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

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freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

I was about to say Cassie would, in a heartbeat, just let Aftran live in her head... but oh yeah, the Kandrona. Oh dear.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 10:49

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# ? May 24, 2024 22:26

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

freebooter posted:

I was about to say Cassie would, in a heartbeat, just let Aftran live in her head... but oh yeah, the Kandrona. Oh dear.

This would be more of a dilemma if we didn't know the Chee could solve this issue instantly.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 12:08

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

Tree Bucket posted:

From like Star Trek "humans can interbreed with aliens no problem"

For what it's worth, Trek is a little more nuanced than this. In Trek, most of the humanoid races of the galaxy share a common ancestor who seeded the galaxy with their DNA. Even then, it's a plot point in a few different shows that inter-species reproduction requires serious medical assistance to even get the pregnancy to happen successfully.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 12:29

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Pwnstar posted:

This would be more of a dilemma if we didn't know the Chee could solve this issue instantly.

They can't. In the last book with Aftran (and the Visser Three parts of the Hork-Bajir Chronicles), we learn the whole appeal of being a Controller for Teerks is the ability to actually experience physical sensations like sight and the ability to actually manipulate the world around you. Being a sensory deprived prisoner in a Chee's head would keep a Yeerk alive, but Aftran would likely rather die than live a lifetime of that.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 12:51

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

Epicurius posted:

They can't. In the last book with Aftran (and the Visser Three parts of the Hork-Bajir Chronicles), we learn the whole appeal of being a Controller for Teerks is the ability to actually experience physical sensations like sight and the ability to actually manipulate the world around you. Being a sensory deprived prisoner in a Chee's head would keep a Yeerk alive, but Aftran would likely rather die than live a lifetime of that.

Yeah but they can keep alive until they can figure out a long term plan.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 12:56

Ravenfood: Nov 4, 2011

Epicurius posted:

They can't. In the last book with Aftran (and the Visser Three parts of the Hork-Bajir Chronicles), we learn the whole appeal of being a Controller for Teerks is the ability to actually experience physical sensations like sight and the ability to actually manipulate the world around you. Being a sensory deprived prisoner in a Chee's head would keep a Yeerk alive, but Aftran would likely rather die than live a lifetime of that.

If they can manage a miniaturized Kandrona they could keep a full-size one for Aftran.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 13:11

FlocksOfMice: Feb 3, 2009

Ravenfood posted:

If they can manage a miniaturized Kandrona they could keep a full-size one for Aftran.

I guess the danger of that is if yeerks ever find it and get it having portable kandrona is one of their end game victory conditions?

Although yeah I feel like the Chee sometimes would warrant obvious solutions which they have to contrive ways to not have available

# ? Sep 16, 2021 15:42

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

I'm sure we can come up with some plot reason the Chee can't do it, but ultimately, and this is the same thing that comes up whenever somebody in the tread asks, "Why can't the Chee just fix this problem" is that from the point of view of the narrative, its a boring solution. If the Chee can just come up with a technological solution to all the hurdles that the Animorphs face, thats a lot less satisfying than putting Cassie in the situation where she has to come up with a solution herself. Its the same reason that a lot of these sorts of books make adults useless or compromised. If the kid can just go to an adult for help and the adult can solve the problem, then that's not interesting.

And sure, some of this is on Applegate for introducing the Chee and giving them Kandrona lamps in their heads so they could infiltrate the Yeerks, and its something im sure she didn't think of at the time. She gave Erek that so he could infiltrate the Sharing, and he did that to give the kids a way to know about Yeerk plans other than "So I was home and happened to hear Tom on the phone talking about how the Yeerks were going to build a deathray" or, "When Mr. Chapman called me into his office to yell at me for being late, I happened to look at his desk and see blueprints labeled "Secret Yeerk Volcano Base Guarded by Mechagodzilla-not to be shared with Andalite Bandits."

# ? Sep 16, 2021 16:11

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

Epicurius posted:

I'm sure we can come up with some plot reason the Chee can't do it, but ultimately, and this is the same thing that comes up whenever somebody in the tread asks, "Why can't the Chee just fix this problem" is that from the point of view of the narrative, its a boring solution. If the Chee can just come up with a technological solution to all the hurdles that the Animorphs face, thats a lot less satisfying than putting Cassie in the situation where she has to come up with a solution herself. Its the same reason that a lot of these sorts of books make adults useless or compromised. If the kid can just go to an adult for help and the adult can solve the problem, then that's not interesting.

And sure, some of this is on Applegate for introducing the Chee and giving them Kandrona lamps in their heads so they could infiltrate the Yeerks, and its something im sure she didn't think of at the time. She gave Erek that so he could infiltrate the Sharing, and he did that to give the kids a way to know about Yeerk plans other than "So I was home and happened to hear Tom on the phone talking about how the Yeerks were going to build a deathray" or, "When Mr. Chapman called me into his office to yell at me for being late, I happened to look at his desk and see blueprints labeled "Secret Yeerk Volcano Base Guarded by Mechagodzilla-not to be shared with Andalite Bandits."

Part of it is also that we're in the ghostwritten books now. KAA/Grant had the whole world in their heads and were generally good, if not perfect, about avoiding or explaining away problems that had other apparent solutions. The ghostwriters, for obvious reasons, just don't have that ability, so these situations pop up a bit more going forward.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 16:58

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

Some of the Chee besides Erek hold different opinions about what they should do for the war effort. There was one who got pissy at Erek for thinking about overriding the violence inhibitor, I'd bet a bunch of other Chee are loathe to keep a yeerk like Erek does.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 17:25

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

Here's a weird question: What happens when a yeerk tries to crawl into a brain that already has a yeerk in it? Can they fight each other? Is it possible for one to drag the other out? Or would that be incredibly destructive to the brain itself?

I really doubt it will come up, since if it were possible, it would be easier to de-yeerk a controller in a shorter amount of time than a three-day kidnapping, and that would break a lot of rules of the series. Still, I wonder.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 20:25

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

I'm just picturing a Yeerk knife fight on the brain with tiny little knives.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 20:32

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

Bobulus posted:

Here's a weird question: What happens when a yeerk tries to crawl into a brain that already has a yeerk in it? Can they fight each other? Is it possible for one to drag the other out? Or would that be incredibly destructive to the brain itself?

I really doubt it will come up, since if it were possible, it would be easier to de-yeerk a controller in a shorter amount of time than a three-day kidnapping, and that would break a lot of rules of the series. Still, I wonder.

Yeerk #2 infests Yeerk #1 while it is still in control of the host. If Yeerk #3 shows up he infests Yeerk #2. This happens recursively until you're head is the size of a beach ball.

