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

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

«‹›236 »

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

seminar taking longer than normal?

# ? Sep 11, 2021 05:09

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 21:50

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

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

seminar taking longer than normal?

Visser 3 absolutely uses late 90's era powerpoint, including the "applause" sound effect set to play after every word appears on screen. He considers this a technological marvel.

# ? Sep 11, 2021 11:29

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

Visser Three is.... Jeb? If you don't clap, lose your head.

# ? Sep 11, 2021 11:59

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

seminar taking longer than normal?

We're doing trust falls, and it's not fun being the one who has to catch the Hork-Bajir controller.

# ? Sep 11, 2021 16:03

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 5

quote:

As soon as we got outside the school, I managed to talk Ax through the demorph into his Andalite body. Once he was back in his own form, he stayed there. Big relief.

Tobias demorphed, too. He flew overhead and told us which streets to use to avoid the most people. And where to hide Ax when we were close to getting caught. We made it back to the barn, but it was not a fun trip.

�Put him in the last stall,� I instructed. �Marco, fill the trough with water. Rachel, get him a blanket from the pile by the door. Jake, go to my house and get the thermometer from the bathroom; I can�t use the veterinary equipment. I need the one you can use in your ear. Don�t worry about my parents. Out.�

I glanced up and saw all three of them staring at me. It�s true that I�m not usually the one barking the orders. But I�m the one who knows about taking care of sick animals. Not that Ax is an animal, exactly.

�I feel like I�m on ER,� Marco said as he headed toward the hose. �I�ve definitely got a Noah Wyle kind of thing happening.�

<Anything I should do?> Tobias asked from his perch in the rafters.

�Just keep a lookout,� I answered.

<You got it,> Tobias said.

Rachel hurried over and handed a blanket to me. I spread it over Ax�s back and shoulders. I could feel tiny tremors racing through him.

�So are you finally going to tell us what Tidwell said or what?� Marco asked as he filled the trough. �I mean, if some Hork-Bajir are going to burst in the door any second I might want to bake a cake or something.�

�Ax is sick, Marco. We have to deal with that first,� I answered.

�If Tidwell talks, Ax is going to be worse than sick. He�s going to be dead. We all are!� Rachel spat out. �Cassie, what did you say to him? What did he say to you?�

I ignored her. Had to. She spun away and started pacing back and forth in front of the stall.

�Can you tell me what�s wrong with you, Ax?� I asked. �Have you ever felt like this before?�

<Yamphut,> he mumbled.

�What�s that?� I asked.

I needed Ax to tell me what to do to cure him. My parents are both vets. We probably have the best animal medicine library for miles. But there was nothing in any of those books about the care and feeding of an alien.

�Come on, Ax,� I said, my voice a little sharper. �What�s Yamphut?�

<It�s a �> Ax�s thought-speak faded.

<Ax, come on. Stay with us,> Tobias said.

�Let�s try giving him a little water,� I said. �Help me stick one of his hooves in, okay, Marco?� I asked. Marco topped off the trough and turned off the hose. Then we gently lifted Ax�s right front leg and then placed his hoof into the water.

Ax swayed, and I braced my shoulder against his side, letting him lean on me while he absorbed the water. I could feel him heaving against me as he pulled in ragged breaths.

�That�s enough,� I said when Ax�s hoof had been submerged about half a minute.

Marco and I pulled his hoof out of the trough. Rachel grabbed another blanket and tossed it to Marco so he could dry Ax off. I stayed close in case he got wobbly again.

�Okay, Ax. Try and focus. Tell us what Yamphut is,� I said, speaking slowly and clearly.

<Disease,> Ax answered. <Disease organisms collecting in my Tria gland.>

Jake rushed back into the barn. �Got the thermometer.� He slapped it into my hand scrub-nurse style. Then he sat down and leaned against the side of the stall.

I slid the thermometer into Ax�s ear and waited for it to beep. When it did, I pulled it out and checked the reading. �Ninety-five point five,� I told the others.

�I was sure he had a fever,� Rachel said.

�He might,� I told Rachel. �But we don�t know. Because we don�t know what normal Andalite temperature is!�

�Ax? Can you tell us?� Rachel asked him.

<Ninety-one point three,> Ax gasped. <Of your degrees,> he added.

�Ax, they are everyone�s degrees, not our degrees,� Marco started to argue. Then he stopped.

About four degrees above normal. I wasn�t liking this. I knew a few ways to try and break a fever. But I didn�t know what effect they would have on an Andalite.

What if something I did made him worse?

�Tell us more about the Tria gland,� I said.

<Tria gland keeps disease organisms away from rest of body,> Ax answered.

<That�s good, right?> Tobias asked.

It sounded good. Maybe Ax�s body would heal itself.

<But if it bursts. Bad. Disease organisms get loose,> Ax choked out.

�How can we stop it from bursting?� Jake demanded.

Ax locked all four of his eyes on me. He took my hand and gave my fingers a weak squeeze. His skin felt cold and slick with perspiration.

<You must take it out. Or I will die,> he whispered.

His main eyes closed. His stalk eyes drooped. <When temperature goes back to normal � Tria gland out. Or disease organisms kill.>

�Okay. Okay, yeah. Where is the Tria gland?� I asked.

<Tired.>

�I know you�re tired. And you can go to sleep soon. But first you have to tell me where the Tria gland is,� I insisted. �Now, Ax!�

<My head,> Ax answered.

I felt the blood drain from my face. Instinctively, I turned to Jake. He was staring at Ax as if he couldn�t believe what he�d just heard.

The silence stretched.

�I�m no brain surgeon,� Marco finally said. �But it sounds to me like we�re talking brain surgery here.�

So, the Tria gland is basically the Andalite appendix, just in much less convenient place. Also, Andalites, lower body temperature than humans, which is interesting, I guess. But given that none of them are actually brain surgeons, this seems like a pretty bad place for them to be.

Chapter 6

quote:

Brain surgery. Images of blood, and scalpels, and delicate tissue. I didn�t know if we could do it. But if we didn�t, Ax would die.

�Let�s move to the other side of the barn,� I said. �I want Ax to get some rest.�

That was true. But I also didn�t want Ax to hear us start to freak, which I knew was about to happen.

�Good idea,� Jake said. He pushed himself to his feet and started across the barn, Marco and Rachel following.

I slowly pulled my hand free of Ax�s, my fingers slick with his sweat. �I�ll be back in a little while,� I whispered. �Bless your baby bones.�

The words just slipped out of my mouth. It�s what my mom always says to me when I�m sick.

Poor Ax. He must really miss his mother right now. At least when I�m not feeling well, I always like my mom making a fuss over me.

And Ax was definitely not feeling well.

I hurried over to the others and sat down on a bale of hay next to Rachel. I was tired.

�Okay, so we kidnap a doctor and get him to do the surgery on Ax,� Rachel burst out.

�And then what?� I asked.

She didn�t answer. The answer was unacceptable. The only doctor we could trust with our secret was a doctor who quickly became dead.

�I�m going to take his temperature every hour,� I said. �We need to know when it drops down to ninety-one point three.�

�And then what?� Rachel demanded, echoing my question.

�Then we get to play a live version of Operation. Except if we make a mistake, Ax�s nose doesn�t light up, his Tria gland explodes,� Marco answered, his voice flat.

