept asking me about it, so I started work on it.

After several months, the Zombie Survival Kit has come back. The ZSK is two large backpacks on top of the wardrobe, containing everything we'll need to survive When The Zombies Come. Because, as everyone knows, the Zombies Are Coming One Day.

Of course, it might not be zombies. It might be terrists. It might just be a major snafu. The Zombie bit makes it fun, and lets me continue to think that I'm not a victim of Government Through Creating Terror.

The first step will be to define what we're defending against. One type of "worst-case-scenario kit" is a .44 and two bullets. In case of full-scale nuclear war, it would probably come to that. But I'm talking about something smaller. Perhaps Something Happens in central London; assuming we're able to make it back to our flat, we'll be without essential services for a week or two. Perhaps Something Really Big Happens and we need to get out of London. Either way, I'm assuming that civilisation will be back in a fortnight or not at all.

Food and water: What form this takes will depend on whether we're staying or going. I'm tempted to go with lighter, more expensive, food so that we'll have the option.

Gadgets: if we're assuming a short Event, then battery-powered devices are in. Radios and lights are the obvious ones.

Navigation: We'll need maps and compasses. It might be worth working out routes in advance; if the zombies are going to seal off the M25, we'll need to move fast. Ideally we'd want contacts on the outside.

Money: The ATMs will fail immediately, but paper money may well still be accepted.

Weapons: probably not. They're dangerous to buy, dangerous to store, and of very little use unless you know what you're doing, which I don't. I think the Leatherman Core will be as far as it goes; anyone or anything that comes between us gets pliered, screwdriven, and awled.

So, I'm throwing this one open. Is the ZSK worth having? What parameters would you define for the Zombie Event? What would you put in the kit?