By Claudia Geib

News Correspondent

Most students aren’t prepared for the zombie apocalypse. Not many know where to go when their city falls to the undead, or what weapon to use against zombies. They don’t know who to bring when escaping Boston to the world beyond, or where they should go once they get into the wild.
Author Max Brooks is here to help. He’s written two books on the topic: “The Zombie Survivial Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead” and “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War,” which he spoke about at Northeastern Tuesday evening.
The zombie plague, Brooks warned a packed Blackman Auditorium, is imminent — it’s only a question of when.
Brooks spent two years on the writing team for “Saturday Night Live,” and his flair for comedy showed as he spoke. He could not help but joke with the audience, inciting laughter every few minutes. He teased business majors for wanting to turn zombies into a new labor force.
“[Zombies] will never need medical or dental, they’ll never unionize and they’ll never be deported,” he said.
He also had a special warning for first-year boys: “Freshmen, if there is a zombie outbreak and you see a zombie who used to be a hot girl — just don’t.”
Though Brooks said his “Zombie Survival Guide” is most often placed in the humor section at bookstores, the seriousness with which Brooks treats his material makes it seem like the zombie outbreak is truly coming in the days ahead.
“We have to get away from what is cool and sexy and look at what’s realistic,” Brooks said as he paced the stage.
Students in attendance agreed that Brooks is the highest authority on the undead.
“He’s the foremost expert on zombies in the country. It was very informative,” said James Steinberg, a middler computer science major.
Brooks outlined several important tips for survival when the zombie outbreak happens. The most important thing to remember, he stressed, is that the normal rules we live by today will not apply. Cars and guns, two of the resources that one might reach for in an emergency, are the last things that Brooks would look to in a zombie plague.
“Here’s the problem with guns— they don’t kill people,” said Brooks. “Bullets kill people … and zombies. How many bullets can you possibly carry in a zombie outbreak?”
He instead supports carrying a hand weapon, such as an axe or hammer. Similarly, he warned against relying on a car for transport.
“Just like guns need bullets, cars need gas,” he said. “Someone has yet to invent a car that runs on fear. I know one vehicle, however, that does: A bicycle.”
Bicycles, Brooks explained, are light, easy to maintain, and will run as long as you keep pedaling them.
Along with a bicycle and weapon, Brooks said the most important resources to have in an outbreak are water and a group of people with specialized survival skills.
Northeastern students across the board said they were impressed with Brooks’ knowledge, and seemed as convinced as Brooks that Z-Day was ahead.
“The zombie apocalypse is a very real and life-threatening certainty, and now I know better than before how not to get eaten,” said Chris Puzzo, a freshman chemical engineering major.
Brooks explained that he decided to write about zombies solely out of fear.
“They scare me,” he said.”They follow you, and they follow you in swarms. They scare the crap out of me.”
“World War Z” was inspired by a nonfiction book, “The Good War: An oral history of World War II,” by Studs Terkel. Brooks’ knowledge about survival skills comes from the earthquake disaster manuals which he read frequently as a child growing up in Los Angeles, ROTC combat leader manuals, his own camping experience, and from talking to professionals in the military, medicine and disaster preparation fields.
In addition to being a New York Times bestseller, “World War Z” is currently being made into a movie produced by and starring Brad Pitt. Though it is still in production, according to ww.imdb.com, the movie is set to be released on December 21st, 2012.
Brooks has had little to do with the movie version of his book, but is excited about the upcoming
release, and said he is “psyched” to see how the filmmakers translate his work.
“I was invited to the set in Scotland and saw Brad Pitt and other people running around,” he said. “But otherwise I’m in the dark and I want to be — why ruin it?”
Brooks finished his talk on Tuesday to ringing applause. Before he left the stage, he reminded students to be both thorough and diligent in preparation for the difficult days ahead:
“I know you are in college, but you cannot cram for Z-Day,” he said. “Start now.”