Richard's Animorphs Forum

Uh-oh, someone just dug up my favorite thing to think about in the whole series.

On topic: I don't think The One was a way to start over, I think it was a way to continue the series, if she ever decided to.  (Though, that includes starting over if you include the numerous trump cards she put into the series, such as sario-rips, the Ellimist, etc.)


TLDR version: I think that The One was mentioned in 26, 41, and the last book.  (Was it ever explicitly stated by KAA that The One was a new character that was never mentioned before?)


You're on crack what's your reasoning version:

In 26, the Ellimist makes reference to the Yeerks being a pawn in Crayak's plan, and then leading the creatures they take over to a force that is even more controlling.  "<Earth is part of our game, Crayak's and mine. He would have the Yeerks absorb humans and later be absorbed by some still more vicious species. But Earth is not the reason I have come to you now.>"

It is part of the Crayak's vision to have the galaxy controlled by one strong race, as stated by the Ellimist in 26: "He wants a galaxy cleansed of creation. His goal, I soon realized, is to destroy life. His method is to use one species against another, strong destroying weak, and then strong in turn being destroyed by the stronger still. He believes that there should be only one species. A single sentient race, which would be subjugated by him."

Most would think that means one Master Race that would kill all the other races and be under the control of the Crayak.  But, if the Crayak were smart, he could instead control one being that could assimilate all the other races (The One,) and then use the assimilated beings against the rest of the universe, and then he has his one Master Race under his control, which is basically all the races in the galaxy under his command, then he could go back and b!tch-slap the guy that kicked him out of the other universe with his massive army of everything.


Now, as for 41, I do think it was "The One" that was looking into Jake's mind.  My guess was that it was actually just a dream brought about his own paranoia/stress about the situation he was in, but I think that Crayak was always able to look into Jake's mind, not only because of the Yeerk dying in his mind, but because he morphed a Howler, which had a hive mind of sorts and was controlled by the Crayak.  If The One was a pawn of Crayak, that would mean Crayak could probably give a sneak peek into Jake's mind, which would prompt him/it/them also being able to be heard by Jake.  I think the description of the voice, which basically seems to suggest a unified mind of assimilated victims, is enough to surmise that it could be all the creatures that The One assimilated.  And it makes sense that The One would say things like "they bear studying" because the entity most likely had no contact with humans until right then.

And as an off-topic to my off-topic, I don't know why everyone assumes Jake chose Cassie, at the end of the book I always assumed Jake DIDN'T choose Cassie, which is reflected at the end of the series when their relationship began to fall apart because he began to finally think about the rest of the world and saving it instead of what Cassie wanted. 

Anyway, I think that all opens up the ending for basically an Animorphs 2.0, where it is essentially a war between The One (Crayak himself, in a sense) and the rest of the world.  But I'll save my Kelbrid/Andalite/rest of the universe theories for later because everyone is probably reading this and going "you're crazy" right about now.   


Feel free to poke holes in the logic, better now than after I post fanfics and everyone goes "LOL PLOTHOLE!"   

Right, the key to a causal loop plot is that the people who keep their memories and/or bodies etc despite the timeline changes have to deal with the fact that what they experienced was in fact *real*, and the choices they made actually *happened*, the consequences were real, and this is a do-over, no one else will know what happened the first time, but it *did* happen. And that in itself is another delima about the ethics of choices and time travel.

You haven't read the Darren Shan Saga by any chance? 

Nope, but Ill look into it. Im always after something new to read. 

Best of both worlds.

And *that* is another Star Trek refernce (whether by intention or coincidence) 

Hmmm... I enjoy writing... I should write something up.....
Im quite versed in temporal mechanics.... okay so obsessed is a much better descriptor.

Maybe. But Jake would still have to deal with a dead Tom, and realizing he would have willingly condemned Rachel to kill him, so hes dead in both timelines and that bites for him *bad*

Plus, imagine the issues left to deal with in trying to resume 'normal' life after what theyve been through?

Impracticality, insanity, impossiblity, improbability, implausibility... these things are relative. 

Main thing for me is, wouldnt it have been cool to end in such a way as to do what was done in the last books, then RE-do it so it never happened and their world becomes the world of today thus making it plausible that all this really exists and elaving more to the active imagination.

Truth be told? personal preference.  Thats where I began to dislike the plot.
I was depressed with the plot of the series from shortly after they blew up the Yeerk pool all the way till the end.

Im no one to assume the right of judgement, but personally Id've rather seen the cube get lost to Tom, the pool blow up, a more all out war, some goverment guys in on it, but in the end;
A; Tom sacrifice his life to kill the Visser One's Yeerk and Save Alloram and the Animorphs.
B; the Animorphs all survive
C; the whole thing get covered up as part of the terms negotiated between the Animorphs, the Andalite Government and the US Government.
D; Jake frees his parents.
E; their hometown is largely un-scathed
F; no publicity. at all.
G; some kind of transferance, where another group of kids say finds the morphing cube which say was assumed lost in the destruction of say the bladeship.

Something of that nature.

But if you were going to give them a chance to do things different, that would be the best time, because the destruction of the Yeerk pool was the focal point for the rest of the series events.

I think I can bring another semi-plausible theory to the table.

Applegate is obviously fond of Star Trek, and so am I.

I have caught ALOT of references re-reading the last book, and The One sounds almost like the Borg. Specifically the Borg Queen.
The Borg queen refers to herself explicitly as 'The One who is Many' and 'The beggining' in the movie Star Trek First Contact.
(which BTW is about humanity's first FTL flight. and involves a time paradox, specifically a pogo causal loop, many elements mirrored in Animorphs plots)

Also the description of a face that looks like a steel trap jaw and lifeless eyes, that then transfers to a female face, is an almost exact reverse of how the borg queen dies. (her skin is vaporized but her cybernetic skull remains)

Furthermore the word 'assimilate' has been used to describe what happens to those absorbed by the one, this is a *very* borg term.

Lastly using Ax to speak to Jake is HIGHLY reminiscient of when Captain Picard was assimilated by the Borg and made into Locutus, the scene where he confronts his XO (william Riker) closely mirrors the scene between Abosrbed Ax and Jake.

Not saying The One is the Borg, but maybe he/she/it/they were/are Borg *inspired*.

on a side note, a good way to restart would be to have the collision cause a Sario Rip going back to before they blow up the Yeerk pool.