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

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feetnotes: Jan 29, 2008

# ? May 18, 2021 21:02

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# ? May 24, 2024 23:10

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs Book 22-The Solution, Chapter 26

quote:

<Now, all of you demorph. As soon as you�ve demorphed, remorph,> David instructed.

<What morph?> Jake demanded.

<Cockroach.>

<That�s not part of the plan!> Jake yelled.

<Too bad. You think I�m some kind of an idiot? You think I�m going to go into rat morph and have the four of you waiting around to squash me like a bug? Not a chance.>

<That�s it, deal�s done,> Jake said.

<Oh, yeah? Then you�re going to lose another cousin, Jake,> David said. <You are all going to morph to cockroach. Period. And if there�s no deal, I bite Rachel right here and now.>

I knew logically that Jake would go along. I knew that as a human. But the rat brain inside my own mind only sensed greater peril. Suddenly, the rat�s body froze. Froze stiff with terror. I could not move a muscle. All I could do was quiver.

 Jake said weakly.

<You have my word, Jake,> David said generously.

It took ten minutes for the others to demorph and remorph. Soon four cockroaches scurried just beyond the snake�s coils.

Then David demorphed.

I knew what was coming next. We all knew what was coming next. Still, it wasn�t easy to act the part we had to act.

<So far, so good,> Jake whispered to me.

<Yeah. Let�s just hope he doesn�t go nuts on us,> I said.

<Cassie thinks he�ll play it out the way we think he will,> Jake said.

I would have smiled if I�d had lips. Jake has a lot of respect for Cassie�s ability to �read� people. So do I. Although, I reminded myself, Cassie had not seen how evil David could be. <In any case, we do have a backup plan if he starts stomping us all,> I said.

<Not a great backup plan,> Marco said morbidly. <More like a really pathetic backup plan.>

David loomed larger and larger as he sprouted back into his human form. I saw him reach down and scoop up what could have been a beer bottle. He rummaged and found a cap.

<Here we go,> I told Jake and the others.

<What�s he got?>

<Like we planned: a bottle.>

<Beer or soft drink?> Cassie wondered.

<Looks like Pepsi.>

 Marco said.

<Do cockroaches have a sense of taste?> Ax wondered.

David reached down and scooped up one of the four cockroaches. He put the mouth of the bottle beneath it and dropped it into the bottle.

<Hey! Hey, what�s happening?> Marco yelled.

David laughed. �I�m putting you somewhere safe.�

<What are you doing?!> Jake yelled.

�Don�t worry, I�ll keep my word,� David said. �I�m not going to hurt any of you. I just want to make sure you don�t hurt me. Now stand still and we can get this over with.�

One by one, David scooped up my friends and dropped them into the Pepsi bottle. Then he screwed the bottle top back in place.

�Now, Rachel, we go get the blue box,� David said. �Now that there�s no chance of your friends interfering.�

I saw four brown cockroaches trapped within the bottle. There was no way they could demorph.

If one of them tried he would begin by crushing the others and would then be smothered within the bottle, ending up as nothing but a blob of unformed flesh.

David lifted the bottle up to eye level and laughed. �I�ve done what Visser Three and all his Yeerk Empire couldn�t do! I have the Animorphs! Trapped! Hah-hah-hah!�

<You don�t have the blue box yet,> I reminded him.

�But I will, Rachel. I will if you expect to see any of these friends of yours alive again. Yeah, I will have the blue box.�

Cassie started screaming. <We�ll be trapped as cockroaches! We�ll be trapped forever!>

David sat the bottle down.

�Two hours, Rachel. Two hours till they are trapped forever as roaches. Let�s go get that blue box.�

Just as a note, when you're monologuing "I've finally done it! I've captured the Animorphs! Hah-hah-hah!", it's probably time to admit, you're probably not the good guy in the story.

Chapter 27

quote:

n the concrete floor of the never-to-be-finished building was a drain. The drain cover was off.

Scurrying on rat feet, I led David to it.

It was about six inches in diameter. To a rat it was plenty big.

<Down there?> David asked nervously.

<Down there,> I said.

<You go first,> he said.

I nosed over the edge and blinked blindly at the darkness. I took a deep breath. At least it was better than the time I�d had to morph a mole and dig through the dirt. Not much better, though.

I dove over the side and into the pipe. I landed hard after a six-inch drop onto damp, rotting leaves and filth. I was expecting it. I had tested the route with Cassie earlier.

I quickly scurried a few inches down a horizontal pipe. David made a satisfying splat as he hit face first.

<Aaahh!>

<Watch out for that first step,> I said.



<Well, that would be because we�re in a pipe underground,> I said.

<Don�t make me mad, Rachel,> David said ominously.

<First piece is down this pipe,> I said. I scurried off, utterly blind, with David bringing up the rear.

<This better not be a trap,> David said. <You mess with me, I�ll make sure you never get out of here. And your friends will spend the rest of their lives afraid of bug spray.>

<So what are you going to do with the blue box?> I asked.

<What do you care?>

<Just curious,> I said meekly.

<I�ll need some people to help me. Like a gang.>

<Aren�t you afraid that once you give someone morphing power they�ll turn out to be a � to do what you did to us?>

David laughed. <You don�t think I already thought of that? You guys made a big mistake: You got me. See, I was smarter than any of you. That�s why you lost. I�ll be more careful. I�ll only choose the kind of guys who are too dumb to do anything except obey me.>

I rolled my little rat eyes. This guy�s ego just kept growing.

<Here�s the first piece,> I said.

