Free or Dead

[MySTiC SkyE]

I agree with those who would choose death. It would be too much seeing what the yeerk was doing, knowing that you could not stop it would be too much for me to handle.

[Nomad Frog]

Dude, I'd choose death!

Once your dead you don't need to worry about anything anymore. No more pain or suffering or anything... You'd be dead!

Life as a controller? That'd be torture, for the rest of your life, every single day.

Death's the easy way out.

What she said. 

I'm too much of a control freak, I can't even take the feeling of not being completely conscious when I'm sick and have a fever, no way I'd live through having a yeerk in my head anyways.  I'd take the dracon beam.  And I'm not afraid of death, either, maybe that has something to do with it.

Yeah, you have the POSSIBILITY that someone's going to free you, but you're going to be tortured every day until then.  Would you really WANT to survive something like that?  You'd have to see a psychiatrist every day, trying to get that other voice out of your head even after the yeerk had been removed.  Not to mention, after a while, you lose your ability to control your own body even when the yeerk's out of it - according to the book - so you'd also have to (possibly) go through intensive physical and mental therapy, trying to redo the bonds inside your brain that the yeerk had to push out of the way and block to get control, so so you can remember how to walk, talk, feed yourself.

Continuous torture, or death?

Hmm..lemme think...  That's not to say that if I didn't have the choice and they did get the yeerk in my head, I'd do something drastic to end it, like suicide - I'm too much of a wimp, but I'd definitely be like "Heck no, shoot me before you get that thing near my ear"

[esplin]

all i can say is that id rather be dead then watch my family and friends be infested because of the yeerk in my head, you might be scared of death but that would be worse for  me.

[musicman88]

Who knows, you might get a nice Yeerk...

[Cloak]

What's the chances of that?  Not very good, in my opinion. . . .

[Chad32]

Not to mention, after a while, you lose your ability to control your own body even when the yeerk's out of it - according to the book - so you'd also have to (possibly) go through intensive physical and mental therapy, trying to redo the bonds inside your brain that the yeerk had to push out of the way and block to get control, so so you can remember how to walk, talk, feed yourself.

I think that was retconned, like some other things early in the series. In the second book, Chapman had difficulty functioning even though he likely hasn't been a controller for more than a few years, tops.

Evan and Alloran didn't seem to have any difficulty after they were freed, or even in book eight when Alloran was temorarily free. He had been a controller for almost thirty years before Earth, and he was still able to thought speak. Then of course he was able to function fine after being freed in book fifty four.

So you'd still be able to move and talk just fine, even after decades of being enslaved.

[Duff]

yea what book was that said in jen? i dont remember it either

[Phoenix004]

I can't believe living your life as a slave of your entire body, letting a torturous alien slug use as gigantic ventriloguist dummy is much ore neticing than death.

I can understand wanting to be alive but that is way too high a price.

Although I completely agree, that's hardly reason enough call the people with a different opinion "sick."

Unless I knew that I would be rescued soon (as in before I hurt or infest anyone) then I would choose death. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to die, but I'd rather be dead than spend the rest of my life as a slave inside my own body, with an alien slug able to read my mind like a book. Not to mention the fact that it would force me to hurt, kill or even force Yeerks on others, including my loved ones. Can any of you people honestly say you could live like that? Me being enslaved is bad enough, but being forced to betray everyone I care about (as well as the entire planet) would be a true nightmare.

Oh, and a nice Yeerk? You mean the ones in the Yeerk Peace Movement that have sworn not to take an unwilling host? Somehow, I think your odds of being infested by one of them are kinda low... 

[morfowt]

Unless I knew that I would be rescued soon (as in before I hurt or infest anyone) then I would choose death. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to die, but I'd rather be dead than spend the rest of my life as a slave inside my own body, with an alien slug able to read my mind like a book. Not to mention the fact that it would force me to hurt, kill or even force Yeerks on others, including my loved ones. Can any of you people honestly say you could live like that? Me being enslaved is bad enough, but being forced to betray everyone I care about (as well as the entire planet) would be a true nightmare.

Oh, and a nice Yeerk? You mean the ones in the Yeerk Peace Movement that have sworn not to take an unwilling host? Somehow, I think your odds of being infested by one of them are kinda low... 

I didn't say Yeerk Peace Movement. I just said a yeerk that's not like visser three. A yeerk that's not a visser or sub-visser, and not that high a ranking.

And yes, I could more or less live like that.

[Yorick Brown]

You'd really want to live and be content as a puppet for all your days?

Watching your body do things you don't want to do and saying things you don't want to say?

[morfowt]

Not want, but I'd rather have that than death.

[RYTX]

I can't believe living your life as a slave of your entire body, letting a torturous alien slug use as gigantic ventriloguist dummy is much ore neticing than death.

I can understand wanting to be alive but that is way too high a price.

Although I completely agree, that's hardly reason enough call the people with a different opinion "sick."

Unless I knew that I would be rescued soon (as in before I hurt or infest anyone) then I would choose death. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to die, but I'd rather be dead than spend the rest of my life as a slave inside my own body, with an alien slug able to read my mind like a book. Not to mention the fact that it would force me to hurt, kill or even force Yeerks on others, including my loved ones. Can any of you people honestly say you could live like that? Me being enslaved is bad enough, but being forced to betray everyone I care about (as well as the entire planet) would be a true nightmare.

Oh, and a nice Yeerk? You mean the ones in the Yeerk Peace Movement that have sworn not to take an unwilling host? Somehow, I think your odds of being infested by one of them are kinda low... 

could? yes.
Want to? of course not
big difference.
Horrible as it is there may be a way to do something  so long as you're alive.
Once your dead though, want good are you to anyone?

[Qwerty the Charliecorn]

Now, if one of the options were "Life as a Controller with the possible chance of escaping" were an option, I'd choose that.  I don't give up until I'm sure I've lost.

I figure that's kind of implied; of course your chances aren't good, but as long as your alive there is still the very very very slim possibility. Not good odds, but still something to hold on to

Well, I suppose it depends on the circumstances and the details. It clearly states, "Life as a Controller," which means that, some way or another, I would be re-captured. And that would totally suck. (Wasn't correcting you or anything, if that's what it seems like to you.)

Then there's the big, "What would you do after you escaped?" Tough one, because I would probably be homeless and have to live on the run.

[AniDragon]

I'm with morfowt. Not all Yeerks are inherently evil, and there are some like Illim an Mr. Tidwell, who learned to get along after a while. It's not necessarily hell to be a controller.

[Phoenix004]

Besides the Yeerk Peace Movement, there basically weren't any "nice" Yeerks. Unless you consider a slug that steals your body as well as all your memories to be "nice." That's like saying "well maybe that virus I've been infected with will be nice."

There were said to be about a hundred members of the Yeerk Peave Movement. The number of Yeerks in the galaxy numbered billions. What do you think your chances are that your Yeerk will have a change of heart if it hears you scream enough times?

I may not be any good to anyone dead, but at least I won't be turning over my friends and family to the Yeerks or killing innocent people.

Besides, I am answering this question on the assumption that I will spend the rest of my life as a Controller. Since I am physically incapable of doing anything of my own free will for the rest of my life, I might as well be dead.