Author Topic: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?  (Read 4058 times)

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Offline Arbron

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #15 on: July 03, 2009, 05:14:39 AM »
 :-\
Yeah, it's like considering whether you'd be voluntary host or not. There wuld be much more voluntary host.
But i wuldn't be that kinda people

Offline SarahConnor2

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #16 on: July 03, 2009, 06:22:41 AM »
I think most people are too selfish to give up their lives. I would be.

It's not selfishness...it's a right you're born with:- Free will to do what you please with your body and your mind. It's simply not natural to give up your life, along with that free will, for a stranger/creature of whom you don't know much about at all.

If yeerks made themselves known to all of the world at the same time, I think it would play out pretty much as I stated it before. I do think some of you have good points as to how they could convince us to let them control our minds. But still...I think that after that experience, one would NEVER want to go back to that state of helplessness.
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Offline Chad32

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #17 on: July 03, 2009, 07:50:33 AM »
Now you're assuming that a voluntary controller would be under total control all the time the Yeerk is in there. If there's no resistance, or intent to harm, I don't see why the Yeerk would need to take complete control for 72 hours. Especially since there wouldn't be any cages. Nothing forcing a host back to the pool. If the host didn't feel like it, s/he could just leave.


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Offline SarahConnor2

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #18 on: July 03, 2009, 10:06:04 AM »
Well, there would most definitely be conflict between a yeerk and human. There would definitely be a dispute between the two. I doubt that yeerks would be willing to share a mind with someone else, just switching it up. I think they would do what they want to do, no matter what the humans agree to.  No matter what, there would be dire consequences for everyone.  At least, no human would prevail.
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Offline Chad32

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #19 on: July 03, 2009, 03:04:42 PM »
Then the Yeerk would lose the host. Simple as that. Of course there may be some yeerks that would want to anyway, but they would be treated just like anyone committing a crime. Human or Yeerk. There are voluntary controllers in the books. So there must be a legitimate reason for the hosts and Yeerks getting along.


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Offline Adrian Malacoda

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #20 on: July 03, 2009, 04:56:41 PM »
In most cases, though, the "justification" for voluntary Controllers was either that the host was willing to sell out the human race for power, or that they knew they couldn't fight and just gave in out of meekness. Humans probably don't know what they're getting into when they take a Yeerk. From what I recall in MM4 the spiel was something like "Let this thing into your head and you become a part of something big, you gain great understanding, you become important" and all the other Sharing bullcrap. The non-voluntaries would be the ones who (wisely) realize that they get the losing end of the deal; the voluntaries would be the ones who want to continue to enjoy the "benefits" of being a Sharing member or want the "importance" it conveys, or who know they have no choice and submit to it anyway. I don't think any sane person would agree to become a pawn in a world domination scheme, not even that selfish celebrity in the crocodile burping book.

I always did find it weird that the voluntaries are just lounging around watching television at the Yeerk pool; I would have thought the Yeerks would treat them like any other host. Perhaps giving them these "luxuries" pacifies them and makes them easier to control? About "nothing forcing them back into the pool" - maybe they do it out of fear? Maybe they're afraid to walk out because they think a Hork-Bajir will get them and force them back into the pool? I also wonder, did Chapman get the voluntary Controller privileges too? He fiercely resisted his Yeerk. There's no reason to believe he'd sit around patiently waiting for the parasite to retake his mind.

Perhaps some human-Yeerk friendships did form, but for the most part the Yeerks believed humanity was an inferior race (This isn't to say "all Yeerks are inherently evil," it's a product of their upbringing as part of an evil empire). There are the outliers, of course. Even if being a voluntary meant greater synergy between Yeerk and host, there weren't that many voluntaries in The Sharing anyway; Visser Three remarks in MM4 that "in the end, we have to use force." However, Chapman (ironically) notes that voluntaries are easier to control.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2009, 05:09:36 PM by Nine Out Of Ten Vissers »
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Offline goom

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #21 on: July 03, 2009, 05:42:20 PM »
Do you think humans would be more likely to submit themselves to experimenting in this?

actually, yes.
i've thought about it, i think a lot of people would submit themselves (either out of pity or curiosity).

(a peaceful approach would net more voluntary hosts, possibly commensalism/mutualism?)
If there's no resistance, or intent to harm, I don't see why the Yeerk would need to take complete control for 72 hours. Especially since there wouldn't be any cages. Nothing forcing a host back to the pool. If the host didn't feel like it, s/he could just leave.

i think a lot of people would agree to let the yeerks observe, as think suggested.
let them live their normal lives and help another sentient being out.
convicts could be taken (as opposed to life in prison/death).

not to say the yeerks should be trusted. ;)

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #22 on: July 03, 2009, 05:44:50 PM »
I would feed all known controllers oatmeal

Offline MoonStarRaven

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #23 on: July 03, 2009, 07:23:50 PM »
I think that if they were upfront, sincerely wanted peace and were willing to be contributing members of society that it could work. They couldn't get away with forcing someone to do stuff against their will as they have to come out every three days and if the host reports miss use then the Yeerk just wouldn't get another one

There are a couple of jobs I could think of that the yeerks would be good at and be able to contribute to society. Like someone mentioned before with prisoners. I just read an interesting fanfic the other day about yeerks employed by the prison system. Prisoners were aloud a pass to leave the prison and the yeerks job was to take control of the prisoner if they tried to commit a crime or run away.

