Post by cameraguy on Feb 24, 2010 16:11:57 GMT -5
“The Case for Intelligent Zombies Within The HG World Universe.”
~And~
“The Possible Origin of Pervasive Asimilative Immuno-Necrosis.”
<I would like to preface this thesis with a few statements.
First, this is Jay Smith’s universe and we are all just fans, players or both in it. I would not presume to change the rules of it or force things into it which do not belong. In that spirit what follows can, at best, be regarded as baseless speculation or, at worst, the rantings of a madman who forgot to take his medication this morning.
Second, it is entirely possible I stumbled onto “the big reveal” before it’s time. I haven’t had a chance to read through every post here, but I have not seen any speculation on the topic I am about to cover thus far. I refuse to believe that I’m more clever than the average person, therefore I may be talking “out of school” and this missive will be redacted or removed entirely OR I’m way off base and you should refer to the medication thing in the last paragraph.
However, just on the outside chance that I might be onto something, a remote possibility to be sure, and you do not wish to have anything spoiled in the future, you may wish to stop reading this about now. No, I mean it. I’m going to have to give my big story arc theory before I can get into the whys and wherefores of Intelligent Zombies. So you have one more paragraph before I rock your (HG) world.
Third, I am a big fan of HG World and what Jay and his crew have done with it. I can’t praise you guys enough, from writing to voice acting to post-production this audio drama is top notch. I hope to some day become a part of it, (Which is about 15% of the motivation of writing this. Hey, if Jay likes the ideas in here maybe I’ll get a chance to play the part.) but for now I’m content to eagerly wait for a new episode every month.
If you are still here, there could be the largest spoiler EVER in the next few paragraphs. (Unless this is already common knowledge and I’ve just blown my big build-up.) I implore you to stop reading if you don’t want to see past the horizon.
Our actual post starts now…>
When considering the case for intelligent zombies within the HG World universe we must first try to ascertain, to the best of our ability with the limited information we have available to us, the pathology of the contagion at the heart of the epidemic. In short, what’s turning human beings into the walking dead, how does it work and why does it do it in the first place.
As for what it is, I believe we have been given several hints both within the scope of the show and one huge one from outside. I submit to you that the disease turning the population of Earth into mindless eaters of human flesh have much more in common with the “Triangles” of Scott Sigler’s book “Infected” than with anything George Romero put on the silver screen.
The disease is actually sentient beings, either from another dimension or just from outer space, that are infecting host humans either for mere survival or as a means of procreation.
This has been hinted at several times within the show. The two instances which leap to mind are the interview that Todd Rage had with Jonas Drew, which Todd quickly booted from the airwaves for being a crackpot, and when Gray said that he had voices in his head and that it was hard to focus. (More on Gray a little later.)
Wiser and more talented men than I have said that if an alien invasion ever does occur, we can scarcely expect them to come in vast metal ships and be symmetrical bipeds just because that’s how we portray them in popular culture. They are just as likely, if not more so, to be microbes as they are to be the grey/white creatures from “Independence Day”. The microbes would take much less energy to transport interstellar distances and could actually be biological-nano-machines sent to collect data from a planet and report it’s findings back.
The alternate dimension theory is also an interesting one. And again, I would think it would take much less energy to move something as small as a microbe across a dimensional barrier than a full-sized “alien”. This “intelligent microbe” would have zero natural predators within our universe and nothing within our immune system would know how to fight it. Thus rapid and near universal infection when the “invader” is introduced into a fresh host body would be inevitable.
It is possible that within it’s natural eco-system our “alien bug”, whether of celestial or extra-dimensional origin, could be the “top of the food chain” as it were. If this microbe takes over the motor functions of it’s host and can use the host to continue the species by means of infecting other suitable creatures, then it could be dominant in virtually any environment. And being intelligent, could it bypass any natural immunity that might develop over time in other species around it? This could be important if humanity were to try to make a vaccine for the zombie plague.
By the same token, being such a different environment, the microbes could have a difficult time finding suitable hosts and would need to work with what’s available to them. Perhaps they are used to hosts with larger, less densely packed brains than humans possess. Or maybe they are the only sentient creatures in their eco-system, so that they never had to fight against higher brain functions before. There is any number of reasons that their control of human hosts is limited,. However, it would appear that they need the complex nervous system or the computing capacity contained in the human body as they haven’t infected any other species to my knowledge. (Since our current “visual” scope is limited to Wish Well and the UN contingent, it would be interesting to hear if this condition has also been found in other species with large brains such as the great apes or dolphins.) They might also only have limited mental capacity in the first place and survival is all they are concerned with. (Though that would be a vastly more limited world in which to set a story.)
