Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

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Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Visitor-Chapter 11

quote:

We couldn't go to the Chapmans' the next night because Marco and I both had papers we had to write. And the night after that was Cassie's dad's birthday.

But finally, there we were again on the street outside the Chapmans' house. It was a little before eight.

Fluffer was out of the house, smelling a fence post four blocks over, where another cat had left his scent. At least, that's what Tobias reported.

"Are you ready?" Jake asked me.

I nodded.

"Are you sure?" Cassie asked. "You can put this off if you want. We don't have to do this tonight."

"The sooner the better," I said. "We all know something is wrong in that house. Melissa is still my friend. Maybe somehow I can help her."

"Your job is not to help Melissa Chapman," Marco pointed out. "You're supposed to be spying on Chapman. You're supposed to be finding some way for us to get at the Yeerks, so that we can all turn into wild animals and get ourselves killed."

"I know why I'm doing this, Marco," I said.

He nodded. "Okay. Well, take care of yourself in there. That's an assistant principal you're dealing with. He finds out you've turned into a cat and gone sneaking around his house, that will be after-school detention for like a year."

We all laughed. As if detention were the thing I had to fear. Marco can be obnoxious, but on the other hand, he can make you laugh right when you really need to.

That's a pretty good description of Marco, I think. Also, Marco has his eyes on the prize here. Does he care Melissa is suffering? Probably. Is he going to let that get in the way of the mission? Nope.

quote:

"I'm ready," I said. I waved my arms at the dark sky above. Tobias swooped down, opened his wings to slow his speed, and settled on the fence beside us.

"How does it look up there, Tobias?" Jake asked.

<Looks fine. The cat is nowhere near the house. There's no one out walking around, except way over on Loughlin Street. There are a couple of cars, but not coming toward you.>

"You know, you have quite a future in burglary," Marco said to Tobias. "You and I can burglarize places, and Jake can be Spiderman and catch us."

"Okay, I'm ready to do this," I announced. "As ready as I'm going to get, anyway."

Tobias sent me a private message. <Rachel, if you get into any trouble, just try and make it out side. I can lift you out of any danger. >

I prepared to morph. I concentrated on Fluffer. It was easy to do. I had a very clear mental image of Fluffer dropping down out of that tree, ready to kill me when I was a shrew. 44

Inside my own body, Fluffer's DNA was stored, ready to be used. All I had to do was concentrate . . . concentrate. . . .

Each morphing is different. Especially the first time, when you can't even think about controlling how it happens. Even Cassie can't control the first morph.

In the case of Fluffer, it started with fur. Black fur came first, and then the white fur began to grow. The fur had almost completely grown in while I was still mostly human. I had luxurious fur on my arms. On my legs. On my face. Fur and whiskers, with everything else pretty much the same.

"Oh, that is cool!" Cassie said. She was staring at me and grinning this huge grin. "That is way cool. You look great."

Marco and Jake nodded agreement.

"It's kind of weird, but also kind of pretty," Marco said. "I'm thinking you could do commercials for cat food. You sing a little song, maybe dance a little. Forget Morris the cat. You would rule."

I began to shrink. But it was strange, because as I shrank and my outer clothing slithered off me, I didn't feel like I was getting smaller. I felt more like I was getting stronger.

It was like I was shedding all this unnecessary stuff, these clumsy long legs, these ridiculous weak arms.

I felt like I'd been boiled down to my absolute essentials. Like I wasn't even made out of plain old flesh and bones anymore.

I felt like liquid steel.

I didn't feel the fear of the shrew. I didn't feel the total confidence of the elephant, either, or of the eagle.

This was different. There was fear, sure. But underneath the fear was confidence. The cat knew there were enemies out there, but he also knew he could handle it.

I felt . . . tough. That was it -- tough.

The cat's both prey and predator at the same time. It's got to worry about animals that are bigger than it, but it also knows that it can fight back, and while a cat will run, it'll also fight back, especially if the threat is close to its size

quote:

Then the cat's senses started sending messages to my brain.

<Whoa!> I yelled in surprise. <Suddenly it isn't nighttime anymore! I mean, wow. Talk about night vision!>

"A cat's vision at night is about eight times stronger than a human's," Cassie said helpfully. "I looked it up."

"Eight times?" Marco repeated. "Not seven, or nine? How do they measure that?"

But it wasn't just how well I saw that was strange. It was what I noticed.

A human being will notice colors, for example. Now, a cat can see colors, more or less. He just isn't interested in colors. It's like, okay, that thing is red. Who cares?

What cats really notice is movement. If anything moves, even the tiniest bit, the cat sees it. I was standing there on the grass, looking around with my big cat eyes, and I saw nothing but movement.

I saw every blade of grass that moved in the breeze. I saw every bug that crawled across those blades of grass. I saw every bird in every tree as it fluffed its wings. And boy, did I see the mice and the squirrels and the rats.

There was a mouse no more than twenty feet away. I could see the individual whiskers on his little snout when they twitched.

Things that were not moving were boring to me. If the mouse just stayed completely still, I would forget he was even there.

So, this is true. For a long time, people didn't think cats or dogs could see colors. We now know that cats (and dogs) can see colors, although not as well as people can, and, while they can't see as far a distance as people can, they can see better in the dark, have more peripheral vision, and are much more sensitive to movement.

quote:

"How are you doing?" Jake asked me. I had no trouble at all hearing his voice. But it was irrelevant. It had no meaning. The mouse was making a tiny little scritching sound as it worked its little teeth around a nut, trying to chew it open.

I cared about that sound. I cared about that sound a lot.

"Rachel, can you hear us? It's me, Cassie."

<Yes, I can hear you. I just can't seem to concentrate very well on you. There are so many other things to hear and see and smell. >

"Well, at least she's not running around out of control," Marco said.

Suddenly I sensed something over my head, a shape, a shadow, a figure. Lightning quick, I turned my head. My ears flattened back against my skull. The hair on my back stood up and my tail puffed out to three times its normal size. My claws extended. I drew back my mouth and showed my teeth.

It all happened in a split second. I was ready for battle.

And whatever this was attacking me, I wanted it to know it would be sorry it messed with Fluffer McKitty.

"Hhhhhiisssss!"

I was ready to fight. I was pumped. Kill or be killed.

It is so cool when you feel the razor-sharp claws sliding out of your delicate-looking pink pads.

"Rachel, take a pill, girl, it's just Tobias," Cassie said soothingly. "Tobias? I think maybe you'd better stay away," she called up to the sky. "Cats are genetically programmed to be afraid of large birds."

She was right. The shadow of Tobias scared me pretty good. It was strange, because it was a fear I shared with the shrew.

But it was a different type of fear than the shrew's. This was more like I was angry, too. Only that wasn't quite it, either. I guess it wasn't a real emotion at all. Basically, when I'd hissed I was just trying to communicate. And the message I was trying to communicate was, "Don't mess with me. You may be bigger than me, you may scare me, you may make me run away, but if I have to I am ready to fight."

That was my whole cat message to the world: Don't mess with me. Don't get in my way, don't try to touch me if I don't want to be touched, don't try to keep me from getting what I want.

I was self-contained. I was complete. I didn't need anything but myself. It seemed lonely to my human self, but at the same time, it was all very calm somehow.

That's a cat for you.

quote:

<I'm okay,> I said. 

"What's it like?" Cassie asked.

<lt's like . . . You know those old cowboy movies with Clint Eastwood? He's a gunslinger and he walks into the saloon and everyone kind of gets out of his way? And how he's not really looking for trouble, but you'd better not make him mad? That's what it's like. It's like I'm Clint Eastwood.>

"Can you do this, do you think?" Jake asked me.

<Oh, yeah. I can do anything. >

"Don't let the cat's arrogance get you in trouble," Marco advised. "Keep a little of your good old human fear." He paused. "Oh, I forgot, mighty Rachel doesn't have any good old human fear. So here's what you do: Borrow some of my good old human fear. I have plenty to spare. "

"He's right, Rachel," Cassie agreed. "Keep focused. Between your own natural attitude and the cat's 'tude, you could get cocky."

I cast a glance back toward the mouse. He had broken into the nut at last. I could kill him. I was sure of that. He was a plump little mouse, and I would catch him easily. But I wasn't hungry. So he'd get to live a while longer.

<No problem,> I said.

"We're here if you get into a mess," Cassie reassured me.

<l'll meow if I need help. Don't worry. I'm in control now. It'll be fine.>

But the truth is, I was lying, just a little. See, I wasn't completely in control of the cat. For some reason I didn't want to completely control the cat. I kind of liked his arrogance. It made me feel more sure of myself. And despite what the others thought about me, I needed all the confidence I could get.

"The morph clock is ticking," Cassie said."It's quarter to eight. Remember that."

After Tobias, how ominous is it that this chapter ends with Cassie reminding Rachael what time it is that she started to morph?

# ? Apr 23, 2020 22:16

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 15:17

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

Curious, is morphing a "once you begin you gotta keep going" kind of process, or could you deliberately stop and remain in one of these in between stages.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 11:00

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Avalerion posted:

Curious, is morphing a "once you begin you gotta keep going" kind of process, or could you deliberately stop and remain in one of these in between stages.

Good question. We did see Rachel partially change into an elephant earlier in this book, so I don't know if you necessarily need to carry it all the way through.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 13:46

CidGregor: Sep 27, 2009; TG: if i were you i would just take that fucking devilbeast out behind the woodshed and blow its head off

It's not automated, no. Like it won't carry on independently once you push the mental start button. You have to actively maintain concentration on morphing or you WILL stop mid-morph. Which, yeah, Rachel does earlier and then quickly backs out of it. Cassie in particular abuses this a couple of times, since she has that natural talent/affinity for it and can make specific parts morph first/hold off specific parts for last. Kind of like at the beginning of this book where she held off the wings for last when coming out of bird morph. I feel like I remember her also using that trick with other morphs at least once or twice in more dire circumstances.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 15:31

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

Seems like if you are good you could theoretically morph say, just cat eyes for night vision and stuff.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 20:46

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Visitor-Chapter 12

quote:

I headed at an easy trot down the sidewalk toward the Chapman home. As soon as I started moving I thought, Oh, man, if I could just keep some of this for my next gymnastics class.

It was like grace beyond any grace you can imagine as a human. I passed a wooden fence. There was a railing up high, maybe three feet up. I looked up at it and then, before I could even think about it, I leaped. My powerful hind legs coiled up and released.

I sailed through the air. Three feet straight up, and I was an animal that stood only about twelve or thirteen inches tall. It was the same as a human being just leaping to the top of a two- story building.

And it was totally nothing.

It was just automatic. I wanted to jump, so I did. I wanted to stick the landing on a narrow two-inch-wide rail, and of course, no problem.

Compared to a cat, the best gymnast who ever lived is like a big staggering cow or something.

"Um, Rachel, what exactly are you doing?" Jake asked.

They were all standing there looking at me. I had totally forgotten they were still around.

