Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

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Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Can you give me the book number?

# ? Sep 2, 2020 04:01

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# ? May 24, 2024 18:20

Piell: Sep 3, 2006; Grey Worm's Ken doll-like groin throbbed with the anticipatory pleasure that only a slightly warm and moist piece of lemoncake could offer; Young Orc

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

Can you give me the book number?

# ? Sep 2, 2020 04:02

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

They go up that far!? I sort of assumed this whole thing would be wrapped up in 20-ish books.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 04:15

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Tree Bucket posted:

They go up that far!? I sort of assumed this whole thing would be wrapped up in 20-ish books.

There's 54 books, plus 4 Megamorphs books, 4 Chronicles books, and 2 Alternamorphs COYA books for a total of 64. This LR has been going on for 6 months and hasn't even broken the 1/5th mark yet.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 04:20

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

I feel like we're seeing some of Jake's personality coming out in this book. Jake is sort of like a less "physical" Rachel. He has the same sort of "madness" that makes him willing to do violence, but expressed in a different way. He was upset to find out that Yeerks dying = their hosts being killed, but he definitely would have still made the same decision even if he had known. The guy comes off as constantly strained by the fact that, as their leader, he's sort of personally taking on the responsibility for all the Animorph's actions.

SirSamVimes posted:

I don't mind the trope, it's more a statement about adaptability than intelligence. It does get old when you see it everywhere, but this is one of the early examples of it right?

I'm actually not sure when this sort of thing became common and if it was also a sentiment before the 90s. I can understand how a layperson could end up thinking "if we went from not flying to flying, and flying to landing on the moon, in such short amounts of time, clearly this means that traveling to other star systems is just around the corner." In the 90s it had also been a shorter amount of time since those things happened, so there wasn't yet the sense that it was, in fact, entirely possible for no significant improvements to made on that front for the following decades.

nine-gear crow posted:

There were kind of two inflection points that inextricably set things on the "things only get worse now" path, at least in the United States, and both came after Animorphs, and the 90s were effectively over: George W. Bush becoming POTUS, and 9/11 happening. The series came in for a landing at the perfect moment in history because 9/11 would have just t-boned it irrecoverably.

9/11 didn't just randomly happen out of nowhere, and most of the issues our society has that have become worse over time were inevitable long before it. Domestically most of the bad things happened before 2000 (deregulation, dismantling the welfare state, etc), and the US enthusiastically did war crimes and supported right-wing coups long before our more contemporary war crimes.

The sort of optimism in the 90s was also mostly just a thing if you were fortunate enough to be white and middle class. We largely perceive time periods through the lens of their media/culture, so when people think back to the 90s they're mostly thinking of media and culture created by the people who were doing well during that time period.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 05:24

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Ytlaya posted:

I feel like we're seeing some of Jake's personality coming out in this book. Jake is sort of like a less "physical" Rachel. He has the same sort of "madness" that makes him willing to do violence, but expressed in a different way. He was upset to find out that Yeerks dying = their hosts being killed, but he definitely would have still made the same decision even if he had known. The guy comes off as constantly strained by the fact that, as their leader, he's sort of personally taking on the responsibility for all the Animorph's actions.

I'm actually not sure when this sort of thing became common and if it was also a sentiment before the 90s. I can understand how a layperson could end up thinking "if we went from not flying to flying, and flying to landing on the moon, in such short amounts of time, clearly this means that traveling to other star systems is just around the corner." In the 90s it had also been a shorter amount of time since those things happened, so there wasn't yet the sense that it was, in fact, entirely possible for no significant improvements to made on that front for the following decades.

9/11 didn't just randomly happen out of nowhere, and most of the issues our society has that have become worse over time were inevitable long before it. Domestically most of the bad things happened before 2000 (deregulation, dismantling the welfare state, etc), and the US enthusiastically did war crimes and supported right-wing coups long before our more contemporary war crimes.

The sort of optimism in the 90s was also mostly just a thing if you were fortunate enough to be white and middle class. We largely perceive time periods through the lens of their media/culture, so when people think back to the 90s they're mostly thinking of media and culture created by the people who were doing well during that time period.

Also 90-some percent of this forums' userbase were children in the 90s, so they are what the 50s were to the Baby Boomers and the 70s were to Gen X, a golden hued Arcadia decade that didn't actually exist but through the spyglass of childhood nostalgia and incomplete mental data.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 05:38

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Specifically with regards to the pace of technology, I think it was fair enough to assume that it was an unalloyed good in the '90s, whereas nowadays we're concerned with the rise of data surveillance (whether by Facebook, the NSA or the Chinese government) and the crumbling of the body politic as extremists and conspiracy theorists can more easily build their echo chambers online.

More broadly with regards to a pessimistic time, I feel like the tipping point was around 2014-16, when it became increasingly clear that we really basically weren't going to do anything about climate change and that it was going to be way worse than we'd realised, and fascism/right-wing populism started to perk up again around the world, beginning with Trump and Brexit. If you're a zoomer or a millenial then you've also been grappling with the hollowing out of traditional job security, the gutting of social welfare and the skyrocketing unaffordability of housing, though all of that's been going on for as long as 10-40 years depending on which country you live in.

I was born in '88 so I probably look at the '90s with a certain degree of rose-tintedness, but I definitely feel like it's a particularly optimistic decade no matter how old you were: post Cold War, pre 9/11, and global warming was some hazy threat that we had plenty of time to fix. I feel like it's only in the last five years or so that the problems facing the world have begun to feel insoluble.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 06:40

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

nine-gear crow posted:

There's 54 books, plus 4 Megamorphs books, 4 Chronicles books, and 2 Alternamorphs COYA books for a total of 64. This LR has been going on for 6 months and hasn't even broken the 1/5th mark yet.

Yep. I'm in this for the long haul. Who knows how many other people will be.

We're not doing Alternamorphs, though. They fail as both novels and CYOAs.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 07:12

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

Yep. I'm in this for the long haul. Who knows how many other people will be.

We're not doing Alternamorphs, though. They fail as both novels and CYOAs.

I kind of want to experience these just to see the awful.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 07:44

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Epicurius posted:

Yep. I'm in this for the long haul. Who knows how many other people will be.

We're not doing Alternamorphs, though. They fail as both novels and CYOAs.

You could probably get away with running them as a side thread in Let's Play. There's been numerous COYA book LPs before AND someone did a megathread of the Goosebumps COYAs.

You could get them out of the way without making GBS threads up this thread with them. Something to consider...

# ? Sep 2, 2020 08:18

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Theyre really bad retellings of a couple of the books with bizarre coin-toss decisions like... three times in the whole book.

It isn't worth it.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 09:18

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

Ytlaya posted:

I feel like we're seeing some of Jake's personality coming out in this book. Jake is sort of like a less "physical" Rachel. He has the same sort of "madness" that makes him willing to do violence, but expressed in a different way. He was upset to find out that Yeerks dying = their hosts being killed, but he definitely would have still made the same decision even if he had known. The guy comes off as constantly strained by the fact that, as their leader, he's sort of personally taking on the responsibility for all the Animorph's actions.

I think it's more that he's upset that this wasn't an unforeseen consequence, that Ax let the rest of them be excited and hopeful that a bunch of Controllers were about to be freed, and now that they've seen the hosts being killed instead, Ax is like, "oh, yeah, that was always going to happen." Jake doesn't mind taking responsibility for their actions so much as he minds not having all the information he could/should have had about the consequences.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 12:02

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

nine-gear crow posted:

You could probably get away with running them as a side thread in Let's Play. There's been numerous COYA book LPs before AND someone did a megathread of the Goosebumps COYAs.

You could get them out of the way without making GBS threads up this thread with them. Something to consider...

I know I could. I just actively don't want to. I've seen and even participated in some of the CYOA book LPs, including the Goosebumps ones. The problem with the Animorph ones are, first, the stories aren't new. They're retellings of existing stories, just with you as an additional Animorph, and secondly, they're not really CYOAs. Here's an example.