# ? Sep 16, 2021 20:56

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

OctaviusBeaver posted:

Yeerk #2 infests Yeerk #1 while it is still in control of the host. If Yeerk #3 shows up he infests Yeerk #2. This happens recursively until you're head is the size of a beach ball.

And still less insane than Esplin in the head of Alloran.

# ? Sep 17, 2021 00:18

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

https://twitter.com/clumsystiggy/status/1437219724438478851?s=19
Megamorphs 2 DEBUNKED

# ? Sep 17, 2021 04:42

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 15

quote:

<Ax�s temperature is down to ninety-two point eight,> Tobias announced from his perch as I rushed into the barn.

I did a little math in my head. I�d been gone for about nine hours. Ax�s temperature had gone down one point six degrees. So he was losing not quite two points an hour. So we had about eight hours before he hit the crisis.

�Visser Three�s coming back tonight,� I told Tobias. I filled him in on my conversation with Mr. Tidwell and my plan.

�I should make it back from the Yeerk pool before Ax needs us to operate,� I said.

If I made it back.

I started toward Ax�s stall.

<Problem,> Tobias said. <His temperature has been dropping all day. His crisis could happen tonight, or a few hours from now, or basically now. I haven�t been able to figure out a pattern. Sometimes it drops slow, sometimes fast.>

�You might have to do it yourself. The surgery,� I said. �You�ll have to try to get Ax to tell you where the gland is. You can use that little room my dad uses when he has to set bones and stuff. There are supplies in there.�

<So, Rachel and Marco?> Tobias asked.

�Yeah,� I answered.

<If I have to do it myself, I have to do it myself,> Tobias said. <Try to finish saving the world early. You know more about medicine and stuff than I do.>

�I�ll skip the post-saving-the-world party,� I promised.

I wanted to be here when Ax hit the crisis. But I wasn�t sure I�d be able to do much more than Tobias could. Yeah, I knew how to splint a bird�s broken wing and stuff a pill down a raccoon�s throat. But that wasn�t brain surgery. Not even close.

One cut in the wrong place, and Ax could lose his ability to thought-speak. Or breathe. It would be so easy to cause him permanent damage. So easy to kill him.

How could I live knowing I had killed a friend?

That reminded me of Aftran. She was a friend, too. And pulling her out of the Yeerk pool meant excruciating Kandrona starvation unless I could think of a solution.

I didn�t know how Jake did it. How did he make life-or-death decisions and not go insane with guilt and grief?

<Maybe I�ll go check on the other patients,> Tobias said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

�You should,� I said. He wanted to check on Rachel. �I need to head out in about an hour.�

<I�ll be back before then,> he promised. He beat wings out the hayloft window.

I hurried over to Ax�s stall. When I opened the door, Ax and Erek appeared in front of me.

�How are you guys doing?� I asked them.

<Erek has been teaching me how to play Rock, Scissor, Paper. Rock smashing scissor I understand,> Ax said. <And scissor cutting paper. But not paper wrapping rock. Rocks do not breathe, correct? So how would this hurt them?>

�Paper beating rock. It is sort of weird,� I answered.

<Weird, yes. That is why I now owe Erek one million and seven dollars,> Ax told me.

I raised my eyebrows at Erek. He shrugged.

<One million and seven dollars. Is that a great deal of money?> Ax asked.

�It�s up there,� I answered, giving his arm a quick pat.

Ax pointed his stalk eyes toward the barn roof. he said.

�I mean it�s a lot. A lot of money,� I explained.

Ax kept his eyes focused upward. <Wait. Now I think I see it. I�ll go get it.> He took a step forward and a spasm raced through his body.

�That�s okay,� Erek said. �Don�t worry about it. We�ll play more later, and you�ll win the money back from me.�

Ax didn�t answer. He just kept staring at the ceiling.

Erek leaned close to me. �He�s been like this all day,� he whispered. �He�ll seem okay. And then he loses it.�

So he was still delirious part of the time.

�Any close calls with my dad?� I asked. I glanced at the stall door. From this side, the hologram looked like a smoky silver cloud. I could only see faint shapes and shadows out in the barn.

�Tobias had to buzz the cages once. The animals all freaked, and that kept your dad busy,� Erek answered.

�Just tell me you�re not going to get this stupid illness.�

Erek smiled. �I�ve never been sick a day in my life. And I am really, really old.�

I turned my attention to Ax. �Ax. Hey, Ax. Come on, stop staring up there. I need you to talk to me.�

Ax slowly lowered his eye stalks.

�Can you tell me where the Tria gland is? Can you point to the spot on your head?� I asked.

<You said the test wouldn�t cover the Tria gland,> Ax complained. <You said we didn�t have to know the glands.>

Oh, man. He thought he was back in school.

�This isn�t a test, Ax. You�re not going to be graded or anything,� I tried to reassure him. �Just take a guess. Where do you think the Tria gland is? I need to know.�

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Erek grabbed my shoulder and pointed into the barn. A dark shadow moved closer.

It was my dad thumping through the barn in his clunky work boots. And he was heading right for us.

I threw myself at the stall door and scrambled over. It had to look like I had materialized out of thin air.

�You don�t have to do a thing out here,� I blurted. �I already fed and watered all the animals myself.�

My dad peered over my shoulder. �Where were you hiding? I was sure the barn was empty when I came in.�

�I was right here the whole time. Got to get those bifocals, Dad,� I said.

My dad frowned. �You can�t fool me, Cassie,� he told me. �I know you were in that empty stall. And why.�

My heart gave a hard double thump.

�You do?� I asked.

He nodded. �You were pretending you were a horse, weren�t you?� he asked.

I hadn�t played that game where I pretended I was a horse since I was about five. Okay, maybe six.

But I didn�t tell my dad that. I just gave him a weak smile. �Yeah. You caught me.�

Cassie used to pretend to be a horse as a little kid. Also, I get she was worried, but what was she afraid he'd accuse her of? "You were taking care of your alien friend who your android friend has made invisible, weren't you?" We also learned that the Chee survived on Earth this long by cheating people with rock-paper-scissors.

Chapter 16

quote:

As soon as I got my dad out of the barn, I fed and watered the animals. I had to since I�d said I�d already done it.

Then I headed to the corner of the barn where my dad has a little workbench. He�s not Joe Carpenter, but he did go through a spell where he was really into making birdhouses. Plus he makes cages sometimes and does repairs around the barn. So he had a decent selection of tools.

I knew my dad had most of the stuff I would need for the Tria gland surgery in the operating room. But I didn�t think he�d have anything I could use to cut through Ax�s skull. My dad�s a great vet, but he doesn�t saw through bone much.

I scanned the messy array of tools. Was there anything that could cut through bone?