<Just practicing,> I said. I jumped back down to the grass. Okay, get the job done first, I ordered myself sternly. You can worry about the Kitty Olympics later.

I started again toward the house, but this time something forced me to stop. It was a telephone pole. The smell that emanated from it was overpowering. I went over to it. I sniffed it again and again in short snorts of air. The air was trapped in a series of chambers above my palette. It would be held there even while I went on breathing. That way I could get every possible bit of information from that smell.

It was definitely a tom's scent. A tomcat had marked this pole by peeing on it. He was a dominant cat. Very dominant. His smell made me nervous. Not afraid, just a little less arrogant than I had been. If this cat appeared, I would have to submit. I would have to make myself smaller and less threatening and accept his dominance.

Or I could fight him and get my butt kicked.

It was just the way things were. It was all there in the smell of his urine, where any cat could read it.

I resumed trotting toward the Chapman home.

<Rachel, are you sure you're in control?> Tobias's voice was in my head. <Why did you stop to sniff that pole?>

 I said. 

<lf you say so,> he said doubtfully. <Just remember: It's fun being an animal for a while. Not so fun when it's permanent. The two-hour clock is ticking. Tick tock. >

That got my attention. It was like a dash of cold water in my face. I focused my human mind and took greater control over the cat's mind. But it wasn't easy. The cat's mind did not even understand the notion of obeying.

So, we see ther result of Rachel not taking full control of the animal earlier, which is that she's still bound by its instincts. And, of course, it's Tobias who gives her the metaphorical dash of cold water there, speaking from experience.

quote:

So I used something the cat would respond to. I conjured up the memory of the big tom's smell. That triggered the cat's submissiveness. I felt my part of the collective mind grow larger.

<You're almost there,> Tobias said. <This is the right yard.>

<Yes, I know. My scent is everywhere,-This whole area smells of me. This is home. This is all mine.>

<Rachel, this is all Chapman's. And Chapman belongs to Visser Three. Don't forget that.>

I trotted to the cat door. Chapman. Visser Three. Big deal. I was a combination of Rachel and Fluffer. What did I care about Chapman and Visser Three?

The light inside the house was bright. My eyes adjusted instantly. My nose picked up the smell of cat food, too dry and old to interest me. I also smelled the humans: Melissa, Mr. Chapman, and Ms. Chapman. Don't ask me how I knew that what I smelled were those three people. I just knew.

I spotted a cockroach in the dust balls in the dark beneath the refrigerator. No interest to me. Roaches made interesting scritchy noises sometimes, and they were fun to watch run. But they smelled wrong. They were not prey.

Swift movements!

Feet. Human feet. I didn't bother looking up. It was Ms. Chapman.

High-pitched sounds coming from the motor of the refrigerator. They were annoying. There were also the sounds of birds outside. They had a nest up under the eaves.

Then the sound of Melissa's voice.

Where was she? I didn't see her anywhere. The sound was muffled.

I tried to focus. My ears moved to point to ward the sound. It came from above me. Above and far away.

She was in her bedroom, that's where. I couldn't hear the words clearly, but I knew that she was muttering to herself.

I trotted across the kitchen floor. I knew - as Rachel- I knew I should be afraid. But I couldn't be afraid. Everything here smelled like me. My scent glands had left their marks all over -- on that door, on that cupboard, on that chair. It re assured me.

The big dominant tomcat's smell was not in here. No, there were no other cats in here at all. Only human smells, and those were not very important.

Even here, she's got the cat under control, but she hasn't really mastered it. She's still responding to the cat's attitude and its sensibilities.

quote:

I left the kitchen and paused at the corner between the hallway and the family room. Chapman was there, in the living room. I could smell him. He was just sitting on the couch. I glanced at him and walked on.

But then I stopped. My human brain sensed something wrong with the picture. Chapman was just sitting on the couch. No TV. No music. He wasn't reading a book or a newspaper. Just sitting.

I turned back to the kitchen. I looked up at Ms. Chapman. She was doing something at the sink. Maybe washing dishes. No, she was cutting vegetables. But again, no TV. No music. She wasn't humming to herself. She wasn't talking to herself the way my mom does when she's working in the kitchen.

So that last part is legitimately pretty creepy.

quote:

Not right. Something was not right with either of the Chapmans. I went back to the hallway. There were stairs leading up to the bedrooms. From the hallway I could hear Melissa more clearly. I concentrated, trying to ignore the fascinating sounds of the birds under the eaves. I focused on the human sounds of Melissa's voice.

"Di . . divided by the square root ... no, wait. No, square root times ... Is that right?"

She was doing her homework. Her math home work, obviously.

Like I should be doing, I thought. I had a pang of guilt. Instead of doing my homework, I was creeping around my friend's house spying on her and her parents.

I tried to find a clock. I had to watch the time. At nine forty-five my two hours would be up. I wanted to be out of morph and back in my normal body long before then. Hopefully, I could still get home and do my math homework and at least do some of the reading for social studies class.

I spotted a clock. It was over the mantel, between pictures of the Chapmans and Melissa. The clock said three minutes until eight. I had plenty of time. Sudden movement!

Oh, just Chapman standing up. The cat part of me wasn't interested in Chapman one way or the other. But I forced myself to pay attention. It was important to watch him. That was why I was here.

Is he prey? The cat brain seemed to be asking.

Yes. Yes, I told the cat brain. Chapman is our prey.

I followed Chapman as he headed down the hallway. Either he didn't notice me, or else he didn't care. He opened a door that let loose a flood of smells. Dampness. Mildew. Bugs.

<Rachel? How are you doing in there?>

I jerked in surprise. A very un-catlike movement.

It was Tobias. He had to be fairly close for me to be able to hear his thought-speech. He must be on the roof or perched on a nearby tree branch. I strained my sensitive cat hearing. The birds under the eaves were silent. They were afraid of the big hawk.

<I'm fine,> I said. <But you scared me half to death!>

<Sorry. I was just worried.>

<Well, don't worry. I'm following Chapman down to the basement. >

<Why?>

<Because that's where he's going. Duh,> I said. Somehow, Tobias's human words were annoying me. He wanted me to pay attention to him and it was hard to do. The cat didn't care about his words. The cat just wanted to go down and look around the basement. Fortunately, that's what I wanted to do, too.

I trotted down the rough wooden stairs after Chapman. Very weird, by the way. Going downstairs as a cat gave me a feeling of vertigo. I mean, I was going down head first. It's strange.

<Look, Tobias, I appreciate you looking out for me. But I'm kind of busy right now.>



<Yeah, I'm going down.> I waited. He said nothing. <Tobias?> I called. But there was no answer. We're still learning about thought-speech. We know there are limits on how far it can be "heard." But we aren't sure what the limits are.

The basement had paneling all around. The ceiling was bare wood and full of spiders and other interesting things. No mice, though. Nothing that could be considered actual prey. But many things that might be fun to chase.

Chapman is the prey, I reminded myself. We are hunting Chapman.

There was a sort of TV room with a pool table and some old chairs and a couch. But it was obvious that no one had used them for a long time. There were no human scents on them. There was dust everywhere and I could hear that there were spiders inside the TV set.

The only part of the basement that appeared to have been used was a path right across the floor. I smelled the scents that Chapman had tracked there with his shoes.

He walked in a straight line across the basement to a door. It was a simple white-painted door. Chapman pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. He unlocked the white door.

He opened it and stepped through. Five feet beyond the white door was a second door. This one was made of gleaming steel. It looked like the door to a bank vault.

Beside the steel door, there was a small, square white panel of light. Chapman pressed his hand against it.

The steel door opened. It slid into the wall like the doors on Star Trek.

I knew I had to go after him. But my human mind was afraid. And my cat mind didn't see any reason why I should walk into that dark place.

To both of us, it felt like a trap. Like a place we couldn't get out of.

But I had to. I had to go in there . That was the whole point of this spying trip.

And Chapman was my prey.

At the last second, just as the door swooshed shut, I bounded into the room.

So she's discovered...Chapman has a secret! Well, she already knew that.

quote:

It was dark at first, not that it bothered me. Then Chapman turned on a low light. It was strange, because I could actually see better in the dark than I could with the low light.

There was a sort of desk set into the wall. It was gray steel and very unusual-looking. There were more little light panels in various cheerful colors. And there was something that looked like a small but complicated spotlight hanging down from the ceiling. In front of the desk was a chair. A totally normal office-type chair. Chapman sat in it.

He ran his hands over a blue panel. Then he looked at his watch. He sat patiently, waiting.

For about a minute, nothing happened. I tried to look nonchalant, like I had just happened to wander in. But at the same time I was careful to stay behind Chapman so he wouldn't see me.

I remembered Jake's warning. About how any one else would just assume I was a plain old cat. But Chapman knew about morphing. The Yeerks knew about the Andalite morphing technology. So if Chapman or any Controller ever saw an animal acting the wrong way, they could suspect the truth.

Suddenly a brilliant light snapped on. My cat eyes adjusted instantly, but even so, the light was painfully bright. It came from the little spotlight thing. Chapman turned around in his chair to face the light.

The light began to change. It took shape. It turned different colors.

The four hooves appeared. The bluish fur. The many-fingered hands. The flat, intelligent face with no mouth and only slits for a nose. The penetrating, almond-shaped main eyes. Then the strange extra eyes, mounted on stalks that turned this way and that, looking around the room. Last came the tail, the wicked, curved, scorpionlike tail.

An Andalite. Just like the Andalite prince who had given us our powers.

But I knew this was no true Andalite. Dread washed over me. Dread too strong for even my cat brain to ignore.

This was no true Andalite. This was the only Andalite body ever seized and taken over by the Yeerks. The only Andalite-Controller in all the galaxy.

This was Visser Three. Leader of the Yeerk invasion force. The evil creature who could morph into monsters acquired from all over the universe.

This was Visser Three, the creature who had murdered the Andalite prince while we cowered in terror.

This was Visser Three, who had nearly killed us all in the hell of the Yeerk pool.

"Welcome, Visser," Chapman said in a very humble voice. "Iniss two two six of the Sulp Niaar pool submits to you. May the Kandrona shine and strengthen you."

"And you, Iniss two two six," Visser Three said. I was shocked to hear the Visser's voice. In his Andalite body he had no mouth. Andalites communicate telepathically, just the way I do when I'm in a morph.

The second shock came from what they had said to each other. "Iniss two two six." That had to be the name of the Yeerk slug who controlled Chapman.

The cat part of my brain was busy with a different question. Was this apparition real? No. There was no scent. No scent at all. Only light and shadows.

It was a hologram, I knew. But it was a very convincing hologram. Visser Three seemed almost solid. He looked around as though he could see from his holographic eyes.

I prayed he wouldn't look at me.

"Report, Iniss ."

"Yes, Visser."

Part of me just wanted to run. Even a hologram of Visser Three makes your skin crawl. But now that he had figured out it wasn't real, the cat part of me was just bored.