There are examples right here on Earth of one species turning another into a “zombie” as a way on ensuring it’s continuation. Both the Phorid Flies of South America and Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis Fungus of Thailand make zombies of the local ant populations to ensure the continuation of their species, much to the ants’ dismay I‘m sure. I don’t believe it would be a stretch to think this could be the case in extra-terrestrial eco-systems as well.
As an aside, one of the largest hints that we are not looking at a traditional “Zombie/Survival Horror” story and more of an “Alien Invasion/Survival Horror” story is in the title of the show itself. “HG World”, I submit, is actually an homage to the writer of the original planetary invasion story “War of the Worlds”. That being, of course, HG Wells.
HG <Wells> <War of the> World<s>
You might also recall that the savior of humanity in the original “War of the Worlds” was the common cold virus. Which I think could be another indication that a virus could play a major role in this story as well.
All of this, of course, is rather “meta” and could be merely a shadow I am jumping at and not the case at all. Just an odd coincidence that fits nicely within my conspiratorial framework. Again refer back to that whole ranting/medication thing.
So, if we take the whole “sentient disease” (Which I will refer to as “Invaders” or “Invader virus“.) premise and logically go forward, the Intelligent Zombie is almost inevitable.
The “Invaders” will learn and adapt in the manner of smart creatures and will gain greater control over their hosts. Whether this would take an extended period of time within the current zombie population or actually take further generations of the creatures (Something made difficult by the lack of available host) I would not hazard to guess.
I am reasonably sure it would happen eventually and would guess that the conversion would follow the usual bell curve, thus there would be “early adopters” that could show-up much sooner than the majority of it’s fellows. This might also be an incremental increase in control that does not follow a strict progression. So that you may have some zombies that can talk, but still not have complete motor function and vice versa. I suggest the latter as being the most dangerous of the potential zombie types, mindless and human-fast, not a good combo plate.
But it’s obvious that there can be conditions under which the Intelligent Zombie can be created without waiting for these creatures to learn or adapt to our physiology. Everyone’s favorite torture subject, Gray, was the first, and thus far only, one revealed on the show. What made him not turn into a mindless automaton when he was infected? I’ll be honest, I have no idea. But allow me to speculate for a moment and then move on to other likely candidates.
First and foremost, Gray was a narcissist bordering on sociopath when he was alive. He had little regard for other human beings and cared only for his own survival and pleasure. This mindset would seem to fit quite nicely with our Invader, not the same track mind you, but likely a parallel one.
Second, Gray understood after he was bitten that he would become one of the undead. While I’m sure many either denied the reality of their situation or fought it as best they could. He not only didn’t fight this transition, but on a certain level embraced it and examined the process as it occurred. While I’m sure this could have simply been used as a storytelling device to explain how the process takes place for the listeners, it also could have prepared his mind to be more receptive of this outside entity and thus less damage was done to the higher brain functions as the brain was infected.
And finally, Gray was a heavy user of drugs and alcohol. Over time this can subtly change the chemistry of your brain. It is possible that in his case it changed it enough to be a more suitable host for the Invader virus. The fact that he consumed large quantities of alcohol during the transition might also be a factor and since it wouldn’t metabolize after his death he could have, in essence, gotten the Invader permanently drunk. Though I doubt the solution to this situation is that simple.
If we set Gray aside for the moment as a unique case, what other categories of people might make more suitable hosts?
I submit to you that the largest obstacle in the way of the Invaders is the higher brain functions and personalities of the host humans. Therefore the most likely hosts for an Intelligent Zombie would be those people who have no personality of their own. By this I don’t mean the boring guy who works in accounting. Believe me, he has as much survival instinct as you or I. No, I mean those people who are essentially a blank slate.
Coma victims, severe autism sufferers and extreme drug users would head my list of possible candidates for this process. Since the personality is sublimated, either by natural processes or induced ones, there is much less resistance to the Invader virus and therefore less damage done in the process. Leaving a higher chance that there would be usable brain tissue left, since the Invader didn’t need to take a “scorched brain” approach to take over the host, and therefore a greater chance for intelligence on a shorter term basis.
