Knox Event

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SPOILER WARNING! This section is likely to contain major spoilers pertaining to the story of Project Zomboid.

“	“This thing, let's call it 'The Knox Event', feels like a powder keg.”
	— Judge Matt Hass

The Knox Event is used to refer to the zombie outbreak that occurs prior to and throughout the game. The event first takes place around Muldraugh and West Point, Kentucky. The incident is considered to have begun on the 4th of July, 1993, American Day of Independence. Just two days later the military evacuated residences from around the affected area and set up blockades in what is now known as the Knox Evacuation. The affected area is given the name: the Exclusion Zone, with the primary camp being south of Louisville, KY.

Timeline

Date	Event(s)
Weeks prior	Foul smell in the air first noticed
July 1, 1993 (Day -8)	Knox Telecommunications take phone lines down for maintenance
July 4, 1993 (Day -5)	American day of Independence
July 6, 1993 (Day -3)	Knox Evacuation: military blockades set up around border, displacing those from the outer perimeter
July 9, 1993 (Day 0)	Game begins, three days after the Knox Evacuation. First official statement given during a press conference by General John McGrew (11AM on the 9th July 1993)
July 11, 1993 (Day 2)	WHO ground all non-military or -medical internal and international flights (after 6pm EST) People begin looting and rioting within many major cities Peacekeeping forces stationed throughout the nation Fort Knox military base abandoned. Quarantined cells unlocked and soldiers gone. (unknown to public until July 13)
July 12, 1993 (Day 3)	Knox Exclusion Zone widened Public anger leads to riots resulting in fatalities in New York and injuries in Miami President announces 6pm curfews in New York, Miami and L.A. Pictures from West Point, KY leaked from inside the Exclusion Zone: Image of a man looking to be aged thirty with blood around his mouth, bloodstained clothes, one arm raised, with the other hanging on by a thread/unattached, unconcerned by his injury and walking in a street full of corpses. Amateur radio broadcast received from inside the Exclusion Zone (Frequency: 107.6 MHz).
July 13, 1993 (Day 4)	Interference from an unknown source impacts radio broadcasts. Infection confirmed to spread through fluid exchange.
July 14, 1993 (Day 5)	Early in the morning within the Primary Exclusion Zone camp, South of Louisville, a soldier opens fire, killing two unarmed people. Angry protesters were dispered with warning shots and tear gas. Hundreds, maybe thousands of infected break through the border's defences, littering the area with the dead. The military pull out.
July 15, 1993 (Day 6)	People beyond the Exclusion Zone begin showing symptoms of infection without fluid contact.
July 16, 1993 (Day 7)	Key bridges and river crossings over the Ohio River are blocked and demolished by the military, in an attempt to contain the outbreak.
July 17, 1993 (Day 8)	The Knox Event infection confirmed in: Louisville, and the surrounding area; Cincinnati, and Columbus, Norfolk, London, Newcastle, Mogadishu, Seoul, Okinawa. Cause of the sudden spread is unknown at this time. Military starts distributing General John McGrew's final message describing the true nature of the Knox Event.
July 18, 1993 (Day 9)	Knox Event infection confirmed in: New Orleans, Los Angeles, Berlin, Tokyo.

Rumoured outbreak causes

• A bad smell had been in the air for weeks before the blockade went up, many believe that's how you get sick, once it gets in your lungs, you're done.
  "You can smell it in the air. Something's smelled bad for weeks, it gets into your lungs. That's what's behind it." - Christian: Caller on KnoxTalk
• Many people believe something in the Spiffo's meat is the cause of the outbreak; the next evolutionary step for Mad Cow disease.
  "I've been warning people for years. It's in the meat. We've been feeding our cows on their own kind. Misfolded prions. Brain matter fed back into the food chain. These prions have been building up in countless generations of cattle. This is quite clearly a neurological disorder." - Professor Peter Endsleigh
• Religious folk believe that Man is paying for their sins, and that this is the work of God.
  "The end is at hand. America has sinned. Every day I look to our streets and I see depravity and wickedness. A nation tainted by perverts and sinners." - Pastor Samuels
• The outbreak occurring so close to Independence Day can't be a coincidence, it must be terrorism.
  "Terrorism. Terrorism is my point. They've been coming for us for years. This is their moment." - Francine: Caller on KnoxTalk

See also

• Knox Country
• Knox Infection
• Businesses
• Jackie Jaye