I realized why I could hear Visser Three -- the hologram projector must not be able to transmit thought-speech. It translated it into regular speech.

"Is there progress on locating the Andalite bandits?"

"No, Visser. Nothing yet."

I knew who he meant by "Andalite bandits."

That was us, the Animorphs.

"I want them found. I want them found NOW!"

Chapman jumped back in surprise at the Visser's command. I could smell fear on him.

In a calmer tone, Visser Three went on. "This cannot go on, Iniss two two six, it cannot go on. The Council of Thirteen will hear of it. They will wonder why I reported to them that all Andalite ships near this planet had been destroyed and all the Andalites killed. They will be suspicious. They will be angry. And when the Council of Thir teen is angry with me, I am angry with you."

Chapman was literally quivering. I smelled human sweat. And I smelled something else. Something not totally human. It was very faint . . . was that the Yeerk itself I was smelling? Was I smelling the Yeerk slug in Chapman's head?

It seemed impossible. But there was some strange smell. Something . . . something ... I concentrated all my cat mind on analyzing the smell.

"What is that?"

Chapman swiveled in his chair.

I looked up and froze. Chapman was staring right at me. And worse, much worse, Visser Three's stalk eyes were focused on me, too.

"It's called a cat," Chapman said nervously. "An Earth species used as a pet. The humans keep them close and find comfort in them."

"Why is it in here?" "It belongs to the girl. My ... the host's daughter."

"I see," Visser Three said. "Well, kill it. Kill it immediately."

So that's not good.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 22:18

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

Is Iniss 266 the first Yeerk name we have heard?

# ? Apr 25, 2020 06:20

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

MonsterEnvy posted:

Is Iniss 266 the first Yeerk name we have heard?

Yes. Visser Three (Esplin 9466) and Visser One (Edriss 563) aren't named until much later in the series, and even then learning Actual Yeerk Names is an incredibly rare event.

Also that's an interestingly telling slip by Iniss at the end of the chapter, obliquely referring to Melissa as "my" daughter before catching himself.

# ? Apr 25, 2020 06:30

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Visitor-Chapter 13

quote:

Kill it. Kill it immediately.

I wanted to run. I wanted to panic.

But some strange combination of the cat's cunning and my own intelligence came together and saved me.

I didn't so much as flick a whisker. If I had, I would have been dead. I knew that for a fact. If I'd reacted like I'd understood, they would have known for sure that I was no normal cat.

Visser Three's hologram watched me closely. All four of his Andalite eyes were focused on me now. And behind that gentle Andalite expression, I could feel the razor-sharp focus of the powerful, evil Yeerk. Chapman, too, was staring at me. He had the same look in his eyes that he had when he caught someone trying to skip out of school.

I was terrified. Or at least the Rachel part of me was terrified. Fluffer couldn't have cared less. He sensed my concern, but he had none of his own. There were no birds of prey here. There were no dogs. There were no smells of dominant cats. There was only a sort of threedimensional picture that had no scent. And Chapman. Chapman might be prey, or he might not, but he was certainly no threat.

"It could be an Andalite," Visser Three said. "Destroy it."

In response I said, "Meow."

Visser Three glared at me. "What is that?"

"It's . . . it's ... the s-s-sound a cat makes, Visser. I b-b-believe it wishes to eat."

SAWWWAPP!

Suddenly, without warning, Visser Three whipped his tail at me. A dangerous, foot-long, scythe-shaped blade arced toward me at a speed no human could hope to evade.

But I wasn't just a human. In a tenth of the time it took to blink, I had seen the sudden motion and I was crouched down, ears back, teeth bared. My paw, claws out stretched, swiped at the tail blade.

My paw went straight through the hologram. And the blade, nothing but a projection, swept through me.

"Ha, ha, ha."

It took me a second to make sense of the sound.

It was Visser Three laughing.

Chapman seemed amazed, too. Like he had never heard the Visser laugh. Like it wasn't even possible to imagine the Visser laughing.

"What a ferocious little beast," Visser Three said approvingly. "See how he did not back away or run? I am many times his size and yet he struck at me. A pity that the species is too small to serve as a host."

"Yes, a pity," Chapman said warily.

"Kill it," Visser Three said. "What better form for an Andalite to use? Better kill it, just to be safe."

"Yes, Visser," Chapman said. "O-o-only . . ."

"Only what?" the Visser snapped.

"It belongs to the girl. If I kill the animal she will be angry. She may draw attention. Killing a cat is seen as a bad deed. It would violate my cover."

Visser Three did not look happy to be disobeyed. But he was not a creature who made impetuous decisions. He considered for a moment while my future just hung there, balancing be tween life and death.

"Do not violate your cover or draw attention," the Visser said at last.

I figured it was time for me to do something in my own defense. I walked over and rubbed my flank against Chapman's leg.

"What is it doing?" Visser Three demanded.

"It is signaling that it wishes to be fed."

"Interesting. Claws and teeth and ferocity mixed with the subtlety to manipulate creatures larger than itself. A worthy creature. Yes, let it live, for now. Let it live until we have resolved the matter of the girl."

So Visser Three is a cat person...err, cat slug.

quote:

Chapman's face actually seemed to twitch. It was the only emotion he had shown, other than fear.

"The girl? But . . . Visser . . . the agreement with the human Chapman . . ."

Visser Three sneered. "Agreements. Don't be a fool. We make agreements to gain voluntary hosts. Agreements are a tool. Just as you are my tool. If you had brought me the Andalite bandits, I would not have to concern myself with a cat or a girl."

Chapman bowed his head. "I will bring them to you."

"Do that," Visser Three said coldly. And then the solid-seeming image began to change. The gentle Andalite body melted away and in its place grew a monster like nothing ever seen on Earth.

Where the Andalite head had been, there was now a long, thick tube. There was an opening like some horrible mouth at the end of the tube. The thing was purple, but translucent. You could almost see through it, although I wasn't sure if that was because it was a hologram, or if the animal itself was that way.

The hologram Visser lowered the tube-mouth toward Chapman's head. The mouth opened, revealing hundreds, maybe thousands, of tiny suck ers, each dripping slime.

It seemed as if the tube mouth closed over Chapman's head.

Chapman shook and quivered in terror.

Visser Three's artificial voice said, "Don't forget, Iniss two two six, I gave you this Chapman body. I placed you in his head because I trusted you. I fed you his brain and made you my lieutenant. But I can suck you back out again if you fail me. Would you like to see what happened to the last fool who failed me?"

Suddenly an image appeared in the air, like a little movie. It was a second hologram. It showed a human woman, pain-wracked, screaming, with the purple creature sucking on her head.

The real Chapman began to moan. "Oh, oh, no, Visser. I beg you."

In the little movie the translucent purple thing suddenly went into a spasm. From the woman's ear there came the slug . It was sucked, dripping, gray, slimy, right out of her head.

The purple creature swallowed the Yeerk slug.

Then the little movie ended.

"Not a very pretty picture, is it, Iniss two two six?"

Chapman just shook his head. His eyes were still staring at the empty air where the image had appeared.

Visser Three began to resume the Andalite form.

"Don't fail me," Visser Three said.

Suddenly Visser Three vanished. The room was dark again. Chapman sat hunched over the desk, with his head in his hands. It was a while before he opened the door and we both went back up the stairs.

Ms. Chapman was there, waiting. "What are the Visser's orders?" she asked in a whisper.

Chapman looked at her like he'd just seen a ghost. "He wants the Andalite bandits. He ... he morphed into a Vanarx. A Yeerkbane."

He kept his voice low, too. He glanced toward the stairs. I guess he was checking to see if Melissa was around.

Ms. Chapman shuddered. "I'd heard that he acquired a Vanarx. I always thought it was just another story to frighten his underlings."

"He showed me ... he showed how he de stroyed Iniss one seven four."

Ms. Chapman looked shocked. "He used a Vanarx on an Iniss of the second century?"

"That Andalite-Controlling scum," Chapman said viciously. "I wish the Council of Thirteen would find out what kind of a mess he's making on this planet. Let them take that Andalite body from him and throw him back in some distant pool on the home world."

"Don't wish for that," Ms. Chapman said grimly. "Long before Visser Three loses power, he will surely have destroyed you for failing him."

This is kind of significant, I think, because we find out here for the first time that Yeerks aren't some sort of hive mind or aren't just blindly obedient to their leaders. They have opinions, they have politics, and that Visser Three is both loathed and feared by some of his subordinates.

quote:

My cat ears noticed the sound before either of the Chapmans. Movement. Human feet pounding. I cocked my ears toward the stairs.

"Hey, Mom? Dad? Can one of you help me with this math problem?"

It was Melissa. She was halfway down the stairs. She stopped and glanced hopefully at her parents. Or at least at the people who had once been her parents.

"We're busy right now, Melissa," Chapman snapped.

"Besides, dear, you should do your own work. That's how you learn," Ms. Chapman said. "If you still can't figure it out later, your father will help you." Melissa's face fell. She forced a smile, but there was no happiness there at all. "I guess you're right, Mom. It's just this square root stuff." She hesitated, like she was hoping her parents might change their minds and go back upstairs with her.

Ms. Chapman smiled. It was a smile as empty as Melissa's. "Square roots are hard to understand, aren't they? But I know you can do it."

"I'll come up and check on you before you turn in, sweetheart," Mr. Chapman said.

The words were normal enough. I guess my own mom or dad could have said exactly the same things to me. "Dear." "Sweetheart." But the way they were said . . . There was something missing. Humanity. Love. Call it whatever you want. The words were right, but they were cornpletely wrong.

It was horrible. Horrible in a totally different way than the monsters we had fought in the Yeerk pool. This was the kind of horrible that made you want to cry instead of scream. And suddenly I found myself running after Melissa as she headed back up the stairs. When I reached her room, Melissa sat down on the bed and began sobbing.

<Rachel? Can you hear me?>

<Yes, Tobias. I'm up out of the basement. I'm upstairs in Melissa's room.>

<Thank goodness. I've been trying you every minute or so. I was worried that you were trapped downstairs. >

<No, I'm out. >

<Good. You have more than an hour left, but Fluffer is trying to head home. Cassie and Jake and Marco are trying to capture him again, but you know better than anyone how wily he can be. >

Melissa flopped on her face on the bed. She pulled a pillow over the back of her head and just cried.

 I said.

<Rachel, if the real Fluffer walks in while you're still there . . .>

<Yeah, I know. But I still can't leave right now. I have something I have to do. >

I went over to the bed. As small as I was, the side of the bed looked like a wall. It could have been the side of a two-story building. I settled back on my haunches, gathering energy in my leg muscles. Then I sprang up, effortlessly, to land with perfect grace on the bed.

I walked over to Melissa and sniffed her hair sticking out from under the pillow. I heard a sound coming from somewhere. It was a sound that reminded me of my mother. It reminded me of both my mothers, the human woman, and the cat who had licked my fur and carried me around in her mouth.