<Where?>

<Squeeze up here and you can feel it.>

<How do we get out of here with the piece?>

<Back up. There�s a side pipe we can use as a turnaround.>

<Okay. You drag the piece.>

I grabbed the piece with my sharp little teeth and scooted backward, running occasionally into David�s nose. Served him right.

We found the side pipe and awkwardly turned around.

<Where�s the next piece?>

<Right down that side pipe. But we have to drag this one out first,> I said.

<Why? Why not get all the pieces and then push them all back to the exit pipe?>

 I said.

<Of course not,> he said condescendingly. <But it�s kind of obvious, don�t you think?>

<Yeah. I guess it is.>

I headed down the second pipe. Now my heart was really pounding. So hard I thought David might hear it and begin to suspect.

But no, I had carefully fed his bloated ego, and I had played the role of the beaten-down, humiliated girl. His guard was down. He�d killed Tobias. He had my friends trapped. What was there to be afraid of?

<Everything ready?> I called in private thought-speak.

<Everything is ready,> Cassie answered in a tortured voice. <May I be forgiven for what I am about to do.>

Oh, boy.

# ? May 19, 2021 05:28

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

This is all Marco's fault. He should have shoved him in a locker and just taken the box.

# ? May 19, 2021 06:28

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

In retrospect the "kindest" thing to do would have been, in that alleyway, abandon him to eventually get picked up and infested by the Yeerks. Either they win the war and he'll be free again, or they lose the war and everybody on the planet gets infested anyway.

quote:

�I worry about you, Rachel. More than any of the others except Tobias.

Being a Rachel book it's obviously all about her POV, but this is a nice touch - just a quick comment that yeah, Jake, actually has to worry about himself plus all of them, and even though Tobias' new life is a sort of accepted status quo in the series, it's something that's still keeping him up at nights.

# ? May 19, 2021 09:39

ANOTHER SCORCHER: Aug 12, 2018

I could swear they explicitly say that the plan is Cassie�s but I may have missed it or it hasn�t happened yet.

# ? May 19, 2021 15:20

theCalamity: Oct 23, 2010; Cry Havoc and let slip the Hogs of War

ANOTHER SCORCHER posted:

I could swear they explicitly say that the plan is Cassie�s but I may have missed it or it hasn�t happened yet.

Hasn�t been said yet

# ? May 19, 2021 16:01

Terror Sweat: Mar 15, 2009

freebooter posted:

In retrospect the "kindest" thing to do would have been, in that alleyway, abandon him to eventually get picked up and infested by the Yeerks. Either they win the war and he'll be free again, or they lose the war and everybody on the planet gets infested anyway.

Being a Rachel book it's obviously all about her POV, but this is a nice touch - just a quick comment that yeah, Jake, actually has to worry about himself plus all of them, and even though Tobias' new life is a sort of accepted status quo in the series, it's something that's still keeping him up at nights.

No he's saying only Tobias worries more about Rachel

# ? May 19, 2021 19:37

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Terror Sweat posted:

No he's saying only Tobias worries more about Rachel

That sentence is actually ambiguous. It's not clear whether he means he worries about Rachel more than he does anyone else (except Tobias), or no one worries more about Rachel than he does (except Tobias). But for the latter case, I'm not sure that would be true (T could be more likely to idealize her?) or that Jake would be aware of it if it were, so I'm inclined to read it the same way as freebooter.

# ? May 19, 2021 19:41

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs Book 22-The Solution, Chapter 28

quote:

Down the pipe. Through muck and standing water and filth. Past bugs of several types. Down the black, claustrophobic tunnel. With David literally stepping on my tail.

I was close. Very close.

Fresh air! No! No! David would sense it, he�d realize � distraction! I had to distract him.

The pipe suddenly opened into what felt to us like a cavern. It was perhaps a foot square, steel all around, but the smell of fresh air was unmistakable to my sensitive rat�s nose.

To my utter horror, I heard the sound of a distant jet flying overhead. There was no way we should have been able to hear that jet.

<What�s that?> David demanded. <That sound, what is that sound?>

<Water in the pipes?> I suggested nonchalantly.

David pushed into the chamber beside me. All I had to do was back out, get back down that pipe before he did. But if I lunged he would know instantly.

<Smells different in here,> he said.

<Yeah, it does,> I agreed.

Neither of us could see the other. But I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head.

A sudden sound of movement!

He knew! He was going for the exit.

I jumped to block his path. Damp fur against damp fur, we collided. In a flash he was on me, teeth and paws tearing at my face.

<You think you can trick me?!> he shrieked.

We fell back, face-to-face, both bleeding. The pipe was on my right, on David�s left. We were equally close to it. Equally far away. Both utterly blind.

<Be ready,> I told Jake grimly. <Be very, very ready. We have problems.>

David rushed at me, but this time I slid beneath his gnawing mouth, then jerked upward, throwing him off-balance.

I leaped for the exit.

Stopped!

He had my tail in his jaw. He was pulling me back. I couldn�t reach him, and if I tried we�d go around in a circle like a dog chasing its tail. He�d be able to get back out of the pipe, maybe escape altogether in the sewer network.

<Have a good grip back there, Davey boy?> I said.

<You won�t get away!>

<Yeah?> I twisted back, just as David hoped I would. Only I didn�t attack him. Instead, ignoring the hideous pain, I chewed through my own tail.

<Aaaahhhh!> I cried in agony as the last shred of skin parted.

<Nooooo!> David screamed as he fell back, holding nothing but a few inches of tail.

