Should they have destroyed the Blue Box?

[DinosaurNothlit]

I was recently wondering about something (but thought I'd save it for the RAFparty so I'd get double-karma  ), and that is whether or not the Animorphs should have destroyed the blue box right after the David incident?

To be honest, I think it's exactly what I would have done.  They didn't intend to create any new Animorphs, at that point.  So they knew that the box was a bigger risk than a benefit.  Perhaps even no benefit at all.  Furthermore, the Yeerks knew that the "Andalite bandits" could have used the blue box to create more humans with morphing power, like they had done with David (the Yeerks knew about David, remember), which would have given them a clue as to the Animorphs' true identity.  Andalites with no intention of creating morph-capable humans, after all, would have either found a way to get the blue box off of earth, or destroyed it.

So why keep it around?

And even looking at it from our omniscient standpoint as the readers, would it have still been worth it to destroy it?  On the one hand, they would have had to have found a different way to save Aftran and Loren, and the Auxiliary Animorphs would never have been possible.  But, of course, on the other hand, the Yeerks would have never gotten the box in the final part of the series.  I think this is an issue that has come up before, as far as whether or not it would have made the Animorphs' situation better or worse for the Yeerks not to have had the blue box (Yeerks and Taxxons defecting, compared to Yeerks who couldn't morph), but I'm of the belief that, if the Yeerks hadn't gotten the blue box, the final battle would have gone a lot smoother (even if it would have required a completely different battle strategy than the one that Jake actually hatched).

Of course, the single best thing about destroying the blue box?  #39 never would have happened . . .

So, thoughts?  Was there any reason, from the standpoint of the Animorphs at the end of book #22, not to destroy the blue box right then and there?

[Cloak]

Possibly.  Each scenario has its pros and cons.

I suppose a bigger question would be could they destroy the Blue Box.  It's been a while since I read the series -- but it always struck me as durable.  Even if they decided to destroy it, how would would they go about it?

[morfowt]

don't forget the helmacrons would never have bothered the animorphs in the first place...

I suppose a bigger question would be could they destroy the Blue Box.  It's been a while since I read the series -- but it always struck me as durable.  Even if they decided to destroy it, how would would they go about it?

ax says it's very possible to destroy the blue box in #20. at the very least, a dracon beam would work...

[DraconianMe]

I dunno which one the 22nd book is, it's been ages since I read the books..> but the Blue Box was highly advanced technology, who's to say that it wouldn't have made a huge explosion or taken away the animorphs's powers if that particular box was destroyed? (the Andalites had to have more bluboxes yea?else why the hell wa Elfangor carrying something so precious around?)
I think the main reason they didn't destroy it was because they still had hope (even after the jerk David) they wanted more people to fight with them for the cause and also, probably kept it intact incase an of them became nothlits...

[Phoenix004]

Being able to destroy the cube wasn't the problem, as Ax says it's easily possible. Even without a Dracon Beam, a large hammer, dropping off a cliff or being sat on by a freaking Elephant would most likely do the job just fine.

You make some valid points Dino, but I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on this one. Despite all the problems the box caused, the Animorphs would have been completely screwed without it. The Auxilary Animorphs were a highly valuable asset towards the end of the war, particularly in the mission to destroy the Yeerk Pool and providing the distraction in #53 to cover up the fact that the others were already on board the ship.

Of course, the single best thing about destroying the blue box?  #39 never would have happened . . .

Oh it would have happened, but without the morphing cube there wouldn't have been the Buffa-human to help them. With his help, they might not have evaded the Yeerks long enough to take out the device that was tracking them. Even without the cube, I'm pretty sure the Yeerks could track them when they morphed.

Most importantly, the Yeerks would never have obtained the morphing power. This might sound like a good thing, but without it The Taxxons wouldn't have become their allies in #53 and the Yeerks wouldn't have been offered the chance of becoming nothlits instead of enslaving hosts. The Andalites would then have to "quarantine" Earth.

[Chad32]

I think they should have used it again to add to their ranks. If they were worried about blowing their cover and endangering their families, they could have taken their families to safety beforehand.

