A laboratory (or simply lab) is a facility dedicated to scientific exploration, research, or production. They can vary wildly from one level of an office building and only a handful of office rooms, to research complexes of hundreds of square acres. Unless you are an expert scientist whose specialty is to research diseases, do not attempt to find a cure or other remedy for the zombie infection. Doing this, if not fully trained, will most likely kill you or someone else in the process.
A laboratory on Long Island, NY once rumored to engage in top secret military experiments
Base Usage[]
Despite what modern films would have one believe, the average laboratory is not highly secured or weaponized. The only major difference many laboratories have from a large realty office or law firm are advanced instruments and possibly chemicals. There are, of course, larger modern laboratories with electrified fences, camera, and perhaps a small private police force. And depending on the structure of the building, it may be a competant refuge.
Scavenging Value[]
Laboratories may offer a large variety of supplies. Anything and everything in modern society is analyzed, deconstructed, and tested in a laboratory somewhere. Knowing what a laboratory researches could lead survivors to incredibly rare items and materials. Medical laboratories may have wonder drugs, and manufacturing labs may have rare chemicals or supplies. Many laboratories have emergency generators, from which one might be able scavenge diesel fuel or propane. Depending on the type of Zombie Epidemic, the facility may be studying the virus, or perhaps it even engineered it in the first place, as in Resident Evil and Dead Island. In this case, the labs may even contain a cure (or at least parts of a cure) that the finder may choose whether or not to use.
Value During Rebuilding[]
Despite this, laboratories are a crucial part in attempting to learn, cure, or develop a vaccine for the zombie condition. Science always reveals the cause of a zombie plague, as it will always be caused by some type of virus. A rebuilding society may be compelled to try, giving these buildings value if society rises after the epidemic has subsided.