So the first part of the first story is a retelling of the first book. You're off-road cycling in the abandoned construction site, where you see Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, and Tobias. Then Elfangor's ship crashes, and since you're around, you go talk to him too. You get morphing powers, Visser Three and the Yeerks show up, Elfangor gets eaten, the Hork Bajir show up, and you run away from them. Then the next chapter, you wake up, its your sister's birthday, there's going to be a party, and your mom makes you babysit your sister while she goes and gets a cake.

Marco shows up, catches you up on the whole plot, you decide you want to see if your mom is a Controller, so you decide you're going to morph and go to your sister's birthday party. You can go as a fly, a hamster, or your neighbor's pet ferret.

If you pick fly, you try to land on the birthday cake during the party, your mom tries to swat you, and you fly into the bug zapper and die. Game ovet.
You pick hamster, it turns out your neighbor with the ferret also has a cat, and it eats you. Game over.
You pick ferret, you find out your neighbor is a Controller, and you get trapped in her car until Cassie rescues you. The whole thing with the infiltrating the controllers at the beach is discussed in a paragraph, then you all go to the Gardens to get better morphs. You get a hyena and giraffe morph, and then get arrested by the police. You have to get away. You can become a hyena, a police dog, or a giraffe.

If you pick hyena, you get away, almost eat a kid, get hit by a tranquilizer gun and have to deal with the fact you're going to be stuck as a hyena forever. Game over.
If you pick giraffe, you get away from the cops, and then get in the lion enclosure and they eat you. Game over.
You pick police dog, you get away from the cops, find out the cops are controllers and they captured Cassie, then you go to the pool and the thing continues....

For a choose your own adventure, it's a really linear story, and the choices lack a lot of purpose. It's guess the wrong choice and die. Guess the right choice and continue the story (which, again, is just a summary of a story that's already been told elsewhere and better). Your character is never really given a strong voice or personality, (In the first book, you like bikes, live with your mom and little sister, and sort of know Marco, and that's all the backstory you get), and so it's not interesting that way. There just isn't a lot to recommend it.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 12:16

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

disaster pastor posted:

I think it's more that he's upset that this wasn't an unforeseen consequence, that Ax let the rest of them be excited and hopeful that a bunch of Controllers were about to be freed, and now that they've seen the hosts being killed instead, Ax is like, "oh, yeah, that was always going to happen." Jake doesn't mind taking responsibility for their actions so much as he minds not having all the information he could/should have had about the consequences.

That, plus his realization that Ax cares more about Yeerks dying than humans living, including Tom living. His comments to Ax suggest that Ax doesn't know humans well enough if he thinks that the fact that all the newly free hosts would be killed by the Yeerks, or that Tom might be one of those hosts, would stop Jake from doing what he did, but I think Jake is lying, and I think Ax knows Jake is lying.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 12:24

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Epicurius posted:

So the first part of the first story is a retelling of the first book. You're off-road cycling in the abandoned construction site, where you see Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, and Tobias.

"Yo yo! How's it hanging everybody!"
"Morning, Roy!"
"Yeah, hi, Roy."

# ? Sep 2, 2020 14:37

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

freebooter posted:

"Yo yo! How's it hanging everybody!"
"Morning, Roy!"
"Yeah, hi, Roy."

Exactly. Here's how you know them, from the story:

quote:

Out of the corner of your eye, you see some dark forms moving. You stop your bike, a little nervous. You think it could be a band of homeless men who live there. But then you recognize kids from school, kids you know. Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias. You don�t know them that well, except maybe Marco. He sits next to you in science and makes jokes under his breath all during class. Thanks to him, you�re barely breaking a C.

You think about yelling �hey!� but you don�t want to scare them. And they look like such a group, somehow. You didn�t know they were all friends. You feel a little bit left out, even though they didn�t see you. You aren�t terribly swell at making friends.

Our protagonist, everybody!

# ? Sep 2, 2020 14:44

Karma Comedian: Feb 2, 2012

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

I can't wait for the next chapter.

This is me every day

# ? Sep 2, 2020 19:12

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Alien-Chapter 9\

Humans have very odd tastes. They think their music is beautiful. They are wrong. It is awful. All of it. And they completely ignore their greatest accomplishments: the cinnamon bun, the Snickers bar, the hot pepper, and the refreshing beverage called vinegar. - From the Earth Diary of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

quote:

Being in Prince Jake's body is no different from being in my regular human morph. Except that it is slightly larger. Since the morph was formed from his DNA, I looked exactly like him. Cassie insisted I borrow a garment called "overalls" and a pair of boots from her barn before entering her home. Humans are very particular about clothing. I still do not understand why.

"Hi, Jake. Cassie talk you into helping her muck out the barn again?" Cassie's father asked me as I walked into her house.

He was a male - as all human fathers are. His hair was dark brown, but it seemed to have been removed from much of his head. He wore round transparent lenses on his face which, I am told, are for correcting faulty vision. His complexion is darker. He had the usual number of legs and arms.

My favorite part here is his point that Cassie's father has the usual number of legs and arms.

quote:

"No," I said. "She asked me to eat your food. Food. Ood-duh."

"Well, someone has to eat it. Might as well be you who suffers. I cooked tonight. Made my world-famous chili."

Cassie's eyes suddenly widened. She looked frightened. "Oh. Chili? Um, Jake said he wasn't really hungry. He already ate."

"Is chili a very frightening food?" I asked Cassie.

Her father grinned. "Mine is."

"Is that Jake I hear out there?" someone called from the next room. A female appeared who I assumed was Cassie's mother. She had dark hair, but much more of it than Cassie's father. Her hair had not been removed.

She stuck her two arms in my direction and walked toward me. "Oh, you just get more handsome every time I see you, Jake." She wrapped her two arms around me and squeezed me briefly. Then she released me. "Are you staying for some of the Chili of Doom?"

"Yes, I asked him to join us," Cassie said. "But he's not very hungry. In fact, he just ate. So he probably won't want any chili."

Cassie's mother smiled at Cassie's father. "Isn't it just precious the way she tries to protect him?"

"Too late," Cassie's father said. "He's trapped now. There is no escape."

In order to eat we had to sit down in front of a table. I had done this before while impersonating Prince Jake at Prince Jake's home. So I knew how to do it. I knew what a fork was. Also a spoon and a knife.

I discovered that chili is brown and red. It contains several ingredients and smells a lot. There was also something called jalapeno corn bread. And there was a bowl of pieces of different fruits.

After so many warnings, I was very nervous about tasting the chili. But I sensed that Cassie's father would be offended if I did not try some. So I ate a spoonful.

I think that as long as I live, I will never forget that experience.

The chili was hot in temperature. But it was also hot in a totally new way. The tastebuds of my human tongue seemed to explode! They burned with an intensity of flavor like nothing I'd tasted before or since. Every nerve in my body seemed to tingle. Water dribbled from the tiny ducts beside my eyes.

It was not as wonderful as chocolate. But it was intense! So incredibly intense!

Oh! An Andalite would never understand. This was what being human was all about. Taste! The glory of it. The incredible wonder of it.

"This is a wonderful food!" I cried.

"Excuse me?" Cassie's mother said.

"Ah HAH! At last. Someone who understands the joy of hot food!" Cassie's father cried.

I realized I had eaten my entire bowl of that marvelous chili. I wanted more. That taste! That feeling! I wanted more!

"There's plenty more," Cassie's father said. He filled my bowl again.

"Um, Jake?" Cassie said. "You really don't have to eat that much."

"I'll eat yours!" I cried.

My eyes were bulging from my head. My skin was tingling. My stomach was making sounds. But still, I wanted more.

"I love this kid," Cassie's father said. "I wonder if his parents would let us adopt him. Jake, you are a very discerning, intelligent young man."

"He's insane," Cassie's mother said. "There's no other explanation."

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I suspected that Cassie had kicked me under the table.