The only problem with that is they'd have to give up what semblance of normal life they still had, which they didn't want to do.

[DinosaurNothlit]

I dunno which one the 22nd book is, it's been ages since I read the books..

It was the last book of the David trilogy.

but the Blue Box was highly advanced technology, who's to say that it wouldn't have made a huge explosion or taken away the animorphs's powers if that particular box was destroyed?

For it to have taken away their powers, they would have had to remain connected to it somehow.  Which I suppose is possible, but doesn't really seem too likely somehow.  And it's also worth pointing out that, until book 20, they all thought that it was destroyed, including Ax.  He seemed pretty surprised that it survived.  Now, if he thought it had been destroyed, and destroying it would remove their powers, why didn't he ever go "Hey, wait a minute . . . "?

probably kept it intact incase an of them became nothlits...

Ax presumably would have known that the blue box does not work on nothlits.

Being able to destroy the cube wasn't the problem, as Ax says it's easily possible. Even without a Dracon Beam, a large hammer, dropping off a cliff or being sat on by a freaking Elephant would most likely do the job just fine.

You make some valid points Dino, but I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on this one. Despite all the problems the box caused, the Animorphs would have been completely screwed without it. The Auxilary Animorphs were a highly valuable asset towards the end of the war, particularly in the mission to destroy the Yeerk Pool and providing the distraction in #53 to cover up the fact that the others were already on board the ship.

Okay, so I hadn't thought about the mission to destroy the Yeerk pool.  True, the Auxillaries were a valuable help in that book, and not destroying the Yeerk pool would have completely changed the outcome, probably meaning that the Animorphs lost the war.  So I'll give you the point there.

But in the final battle, itself?  The Auxillaries didn't actually make that much difference.  Yeah, they slowed down the Yeerks by the tiniest bit while V3 picked them all off one by one.  But they still would have had Doubleday's troups, which provided plenty of a distraction.

And yes, the battle would have been far different in many other ways, too.  They never would have encountered Arbron, they never would have struck a deal with Tom, they never would have had Yeerks questioning en masse what the empire was doing.  So Jake would have had to have found a different way aboard the Pool Ship, but I think that, with Erek's help and by tricking a few controllers, they still could have done it.

Furthermore, I think the Yeerks still would have surrendered at the end.  Like it was said in book 6, only humans continue to fight when there is no hope of victory.  So I don't think the morphing power actually had anything to do with their surrender, or at least, it wasn't the biggest factor.

Oh it would have happened, but without the morphing cube there wouldn't have been the Buffa-human to help them. With his help, they might not have evaded the Yeerks long enough to take out the device that was tracking them. Even without the cube, I'm pretty sure the Yeerks could track them when they morphed.

Nope, gotta keep disagreeing with you.  The Helmacrons came to earth for the blue box.  Without it, they may still have been attracted by the Animorphs' morphing energy, but once they saw that the energy was only being produced by them, they would have turned around and left.  Thus depriving the Yeerks of the morphing-sensor technology.

Don't know how I feel about that part, though.  I actually kind of liked the first Helmacron book.  But I suppose it would be worth it to ret-con #39.

[anijen21]

It was a risk to keep around, but it was also the only weapon they had that the Yeerks had no hopes of inventing themselves. It was their ace in the hole, as they say. I'm still with you that the Animorphs should have been poaching Yeerk technology a lot more throughout the series--force field projectors, holograms, Dracon beams, etc--but the fact of the matter is the Yeerks had all of that but not the Escafil Device. I guess you could almost apply the prisoner's dilemma to this: With the Escafil Device, yes, they invited the Helmacrons and Buffa-Humans and the constant threat of the Yeerk's stealing it into their lives, but they also had the one weapon that the Yeerks did not.

On a more practical level, let's count exactly how many plots the Escafil Device's presence started after the David Trilogy. Three Helmacron-inspired books, the Auxiliary Animorphs, the entire end to the war...it may have been a dangerous in-universe weapon but it was an invaluable story-telling one.