I darted for the exit, and before I was halfway into it yelled, <NOW! NOW! NOW!>

The steel gate slammed down. It would have snagged my tail, if I�d still had one.

David slammed against the barrier. It was a dull thump.-

<No! NOOOOO!>

Suddenly, there was light everywhere. A flashlight shone right on my face. I blinked like a miner coming up after a day digging coal.

<Hey, you want to point that somewhere else?> I grumped.

In the light of two wavering flashlights, everything could be seen. The way the ground above the pipe had been dug up, baring the pipe. The way the pipe had been cut. And the steel box that had been affixed to the pipe end.

Not to mention the sliding door that turned the box into a cage. A trap.

The top of the box hinged up. But there was a strong wire grid to keep David inside.

There he was, a rat. He blinked up at the faces around him: Jake, Cassie, Marco, Ax. And my face as I quickly demorphed.

<No way! How did you get out of that bottle?> he demanded.

That�s when Tobias swooped down from the dark sky and landed atop the cage.

<But� but you�re �>

<Dead?> Tobias supplied. <No. You killed some poor red-tail who was minding his own business. I broke the Pepsi bottle. The bottle we deliberately left where you could be inspired to use it.>

�See, David,� Marco said, �we knew you were in the barn, listening to our every word. How did we know? Tobias. So we played out that whole pathetic scene for you about how disgraced Rachel was. We knew you�d get so much sick pleasure out of forcing her to obey you.�

�That piece of the blue box we retrieved? A Lego,� I said.

<All of your actions, even your emotions, were anticipated,> Ax said. <We anticipated how you would respond. So we were able to manipulate you.>

<Okay, okay,> David said with a laugh. <Okay, so you guys won. That�s cool. I can accept that. Fine, I�ll go my own way now.>

No one said anything.

<Look, I�m serious, all right? Jake, you�re the man, okay?>

I looked at Jake. He looked like he hated being alive. I turned my gaze to Marco. He was carefully staring into empty space.

Cassie was crying.

David hadn�t asked who the mastermind of the plan was. Who it was who had so accurately appraised his emotions, his need to build his ego, the fact that he would choose me to be his �companion.� Cassie, of course. Cassie had worked it out, step by step, after Jake and I failed to come up with anything.

For Cassie, it was an improvement over the alternatives. See, no one was going to have to die. But David�s life would end, just the same. And so would �Saddler�s.� Eventually, they would find the real Saddler�s body, and then they would know, that at least for them, there was no such thing as a miracle.

<No,> David whispered as the truth began to dawn on him. <No, no. No.>

None of us had a watch, of course, since we�d morphed. But Ax was very accurate about keeping track of time.

Jake looked at Ax. Ax showed no visible emotion. But I knew Ax well enough to know that he was not exactly enjoying any part of this.

<He has been in morph for thirteen minutes,> Ax reported.

<No, no, no. You guys aren�t going to do this!> David cried.

�You tried to kill us,� Jake said. �You threatened to turn us over to Visser Three. Not to mention what you�ve done to Saddler�s family.�

<You can�t judge me!> David cried. <You�re not God!>

�David, we have fought the Yeerks for a long time now. It seems like forever,� Jake said wearily. �We are not going to let you beat us. We are going to save the human race if we can. There are larger issues � more important ��

Jake looked at Cassie helplessly. He shrugged and made a face like he couldn�t stand hearing himself talk.

�We�re doing to you what you were trying to do to us,� I said. �Law of the jungle: eat or be eaten.�

I looked at the others. �No need for all of us to hang around here. It looks too obvious. It�s bad security. I can handle this.�

 Ax said.

I nodded.

�You don�t have to do this, Rachel,� Jake said. �Everyone is in on this. We all made this choice.�

�Yeah, but it won�t bother me. It will bother you guys.�

Of course Jake didn�t believe me. Neither did Cassie or Tobias. Maybe Marco did. I don�t know. No one made a move to leave.

�Look, get out of here!� I roared. �Get out of here! You�re just drawing attention. What if someone comes by? Get out of here!�

Jake nodded. �Yeah,� was all he said.

Jake�s a good leader. He knows when to use us. He knows when to protect us. He knew he had to protect as many of his people as he could from what was going to happen.

He took Cassie�s arm and called to Tobias and Marco.

<You can�t do this,> David moaned. <You can�t do this!>

<It is now fifteen minutes,> Ax said.

I closed my eyes and wished I could cover my ears to keep out the sounds. But it was thoughtspeak I was hearing. And you can�t block that out.

Chapter 29

quote:

It took two hours for David to become a nothlit. A person trapped in morph.

Two hours. But that two hours of horror will last forever in my mind. If I live a hundred years, I will still hear his cries, his threats, his pleading, each night before sleep takes me. And beyond sleep, in my dreams.

Once we were sure he was trapped, Ax and I morphed. I morphed into bald eagle, Ax into harrier. We took turns carrying the helpless rat out across the beach, across the breaking surf, out to the tiny, desolate rock a mile or more from shore.

There were other rats there. Guess there had to be a food supply. But the rocks and the waves kept humans away from the place.

We left him there. And we flew away.

<Rachel?> Ax said.

<Yeah?>



I didn�t answer. I was still listening to the thought-speak cries that followed us for so long. That long, wailing, <Nooooo!>

At last, the cries were left behind us.

We flew over the Marriott resort where the summit meeting had taken place. It still looked pretty bad. There were repair crews everywhere. No sign of the world leaders.