I looked at her. She smiled sweetly, and then kicked me again.

"That's probably enough chili," she said. She was staring at me in a very direct way.

"Yes. That is enough chili," I agreed. I pushed the bowl away. "Chili. Hi. Chee-lee."

"I used habanero chilies," Cassie's father said. "The hottest substance known to man."

"Not as hot as the temperature created during nuclear fusion," I pointed out.

Good point.

quote:

"So how is school, Jake?" Cassie's mother asked.

I knew what this activity was. This was called "making conversation." The rules were that each person would ask the other person a question.

"It is fine. And how is your work caring for animals?"

"Same old, same old," Cassie's mother said. "Although we are about to have some new camel babies."

Cassie's mother is a veterinarian at the zoo, a place where nonhuman animals are kept.

"So, Jake, you think the Bulls are going all the way again this year?" Cassie's father asked.

I could tell that Cassie was growing tense. She was afraid that I would not understand the question. But thanks to my reading of the World Almanac, I knew the "Bulls" were a sports team.

"Yes," I answered. "They can go all the way."

Then, it was my turn to ask a question. That is how "making conversation" works. "So, did you know that the cream separator was invented in 1878?"

Apparently, they did not know. Cassie, her mother, and her father all stared at me in surprise.

After that, we watched television for a while. It was a fictional depiction of a family. I watched it, and watched Cassie and her parents.

A human family was a good thing to learn about. I had seen Prince Jake's family. And now I was seeing Cassie's family. They are different in some ways. For example, Prince Jake's family performs a brief religious ritual before they eat. Cassie's family does not. And in Prince Jake's family, the father falls asleep while watching television. In Cassie's family, it was her mother who began to fall asleep.

"I must go," I told Cassie. "It has been almost two of your hours."

Cassie's mother revived long enough to say that I was crazy, but I was "still so cute."

Her father winked his left eye at me and waved as I left. Then he laughed at something from the television.

Outside in the cool evening air, Cassie sighed heavily. "Well, we got through that without it being too much of a disaster. Come on. I'll walk you out a ways, till you can morph back without being seen. By the way, here's a book for you, since you're done with the World Almanac. It's a book of quotes. Stuff that famous people said." She held it out for me to take.

"Thank you," I said.

I felt strange walking into the dark. Walking away from Cassie's house. Strange. As if it were cold out, although it wasn't.

"So what did you think of my parents?" Cassie asked.

"I liked them," I said. "But why has your father removed the hair from his head? Hair. Hayyer. I meant to ask him, but forgot."

"He's going bald," Cassie said. "It's probably better not to mention it. It's a normal thing for humans. But some people get sensitive about it."

"Ah, yes. My father's hooves are getting dull. It's normal as well, but he doesn't like to talk about it."

"What's your father like? And your mother?"

"They are ... just normal parents. They are very nice. They are ..."

"Go on."

"My throat feels strange," I said. "Like there is an obstruction. I am having difficulty speaking. Ing. Is this normal?"

Cassie put her arm beneath mine. "You miss them. That's normal."

"An Andalite warrior may spend many years in space, far from his home and family. That's normal."

"Ax. You said it yourself. You may be an Andalite warrior, but you're still a kid, too."

I stopped walking. I was far from the light of the house. I could change back into my own shape without being seen. I realized I was looking up at the stars.

"Where are they?" Cassie asked, following the direction of my gaze. "If you're allowed to tell me that."

I pointed with my human fingers at the quadrant of space where my home star twinkled.

"There."

I watched that star as I melted out of my human form and returned to my true Andalite body.

"Ax, you know that Jake and Tobias and me, and even Rachel and Marco, we all care about you. You know that, right? You're not just some alien to us."

<Thank you for the chili,> I said. <It was wonderful.>

Once more an Andalite, I ran for the forest.

I spent part of the night reading the book of quotes. I should have been resting, but I felt disturbed.

More and more I thought of how easily I could turn the radio telescope at the observatory into a Z-space transmitter. The idea of contacting my parents filled me with sadness and longing.

<They could tell me what to do,> I thought. <They could give me instructions.>

And in another part of my mind I thought, <Wouldn't they be proud that I was fighting on against the Yeerks? They would all say, "He's an other Elfangor. A hero.">

I'm not proud that I was thinking that. But I have to tell the truth. And the truth was, I wanted everyone back home to think I was being very brave, all alone on Earth.

Already in my mind a plan was taking shape.

I found a quiet place and prepared to sleep. I closed my main eyes, leaving only my stalk eyes open to look for danger. I relaxed my tail until it touched the ground.

Lonely.

Yes, it was lonely to sleep in a forest on a planet far from home. It was lonely to be the only one of my kind.

It was lonely knowing that Cassie was asleep in her home, and Marco in his, and Rachel and Jake. All had homes.

All but me. And Tobias.

Tobias. He would understand. But would he help me? If I did what I was planning, would he help? And could I trust him?

I raised my tail and opened my main eyes. I knew the place where Tobias slept. I found him easily. He stood with his sharp talons wrapped around a branch.

<Tobias?> I called.

<Huh? What? Ax? What's the matter?>

<Nothing is the matter. But ... I have a questions



<Tobias. Are you my friend?>

<That's what you woke me up to ask?> He opened his wings and seemed to be stretching.

<Ax, we are the two strangest creatures on this planet: a freaky, four-eyed, half-deer, half scorpion, centaur-looking alien, and a bird with the mind of a person. We've fought side by side. We've been nearly killed several times. Of course I'm your friend.>

It surprised me that he would answer so quickly. As if there was never any doubt what the answer would be. <That's good,> I said. <Will you keep a secret? Even from Prince Jake? Even from Rachel?>

Tobias was silent for a while. <Is it something that would hurt my friends?>

<No.>

<Then I'd keep a secret,> Tobias said. 

<What do you swear by, Tobias? I have to be sure. What promise would you never break?>

<Ax, you know I was there when your brother was killed.>

<Yes. I know. You were the last one to leave him.>

<Yeah. I don't know why,> Tobias said. <But something about him ... I can't explain it, but I was drawn to him. I wanted to listen to him. I wanted to hear everything he said. It was like .. . like he was a magnet or something. Like I couldn't pull away. Until he ordered me to leave. I can't explain it.>

<You don't need to explain,> I said softly. Even here, among aliens, Elfangor was the hero.

<You asked what I'd swear by. I'll swear by him. By Prince Elfangor.>

And so, I told Tobias of my plan.

I just wanted to say, i loved that chapter.

Chapter 10

"E.T. phone home." When I found that sentence in Cassie's book of human quotes, it surprised me. To be honest, it almost scared me. It was as if it were written just for me. I thought maybe, somehow, my human friends had discovered my plan and written it there. -From the Earth Diary of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

quote:

The sun was just coming up over planet Earth.

I performed the morning ritual, as I always did. But I was especially impatient this morning. I knew Tobias was hunting a morning meal and would be back as soon as he had finished eating some unfortunate mouse or shrew.

<Freedom is my only cause. Duty to the people, my only guide. Obedience to my prince, my only glory .>

When Tobias returned from the hunt, we would go. He would lead me to the observatory, to the great radio telescope. And, with luck, I would be able to call my home.

<I, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, Andalite warrior, offer my life.>

With my stalk eyes I saw a hawk swoop low overhead. Tobias rested on a branch. He focused his fierce hawk's eyes on me. <Are you done?>

<Yes. The ritual is completes

<Great. Because it is a beautiful day for flying. Thermals like you wouldn't believe. And a sweet little ground breeze for easy takeoff.>

<Tobias, you understand that you don't have to do this,> I said. <There may be danger.>

<Yeah, yeah. Come on, Ax. Let's go, already.>

I often go flying with Tobias. The bird morph I have is called a northern harrier. It is a type of hawk, about the same size as Tobias's red-tail. Tobias's feathers are mostly brown and light tan, while the harrier's are mostly gray and white.