My dad had a saw with teeth I thought could handle the job. But the saw was way too long. Unless I was going to cut Ax�s head straight down the middle like a big melon �

I squeezed my eyes shut against the gory image that popped into my mind. I tried to reassure myself. The Tria gland probably wasn�t too big. I�d only need to make a small hole.

A small hole leading directly into Ax�s brain. Somehow that thought wasn�t all that comforting.

I ran my eyes over the tools again. There was a power drill. That would definitely be able to make a hole through bone. But the hole would be too small.

I saw a few more tools jammed behind a half-finished birdhouse. I picked it up, my fingers curling into the little round hole in the front.

Hmmm. That little hole was probably about the size of the one I needed to make in Ax�s skull.

I remembered what tool my dad used to make it. It�s called a hole saw. It looks sort of like a corkscrew. Except instead of a metal ring that fits around the top of a bottle, there is a little round saw.

I rushed to the operating room, clicked on the fluorescent lights, and stashed the saw. Then I made a little pile of supplies I thought I might need: hemostats, retractors, scissors, syringes, surgical thread, cotton balls, bandages, betaine, alcohol.

As I headed out of the operating room I heard a flapping sound. Then Tobias swooped through the hayloft.

�How�s Rach -� I began.

<Didn�t get there,> he answered as he headed toward his usual perch in the rafters. <Started to feel �>

His words trailed off as he dropped lower for his landing. And lower.

Way too low.

�Tobias, watch out!� I screeched.

THUMP!

Tobias ran into the rafter headfirst.

He plummeted.

THUD!

He landed on the barn floor. And lay still.

�No! No, no, no!� I raced over to Tobias and dropped to my knees beside him.

Gently I scooped him up. I couldn�t tell which was trembling. His body. Or my fingers holding his body.

�Tobias, are you okay?� I crooned.

He didn�t answer. �Tobias? Tobias!�

 he answered.

A little groggy. But definitely alive.

I slowly climbed to my feet, careful to keep from jarring him, and started toward the row of cages. �I�m going to have to put you next to a golden eagle. I know you hate them, but it�s the only room available right now.�

Tobias gave a weak flutter in my hands. <What are you doing?> he demanded.

�I�m going to get my dad to take care of you,� I answered. I slid him into the empty cage and latched the door.

<You�re locking me up? No way!> Tobias cried. He struggled to his feet and puffed his feathers.

I grabbed a chart and noted that the red-tailed hawk appeared disoriented. I added that I thought it had stunned itself flying into one of the rafters.

If there were other symptoms, my dad would know how to handle them. At least I didn�t have to worry about Tobias.

I had to worry about Ax more. If he went into crisis while I was at the Yeerk pool, there would be no one to operate.

Tobias gnawed on one of the cage�s metal bars with his beak. �Oh, just stop it,� I snapped. �You�re in the best place you can possibly be. I have no time, no time, NO TIME for any crap, okay?!�

<Okay,> he said meekly.

�Yes, ma�am,� Erek said from the last stall.

I tried to get a grip on myself. I took a couple of deep breaths. Didn�t work. I wasn�t calm.

So we're down to just Cassie,

# ? Sep 17, 2021 04:48

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

Chapter 16

quote:
Hmmm. That little hole was probably about the size of the one I needed to make in Ax�s skull.

Just your average everyday children's lit dilemma

# ? Sep 17, 2021 20:10

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 17

quote:

Tobias was right, I thought as I rushed into the house. I was the leader now. The leader of one. The last little monkey jumping on the bed.

I found my mom sitting at the computer. �I�m doing a report on animal brain surgery,� I told her. �Any books you think might help?�

�Hmm.� My mother reached out and pulled a thick green book off the shelf over her head. �The introductory chapter in this one is pretty good.� She grabbed a thinner volume. �And this one has some good photos.�

I took them from her. �Thanks. Rachel has the flu. I told her I�d keep her company a while, okay?�

�Well, don�t you get it,� she said. She grabbed her coffee cup and took a swallow.

I remembered the day she got that cup. She and my dad and I were at the amusement park part of The Gardens. They have one of those photo booths where you get your face put onto another body. We decided on all three of us as super models. My mom thought it was so hilarious she had it put on the cup.

She and I always teased my dad about how he was the prettiest of the three of us. He�d always laugh and give us these outrageous beauty tips.

�I�ll tell her,� I said. Lying, the way I�ve had to lie so often since that day Elfangor gave us the power to morph.

�Um, bye.� I wished I could say something else, something more. It could be the last time I -

I rushed out of the house and back to the barn. I headed to Ax�s stall. I took a deep breath, then stepped inside.

�How are you doing, Ax?� I asked.

One of his stalk eyes swung a half turn toward me. That was all the reaction I got.

�I just took his temperature again. Ninety-one point nine,� Ere said.

It had dropped almost a whole degree in less than an hour. If it continued falling at this rate there was no possible way I�d be back in time.

Tobias said there was no pattern to the way the temperature fell. I had to hope that it would slow down now.

�Erek, Tobias is sick now, too. I had to put him in one of the cages,� I told him. �If Ax reaches his crisis before I get back ��

I really didn�t want to say this. But I had to.

�You can�t go to my father or anyone else for help,� I finished.

What I was really telling Erek was he had to let Ax die.

Erek nodded. �I understand.�

If Ax was lucid, he�d understand, too. I knew he would. Ax was a trained warrior-cadet. He�d know that sometimes one member of a team had to be sacrificed to save the rest.

I turned to Ax and rested my palm against his forehead. �Can you hear me, Ax?� I asked.

I felt him move the tiniest bit under my hand. Had he heard me? Was he trying to answer? I couldn�t be sure.

�Sorry, Ax,� I whispered. �I�d stay with you if I could.�

I felt hot tears sting my eyes and I blinked them away.

�You understand, don�t you?� I continued. �I have to try and save all of us. Not just you.�

I slowly slid my hand away from his forehead. Then I turned and rushed out of the stall without another word.

I grabbed my bike from its spot propped beside the barn door. I hopped on and pedaled hard. I wasn�t going far. Good, old-fashioned, normal bike would be easiest.

I pedaled away from Ax and Tobias and Erek. Away from my parents. Away from Jake, Marco, and Rachel.

I was all alone.

I slammed my feet down on the pedals. Trying to burn off some of the fear building inside me.

Trying to block out all the �what ifs.�

What if I didn�t get back before Ax reached his crisis?

What if my plan didn�t work? What if I got sick before I could save Aftran?

What if I screwed up?

What if? What if? What if?

What if I had killed Aftran when I had the chance?

I slowed down as I thought about that one.

I�d been alone when I faced that moment, too. Alone, I had made the choice to let Aftran live.

It had turned out to be the right choice.