Maybe they�d decided to take the meeting somewhere else. I can�t even imagine what they made of the whole thing. Hard to explain being attacked by elephants and rhinoceroses here in � well, never mind where �here� is.

Something kind of snapped in me after that. I didn�t suddenly become all soft and mushy or anything. I didn�t turn into a wimp. But somehow the joy I�d gotten from combat, the thrill I�d gotten from battle against impossible odds � well, I guess maybe I just grew up a little.

We never heard from David again. Not directly, at least. But months later I heard some kid at school talking about the rock.

It was haunted, he said. He and his family had passed close by on a boat. He swears he�d heard a faint, ragged voice crying, �No! No!�

There's a bunch I can say about these chapters, this book, and the 'David" arc, but not right now. No updates tomorrow...lets take the day to reflect on the ending, but then Friday, we'll start the second Chronicles book, "The Hork-Bajir Chronicles", and we can learn all about or favorite bark eating 7 foot tall dinosaur people, and maybe make some new friends along the way.

# ? May 20, 2021 05:28

Mazerunner: Apr 22, 2010; Good Hunter, what... what is this post?

Epicurius posted:

maybe make some new friends along the way.

hopefully these ones end better off

# ? May 20, 2021 06:57

Mazerunner: Apr 22, 2010; Good Hunter, what... what is this post?

OH WAIT NOPE THEY JUST END UP ENSLAVED OR EXTERMINATED HAHAHA

# ? May 20, 2021 06:57

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; Ultra Carp

frankly speaking it would have been kinder to kill him

# ? May 20, 2021 07:15

e X: Feb 23, 2013; cool but crude

Acebuckeye13 posted:

frankly speaking it would have been kinder to kill him

Yes, this is just incredibly cruel.

# ? May 20, 2021 08:28

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

Also I'm pretty sure cockroaches are air breathing, so unless Tobias was there pretty much instantaneously, they dead.

# ? May 20, 2021 09:10

Agaragon: Nov 16, 2018

Both cruel and stupid. An extremely small chance of a Controller on the water hearing his screaming rat thoughts is still way too high of a chance. And sure, the rocks and waves keep humans away...but. Y'know. Visser Three.

# ? May 20, 2021 09:14

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

quote:

<Rachel?> Ax said.

<Yeah?>

This is one of the lines from the series that has really stayed in my head over the years. I suppose it's not really that original - off the top off my head I can think of an almost verbatim line in the last season of Breaking Bad, for example - but for an 11-year-old this was extremely serious poo poo.

# ? May 20, 2021 10:25

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Also I'm not sure if it was planned or not, but the Hork Bajir Chronicles being published right after this is good timing. It just feels appropriate to step away from the main story for a bit.

# ? May 20, 2021 10:26

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

The "good" news is that rats only live about 2 years so the island won't be haunted for long. They definitely should have just killed him. This is way more hosed up.

# ? May 20, 2021 10:35

Ravenfood: Nov 4, 2011

This is a drat good arc. Though yeah, should have killed him. It would have been kinder.

# ? May 20, 2021 10:38

Crespolini: Mar 9, 2014

Acebuckeye13 posted:

frankly speaking it would have been kinder to kill him

To themselves as well, probably.

# ? May 20, 2021 11:45

cptn_dr: Sep 7, 2011; Seven for beauty that blossoms and dies

It's interesting to compare David's fate with a Controller's. They're not totally the same, but they're similar enough that I'm not sure it's a coincidence.

# ? May 20, 2021 11:58

Pwnstar: Dec 9, 2007; Who wants some waffles?

Even with the idiot brain of a child the only reason to do this is to be unimaginably cruel to someone who wronged you. Even if you have to go with the rat trap plan just drop him in the loving ocean my dudes.

# ? May 20, 2021 12:31

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

I remember the tagline on the cover of this book: "A mistake has been made. His name is David."

As for David's fate... I think the Animorphs are simply not ready [yet] to knowingly, deliberately murder someone. Someone in this situation because of them, in part. A family member. A could-have-been member of the team.

Asking teenagers to explicitly, intentionally, premeditatedly kill someone is rather a lot to ask. This makes a certain cognitive dissonance much easier.

# ? May 20, 2021 12:38

gourdcaptain: Nov 16, 2012

So I misread a line in here as a child:

quote:

We took turns carrying the helpless rat out across the beach, across the breaking surf, out to the tiny, desolate rock a mile or more from shore.

as them dragging David through the surf as they went to hurt him further. Which made this even more hosed up for me as a child to think the protagonists just casually tortured him even more on the way out for kicks before the fate worse than death.

Not really sure if this means anything, but it's interesting to see something and realize you misread it decades ago.

# ? May 20, 2021 12:42

Shwoo: Jul 21, 2011

I read an Animorphs fanfic that retold the story in a universe with the daemons from the His Dark Materials books (external souls in the shape of animals), where they just kill David. Cassie considers trapping him in morph, but Aftran talks her out of it.

It was pretty chilling, actually. They pretend to be Visser Three and stage a fake reunion with his parents, and while he's distracted by joy, they kill him.

But it still seemed kinder than what they do in the actual books. I can see why they felt that killing David would cross a line that all the other people they've killed hadn't, but putting him in Rat Jail forever also crosses that line, I think. There's no good answer to this situation, and I like that the authors didn't deus ex machina one in to this one.

quote:

<You can�t do this,> David moaned. <You can�t do this!>

<It is now fifteen minutes,> Ax said.