I controlled my excitement and worry, and focused on making the change.

The harrier morph is always strange. For one thing, there is a great difference in size between an Andalite and a bird, even a large bird.

The first sensation was one of falling, as I shrank rapidly.

My stalk eyes went blind and wings grew out of my front legs, which is very awkward. It causes me to fall forward onto the ground, since I cannot stand on my hind legs alone. Besides, my hind legs were busy shriveling down into the tiny yellow, scaly bird legs. And my tail was shrinking and splitting into dozens of long tail feathers.

Harriers also have mouths, like humans. Only these mouths are useless for speech, and have very little ability to taste. On the other hand, they are wonderful natural weapons. They are razor- sharp, and curved down into a ripping, tearing hook. And the talons are excellent. I had long admired Tobias's use of his talons. He can swoop fast and low, just a few feet above the ground, and snatch up a mouse or small rabbit with those
talons.

As I watched, the blue and tan fur of my own body was replaced by silvery gray feathers. The fur melted away to show the underlying flesh, and then the flesh became patterned with the millions of individual ribs of feathers.

I was used to the mind of the harrier, so I had learned to control its instincts. Its instincts were more forceful than those in the brains of humans.

<I've been meaning to ask you, Ax,> Tobias said. <Not to diss you or anything, but why is it that Cassie is better at morphing than you are? I mean, you're an Andalite. But you look just as creepy as Jake or Rachel when you do it.>

<Cassie has talent,> I said a little grumpily. <Morphing does not happen to be my talent.>

Little sore spot, there, I guess,

quote:

<Oh. You ready to fly?>

I checked. I opened my wings to their full three-and-a-half-foot spread. I flicked my tail feathers. I focused my laserlike hawk's eyes on a far distant tree and was able to see individual ants crawling up its trunk.

I listened to the forest with the harrier's superior hearing. I could hear the insects beneath the pine needles. I could hear a squirrel chewing open a nut. I could hear Tobias's heart beating.

I turned into the breeze and opened my wings. I flapped several times and lifted my legs clear of the ground. The breeze caught me and I was off.

Even with the breeze, I had to flap hard to get as high as the treetops. Tobias was already several dozen feet above me. But then, Tobias has had a great deal of practice.

I swept just above the treetops, flapping and soaring. The sun was beating down on the treetops and heat waves were rising. I caught the up-draft and shot higher. I was two hundred feet up in just seconds.

I think we can all agree that the real hero of this series is thermals.

quote:

I could see Cassie's farm now. And as I circled to use the updraft for more altitude, I could see all the familiar landmarks: the homes of the others. The mall. The school.

<Stick with me,> Tobias said. <We'll follow the water's edge. The observatory is north along the coast. About an hour's flying time.>

We reached the ocean. There were cliffs along the shore, and here the real thermals rose up.

A thermal is an updraft of heated air. Flying into one is like flying into an elevator or drop shaft. The updraft catches your wings and lifts you up and up and up. It is a fantastic, giddy, wild feeling.

I wheeled and turned to stay within the thermal, following Tobias higher and higher.

<We want to get above the gulls,> Tobias instructed. <Sometimes seagulls get obnoxious. They'll swarm a hawk if they're in the wrong mood.>

It was exhilarating. We were thousands of feet above the ground. Down below, humans lay on the beach wearing less clothing than usual. Clothing is a strange human habit. They must wear it all the time. Except at the beach, when they may wear less.

I don't understand this. The World Almanac had no explanation. Although I did know that the United States imported 36.7 billion dollars' worth of clothing.

<Keep an eye on that guy up there,> Tobias said.

<Where? What?> I asked, shaken out of my dreamy thoughts.

<A peregrine falcon. He's probably looking to pick off a few tasty seagulls. But he may decide we look more tender. He's small but fast. Mean, too.>

I decided to keep an eye on the falcon. Earth is a dangerous, wild place. At least, if you're a bird.

I thought it must be terrible sometimes for Tobias. He lives in fear of things that no human would need to fear. He has lost his position at the top of the food chain of Earth. Hawks are predators, but they are also prey. Yet he seemed to have accepted his fate. Was it possible he even preferred being a hawk? Was that why he never asked me what I might know about him being a nothlit? Or did he think I would refuse to answer, or worse yet, lie?

Fortunately, the falcon ignored us and we flew on, following the coastline. Soon we had left the city behind. The beaches were gone, too. The coastline grew more rugged, with waves that crashed in explosions of foam against jagged broken rocks.

A single road wound along the coast below us.

There were cars on it, but few buildings. Then, in the distance, I saw a large white structure. Actually, several structures. There was a tall building with a dome top. And arrayed around it in various positions were several large white flattened bowls. It took me several seconds to figure out their purpose.

<That's the radio telescope?> I laughed. <You're still using dish arrays?>

<Won't they work for ... for whatever it is you're doing?> Tobias asked.

<Oh, yes, they should work. If I can gain access to the computers, they should work very well. It's just that they're so primitives



<Doing? We're flying,> I said.

<Very funny. Suddenly you have a sense of humor. Great.>

< The large building with the dome?> I asked Tobias as I swept above the observatory. <Is that where the computers would be?>

<Maybe. That's where they have the regular telescope, I think. But they may have the control centers and computers there, too.>

I looked with my incredible hawk vision. There was a huge, rectangular opening in the top of the dome. Inside I could see a vast circle of glass. I laughed in recognition. <A telescope? An actual optical telescope? What can they possibly believe that'll show them?>

<It will show them a red-tail and a harrier flying around together, looking like lost tourists,> Tobias said. <According to Marco, this place isn't really operating yet. So I don't know how many people will be around. But we need to find a place to land, so you can morph into something useful, and do ... whatever.>

<Tobias. Is that sarcasm? The way you ask me what I'm doing?>

<No, it's not sarcasm. I think it's called being snide.>

<Ah. Thanks for explaining. Why not fly straight into the dome?> I asked.

<Why not?> Tobias agreed. He led the way down.

We dived at high speed, rocketing down through the air. The brilliant white dome rushed up at us. I shot through the open rectangle and banked sharply right.

It was much darker inside than outside. Below me was the incredibly long tube of the telescope.

 Tobias said. <They'll probably have computers in all the offices. If we can find one that's empty.>

<Yes. That would be good. But I will need fingers.>

<For. . .>

<For whatever it is I'm doing,> I said.

We circled swiftly around the inside of the dome. As I flew, I kept expecting to see humans below. But none ever appeared.

<This place is awfully empty,> Tobias said.

<Yes. It seems almost abandoned,> I agreed. <Tobias, I am going down. My morph time is running short. Now is when I should go on alone.>

<Yeah. Gotcha. Good luck, Ax-man. Whatever you're doing, be careful.>

Tobias swept up and out of the dome. I was alone.

I drifted down toward the floor. Down and down, to land on a table. There was a computer console workstation. But no humans in sight.

I saw an open door leading to what seemed to be a dark and empty office. I flapped my wings twice and was inside.

Harrier eyes, like hawk eyes, are adapted for daylight. They are not very good in the dark. But the harrier also has extremely good hearing. I dimly saw a desk and came to rest on it. Then I concentrated on listening.

I was alone in the room. I was certain of that. The only human sounds I heard came through the walls.

Conversation. I could not make out the sounds, but they all seemed to be concentrated in one area.

<Ax can - hear me?>

It was Tobias. His thought-speech was faint.

<Just barely,> I answered.

<I'm outside. I'm looking -- a window -- here. I see - ven--- in a room. -- like some kind of meeting.>

<Yes, I can hear them,> I said. <Can you keep watch over them? Let me know if they come this way?>

<Yeah. If any -- leaves the - ting, I'll know -- ,> Tobias said.

 I said. <I'm going to morph.>

<Can't ---- very well, but go --- >

My plan was to morph to my normal Andalite form, then quickly move into my human

morph, just in case any humans saw me. But I was tired from the flight. And morphing is very tiring. Especially quick morphing. And if I had to make a quick escape it would mean passing through my Andalite body to move back to harrier.