Aftran hadn�t betrayed me or the other Animorphs. She�d gone on to do important work in the Yeerk peace movement.

If I got Aftran out of the Yeerk pool before the Visser interrogated her, the peace movement would continue. The Animorphs would continue to fight.
If I failed �

So the Chee's programming is obviously compliant with the Arthur Clough's "The Latest Decalogue", where he "updates" the Ten Commandments to be compatible with modern, Victorian values.

"Thou shalt not kill; but needst not strive
Officiously to keep alive:"

Also, honestly, first, Cassie has a great relationship with her parents, and in this chapter, you can just feel the intense loneliness and responsibility she's feeling. She alone has to figure out how to save Afran and Ax, and she has no idea exactly how or if its possible, there's no one she can lean on or ask for help from, and the pressure is killing her.

Chapter 18

quote:

I rode my bike up Mr. Tidwell�s driveway and parked it. Then I hurried to his front door. He swung it open before I had the chance to ring the bell.

�Where are the others?� he demanded.

�Sick.�

�It�s just you?�

�Yes. Me. Me or no one.�

He hesitated only a moment, then he drew me inside.

�So where should we do this?� he blurted the second I was inside. �Bathroom? Kitchen? Where?�

He kept touching his ear, rubbing his finger around the edge. He seemed totally freaked by what we were about to do.

I felt like telling him to join the club. But I figured that would only make things worse.

�Kitchen�s fine,� I answered. I led the way, even though it was his house. Even though he was a teacher and I was a kid. There wasn�t time to waste on all that.

I sat down at the kitchen table and waved Mr. Tidwell down into the chair next to me. �Now?� he asked.

�Let�s do it!� I said.

It was Rachel�s line. But Rachel wasn�t there.

Maybe it would bring us luck. All of us.

Mr. Tidwell tilted his right ear toward the table.

I leaned down. My eyes locked themselves on the hole at the ear�s center. I couldn�t look away.

The opening to the hole began to glisten. Then a pencil-thin wand of wet gray flesh slid out. It wiggled this way and that. Almost as if it were tasting the air.

Shh-lop. Shh-lop. Shh-lop.

More of the gray flesh squeezed itself out of Mr. Tidwell�s ear.

Plop!

The Yeerk fell the few inches to the table. Its body had been stretched and flattened by crawling out the ear canal.

As I watched, the Yeerk�s gray flesh contracted, like a hand closing into a fist. Forming its sluglike body.

I jerked back. The legs of my chair squealed against the kitchen floor.

It�s Illim, I told myself, trying to control my revulsion.

Mr. Tidwell grabbed a dishtowel from the table and scrubbed at his ear. �It always makes me feel � I don�t know. Empty.�

I didn�t answer. I wanted to move. I didn�t want to have too much time to think about what I was about to do.

I reached out and gently rested my fingertips on Illim�s squishy flesh. I closed my eyes. Focused.

And the DNA of the Yeerk became a part of me.

The Yeerk. The Yeerk became part of me.

I pulled my fingers away from Illim. Mr. Tidwell filled a Ziploc bag with water and slipped Illim inside. Then he closed the top almost all the way and carefully placed the bag in the big patch pocket of his corduroy jacket.

�You know if something goes wrong, Visser Three could find out I�m the one who brought you in,� he said. �If that happens, he�ll kill us.�

�Yeah, well, he�s been trying to do that for a long time, but here I am,� I said. Then I laughed at my own bravado.

Mr. Tidwell smiled. �You were always a good student. Unlike Jake, who never completely applies himself.�

I sighed. �Well, I wish Jake were here now. It�s time. I have to do this. It�s kind of gross to watch.�

�I think I can handle it.�

I focused my mind. The changes began.

Any morph is frightening. Any new morph doubly so.

This morph � this was the enemy. This was a parasite. This was a slug.

My skin turned slick with a thin coat of mucus. It covered my entire body, oozing from the pores. My eyelids. The spaces between my fingers and my toes. My neck, my legs, my stomach.

The mucus thickened into a goo like half-set Jell-O. It seeped into my ears. My nose. My mouth.

I gagged as the mucus swelled in my mouth. My teeth began to dissolve, as if the mucus was an acid.

My lips melted together, closing my mouth on vanishing teeth and swelling goo.

Ax always says I�m the best morpher. But it was hard not to resist this morph.

I tried to relax. To give myself over to the changes.

My body turned cold as the thick slime slid down my throat, packing my esophagus. Somehow I was still breathing. Maybe through my skin.

A wave of nausea rolled through me as the cold, thick mucus hit my stomach and intestines. I felt them shrivel up and disappear.

The mucus wrapped itself around my heart. And my heart withered and stopped beating.

Slime stuck my arms to my sides and glued my legs together. I felt it seep through my flesh until it hit bone. The cold slime turned my bones to ice. Then they shattered into a zillion pieces.

The floor rushed up to meet me as I fell off the chair. I hadn�t begun to shrink yet, and I lay there, the world�s largest slug. My entire body made up of slick, squishy flesh.

Only my eyes remained unchanged. They stared straight up at the ceiling.

Mr. Tidwell appeared above me. His face contorted in horror. I think he was screaming. I couldn�t hear him.

His face became cloudy as mucus coated my eyes. His face disappeared as my eyes dissolved completely.

Then my body curled in on itself. Tightening, tightening. Becoming smaller and smaller.

Falling � Falling �

And it was over. The transformation complete.

I was a Yeerk.

So this is the new morph of the book.

This chapter has a few lines I really like....two in particular: The first is:

"I led the way, even though it was his house. Even though he was a teacher and I was a kid. There wasn�t time to waste on all that."

just the "There wasn't time to waste on all that." There's no time to waste on social niceties or societal hierarchies. Cassie knows she needs to do that now.

Also this:

"And the DNA of the Yeerk became a part of me.

The Yeerk. The Yeerk became part of me."

In all the previous books, it's it's always, "I acquired a horse" or "a dolphin" or "a fly". That's how the Animorphs usually phrase it. You acquire the animal. But in this case, Cassie doesn't want to say that at first. She wants to distance herself from it...."The DNA of the Yeerk became part of me", and then stops lying to herself, and stops distancing herself, saying "The Yeerk became part of me."

"The Yeerk became part of me" is also significant because that's what they do when they take a host. They become part of the host, part of the brain. So I think this is written intentionally as a subversion of the Yeerk process.

# ? Sep 18, 2021 05:44

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

Yeah just made the decision to let one friend die to save the rest if things go badly today, just normal teen girl stuff.

# ? Sep 18, 2021 14:11

Ravenfood: Nov 4, 2011

Having Tidwell scream like that brought back a lot more of the body horror aspect, even more than the lovingly horrible descriptions.