<That�s supposed to be funny?> Tobias demanded.

�Yeah. And you want another laugh?� Marco shot back, angry. �Tidwell saw Ax go Andalite tonight!�

�We need to hear what Tidwell said,� Jake told me. He scrubbed his face with his hands. His drawn, pale face.

I pulled in a deep breath. �Mr. Tidwell is part of the peace movement,� I began. �The Yeerk inside him, Illim, had a message for me from Aftran. She�s been captured. Sunday night Visser Three plans to interrogate her. Illim wants us to rescue her.�

�No way. It�s a trap,� Marco interrupted.

�If the Yeerks already know who we are why bother with a trap? Why not just come to our houses and kill us?�

We both turned to Jake. He rubbed his face again. �Coming to our houses would be messy. Attract attention. Getting us all to the Yeerk pool is a decent strategy.�

�Probably it is a trap, but we still have to go,� Rachel said. �Because if Tidwell or Illim or whoever is telling the truth, we�re dead meat. Aftran will crack when the Visser interrogates her, and she knows everything about us. Everything. Right, Cassie?� she said acidly, looking angrily at me.

I met her gaze without blinking. My voice was steady. �That�s right,� I answered.

I wasn�t going to pretend that we wouldn�t be in this situation if it wasn�t for me.

Marco had been about to kill Aftran. Which meant killing Karen, too. I let Aftran into my own head to get her out of Karen�s body.

To save the life of a person I didn�t even know, I risked the lives of my friends. I�m not all noble and wonderful. I did it because I was a coward. I couldn�t take the life of that little girl - or let Marco do it for me - even though I knew that by letting her live a whole planetful of people might die. Or worse, become infested by Yeerks.

I risked all those lives on a pathetic little wish. A wish that together Aftran and I could make the first step toward peace between Yeerks and humans.

My wish came true. Aftran didn�t turn me over to Visser Three. She didn�t use the information she found stored in my brain against me and the others. Instead she chose to live without a host. Blind and almost immobile.

My choice turned out to be the right one.

Or had it?

�Rachel�s right. We have to go in,� Jake decided. �Tonight. If it�s a trap, they won�t be expecting us this soon, since Illim told us the Visser will be gone until Sunday.�

<What about Ax?> Tobias asked.

�That�s another reason to go in tonight,� I said. �We get back before Ax hits his crisis.�

�We can�t leave him in the barn,� Jake pointed out. �Cassie�s dad comes in here all the time.�

<Maybe we could fix up some kind of extra shelter around his scoop,> Tobias suggested.

I shook my head. �Too damp in that field,� I said.

�Erek,� Marco said. �The Chee owe us.�

�Good idea, Marco,� Jake said. �Go. Now.�

I kind of like this, because the Chee do owe them, and after doing all the favors they did for the Chee, it's good to see they're finally asking for something back. I also, like Cassie, feel for Ax here. He's alone, mostly, on an alien planet, with a fatal condition unless he gets emergency surgery, and probably does miss his parents dreadfully right now. A lot of times, the books focus on Ax as comic relief or Ax as encyclopedia or whatever, but this is a kid who's stranded and in hiding on an alien planet in an alien society that he finds strange and disconcerting, away from his friends and family and trying to live up to the legacy of his hero brother. It's got to be hard for him.

Also, for those of you who haven't read this, what's your take on the Aftran thing. Is this a trap?

# ? Sep 12, 2021 04:26

Fritzler: Sep 5, 2007

I don�t think this is a trap - but still a wild loose end. Like this would always come back to them as a threat.

We know there is a yeerk trapped in Erek�s head with a mini kandora source. Do we know if that yeerk is happier than being in a pool? Or just if they are functionally in solitary? I think read this book, don�t remember what happens but seems like it may not be a bad place to end with atfran.

# ? Sep 12, 2021 05:28

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Fritzler posted:

We know there is a yeerk trapped in Erek�s head with a mini kandora source. Do we know if that yeerk is happier than being in a pool? Or just if they are functionally in solitary? I think read this book, don�t remember what happens but seems like it may not be a bad place to end with atfran.

I'm pretty sure any Yeerk trapped in a Chee's head is functionally in solitary/sensory depravation. We know that Yeerks in the pool talk to each other, so who's this one going to talk to?

# ? Sep 12, 2021 06:53

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

So, I guess morphing doesn't fix this issue?

Also, forget just having them hide Ax, the chee could probably fix it themselves, right?

# ? Sep 12, 2021 06:57

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

I'm pretty sure any Yeerk trapped in a Chee's head is functionally in solitary/sensory depravation. We know that Yeerks in the pool talk to each other, so who's this one going to talk to?

Theoretically, they could create some kind of Yeerk Matrix for them to swim around in their own private Kandrona pool.

# ? Sep 12, 2021 07:45

dungeon cousin: Nov 26, 2012; woop woop
loop loop

Maybe that Yeerk is being reverse-Yeerked. Now it's living like a controller trapped in the mind of a body piloted by another and only being able watch as Erek lives his life.

# ? Sep 12, 2021 08:02

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

more likely erek explained what's going on and the yeerk was like thank gently caress, now i'm finally in no danger from visser three and napped the gently caress out

# ? Sep 12, 2021 08:03

Remalle: Feb 12, 2020

Why not ask the Chee to brain surgery Ax while they're at it? Surely one of them must have been a xenoneurosurgeon at some point. Or is surgery too violent an action for them to perform?

# ? Sep 12, 2021 08:17

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

Remalle posted:

Why not ask the Chee to brain surgery Ax while they're at it? Surely one of them must have been a xenoneurosurgeon at some point. Or is surgery too violent an action for them to perform?

I don't think surgery would be considered a violent act, especially life saving surgery. But who knows, there may be some reason they won't do it because it would be too easy, narratively.

# ? Sep 12, 2021 09:47

e X: Feb 23, 2013; cool but crude

Epicurius posted:

<Ninety-one point three,> Ax gasped. <Of your degrees,> he added.

�Ax, they are everyone�s degrees, not our degrees,� Marco started to argue. Then he stopped.

Are they though, Marco?

# ? Sep 12, 2021 11:03

HisMajestyBOB: Oct 21, 2010; College Slice

This book's morph: bacteriophages.

# ? Sep 12, 2021 13:55

Crespolini: Mar 9, 2014

e X posted:

Are they though, Marco?

Right?

# ? Sep 12, 2021 14:30

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 7

quote:

Marco morphed and took to the air. The rest of us watched Ax sweat and tremble.

�The Yeerks have probably figured out how we got in last time,� Rachel said. �We need a new way in if we don�t want to get ambushed.�

�Maybe it would help if we go over everything we know about the Yeerk pool�s security systems,� I suggested. �We know there�s the Gleet BioFilter, and -�

<Hunter-killer robots,> Tobias added.

�It was never exactly easy,� Jake said. �But it�s harder, now.�

�There has to be a way,� Rachel said.

We went over everything we knew and came up blank. And Ax still trembled.

I checked my watch. Time was running out. My parents would be home soon. First thing my dad would do was come to the barn.

<Here come Erek and Marco,> Tobias announced at last.

I glanced out the barn door. Erek and Marco, walking side by side, fast. If you saw Erek you�d think he was just a normal kid. He looks kind of like Jake, actually, only a little shorter.

