World War Zed

20. The End, or The Beginning?

The End, or The Beginning?

As part of the interviews I carried out, there was one question that I asked each of them at the end,  just before I left. The question was met with a mixture of replies ranging from disbelief, anger, emotionally charged hope and vague dismissal. Some of them are listed below.

Question: So, who won?

Dr Allain Schwann

Nobody won. We all lost so much.

We often lost our humanity, we lost people we loved, and we almost lost everything. Nothing will ever be the same and although we will rebuild, we should learn from this. All our eggs are in one very fragile little basket.

From a distance, it may look like a great green and blue marble hanging against the star-studded tapestry of space, but for a brief moment in time, our little basket hung in the balance of fate.

Sigur Thormarsson

We did of course. Those who fell in glorious battle fought as our ancestors did before us. We have proven that the blood of warriors still courses through the veins of the Faroe people. We are not big in terms of landmass, or population, but we have proved we are still a mighty people.

We will continue to fight as long as those bloody things wander out of the sea, but we will reclaim the seas, as we have the land.

We fish, we sing, we fight.

We survive.

Aliana Sanchez

Hope won. As long as people have hope, they will survive. We have always lived in hope and trusted God. We are still here when so many others are not.

Professor Colin James

Who won? Well, it certainly wasn't the world of science or learning in general. We very nearly slipped back to the Middle Ages in terms of living standards. In some cases, people slipped way beyond into utter barbarity and cannibalism.

The majority of the human race holed up inside stone fortresses or degrading metal fastnesses, fighting hand to hand with lumps of metal clasped in our fists. For years, people died from things like typhoid or tuberculosis, losing babies, starving through lack of food, but in turn being devoured by something higher up the food chain.

No, I don't think we've won. We won a war, but the battle against our own ignorance continues as it must. The trouble is there are now fewer minds to fight that war and until the Infected are eradicated, learning will still be considered a luxury. We have lost so much; so many great scientists are now wandering mindlessly around the earth or have been consumed by an unthinking locust-like entity.

I'm afraid I will long be in mourning for what has been lost, and even though we now appear to have a future; the cost is almost too high to bear.

Jan Penberthy

I won a family, does that count? Sadly I lost a friend. Overall I suppose that win overshadows the loss, but I do miss him. I think we have won the battle, but we have lost the sea for a while.

Have you been for a paddle lately? I'm damn sure I haven't.

Sylvain Le Blanc

You think anyone won? That's a damn fool question if I ever heard one.

Dr Elena van der Nacht