Another job the Yeerks could be employed as and have temporary hosts is in the rehab or fitness areas. I need to exercise more but don't have the will power to do so. So a person could go to the fitness place and rent a Yeerk and the Yeerk takes over and does the exercise for the person. and talk about a reliable way to quit an addiction, the Yeerk gets to observe life through the hosts eyes and is aloud to take over if the person tries to give in to what ever their addicted to.

They could also be employed as companions. There are alot of lonely people out there. Are you lonely? need someone to talk to? think about having your very own yeerk companion. They could also be teachers, want to learn how to dance what better way to learn then from someone who could actually help you do the dance steps correctly... want to go to a foreign country but can't speak the languages, not to worry, hire a yeerk translator... LOL there are lots of possibilities.
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Offline goom

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #24 on: July 03, 2009, 08:11:30 PM »
yeerks would also be good for operations. (see #29)
maybe they could help people with amnesia or brain disorders?

Offline ThinkAgain

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #25 on: July 03, 2009, 08:19:38 PM »
Yes, there are indeed fantastic possibilities... but it relies on the good will of the Yeerk. I don't rely on the good will of other humans, let alone an alien species with an unknown agenda.

The possibilities would be brighter if there was a way to limit the Yeerk's control. Even if there appeared to be a limit, for all we (as humans) know, they could be feigning that limitation, and could all at once claim total control when the majority of the human population has Yeerks.

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Offline JFalcon

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #26 on: July 03, 2009, 09:42:10 PM »
Well bare in mind that the Yeerks didn't actually need all of us they intended to breed like mad just to fill all our heads. I believe they may have needed a few hundreds of thousands, they hoped for a couple million but billions were more than they could really handle. To them were as six billion dollars would be to most anyone else, sure we'd like to have that much money, our imaginations go to work right away thinking of all we can do with that much money, but over a lifetime most sensible people wouldn't need six billion dollars, probably wouldn't be able to spend six billion dollars without making ridiculous purchases, but still offer almost anyone on this board alone six billion dollars in a totally legal (or maybe even illegal) way and you'd hear a lot of cries of "yes please!"

If the Yeerks came to say, the governments of the world and made a peaceful offer of exchange, Yeerk (and by extension Andalite) technology in exchange for human hosts the governments could give them prison inmates who've been sentenced to life (thus they no longer cost the government anything, families could communicate with any who survive the Yeerk v Andalite war via holograms and never know it if we wanted to get fancy, or just be told they're in solitary confinement if we dont) and the Yeerks could give us simple technology, like drop shafts and such which would be slowly intorduced to the public so no one knew there was any secret alien conspiracy.

Now there are a lot of people in prison in America but probably not enough for the Yeerks, but if every country all over the world complied to this in addition to say, networks like The Sharing which recruit voluntary hosts outside the prisons the Yeerks could have done exactly what they wanted, which is have a host which exists in mass numbers, reproduces quickly, comes willingly (or you know, gives its own kind over willingly) and it wouldn't cost them a single Hork-Bajir, just the blueprints for some minor technology and maybe, just to make us feel like we're some sort of badasses, a very low power dracon weapon, strong enough to kill a human or shred a tank but too weak to harm say, a bug fighter.

In this way the Yeerks could keep us happy while gaining the hosts they need to fight the Andalites and it would cost them virtually nothing, and we'd still be powerless to resist them because in addition to not knowing how many voluntary hosts are roaming around from The Sharing, even with the government knowing about the Yeerks they'd very likely keep it secret from the rest of their respecitve countries. Even if the Yeerk presence was known and publicized (which might even be better for the Yeerks because with the right spin so very many people would go voluntarily) the government wouldn't try to start something and unless the Yeerks made the first move any country that wages war on the Yeerks themselves would be quickly condemned by the rest of the world just out of fear of Yeerk retaliation against mankind in general.

I'm not sure how it is in most other countries but in US alone how many politicians would be quick to say "We are so sorry to hear about how the (oh let's just say) French fired on your bug fighters when you tried to build a new Yeerk Pool in Paris, but we would never do that, we just want you to know that not all humans are French, you have nothing to fear from the rest of the world."

And of course the Yeerks would laugh themselves silly over our use of the word "fear".

All in all I think that being public at least to a degree would have benefited the Yeerks so much more than subtle infiltration and the only reason I feel they went down the subtle infiltration road was indeed because Visser One wanted it that way for her own personal reasons.
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Offline Chad32

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #27 on: July 04, 2009, 08:26:00 AM »
I think that would have been quite effective, JFalcon. I wonder how the animorphs would be able to handle something like that? How would things be different? And when the Andalites come to "quarantine" Earth, they would be seen as the invaders/bad guys.


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Offline ThinkAgain

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #28 on: July 04, 2009, 06:23:23 PM »
If would be effective, yes, but is it morally sound?

Voluntary hosts are one thing; if a person wants to give up their free will, that's their decision. But to make that decision for other people against their will? That's just as bad as taking involuntary hosts from the start. It doesn't matter if they are inmates, or even if they have the death sentence. Giving up all free will is worse, and more enclosing than any prison cell, and was not included in their sentence.

Still, that's good logic. Although undesirable, that decision would prevent an all out war or invasion by the Yeerks, which they would surely win. The big issue would be secrecy though; if the general public or the media found out, it would be game over.

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Offline Chad32

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Re: Hypothetical: What if the Yeerks asked first?
« Reply #29 on: July 04, 2009, 06:33:51 PM »
The law has already taken away all freedom from the prisoners. Even the ability to end their own lives. So what's the difference if Yeerks use them as hosts? It's not like they'll be useful to anyone else, assuming we're talking about people put away for life, or given the death sentence.


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