But Erek�s an android. Part of a race called the Chee. And what you see when you look at him, that�s just a hologram. Under the hologram Erek looks a little like a robot dog walking on its hind legs.

�This is a change,� Erek said. �I�m usually the one giving you guys some bad news.�

�You want bad news?� Rachel said. �Ax is no better, and we can�t figure out how to get into the Yeerk pool.�

�Do you know anything about Andalite physiology?� I asked Erek.

He shrugged. Or at least caused his holographic self to shrug. �Nothing.�

�Are any of your people surgeons?� I asked.

Erek shook his head. �The guy who plays my father? He was a doctor back in fifteenth-century France. He knows nothing useful, trust me.�

�Erek, does the Yeerk pool have toilets?� Marco demanded suddenly.

�Marco, not the time,� Jake muttered.

�Marco,� Rachel warned, �be useful, or shut up.�

�Come on. It�s practically like a city down there,� Marco continued. �They must have a place for the human hosts to take a leak or get a drink of water,� he insisted.

�Sinks, toilets. They�ve got the works, sure,� Erek answered.

The Chee are heavily programmed against violence. But that doesn�t mean they don�t hate the Yeerks. And they are the best spies you can imagine.

�That means they have plumbing. Pipes. And that also means we have a way into the Yeerk pool,� Marco announced. �We morph into something small, something that can swim. Climb in one of our toilets, have Erek give us a flush, swim a little, and come out in one of the Yeerk sinks or toilets.�

�Oh, yeah, that should work,� Rachel said. �What are you, nuts?�

<The water pressure would be pretty hard to swim against,> Tobias commented.

Jake lifted his head. �Not if we started from the water tower. Then we�d go with the pressure all the way.� He started to sound a little excited. His eyes glittered. �Erek, can you tap into the city water department computers? Combine it with �� Jake sighed and wiped his mouth. �Combine it, with, um,
with all you know about the Yeerk pool and � you know ��

�And give you a map? Directions?� Erek nodded. �I can give you directions to any sink or toilet in the place.� He pointed at the computer my father and I use to keep records on the animals. �Mind?�

�There�s no modem,� I said.

Erek smiled. �Not necessary. I can be a modem.�

Marco shot a triumphant glance at Rachel. �See? Still think my idea is nuts?� His face darkened. �Wait a minute. It is nuts. What�s the matter with me? Am I insane?�

<Do we have a morph that could work?> Tobias asked.

�Maybe cockroach,� I answered.

Jake shook his head. �There�s a lot of pipe between the water tower and the Yeerk pool. I know they don�t need to breathe much, but they do need to breathe eventually.�

Tobias said, 

When I made a face, he said, <Hey, you think it�s easy catching a mouse every day?>

�Eels? Do it,� Jake ordered. A second later, Tobias was gone.

�Come on, Erek. We�ll show you Ax�s stall where we want you to do the hologram,� Marco said.

Ax was asleep. He shuffled his feet in the hay as we crowded around the low stall door, but he didn�t wake up. I did a quick temperature check on him.

Ninety-five point seven. Not much of a drop. Good. He wasn�t close to the crisis point yet.

�I think the best thing is for me to stay in the stall with Ax,� Erek said. �I can project a hologram around us both.�

He slipped into the stall and closed the door behind him. A moment later, it was like he and Ax had disappeared. The stall looked completely empty.

I leaned my head over the stall door. The air shimmered around me, then Erek and Ax appeared.

�Thanks for doing this, Erek,� I said.

�No prob,� he answered.

�Don�t you want a book to read in there?� I asked. �It�s going to be boring.�

�I have several thousand books stored in my brain. Sometimes I pass the time by seeing how many I can read and comprehend at the same time.�

�Ooookay. Forget I asked.�

I pulled my head out of the stall. I took a closer look at the hologram protecting Ax and Erek. No wrinkle or ripple or shadow to make my dad suspicious.
Unless he tried to go inside.

He won�t, I told myself. He�d be too busy taking care of all the sick animals in cages to go poking around in an empty stall. I hoped.

�I just had a thought,� Marco said.

�I�ll buy you a card to commemorate the moment.� Rachel, of course.

Marco didn�t bother with a comeback. �If Ax goes into delirious mode, he could go running into town with underpants on his head or something. Erek won�t be able to stop him.�

He was right. The Chee aren�t programmed for violence. Any kind of violence.

I looked at Jake. When stuff like this comes up, we all pretty much look at Jake.

Jake dropped his head back and closed his eyes for a long moment. Then he made his decision.

�We�ve got to risk it. If something goes wrong at the Yeerk pool, it might take all of us to fight our way out.�

I heard the flap of wings. Something oily slithered down my shoulder, then plopped onto the barn floor.

<Sorry,> Tobias apologized. 

�Hence slippery as an eel,� Marco joked. �By the way, what with this being a crisis and all, I�m not even going to mention the sheer, bizarre, utter stupidity of taking a long ride through the city water supply � But, just for the record, this is insane!�

He picked up the eel and held it for a moment, absorbing its DNA. Then he handed it to Rachel. When she was finished, she handed it to Jake. He held it briefly, focusing, then passed it to me.

�Did you get it already?� I asked Tobias.

<Yeah,> he said. <Eels. Why don�t I just keep my mouth shut? Slimy little thing. Looks like a Yeerk.>

I glanced around the group. �I feel like we�re missing someone,� I said.

Then it hit me. Really hit me.

Ax. We�d be doing this mission without Ax.

So the idea before to have the Chee operate on Ax doesn't work because they don't know anything about modern human medicine or Andalite physiology. We do find out that among his other abilities, Erek is a Kindle.

I do want to credit Marco here, Marco gets portrayed a lot as comic relief, vain, always cracking jokes, and so on, which is all true, but as we see here, he can also make logical leaps in a very practical sort of way. It's his idea to get in through the water supply, which nobody else thought of, and Marco is good at that outside the box thinking.

Chapter 8

quote:

An hour later Jake, Rachel, Marco, and I were treading water inside the water tower that sits in a corner of the mall parking lot, shivering in the cold water.

You�ve seen the water towers I�m talking about : usually painted sky-blue. Steel. Four long legs and a big steel tank on top.

It was not high-tech. Basically they pump water up into the tower, and gravity lets it run down to homes and businesses and the girls� bathrooms at schools.

It was dark in the tank. Like being in a big swimming pool on the darkest night. Creepy. Except that this was the easy part.

I kept repeating Erek�s instructions. The precise number of large pipes, water mains, we�d pass by on left and right. The elbow turns. The main we had to turn into. Then the downward elbow, the smaller turnoffs, and finally the long vertical drop that would signal we were descending to the Yeerk pool.

It was too much detail. Ax would have remembered it all. But Ax wasn�t with us.

�Okay, remember, the pipes are just a road. Lots of turns and twists, but if we follow Erek�s instructions we�ll come out in a pipe that feeds directly into the Yeerk pool. The tap is almost always open. The Yeerk pool sludge is largely composed of water.� Jake was trying to keep everyone calm.

But he didn�t sound too calm himself.

