World War Z_ An Oral History of the Zombie War ( PDFDrive )

PROVINCE OF BOHEMIA, THE EUROPEAN UNION
[It is called Kost, “the Bone,” and what it lacks in beauty it more than makes up
for in strength. Appearing to grow out of its solid rock foundation, this
fourteenth-century Gothic “Hrad” casts an intimidating shadow over the
Plakanek Valley, an image David Allen Forbes is keen to capture with his pencil
and paper. This will be his second book, Castles of the Zombie War: The
Continent. The Englishman sits under a tree, his patchwork clothing and long
Scottish sword already adding to this Arthurian setting. He abruptly switches
gears as I arrive, from serene artist to painfully nervous storyteller.]
When I say that the New World doesn’t have our history of fixed fortifications, I’m only referring
to North America. There are the Spanish coastal fortresses, naturally, along the Caribbean, and
the ones we and the French built in the Lesser Antilles. Then there are the Inca ruins in the Andes,
although they never experienced direct sieges. 1 Also, when I say “North America,” that does not
include the Mayan and Aztec ruins in Mexico—that business with the Battle of Kukulcan, although I
suppose that’s Toltec, now, isn’t it, when those chaps held off so many Zed Heads on the steps of
that bloody great pyramid. So when I say “New World,” I’m really referring to the United States
and Canada.
This isn’t an insult, you understand, please don’t take it as such. You’re both young countries, you
don’t have the history of institutional anarchy we Europeans suffered after the fall of Rome. You’ve
always had standing, national governments with the forces capable of enforcing law and order.
I know that wasn’t true during your westward expansion or your civil war, and please, I’m not
discounting those pre–Civil War fortresses or the experiences of those defending them. I’d one day
like to visit Fort Jefferson. I hear those who survived there had quite a time of it. All I’m saying is,
in Europe’s history, we had almost a millennia of chaos where sometimes the concept of physical
safety stopped at the battlements of your lord’s castle. Does that make sense? I’m not making
sense; can we start again?
No, no, this is fine. Please, continue.
You’ll edit out all the daft bits.