I would never be able to handle that many changes in a short time. I decided to risk staying in Andalite form.

Besides ... if it worked and I reached my home, I wanted my parents to know me when they saw me.

I think some people have wondered in the past why the Animorphs don't do more of the morph until 2 hours is almost up, then demorph and morph back again, and I think this is a large portion of why. Both here and as we've seen in the past, morphing is exhausting, especially making multiple morphs in a short time.

quote:

I began the demorphing. I could only hope that Tobias would be able to give me enough warning.

Even though I loved being a bird, it was a good feeling when my tail began to form again. An Andalite without a tail is just sad.

And no matter how powerful a hawk's eyes may be, they can still only look in one direction at a time. As my stalk eyes reformed, I breathed a sigh of relief. I could once again see in all directions.

There was no computer in the office. I was very annoyed by that fact. It meant I would have to go back into the observatory to use the computer there.

My hooves slipped on the polished floor. I swung my eyes in every direction, keeping a sharp lookout.

I pushed the chair away from the computer workstation. I began typing on the antique keyboard. The screen asked me for a password.

<Password?> I laughed. I disabled the security system and confirmed that Marco's father's new software was already in place.

Good. That would make it easier. As quickly as I could, I wrote in a virus that would swiftly transform the software that controlled the radio telescope.

Since humans had no awareness of Zero- space, they did not understand that a powerful radio receiver could be tuned in such a way as to create a Z-space vacuum and open a crossdimensional gateway.

Once I had opened a small hole in Z-space, it was child's play to use the same receivers to modulate and reflect the background radiation into a coherent signal. The hard part would be using thought-speech to control the signal. That would take absolute concentration.

<Still --- out here,> Tobias said.

I hoped the word I couldn't hear was "okay."

It took about ten Earth minutes to adjust the radio telescope. Ten minutes, and I had moved human science ahead by a century or so.

Ten minutes to completely violate Andalite law.

I was done. The system was ready.

I pressed the "enter" key.

The thousands of lines of computer language disappeared from the computer's screen.

The screen went blank.

I focused my mind as sharply as I could. I pictured the coherent signal. I pictured that beam going through my own head.

<Andalite Home,> I thought. <Andalite Home.>

The screen flickered.

A face appeared. It was a hard, suspicious face. But it was an Andalite face.

<Who is this?> the Andalite demanded. <This is a high security link. You are not an authorized sender. State your name and location.>

<My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. Brother of Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. Son of Noorlin- Sirinial-Cooraf and Forlay-Esgarrouth-Maheen.>

The Andalite stared at me. <Elfangor's brother?> he wondered. <What is your location?>

<My location is the planet called Earth.>

He got through!

# ? Sep 3, 2020 00:14

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Cassie's dad rules and I want to try the chili of doom

# ? Sep 3, 2020 00:31

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

disaster pastor posted:

I think it's more that he's upset that this wasn't an unforeseen consequence, that Ax let the rest of them be excited and hopeful that a bunch of Controllers were about to be freed, and now that they've seen the hosts being killed instead, Ax is like, "oh, yeah, that was always going to happen." Jake doesn't mind taking responsibility for their actions so much as he minds not having all the information he could/should have had about the consequences.

Yeah, I'm not talking about that (the attitude of the Animorphs in general regarding this makes perfect sense), but more stuff like his reckless behavior with the teacher. Also just subjective elements of the way he thinks/says things. That being said, probably the most relevant thing like this so far is the part where Jake decides to boil those Yeerks alive.

That aside, the whole "people who are exposed are instantly murdered by the Yeerks" thing is actually really dark and presents some genuine moral "weight" that is pretty uncommon in stories like this.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 00:36

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

I really like every scene with Cassie's parents, just such a nice wholesome family.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 00:41

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

Epicurius posted:

quote:
He wore round transparent lenses on his face which, I am told, are for correcting faulty vision.

No such thing as nearsighted/farsighted Andalites, I guess. Or they correct vision some other way?

Epicurius posted:

I just wanted to say, i loved that chapter.

It's fantastic and it does a great job of putting us in Ax's head. I don't think Ax would be nearly as beloved if his first book weren't so very good.

Epicurius posted:

quote:
<They could tell me what to do,> I thought. <They could give me instructions.>

And in another part of my mind I thought, <Wouldn't they be proud that I was fighting on against the Yeerks? They would all say, "He's an other Elfangor. A hero.">

I'm not proud that I was thinking that. But I have to tell the truth. And the truth was, I wanted everyone back home to think I was being very brave, all alone on Earth.

This is just excellent. Ax is the "other" of the group, the smart outsider who usually has no motivation beyond helping, but here he makes it clear that he really does want to be a great hero and he's willing to do stupid things to try to make it happen, and he knows they're stupid and he's ashamed of them, but he sees no point in concealing it.

Epicurius posted:

quote:
<Tobias. Are you my friend?>

<That's what you woke me up to ask?> He opened his wings and seemed to be stretching.

<Ax, we are the two strangest creatures on this planet: a freaky, four-eyed, half-deer, half scorpion, centaur-looking alien, and a bird with the mind of a person. We've fought side by side. We've been nearly killed several times. Of course I'm your friend.>

It surprised me that he would answer so quickly. As if there was never any doubt what the answer would be.

Awwwwwww.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 00:56

Soup du Jour: Sep 8, 2011; I always knew I'd die with a headache.

This book is just such an excellent introduction into what Ax is really all about

# ? Sep 3, 2020 01:29

pastor of muppets: Aug 21, 2007; We were somewhere around the Living Hive, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold...

quote:

The Alien-Chapter 9

Humans have very odd tastes. They think their music is beautiful. They are wrong. It is awful. All of it. And they completely ignore their greatest accomplishments: the cinnamon bun, the Snickers bar, the hot pepper, and the refreshing beverage called vinegar. - From the Earth Diary of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

As cliche as this kind of framing device is, I really love some of these chapter headers. :3:

I'm a book or two ahead and definitely took screenshots of a few of these while reading this one because they really are charming.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 01:40

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

A great couple of chapters. Especially "the usual number of arms and legs" and the "beverage called vinegar."

# ? Sep 3, 2020 01:49

SardonicTyrant: Feb 26, 2016; BTICH IM A NEWT
熱くなれ夢みた明日を
必ずいつかつかまえる
走り出せ振り向くことなく
&

Epicurius posted:

The Alien-Chapter 9\

Humans have very odd tastes. They think their music is beautiful. They are wrong. It is awful. All of it. And they completely ignore their greatest accomplishments: the cinnamon bun, the Snickers bar, the hot pepper, and the refreshing beverage called vinegar. - From the Earth Diary of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

I found this kind of odd, since In The Andelite Chronicles, Elfangor chills out listening to The Rolling Stones

# ? Sep 3, 2020 02:40

Terror Sweat: Mar 15, 2009

SardonicTyrant posted:

I found this kind of odd, since In The Andelite Chronicles, Elfangor chills out listening to The Rolling Stones

The books cannot stress enough that elfangor is the cooler brother

# ? Sep 3, 2020 02:51

SirSamVimes: Jul 21, 2008; ~* Challenge *~

"All human music is garbage" is inexplicably hilarious to me.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 02:56

Piell: Sep 3, 2006; Grey Worm's Ken doll-like groin throbbed with the anticipatory pleasure that only a slightly warm and moist piece of lemoncake could offer; Young Orc

Terror Sweat posted:

The books cannot stress enough that elfangor is the cooler brother

For a dude who never paid attention in class because he was too busy thinking about girls, Ax is a huge nerd. For god's sake he decided that the best thing he could do was to write a reference book about Earth.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 02:56

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Terror Sweat posted:

The books cannot stress enough that elfangor is the cooler brother

They come pretty close in the Andalite Chronicles. Elfangor was the balls.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 03:00

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

I didn't think Elfangor liked the music either, he did like the Dr. Pepper though.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 03:18

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Piell posted:

For a dude who never paid attention in class because he was too busy thinking about girls, Ax is a huge nerd. For god's sake he decided that the best thing he could do was to write a reference book about Earth.

