Group Re-Read: #20 The Discovery

[Terenia]

Sorry about the delay, guys. The David Trilogy is by far one of my favorite parts of the series and I was relishing the re-read of the book a bit too much. My bad.

Summary
The blue box Elfangor used to create the Animorphs has been found by a kid named David. David has no idea what he has - or what it can do. But Marco does. And when he sees David with it, he knows the Animorphs have to get that box. At any cost.

But what should have been a simple plan ends up going horribly wrong. And David is on the run with the Animorphs and Ax. Now they have only two choices: turn David over to the Yeerks. Or make him the sixth Animorph...


Questions
1) The Ani's are in a tight spot. They can either give up David to the Yeerks, or make him an Animorph. We all know how that turned out, but hindsight is 20/20. If you were in their place, how would you have voted, and why?

2) Where you surprised by any of the Ani's votes?

3) Do you think David's initial reaction (remember, at this point he hasn't betrayed anyone) is expected and even forgivable?

4) When David kills the crow in eagle morph, in cold blood, is it really as big of a deal as Marco makes it out to be? What does that reveal about his character?

5) Could the Animorphs have been less harsh on David in the first few days of his Animorph-hood?

6) Why the HECK do they move David to Jake's house to spend the night, when his brother is a freaking Controller!?


I have a ton more questions, but they're more pertinent to the next two books. So, next week: #21, The Threat!

[Xan]

1) They had to take the chance, he knew too much at the time. It was either make him an Animorph or kill him.

2) No

3) Yes, he's a kid who lost his parents, he's also mentally unstable.

[Chad32]

I do wonder why they didn't send him to Erek, like Marco did with his dad. I haven't read the David trilogy in forever, so I don't remember him killing a crow. I understand the Anis had a lot going on, but they also could have handled David better. As unlikely as it was for David to fit in, judging from his character before the Yeerks attack, it was made worse by the fact that the Anis were in the middle of one of the biggest missions ever.

[AniJen]

Questions
1) The Ani's are in a tight spot. They can either give up David to the Yeerks, or make him an Animorph. We all know how that turned out, but hindsight is 20/20. If you were in their place, how would you have voted, and why?

***I would have hesitated, but I probably would have gone with the rest of the group.

2) Where you surprised by any of the Ani's votes?

***Not really; they all had reasons for voting the way they did

3) Do you think David's initial reaction (remember, at this point he hasn't betrayed anyone) is expected and even forgivable?

***I didn't really like his character from the beginning. The "I'm to good for anyone else's advice" attitude bugs me.

4) When David kills the crow in eagle morph, in cold blood, is it really as big of a deal as Marco makes it out to be? What does that reveal about his character?

***He is anitsocial at the least. A killer at worst. What Marco saw was a snapshot of a crazy kid with a god complex. Ya, I'd say that was a pretty good warning sign lol.

5) Could the Animorphs have been less harsh on David in the first few days of his Animorph-hood?

***I felt they handled him the way they had to. He wasn't staying at the Ritz but he had food, shelter and protection. His attitude was poor since the beginning.

6) Why the HECK do they move David to Jake's house to spend the night, when his brother is a freaking Controller!?

***It wasn't a sistuation they planned for and they were making it up as they went. My guess is that it was just not thought through.
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[Phoenix004]

1) Since nobody could have guessed how he would turn out, I almost definitely would have agreed to make him an Animorph. I couldn't have lived with myself knowing that I'd basically given an innocent kid to the Yeerks.

2) I think I recall Ax and Rachel's votes surprising me at the time. I would have expected Ax to vote for the chance to increase the strength of the group, and I thought, like Marco, that Rachel would be hesitant about letting a stranger into the group. Marco and Rachel tend to agree on big votes, so it was unexpected to see them differ.

3) I never liked David and he's clearly a jerk, but considering his life is gone, his parents are worse than dead and he'll be hunted by the Yeerks for the rest of his life, I would have understood him acting out.

4) It's definitely an omen of things to come. It's a clear start to the megalomania complex he develops from getting the morphing power.

5) Maybe they could have, but I honestly doubt it would have made a difference.

6) Ha ha! Yeah that was pretty stupid of them! 

[dolphin4077]

1.  Though I respected what Marco and Ax had to say, I would have let David in.  Handing someone over to the Yeerks is just wrong.
2.  I wasn't surprised by their votes, but I was a little surprised Cassie's reasoning was the "we can make more Animorphs" instead bringing up the morality of whether or not it was right to leave someone to the Yeerks.
3.  If you lost your family, your life, and you're stuck in the middle of the war zone you have the right to be angry.  However, I knew the moment he chose the golden eagle he wasn't going to be around for long.  Is it just me or is the golden eagle the most evil animal in the Animorphs universe?     
4.  In all the police and legal dramas on TV, whenever they talk about psychopaths, they always bring up the fact they must have tortured and killed animals when they were kids.  As for David, I think the losing control was a lie.  Also he seems like the kind of guy who wants to always try stuff out and push the limits.
5.  The only one I would really take issue with is Marco.  I think it was in the next book when he makes an awful joke about David's parents being controllers.  However, I think the biggest factor against David's assimilation was the mission.  Maybe if his first hadn't been so huge, things would not have turned out the way they did.
6.Yeah, that always bugged me. 