�Somehow I�m gonna end up getting flushed,� Marco said grimly. �There is going to be flushing involved.�

�Let�s just do this!� Rachel yelled impatiently. She sounded cold. I could barely see her in the faint light from the access door we�d left open.

I turned my attention to the eel DNA inside me. The sound of my teeth chattering distracted me a little.

Then the sound changed. It became higher and lighter. That�s because my teeth were changing, multiplying, growing longer and thinner and razor sharp.

Morphing is totally unpredictable. It�s not like your body starts changing with the top of your head and goes on down to your toes. Or that your whole body changes all together, like a movie in slow motion.

It�s grosser than that. Weirder. Stuff pops out. Like the long, narrow fin that had appeared all the way down Jake�s back.

Other stuff disappears. Like Rachel�s blond hair, which just got sucked into her head like a whole bunch of spaghetti into a very hungry mouth.

Popping and shrinking is only part of the deal. My eyes shrank and rolled down to the tip of my nose. My nose and chin stretched out, out, out around my new needle teeth. My forehead collapsed.

My bones liquefied, and my body caved in on itself until it was pencil-thin. Arms collapsing into my sides. Legs withering away completely.

I felt a tickly, itchy feeling as a long fin sprouted all the way down my back and gills opened up behind my mouth.

Teeny-tiny scales popped up all over my new body like goose pimples. Then an oily, slippery goop drenched me, oozing from my own body.

<Everybody done? Then let�s book. Straight out the hole in the bottom,> Jake ordered.

I caught a flash of movement to my right. Food. Live food! Zip! Chomp!

<Hey! That would be my tail! Whoever just bit me, get a grip,> Tobias complained.

Man, for a scrawny little thing with a pencil body, eels are aggressive. The eel�s instincts were telling me to bite anything that moved and ask questions later.

And eat. I wanted live food.

Then � Chomp! Sharp teeth bit into my midsection.

<Okay, everyone stop biting!> I yelled. <Including me!>

I clamped down on the eel brain, pushing the simple, screaming instincts away. No biting, I told myself. No biting.

But then, something moved and �

No! I stopped myself in the nick of time.

 Rachel said with a laugh. <This eel has serious attitude.>

<Let�s just go,> Jake said.

I began to move with a fluid, shimmying motion. Muscles stretched on one side, tightened on the other. My body went left, right, left, right. My tail whipped back and forth.

Down and down. Maybe just thirty feet to a human, but a long dive to an eel the length of someone�s finger.

And, as we descended, I began to feel the current. We were at the bottom of a huge sink. We were going out through the drain. The water began to rotate, a tornado!

Around, around, faster and faster!

Then, suddenly �

WOOOOSH!

Straight down at a million miles an hour!

So we have our mandatory body horror here. Also, eels are commonly used for bait. The American Eel, which lives on the Eastern Seaboard of the US is pretty commonly used. Not sure if a different species is used in the Pacific.

Epicurius fucked around with this message at 03:30 on Sep 13, 2021

# ? Sep 13, 2021 03:19

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

Wait, your eels are a fingerlength? They're much, much bigger here.

Also this is actually dumber than the water truck idea because there is no way they could see to identify the turnoffs

# ? Sep 13, 2021 03:40

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

I love how the Yeerks just hooked their pool up directly to the municipal water supply. I wonder if Visser 3 ever had to decapitate someone for forgetting to pay the bill.

# ? Sep 13, 2021 04:01

Gwaihir: Dec 8, 2009; Hair Elf

It kinda feels like a large copout that the Chee have both no information on Andalite physiology and no medical capability newer than the 15th century lol.

I know it's obviously set up that way so that the book can happen, but it's still incredibly funny as a narrative conceit.

# ? Sep 13, 2021 04:17

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

Wait, your eels are a fingerlength? They're much, much bigger here.

American eels are usually around 2 feet long, although some female eels have grown up to 4 feet. The ones sold for bait, though, are usually juveniles, so they're smaller. There are other eel species in North America that grow bigger than the American eel, though. The California Moray, for instance, is, on average, about 5 feet long.

Gwaihir posted:

It kinda feels like a large copout that the Chee have both no information on Andalite physiology and no medical capability newer than the 15th century lol.

I know it's obviously set up that way so that the book can happen, but it's still incredibly funny as a narrative conceit.

I sort of wonder how much surgery Chee could do before their non-violence filter kicks in.

Epicurius fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Sep 13, 2021

# ? Sep 13, 2021 04:19

CidGregor: Sep 27, 2009; TG: if i were you i would just take that fucking devilbeast out behind the woodshed and blow its head off

quote:

Jake lifted his head. �Not if we started from the water tower. Then we�d go with the pressure all the way.� He started to sound a little excited. His eyes glittered. �Erek, can you tap into the city water department computers? Combine it with �� Jake sighed and wiped his mouth. �Combine it, with, um, with all you know about the Yeerk pool and � you know ��

This is a weird little brain fart moment for Jake of all people to have and no one really makes any mention of it. Is he getting sick too?

# ? Sep 13, 2021 04:23

Gwaihir: Dec 8, 2009; Hair Elf

Epicurius posted:

I sort of wonder how much surgery Chee could do before their non-violence filter kicks in.

I think they'd be perfectly capable of competing an operation as long as they knew it would be beneficial or result in saving lives. They've demonstrated enough flexibility to their programming through other actions that could have second order effects.

# ? Sep 13, 2021 04:28

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

HisMajestyBOB posted:

This book's morph: bacteriophages.

This book's morph is actually very, very cool! But obviously don't google the cover unless you want to be spoiled on it... it's kind of weird in retrospect that so many of the books inherently had big plot spoilers on the cover.

e X posted:

Are they though, Marco?

Yeah lol they're actually virtually nobody's degrees. Though this raises the interesting question of why hourly time is universal. We can't agree on physical measurements or annual calendars or power socket shapes, but no matter where you go in the world, a minute is always a minute and an hour is always an hour.

Gwaihir posted:

It kinda feels like a large copout that the Chee have both no information on Andalite physiology and no medical capability newer than the 15th century lol.

I know it's obviously set up that way so that the book can happen, but it's still incredibly funny as a narrative conceit.

Even if none of them have direct medical experience, surely they'd at least have perfectly steady robot hands, which is more than the Animorphs have.

I suppose the other solution would be, if the Yeerk peace movement is legit and they decide to trust Tidwell, they could maybe get the help of a friendly Controller surgeon.

# ? Sep 13, 2021 04:35

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

freebooter posted:

Yeah lol they're actually virtually nobody's degrees. Though this raises the interesting question of why hourly time is universal. We can't agree on physical measurements or annual calendars or power socket shapes, but no matter where you go in the world, a minute is always a minute and an hour is always an hour.

During the French Revolution, they tried to introduce decimal time (10 hours in a day, 100 minutes in an hour, 100 seconds in a minute), which you won't be surprised, went nowhere.

# ? Sep 13, 2021 04:44

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

I'm imagining the bait shop guy having a different zany scheme every week to stop that dang hawk eating his eels then throwing his fisherman hat on the ground and jumping on it when it gets foiled.

# ? Sep 13, 2021 08:47

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 9

quote:

Down!

Down through the hole, down a massive pipe, jet-black blankness all around. Nothing to see or smell or feel but the sensation of speed, of falling forever.

<Now this is a water slide,> Rachel said, laughing a bit hysterically.