Then the question comes, who would be “in charge”? Since the Invader has no concept of this world and/or it’s rules (By that I mean simple survival concepts, not social mores‘.) it may try to access what little information is contained in the synapses that were available to it. This would “flavor” the Invader to the world view of the host, which could make for interesting characters indeed. (They might even “act like” the host as a means of camouflage and survival mechanism.) Someone who’s been in a coma for 20 years would have a very different recollection of the world. Or what sort of information would the Invader get from an autistic person who has lived mostly in their own head for decades. Not to mention, what would they make of the worldview of a meth addict?
It is also possible that an Invader, being so disorientated by it’s current situation, might cling to whatever information it has available to it. Thus actually believing that it IS the host. Shades of Gray anyone?
And what would the motivations of this combined creature be? Well, that would depend greatly on what the motivations and base personality of the Invaders is. Are they explorers, militaristic conquerors, or just creatures torn from their home and needing a new place to live? Peaceful or hostile? Caring or thoughtless? We just don’t know if their current actions are because they want to wipe-out the human race (Which seems unlikely since they appear to need us as hosts) or if it’s merely because they don’t know any better. Over the centuries humans have fought many wars over misunderstanding of a different culture within our own species. Imagine the possibilities when we are talking completely different forms of life (Complex multi-cell vs. microbes/virus) and possibly even different dimensions where the rules of existence itself are not the same.
Now, if we take Gray as an example, the sociopath personality as well as the psychopath could be a compatible host for the Invaders. Though this would not bode well for humanity. Is it possible that this sort of person would be spurred on to amazing feats of heroics to save his fellow humans from this invasion? Possible, but unlikely. It might make for an interesting ongoing nemesis or recurring anti-hero though.
Another possibility for a host that I think would make for an interesting character would be that of someone who suffers from multiple personality disorder being infected by the Invader virus. To this, now dead, individual the “zombie personality” is simply one more facet of them. The other personalities are aware of it and appalled at the things it does, but are powerless to stop it. Would this person ultimately kill himself or would the self preservation of two species prevent that?
And would the inherent humanity of the hosts come through? Would they see what they and their fellows are doing to the population of our planet and try to help stop it? Or would they only see their continued existence as the goal and do their best to continue the invasion? Would their be a split among the Invaders with some on both sides of the equation?
I guess only time, and the pen of Jay Smith, will tell.
~And~
“The Possible Origin of Pervasive Asimilative Immuno-Necrosis.”
<I would like to preface this thesis with a few statements.
First, this is Jay Smith’s universe and we are all just fans, players or both in it. I would not presume to change the rules of it or force things into it which do not belong. In that spirit what follows can, at best, be regarded as baseless speculation or, at worst, the rantings of a madman who forgot to take his medication this morning.
Second, it is entirely possible I stumbled onto “the big reveal” before it’s time. I haven’t had a chance to read through every post here, but I have not seen any speculation on the topic I am about to cover thus far. I refuse to believe that I’m more clever than the average person, therefore I may be talking “out of school” and this missive will be redacted or removed entirely OR I’m way off base and you should refer to the medication thing in the last paragraph.
However, just on the outside chance that I might be onto something, a remote possibility to be sure, and you do not wish to have anything spoiled in the future, you may wish to stop reading this about now. No, I mean it. I’m going to have to give my big story arc theory before I can get into the whys and wherefores of Intelligent Zombies. So you have one more paragraph before I rock your (HG) world.
Third, I am a big fan of HG World and what Jay and his crew have done with it. I can’t praise you guys enough, from writing to voice acting to post-production this audio drama is top notch. I hope to some day become a part of it, (Which is about 15% of the motivation of writing this. Hey, if Jay likes the ideas in here maybe I’ll get a chance to play the part.) but for now I’m content to eagerly wait for a new episode every month.
If you are still here, there could be the largest spoiler EVER in the next few paragraphs. (Unless this is already common knowledge and I’ve just blown my big build-up.) I implore you to stop reading if you don’t want to see past the horizon.
Our actual post starts now…>
When considering the case for intelligent zombies within the HG World universe we must first try to ascertain, to the best of our ability with the limited information we have available to us, the pathology of the contagion at the heart of the epidemic. In short, what’s turning human beings into the walking dead, how does it work and why does it do it in the first place.
As for what it is, I believe we have been given several hints both within the scope of the show and one huge one from outside. I submit to you that the disease turning the population of Earth into mindless eaters of human flesh have much more in common with the “Triangles” of Scott Sigler’s book “Infected” than with anything George Romero put on the silver screen.
