Here's some backstory, some of which I developed previously and some of which I needed to set down before moving on. I picture it as the equivalent of a patriotic/propaganda film. Stanford is an original character introduced in "Couples' Therapy" (rated M), and I could see him played by David Hyde Pierce.

17 weeks earlier...

As the fighting died down, casino security finally descended the stairs from the Skyrise Casino to the Tower ground floor. They found a surprising number of survivors, but only five of them were among the bodies and broken furniture that packed the corridor. The lead officer spoke to the only one standing, a man who stood there, looking around and twirling his wedding ring.

"Sir," said the officer, "are you or any of them bit?"

He paused, long enough for the officer to tense, but then said, almost absentmindedly. "No... No, we took care of that."

"What's your name, sir?" said the officer.

The man stood there blank-faced, as if trying to remember himself. Then he pulled off the ring and threw it among the dead. "Call me Stanford," he said.

(Voice of Stanford)

The Las Vegas area was a nexus in the spread of the HPNE pandemic, receiving 3 of the individuals who were infected at the Tulsa Gas 'N' Gulp: (Balding gas station attendant serves) Srini Patel, a medical student on his way back to the University of Las Vegas (young Indian man counts to see if he has enough change to pay for his purchase), Stan Phillips, a long-haul trucker (muscular man in 40s with plaid shirt pays and converses, then takes bite out of burger as he walks back to semi) and Harvey Morrison , a businessman trying to make it to the airport in time for his flight to a convention (middle-aged businessman runs out without paying). Onset in these first cases was delayed, sometimes by up to 72 hours.

By the time these individuals manifested symptoms, they had already exposed many people to the disease. (Patel takes a swig from a beer bottle before passing it on to a blond girl. Morrison kisses stewardess in airplane bathroom. Stewardess kisses pilot, pilot kisses another stewardess.) All three went prodromal in public areas. (Stan Phillips enters Slots-A-Fun Casino next door to Circus Circus. Morrison enters convention center. Patel runs into Desert Springs Hospital.)

Infections quickly spread from multiple epicenters. (Zombies chase students out of university dorm; battle police in front of convention center; attack hospital staff; charge down "tunnel" of lights in Fremont Street.) Related accidents compounded the damage. (Zombie airline pilot attacks copilot as plane drops toward Caesar's Palace.) In a matter of hours, half the city was consumed, either by infection or by flames. (Zombies chase victims through upper stories of MGM Grand, while flames, smoke and dust billow from collapsing buildings blocks away.) But to the north, some fought back.

At Mirage and Treasure Island, tens of thousands of the infected from the southern epicenters were held at bay. (Men in pirate costumes in a row boat use oars to beat zombies wading through Buccaneer Bay.) Staff and guests at the Golden Nugget, 4 Queens, Fremont and Binion's hotel-casinos joined with remnants of the LVPD in an offensive against a secondary outbreak originating from the Plaza Casino. (Police, armed security guards and civilians with a mix of weapons push zombies back down Fremont Street.) The Sahara Casino was resecured after a breach of the casino entrance. (Two police shoot at passing zombies from the top of a lighted onion dome.) And at our own Circus Circus, a 36-hour battle was waged with the infected.

Circus Circus was literally next door to one primary epicenter (zombies pour out of Slots-A-Fun) and within blocks of another (zombie "flood" rushes from convention center to Las Vegas Boulevard, then turns toward Circus Circus). The main casino was overrun, though even there survivors held out. (Men upend table to bar door of poker room, scattering cards and chips. Under "Big Top" canopy, two trapeze artists leap and swing about, kicking zombies off "midway" upper level.) From there, the infected chased survivors down the main corridor. Hard decisions made the difference between life and death. (Survivors pound on locked door of west casino before being eaten. Zombies follow survivors into Circus Buffet.) At the end of the same corridor, a second incursion overran the front desk. (Zombies climb over crashed limo to reach VIP entrance.) A third incursion broke into the Skyrise Tower (Stanford looks outside conference room door, slams it on zombie hand) and additional zombies attacked the outlying Manor buildings and RV park (mobile home runs over zombies; Manor C burns in background).

Security and other staff retreated to the promenade level of West Tower. (Overweight security guard races zombies up "down" escalator.) An elevated position provided the advantage necessary to halt the advance of the infected. (Guards at top of escalators fire down at zombies, whose bodies pile up at top of up escalator.) A secondary outbreak among bitten survivors was put down. (Guard shoots zombie, looks at bite on hand, then puts gun in his mouth.) The Skyrise Tower was kept secure through resistance by guests. (Stanford leads "phalanx" of men with chairs; props up chair with foot while he empties fire extinguisher in faces of zombies, then picks up chair in one hand while swinging extinguisher like a club with the other.) A counteroffensive by security and civilian volunteers culminated in the storming of the main casino. (Trapeze artist slams dying zombie's face through screen of video slot machine.) At the end of the siege, Circus Circus was secure and free of infection.

At the end of the battle, the staff and guests of Circus Circus were no longer a business and its clients, but members of a community. Rather than looking only after our own needs, we have extended our resources to aid others. We have helped other communities of survivors. (In front of Sahara, hundreds of zombies lie dead; Circus Circus guards help police officers get down from dome.) We have taken in refugees from all over the country. (Packed buses, cars and RVs are directed to garages or RV parks.) We have taken the initiative in clearing the infected from our city, in locating stores of food, recolonizing habitable structures and developing sustainable sources of food. (Vegetables grow in hydroponics tanks in Adventuredome. Chickens are placed in pens on the roof. Wheat grows on a country club golf course.) We stand as a beacon of hope to all survivors of the Pandemic.

We are Las Vegas. We are America. We are Circus Circus.