[Chad32]

Tobias sure does demonize golden eagles. Not sure about anyone else. I think it would have been less risky to just let the Yeerks take him after the point the Yeerks found out where he was. I may have voted against letting him into the group in that circumstance. Or at the very least, taking him to Erek's, and keeping him out of the current mission.

[Cloak]

1) The Ani's are in a tight spot. They can either give up David to the Yeerks, or make him an Animorph. We all know how that turned out, but hindsight is 20/20. If you were in their place, how would you have voted, and why?

I honestly don't know what I'd vote -- outside RAF, I tend to be very untrusting towards people I don't know well.  And I know I can be cold-hearted sometimes.  I'd like to think I would vote on keeping him as an Animorph, but I'd probably put him on a short leash, so to speak.  Which would probably result in everyone being killed by the idiot.

2) Where you surprised by any of the Ani's votes?

No, but actually its been a while since I read this book.

3) Do you think David's initial reaction (remember, at this point he hasn't betrayed anyone) is expected and even forgivable?

Being upset at having your world turned upside-down is understandable.  But then you have to suck it up and move on.  Adapt.

4) When David kills the crow in eagle morph, in cold blood, is it really as big of a deal as Marco makes it out to be? What does that reveal about his character?

I think so.  I personally find it unforgivable, and if I was there I'd smack him upside the head the minute he morphed out.

5) Could the Animorphs have been less harsh on David in the first few days of his Animorph-hood?

They had other concerns than to babysit the little jerk.  As you can tell, I really don't like David.

6) Why the HECK do they move David to Jake's house to spend the night, when his brother is a freaking Controller!?

Yes, it was quite a risk.  They clearly weren't thinking clearly in this instance. . . .

[dolphin4077]

Tobias sure does demonize golden eagles. Not sure about anyone else. I think it would have been less risky to just let the Yeerks take him after the point the Yeerks found out where he was. I may have voted against letting him into the group in that circumstance. Or at the very least, taking him to Erek's, and keeping him out of the current mission.

       Tobias is kinda justified in his attitude toward golden eagles considering the first instinct of the morph was to attack him.  Also when the Yeerks got hold of the morphing cube, the golden eagle became the predominant raptor morph for Controllers.  Taking him to the Chee might have been a good alternative, but there are some flaws with the plan.  First, I don't think David would appreciate being on the run.  He would have gotten away from the Chee as soon as possible.  Best case scenario, the Chee keep him prisoner.  
       However, once they let David in on everything, the worst thing the Animorphs could have done is not take him along on the mission.  No matter how they would explain it to him, David would always think it was because they didn't want him around, didn't think he was good enough to be an Animorph. And of course they couldn't leave him unsupervised.  

[Essam 293]

To add something new to another re-read, I'm going to be listening to the #20 audio book that the Animorphs Radio Drama recently did. I don't think I've ever fully heard one of their shows, and I'm surprised at how long they actually are, but it's absolutely hilarious to go through the book this way too.

For those that are interested:

Animorphs Radio Drama Uncensored: Book #20 - The Discovery

[RYTX]

6 HAS to be a KASU imo. Even if Tom was out (looking for David probably) someone would have said Jakes friend was over later, and then- the end

Again, I don't know if it's just me, but it feels like this was time period is KA at her finest. Easily one of the best parts of the whole series is the trilogy. Always dream of being the new Animorph, they do it, and they twist it like this.
Simply brillant

[AniDragon]

I always wondered why they didn't bring him to the Chee. Remember what one of his biggest complaints was? He just wanted to sleep in a real bed and watch TV. He could have done that at the Chee's, and let's face it, they would have treated him really well.

I was actually planning on making a series of comics regarding David, sort of a "what if" scenario thing. Basically, what if they'd found David when there weren't any huge missions? They'd be able to concentrate on him more, and start him off with small missions, and actually make better decisions about where he'd stay.

Anyway, the first comic would have been the Animorphs bringing him to the Chee, and the dialogue would have been something along the lines of:

Jake: "Hey, Erek, is it alright if David stays with the Chee for a while?"
Erek: "Sure." *looks at David* "Do you like dogs?"
David: "Actually I'm more of a cat pers--"
*Marco stomps on his foot*
Marco: "He LOVES dogs."
Erek: "...."

[Terenia]

Another interesting thing that happened in #20. When they're forced to morph roach in the Blade Ship David, understandably, freaks out b/c it's his first bug morph. It's Cassie who convinces him to finish morphing, by manipulating him with the basic argument of, "If Marco, who you hate, can do it, why can't you?"

Anyone think it was interesting/weird/revealing to see Cassie use her powers of observation to manipulate someone? Especially after #19?

[RYTX]

Really, no.
It's one of the qualities she shares with Jake.
She can cut through the PC stuff and do what's dirty to too whats needed, perfectly highlighted at the end of the trilogy, eh?
It does seem sudden after all the stuff in 19, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and other generic sayings

[dolphin4077]

Another interesting thing that happened in #20. When they're forced to morph roach in the Blade Ship David, understandably, freaks out b/c it's his first bug morph. It's Cassie who convinces him to finish morphing, by manipulating him with the basic argument of, "If Marco, who you hate, can do it, why can't you?"

Anyone think it was interesting/weird/revealing to see Cassie use her powers of observation to manipulate someone? Especially after #19?

It definitely was foreshadowing.  I think that moment also kind of showed her getting back into the swing of what her role is as an Animorph.  However, one of the things the David trilogy was brilliant at was showing the dark side of being an Animorph, and I'm not just talking about David's behavior.