# ? Sep 18, 2021 14:54

FlocksOfMice: Feb 3, 2009

Holy heck this book is really intense. I think I genuinely did stop reading by this point so this is all new to me. After the farce of the last book's mission this is a strong wakemeup.

# ? Sep 18, 2021 18:06

HIJK: Nov 25, 2012; in the room where you sleep

This is one of my favorite books in the series, I think it started my interest in medical dramas. I think House MD came out shortly after I read this and it ended up being one of my favorite shows.

# ? Sep 18, 2021 18:34

gourdcaptain: Nov 16, 2012

I want to know about Tidwell and Illim's relationship, it's something interesting this book hints at with a few lines and I love to know more about stuff like that.

# ? Sep 18, 2021 21:47

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

gourdcaptain posted:

I want to know about Tidwell and Illim's relationship, it's something interesting this book hints at with a few lines and I love to know more about stuff like that.

Yeah, I was hoping he'd say more as a non-controller. At least confirm what Illim had claimed the other day.

# ? Sep 18, 2021 23:14

Ravenfood: Nov 4, 2011

Fuschia tude posted:

Yeah, I was hoping he'd say more as a non-controller. At least confirm what Illim had claimed the other day.

I think his actions after Ilim leaves pretty much confirm it.

Also Cassie morphing a Yeerk has some seriously cool potential for storytelling and I am so excited for this.

# ? Sep 19, 2021 02:43

QuickbreathFinisher: Sep 28, 2008; by reading this post you have agreed to form a gay socialist micronation.
`

This book so far, kind of like the butterfly book, are what you do with Cassie books. Her characterization got screwed, especially later in the series, with the monster of the week anteater/horse hijinks type books because it seemed like the ghostwriters didn't really know what to do with her. But the multiple layering emotional issues and ethical quandaries of this book are pretty perfectly executed. The scene with her mom, reminiscing about the stupid cup was so sad.

Her narrative voice unfortunately kind of sucks at dealing with stuff like the Helmacrons, they would have been better suited to like an Ax book where he has to deal with another pompous alien race or something. Matter of fact, do we ever get an Ax Helmacron book?

I have no idea if I read this book as a kid but I vaguely remember Tidwell. I think he comes up again in a book I did read and I had to look up online who he was.

# ? Sep 19, 2021 03:07

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 19

quote:

I lay on Mr. Tidwell�s kitchen floor. Deaf, blind, capable of only slowest movement.

How would I even be able to find Mr. Tidwell�s ear? I had no idea, but the Yeerk would know. I tried to open myself up to the Yeerk instincts and let them guide me.

I realized that I could do something kind of like a bat�s echolocation. Or like sonar. The Yeerk threw out some kind of electrical waves, then analyzed the way they were bounced back at it. That gave it an idea of the size and shape of things.

My sonar picked up an object, bigger than I was, moving in. I felt warmth surround me, and I was lifted up, up, up.

My sonar picked up a new shape. My Yeerk instincts kicked in. Hard. I stuck out two little protrusions. Felt around until I targeted the small opening.

Then I was moving in. Slithering right into Mr. Tidwell�s ear canal. It was a tight fit. I squirted out some kind of painkiller to deaden the canal and squirmed, stretched, pushed bones and tissue aside with surprising strength.

I penetrated. Deeper. Puncturing flesh now. Deeper inside. I inched along until I felt the faint tingle of electricity.

Yes! This was what I was looking for.

The brain!

The neurons fired microvolts around me as I stretched. I was paper-thin. Spread like hammered down Silly Putty.

I pressed myself into the cracks and crevices of the brain.

Ah! Now I could feel it. The neurons were connecting to me. Making me a part of this strange, wondrous new body.

I felt the Yeerk�s jolt of awe and pleasure at its new mobility. At its new size, and strength, and power. It was a visceral, nonconscious, nonintellectual, animal pleasure.

I touched the brain�s center of hearing.

Ahhhh! It was like being alive again. The sound of water dripping into the sink sounded beautiful.

Then, I touched the centers for sight.

It was lights-on after being forever in a mine shaft. Overwhelming! Joyful! It was dazzling, dizzying delirium.

Aftran was so right when she told me humans live amidst splendor and magnificence. Mr. Tidwell�s red-and-white-checked tablecloth was a sight to be relished and lingered over. The -

<Cassie. Cassie, what are you doing? We have to leave!> I heard a voice call.

Mr. Tidwell. Speaking only in thought.

<Can�t you figure out how to move my body?> he asked, sounding panicked.

I could have stood in Mr. Tidwell�s kitchen all night. Allowing myself to feel the Yeerk�s joy at every new sensation.
But I had a job to do. And not much time. I clamped down on my Yeerk desire to explore the new world.

I wasn�t sure how to use the connections between me and Mr. Tidwell to control him. But the Yeerk knew.

I allowed it to open sections of Mr. Tidwell�s brain. Some sections controlled physical functions like moving muscles. But some held memories.

As I tapped into these areas I was flooded with images from Mr. Tidwell�s life.

Mr. Tidwell sitting in this kitchen, the sink overflowing with dirty dishes. The counters spattered with food stains. The smell of garbage heavy in the air.

A younger, thinner Mr. Tidwell in this same kitchen, but now sparkling clean and cheerful, standing next to his wife, flicking soapsuds at her.

Mr. Tidwell walking into a classroom on his first day as a teacher. Feeling proud and nervous as he wrote his name on the board and turned to face the class.

Mr. Tidwell climbing into his bed last night, and carefully placing his wife�s picture on the pillow beside him.

I didn�t want to see that. I didn�t want to go pawing through Mr. Tidwell�s memories. I wished I could apologize to him, but even though I could hear his thoughts, I didn�t know how to send him my thoughts back.

I continued searching his brain, backing away any time I hit memory. But memory was everywhere. I was invading every secret, destroying all privacy.
I felt ashamed.

I tried to move a hand. It moved.

I tried to form speech. It was easy.

�Okay, I think I�ve got it,� I muttered in Mr. Tidwell�s voice.

I took a step - and bumped into the table.

<Don�t worry. I�m kind of klutzy,> Mr. Tidwell said.

I appreciated him trying to joke.

I took another step. Didn�t hit anything.

I slowly headed out the front door, feeling more at ease in my new body with every motion. I climbed into Mr. Tidwell�s car. I didn�t know how to drive, but Mr. Tidwell did. And anything he knew how to do, I now knew how to do.

I pulled the keys out of Mr. Tidwell�s pocket, turned on the ignition, and pulled out onto the street.

It was pretty cool driving by myself. I was kind of sorry when we pulled into the McDonald�s parking lot. For more reasons than one.