I pulled some water into my mouth and pumped it over my gills. Had to remember to breathe.

I whipped my body back and forth as hard as I could. We were going fast. But I wanted to go faster. Otherwise I was just a projectile, unable to keep my head forward and tail back.

Suddenly, we were horizontal. But the speed didn�t lessen. We were rocketing! Tearing along the pipe, blind, aware of nothing �

No, not quite nothing. There was sound. Rushing water boiling around every slight imperfection in the pipe. And ahead � ahead a different sound.
Louder. Water -

<PIPE!> I yelled.

We had a millisecond to react. We were at the pipe. The current yanked at my body and pulled it to the right. I fought it with all the sinewy strength of the eel�s body.

Then, we were past the water main.

<That was the first one,> Jake said. <Everyone stay sharp. A lot more coming up.>

We always heard them, but always almost too late. It was harrowing. A wrong turn and there would be no telling where we�d come out.

We had two hours in morph. If we ended up in some dead end, without an open faucet we�d be trapped inside the pipe. Trapped. Unable to demorph. Unable to get out.

We would spend the rest of our lives as eels.

<Don�t think about it,> I told myself. But I guess I said it in thought-speak because Tobias asked,

<Don�t think about what?>

<Don�t think about the fact that we could all end up trapped in a water supply tube heading to some toilet in some abandoned building that no one ever flushes,> Marco said. <Shhh! Don�t think about it!>

<Turn coming up,> Jake said. <Right turn. Then pass a left and take another right almost immediately. Then pass two and go left. We�ll be there in a few seconds and the whole sequence will only take about three seconds. Don�t think, don�t talk, just react.>

Jake was in the lead. I was right behind him. Tobias right behind me, then Marco and Rachel.

Suddenly �

Turn! Pass! Right! Pass! Pass!

<Aaahhh!> Jake yelled.

I ran into him, his tail was flailing madly. He�d been sucked into the wrong pipe.

He was flailing, trying to back out, no time to turn �

Chomp!

I made a blind lunge. My razor teeth closed on tail.

<Hang on!> I yelled.

I felt Tobias pressing against me from behind.

<Tobias! Grab me!>

Sharp pain as Tobias clamped down on my tail. But now I couldn�t swim. Tobias had me, but Tobias couldn�t hold us against the current.

<Get Cassie!> Marco snapped, having quickly grasped what had to be done.

Chomp! Chomp!

Don�t ask me how they even found me, but they did. I was bleeding and vaguely in pain. But now it was three eels holding on to me.

I contracted my body in a sudden, one-sided jerk. Jake was yanked back out of the pipe and into the main current.

<Thanks,> Jake managed to say.

<Okay, which way now?> Tobias asked.

<Um � I �> Jake hesitated. He sounded woozy. Really out of it. Had he been that scared?

Maybe so, but Jake had never failed to cope.

I got a flash of him sitting in the barn with his head in his hands. Then another flash of the way his eyes looked when Marco came up with his plan to get into the Yeerk pool. I�d thought his eyes glittered with excitement.

I would have slapped myself if I�d had hands.

Jake was sick.

Cidgregor was right. Jake is sick.

And if you look back, the text tells us right out that Jake isn't himself various times. All the stuff that Cassie just mentioned, she mentioned before, in the barn scene.

Chapter 10

quote:

I sent my thought-speak to Rachel, Tobias, and Marco. <And I�m afraid it may be what Ax has. If he starts having demorphing spasms ->

<He could get too big. He could get crushed in the pipes,> Rachel finished for me.

<That does it. We�ve got to get him out of here,> Marco said. <But how?>

<No. We�re not aborting the mission,> Rachel shot back. <Marco and Cassie, you can deal with Jake. Tobias and I will go on.>

<What, you�re the boss now?> Marco demanded.

 Jake mumbled.

<It�s okay, Jake. It�s okay,> I reassured him.

<Yeah, I�m in charge,> Rachel asserted. <Someone has to be.>

<Yeah, I�m going to happily follow some deranged violence junkie.>

<You don�t want me to be leader? Fine. How about Cassie? Or Tobias?>

<Stop. Please just stop!> I exclaimed. <You�re acting like Jake�s dead or something. He�s right here.>I opened up the thought-speak to include Jake. <Jake, I think you have the Yamphut. What do you want us to do?>

There was a long moment of silence. <Jake? Did you hear me?> I finally asked.

<Let�s get out of here.>

<Shouldn�t two of us go on?> Rachel argued.

 Jake ordered.

<How? We�re lost!> Marco said.

 Jake said woozily.

I felt a wave of sick dread. We were lost. Lost in pipes that stretched for miles. Jake out of commission. No one with an idea.

<It�s like air!> Tobias said suddenly.

<What?>

<Air currents,> he said. <Sometimes I fly at night. Back up in the canyons. You can�t see the walls of the canyon, you can�t see the opening of the canyon and it�s hard to get enough altitude to->

<The point?!> Marco snapped. <Is there a point?>

<The wind. It doesn�t blow through canyon walls; it can only blow out through the opening. If you ride it, sooner or later, it�ll take you out. Water is the same. Has to come out somewhere, right?>

<So what? We ride the current?> I asked.

<Yeah, yeah. We ride the current, going with the flow, wherever it�s strongest. Simple.>

<Simple, this?> Marco muttered.

We rode. We had no concept of time. No idea where we were, how much time we had left inmorph. We simply rode the current through blackness, swimming enough to keep control of our bodies.

Forever. It seemed like forever. Down. Up. Right. Left. With Jake quieter and quieter. Moving more slowly.

Then �

<Hear that?> Marco asked.

<Current is still strong,> Rachel said.

<Really loud, isn�t -> I started to say, then a sudden vertical jerk and woooosh, down a curving, rough-walled pipe, a sudden crush of pressure and �

<Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!>

No pipe! I was hurtling through the air!

My eel eyes weren�t good for much, but they could see the fire.

The fire that was everywhere!

<Aaaahhhh!> The others exploded from the end of the nozzle.

We were five eels. Blown from the end of a fire hose, arcing through the air toward a burning building.

So Tobias's idea wasn't great, in hindsight...

# ? Sep 14, 2021 04:09

GodFish: Oct 10, 2012; We're your first, last, and only line of defense. We live in secret. We exist in shadow.

And we dress in black.

What a wild ride.

# ? Sep 14, 2021 07:45

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

I'm imagining the poor confused firefighter that just fired five eels out of his hose.

# ? Sep 14, 2021 16:56

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

quote:

<No. We�re not aborting the mission,> Rachel shot back. <Marco and Cassie, you can deal with Jake. Tobias and I will go on.>

This is actually a sensible idea given the time pressures they're under (though I'd swap Tobias out for Cassie, since she knows Aftran).

quote:

<What, you�re the boss now?> Marco demanded.

 Jake mumbled.

<It�s okay, Jake. It�s okay,> I reassured him.

<Yeah, I�m in charge,> Rachel asserted. <Someone has to be.>

<Yeah, I�m going to happily follow some deranged violence junkie.>

<You don�t want me to be leader? Fine. How about Cassie? Or Tobias?>

Even though Jake is more of the reluctant leader type, it is interesting that there's no clear second-in-command. The obvious choices to me are either Marco or Rachel, but it's equally obvious that neither would be pleased with the other having that position.