The disease is actually sentient beings, either from another dimension or just from outer space, that are infecting host humans either for mere survival or as a means of procreation.
This has been hinted at several times within the show. The two instances which leap to mind are the interview that Todd Rage had with Jonas Drew, which Todd quickly booted from the airwaves for being a crackpot, and when Gray said that he had voices in his head and that it was hard to focus. (More on Gray a little later.)
Wiser and more talented men than I have said that if an alien invasion ever does occur, we can scarcely expect them to come in vast metal ships and be symmetrical bipeds just because that’s how we portray them in popular culture. They are just as likely, if not more so, to be microbes as they are to be the grey/white creatures from “Independence Day”. The microbes would take much less energy to transport interstellar distances and could actually be biological-nano-machines sent to collect data from a planet and report it’s findings back.
The alternate dimension theory is also an interesting one. And again, I would think it would take much less energy to move something as small as a microbe across a dimensional barrier than a full-sized “alien”. This “intelligent microbe” would have zero natural predators within our universe and nothing within our immune system would know how to fight it. Thus rapid and near universal infection when the “invader” is introduced into a fresh host body would be inevitable.
It is possible that within it’s natural eco-system our “alien bug”, whether of celestial or extra-dimensional origin, could be the “top of the food chain” as it were. If this microbe takes over the motor functions of it’s host and can use the host to continue the species by means of infecting other suitable creatures, then it could be dominant in virtually any environment. And being intelligent, could it bypass any natural immunity that might develop over time in other species around it? This could be important if humanity were to try to make a vaccine for the zombie plague.
By the same token, being such a different environment, the microbes could have a difficult time finding suitable hosts and would need to work with what’s available to them. Perhaps they are used to hosts with larger, less densely packed brains than humans possess. Or maybe they are the only sentient creatures in their eco-system, so that they never had to fight against higher brain functions before. There is any number of reasons that their control of human hosts is limited,. However, it would appear that they need the complex nervous system or the computing capacity contained in the human body as they haven’t infected any other species to my knowledge. (Since our current “visual” scope is limited to Wish Well and the UN contingent, it would be interesting to hear if this condition has also been found in other species with large brains such as the great apes or dolphins.) They might also only have limited mental capacity in the first place and survival is all they are concerned with. (Though that would be a vastly more limited world in which to set a story.)
There are examples right here on Earth of one species turning another into a “zombie” as a way on ensuring it’s continuation. Both the Phorid Flies of South America and Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis Fungus of Thailand make zombies of the local ant populations to ensure the continuation of their species, much to the ants’ dismay I‘m sure. I don’t believe it would be a stretch to think this could be the case in extra-terrestrial eco-systems as well.
As an aside, one of the largest hints that we are not looking at a traditional “Zombie/Survival Horror” story and more of an “Alien Invasion/Survival Horror” story is in the title of the show itself. “HG World”, I submit, is actually an homage to the writer of the original planetary invasion story “War of the Worlds”. That being, of course, HG Wells.
HG <Wells> <War of the> World<s>
You might also recall that the savior of humanity in the original “War of the Worlds” was the common cold virus. Which I think could be another indication that a virus could play a major role in this story as well.
All of this, of course, is rather “meta” and could be merely a shadow I am jumping at and not the case at all. Just an odd coincidence that fits nicely within my conspiratorial framework. Again refer back to that whole ranting/medication thing.
So, if we take the whole “sentient disease” (Which I will refer to as “Invaders” or “Invader virus“.) premise and logically go forward, the Intelligent Zombie is almost inevitable.
The “Invaders” will learn and adapt in the manner of smart creatures and will gain greater control over their hosts. Whether this would take an extended period of time within the current zombie population or actually take further generations of the creatures (Something made difficult by the lack of available host) I would not hazard to guess.
I am reasonably sure it would happen eventually and would guess that the conversion would follow the usual bell curve, thus there would be “early adopters” that could show-up much sooner than the majority of it’s fellows. This might also be an incremental increase in control that does not follow a strict progression. So that you may have some zombies that can talk, but still not have complete motor function and vice versa. I suggest the latter as being the most dangerous of the potential zombie types, mindless and human-fast, not a good combo plate.