I recognized the sound. It was purring. I was purring.

Melissa put her arm around me and drew me close. The physical contact made me a little anxious. It made the cat in me want to leave. But then she started scratching my neck and behind my ears. I purred a little louder and decided to stay for a while.

"I don't know what I've done," Melissa said.

It startled me to realize she was talking to me. Did she guess the truth? Did she know I was human?

No. She was just a girl talking to her cat. "I don't know what I did," Melissa repeated. "Tell me, Fluffer McKitty. What did I do?"

<Rachel, what are you doing in there?>

<Tobias, I have plenty of time.>

<You have less than an hour. Don't push your luck. Jake is practically having a fit out here. He's telling me to tell you to get out.>

<Not yet . Melissa needs me.>

I had stopped purring. Probably because I was preoccupied, arguing with Tobias. I started purring again. I felt Melissa needed me to purr.

She was still crying. Still scratching slowly behind my ears.

"What did I do, Flutter?" she asked again. "Why don't they love me anymore?"

I felt like my own heart would break right then.

Because I knew now why Melissa had stopped hanging out with me. I knew why she had become more withdrawn. And I knew how little hope there was for her.

My stomach turned and twisted.

Next time Marco asked why we were fighting the Yeerks, I knew I would have a whole new answer. Because they destroy the love of parents for their daughter. Because they made Melissa Chapman cry in her bed with no one to comfort her but a cat.

It was a small answer, I guess. I mean, it wasn't some high-sounding answer about the entire human race. It was just about this one girl. My friend. Whose heart was broken because her parents were no longer really her parents.

<Look, Rachel, I told Jake what you said. He said to remind you that you have a job to do in there. You're not in there to com->

<Tell Jake to shut up, Tobias,> I said angrily. <l'll come out. I'll come out. Just not yet.>

I purred as loud as I could.

Melissa cried. And it came to me, like a vision: All the children all over, whose parents had been made into Controllers. And the parents whose children had been taken from them to be turned into Controllers. It was a terrible image. I wondered how it must feel to see your parents stop loving you.

For me, honestly, this part here is the saddest part of the book, and I'm not ashamed to say I had tears in my eyes. Just the idea of poor innocent Mellissa here realizing her parents don't love her anymore, and not knowing why...pulls at the heart a little.

quote:

After a while, Melissa fell asleep. I got up and padded down the stairs to the pet door.

It was chilly outside. My friends were all wait ing. They were also a little mad at me for making them wait and worry.

"You only have ten minutes to spare, Rachel," Jake said. "I hope it was worth scaring us all half to death. Did you at least discover something useful?"

<Yes. I discovered plenty. I discovered that Chapman has a way to communicate directly with Visser Three. I discovered that Visser Three is pretty hot to catch us, although he still thinks we're Andalites. And I decided something, too. >

"What?" Cassie asked me.

The first couple of books are all really trying to understand the characters and also trying to figure out what the characters' motivations are for fighting. Why voluntarily do this to yourself? Why put yourself in a situation where you probably won't win? Jake's doing it to save his brother. Rachel is doing it for all the Melissas out there. Families who are torn apart because of the Yeerks.

# ? Apr 25, 2020 23:19

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Also highly relevant from this chapter, I think, is the existence of that Yeerkbane creature. To me, the implication is that Yeerks, although sentient, are a prey species. Even when they're infesting another creature, there's a creature on their homeworld perfectly adapted to hunting and eating them.

That has to leave a mark on a species' psychology.

# ? Apr 26, 2020 02:07

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

I will guess the animorphs will eventually somehow acquire one of these Yeerkbanes and use it to free hosts.

Speaking of which, I do like how all these different aliens paint a picture of a much larger world in the background.

# ? Apr 26, 2020 06:50

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

It's pretty well done, honestly. There are just enough hints of the greater universe.

# ? Apr 26, 2020 14:29

Silver2195: Apr 4, 2012

quote:

Visser Three did not look happy to be disobeyed. But he was not a creature who made impetuous decisions.

This strikes me as untrue, but I'll admit that so far he isn't as impetuous as my childhood memories of him. Or maybe he was just written as less intelligent in some of the ghostwritten books.

# ? Apr 26, 2020 18:48

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Silver2195 posted:

This strikes me as untrue, but I'll admit that so far he isn't as impetuous as my childhood memories of him. Or maybe he was just written as less intelligent in some of the ghostwritten books.

I think at this point, despite minor setbacks, he is still relatively in control of himself. Once the guerilla war starts to really hurt him, his rage comes to the forefront.

# ? Apr 26, 2020 21:12

PsychedelicWarlord: Sep 8, 2016

Never read these as a kid because I was afraid of the covers lol, so it's nice to actually catch up through this thread.

# ? Apr 26, 2020 21:43

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Visitor-Chapter 14

quote:

That night and the next morning, I barely got any homework done. In math class that day I got the first C I'd gotten in a long time. My grades were starting to fall because I was busy trying to save the world. Or at least to save my old friend.

These are the perils of being a teenage hero

quote:

I knew now what had happened. Why Melissa and I weren't friends anymore, at least not close friends. Something had gone terribly wrong in her life. Her parents no longer loved her. They pretended to, they sounded like they did, but Melissa knew it was all wrong.

Every time I thought of it, I felt like my insides were burning up from the anger. I guess I knew a little bit about what she was feeling.

When my parents got divorced, I worried that maybe that meant they didn't love me anymore.

I was wrong. They still did. I don't see my dad as much as I would like to, but he does love me. My mom loves me. Even my sisters love me. Love is pretty important. It's like wearing a suit of armor. It makes you strong.

On my way out of math class, Jake came sidling up next to me. "Meeting later, okay?"

"Yeah. Whatever. Where at?"

"The church tower, where we were the other day."

"Okay. But it's a long walk."

He turned around to face me, walking backward and grinning. "So, don't walk," he said. He waved and headed off down the hall.

Two hours later I was in the air. Let me tell you something: Getting that big eagle body off the ground isn't easy. It is definitely work. I wondered if my human body got any of the aerobic benefits of the exercise.

Once I got clear of the ground, I was able to catch little gusts of wind to climb higher. But it wasn't till I made it above the trees and the school buildings that I started getting a good, solid breeze that helped lift me up.

When I finally got high enough, I spotted Tobias. His reddish tail feathers were like a beacon.

<Man, that was a workout> I said when I got close enough.

<Tell me about it. Follow me. The mall is an excellent place for thermals.>

<The mall? Why the mall?>

<lt's all that parking space. See, the concrete gets hot in the sun. The concrete, the cars, the buildings themselves, they're all hot. So there's almost always a nice warm updraft.>

<Flying is like the nicest thing in the world,> I said dreamily.

<Yes, it is,> Tobias agreed. <One of the nicest things. But there are things you miss, too. Sitting back on the couch with a can of pop and a bag of chips and no school the next day and something good on TV. That's a good feeling, too. >

He didn't sound like he was feeling sorry for himself. Just like he was mentioning something that happened to be true.

Ouch.

quote:

<There's the church tower. I see another bird heading toward it. And I think I see Cassie coming out of her morph. >

<Down we go,> Tobias said.

Ten minutes later I had morphed back into my human body.

"You know what we need?" Marco said. "We need to coordinate these morphing outfits. I mean, Cassie's wearing green patterned leggings and a purple stretch top, and Jake's got on those awful bike shorts, and Rachel is stylish, as always, in her black tights. Put it all together and we look pretty scruffy."

"What do you want?" Jake asked him. "You want us all to wear blue with a big number four on our chests? Become the Fantastic Four?"

<The Fantastic Four plus the amazing Bird Boy,> Tobias added.

"No way," Marco said. "Not Fantastic Four. I'm thinking more an X-Men kind of thing. It's not about being identical, it's just about having some style. Right now, if anyone saw us, they wouldn't think 'Oh, cool, superheroes," they'd think "Man, those people do not know how to dress.""

"Marco," I said, "I think it's time to get over this fantasy of yours. We are not superheroes. This is not a comic book."

"Yes, but I really, really want it to be a comic book. See, in a comic book the heroes don't get killed. I mean, okay, they killed Superman that time, but it was only temporary."

That is going to be the famous 1992-3 story, "The Death of Superman'

quote:

"Can we deal with reality here?" Jake asked. "We have business to discuss."

"What's the matter with combining green and purple?" Cassie asked Marco.

"It's a major fashion no-no," Marco said.

"Been reading Vogue again, Marco?" I teased.

Jake put his hand over Marco's mouth. "People? And I use the term loosely. We need to decide what we're doing next."

Marco pried Jake's hand away. "I want to decide what we're not doing next. I should be spending more time with my dad. You know, he's still messed up over my mom. . .."

Marco's voice always cracked whenever he mentioned his mom. He'd start out sounding tough and all, but his voice would end up with that little break, that little wobble. It had been two years since his mother disappeared. They said she drowned, although they never found her body. His father had fallen apart. It was the main reason Marco was so reluctant to be an Animorph. He was worried that if anything ever happened to him, his dad would just give up totally.

I could see that Jake was about to say something impatient. And I was feeling the same way, like Marco just needed to deal with reality.

But Cassie put her hand on Marco's arm. "Don't ever let any of this get in the way of spending time with your dad," she said earnestly. "He needs you. We need you, too, Marco, but your dad comes first." She looked at Jake, then at me.

"There isn't much point in doing any of this if we forget why we're doing it."

I thought about Melissa. And I thought about my mom and dad and how great it was to have them, even when they got on my nerves.

"Cassie's right. When you get home, tell your dad you love him, Marco." I blurted it out with out thinking about it. It wasn't the kind of thing I normally say.

"Thank you, Doctor Rachel,"Marco said.

He said it snidely, but I could see he knew what I was talking about. Then he was suddenly all business. He rubbed his hands together. "Okay, let's get serious here. How are we going to go about getting ourselves killed next? Turn into flies at a frog convention? Morph into turkeys at Thanksgiving?"

"I want to go back in," I said. "Back into Chapman's."

"Why?" Jake asked. "We learned a lot already. We -"

"We didn't learn the location of the Kandrona," I pointed out. "That's what we need to do, sooner or later. The Andalite made it pretty clear to Tobias that the Kandrona is the weak point for the Yeerks. The Kandrona sends out the rays that are concentrated in the Yeerk pools. If we destroy the Kandrona, we hurt them bad."

Marco raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Excuse me, Rachel, but what is a Kandrona? I mean, we know what it does, but what does it look like? How big is it? For all we know, the Kandrona could be the size of a lighter and be in Visser Three's pocket."

<That's not the impression I got from the Andalite,> Tobias said.

"Whatever," Marco said impatiently. "The point is: How do we destroy something when we don't even know what it is?"

"That's why we have to follow the one lead we have," I said. "Chapman. Chapman communicates with Visser Three. The two of them know where the Kandrona is. If I can spy on them, maybe I can figure it out."