I closed my eyes and wished I could cover my ears to keep out the sounds. But it was thoughtspeak I was hearing. And you can�t block that out.

That's the bit that always stuck with me. Poor child soldier guerrilla fighters.

# ? May 20, 2021 14:05

Hypocrisy: Oct 4, 2006; Lord of Sarcasm

Eugh. Still chilling even as an adult.

# ? May 20, 2021 14:18

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

freebooter posted:

Also I'm not sure if it was planned or not, but the Hork Bajir Chronicles being published right after this is good timing. It just feels appropriate to step away from the main story for a bit.

The first Chronicles book was after #11, so it's the same annual timeline. They probably planned and timed the David trilogy to run right before it though.

cptn_dr posted:

It's interesting to compare David's fate with a Controller's. They're not totally the same, but they're similar enough that I'm not sure it's a coincidence.

Applegate said that Tobias was planned from the start, because they needed to make the two-hour time limit a real threat. I'm sure the parallels between controller and nothlit, trapped in your own body vs. trapped in the wrong body, risk of what the enemy will do to you if you lose vs. risk of what the war can do to you regardless (or if you make the slightest mistake), were somewhat intentional from the outset. And then intentionally inflicting that on David just increases those similarities a little more.

# ? May 20, 2021 15:06

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

Oof. This was my first time experiencing this part of the story, and it's brutal.

So Saddler's body pretty much had to have been dropped down an elevator shaft in a children's' hospital, huh? It's sad that the abbreviated nature of the story meant that David had to go full-evil immediately. There's a hypothetical middleground where he's not aggressively trying to get the Animorphs killed / caught, but is unwilling or unable to actually be a guerilla fighter, and Jake and Rachel are the ones to help him set up the Saddler identity after letting Saddler pass away on his own. Possibly forcing him to nothlit as Saddler so he won't be tempted to sneak out at night and be an rear end in a top hat golden eagle.

# ? May 20, 2021 17:05

FlocksOfMice: Feb 3, 2009

It's really just the horrid luck (insofar as luck exists in a setting where there are two giant assholes playing chess with people constantly) that David found the box right when the peace conference was happening. If it hadn't been for that, maybe, like, maybe they legitimately could have eased him into the team better than "hey this is the most important mission we've ever been on and it's now your first mission, don't gently caress up"

that SAID while the other animorphs have mused about using their powers for fun David took his parents being enslaved less as a "maybe when i fight hard enough to free them i can have some fun" and went "hey my parents are gone... i have no rules anymore!"

it definitely felt rushed and could have worked better if it was spread over more books and plotlines, but it's a monthly serial series so like, can't really put storylines on delays like that i guess

god that last chapter is deeply upsetting though

I also think it's FUN that by this point a lot of readers were definitely fantasizing about themselves becoming animorphs, they actually do the plotline and it's a horrid disaster

# ? May 20, 2021 17:18

Remalle: Feb 12, 2020

Poor David. Did he deserve his fate? I dunno. But I feel awful for him either way (and so the Animorphs, seemingly).

# ? May 20, 2021 17:24

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

When I was a kid, I always thought the better solution would have been for Tobias to kill David when he morphed rattler to spy on the meeting in the barn. Red-tails are great snake murderers. Of course, there are all sorts of reasons it wouldn't happen that way (not least of which is the anticlimax involved), but it felt a lot less cruel than trapping him in rat morph and abandoning him on an island.

# ? May 20, 2021 19:39

Crespolini: Mar 9, 2014

I dunno why, but as a kid I had a fan theory that surely one of them (Tobias?) would fly back to the island at some later point and finish him quickly. I guess I just hated the idea of him being stuck like that and it upset me.

# ? May 20, 2021 20:48

Turpitude II: Nov 10, 2014

Bobulus posted:

There's a hypothetical middleground where he's not aggressively trying to get the Animorphs killed / caught, but is unwilling or unable to actually be a guerilla fighter, and Jake and Rachel are the ones to help him set up the Saddler identity after letting Saddler pass away on his own. Possibly forcing him to nothlit as Saddler so he won't be tempted to sneak out at night and be an rear end in a top hat golden eagle.

this doesn't sound like a great idea either. he still knows who the animorphs are, and has a body that's able to be infested, but without the possibility of being able to morph something to escape or defend himself from being taken.

plus it seems like it'd probably happen inevitably, sooner or later, even without being forced. can you sustainably morph every 2 hours for the rest of your life? never have just a couple of minutes distraction at the wrong time?

# ? May 21, 2021 07:53

Pwnstar: Dec 9, 2007; Who wants some waffles?

A wacky comedy series where David is living as Saddler. He works at a busy cafe and needs to find increasingly elaborate excuses and over the top antics to dodge customers and run into the bathroom every 2 hours. His boss is increasingly suspicious that he's doing drugs in there so comes up with ridiculous schemes to catch him.

# ? May 21, 2021 09:14

e X: Feb 23, 2013; cool but crude

I do wonder if the decision not to kill David was purely creative or if there was editorial interference.

e X fucked around with this message at 11:49 on May 21, 2021

# ? May 21, 2021 11:14

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

Turpitude II posted:

this doesn't sound like a great idea either. he still knows who the animorphs are, and has a body that's able to be infested, but without the possibility of being able to morph something to escape or defend himself from being taken.

I mean, the crew have done dumber things. Within the children's book narrative, it probably would have worked, at least for a while. Maybe he shows up again a dozen books later because he's noticed some yeerk activity the next town over and he wants the animorphs to protect him. You could have him effectively blackmail them without threatening to go to Visser 3, just by the threat that he knows too much and the current plot would get him accidentally yeerk'd.