Usually I�d be listening to Jake give last-minute instructions right now. I�d be laughing at the jokes Marco tells right before we do something insanely dangerous.

Tobias would probably be flying overhead, giving his version of an aerial traffic report. Rachel would be getting all macho, her bravery bolstering mine.

I was hit again by how alone I was. I missed them. I missed them so much.

I climbed out of the car and made my way into McDonald�s. I was aware of how the new smells and colors and sounds interested the Yeerk part of me but I didn�t allow myself to get distracted.

I got in the line closest to the bathrooms. When the girl behind the register asked for my order I told her I wanted a Happy Meal with extra happy.

The girl gave a fake laugh, like she�d heard the joke a billion times. Which I knew she had.

Asking for extra happy was the password to the Yeerk pool.

I guess Yeerks have a sense of humor.

Mr. Tidwell had the drill down pat. That meant I did, too. I walked past the bathroom and opened the next door, which led into the kitchen. I went straight into the walk-in refrigerator.

WHOOSH! The back of the fridge split and slid open.

I knew the Gleet BioFilter was just inside. I took a deep breath and stepped through.

The BioFilter didn�t make a single Brrrr-EEEET. All it detected was human and Yeerk. Both authorized life-forms.

It had no way of sensing the Animorph who was also making her way through the entrance to the Yeerk pool.

We see more evidence in this chapter that Illum was telling the truth. First, the fact that Mr. Tidwell cooperates and pushes Cassie to get going, which shows that he's just invested in this as Illum is. Second, the fact that one of the memories that Cassie accesses is Mr. Tidwell putting his wife's picture on his pillow the night before. Tidwell's dead wife has no emotional significance to Illum, but the fact that its still going on the pillow shows either that Tidwell is controlling himself at least part of the time, or that Illum care's about Tidwell's mental or emotional wellbeing, Either way, it's a suggestion that this is a real emotional connection and partnership.

Also, how would you like to be the Yeerk who has to work at the McDonald's counter? Not only are you stuck in a minimum wage fast food job, you have to put up with incessantly hearing the password.

Chapter 20

quote:

I started down the long staircase leading to the Yeerk pool. The air felt moist against my face. Almost oily.

Mr. Tidwell�s glasses clouded up. I pulled them off and everything went soft and blurry. I quickly wiped them on the hem of my shirt and stuck them back on. I couldn�t see without them.

It was so strange to be in someone else�s human body. To have it feel so different. Even the sound his body�s footsteps made sounded strange. Too loud and heavy.

I descended the stairs down to the Yeerk pool.

I found myself wishing my steps made even more noise. I wanted to drown out the sounds drifting up from below me. The screams of fury.

The howls of agony. And underneath them all, the low sobs of pure despair.

I knew exactly who was making those horrifying, soul-slashing sounds. Around the edge of the Yeerk pool are cages filled with the involuntary hosts, human and Hork-Bajir.

They screamed, threatened, howled, and sobbed because they could. For a few hours their voices were their own again as their Yeerks swam in the pool, soaking in Kandrona rays and other nutrients. Soaking up life.

I forced myself to continue down the stairs. The earth walls around me changed to rock. And the purple glow at the bottom of the staircase grew stronger.

Down, down, down.

The cries of the hosts grew louder. And I began to hear the sound of the sludge swooshing against the shore of the pool.

The rock walls widened. I was almost there.

Down, down, down.

I took the last few steps, and entered the huge cavern. It was like a small city. Humans, Taxxons, Hork-Bajir everywhere. Buildings and sheds in a ring around the outside. Bright yellow Caterpillar earthmovers and tall cranes ready to continue the underground expansion.

Expansion. The idea made my stomach cramp.

<Go join the line at the closest pier,> Mr. Tidwell instructed. <The line at the second pier is for reinfestation.>

As I started toward the pier, I heard the most horrifying sound yet. The sound of laughter. I scanned the cavern, looking for the source.

A group of humans was watching a Full House rerun in a room along the back wall.

They were the voluntary hosts. The ones who had chosen to allow Yeerks to control them. They were just hanging out watching TV while their Yeerks swam in the pool. Somehow they managed to tune out the screams and cries from the cages.

I turned away from them and continued to the pier. I took my place in line. There were three humans and one Hork-Bajir ahead of me.

How long would this take? I had to get Aftran out before the Visser returned.

The first human, a boy who looked about five, stepped to the end of the pier. He calmly knelt down and the two Hork-Bajir-Controllers helped him lower his head into the iron-gray sludge of the Yeerk pool.

I knew the moment the Yeerk slid out of the boy�s ear. His feet started to kick against the metal pier. Wham! Wham! Wham!

The Hork-Bajir-Controllers yanked him up.

The boy opened his mouth wide. �Mommeeee!� he screamed.

The horrible high-pitched call made the hair on the back of my - Mr. Tidwell�s - neck stand on end. The hair on my arms, too.

Two more Hork-Bajir-Controllers marched down to the end of the pier. They took the boy away from the first two, and escorted him back toward the cages.

When they passed me, I wanted to reach out and snatch the little boy away from them. He should be whooshing down the slide at the playground. He should be learning the names of all the Crayola crayons in the big box.

�Mommeeee!� the boy screeched again. �Mommeeee!�

I struggled to keep Mr. Tidwell�s face expressionless as I heard a cage door clang shut behind me, locking the boy inside. If a flicker of concern crossed my face, we risked getting caught.

Illim must go through this all the time, I realized. He had to make sure he acted like a regular Yeerk. And that meant acting like his host�s feeling meant nothing to him.

The next human in line, a tall, neatly dressed woman, knelt at the edge of the pier and lowered her head into the pool, She gave only the smallest twitch to indicate that the Yeerk had slithered out of her ear.

Then she stood up, straight and tall. Her eyes burned with hatred as Hork-Bajir-Controllers marched her back to the cages. But she didn�t make a sound.

The Hork-Bajir was next in line. As I watched it lower its head into the water, I couldn�t help thinking of the tiny colony of free Hork-Bajir living in their secret valley.

The Hork-Bajir gave an anguished bellow as it raised its head. The gray sludge dripped into its open mouth.

I�m getting Aftran out of here, I promised myself. There was only one person left ahead of me in line. A short dark-haired man. He knelt. Submerged his head.

Then like the woman, he stood up without crying out or struggling. The two Hork-Bajir- Controllers took him by the arms. The man walked two steps, then fell to his knees.

He must have surprised the Hork-Bajir-Controllers, because he managed to break free of them. He shoved himself to his feet and ran past me down the pier.

Go, go, go! I thought. But I was careful not to let the words escape my lips.

One of the Hork-Bajir-Controllers pulled out a Dracon beam. TSEEEWWWW! TSEEEWWWW!