They were all staring at me. Marco looked at me like I was crazy. Jake looked thoughtful. Cassie looked worried, like she wasn't sure about what I was saying.

Tobias turned his fierce, intimidating hawk's stare on me. <Are you sure you're just going back to spy on Chapman?> he asked me privately. "I don't think you should go back in there alone," Jake said.

"How is anyone else going to go in with me?" I asked. "We can't have two cats running around. I mean, as Fluffer I can go anywhere without any of them being suspicious."

See ... I hadn't told anyone about Visser Three telling Chapman to kill me. I knew it was wrong to keep secrets like that from the group.

But if I'd told them, they would have never let me go back in.

Unfortunately, although Jake may not be all that perceptive, Cassie is.

"Are you sure nothing went wrong while you were in there, Rachel?" Cassie asked me. She was looking at me with this kind of sideways look Cassie gets when she's trying to figure someone out.

"It was scary," I said. "But nothing happened." It wasn't exactly a lie. Kind of a lie, but not exactly.

Cassie thought for a moment. Her eyes went blank. Suddenly I knew what was going on: Tobias was talking to her privately. He was telling her something. She nodded like she was agreeing.

Tobias didn't know what happened with Visser Three. But he did know that I was pretty freaky when I came up out of that basement.

"I think we should find a way for someone to go along with Rachel," Cassie suggested.

"What are you going to do, turn into a flea and ride on my back?" I asked her.

She smiled and gave a little shrug. "I'm just saying we should think about it."

"Okay then," Jake said. "Rachel goes in one more time. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"We haven't gotten lucky since we walked through that construction site and met our first alien," Marco said.

"Maybe that's going to change," I said. "I'm going in and I'm finding a way to hurt those creeps."

<That's not the only reason you're going back in there,> Tobias said in my head. <You're not just doing it to hurt the Yeerks, you're going back in there because you want to help Melissa.>

"Same thing," I said. I guess the others wondered who I was talking to.

# ? Apr 26, 2020 22:09

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

It's an interesting dynamic in how the kids don't really trust each other (and rightfully so as we've already seen them keeping all kinds of stuff from each other). Here they correctly deduced Cassie needs a babysitter to make sure she sticks to the mission.

Marco - I absolutely get where he's coming from now, but as a kid I'm sure I would have hated him - he's that trope where one character in a group doesn't want to get along with the plot and won't stop whining about getting to have superpowers/adventures etc. But yea to adult me he actually seems to be the one in the group with some common sense.

# ? Apr 27, 2020 08:27

Kchama: Jul 25, 2007

Avalerion posted:

It's an interesting dynamic in how the kids don't really trust each other (and rightfully so as we've already seen them keeping all kinds of stuff from each other). Here they correctly deduced Cassie needs a babysitter to make sure she sticks to the mission.

Marco - I absolutely get where he's coming from now, but as a kid I'm sure I would have hated him - he's that trope where one character in a group doesn't want to get along with the plot and won't stop whining about getting to have superpowers/adventures etc. But yea to adult me he actually seems to be the one in the group with some common sense.

He was actually the one I liked the most as a kid. He's also probably the one who changes the most out of everyone.

# ? Apr 27, 2020 20:23

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Visitor-Chapter 15

quote:

It was a dark and stormy night.

Sorry, I've always wanted to write that. But it really was a dark and stormy night.

So fun fact. "It was a dark and stormy night" began its existence as the first line of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel Paul Clifford. Bulwer-Lytton has a reputation of being a really bad writer; probably worse than he deserves, and there's a contest named after him; the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. You win by submitting "the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels."

Last year's winner won with "Space Fleet Commander Brad Brad sat in silence, surrounded by a slowly dissipating cloud of smoke, maintaining the same forlorn frown that had been fixed upon his face since he�d accidentally destroyed the phenomenon known as time, thirteen inches ago. "

quote:

"Where is Jake?" I asked as we all got together down the street from Chapman's house. Everyone else was there. Cassie and Marco were wearing raincoats, although it hadn't started raining yet. Tobias was overhead, trying to hold onto a branch in a tree while the wind tried to knock him off.

"Jake had to stay home," Marco said. "Some thing about his dad grounding him."

"Why would his dad ground him?"

"How do I know?" Marco said, sounding grouchy. "You know how parents are. Don't ask me to explain them."

We've all been there.

quote:

I bit my lip. Somehow I felt more nervous with Jake being absent. The crazy wind whistling through the branches wasn't helping my confidence, either.

<I've spotted Fluffer,> Tobias said so all could hear. <He's kind of torturing a little rat he's found. But at least it's not a shrew. >

"Look, I'm not a big fan of shrews just be cause I sort of was one." I took a deep breath. "Okay, look, we can't always count on all of us being together, I guess. So we go without Jake."

I glanced at Cassie. She smiled blandly.

Something was going on with her, but I didn't have time to find out what.

<l'll scope out the area,> Tobias volunteered. He opened his wings a little and was immediately propelled out of the tree by the wind. I watched as he rode it expertly, swooping quickly up into the air beyond the range of my weak human eyes.

After a while we saw something shooting over our heads at about fifty miles an hour. <All clear,> Tobias called down as he shot past.

I felt strange. A little nauseous. A little scared. Everything seemed strange tonight. The weird thing was, I knew I'd feel better as soon as I morphed.

I concentrated. The first raindrop fell just as I felt my tail grow out behind me. By the time I had fallen to the ground, surrounded by the tent of my clothing, the rain had started for real.

"Oh, perfect," Marco said. "This just gets more and more fun."

<At least you have a raincoat,> I said. 

Cassie squatted next to me. She's just a normal-sized girl, but when you're a ten-pound cat any human being looks like Godzilla.

"Be careful, Rachel," Cassie said. And then she stroked my back. I started to move away, but she kept her hand on my back for a few seconds. Then, smiling mysteriously, she stood up. I found I soon lost interest in Cassie's expression. Cats really don't have much interest in humans at all, unless food is involved.

<I'm out of here,> I said. I took off at a medium run. Cats don't like rain. I could feel the cat brain's distaste. I'd always thought cats hated all water. But that wasn't Flufer's attitude. See, to him it was all about the smells and the sounds. Rain washes away scents. Without scents, a cat feels cut off and lost.

Almost as bad as losing smells is the fact that rain plopping all around you makes it hard to listen for the important sounds: the tiny high-pitched squeaks and the little furtive scritching noises.

Rain to cats is like being in the dark is to human beings. It just makes the whole world kind of boring.

So I ran toward the kitty door, actually looking forward to the friendly smells and sounds of home.

At least, that's what Fluffer was thinking. I was still wondering why Jake hadn't come. And I was wondering if it was some kind of bad omen. There was a bad feeling over this whole mission.

I knew my way around the Chapman home, both as a cat and as a human. And I was pretty sure I knew the routine. Last time Visser Three had made contact right at eight o'clock. If Visser Three communicated with Chapman at the same time every night, then I had arrived right on schedule.

Chapman was sitting on the couch, same as last time. And just as I'd hoped, at three minutes till eight he stood up and headed down toward the basement.

My whole plan was to go down there with him. I remembered the layout of the little secret room. I remembered the desk. I knew if I could somehow follow him down without him seeing me and then get under the desk, I would be invisible to him, and to the Visser Three hologram.

The problem was that the whole plan counted on Chapman not noticing me.

He headed for the basement door. I fell into step right behind him. The trick was to stay just inches behind his feet. From there he couldn't see me. But I had to watch his feet closely. If he hesitated, I could plow right into him. That would be a very un-catlike thing to do.

He walked. I kept pace perfectly, just behind.

He headed down the stairs. I figured this part would be easier. When people walk down stairs they usually look where they are going. They don't turn around and look behind them.

But one sound, one clumsy move, and I was finished.

We reached the bottom of the stairs. Suddenly Chapman stopped dead.

I leaped behind the couch. He looked around, like he'd heard a noise.

Or maybe he just sensed something.

I froze. I didn't move a muscle.

He started on toward the door. I fell into step behind him again.

<So, what's happening?>

I nearly had a heart attack.

My tail puffed up. My back fur went straight up. I almost bolted.

Chapman stopped and I nearly got entangled in his legs. His left foot moved. I dodged. He backed up a little. I squirmed out of the way.

<lt's me, Jake. What's going on, Rachel?>

Jake?

Chapman opened the door of the secret room. He stepped through. I was right between his monstrously big feet. If he happened to glance down . . .

But he didn't. He didn't, and when he turned around to shut the door behind him, I bolted for the desk. I jammed my body as far back in the dark corner as I could.

I'd made it ... barely. I was alive ... so far.

<Rachel? Can you hear me?>

<Jake! Where are you? You scared me half to death. >

<Are we okay?> He sounded concerned.

Me, I was just angry.

<What do you MEAN are WE okay?> I yelled silently. Where are you?>

<Well ... I'm kind of on you.>

<On me? Jake, this is not the time to be playing jokes. >

Chapman sat down at the desk. His feet pushed beneath the desk, just narrowly missing me as I once again dodged nimbly out of the way.

<Sorry. I can't exactly see.>

I kept my eyes focused on Chapman's feet.

Cats have incredible powers of concentration. I focused hard on those big feet, each almost as big as I was. I had to stay out of their way. That was the key to staying alive.

<Jake, we're in kind of a situation here. In like ten words or less, where are you>

<In ten words or less, I morphed,> Jake said. <I'm a flea.>

<Excuse me?> It would have been funny if I hadn't been so terrified. <Are you telling me you morphed into a flea? A flea?>

<Yeah. I'm on your back. Or your head. I can't tell. I don't really have eyes. At least not eyes that see anything I can understand. I mean, all I know is warm or not warm. I ... I think I can sense blood. That's about it. And I can kind of sense motion. Like when your hair stood up, I knew there was something going on around me.>

<Jake, this is sick. This is beyond sick. What is the matter with you? A flea? Are you insane? Just being a lizard made you sick. This is way worse. >

<Actually, it's kind of okay,> he said. <I mean, I don't know how to explain it, but the flea mind is so limited it's not hard at all to control. All it knows is to move toward the sense of warm blood, and eat. It's like ... I don't know, like in a way I'm not even really in the flea because I can't see much or sense much. I expected it to be horrible, but when Cassie and Marco and I tested it out -"

That's kind of reassuring, I guess.

quote:

<They're in on this with you?> Of course! That's why Cassie had made such a point of patting my head. She was depositing Jake on me.

<Rachel, we were worried about you. We figured someone should go along with you. Tobias said ->

<Ah, so Tobias is in on this, too. >

<Tobias said you were not telling us every thing. He wasn't sure why, or what it was you weren't telling. >

I sighed inwardly. I guess it's good to have friends who care about you. But on the other hand, Jake had practically made me run into Chapman. Besides, the idea of Jake morphing into a flea and crawling around in my fur just gave me the worst creeps you can imagine.

Suddenly the brilliant light went on.