But we've reached the point of fanfiction.

# ? May 21, 2021 12:18

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

e X posted:

I do wonder if the decision not to kill David was purely creative or if there was editorial interference.

Grant has said that there was basically no editorial interference in the series, especially at this point in particular. They were so popular and dependably produced on schedule, and yet simultaneously so niche (as a mail-order softcover monthly series of the traditional short children's-book length) and on nobody's radar (unlike say Harry Potter at the same time) that he figures nobody in Scholastic was even reading them any more, aside from their editor. Which, as he sees it, would explain why they were able to get away with this trilogy at all.

# ? May 21, 2021 15:18

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Yeah, the conclusion of trapping him as a rat rather than killing him seems perfectly in the authors' wheelhouse at this point, as a supposedly "moral" course of action which is utterly more horrible and is really more about protecting the characters' consciences than doing the actual kinder thing to David. Like, what is a rat's lifespan anyway? I used to have pet mice and they only live two years. You're basically killing him anyway, but emotionally torturing him for a few years first.

# ? May 22, 2021 00:56

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

freebooter posted:

Yeah, the conclusion of trapping him as a rat rather than killing him seems perfectly in the authors' wheelhouse at this point, as a supposedly "moral" course of action which is utterly more horrible and is really more about protecting the characters' consciences than doing the actual kinder thing to David. Like, what is a rat's lifespan anyway? I used to have pet mice and they only live two years. You're basically killing him anyway, but emotionally torturing him for a few years first.

About two years,

# ? May 22, 2021 04:54

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# ? May 24, 2024 23:10

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Hork-Bajir Chronicles-Prologue

quote:

My name is Tobias.

I was restless. Don�t ask me why, I just was. So I flew.

There were no Animorph missions planned. The others didn�t need me right then. So even though the sun was going down, I flew.

I flew toward the mountains. Toward the secret, hidden valley the Ellimist had showed me. Even now I had trouble finding it. Even though I knew exactly where it was. Even though, as a red-tailed hawk, I had vision far better than any human.

The Ellimist had concealed the valley from human eyes. How? Who knows? The Ellimist could hide all of planet Earth if he wanted to.

But knowing where the valley was, I could find it with some effort. I found the narrow gap between two ridges. I was not fooled by the way my eyes kept sliding away from the gap, as if some negative magnetism was at work.

I flew as the sun dropped and the air cooled and the lift beneath my broad wings failed. I had to flap harder to stay aloft. Stupid, really. Now I�d have to spend the night here in the valley.

Then, below me, I saw a sight that made me glad to be there. A strange creature like nothing Earth has ever given birth to. It was four feet tall. There were razor-sharp blades at its ankles, knees, wrists, and elbows. There were two long, forward-raked horns coming from its head. It had a tail that ended in Stegosaurus spikes.

A young Hork-Bajir.

A young, free Hork-Bajir.

It was swinging, leaping through the trees like a monkey or a squirrel. Running through the tree branches, but happy-running, not scared-running.

I�d played a small part in the Ellimist�s plan to create a free colony of Hork-Bajir. Not that the Ellimist interferes in the lives of other species.

So he claims.

Right.

In any case, the other Animorphs and I had played a role in helping two escaping Hork-Bajir find their way here. Jara Hamee and Ket Halpak. Like all Hork-Bajir, they had been infested by Yeerks. They�d been slaves of the Yeerks.

Somehow they had escaped. Don�t ask me how. Ask the guy who doesn�t interfere in the lives of other species.

They�d had a baby. That was him � or her � cavorting beneath me. I still was not very good at telling the difference.

Hork-Bajir don�t live as long as humans. So they grow up faster, too.

I increased my speed and outraced the Hork-Bajir child. I found the nest of caves, six or eight, all close together, where we�d figured the Hork-Bajir would live.

But to my surprise I could now see that the caves were unused. The adults were in the trees. But not just Jara Hamee and Ket Halpak. There were a dozen or more Hork-Bajir there now. All free. Many starting to raise families.

I realized then that I had not accidentally headed toward the hidden Hork-Bajir valley. It had been deliberate, even if it was subconscious. I�d been feeling kind of down. But now, seeing thisfragile community of free Hork-Bajir � well, how can you see freedom replace slavery and not feel good?

These Hork-Bajir had been the unwilling shock troops of the Yeerk Empire. Now they were raising families, carefully stripping the bark from the trees, building a fire near the cave entrances.

I swooped down, down through the branches of a huge elm tree. Jara Hamee was in the high branches.

<Hi, Jara,> I said.

He waved. He smiled. Or what passes for a Hork-Bajir smile. Actually, it�s an expression that would make you want to run, screaming �Mommy! Mommy!� if you didn�t know what it was.

The workday was about done for the Hork-Bajir. They invited me to the fireside as the night rolled over the valley and the stars appeared.

Like any wild bird, I�m a bit leery of fire. But I found a comfortable perch on a fallen log. Near enough to enjoy the light. Far enough not to feel too much heat.

I was welcomed like more than a friend. The Hork-Bajir think I liberated them.

Hork-Bajir are simple creatures. Not exactly the geniuses of the galaxy, I suppose. Talking to Jara Hamee can be like talking to a four-year-old. But they are decent, sweet creatures. Almost timid, despite their nightmarish appearance.

�Eat bark? Good bark,� Jara Hamee said, offering me a slab.

<No, thank you,> I said. 