I mean, I'm a huge nerd who never paid attention in class, so.....

Plus, I think he figures he's never going to be as good a warrior as his brother, so he might as well be the Andalite who knows everything about humans.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 03:59

Ednamamame: Dec 12, 2019

Interesting that Ax points out that all human fathers are male, as if that's not the case with Andalite's. That's a nice little throwaway line. While the queer subtext is there, the books are still usually very 90's in that regard.

I love, love, love this book. Ax is the best! There's a lot of tonal whiplash, but that really works in getting across just how confusing everything is for him, being stranded on an alien planet.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 05:53

SirSamVimes: Jul 21, 2008; ~* Challenge *~

SirSamVimes posted:

Note: most of what we talk about will be how much Ax rules.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 06:34

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

How does this marooned deerscorpion samurai manage to be so drat relatable?

# ? Sep 3, 2020 07:20

Khizan: Jul 30, 2013

Epicurius posted:

That, plus his realization that Ax cares more about Yeerks dying than humans living, including Tom living. His comments to Ax suggest that Ax doesn't know humans well enough if he thinks that the fact that all the newly free hosts would be killed by the Yeerks, or that Tom might be one of those hosts, would stop Jake from doing what he did, but I think Jake is lying, and I think Ax knows Jake is lying.

That's my take on it. There's no way Jake would have agreed to the plan if Ax had said "Oh, by the way, the Yeerks will execute Tom before they let him be freed", and Ax knows it. He'd have come up with some excuse against it and Cassie and Marco would have gone with it.

Though, I don't know that I'd say "Ax cares more about Yeerks dying than humans living". The feeling I get is more that Ax is more familiar with Yeerks and so he's already written the hosts off as casualties of war. It's not that he doesn't care about saving humans, it's that he knows those humans can't be saved.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 07:56

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Honestly, I have to disagree about Jake. I think he would have done it. It would have haunted him for the rest of his life, but he wouldn't have backed down. That's probably the first time you see the changes the war eventually bring out in him.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 08:04

Zaphiel: Apr 20, 2006; Fun Shoe

This is a couple chapters back, but I didn't mind the trope of "humans advance faster than everyone else". What I thought was really refreshing was the whole "oh, all aliens war among themselves, Andalites included".

Usually other species are peaceful and wise and gasp! how could you fight against your own people! what monsters you humans are!, so it was nice to see that seems to be a normal part of being a sentient species.

Also Ax rules.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 17:09

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

Yeah, this book is pretty good.

I'm curious, do they ever go into Andalite family naming conventions? I notice both Ax and his brother have a shared name with one parent each.

# ? Sep 3, 2020 17:30

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# ? May 24, 2024 18:20

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Alien-Chapter 11

quote:

<Earth!>

<Yes.>

<Is Prince Elfangor with you?>

For a moment my concentration wavered. I lost the signal. But then, I forced myself to focus. This was too important to let my emotions mess things up.

<Who are you?> I asked.

He looked surprised that I would ask. I said. <The Dome ship was destroyed. I am the only survivor.>

I could see that this was a surprise. Ithileran's eyes were downcast, and he lowered his stalk eyes as well in a gesture of grief.

<Your brother was a great warrior. And I mourn also for the many other warriors aboard the Dome ship.>

<Elfangor was the greatest,> I said. <My family doesn't know he's dead. I would like you to connect me with them. I could get interrupted any minute.>



I tried to quickly organize my thoughts. <The Yeerks are here in force. There is at least one mother ship. Also one Blade ship belonging to Visser Three, and numerous Bug fighters. The humans are unaware of the invasion. I do not know how many humans have been made into Controllers, but there must be thousands, at least.>

I took a deep breath, and tried to hold onto my concentration. How much should I tell Ithileran?

<Then Earth is lost to the Yeerks?>

<No!> I said sharply. <Earth is not lost. There is a small resistance. A few humans. Young . .. arisths, like me. I fight alongside them.>

<But surely there is no hope of victory?>

<We have hurt the Yeerks,> I said. <We have destroyed the Kandrona that was in place on this planet.>

That got Ithileran's attention. That definitely got his attention. <You destroyed a Yeerk Kandrona? How did you manage that? You and a handful of human youths?>

It was time to tell him the full truth, or decide to lie.

<The humans ... the humans have the power to morph,> I said. <Visser Three believes they are a small band of escaped Andalites. Earth has many strange animals, and with the morphing we use those species to attack the Yeerks.>

<Humans who morph? And how did humans come by this technology?>

<It was given to them. By Elfangor.>

Ithileran looked startled. His eyes darted to the side and then he abruptly disappeared from the screen. In his place stood another Andalite.
I was stunned. I instantly recognized the face.

He was very old, and yet his power seemed to vibrate through the screen, across all the light years that separated Earth from home.

Lirem-Arrepoth-Terrouss.

Head of the Council. Veteran of more battles than I could count. His appearance on the screen would have made me lose concentration, but I was too awed to dare.

<You know who I am?>

<Yes. Yes, um. Yes. Yes, I know you. I mean, I don't know you, but I know who you are.>

He ignored my babbling. 

<Um, well ... the humans were helpless. Our force had been destroyed. There was nothing to stand between the humans and total domination by the Yeerks. They needed some weapon.>

Lirem stared at me with a gaze that was known to make great princes tremble.

<And how have you come to contact us? This is a Z-space transmissions



<So, you also break the law. You also transfer technology to the humans.>

<The humans are not our enemies!> I said. I surprised myself by practically yelling. <They won't have a chance. These few humans are all that resist the Yeerks on this planet. Elfangor knew that. He did what he thought was right!>

To my surprise, Lirem did not tell me to be silent. But his eyes grew darker, his expression more serious than ever. Then he said, <Aristh Aximili, once before an Andalite did what he thought was the right thing. He transferred technology to a weak, backward species. He did it because he thought they should be able to travel to the stars. Do you know the name of that Andalite?>

<Prince Seerow,> I said.

<Prince Seerow. Yes. He was my first prince. Did you know that? Many centuries ago when I was an aristh like you.> Lirem looked hard at me.

<Do you know what happened because of Seerow's Kindness?>

<Yes,> I said grimly. <Yes, I know. I have seen what happened because of Seerow's Kindness.>

For a moment no one spoke.

Then Lirem said, <Young Aximili, your brother Elfangor is a hero. The people need heroes in this endless war. I do not wish to tell the people that in the end, Elfangor broke the laws. There can be no forgiveness for a prince that breaks the laws. Unlike an aristh. So ... I ask you to think again. Was it truly Elfangor who gave this technology to the humans?>

I couldn't believe what Lirem wanted me to say. He wanted me to lie. He wanted me to clear Elfangor.

<I...I was wrong when I said Elfangor did this,> I said, too shocked to argue. <It was ... it was me. I gave the humans the morphing technology.>

Lirem continued. <Cut off from your prince, alone, not yet trained, not yet a true warrior, you broke the laws, aristh Aximili. Is this true?>

<Yes,> I whispered bitterly.

<In the name of the council, I forgive your error.> Lirem said. <What's done is done. Perhaps ... in some way I am too old to see, this may all work out for the best.>

<Yes,> I said blankly. Why had I done this? Why had I communicated with my home?