Visser Three appeared in the room.

<Jake. The Visser is here in hologram. So don't distract me, okay? We're hiding under the desk about half an inch away from Chapman's foot. >

<Oh. But it doesn't matter if he sees you, right? I mean, he'll just figure you're the cat. No biggie. So you shouldn't be acting suspicious. >

I hesitated. Oh, well, it would have to come out sooner or later. <Um, Jake? That thing I didn't tell you? It's that Visser Three saw me in here last time. He told Chapman he should probably just . . . you know . . . kill me. He was worried I might be an Andalite in morph. >

For a while Jake didn't say anything. I had the feeling he was trying to keep himself from yelling at me. He failed.

<Rachel, are you CRAZY? You came back down here after that? Are you INSANE?>

But just then Chapman began to speak. "Welcome, Visser. Iniss two two six of the Sulp Niaar pool submits to you. May the Kandrona shine and strengthen you."

"And you," Visser Three said curtly. "Report."

"I have four new voluntary hosts, Visser," Chapman said. "Two are children recruited through The Sharing, the front organization. Of the two adults one is an agent for the FBI, a sort of policeman. He may be very -"

"FOOL!" Visser Three's artificial voice was flat, but still carried a load of anger. "Do I care about a handful of hosts? What have you learned of the Andalite bandits?"

"Visser, what can I do ... unless they show themselves?"

"They used Earth animals in the attack on the pool," Visser Three said. "They used powerful, dangerous Earth animals. Find out how they obtained such morphs. My experts here tell me such animals are rare on this part of the planet."

Visser Three not being familiar with the concept of zoos.

quote:

"Yes, Visser. I will do -"

"Yes. You will.

And we have another matter. We need six more human-Controllers, suitable for work as guards. They will be used to increase the guard around the Kandrona."

<What's happening?> Jake asked.

<Chapman is getting reamed by Visser Three. >

<Too bad Marco isn't here. He'd enjoy seeing Chapman get chewed out.>

<He wants us bad,> I said. <Or at least he wants the Andalites he thinks we are. He's put ting extra guards around the Kandrona. Human-Controllers.>

<That's interesting, maybe he'll ->

The foot moved too quickly. The point of the shoe hit me in the ribs.

"Mrrrraaaoowwww!"

Chapman pushed back from the desk. He passed right through the Visser Three hologram. For a second I saw them united, as if they were one horrible creature.

"What's happening?" Visser Three demanded.

Chapman stared at me, horror and fury in his eyes.

I flattened my ears back against my skull. My claws came out. My teeth were bared.

"It's the animal, Visser. The cat," Chapman said in a voice full of loathing and fear.

Visser Three seemed to make a seething, half-hissing noise.

"You should have killed it when I told you to, Iniss two two six."

"But Visser -" Chapman protested.

"And yet it all works out to my advantage," Visser Three said. "Now there can be no doubt that this cat is one of the Andalite bandits."

<Jake? We're busted,> I said. <We're busted really bad.>

They're busted really bad.

# ? Apr 27, 2020 22:20

chitoryu12: Apr 24, 2014

Epicurius posted:

So fun fact. "It was a dark and stormy night" began its existence as the first line of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel Paul Clifford. Bulwer-Lytton has a reputation of being a really bad writer; probably worse than he deserves, and there's a contest named after him; the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. You win by submitting "the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels."

Last year's winner won with "Space Fleet Commander Brad Brad sat in silence, surrounded by a slowly dissipating cloud of smoke, maintaining the same forlorn frown that had been fixed upon his face since he�d accidentally destroyed the phenomenon known as time, thirteen inches ago. "

That's intense.

# ? Apr 27, 2020 23:38

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

chitoryu12 posted:

That's intense.

Some of the entries are pretty good. You can find the entries here:

https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

# ? Apr 27, 2020 23:52

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

Can they shift from animal to animal or do they need to go back to human first. :ohdear:

# ? Apr 28, 2020 10:18

Kazzah: Jul 15, 2011; Formerly known as
Krazyface; Hair Elf

Gotta go human first. It becomes a plot point many, many times.

# ? Apr 28, 2020 12:07

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Right. That's a limitation of the morphing technology. You have to reset to your "base" form before you morph again.

# ? Apr 28, 2020 15:08

Grammarchist: Jan 28, 2013

I might have missed it, but what happened to the woman they rescued at the end of the first book? Not sure how a former host would react to freedom, knowing that they're powerless and a witness to an impossible conspiracy.

# ? Apr 28, 2020 19:47

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Grammarchist posted:

I might have missed it, but what happened to the woman they rescued at the end of the first book? Not sure how a former host would react to freedom, knowing that they're powerless and a witness to an impossible conspiracy.

She's never mentioned again, make up your own story

I say she got merced, her former Yeerk could tell exactly where she lives, her habits etc

# ? Apr 28, 2020 21:26

Khizan: Jul 30, 2013

Krazyface posted:

Gotta go human first. It becomes a plot point many, many times.

Is there a time period they have to stay human or can they just back-and-forth to reset the two hour limit?

# ? Apr 28, 2020 21:31

Kchama: Jul 25, 2007

Khizan posted:

Is there a time period they have to stay human or can they just back-and-forth to reset the two hour limit?

Latter. As long as you fully return to human, you're good.

# ? Apr 28, 2020 21:45

King of Foolians: Mar 16, 2006; Long live the King!

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

She's never mentioned again, make up your own story

I say she got merced, her former Yeerk could tell exactly where she lives, her habits etc

I�ve read a fan-theory that the woman Cassie rescued is the same woman that Rachel later encounters in the first Megamorphs book who lives in the woods and is mentally ill and tries to kill Rachel while ranting about Yeerks.

# ? Apr 28, 2020 22:29

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Visitor-Chapter 16

quote:

"We will no longer have to search for the Andalites," Visser Three said. "We have one right here with us."

"Shall I kill it?" Chapman asked.

"No. Don't kill it. Seize it. Seize it now, be fore it can morph back into Andalite shape. By the time I am done with this one, we will have them all! It has been a long time since I tortured a proud Andalite warrior. But I know how to break them. Seize it and bring it to me!" Chapman knew better than to argue.

Chapman dived. His hands were open wide, grabbing for me.

I was trapped! No way out. No way to open that door and escape.

Trapped!

No sensible choice but to surrender.

But the cat and I were in agreement on this: You never surrender.

I felt my claws extend. My pupils were wide, ready to see every tiny movement. My ears were flattened back against my skull. My needle-sharp teeth were bared. My liquid steel muscles were coiled.

Chapman's hand seemed to slow down. It was like he was moving in slow motion. Everything seemed slower to my heightened cat senses. Only I was moving at normal speed.

My paw lashed out. My claws bit flesh. I saw three bright red tracks on the back of Chapman's hand.

I could smell the blood that flowed.

"Ahhhhh!" Chapman howled. He backed away.

"Get it!" Visser Three shouted.

<What's going on?> Jake wondered. 

Chapman got a determined look on his face. He came at me again. I was cornered. No way out.

I slashed. Chapman cried out. My claws were lacerating him, tearing furrows in his arms and hands.

He grabbed me around the middle. The cat in me hated being grabbed that way.

Hated it a lot.

I brought my teeth into it. I was a ten-pound bundle of lightning-fast claws and teeth. Chapman's hands looked like raw hamburger. 73

"A magnificent animal!" Visser Three commented. "Twist it around. Hold it with your fore arm. That's right."

Visser Three-Cat lover

quote:

I did a lot of damage. Believe me, Chapman got hurt.

But in the end, no matter how tough I was, I was just ten pounds of killer. Chapman was about eighteen times bigger.

He got his forearm around my chest. He had me pressed back against his chest. My front legs were pinned. With his other arm he managed to grab my hind legs.

All I could do was bite.

I bit. I bit again and again. But although I could hurt him, I couldn't kill him. I couldn't stop him. His fear of Visser Three was greater than the pain I was causing.

"Bring it to me," Visser Three said enthusiastically. "Bring it to me. I will come to collect it at the nearest landing site."

"Visser, what if it ... Owww! . . . What if it resumes its Andalite shape?"

"You have weapons. If it tries to remorph, kill it."

"Yes . . . Ahhhh! . . . Rotten little beast! Yes, Visser. I will go directly."

"We will deal with this Andalite bandit. And bring the girl, too."

"The girl . . . Melissa?" Chapman asked.

"I have been indulgent too long. This Andalite spy has penetrated your home. It is because of the girl. I have already chosen the Yeerk for her. Bring her with the Andalite. Obey me, Iniss two two six. Or prepare to face the Vanarx."

Visser Three's hologram disappeared.

Chapman suddenly threw me across the room. I twisted in midair and brought my legs around for the landing. I hit the floor and skidded.

<Okay, something is definitely going on out there. >

By the time I was up, Chapman had reached his desk and opened a drawer. His bloody hand came out with a small pistol-like device I had seen before. It was a handheld Dracon beam.

Chapman leveled the weapon at me. He was shaking. His face seemed to be twitching. The weapon jerked a little with each spasm. But I knew he would still have gotten me if I had tried to move.

<Are you going to tell me what's going on?> Jake demanded. <A few seconds ago I felt an other warm body close by. And I think I'm sensing blood. >

<We're in kind of a mess,> I said.

<What kind of a mess,> Jake asked.

<Chapman has a Dracon beam pointed at me. He knows I'm not exactly a cat. He thinks I'm an Andalite. He's taking me to Visser Three. >

<Oh. This is bad. >

Gift for understatement, these kids.

quote:

<It gets worse. Visser Three wants Melissa, too. >

Chapman opened the door a crack. "Get down here! Now!" he yelled upstairs. I guess he saw my eyes flick toward the door. He made a fierce, vicious grin. "Try it, Andalite. Go ahead and try it. I'd love the excuse to fry you."

I decided not to head for the door.

"You've made life very difficult for me," Chapman said. "Very difficult. If I have to let Visser Three take the girl, my host will make life annoying for me. Do you know how tiring it is to have an uncooperative host? No, of course you don't. But trust me, Andalite: I will gladly kill you."

Ms. Chapman appeared at the door. "What is it?"

"This cat is one of the Andalite bandits in a morph. Visser Three wants him. Get me the cage we use to take him to the vet."

Ms. Chapman nodded and disappeared. <What's going on now?> Jake asked.

<Ms. Chapman is getting a cage,> I said. I was feeling utterly defeated. Because of me, the Yeerks were going to take Melissa. I had failed. I had made a mess of things.

Ms. Chapman brought the cage. She opened the little barred door.

"In," Chapman snapped.

I didn't move.

"In," he said in a cruel whisper. "In or I'll finish you right here."

He looked like he meant it. I walked into the cage. Ms. Chapman closed the door and made sure it was locked.

Chapman snatched up the cage and carried me to the top of the stairs. "Now," he snapped at his wife, "go get . . . ungh!"