�Sleep?� Ket Halpak said. �No sleep. Tell story.�

Now, I hated to even think what a Hork-Bajir story might be like. Let�s face it, sweet or not, Hork-Bajir are not big talkers.

<What stories do you tell?> I asked, cringing a little at the possibilities. I felt like I was asking Great-grandma to tell me about her youth, you know? Like the result wasn�t exactly going to be Party of Five.

�Story of Father Deep. Story of Mother Sky,� Ket Halpak suggested.

�Story of Jubba-Jubba,� another Hork-Bajir said.

But Jara Hamee looked shrewdly at me. Well, once again, what passed for shrewd.

�Story of Yeerks and Andalites,� he said. �Story of war.�

That perked up my interest.

The others all nodded.

�My father-father was a seer,� Jara Hamee said. �Different. Not like other Hork-Bajir. Not like Jara Hamee and Ket Halpak. Like � like Tobias. Seeing far. Knowing much. Father-father learn storyof Andalite. Learn story of Yeerk. Give story to Jara Hamee father. Jara Hamee father give story to Jara Hamee.�

<I�d like to hear the story of the Hork-Bajir war with the Yeerks,> I said.

I don�t know what I expected. I guess I figured Jara would say something like, �Yeerks come. Bad. Fighting. Yeerks win. We lose.�

But that wasn�t it at all. Jara Hamee closed his eyes and began rocking back and forth. A weird gargoyle, bright orange and deep shadow in the firelight.
He rocked for several minutes, while everyone waited patiently.

And then he started to tell his tale. It was in the rough, stilted, limited speech of the Hork-Bajir. A mix of English and Hork-Bajir and languages I could only guess at. It was hard to follow at first.

But I swear after a few minutes the words grabbed hold of my brain somehow. I could not only hear the guttural words, I could hear the original words as spoken by Jara Hamee�s father-father. And the others who played a part in the story.

An Andalite female named Aldrea.

A Yeerk named Esplin.

The Hork-Bajir seer, Dak Hamee.

Maybe it was the firelight, or the way Jara rocked back and forth as if he were in a trance. But I soon forgot where I was. I was far away.

Far, far away.

I settled onto my branch, fluffed my feathers against the cold, and listened.

So when we last left the Hork Bajir Valley, there were only two of them. Now, there's a small community. And this is their story of how they came to be taken over by the Yeerks. And, it's also some other people's stories.

Chapter 1

quote:

Andalite date: year 8561.2
Yeerk date: Generation 685, mid-cycle
Hork-Bajir date: early-warm
Earth date: 1966

My name is Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan. I am an Andalite. A female.

That was all there was to say about me back then. But later I became much more. My name became a cruel joke among my people. And later still, a curse.

But when this story began, I was just a young female. Just Aldrea. Not yet the Aldrea.

I understood very little back then, listening with my mind to the thought-speak shouts and curses around me. I only knew that something terrible had happened.

I knew that the young, powerfully built Andalite warrior who had burst in upon the prince was angry. More than angry. Furious.

His name was Alloran-Semitur-Corrass. He would play a role in my life and the life of the galaxy. But back then, all I knew was that he was enraged.

<Yes, it�s confirmed. Yes, Prince Seerow, it has happened. As I warned you it would.>

The Andalite warrior was pacing back and forth, whipping his tail impatiently. He was angry. He was bitter.

<But it can�t be,> the other Andalite said softly. <They promised me. They gave me their word. They �>

 Alloran snapped. He opened his hand and revealed a small cylinder. A holographic recorder. He gave the instruction. <Play.>

Before our eyes a three-dimensional picture appeared. It was dark. The focus was imperfect. But we could see Gedds loping in their awkward way. The Gedds carried weapons. Knives. Clubs. Primitive weapons. But one of the Gedds carried something more dangerous: an Andalite shredder.

In the distance, beyond the Gedds, were four Andalite warriors. They were joking, relaxing a bit, killing time. Soldiers doing dull, uninteresting duty and making the best of it.

One Andalite spotted the advancing Gedds.

<Hold fast,> he called.

The Gedds kept moving. The Gedd with the shredder held it concealed behind his back.

<Hold fast, Yeerks. You are not allowed closer to the ships.>

I peered into the flickering hologram. Yes, I could see a parked Andalite fighter. The other ships and warriors were not visible.

 the Andalite warrior said.

<Orders are to avoid incidents,> another Andalite said. <Don�t you know these parasites are our brothers?> This was said with a sneer.

The Gedds moved closer.

<Orders or not, these filthy slugs are not touching my ship.>

And then, as if in slow motion, I saw the Gedd pull the shredder from behind his back.

TSEEEEW!

TSEEEEW!

Even in hologram, the light was blinding. Two Andalite warriors were incinerated.

The two remaining warriors drew their weapons and arched their tails, but it was too late. A wave of Gedds descended on them, weapons raised.
The hologram flickered off.

Prince Seerow slumped, his upper body leaning forward, his four legs appearing weak, as he absorbed the awful truth.

Prince Seerow, whose name was to become a curse word and a joke.

He was my father.

