I hope this hasn't been asked already (for the sake of not being annoying), but I have a theory/theories I was hoping to discuss and debate with others. I'm only up to re-reading book six, but spoilers are fine. I just really want to better understand how these things might work in canon, and any possibilities for this TO work.
So, I have thoughts/a theory and I wanted to share, and ask for opinions. For starters, I'm only on episode 6 and haven't read the series in years.But here's what I have so far.
I'm canon, the Yeerks (As far as we know) have never dealt with mental illness at this point. And while they are in charge of the human body, they never fully drive out its consciousness.They're still there. Plus, it's safer to assume that they're not actively controlling the basic functions of the human body (breathing, heartbeat,etc.). That's more work than it's worth. Another thing to add is that while they can take control of the brain,they cannot change it's makeup. And if you aren't neurotypical, you're brain has a different make up from those that are. Example,I have ADHD. My frontal lobe is not the same as someone who is neurotypical and is somewhat dysfunctional. And the parts of my brain that control balance and processing (pretty sure the frontal lobe is part of this) have issues as well. My brain can't fully process information easily, causing a general overload of information and making it difficult to make decisions. Plus, I have emotional dysregulation. My brain literally cannot control the amount of chemicals pumped into the brain to cause emotion. My brain is swimming in an emotional soup. I can handle this, even though it's involuntary and things I can't control. But can a Yeerk?
If they have little to no experience with mental illness,and a Yeerk ends up in the brain of someone with ADHD or some other mental illness, where the human cannot control the basic involuntary functions of the brain and the Yeerk allows the body and brain to take control of those functions to avoid overworking itself and needing to free more, would that not make it difficult for the Yeerk to control the human? As stated before,it cannot change the makeup of the brain. And to be in charge of those functions would not only be difficult,if not almost impossible,the very fact of doing so would be a tax on their energy. And even if it learns coping mechanisms from the human, there's a difference between knowing what to do and being able to carry it out (anyone learning from day one as a kid can look back and tell you how tough it was just to become functioning, even when they knew about the mental illness). The Yeerk would essentially have to hand over control of the brain to the human when symptoms got really bad,and they definitely would considering the human now has a Yeerk in their head and is very aware. Sure, they could decommission the human, but as someone who has executive dysfunction and has had depression like mood swings, as well as being easily distractible, you can get your ads if lean on those symptoms for days and never allow myself to control them. My impulses would take over and I'd let them. And if the Yeerk is basically a toddler when it comes to experience with ADHD, they're screwed. Especially if I don't have my meds and it's forgotten to get them. The brain has an impulse to eat an oreo? ****, we're eating an oreo. You wanted my brain without me controlling it,fine. Have fun. But you're gonna end up late to The Sharing, to meetings, maybe even to feeding because this brain has absolutely no concept of time. And if it gets distracted, too bad. I'm not doing ****. Hell, I'm typing this as I'm supposed to be getting ready for work. I KNOW what's happening and I'm having trouble getting up to change for work.
And if a Yeerk does take on qualities of their hosts, sure you can't catch a mental illness, but who's to say that it doesn't end up taking on bad habits bass upon extended time attached to my brain. Who's to say that it doesn't develop anxiety or PTSD from melding with and sorting through somebody's memories. Do they have mental health programs for that? Because they don't seem like the type of people to do so. Most of the human population has some form of mental illness,whether they're born with it or have developed it over time. I think this would become a strength in some people, because if they can initiate coping techniques and the Yeerk cannot mimic this behavior successfully, the human has an edge to taking control. Maybe not for long,but if it's long enough (say a suicide attempt) and they're in public with a lot of people who still aren't Controllers,they're legally required to be put in a mental hospital until the doctors feel save discharging you.And if the Yeerk tries to fight, hello sedative, goodbye feeding pool.
Plus, how do you handle someone who is bipolar and jumps into a manic episode?if you as a Yeerk can't control it, the brain does what it wants and I'm willing to bet that the human won't do ****. A. The Yeerk can't control them. B. Manic typically equals a sense of euphoria. That may be the happiest that human has been in a long time. If the Yeerk can't control them and the human allows themselves to lose control, who knows how long until the Yeerk decides to make a break for it and ends up dead because the human killed it upon exit, or it was so far away from the pool that natural earth environment (things that would eat it,cars, cats that want some living animal to torture for fun) would have it dead in mere minutes.
And even if there is an actual power struggle,it's bound to catch someone's attention. They'll call the cops. A non Controller cop might put you in jail or a mental hospital. A Controller cop might not know you're also a Controller.if you're working in a large enough group, you can't know all of your co-workers.And if the call to action for that cop is "mentally ill human" they may not even recognize that another Yeerk is having trouble with their human. Plus, they all possess an arrogance that they're capable of fully controlling any being they inhabit. But, if they've never dealt with mental illness and have no way of doing so, or changing the makeup of the brain itself,they could very well lose control.
Also, even if it's not a mental illness you're born with,what if a perfectly neurotypical person spirals into a psychosis involuntarily (I mean, there's going to be a lot of stress and minds being blown by being suddenly taken over by an alien that isn't supposed to exist outside of films and tv)? That's a non voluntary action the brain and body do themselves(similar to breathing and heartbeat). And if the Yeerk isn't controlling those bodily aspects, they might not have time not the ability to control an issue with psychosis. And if they don't have that control,they can't just run to a Yeerk pool to escape. Plus, if they're so interconnected with the human brain, they could enter a psychosis as well. And it's not like they're always going to be able to expect that possibility by reading the human's mind,because they may not be aware of that possibility either.
My question is, so do any of you think my theory/theories are possible and what are your thoughts on them?
Thank you for listening to my TedTalk.