I shot a glance over my shoulder in time to see the man fall to the ground, his singed clothes smoking. He let out a low groan of pain, and I realized his skin had been singed, too.

The Hork-Bajir-Controllers roughly hauled him to his feet and shoved him toward the cages.

�Why couldn�t you kill me?� the man shouted. �Why couldn�t you just kill me?�

I knew why they hadn�t killed him. They hadn�t wanted to destroy a good host body.

I reached into my pocket and slid open the Ziploc bag all the way. I guided Illim up the sleeve of my jacket. I would stick my hands into the pool when I lowered myself down. That way he could wriggle free and be ready to reenter Mr. Tidwell.

The Hork-Bajir-Controllers at the edge of the pier signaled me forward.

It was my turn.

The Yeerk pool, is, as always, pretty horrible. Also, you know the collaborators are bad people because they're voluntarily watching Full House.

# ? Sep 19, 2021 03:33

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

QuickbreathFinisher posted:

This book so far, kind of like the butterfly book, are what you do with Cassie books. Her characterization got screwed, especially later in the series, with the monster of the week anteater/horse hijinks type books because it seemed like the ghostwriters didn't really know what to do with her. But the multiple layering emotional issues and ethical quandaries of this book are pretty perfectly executed. The scene with her mom, reminiscing about the stupid cup was so sad.

I agree with you. I think Cassie's books are best when they explore the issue of moral compromise. Cassie seems to be the one who's most concerned with maintaining her moral code, and she's also the most optimistic of the Animorphs. (Marco is probably the most cynical). She's also, the only one so far to be seen as actively practicing a religion, and she's the only one who feels guilty about lying to her parents. So the stories that work for Cassie are, I think, the ones where her moral standards come up against the practicalities of the war. Unfortunately, a lot of Cassie's books are kind of silly and not particularly memorable. Both the horse and the anteater books were Applegate books, so I don't think it was just the ghostwriters who didn't know what to do with her.

But any time Cassie deals with her family is great. Honestly, I think the funniest part of this book so far was just Cassie asking her mom if she had any books on brain surgery and her mom just handing them over.

# ? Sep 19, 2021 04:01

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

For something so brief, the glimpse of Tidwell's memories do a good job of underlining how beneficial the relationship ultimately was to both of them. Illim got a moral awakening, Tidwell got a companion at the darkest and loneliest point of his life. (He surely would have been a Sharing recruit.)

# ? Sep 19, 2021 05:36

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

Both the horse and the anteater books were Applegate books, so I don't think it was just the ghostwriters who didn't know what to do with her.

Which is ironic, because she's said Cassie was her favorite character, and basically her self-insert.

Epicurius posted:

Chapter 19

quote:
The BioFilter didn�t make a single Brrrr-EEEET. All it detected was human and Yeerk. Both authorized life-forms.

But the last book established that the GBF couldn't detect any organism fully enveloped by another. :raise:

# ? Sep 19, 2021 06:24

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

Biggest revelation here is that Cassie knew how to drive this whole time but they kept using Marco. All those mailboxes died for nothing.

# ? Sep 19, 2021 14:10

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

OctaviusBeaver posted:

Biggest revelation here is that Cassie knew how to drive this whole time but they kept using Marco. All those mailboxes died for nothing.

er, Tidwell knows how to drive, not Cassie

# ? Sep 19, 2021 17:12

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

My reading comprehension is as good as Marco's driving.

# ? Sep 19, 2021 17:49

Gun Jam: Apr 11, 2015

Cassie: Me? I know who I am! I'm a dudette morphing a dude mind-controlling another dude!

# ? Sep 19, 2021 17:54

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.

I wonder if Cassie will keep the knowledge of how to drive. I suppose it being third hand means probably not.

# ? Sep 19, 2021 19:37

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 21

quote:

I could feel my knees shaking as I knelt down at the edge of the pier. I took a deep breath and lowered my head into the sludge.

The first thing I did was release Illim. Then I slithered over to Mr. Tidwell�s ear canal, breaking my connections to his brain. I scrunched my body down as I wiggled my way through the tiny tunnel.

Then I was free. Out in the Yeerk pool.

I was blind, almost deaf, and mute. But here�s the strange part. I didn�t care. I was with my brothers and sisters, soaking in the Kandrona rays my body craved. If I�d had a mouth, I would have let out a long ahhh of satisfaction. I was home.

I was home?

I gave myself a mental slap on both cheeks. I�d let my Yeerk instincts take over for a minute. This was definitely not home.

And I had a mission to complete. I had to find Aftran. Fast.

I used my sonar to check out the area around me. There were Yeerks everywhere. Above me. Below me. On all four sides.

I reminded myself that to them I was just another Yeerk. Nothing for them to take notice of. I was completely safe.

A Hork-Bajir head was thrust into the water. I rode the wave it created deeper into the pool. I did another sonar sweep. Yeerks, Yeerks, and more Yeerks.

A wavelet took me in a half turn. My sonar detected the two steel piers. Under the farthest one there was a chain with a box on the end. The box was just about the size to hold a Yeerk.

Aftran. She was in there. I knew it.

But how was I going to get over to her? I had no legs to kick with. No arms to paddle with.

I wiggled my body as hard as I could and moved about a quarter of an inch. Aftran was only about six feet away. But at this rate it would take me all night to get to her.

And I definitely didn�t have all night.

Use the Yeerk, I told myself. It knows how to swim. I loosened my control over the Yeerk instincts.

Scrunch-thrust. Scrunch-thrust. Scrunch-thrust.

I contracted my body, then shot it out. I was swimming!

Well, sort of. I wasn�t exactly ready for the Olympic team, but I was moving faster than I had been.

Scrunch-thrust. Scrunch-thrust. Scrunch-thrust.

I finally made it over to the cage. I studied it with my sonar. It was a box, metal I figured, with very small holes all over it. The holes were way too small for even a Yeerk to squeeze through.

But the latch looked pretty basic. It wouldn�t be too hard to open. If I had hands.

I could demorph to my own body. But I was right under the pier. Two Hork-Bajir stood on the edge. And more walked back and forth, escorting the hosts. There was a pretty good chance one of them would notice me.

PA-loosh!

A host head was thrust into the water, My sonar picked up the wild movement as the host - an older man this time - tried to twist away from the Yeerk scrunch-thrusting toward his ear.

The Yeerk shoved its way inside the host, and moments later the man stopped struggling and calmly raised his head.

The hosts getting reinfested upped my chances of getting caught. A Yeerk could slither into its host, see me in my human morph, lift up its head, and report me.

I couldn�t risk morphing so close to the pier. I had to find another way to get Aftran out.

PA-loosh.

Another host head was shoved into the pool. A girl. My sonar picked up her long hair flowing through the water. It was hard to tell, but I didn�t think she was that much older than I was.



