Topic: I always like the apocalypse/zombie trope of someone waking up from a coma after the end.
Anonymous A started this discussion 2 hours ago #137,085
You know, 28 Days Later or Walking Dead and a few others. You lose 1% of muscle mass per day. You’d have a major infection from a catheter. You’d be covered in bed sores and infected from IVs and attachments that haven’t been treated or reset. And a few minutes later these guys are running around and fighting.
In books, it works better and is more situational than a coma. In Day of the Triffids, the main character had his eyes wrapped after an injury or operation and missed the skylights / military satellites that blinded most people. In The Long, Loud Silence the protagonist wakes up after a long bender and the U.S. east of the Mississippi has been blanketed with nuclear and bioweapons.
In books, it works better and is more situational than a coma. In Day of the Triffids, the main character had his eyes wrapped after an injury or operation and missed the skylights / military satellites that blinded most people. In The Long, Loud Silence the protagonist wakes up after a long bender and the U.S. east of the Mississippi has been blanketed with nuclear and bioweapons.
Anonymous B joined in and replied with this 1 hour ago, 51 minutes later[^] [v] #1,453,263
Anonymous C joined in and replied with this 20 minutes ago, 48 minutes later, 1 hour after the original post[^] [v] #1,453,279
It's just one of those movie things that you have to suspend your disbelief for. Sure, medically speaking it probably doesn't make sense, but it's a straightforward plot device that the audience will instantly understand.