# ? Sep 15, 2021 00:28

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 11

quote:

Through the air!

Through a window.

Splat!

I hit, then skidded across a floor.

<Demorph!> Rachel yelled.

I didn�t need any encouragement. The rush of water shoved me up against a stove. I was demorphing, water hammering me.

But I didn�t mind the water. The alternative was fire.

My human eyes returned and instantly began to sting. I squinted, shielding my face with a slimy, vestigial hand. The others rose like horrible monsters from the swirling water.

We were in a kitchen. The main fire was in the living room. I saw stairs.

�Stairs,� Jake gasped. �Up.�

We staggered, a half-morphed bunch of nightmares, up the stairs, away from the fire. Other hoses must have been hammering through the upper windows because water came down the stairs like a waterfall.

We made it to the second floor. Jake leaned over the railing and threw up.

�I don�t see anyone up here,� Rachel gasped, choking on the smoke.

I nodded agreement. �Let�s �� Then I started coughing. It didn�t matter. We knew what to do. I don�t think anyone noticed the birds of prey tearing out of a back window, singed and wet.

We flew only a short way. Jake was too weak to stay in the air.

We landed and demorphed.

�Well, that was fun,� Marco said. �Let�s do that again, real soon.�

�Must be this stupid Yamphut,� Rachel said, helping me to hold Jake up. �Jake was sick in eel form. Sick in human form, too.�

<Yeah. And Ax got sick in his human morph,> Tobias added. He was overhead, making sure we weren�t being watched or followed.

�We�ll try again after school tomorrow,� Jake told us when he stepped off the ladder. �If I�m not better, you�ll have to go without me. I�m going home. Try to rest up.�

�Marco and I will walk you,� I volunteered.

�I�ll morph to owl and fly back to the barn,� Rachel told us. �Check on Ax. And I�ll ask him what he knows about how the Yamphut affects humans, then call you at Jake�s.�

Jake wiped his mouth with his sleeve. �You go back to the barn, too, Tobias. And stay there,� he instructed. �Erek�s hologram is good. But it�s not enough. If Ax fights his way out of the stall, morph into something big and stop him. If his temperature gets close to -�

�Ninety-one point three,� I told him.

�Right. Okay. Wow. Man, my mind is gone. This sucks. Like the flu. That�s how it feels. Like I have to ��

He bent over and heaved.

�Like you have to chuck?� Marco suggested.

Marco and I each wrapped an arm around Jake�s waist and headed off. Fortunately the water tower was on the same side of town as Jake�s house. But it was still a long way.

Rachel and Tobias took off.

�You ever notice how many different ways there are to say �throwing up�?� Marco asked as we passed Dunkin� Donuts, the first in the row of fast food places dotting the main street running through town. �There�s vomiting, of course. Hurling. Tossing your cookies. Puking, a classic. Ralphing.�

I was glad Marco was filling up the silence. Even though I thought he could have come up with a better topic.

�There�s cascading. But I prefer the terms that are more real. Like blowing chunks. Spewing your guts.�

Marco took a deep breath and kept on talking as we made our way past Taco Bell. �Tangoing with the toilet. That�s a good one,� he said reflectively. �Technicolor yawn.�

Jake broke away from us, staggered over to the curb, and - fill in your favorite term for puking here.

�I give that a four,� Marco told Jake. �Sorry, guy. But your projectile force was not where it should be.�

Jake started to straighten up. Then his knees buckled. Marco and I reached him just before he hit the pavement.

Marco wrapped one of Jake�s arms around his shoulders. I slid his other arm around me. Then Marco and I made a seat for Jake by linking hands underneath him.

Soon Marco and I were huffing and puffing too much to talk. We turned off the main street, heading deeper into the residential section. A few porch lights were on but it was pretty dark. And quiet, except for said huffing and puffing.

�Almost there,� Marco panted.

We turned onto Jake�s block. When we reached Jake�s porch, we gently lowered him to his feet. He wobbled a little, but managed to stay upright.

�Don�t let Tom see me. In case I morph,� Jake muttered. I raised my hand to knock, but Jake�s mom opened the door before we even had time to knock.

�Jake has the flu,� I lied.

�I know. I�m on the phone with Rachel.� Jake�s mom held up the cordless. �She said you were on the way.�

�I think Jake�s about to blow again,� Marco exclaimed. He hustled Jake off down the hall toward the bathroom.

�Can I talk to Rachel for a sec?� I asked.

Jake�s mom handed me the phone.

�Rachel? It�s me,� I said.

�Jake�s lucky,� Rachel told me. �Our other friend has a much, much worse case of the flu. Our other friend says he thinks Jake will just get the usual flu. You know, fever, throwing up, headache. Our friend has some long, partially delirious explanation that you don�t want to hear.�

�Great. That�s a relief at least,� I said wearily.

�The bad news is that we�re probably all going to get sick, too. This strain of the flu is extremely contagious,� Rachel continued. �Got to go. I think I just heard your parents� car.�

I stood there. Staring at the phone in my hand.

If we all got sick, who was going to save Aftran? And who was going to operate on Ax?

Yea, it would be bad if they all got sick.

Chapter 12

quote:

I scrubbed my hands with hot, soapy water. Then I used my elbow to open the operating room door.

�He�s at the crisis point,� Noah Wyle told me as I approached the patient. He slapped a shiny scalpel into my hand.

�You�re going to be just fine,� I told the patient.

�I trust you, Cassie,� the patient answered.

It was my dad lying on the table under the green sheet.

�S-shouldn�t he be anesthetized?� I stammered.

Noah Wyle looked shocked. �Not for a Yamphut operation.�

I took a deep breath, the disinfectant burning the inside of my nose. I placed the blade on my dad�s forehead.

Tap, tap, tap.

I looked up and saw Jake, Marco, Rachel, and Tobias behind the glass of the observation room. They tapped on the glass and waved to me.

I turned my attention back to my dad. But it wasn�t Dad on the table anymore. It was Ax. I didn�t know where to make the incision. Was the Tria gland in the front of the head? The back?

Tap, Tap, Tap.

Why were they tapping again? Didn�t they know this was a delicate operation? I needed to concentrate.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

The sound finally jerked me awake.

�Cassie, you�re going to be late for school,� my mom called. She gave another tap, tap on my door.

�I�m up!� I cried.

I stood and opened the middle drawer of my dresser. I pulled on the first pair of pants and top my fingers touched. Then I pulled on my socks and shoes, yelled good-bye to my parents, and grabbed a Pop-Tart on my way out.

I couldn�t stop yawning. I felt as if I�d only gotten about fifteen minutes of sleep. Marco and I had taken turns watching Jake last night. Marco was there now. He would be until Tom left for school. We thought in his fever Jake might start talking about something that would prove fatal if Tom overheard.

So I�d spent half the night as a fly on Jake�s wall. Buzzing outside to the bushes to do quick demorphs and remorphs.

Jake didn�t say anything at all suspicious. Sick as he was, I think there was some part of him that knew how dangerous the wrong words could be.

I rushed straight to the barn and over to Ax�s stall. I stuck my head inside. Ax blinked up at me with his lovely almond-shaped eyes. <Sorry,> he mumbled.

