Andalite Traitors on Leera & the Homeworld- the only logical explanation

[Zacharychaos]

Andalites-

Impossible to infiltrate or hide a Kandrona on an Andalite ship. Yet on Leera in book 18, the captain gleefully betrayed his crew. There is no good reason why that would happen, he did not declare a passion for revenge on his own race or something along those lines. And even if that was just one guy, what was Alloran sputtering about traitors on the homeworld?

Also in Book 18, it is stated that fresh blood would allow a morph-capable being to acquire DNA. (That would have been useful for Ax or Tobias to, say, acquire Alloran's stronger body.)

There is only one explanation of how Andalites could be turncoats so high in the command structure that is consistent with what we know in the series.

The Yeerks have limited access to morphing technology in secret; they capture Andalites, harvest their memories from infestation, then kill them and morph their bodies to become andalite nothlits. Then these Andalite "survivors" are welcomed back as heroes. Or the blood of fallen Andalite warriors could be used to morph an injured amnesiac but alive Andalite "survivor."

Only the Council and the more competent commanders would be aware of such a plan because Andalite intelligence must not be allowed to know about it. (This would explain why Alloran was just straight-up infested, Visser Three was so gleeful about it and public that they couldn't have "given Alloran back".)

A Yeerk in a permanent Andalite morph could wreck havoc on the High Command for years and virtually never be caught.

[Chad32]

Really? Instead of just thinking there are some that would willingly switch sides, you think the Yeerks managed to be able to become nothlits in order to infiltrate the Homeworld. I'd rather believe that some sort of deal was struck with someone whose price was low enough for controllers to pay off. It's possible. There could be a number of reasons for this.

Although I have read that KA kind of forgot about that little plot thread, and that's why nothing was done with it. This was the same book where an Andalite claimed to be a war councilor to the Hork-Bajir or something during the war. Apparently that was untrue, come HB Chronicles.

[AndaliteBlues]

Interesting theory. I did find it odd that an Andalite might willingly work for the Yeerks, especially seeing how anti-Yeerk they are portrayed. However I think if there were nothlits in the Andalite High Command, the Yeerks would have already won the war. Also, I imagine that Andalites wouldn't be that trusting to returning warriors, seeing as they're supposed to commit suicide rather than be captured. Any returning Andalite would probably be under high surveillance.

As Chad said though, it is possible. If Yeerks could gain access to morphing technology or develop it themselves, then this could be a way to start a slow invasion of the Andalite Homeworld.

It is a shame that this plot was abandoned, as it had potential.

[Zacharychaos]

Interesting theory. I did find it odd that an Andalite might willingly work for the Yeerks, especially seeing how anti-Yeerk they are portrayed. However I think if there were nothlits in the Andalite High Command, the Yeerks would have already won the war. Also, I imagine that Andalites wouldn't be that trusting to returning warriors, seeing as they're supposed to commit suicide rather than be captured. Any returning Andalite would probably be under high surveillance.

As Chad said though, it is possible. If Yeerks could gain access to morphing technology or develop it themselves, then this could be a way to start a slow invasion of the Andalite Homeworld.

It is a shame that this plot was abandoned, as it had potential.

My most straightforward counterargument here is that Elfangor came out of nowhere- in an Andalite fighter, no less- and creamed Visser Three in battle, thereby setting foot on the path of war hero.

He definitely returned from parts unknown. It would be easy for the Yeerks to stage a "heroic escape" with dozens of unsuspecting "trojan horse" casualties.

As for the Andalites just deciding to become traitors... there's no capitalist economy for which to bribe, there's no way to trust a Yeerk (why fulfill a promise when you can just create a Controller?) and there is no known "Cult of Seerow" or something like that that would give certain Andalites a hidden motive.

I agree that KA Applegate did kind of forget about that plotline, but I still wonder where she was going with it.

(**Also, I think it is assumed that the capture of one Escafil device does not confer unlimited morphing, recall the human military was only given 2 cubes. If the technology was limitless and/or able to be copied, why give exactly two?  So if I were the Yeerk Empire and I had one device, I would keep it absolutely secret.)

[RYTX]

Where do you get that 2 number? Chapter 15 in in 54 states "Terrorists had begun to attack Andalite tourists and free Hork-Bajir. And the Andalites had agreed to make a single morphing cube available, on condition that it remain in Andalite custody and be used only for antiterror forces."

They Ax four went wrapping up negations, but we don't know what he did with them. Points far as we know one cube is enough for everyone.


More on track, to counter your thesis with a similar argument, what's a Yeerk's incentive to play on as nothlit spies?
We're taught Yeerks do what they do for a host. Plenty are washed in empire propaganda, but if you gave one this strong body, made it incapable of returning to the pools, really, why would he stick his neck out for an empire he can't really go back too? You can argue Andalites won't accept him, but they're no more likely to kill him if he choose to turn coat on the Yeerks than the Council would be.
Seems shaky to me

[Chad32]

That's true. A big reason the Empire has control over all these Yeerks is because they control the one resource everyone needs to live. I would bet a lot of Yeerks would quit the war in a heartbeat if they could, and giving them a body would take away the Council's main method of control.

I just don't see that as a practical option. Now I can't think of a good reason why anyone would want to work with a Yeerk unless they're actually trying to overthrow the Council of Thirteen, but convincing Andalites to switch sides seems an easier to believe option than Andalite nothlits who remain loyal to the Empire.