That voice. It was the voice of evil. It ripped through me, sending spikes of terror though my small, soft body.

Visser Three! He was back!

And I hadn�t even found a way to open Aftran�s cage!

<Bring Aftran Nine Four Two to me,> Visser Three commanded.

Aftran�s cage immediately began to move through the pool. Someone was pulling the chain up. Pulling Aftran away from me. And I had no hands to stop it.

But I had to do something. Now!

<Everyone is invited to the infestation pier,> Visser Three said, sounding jovial. <You are invited to witness the fate of traitors!>

A happy Visser Three is a thing to be avoided.

Chapter 22

quote:

No time to plan. No time to do anything but move.

Scrunch-thrust. Scrunch-thrust. Scrunch-thrust.

I powered over to the girl whose head was in the water. A Yeerk was just about to enter her ear. I shoved it out of the way and slithered in myself.

I gave a squirt of painkiller and wriggled through the ear canal. I spread myself out over the brain. The microvolts of electricity set my body tingling. And I was connected.

I frantically opened the girl�s memories. She was a member of The Sharing.

This girl - she was a voluntary host. A collaborator.

I couldn�t let her get anything from me. No thoughts. No emotions. Nothing even the tiniest bit Cassie.

I felt hands on my shoulders, helping me out of the water. I stumbled to my feet.

Any second the girl was going to realize I wasn�t her usual Yeerk. But she wouldn�t be able to do anything to betray me. Not now. I had control of the body.

But as soon as I left her, she would be able to tell Visser Three everything she learned while I was in her head.

I had to act! Now! Before I let it slip that the Visser�s �Andalite bandits� were mostly human. Before I betrayed him and Tidwell. Or the Chee.

I turned around and locked my eyes on Visser Three. In his Andalite morph. He stood halfway down the pier, facing away from me. A crowd of human- and Hork-Bajir-Controllers, and Taxxons gathered in front of him, eager to watch the torture.

The Visser unlatched Aftran�s cage. Pulled her out. He held her up, digging his fingers into her defenseless flesh.

<You will tell me everything about the so-called peace movement,> Visser Three told Aftran, blasting his thought-speak loud enough for everyone to hear. <Then I�ll have to use my imagination and come up with a nice, long, painful way for you to die.>

Wham! Wham! Wham!

My feet slammed against the metal pier as I launched myself at him. The only thing my host girl was going to get from me was commands like <Run. Now. Fast. Go.>

I rammed into Visser Three as hard as I could.

He spun toward me, tail blade raised. But he was too shocked and amazed to react.

I snatched at Aftran.

The Visser closed his fist. But Andalite hands are weak.

I bit his wrist.

Aftran dropped. I snatched her out of midair and ran. Ran with nowhere to run.

I did the only thing I could do. I dove back into the Yeerk pool.

<Get her! Get them both! Bring them to me!> Visser Three roared. <Get them or I will fill this cavern with your dead bodies!>

PA-loosh. PA-loosh.

I took a quick glance over my shoulder. Taxxons. Two of them. You wouldn�t think creatures that look like twelve-foot-long, four-foot-wide centipedes could swim. But they can.

And they were coming after me.

Aftran slipped out of my fingers. I hoped she knew to stay close to me.

TSEEEWWWW! TSEEEWWWW! TSEEEWWWW!

Spears of light streaked through the water. Great. Someone was shooting Dracon beams at me from the pier.

I propelled myself deeper into the water. The beams might still be able to reach me down here, but the shooter wouldn�t be able to see me to aim.

TSEEEEEEW!

I saw a dozen Yeerks twist and burn.

The Visser was killing his own people to get at me.

I felt a claw pinch my ankle. A Taxxon, out of nowhere! It had me with one of its lobster hands. Time to bail.

I pulled myself away from the girl�s brain, squirmed through her ear canal, then slid into the pool.

With my sonar I watched the girl being dragged to the surface. It wouldn�t take them long to figure out that the Yeerk who had been controlling her was no longer in her body.

I didn�t doubt Visser Three would find a way to search the pool for me and Aftran.

I needed to get out of here. Now. Something with wings. I wanted wings in the worst kind of way.

But before I could morph to bird, I had to demorph into my human body. In the Yeerk pool.

I dove deep. Down below most of the other Yeerks. And I began to become human again.

My Yeerk body flattened out. Stretching, stretching, stretching. It formed a head. Arms. Legs. But all flat. I was like a giant paper doll.

I felt my bones regrow, pushing against my flat body. Making it three-dimensional again. My skin changed in texture, and I could no longer breathe through it.

Eyes, nose, lips pushed out of my paper-doll face.

A pounding started up in my chest as my heart re-formed. My veins and arteries expanded, and blood began to rush through them. My stomach and intestines plumped up inside me. My lungs inflated. And started to burn.

I needed air. Badly.

I paddled up to the top of the pool. I tilted my head back and allowed only my nose to break through the surface.

I pulled breath after breath into my aching lungs.

Then I heard the words that turned my body to stone.

<No one touch her,> Visser Three ordered.

New lesson as to why Visser Three is a bad boss....and a bad negotiator. You don't threaten Afran by saying "First you're going to tell me what I want to know and then I'm going to torture you". You want to give Afran at least some incentive to cooperate.

Also, I think it's unlikely that Cassie will remember how to drive when this thing is over.

# ? Sep 20, 2021 03:22

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

Expecting it to be a fakeout and for V3 to be referring to the captured voluntary host there.

# ? Sep 20, 2021 03:30

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

Cassie... crossing quite a few moral boundaries here. Girl can be ruthless when she needs to be.

# ? Sep 20, 2021 03:48

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

Chapter 22

I always wondered how Yeerks would be able to carry out the reinfestation without getting preempted like this. They have no real senses; sonar is pretty sketchy. How do they recognize a given person is their proper host?

Getting the wrong person must happen pretty often. Especially since there's a whole peace movement lurking in the pool, not to mention, what, half of them are conscientious objectors or apathetic, not interested in fighting at all? As Cassie demonstrated, a rogue Yeerk could take control of someone and everyone would be none the wiser. They could come back to the pool three days later and drop straight back into anonymity. It's not like any in the pool can communicate or complain that their host was hijacked. You'd just have to pick an unwilling host to make sure the free host wouldn't report you, if they somehow managed to glean your name/rank in the process.

# ? Sep 20, 2021 05:38

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# ? May 24, 2024 22:26

Crespolini: Mar 9, 2014

I'm pretty sure yeerks can communicate in the pool somehow. Messages are passed back and forth, and they have access to data terminals and research materials as per previous novels IIRC

# ? Sep 20, 2021 09:11

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

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