�I think he feels bad that he�s sick when you need him,� Erek explained.

He handed me a chart with a notation of Ax�s temperature every hour. It had dropped during the night. But less than a degree. It was at ninety-four point four. We had to operate when it got to ninety one point three. There was still some time.

I handed the chart back to Erek, and ran my hand down the soft fur on Ax�s neck. �Even warriors get sick sometimes,� I told him. �It�s not your fault.�

<I�ve told him that about a million times,> Tobias said from his usual spot in the rafters.

�I�ll be late if I don�t leave right now,� I told them. �Tobias, you know where I am if you need me.�

I turned and bolted outside.

I got to school about four minutes before the first bell. I headed straight to Rachel�s locker.

I waited for her to show until it was about one minute to the bell. Then I decided to check my locker. Maybe Rachel had been waiting over there for me.
I trotted over. No Rachel.

I hurried back to her locker. No Rachel.

The first bell rang. I stood by Rachel�s locker as the hallway started to thin out. When I was the last one there, I decided I had to head to class.

I slipped into my desk about one second before the second bell. I pulled out a notebook and a pencil, and tried to focus on what the teacher was saying.

But my mind was too full to take in any new information. I kept wondering how low Ax�s temperature was now. And how Jake was doing. And where Rachel was.

At least I could answer that last question for myself. I raised my hand and asked permission to go to the bathroom.

My teacher wasn�t too happy that I hadn�t gone before class started, but she handed over the pass anyway.

I rushed out the door, past the bathroom, and down to Rachel�s first class. I peered in the little square window.

Rachel was not inside.

I turned and headed to the pay phone outside the gym. When I got to the phone I punched in Rachel�s number. Rachel�s mom answered on the second ring.

�It�s Cassie. Is Rachel there?� I blurted.

�Rachel just fell asleep,� Rachel�s mom told me. �She was throwing up half the night.�

So two down. Also, this is before cellphones got really common, and you can see that here.

# ? Sep 15, 2021 04:18

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

quote:

�You ever notice how many different ways there are to say �throwing up�?� Marco asked as we passed Dunkin� Donuts, the first in the row of fast food places dotting the main street running through town. �There�s vomiting, of course. Hurling. Tossing your cookies. Puking, a classic. Ralphing.�

I was glad Marco was filling up the silence. Even though I thought he could have come up with a better topic.

I personally despise it when I'm sick/hungover and people decide that talking about it in detail is a great topic of conversation for the present moment.

I'm sure Applegate didn't think about this too deeply at the time but yamphut surely couldn't be contagious since it's a condition caused by Ax's own disease-stopping organ from filling up with earth diseases. Although I guess maybe they've just caught a regular earth flu off him? But it's funny in 2021 to consider that Ax has possibly introduced a novel alien virus to the people of earth.

# ? Sep 15, 2021 04:33

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

Applegate again shows her incredible forward thinking by having Ax infect the gang with the rona

# ? Sep 15, 2021 04:38

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

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

Applegate again shows her incredible forward thinking by having Ax infect the gang with the rona

Where would an Andalite wear a face mask?
And how would a Taxxon secure one?

Tree Bucket fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Sep 15, 2021

# ? Sep 15, 2021 05:35

Level Seven: Feb 14, 2013; Wubba dubba dubba
that blew.; Megamarm

Tree Bucket posted:

Where would an Andalite wear a face mask?
And how would a Taxxon secure one?

Andalites still have nostrils. Taxxons would just eat their masks.

# ? Sep 15, 2021 05:52

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

freebooter posted:

I'm sure Applegate didn't think about this too deeply at the time but yamphut surely couldn't be contagious since it's a condition caused by Ax's own disease-stopping organ from filling up with earth diseases. Although I guess maybe they've just caught a regular earth flu off him? But it's funny in 2021 to consider that Ax has possibly introduced a novel alien virus to the people of earth.

So, one of the things that has come up a lot with covid is 'viral load'. I'm by no-means an expert, but as I understand it, it's the amount of virus you have in your system. Higher viral loads are associated with increased transmissibility, because you're pumping more virus particles out into the environment. (The Delta variant, for example, supposedly has viral loads orders of magnitude greater than original-flavor covid-19).

So if Ax has an organ in his head that stores viruses, and it's now malfunctioning, it's possible that not only does he have a really high viral load, but also he's releasing several different flu viruses, all at once. It seems to me this would hit particularly hard, because even if you had some built-up immunity to one of the flus, there would be others that could totally blindside you.

# ? Sep 15, 2021 20:14

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Wait. Being not just a different species, but coming from a completely separate genetic tradition originating on an alien planet, isn't it incredibly unlikely that his biology would be compatible with earth microorganisms in any way, let alone reciprocally infectious with humans?

# ? Sep 15, 2021 23:42

ANOTHER SCORCHER: Aug 12, 2018

Yes, though the same critique applies to Yeerk parasitism affecting anything other than creatures evolved on the Yeerk homeworld (like the Gedd). Possible spoilery (?) answer: when the Pemalites spread life around the galaxy they used the same basic building blocs so most life is relatively compatible at a basic/chemical level. I would also assume the Ax doesn�t usually get sick from most Earth diseases, and most Earth life is immune to any pathogens he brings. But in this case his head organ has been sucking up Earth pathogens and is about to explode which would be bad, and at the same time it is leaking Earth pathogens to the rest of the Animorphs.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 00:59

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

There's a broad spectrum of xenobiology in sci fi, isn't there? From like Star Trek "humans can interbreed with aliens no problem" to something like KS Robinson's Aurora where exposure to an alien biosphere is quite simply fatal .

# ? Sep 16, 2021 01:38

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 21:50

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 13

quote:

When it was finally time for lunch, I rushed straight to the cafeteria. I scanned the tables for Marco.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and figured Marco had found me. I turned around and saw Mr. Tidwell standing there.

�We need to talk about the Spanish Club party,� he said.

He was trying to sound calm. But I could hear the tension in his voice. That was okay, he was probably hearing tension in mine.

He led the way into an empty classroom and shut the door behind us. �Visser Three will be returning earlier than expected. Aftran�s interrogation may begin as early as eight tonight. You have to act quickly.�

As he spoke, I couldn�t stop myself from staring at his mouth. A Yeerk was moving his lips. Controlling his tongue.

Was the Yeerk tightening the muscles in Mr. Tidwell�s throat to create that sound of tension I�d picked up on? Was it all part of some plan to make me trust him? To make sure I convinced my friends to walk right into an ambush?

�Why did you come to me?� I asked suddenly. �You say you know all about us. So you must know Jake is our leader. Why not go to him?�

Mr. Tidwell sat down on the teacher�s desk. �Aftran trusts you. Only you. She said you had proven yourself to her,� Mr. Tidwell explained.

Illim, I mean. It was so hard to think of him as anything but Mr. Tidwell.

I wished Illim hadn�t singled me out of the group. We should all be here. At least all of us who could be.

The only thing I could do was try and make sure I asked everything the others would ask if they were here. It wasn�t hard to figure out what Marco would want to know.

�I have another question. What about Mr. Tidwell? The real, human Tidwell?�

�When I first entered Mr. Tidwell, I was not part of the peace movement,� Illim admitted. �He was an involuntary host. No. That is too nice a way to say it. He was my host, my slave.�

His eyes looked a little more watery than usual. Could the Yeerks control functions that were involuntary for humans? Could the Yeerk just push a neuron or something and stimulate a host�s tear ducts?

