What if the Yeerks took over?

[Darth Zakryn]

What if the Yeerks DID take over? They control all species in the galaxy and wipe out others they can't infest. They force their hosts to mate and make more children. What will happen to that child? Will it be infested at a young age to ensure that it doesn't develop a rebellious mind, or will it be cared for until a certain age, and THEN infested? We see in #29 that the Yeerks WILL infest children as young as 5, but a human as young as 1 or younger is basically helpless, too much like the Yeerks' original bodies.

So........ thoughts?

[Phoenix004]

If I recall correctly, in the future seen by Jake in #41, the Yeerks raised children to the age of 10 before infesting them.

[NateSean]

And the children were conditioned to not feel. Because the Yeerks haven't quite got it into their heads that they can't control human emotions. On the other hand this was just a dream of Jake's, but it's the second time we see a potential "future" outcome.

[Nar Klawip]

This is what it said the Yeerks did with children (of any species) in book #41

"The Yeerks raise children in large warehouses back in the city. Controllers like the ones you saw are picked at random to procreate. When children are born, they enter one of the wamps, or warehouses, where they are held from birth to age fifteen.
Their lives are controlled though their brains are left uninfested. Children are seen as weak and unworthy host bodies.

"During this captivity," she continued, ; "they're pumped full of vitamin supplements so the host bodies will grow strong. They're run on
treadmills so they'll be fit to fight and to produce. When instinct leads them to indulge in moments of uncontrolled, regular childhood, they are punished.

If they try to educate themselves, they are punished. Yeerks want minds as powerless as possible. So they raise children in a joyless, lifeless world where they wait for the day of infestation.

[NateSean]

Strangely enough, that whole explanation reminded me of a book by Garth Nix called Shade's Children.

It's set in a future where aliens or cybernetic creatures or some such raises children until their 14th birthday and then kills them to use their bodies to reproduce more cyborgs. They're raised in very similar situations.

[BennyBoy]

Child conditioning reminds me of Brave New World.

I don't completely understand though... obviously they're not as useful as grown hosts but, the Yeerks want host bodies and children as young as ten could work. Plus I've always thought the earlier a body was infested the less likely it would form any independence and notion of free will/rebellion.

[AniDragon]

During the invation numbers were more important, because it was about being subtle. Once they'd taken over, they would preffer their hosts to be as usefull as possible.

[BennyBoy]

Oh I understand that. I just mean, they talk about the billions (possibly millions) of Yeerks that don't have host bodies in the series - I would have thought something was better than nothing. A child might be less useful but its better than life in a sludgy pool.

Then again, thinking about it... the more hosts you have the more facilities you need for holding bodies while the Yeerks feed. It's logistically smarter to purposefully restrict the number of hosts, and children are the first and most obvious choice for not infesting.

[goom]

changed the topic title. please make your thread names more specific.

[Nar Klawip]

Oh I understand that. I just mean, they talk about the billions (possibly millions) of Yeerks that don't have host bodies in the series - I would have thought something was better than nothing. A child might be less useful but its better than life in a sludgy pool.

Then again, thinking about it... the more hosts you have the more facilities you need for holding bodies while the Yeerks feed. It's logistically smarter to purposefully restrict the number of hosts, and children are the first and most obvious choice for not infesting.

I dont know BennyBoy, I never thought there were billions of yeerks, especially after its stated that Jake killed off the bulk of the yeerk race when he flushed the 17,302 yeerks on the pool ship. I assumed that was one of the main bonuses of conquering earth, that every Yeerk would get a host.

[Terenia]

Maybe, but let's not forget how quickly the Yeerk population could reestablish itself. They do not mate often, but when they do anywhere between dozens and thousands of grubs are born. The Yeerks that fathered Visser Three and his siblings had around ten thousand grubs, at least.

I imagine Yeerks aren't too eager to mate, given that it is a death sentence, but I'm sure that the empire could find enough willing Yeerks if necessary to create plenty of Yeerks for all of earth and then some.

Or to make up for the 17k lost at the end of the war.

[BennyBoy]

Hmm... it's just one of those things that K.A. never really specified so we have to guess from what we've been given.

I thought there were still meant to be plenty of Yeerks waiting on the home world as well.

[NateSean]

I imagine Yeerks aren't too eager to mate, given that it is a death sentence, but I'm sure that the empire could find enough willing Yeerks if necessary to create plenty of Yeerks for all of earth and then some.

So interesting that you should bring that up.

The Yeerk mindset is that even if they die, someone else will continue their work. And while Yeerks seem like the kind of creatures that enjoy living life to the fullest, they don't live forever. It's my theory that when they are close to the end of their natural life cycle they seek others who are also dying to begin the process.

[Baranth]

I imagine Yeerks aren't too eager to mate, given that it is a death sentence, but I'm sure that the empire could find enough willing Yeerks if necessary to create plenty of Yeerks for all of earth and then some.

So interesting that you should bring that up.

The Yeerk mindset is that even if they day, someone else will continue their work. And while Yeerks seem like the kind of creatures that enjoy living life to the fullest, they don't live forever. It's my theory that when they are close to the end of their natural life cycle they seek others who are also dying to begin the process.

Doesn't Cassie comment on this in #19? Or is that Jake in #6?

Now, about this "future" in #41... The Ellimist states in #26 that eventually, the Yeerks meet the Iskoort and figure out that symbiotic life is better than taking hosts involuntarily. I believe that this may have already happened in #41 due to the existence of the Evolutionist Front. The question then becomes "How are the Animorphs still alive?" when the meeting is supposed to be 300 years in the future of #26?

[Myitt]

The Iskoort aren't present in #41, therefore the events in #26 are far, far ahead of #41.