Peering through the slats in the side of the cage, I saw him stagger. His face was twitching like he was a crazy man. He seemed to be having a hard time getting control of his mouth. "Go . . . get ... the ... girl," he said through gritted teeth.

Ms. Chapman started to obey, but then Chapman cried out.

"Oh! Ungh!" He fell to his knees. "He is ... urgh ... he is ... fighting me. . ."

"Host rebellion," Ms. Chapman muttered under her breath. She seemed horrified and fascinated all at once. Then, suddenly, her left hand slapped her own face.

"Ahhhhh! Mine . . . mine . . . too."

"Stop it, Chapman," Chapman said. "Stop it or I'll break you! I'll leave you nothing but a shell! You cannot win. No host has ever succeeded in rebelling!"

But the Chapman host wasn't giving up.

It was terrible. Terrible in a way that made you want to watch. To anyone else it would have just looked as if our assistant principal and his wife were nuts. Chapman was talking to himself and twitching and contorting, still unable to get to his feet.

<The hosts are fighting the Yeerks!> I told Jake. <The human brains are resisting. Chapman is out of control. Ms. Chapman is trying to choke herself with her own hand. The Yeerk is trying to regain control. It's incredible!>



<lt's because of Melissa. They're fighting for their daughter.>

"Aaaarrrrgh!" Chapman cried. Suddenly he lurched to his feet. "I will win, Chapman. You cannot resist!"

And it was true. The Chapman host was losing. Iniss two two six was regaining control.

The same was happening with Ms. Chapman. The Yeerk in her head was forcing the rebellious hand away from her throat.

But neither of the Chapmans looked good.

<They're exhausted,> I reported to Jake. <They're regaining control, but they're both a mess. Sweating. Pale. Still trembling and jerking.>

Chapman looked at his wife. Or at least the Yeerk slug in Chapman's brain ordered his eyes to look toward the body that was controlled by a different Yeerk. It was harder now to think of Chapman as just being Chapman. I had seen proof that there were two creatures inside him.

I even knew what that was like. There were two people in my head as well. I had fought to control the shrew, just as the Chapman Yeerk now fought to control Chapman's brain.

Chapman said, "I have control again."

Ms. Chapman nodded. "Yes. But just barely. They fight fiercely for their children, these humans."

"And they will not stop fighting. I can't maintain my cover with this host waiting to attack at every opportunity. I have to be at the school every day. The host is beaten and exhausted for now, but in a few days he will strike again." Chapman sounded angry and frustrated. "He's not a fool. He knows he can't win ... he knows each battle will leave him weaker and that eventually I will triumph."

Ms. Chapman kicked my cage, like it was all my fault. "He doesn't have to win. All he has to do is wait until you are in a meeting with parents or members of the school board, then strike. They'll think you've lost your mind."

Chapman looked haunted. He checked his watch. "I'll take the Andalite to Visser Three. Maybe . . . maybe I can make him understand."

"Go, quickly," Ms. Chapman told her husband.

So, any thoughts about the attempted host revolt? Rachel also makes that parallel, about the fact that morphs and Yeerks both have to deal with the "two minds in the head" problem.

quote:

Chapman snatched up the cage I was in. He barreled through the door. He slammed me into the doorjamb on the way.

"Daddy? Daddy? What are you doing?"

It was Melissa. She was across the living room. I hadn't seen her arrive. Where had she been? I could only pray that she had not heard everything. If she'd heard it all, there was no hope for her.

Chapman kept walking. Out into the wet night. "Daddy? Do you have Fluffer in there?"

<lt's Melissa,> I told Jake. <lf she doesn't back off, she's going to force them to take her!>

"Daddy?" Melissa sounded frightened now. She came running. Chapman moved quicker. The real Chapman was helping. He knew his daughter would only make things worse if she tried to intervene.

"Fluffer!" Melissa cried. There was only one hope. <Tobias?> I cried out, making my thought-speech as loud as I could. <Tobias, can you hear me?>

His answer was faint, but it was Tobias.

<Yes, Rachel. >

<The real Fluffer! We need him. We need him right now!>

<Rachel, what is going on out there?> Jake demanded.

"Fluffer! Why are you taking Fluffer? Daddy, stop!"

Out the front door we went. Out into the night. Melissa, sobbing pitifully. Jake, demanding to know what was happening. Chapman, walking as fast as he could.

Melissa grabbed her father's arm. The cage wobbled wildly.

"Daddy, you can't take Fluffer. Don't take him away! What are you doing?"

The car. I could see it in the driveway. We were almost there.

Suddenly, I heard a yowling, yammering, high-pitched sound that started as a hiss and ended as a shriek.

Like a bullet he came, racing across the lawn. The real Fluffer.

He was running like every monster in the world was right behind him.

In the darkness the humans couldn't see what was scaring Fluffer so badly. But with my cat eyes I could see perfectly. Just a few feet off the ground, like some dark shadow of death, came Tobias.

Fluffer must have recognized his cage. He must have figured that if he just got inside he'd be safe from the talons of the raptor that pursued him.

Fluffer leaped toward the cage. He glommed onto it and tried to dig his claws into the plastic.

For one frozen instant Fluffer McKitty saw something he never expected to see. Fluffer saw himself.

It was almost as weird for me. The cat in my head was totally baffled. This new cat smelled exactly like himself. This did not make any sense at all. It meant nothing. It wasn't even a part of any cat reality. The human part of me noticed a small cut on Fluffer's head. Tobias had taken a good swipe at him to get him moving in the right direction.

"Fluffer?" Melissa said. "But . . ." She tried to peer inside the cage.

Chapman was quick. "No, sweetheart," he said. "This isn't Fluffer at all. It's some other cat that sneaked into the basement. He's different. I'm taking him to the shelter so his owners can pick him up."

"But why didn't you just tell me that?"

Chapman looked confused. "I ... I didn't notice you."

Melissa stepped back like she'd been slapped. "But Daddy, I was crying."

Man, Melissa just gets emotionally beat up in this book, doesn't she?

quote:

"Sorry." Chapman shrugged. He shoved the cage into the backseat.

We drove off. I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew Melissa wasn't safe yet, but she was safe for now, at least.

<Good work, Tobias,> I said. But I don't think he could hear me. And I couldn't see out of the windows, so I didn't know if he or Marco or Cassie were anywhere close.

<Jake? You still with me?>

<Yes. Do you have a minute to fill me in? This flea existence is fine for hiding, but I can't tell anything about what's going on. >

<I'm in a cat carrier. Chapman's in the front seat. He watches me through the rearview mirror. He still has the Dracon beam. I think maybe I'm in pretty big trouble here.>

<We're not beaten yet,> Jake said.

<Jake, time must be getting short. It's been at least an hour. You must have morphed before me. You need to get away and morph back.>

<We still have time,> Jake said.

<You have a watch, Jake?> I asked. 

We hadn't traveled far before the car started bouncing and rattling over rough road.

<As soon as we get outside you need to jump off, Jake,> I said. <Just make yourself jump away from warmth and away from the smell of blood. You can do that >

The car came to a stop.

<Rachel, there is no way I'm going to leave you alone. >

I knew he was trying to be brave, but he was making me mad. <Jake, we're trapped. He's got a Dracon beam and I'm in a cage. Visser Three is coming to get me. I can't morph back or they'll see I'm human. Chapman will recognize me. How long do you think it will take them to figure out who the rest of us are? It would be the end of us all. The end of the Animorphs. The end of the only hope for stopping these guys. Come on, Jake, you know it's true.>

<We're not beaten yet,> Jake repeated stubbornly.

<The only hope is for me to stay in cat morph,> I said. <They'll probably. . . you know . . . but at least they'll never find out about the rest of you. Now jump off me. >

Chapman got out of the car. He came around and opened the back door.

"Time to meet the Visser, Andalite. He'll have a wonderful time with you."

Chapman lifted me out of the backseat. I looked out through the bars.

<We're at the construction site,> I told Jake. <Now get off me. >

<I'm not ->

I couldn't argue with Jake anymore. I was afraid now. Afraid. I could picture what Visser Three might do to me.

<Sorry, Jake, but this time I'm the boss,> I said. I cocked my rear leg and started scratching in that rapid catlike way.

<What the ... what are you doing?>

<I'm scratching. I want you off me. >

<Okay, okay,> Jake said. <Just stop it. It's like an earthquake here. Okay, Rachel. You're right. We've lost this battle. >

Chapman carried the cage into the construction site. I could see the ground go by beneath me. I could see through the bars all the half-built cinderblock buildings. I could see the very spot where the five of us had cowered in terror while Visser Three had morphed into a monster and swallowed the Andalite prince.

The Andalite's last despairing cry came back to me. He had lost his fight. Now I was losing mine.

Maybe there was no hope. Maybe we were fools to even try and resist the Yeerks.

<Get out of here, Jake.> I said.

<Okay, Rachel. Here I go. Look ... be strong, Rachel. >

<Yeah, Jake. You too. >

<Jumping . . .>

So, what do you think? Cowardice or practicality on Jake's part?

quote:

A few seconds later, Chapman put me down on the ground. He waited beside the cage. The two of us stared off into the darkness.

I decided to make sure Jake was gone. <Jake? Jake?>

No answer.

<Jake, answer me. I've changed my mind. I want you to stay with me. > If he had lied to me, he would answer now.

<Come on, Jake, I've changed my mind. I need you. >

No answer. He was truly gone. That fact filled me with grim satisfaction. If Jake and the others survived, there would still be some hope.

But the feeling of loneliness was awful.

Then I heard the sound of something large, moving swiftly in the air. I pressed my head against the door and looked up. Three craft were descending toward the construction site.

Two of them were smaller, about the size of one of those recreational vehicles, maybe a little larger. They had a cowled, insectlike look. They looked like beetles with twin long, serrated spears pointed forward on each side. The Andalite had called them Bug fighters.

The third craft was much larger, shaped like an angular battle-ax. It was black on black, sharp, and deadly looking. As it sank slowly to ward us I felt my fear grow.

It was not the cat that was afraid. It was me, the human. The cat didn't know what this ship was. I did. I had seen it before. The Andalite had called it a Blade ship.

It was the personal ship of Visser Three. And terror seemed to flow from it. I could smell the fear sweat on Chapman.

I guess I was glad he was scared, too. Maybe Visser Three would become the Vanarx and suck the Chapman Yeerk out of Chapman's head. Maybe the true Chapman would experience a few seconds of freedom before he was killed. Maybe the Chapman Yeerk would suffer before Visser Three finished him off.

Maybe.

Fear is like a worm inside you. It eats you. It chews your guts. It bores holes in your heart. It makes you feel hollow. Empty. Alone.

I do like this line.

quote:

Fear.

The Blade ship landed between two half- finished buildings. The Bug fighters came to rest on either side. They looked so strange, parked between the yellow-painted earthmovers and graders in the construction site.

The earthmovers looked like toys. The alien craft looked like deadly weapons.