[Phoenix004]

My bad, I forgot that the Yeerks made the sensor out of the damaged Helmacron ship. Even so, the only real casualty in #39 is the Buffalo and (as much as I feel sorry for the poor creature) its life is nothing compared to the enslavement of the human race and the extinction of most Earth species.

The Yeerks wouldn't have surrendered because they would have won if the cube had been destroyed after the David saga. The Auxilaries might not have been in many books, but they helped out on more than one major mission. It's easily possible that one or more of the Animorphs would be dead without their help. Also, the Auxilaries role in the final mission was to cover up the fact that the Animorphs were already on board. If they hadn't been there, Visser 3 would have suspected that the attack was a distraction designed to let the Animorphs sneak on board.

Good point anijen. The Allies didn't destroy the first nuclear weapons because there was a chance the enemy would get hold of them, they kept them because it was a huge tactical advantage. The morphing cube worked in the same way.

[Alexandra]

That is one thing that seriously annoyed me about the later, ghostwritten books: no fun little intros! Even a dark intro would have been nice, just for a reflection on what was going on in the characters' personal lives, or revealing an interesting part of their history.

I was really peeved when KAA never gave us a Tobias-telling-Ax-about-Elfangor scene, or an Ax-and-Loren scene in the later books. Maybe she was keeping it for the readers' imaginations, but it really just comes across as laziness.

[DinosaurNothlit]

Those are both good points, Anijen.  Lol, driving the plot is as good a reason as any, I suppose, when you're talking about a book series.

Good point anijen. The Allies didn't destroy the first nuclear weapons because there was a chance the enemy would get hold of them, they kept them because it was a huge tactical advantage. The morphing cube worked in the same way.

Comparing the blue box to nuclear weapons is a bit iffy, both because it's much easier to steal (especially since the Animorphs didn't really have the resources to hide it very well), and because it provided less direct benefit to the war effort.  But yeah, it was their biggest edge, so that's still a pretty good reason for keeping it.

The Yeerks wouldn't have surrendered because they would have won if the cube had been destroyed after the David saga. The Auxilaries might not have been in many books, but they helped out on more than one major mission. It's easily possible that one or more of the Animorphs would be dead without their help. Also, the Auxilaries role in the final mission was to cover up the fact that the Animorphs were already on board. If they hadn't been there, Visser 3 would have suspected that the attack was a distraction designed to let the Animorphs sneak on board.

Okay, okay, you're right.  Yeah, they couldn't have won without the Auxilaries, unless some other factors had been different, too.  But they didn't know that, back when they were having to defend the blue box from Helmacrons and sensors and various forest animals.

That is one thing that seriously annoyed me about the later, ghostwritten books: no fun little intros! Even a dark intro would have been nice, just for a reflection on what was going on in the characters' personal lives, or revealing an interesting part of their history.

I was really peeved when KAA never gave us a Tobias-telling-Ax-about-Elfangor scene, or an Ax-and-Loren scene in the later books. Maybe she was keeping it for the readers' imaginations, but it really just comes across as laziness.

I think you're posting in the wrong thread.

[Shark Akhrrana]

I liked teh first Helmacorn book, The other one was all meh. The buffa human one was just D: for me. But i think that them keeping the box was more of a plot device. Like it was stated before teh story would have gone differently without it. But it may have been worse. <_< who knows what they would have come up with instead of #39 <_< who knows it could have meant creating something worse XD ( even though that is hard to imagine)

[AniDragon]

I'm actually surprised that they hadn't destroyed it after the first Helmacron book. You'd think that that would have been their "Hm, maybe this is too dangerous to keep around" clue. Yes, we wouldn't get the auxileries and all that, but they didn't know that. And the first Helmacron book is very soon after the David saga, so they definitely weren't thinking of adding to their ranks, at that point. Logically, from their point of view, I would have destroyed it then.

From a reader's point of view, though, I think it was good to keep around. We just need to kind of selectively forget about book 39...

[Shock]

i have a nuclear bomb.

i never want to use it but when the time comes, i'll be glad i did.

[wolfev]

Could David have activated the box himself and given himself unknown morphing power?