How to fight the war

[MikeR]

I think that the Animorphs could have been much more effective in the war, with a different strategy. Seems to me that once the knowledge is widespread that this war is happening, the Yeerks would lose for sure. With everyone else keeping an eye out, the Controllers would be hard-pressed to get to their Yeerk pools, to hide the pools, to infest new people. Suspects could be quarantined for three days. Once their Yeerks die, the hosts would be able to tell all kinds of things about what the Yeerks are doing.
Seems like the invasion would be over in days.

Unless the Yeerks just used force and their spaceships. But it doesn't sound like that was something they were willing to do. They rely on stealth and building up numbers till it's too late.

So, strategy. Instead of spending their time and efforts foiling this Yeerk plan and that one, how should the Animorphs plan to get the word out? And do it in a way that people won't just think they're crazy?

A couple of ideas (maybe others will have more):
1) Try to get film footage of a Yeerk pool and people getting infested. Can they sneak back in as moles, and somehow bring a portable camera or such? Maybe Ax or Eric could help with something small that would really let them show infestation and everything.

2) Try to free someone really powerful. Instead of fighting hard to prevent the governor and such from being infested, you want him to get infested! Then wait a little while, and plan a kidnapping. Since the Yeerks kill escaped hosts, you need to do it suddenly and secretly, some time when no one is watching him. Break into his house, knock him out, get him far away before the Yeerks realize. Then tie him up for three days (or kidnap him just before the third day to save time). Once the governor is freed, he can come forward and tell everyone about the invasion, hopefully with video. Tell everyone that he doesn't know which policemen and doctors and all are infested, but we all have to on the lookout, and that in the next few days, a lot of infested people are going to be trying to cover up this story and say it's all a hoax. Tell everyone to go right now and find the underground pool in such-and-such a location. I think that, properly planned and a little luck, the story could quickly be impossible to squelch.

[Noelle]

I think probably the most effective way to end the war, as described in the novels, would be to find a government that they knew the Yeerks didn't have a hold of and tell them, then that government could get the wheels turning to put a stop to the invasion.

That, or get a hold of a scientist.  Ax could easily hook up with a scientist in an observatory somewhere else in the country and program their telescope to talk to the Andalite homeworld.  If anything the scientific community could deal with the invasion much more efficiently than the government could (and they would advise them, anyway.)

Really, they didn't need to get footage of the yeerk pool at all.  All they had to do was video tape Ax turning into a human or turning into something else, and that at the very least would open the door for people realizing that something was up.

I think a big part of their problem is that the kids didn't know how wide-spread the invasion was.  If I were the kids, I would have assumed that there were Yeerks in all the other countries too, I would have never guessed that they just settled in Cali and that was it.


-Which brings me to the point...why weren't the Yeerks more widespread?  In book 20 it seemed to suggest they were, which would mean they were in different countries.  (Though, Erek only said 1 of the world leaders was a Yeerk, never says which one.  But how could he know one of them is but not know which one?    Maybe just a plot device thrown in so the kids couldn't do the obvious, go the world leaders and be like "STOP!  You're gonna get Yeerked!  Our blue friend here says so!)

[Blazing Angel]

I think they could have won the war if they had simply kept the Pemalite ship and supercomputer. The ship was probably indestructable to any weapon, and the computer was probably capable of hacking ANYTHING. Even if it can't it can still reprogram Chee. Even if the Chee cannot forget killing anything, imagine you send one reprogrammed Chee to the yeerk pool, he kills everything, takes a bug fighter to the blad ship and rips everyone to pieces. After the war is won, you can put it out of its misery with one full power dracon blast.

[Chad32]

I don't think an open war would work in Earth's favor. I do think that spreading the word via the internet was a good idea, though KA really didn't think much of it. What they were doing wasn't bad, though if they were more willing to let the few die to protect the many, they could have done more. recuit operatives, use what they have to a greater effect (The Chee, Free Horks, and YPM), and track down kandrona machines. If Chee can produce it, I see no reason why they can't track it down.