<Aristh Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, you have done a brave thing, taking on this guilt. I know the temptation to go beyond the law when helping a brave people fight the Yeerks. I was an advisor to the Hork-Bajir. They were our allies, but they were not Andalites. They were not our people.>

So Ax is sort of the sacrifical lamb now. The Andalite authorities are scapegoating him to protect the memory of his brother.

quote:

<But. . .> I knew I should shut up. But part of me was getting angry. <But the Hork-Bajir ended up losing everything.>

Lirem's eyes were cold. <You are an Andalite. You are not a human. Obey our laws. I am giving you an order: Resist the Yeerks. But give the humans no information and no technology. Do you understand my order, aristh Aximili?>

<Yes.>

<The fleet is engaged in many parts of the galaxy. We are doing well against the Yeerks. But it will be some time before we can come to Earth. Fight the Yeerks. If you are half the hero your brother was, you will bring honor on your family.>

From what seemed like far away, I heard a faint voice in my head. <Ax --- on the move. --- guy. Think he --- .>

But at that very moment, Lirem said, <Aximili, we have your father. He would like to speak to you.>

<Ax - you hear? -- there's ->

<Aximili-kala,> my father said. It was his nickname for me.

I couldn't believe it was really him. <Yes, Father. It's me. It's me, Aximili. I'm on Earth. I don't know how long I can talk, not long.>

<Is your brother there?>

It came so quickly, the question I dreaded. I almost lost the contact. I desperately wanted to see my father's face and listen to his words. But at the same time, I did not want to tell him that his oldest son was gone.

And there was another thing I did not want to tell him.

<Elfangor,> my father said. <Is he . . .>

<Father. Elfangor is ... he was killed.>

My father looked like someone had punched him. He rocked back.

I looked away. I had tried so hard not to think about Elfangor being gone. Somehow it wasn't real till this moment. Seeing my father's pain made me feel my own.

<Did he die well?> my father asked. The question is part of the ritual of death. It was the question he had to ask.

<He died in the service of his people, defending freedom,> I said. This also was part of the ritual.

My father nodded. <And has his death been avenged?>

This was the part I had feared. <No, Father.>

My father looked up at me. <You are now the eldest son. The burden of revenge is on you. Do you know his killer?>

<Yes.>

<And does his killer still live?>

<Yes.>

<And do you, Aximili, take up the burden of avenging your brother's death?>

<Yes.>

The ritual was complete. We had both said all the things we were supposed to say.

This is a lot of pressure to put on a kid. Just saying....

quote:

my father said.

<Yes. I ... I wanted to see you,> I said. 

The connection was broken. Instantly, totally. I was staring at a blank screen.

"Sorry, but you were breaking my heart," a human voice sneered. "I had to cut you off."

I spun around. A human! He was thirty feet away.

And he was holding a weapon, pointing it at me.

Only slowly did I realize that it was no human gun. The weapon in his hand was a Dracon beam. Standard Yeerk issue.

"You and I have a lot to talk about, Andalite. Quite a lot."

I was frozen. I could not move. The human-Controller was too far away for me to hit with my tail.

"Don't try it, Andalite," he sneered. "I'll fry you before you can even twitch that tail of yours."

But then . . .

"Tseeeeeeeeeerrr!"

Tobias dived from the top of the dome at full speed, wings swept back, talons raked forward.

He aimed for the man's face.

The man threw up his arm. Talons raked the bare flesh of his forearm, leaving red slashes behind. But the man had held on to the Dracon beam. Tobias flew past. Shreds of the human's shirt hung from his talons.

I leapt forward. Too late!

"Freeze! I don't want to kill either of you, Andalites, but I will if I have to!" the man snapped.

Tobias swooped away to perch on the huge telescope itself.

"I just want to talk," the human-Controller said.

<You're the one holding the Dracon beam,> I pointed out.

Then, he did something that amazed me. He knelt down and placed the Dracon beam on the floor. He kicked it aside. The weapon went skittering across the polished floor.

"Now I'm at your mercy, Andalite," he said. "You can use that tail of yours. Or you can listen to what I have to say."

With my stalk eyes I glanced up and saw Tobias.

<It's up to you, Ax,> Tobias said. <This is your party.>

<Speak, then,> I said to the human-Controller.

"My name is Gary Kozlar," he said.

<Don't waste my time,> I snapped, trying to sound strong and unafraid. <That's a human name. That's the name of your host body. But I know what you really are.>

That's kind of interesting...the Yeerk's first instinct when asked his name is to give his host's name. I don't know what that means, but it probably means something.

quote:

He nodded. "All right. My name is Eslin three-five-nine. And you are Aximili, a young Andalite warrior-cadet. Brother of Beast Elfangor. You see, I heard the last few minutes of your touching conversation."

<Beast Elfangor? So that is the Yeerk name for my brother?>

"Your brother is dead," Eslin snapped. "And so is the one creature in all the galaxy that I cared about. Her name was Derane three-four-four. And do you know what they have in common, your brother and my Derane?"

<No. What does my brother have in common with a Yeerk?>

Eslin's human face twisted into an expression of rage. "They were both killed by the same being."

<Visser Three?>

"As I said, you and I have a lot in common, Andalite." He struggled to gain control over his human face, but his jaw was twitching as he explained. "You Andalite bandits did a lot of damage by destroying the Kandrona. There is widespread starvation. The most important Yeerks, those in vital positions, or those whom the Visser happens to favor, are being shuttled back and forth to the mother ship every three days. They get a minimal dose of Kandrona rays. Enough to keep them alive."

<Do you expect me to feel badly?> I asked.

"No, I expect the usual Andalite self-righteousness and hypocrisy from you," Eslin spat. "Andalites. The meddlers of the galaxy."

<Do not anger me, Yeerk. I said I would listen. I did not say I would let you spew Yeerk poison.>

Eslin made a grim smile. "I knew you'd come. As soon as I saw the new software, I said to my self, 'Aha, not the usual clumsy human effort, this.' An Andalite corrected this software. An Andalite who wanted to use the radio telescope as a Z-space transmitter. I've been waiting for you. I knew you'd come."

<And here I am,> I said. I felt like a fool. Of course the Yeerks would have one of their own people in a position at the observatory. It was obvious. I had been an idiot. An idiot!

"My Derane ... we came from the same pool. We went through training together. She and I ... we had been together for a long time. We were very close. She understood me. But I had this important post at the observatory, while Derane was given a minor post. When you Andalite bandits destroyed the ground-based Kandrona, Visser Three moved quickly. He said everyone would survive. He said he had found a way. But he lied. Too many Yeerks, not
enough Kandrona rays. It was simple division. So he shuttled so- called important Controllers up to the mother ship. And the rest. . .

Eslin seemed to notice the bloody gashes on his arm for the first time. He touched them gingerly. "You Andalites must love this planet. So many nasty species for you to morph."

<Was your Derane one of the ones killed?>

"She was 'expendable,'" Eslin said. Then he smiled. "I've had some small revenge already. The Visser's favorites are shuttled up to the mother ship every three days to feed. I sabotaged one of the shuttles. That threw off the feeding schedule. Now some of the Visser's friends are starving and dying. Like my Derane died."

<That's why we're starting to see Controllers losing it,> Tobias said privately to me. <That's why it took so long. Visser Three had it under control till this guy messed with his plan.>

<Are you finished, Eslin?> I asked him. <I've heard your story. Is there a point to it?>

"Ah. You want the point of the story. Yes, of course. The point. The point is this: Visser Three inhabits an Andalite body. And sometimes he feeds like an Andalite."

<What's that mean?> Tobias asked me.

"He feeds like an Andalite, almost alone. He has guards of course, but they stay back. He is vulnerable. Vulnerable. And I know the place where he feeds."

<Why are you telling me this, Yeerk?>

"Why?" He bared his human teeth in a grimace of rage. "Because I want him dead. I want Visser Three dead! He killed my Derane. He killed the only one in the galaxy I have ever had feelings for. He did it. And I want him to pay with his life, the foul, half-Andalite scum. I want him DEAD!"

He calmed himself down, at least a little. He pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket.

He placed it on the desk. "Time and place," he said. "You have a day to prepare."

<This could be a trap.>

Eslin sneered. "I could have killed you here. You have your duty, Andalite. The burden of revenge. Your brother's killer. Your greatest enemy. You Andalites are great ones for duty. So do your duty, Andalite."