[donut]

There are always traitors.  It's been a long time since I read that book so I have no idea if he said anything important, but there are lots of reasons he could have betrayed them.  Even without a capitalist society there is always greed.  He could have still been looking for revenge for something.  You don't have to tell your motives.  He might have thought the yeerks were winning.  He might just have been insane.  In a half century of war, I'd think the yeerks would eventually find an effective technique to recruit agents in andalite society.

[Tim Bruening]

If the Yeerks can capture Andelites in quantity, I would expect that said Angelites would be infested, and kept alive as Controllers, and exploited for their morphing abilities.

I marvel that only ONE Andelite has ever been infested by a Yeerk!  I would expect Andelites to be knocked unconscious in battle near Yeerks on a regular basis, and therefore be captured.

[AndaliteBlues]

I marvel that only ONE Andelite has ever been infested by a Yeerk!  I would expect Andelites to be knocked unconscious in battle near Yeerks on a regular basis, and therefore be captured.

Especially as Dracon beams have stun settings. Although I can't see Visser 3 being to happy with additional Andalite-controllers.

[Zacharychaos]

Where do you get that 2 number? Chapter 15 in in 54 states "Terrorists had begun to attack Andalite tourists and free Hork-Bajir. And the Andalites had agreed to make a single morphing cube available, on condition that it remain in Andalite custody and be used only for antiterror forces."

They Ax four went wrapping up negations, but we don't know what he did with them. Points far as we know one cube is enough for everyone.


More on track, to counter your thesis with a similar argument, what's a Yeerk's incentive to play on as nothlit spies?
We're taught Yeerks do what they do for a host. Plenty are washed in empire propaganda, but if you gave one this strong body, made it incapable of returning to the pools, really, why would he stick his neck out for an empire he can't really go back too? You can argue Andalites won't accept him, but they're no more likely to kill him if he choose to turn coat on the Yeerks than the Council would be.
Seems shaky to me

There's one major counterargument to your (otherwise good) points. The Yeerks hate the Andalites. Hate hate hate. Now, sure, it's fully possible that a Yeerk that became an Andalite nothlit and fall in love with Andalite culture etc etc it does happen in human history. But will these hand-picked Yeerk spys really succumb so quickly? No Andalite war-hero, whether real or "yeerk-produced" would be allowed to just retire in the middle of a militaristic culture at war. There will be no running along the family scoops, playing with children, engaging in pop culture, making Andalite babies or whatever (a la Edriss). The Yeerk spy will constantly be called on to fight his brethren or die trying. So yes, even without Kandrona, I think any Yeerk-Andalite would stay loyal.

Besides, if the Yeerk decided to betray the Empire, would they be able to parlay with the Andalite military and tell them the whole truth? They would be labelled an Abomination. A yeerk with the stolen nothlit body of a dead Andalite. So any Yeerkdalite that decides to give up on his Yeerk brothers would have to keep his head down and his mouth shut quiet. So even if you have 50 Yeerkdalite spies and 20 of them defect to the Andalite side, no one is going to sq.

[Zacharychaos]

Where do you get that 2 number? Chapter 15 in in 54 states "Terrorists had begun to attack Andalite tourists and free Hork-Bajir. And the Andalites had agreed to make a single morphing cube available, on condition that it remain in Andalite custody and be used only for antiterror forces."

They Ax four went wrapping up negations, but we don't know what he did with them. Points far as we know one cube is enough for everyone.


More on track, to counter your thesis with a similar argument, what's a Yeerk's incentive to play on as nothlit spies?
We're taught Yeerks do what they do for a host. Plenty are washed in empire propaganda, but if you gave one this strong body, made it incapable of returning to the pools, really, why would he stick his neck out for an empire he can't really go back too? You can argue Andalites won't accept him, but they're no more likely to kill him if he choose to turncoat on the Yeerks than the Council would be.
Seems shaky to me

There's one major counterargument to your (otherwise good) points. The Yeerks hate the Andalites. Hate hate hate. Now, sure, it's fully possible that a Yeerk would overcome this as he/she became an Andalite nothlit and fall in love with Andalite culture etc etc it does happen in human history. But will these hand-picked Yeerk spys really succumb so quickly? No Andalite war-hero, whether real or "yeerk-produced" would be allowed to just retire in the middle of a militaristic culture at war. There will be no running along the family scoops, playing with children, engaging in pop culture, making Andalite babies or whatever (a la Edriss). The Yeerk spy will constantly be called on to kill kill kill his fellow Yeerks until his dying breath. So yes, even without Kandrona, I think any Yeerk-Andalite would stay loyal.

Besides, let's presume I'm dead wrong on that. If the Yeerk decided to betray the Empire, would they be able to parlay with the Andalite military and tell them the whole truth? They would be labelled an Abomination. A yeerk with the stolen nothlit body of a dead Andalite. So any Yeerkdalite that decides to give up on his Yeerk brothers would have to keep his head down and his mouth shut quiet. So even if you have 50 Yeerkdalite spies and 20 of them defect to the Andalite side, no one is going to be the wiser. Those thirty Princes or Captains or whatever are going to wreck some major havoc.

[chewbacca89]

I marvel that only ONE Andelite has ever been infested by a Yeerk!  I would expect Andelites to be knocked unconscious in battle near Yeerks on a regular basis, and therefore be captured.

Especially as Dracon beams have stun settings. Although I can't see Visser 3 being to happy with additional Andalite-controllers.

Hey I'm new here, first post.

I agree about Visser 3 not wanting there to be other Andalite Controllers. Honestly I'm surprised the Council of 13 let him run around in a better host than they have....