Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?

[Essam 293]

Just a hypothetical question that got me thinking as I'm reading through The Host at the moment. In both stories, Animorphs and The Host, the parasites enforced themselves into humans in the first wave, but what if in real life that wasn't the case?

What if in our reality, a bunch of aliens came down as Hork-Bajirs or spiders,  or any of the other creatures that they had as hosts from other planets, and they told the world up front what they were: parasites that attached into their host's bodies, to experience life as you do? Do you think humans would be more likely to submit themselves to experimenting in this, or would they immediately turn hostile and try to kill/capture them first?

More importantly, what would you do?

[demos666]

I think some people would be willing but a good part also would just like to trade. Then you would have some people who completely disagree and do something dumb. Tho i think most would refuse but like stay friends

[Chad32]

This sounds like the thread asking whether or not you'd be voluntary. Except that in this case, the Yeerks aren't at war with us.  Previously, I said that under some curcumstances, I would be voluntary.

[Phoenix004]

I think a lot of people would still be against it, but you'd also get a lot of people who would become voluntary. Think of all the desperate methods some people use to free captive animals or improve their quality of life. Yeerks would just be seen as sentient beings who have the right to experience life as we do.

In the end, it would most likely come down to how the Yeerks were portrayed in the media. Even though most of us know for a fact that the media is always biased, we still tend to listen to what the news reports tell us. If most of the media is saying that Yeerks are peaceful, the odds are that the majority of people will believe it.

[SarahConnor2]

90 percent of the world would not be willing to let them take over anyone. The ten percent would consist of scientists wanting to experience what it's like under somewhat controlled conditions.

[musicman88]

90 percent of the world would not be willing to let them take over anyone. The ten percent would consist of scientists wanting to experience what it's like under somewhat controlled conditions.

Something like this.

[Chad32]

I doubt that. There are a lot of people willing to become controllers in the books, if it means a better life. As long as they're well treated, I don't see a problem.

[Faerie Larka]

I think there would be many more voluntary controllers.  It would be a more mutual agreement, so the host and the yeerk would get along better in nearly all cases.  Also, when the yeerks had to go to the pool, the host could be asked about their experience to be certain that there were no adverse affects and the like.

And, as seen in the books, most of the voluntary controllers had something horrible in their past.  So the yeerks would be like a kind of therapy in some cases, I'm sure.

[Chad32]

I know it would be a great way of handling criminals? Jails and prisons? That was so yesterday. Now we've hired Yeerks to control them to help make them useful. Of course there's a risk that some Yeerks wouldn't be trustworthy, but that's true for every species.

[Terenia]

I think it would be a much more effective means of gaining hosts on the Yeerk's (or soul's) part. Of course I also think it would bring up all sorts of moral issues. I can see a Supreme Court case debating free will or something, lol.

Also, Truth, The Host is a great book. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Alic]

I think most people are too selfish to give up their lives. I would be.

[Adrian Malacoda]

I can see the advertisement pitch right now.

"Hey there, independent human! Would you be willing to let a mind-controlling slug into your head? In exchange for... um... awesome technology? Laser cannons? A sense of belonging to something big?"

It's not like it hasn't been done before, of course - the Tok'ra in Stargate SG-1 are basically Goa'uld who only take voluntary hosts and share control of the body with the host, and they seem to keep up a sizable membership. I guess if they technically weren't war mongering, it wouldn't be that bad, but free will is kind of a big deal with humans.

Would it be some kind of deal like with the Taxxons? Would planet Earth gain the support of some huge alien empire in exchange for their free will? I suppose it entails protection from other warlike alien empires, and their overall health might improve with the advanced tech. From my understanding, it seemed that some non-Controller Taxxons "loyal" to the Taxxon regime enjoyed some level of support from the Yeerks (e.g. Elfangor being fed to the "loyal Taxxons" in The Andalite Chronicles, Esplin 9466 mentioning how they hand over rebel Taxxons to the Taxxon authorities to be "interrogated" as part of the deal, etc). I infer from the narrative that the Taxxon planet is controlled (either partially or wholly) by free Taxxons who supply the Yeerks with voluntary hosts in exchange for support from the empire. Earth could enter into a similar agreement with the Yeerks.

[AniDragon]

I can see us making some sort of agreement with them. People who have really ****ty lives, the homeless, etc, would probably jump on the chance. The Yeerks could easily be like, "Oh, you're homeless and hungry? Well, if you let us infest you, we'll give you food and shelter."

Actually... That would totally help the homeless problem, now, wouldn't it?

[Alic]

Ugh I'm sorry. The books made me feel sick when they would have voluntary hosts. I can't imagine giving up my life. Would the yeerk love my family like I do? I couldn't watch. It makes me wanna throw up personally.
If my best friend became a voluntary host I couldn't be friends with him anymore.
Maybe its just me?

[ThinkAgain]

I value my own free will too much to become voluntary. It's that simple. I don't care if I was homeless; even you are oppressed by your environment, you can always retreat to your own mind with your own free thoughts, without someone staring in at them, or forcing you to go against your beliefs. I would never give that up. It doesn't matter how bad your life is now compared to how great it could be as a controller; if you aren't living that 'better' life yourself, the point becomes moot.

What I might do, if it were possible, would allow them to be an observer; to somehow inhibit their ability for complete control. They could watch watch I do, experience the senses, but they would not have any power over my body. I could temporarily allow them physical control, but I could instantly return control to myself at any point. Also, I would want the ability to shut them out completely; put them in darkness, so to speak, if I was doing something I would want privacy for. After all, if they had full control as a Yeerk like in the books, the converse is exactly true, aside from the ability to shut them out. Still, even with all those limitations on the Yeerk's power, I would still be incredibly reluctant to allow it into my head.