So an Andalite, a Yeerk, and a hawk walk into an observatory...

First, that's one very good object lesson as to why you don't treat your subordinates like crap. Also, this is an interesting sort of teamup, and sort of goes against what Jake said in The Capture about how Yeerks don't have friendships or care for each other. But it's possible that Tom's Yeerk was just particularly sociopathic. I'm also a sucker for stories about enemies teaming up to take out a common enemy.

Chapter 12

It is very difficult to be in human morph and remember that you are not one of them. That their pain is not your pain. It is hard to remain apart. Sometimes very hard. - From the Earth Diary of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

quote:

That same evening, Prince Jake called a meeting in Cassie's barn.

My first thought was that Tobias had told the others about my trip to the observatory. Of course, Tobias still did not know that I had communicated with my home. But he did know all about Eslin's plan to kill Visser Three.

Cassie's barn is also called the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. She and her father use it to rescue wild animals who are injured or sick. There are always dozens of animals in cages: skunks, foxes, raccoons, birds of all types. Many are bandaged.

It's strange, the relationship humans have to the other animals on Earth. Some animals they seem to have an enormous amount of emotion for. Others they hate. I think it has to do with the thing called "cuteness." But I've never understood the concept.

And now, I was sure, I never would.

I was not foolish enough to believe that I could take on Visser Three and survive. Maybe if I planned well, and was lucky, I might get him. But I would never live to brag about it.

Probably it was just as well. I had no future.

Lirem had "forgiven" me for breaking the law. But I could never be a warrior now, let alone a prince. I would never be another Elfangor. He would go down in history as a great hero. I would be remembered as the young, stupid little brother who gave the humans the ability to morph.

I had to morph into a human to go to the barn. There was always the chance that Cassie's father or mother might walk in.

But I felt bad assuming the human body. As the human skin replaced my own fur, and human eyes took over for my Andalite eyes, I kept remembering Lirem talking about how he had been an advisor to the Hork-Bajir.

The Hork-Bajir had lost. The Yeerks had enslaved them. But Lirem had been true to the laws and the customs.

What if he hadn't? What if he had given the Hork-Bajir advanced technologies? What if he had taught the Hork-Bajir to build spaceships? Would the Hork-Bajir still be a free people today?

It wasn't for me to decide. I was just an aristh. I would never be anything more. At least if I destroyed Visser Three, people would say, <He was a fool, but in the end he died well.>

Somehow that was not a great comfort.

I found the others already waiting inside the barn. Prince Jake was sitting on a bale of hay. Marco leaned against a stall, standing with arms crossed. Cassie, as usual, kept busy, feeding an injured baby goose with an eyedropper. Rachel paced back and forth, her cool eyes narrowing as she noticed me.

And Tobias . . . Tobias perched in the rafters overhead. I met his intense, intimidating hawk's gaze. And I saw that from his talons there hung a strip of bloody cloth. I knew where it had come from. And now I knew the reason for this meeting.

"Hi, Ax," Prince Jake said. "How's it going?"

Yep, this is a trap. Ax is walking into all of them in this book....

quote:

"I'm fine," I answered.

"I figured we should all get together," Prince Jake said wearily. He seemed to be averting his eyes from me. "We need to think about what this thing with the Controllers means. We saw the guy at the mall. Then there was Mr. Pardue. And in the paper this morning there was a story about some guy, some business guy, who's in a meeting and freaks out. The paper made it seem like he just went nuts. I'm pretty sure he was another Controller losing it."

He looked at me. I said nothing.

"See, it's like this, Ax," Marco said suddenly. "We're tired of you giving us a runaround. Tobias shows up and he's dragging around some bloody shirt. I ask him what it is, and he won't tell me. Why won't Tobias tell me? Simple. He must have promised someone he wouldn't. And who would that someone be?"

There was no point denying it. "I made Tobias promise. Puh-romise. It is my fault."

"So now you're not just keeping secrets from us, you're getting us to keep secrets from ourselves!" Rachel yelled. "You need to get some thing straight, Ax. We're not your little action figures here. We're not toy soldiers. This is our planet. And this is our fight. You don't control us, just because you're some mighty Andalite ."

"I am not trying to control anyone," I said.

"Yeah, right!" Rachel snapped. "The information all goes one way. We tell you everything, you tell us squat. Oh, you sound like you're being straight sometimes, but you never tell us any thing useful."

"You said you knew the Yeerks would probably destroy any Controller that went bad on them," Marco pressed. "How did you know that? Has all this happened before, on some other planet?"

Rachel took over. "We show you our world. We take you in. You see our families, you read our books, you even go to our school. And then you keep secrets from us."

I felt battered by their words. They were all true. But I had my orders. I had the laws of my people.

"We're inferior, aren't we?" Marco said. "That's it, right? We're not good enough. Backward little humans. We don't deserve to be treated like equals."

"That's not it," I said.

"Sure it is!" Marco yelled. "Sure it is! We're just some bunch of cavemen, aren't we? That's what we look like to you."

Maybe I would have done better if I had been in my own body. My human body was awash in adrenalin. I was frustrated and afraid and guilty. "I can't answer your questions!" I yelled. "I can't!"

"You mean, you won't!" Marco yelled. "Rachel's right. We're just pawns in the big game. It's Andalites versus Yeerks in the big game and we're what? The towel boys?"

"Look . . . look ... I have to follow the rules."

"Do you?" Cassie asked. It was the first time she had spoken. Her voice was soft and reason able. "Did Elfangor follow the rules when he gave us the power to morph?"

"I'm not Elfangor!" I yelled. "Can't you see that? I'm not some big hero. I'm just a young Andalite, all right? You want the truth? Here's some truth for you: I'm not a warrior. I'm an aristh. A ... a trainee. A cadet. A nobody."

"Yeah, yeah, boo-hoo," Marco sneered. "I'm not impressed. We don't want your sad story, we want the truth. What were you and Tobias doing? Why did you swear him to secrecy? What's going on?"

"I can't tell you," I said softly. "There's a law against giving aliens ... I mean, any non-Andalite ... our technology. And part of that law is we can't explain why. Can't. Tun. Can't."

"I am sick of this from - " Rachel started to raise her voice to me again, but Prince Jake stood up and took her arm. I saw him look at Cassie. Cassie nodded.

"I can almost understand the part about not giving us advanced technology," Prince Jake said.

"But why all the other secrets? Why can't you tell us other things, like how you knew what the Yeerks would do? Okay, so you don't want to give us megaweapons or whatever. Fair enough. But to refuse even to tell us how we fit into this whole Yeerk-Andalite war? I mean, what's that about?"

"It's about keeping control of us," Marco said.

"It's about power," Rachel agreed.

Cassie was looking at me strangely. "No," she said. "That's not it. It's not about control. It's about guilt. Shame. That's it, isn't it? That's what you said the other night. You said every species carries some guilt."

"Guilt? Shame?" Marco asked, looking at Cassie like she was foolish.

But Cassie had found the truth.

"What did you guys do to be ashamed of?" Prince Jake asked me.

"Once we were kind when we should not have been kind," I answered.

"And that's all you're going to tell us?" Prince Jake asked.

I nodded, the way humans do.

"I can't accept that, Ax," Prince Jake said sadly. "If you're with us, you have to be honest with us. Otherwise ... I guess you'll have to be on your own. I hate to do that. But you can't be one of us and then lie to us."

"I understand," I said. "You have been . . ." Once again, I was feeling that strange choking in my throat. "You've been very wonderful to me. I will always be grateful. Wonderful. Grateful. Ful. The truth is ... the truth is we would not have been together much longer anyway."

I looked up at Tobias. Only he knew what I meant.

Slowly, feeling as if my clumsy human legs were made of a heavy Earth metal called lead, I turned and walked away from my human friends.

This whole thing is just so damned sad. It's, you know, what he wants to do vs what he feels like he has to do.

# ? Sep 4, 2020 00:31

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