But it’s obvious that there can be conditions under which the Intelligent Zombie can be created without waiting for these creatures to learn or adapt to our physiology. Everyone’s favorite torture subject, Gray, was the first, and thus far only, one revealed on the show. What made him not turn into a mindless automaton when he was infected? I’ll be honest, I have no idea. But allow me to speculate for a moment and then move on to other likely candidates.
First and foremost, Gray was a narcissist bordering on sociopath when he was alive. He had little regard for other human beings and cared only for his own survival and pleasure. This mindset would seem to fit quite nicely with our Invader, not the same track mind you, but likely a parallel one.
Second, Gray understood after he was bitten that he would become one of the undead. While I’m sure many either denied the reality of their situation or fought it as best they could. He not only didn’t fight this transition, but on a certain level embraced it and examined the process as it occurred. While I’m sure this could have simply been used as a storytelling device to explain how the process takes place for the listeners, it also could have prepared his mind to be more receptive of this outside entity and thus less damage was done to the higher brain functions as the brain was infected.
And finally, Gray was a heavy user of drugs and alcohol. Over time this can subtly change the chemistry of your brain. It is possible that in his case it changed it enough to be a more suitable host for the Invader virus. The fact that he consumed large quantities of alcohol during the transition might also be a factor and since it wouldn’t metabolize after his death he could have, in essence, gotten the Invader permanently drunk. Though I doubt the solution to this situation is that simple.
If we set Gray aside for the moment as a unique case, what other categories of people might make more suitable hosts?
I submit to you that the largest obstacle in the way of the Invaders is the higher brain functions and personalities of the host humans. Therefore the most likely hosts for an Intelligent Zombie would be those people who have no personality of their own. By this I don’t mean the boring guy who works in accounting. Believe me, he has as much survival instinct as you or I. No, I mean those people who are essentially a blank slate.
Coma victims, severe autism sufferers and extreme drug users would head my list of possible candidates for this process. Since the personality is sublimated, either by natural processes or induced ones, there is much less resistance to the Invader virus and therefore less damage done in the process. Leaving a higher chance that there would be usable brain tissue left, since the Invader didn’t need to take a “scorched brain” approach to take over the host, and therefore a greater chance for intelligence on a shorter term basis.
Then the question comes, who would be “in charge”? Since the Invader has no concept of this world and/or it’s rules (By that I mean simple survival concepts, not social mores‘.) it may try to access what little information is contained in the synapses that were available to it. This would “flavor” the Invader to the world view of the host, which could make for interesting characters indeed. (They might even “act like” the host as a means of camouflage and survival mechanism.) Someone who’s been in a coma for 20 years would have a very different recollection of the world. Or what sort of information would the Invader get from an autistic person who has lived mostly in their own head for decades. Not to mention, what would they make of the worldview of a meth addict?
It is also possible that an Invader, being so disorientated by it’s current situation, might cling to whatever information it has available to it. Thus actually believing that it IS the host. Shades of Gray anyone?
And what would the motivations of this combined creature be? Well, that would depend greatly on what the motivations and base personality of the Invaders is. Are they explorers, militaristic conquerors, or just creatures torn from their home and needing a new place to live? Peaceful or hostile? Caring or thoughtless? We just don’t know if their current actions are because they want to wipe-out the human race (Which seems unlikely since they appear to need us as hosts) or if it’s merely because they don’t know any better. Over the centuries humans have fought many wars over misunderstanding of a different culture within our own species. Imagine the possibilities when we are talking completely different forms of life (Complex multi-cell vs. microbes/virus) and possibly even different dimensions where the rules of existence itself are not the same.
Now, if we take Gray as an example, the sociopath personality as well as the psychopath could be a compatible host for the Invaders. Though this would not bode well for humanity. Is it possible that this sort of person would be spurred on to amazing feats of heroics to save his fellow humans from this invasion? Possible, but unlikely. It might make for an interesting ongoing nemesis or recurring anti-hero though.
Another possibility for a host that I think would make for an interesting character would be that of someone who suffers from multiple personality disorder being infected by the Invader virus. To this, now dead, individual the “zombie personality” is simply one more facet of them. The other personalities are aware of it and appalled at the things it does, but are powerless to stop it. Would this person ultimately kill himself or would the self preservation of two species prevent that?
And would the inherent humanity of the hosts come through? Would they see what they and their fellows are doing to the population of our planet and try to help stop it? Or would they only see their continued existence as the goal and do their best to continue the invasion? Would their be a split among the Invaders with some on both sides of the equation?
I guess only time, and the pen of Jay Smith, will tell.