<They gave you their word?!> Alloran practically shrieked. <Their word? They�re parasites. The Yeerks steal the bodies of other species. What did you expect of them?>

<They have no history of harming intelligent life-forms. The Gedds are barely conscious in their natural state,> Prince Seerow argued. <It�s not as if they were stealing the bodies of truly sentient creatures. They and the Gedds are symbiotic. They have ->

Alloran stepped closer to my father. <Listen to me, my prince.> The word �prince� was said with a sneer. <Approximately four hundred Gedds attacked our ground base last night. They overwhelmed the two dozen Andalite warriors on duty there. The two dozen Andalite warriors who had been specifically ordered not to fire on Gedds.>

<They were never a threat before,> Prince Seerow said. <The Yeerks, even the ones in Gedd hosts, are harmless. I didn�t want our warriors to accidentally ->

<These four hundred harmless Gedds - these Yeerks, I should say, because they were all certainly Yeerk-controlled - butchered my warriors,> Alloran said.

My father turned away. He directed his main eyes and his stalk eyes away, unwilling to look Alloran in the face.

<Butchered, Prince Seerow,> Alloran said. <Shall I show you the holos of the aftermath? These were the gentlest pictures. I have others. Would you like to see what they did to the bodies of my warriors?>

Now it was something other than anger in Alloran�s tone. I could feel the pain in his hearts. And the guilt. The guilt of having survived, while his friends died.

I don�t know how I understood him so well. I was very, very young. So young that neither of the adults paid any attention to my eavesdropping. I was very young then, but I had an active imagination. Maybe that was how I could so clearly imagine the awful scene of Alloran stepping over the bodies � .

I shuddered. It must have been terrible. And I shuddered for another reason, too: I knew, young though I was, that my father would be blamed.

<These four hundred Gedds overwhelmed my warriors,> Alloran said, building back to anger again. <And then they seized the four attack fighters and two transports that were on the ground at the time.>

<Couldn�t they be intercepted in orbit?> my father asked.

<No. You see, there was no warning. My warriors were dead before they could call for help or give warning.>

<Still, four fighters and a pair of slow transports � our forces should have no trouble catching them.>

<Catch them? They�ve escaped into Zero-space,> Alloran said. <Four hundred Yeerk-infested Gedds with shredder-armed fighters.>

Two young warriors came rushing in. We were inside one of the shelters we were forced to use on this planet. There were large windows, certainly, but still, it was an enclosed space, and like any Andalite I found it disturbing.

One of the young warriors had a terrible slash scar down one flank. It had been treated, but you could see the wound was still fresh.

<Prince Seerow,> the wounded warrior said. <Remote orbital sensors show that the two transport ships did not immediately jump to Zero-space. They landed on the far side of the planet.>

Alloran practically leaped at the young warrior. <Are they still on the ground?>

<No sir. Sensors show they stayed on the ground for only an hour. Then they returned to orbit and jumped to Z-space.>

<Prince Seerow,> the other young warrior said, <they landed beside major Yeerk pools. They apparently loaded a large number of Yeerks before escaping.>

<A large number? Estimates?> my father demanded bleakly.

<The computer estimate is that with advance planning and careful coordination, they may have embarked as many as a quarter million Yeerks.>

<A quarter million?> My father gasped. <But � but the Yeerk leaders � They have been my friends. They cannot know about this! The Council of Thirteen must not have known. This is some rebellion, some group of malcontents.>

<Fool,> Alloran said.

My father�s head jerked as if Alloran had tail-whipped him. It was impossible! A lowly warrior calling a prince �fool�!

<You fool,> Alloran said again. <You coddled them. You trained them. You showed them the universe. You showed them all the things they could not have, living here on this planet of theirs. You even built them portable Kandronas and thus freed them.>

<The Yeerks are intelligent, sentient creatures. They have a right to join other sentient races. They have a right ->

<A quarter million highly intelligent, ruthless, and determined parasites have just been loosed upon the galaxy,> Alloran said flatly. <They have six Andalite ships. How long before they learn to build their own ships? How long before they become a plague? How long till they find some race more useful than the Gedds, some race they can infest and transform into shock troops? There are thousands of inhabited planets in just this arm of the galaxy.>

Alloran turned all four of his eyes on my father. <Prince Seerow, you are relieved of duty.>

<You can�t relieve me!> my father cried.

<When a commander has become incapacitated due to injury or mental defect, his subordinates may relieve him,> Alloran quoted from the regulations.

<What mental defect?> my father demanded.

<Stupidity,> Alloran said harshly. <The stupidity of kindness. Charity to potential enemies. You�re a fool, Seerow. A soft, sentimental, well-meaning fool. And now my men are dead and the Yeerks are loose in the galaxy. How many will die before we can bring this contagion under control? How many will die for Seerow�s kindness?>

Seerow�s Kindness.

Even then, all those years ago, I knew. My father�s epitaph had just been written. I could not watch anymore. I ran outside, unnoticed by the adults. I ran outside into the Yeerk twilight. The wild green and yellow-streaked sky was turning dark.

The harsh air rasped in my throat. Soon the nightly rain, the acid rain, would fall and I would have to retreat back into the shelter.

We would be leaving this planet soon. I knew that. I could see the remaining warriors setting up a defense perimeter around our small compound.

The Andalite-Yeerk Peace and Cooperation Center. That�s what it was called. And now it was beginning to bristle with shredder cannon.

I turned my stalk eyes toward the Yeerk pool. The Yeerks called it Sulp Niar. It looked like molten lead.

I had come to the Yeerk planet with my mother and father. It was all part of showing the Yeerks that we were sincere in our desire for peace and friendship.

But I had never liked this planet. I had never liked the Yeerks. And now they had destroyed my father�s dreams.

Seerow�s Kindness.

My father�s love of peace had released the evil of war on an unprepared galaxy.

And that was the beginning of the Yeerk revolt.

# ? May 22, 2021 05:07

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

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