�It was partly experiencing Mr. Tidwell�s distress that led me to join the movement,� Illim continued. �His howls of fury and agony forced me to accept what I had done to him. At the same time I began to hear about a group of Yeerks who thought it was wrong to take an unwilling host.�

I nodded. It made sense to me. Hearing the endless cries of another sentient creature, knowing you had caused its pain. How could that fail to have an effect?

Then I remembered something Aftran had told me. To most Yeerks, humans are like pigs. Just meat. Oink, oink.

�It didn�t happen all at once,� Illim continued. �But gradually I realized that I did not want to inhabit Mr. Tidwell�s body if it meant sacrificing his freedom for mine.

�And now � now, Mr. Tidwell has something to say. I am repeating his thoughts as I hear them,� Illim said.

�Can�t you let him talk for himself?� I asked.

�I am speaking for myself,� Tidwell said.

�How can I know that?�

�You can�t.�

I hesitated. �Okay. What do you want to say?�

�Cassie, I invited him to stay in my body,� Mr. Tidwell explained. �I thought together we could do more for peace than he could do alone. He is within me now with my permission.�

There was no change in his voice or manner. But there wouldn�t be.

Tidwell swallowed hard. �My wife died a few years ago. For a long time, I didn�t care about anything. I stumbled through my life. Getting myself to school. Getting home again.�

He leaned forward, his eyes locked on my face. �When Illim gave me my freedom back, I realized I wanted to do something with it. So I decided to join the fight. What could be more important?� he said. �And Illim and I, we�ve become friends. He�s actually very good company.�

I didn�t know if Marco and the others would believe that what I�d just heard was actually Mr. Tidwell and not some Yeerk trick. I wasn�t sure I did.

But I wanted to believe it.

�Look, I want to help you,� I told Mr. Tidwell/Illim. �But three members of the group are sick. Really sick. As in one requiring brain surgery. Isn�t there some way the Yeerk peace movement can rescue Aftran without our help?�

�Illim speaking now,� he told me. �The peace movement is growing. We now have nearly a hundred members. But not all the Yeerks in the movement have hosts. And not all the hosts the others have are suitable for battle.�

Illim gave Mr. Tidwell�s paunch a pat. �Can you imagine trying to fight Hork-Bajir in this?� he asked. �I�m sorry to hear that members of your group are ill. But when the Visser finishes with Aftran, he will know everything. And then every Yeerk in the peace movement will be dead. Their hosts as well. Everyone who has ever helped you will be rounded up and made Controllers,� Illim continued. �Everyone you care about will be made Controllers. It will all end, Cassie. The defeat will be total, and permanent.�

I sat down and just buried my face in my hands for a minute. I felt like my head was going to explode. This was hopeless! An impossible rescue with half our strength gone?

But there was no alternative.

�Okay,� I said at last. �If we can do it, we�ll do it.�

I pushed myself to my feet and started to the door on shaky legs. Then � then an idea �

I paused, and turned back.

�Illim, if you had to survive for a few hours outside Mr. Tidwell, could you? Without being in the Yeerk pool, I mean,� I asked.

�As long as I stayed in some kind of liquid environment,� he answered. He sounded a little puzzled.

But I wasn�t puzzled. Not anymore. I had a plan.

A totally terrifying plan.

But a plan.

So that's the story of Illum and Mr. Tidwell....a man suffering from the loss of his wife who found a companion, and a Yeerk who always accepted that it was its natural right to enslave and control others, who came to recognize their shared personhood and dignity. Honestly, I like the story.

Chapter 14

quote:

�Hey, Marco. Wait up.� I chased down the street until I caught up to him. I�d been hoping I�d find him on his way home from school. �I talked to Tidwell. Visser Three is coming back early.�

�Do you remember �Five Little Monkeys�?� Marco asked me, grinning a loopy grin.

�Did you hear me?� I demanded. �We�ve got to get Aftran out today. But I think I have a plan.�

�It was a song. More of a chant, I guess. With little hand gestures,� Marco continued. Totally ignoring me.

�It went like this.� Marco began talking in a rhythmic singsong. ��Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and broke his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said -��

I chanted the last line with Marco. ��No more monkeys jumping on the bed.� Yeah, yeah, can we move on?�

�Then it would start again. Except with four little monkeys jumping on the bed,� Marco said. I circled around in front of him and walked backward so I could look at him while I talked. �I remember it. Now, do you want to play jump rope or do you want to hear my plan?�

�We�re the five little monkeys,� Marco said, staring me in the eye. �Well, six. Three of us already fell off the bed. Now there are only three of us left. Monkey Cassie. Monkey Tobias. And Monkey Marco.�

He gave a few halfhearted oooh-oooh-ooohs and scratched himself under the arms cartoon monkey-style.

�You�re scared, aren�t you?� I asked. I dropped back into step beside him.

�Yeah, I�m scared. Of course I�m scared,� he shot back. �Ax could die. And we�re getting ready to go into the Yeerk pool with half our usual fighting force. Half! That is unless another one of us keels over in the next couple hours. Which could happen.�

�You�re feeling okay so far though, right?� I asked. I reached out and pressed my wrist against his forehead.

Kind of warm. Kind of clammy.

But we�d been walking. Marco had probably just worked up a sweat.

�My eyes feel kind of weird. Kind of gummy,� Marco admitted. �But they showed a film in Health today.�

�That could do it.�

�I guess now that Rachel�s out of it, I get to be in charge,� Marco said.

�Yep. You�re the man,� I answered.

�So since I�m the leader, I should hear about this plan of yours then,� he said. Marco shifted his backpack to the opposite shoulder. Then switched it right back.

�I talked to Mr. Tidwell at lunch. He told me himself he�s willingly participating in the Yeerk peace movement. He thinks it�s the most important work he could do,� I explained. Marco didn�t jump in with any nasty comment, so I kept talking. �Illim, Mr. Tidwell�s Yeerk, told me he could survive for several hours if he�s in liquid. He doesn�t have to be in the Yeerk pool or anything.�

I took a deep breath. �I thought I could morph him, and -�

�You want to morph a Yeerk?� Marco demanded. He started to make loud barfing noises.

�I know it�s kind of desperate, but ��

My voice trailed off as Marco leaned into the bushes and threw up.

I moved up behind him and rested my hand on his back. Finally Marco�s back stopped heaving.

He straightened up and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Then he turned to face me.

�Another monkey just fell off the bed,� he said. Then, with a crooked smile, he added, �Poor Cassie.�

I tried to smile bravely. But I wasn�t feeling brave. I was feeling scared and alone.

�Got to think about one thing,� Marco said weakly.

�What?�

�What if �what if you pull it off?�

Then he collapsed. And I was too busy hauling him back up to his feet to think about what he�d just said.

Only later did it occur to me. Marco had seen the fatal flaw.

If I succeeded. If I rescued Aftran. Then what? I�d have an outlaw Yeerk, without a host, and worse by far, without access to life-giving Kandrona rays.

I could save Aftran. Only to watch her die.

And Marco's down.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 04:11

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

«‹›236 »