I was afraid. I tried to borrow the cat's courage, his indifference. But then the door of the Blade ship opened. I had no courage.

Only fear.

Just as a note, this book, even though it's about the same size as the first one, has longer but fewer chapters. I think it's trying to grapple with more serious themes too. What do you think?

# ? Apr 29, 2020 00:06

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Epicurius posted:

So, any thoughts about the attempted host revolt? Rachel also makes that parallel, about the fact that morphs and Yeerks both have to deal with the "two minds in the head" problem.

When you think about it, it's kind of morally dubious to morph into intelligent animals (like Marco's gorilla), because you're effectively creating a copy of that animal and then Yeerk-ing them.

# ? Apr 29, 2020 03:01

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Ytlaya posted:

When you think about it, it's kind of morally dubious to morph into intelligent animals (like Marco's gorilla), because you're effectively creating a copy of that animal and then Yeerk-ing them.

This moral question is, believe it or not, brought up in a later book. I guess one potential difference (and its up to you to decide how morally distinct it makes it) is that the cat that Rachel becomes didn't exist before Rachel became it. Fluffer McKitty did, but even when Rachel morphs into the cat, Fluffer McKitty is still out there, running around, killing shrews and mice and trying to live down the indignity of being named Fluffer McKitty. Chapman, however, had his own hopes and fears and dreams, a family, and one presumes friends, and all that, and now that the Yeerk is in him, he's just a puppet without any freedom. So the Yeerks are taking away an actual living being's autonomy, while the animorphs have just shapeshifted into another form, although a form that has its own instincts.

Again, it's up to you how much you think this makes a difference.

# ? Apr 29, 2020 04:00

Kazzah: Jul 15, 2011; Formerly known as
Krazyface; Hair Elf

nvm

Kazzah fucked around with this message at 06:22 on Apr 29, 2020

# ? Apr 29, 2020 06:19

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

We've seen that hosts can disobey in Tom, but not to this extend... That also seems to be the only potentially useful thing the kids learned from this though. On a whole even if they hadn't been captured this whole mission seems to have been a huge bust.

# ? Apr 29, 2020 07:24

Kchama: Jul 25, 2007

Avalerion posted:

We've seen that hosts can disobey in Tom, but not to this extend... That also seems to be the only potentially useful thing the kids learned from this though. On a whole even if they hadn't been captured this whole mission seems to have been a huge bust.

It really is a terrible and stupid mission and is... exactly what you'd expect some middle school kids to come up with if forced to.

It's perfect.

# ? Apr 29, 2020 10:08

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

It's kind of funny, nowadays they'd just have to get out their smartphones, record some of these aliens and anonymously post it all over the net.

But in their position all they could realistically do is like... start tracking down controllers and mauling them in bear morphs? But it makes sense a bunch of kids wouldn't be willing to start doing that just yet, especially now they got confirmation even the cooperative hosts are coerced.

# ? Apr 29, 2020 11:10

PetraCore: Jul 20, 2017; 👁️🔥👁️👁️👁️BE NOT👄AFRAID👁️👁️👁️🔥👁️

Avalerion posted:

It's kind of funny, nowadays they'd just have to get out their smartphones, record some of these aliens and anonymously post it all over the net.

But in their position all they could realistically do is like... start tracking down controllers and mauling them in bear morphs? But it makes sense a bunch of kids wouldn't be willing to start doing that just yet, especially now they got confirmation even the cooperative hosts are coerced.

Yeah, and really what that would do is make a stealth takeover of Earth and humanity non-viable. The Yeerks don't exactly lack resources for something more forceful, especially since humans are considered really good hosts, especially because there's so many of us. If this is pushed to open warfare, the animorphs lose at this point, and keeping it stealth involves letting some heinous poo poo slide because it blows your cover.

# ? Apr 29, 2020 17:20

Kchama: Jul 25, 2007

PetraCore posted:

Yeah, and really what that would do is make a stealth takeover of Earth and humanity non-viable. The Yeerks don't exactly lack resources for something more forceful, especially since humans are considered really good hosts, especially because there's so many of us. If this is pushed to open warfare, the animorphs lose at this point, and keeping it stealth involves letting some heinous poo poo slide because it blows your cover.

Yup. The obvious actions anyone could think of would only make things worse for everyone right now. So dumb plans it is.

# ? Apr 29, 2020 18:29

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

The Visitor-Chapter 17

quote:

Visser Three in person is worse than Visser Three as a hologram. There's nothing horrible about him. Not when he's in his normal Andalite body, at least. Andalites are strange-looking, that's for sure. But they aren't frightening.

But I had met a real Andalite. You could feel the difference between a real Andalite and the evil beast that was Visser Three. It was like he glowed with some dark light. A light that cast a shadow over your mind.

Visser Three. Even Chapman feared him.

Around the Visser, two Hork-Bajir guards deployed. Each was holding a Dracon beam, not that Hork-Bajir ever looked like they needed weapons. They were weapons. Marco had called them walking Salad Shooters. They were living razor blades. Wickedly curved blades raked forward from their foreheads. More blades were at their elbows and wrists. Their feet were like Tobias's talons, only much bigger, like Tyrannosaur feet.

They were seven feet tall, maybe a little more, with a spiked tail. The Andalite had told us that the Hork-Bajir were a good people, enslaved by the Yeerks, just the same way the Yeerks wanted to enslave humans. But it was hard to look at a Hork-Bajir and think they had ever been anything but killing machines.

Behind the Hork-Bajir came four Taxxons.

Imagine a centipede. Now imagine a centipede twice the length of a man and just as big\ around. Imagine that the centipede holds the upper third of its body erect. Imagine pointed legs like steel pins below, and smaller legs with little claws as you get closer to the head. Not that it has a real head. There are four separate globs that look like chopped-up red Jell-O that are the Taxxon's eyes. And at the very top , a mouth. The mouth is perfectly round an lined with row after row of small, needle teeth.

The Andalite told us that the Taxxons are all voluntary hosts. They are allies of the Yeerks.

And yet, as horrible as the Hork-Bajir and the Taxxons were, it was Visser Three who made your skin crawl.

This was brought up in the last book too. Visser Three seems to radiate this unsettling aura.

quote:

Without the hologram communicator, the Visser communicated in the usual Andalite fashion. He thought-spoke, much like we all did when we were in morph.

<That is the Andalite bandit?> he asked Chapman.

"Yes, Visser."

Visser Three advanced toward me, almost mincing on his delicate Andalite legs, looking like a cross between a deer, a human, and a scorpion. He aimed his main eyes at me. His stalk eyes canned the area, always watchful. He brought his face close to the cage.

I was staring right into his face. I could see the nose slits open and close as he breathed. I could see the large, almond-shaped eyes narrow as he peered inside to get a better look at me.

He was only inches away. I should have tried to reach through the bars and at least bloody him a little.

But the fear was all over me. I was sick with terror. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I couldn't stand his eyes watching me. I turned away, afraid to look.

<Not so brave now, my Andalite friend?> Visser Three asked.

It was the first time any of us had ever been spoken to directly by the Visser. His voice was in my head, threatening and cruel and foul beyond description. It was a voice full of power -- and hate. When he called me an Andalite, I almost burst out,

"No, no, Visser, not an Andalite. A human. A human!"

It was like I could feel the terrible force of his will battering me. In an instant I knew: I would never survive his questioning. I would tell him everything. His power was a million times greater than mine. His will was a vast, huge, irresistible thing. And what was I? Just some foolish little girl. A foolish, lost girl. Lost.

And yet, even as I felt my own mind wither before the black terror of Visser Three, another mind came forward.

I was not alone. There was another in my head with me. Someone whose species memory had no images of Visser Three. Fluffer. Fluffer's mind contained fears, but they were different from my fears. Fluffer feared big predator birds. Fluffer feared loud aggressive dogs. Fluffer feared dominant male cats.

But Fluffer was not at all impressed by Visser Three.

On the edge of absolute panic, I let the cat in my mind take over. I sank back, hiding behind the calm cat brain.

Visser Three took the cage from Chapman. He lifted it up so he could see inside better.

And what did I do? What did Fluffer do? He stuck his little pink nose up against the bars and sniffed the air.

Fluffer wanted to find out what this creature was, and that meant getting a good smell of him.

<This is similar to the orange-and-black creature that invaded the pool.> Visser Three said.

It took me a second to track on this. Then I realized: He meant Jake. Jake had been in his tiger morph when we battled in the Yeerk pool.

Visser Three apparently really, really likes cats.

quote:

"Yes, Visser," Chapman said. "They are a family of animals. Felines. These are the smallest."

 Visser Three said to me. <No one ever accused you Andalites of lacking courage. You are a race of fools, but brave. >

What was I supposed to say? Thank you?

<Why not answer me, Andalite? I know you hear my words. This charade is pointless. I know what you are. >

I said nothing. I tried to think nothing. I was afraid that if I said anything he would instantly know I was not an Andalite. And if he realized I was human . . . the others would never be safe. I had to stay in this body.

I had to die in this body, and take my secret with me.

Visser Three put my cage back down. <Now. Where is the girl? I have promised her to Iniss four five five. Iniss four five five is a spawn mate of yours, I believe. We will do the infestation aboard the mother ship, and I will have the girl returned tomorrow. Where is she?>

"Visser ... I ..." Chapman said.

The mask of politeness dropped from Visser Three in a microsecond. Even my cat eyes could barely follow his movements, they were so swift. Visser Three grabbed Chapman around the neck. His Andalite tail arched forward. The dagger point of the tail was in Chapman's face.

<Do you defy me?> It was like a hiss. The hiss of a snake.

"N-n-n-o, no, Visser." Chapman was shaking like a leaf. "I would never defy you. It's only . . . the host. Chapman. He and the woman rebelled."

<Aren't you able to control your host?> Visser Three sneered.

<Do you think the Andalite mind that still lives in this body never resists? Do you imagine that your human host is more powerful than my own Andalite host?"

This wasn't going very well for Chapman. Either the real, human Chapman, or the human- Controller that called itself Chapman.

"Visser, I ... I only report the facts to you. M-m-my host is under control. But I am constantly in contact with humans. I occupy a responsible position in their society. I cannot have my host body causing me to twitch and shake. Humans see such things as signs of mental illness. I could lose my position. And I would no longer be of any use to you."

<You are barely of use to me now,> Visser Three sneered.

He's not a good boss, really.

quote:

"Visser, my host begs leave to address you directly," Chapman said.

Visser Three hesitated. I saw his stalk eyes scan around, checking for any signs of threat. Instinctively I looked around, too.

I had no way of knowing how well Visser Three's borrowed Andalite eyes could see in the dark. But for me the darkness was no barrier.
I looked. I didn't even know what I was looking for. But all I saw were the Hork-Bajir and the Taxxons, the Yeerk ships, silent and dark, and the buildings and forlorn construction equipment of the site.

Then I caught a glimpse of movement. It was in the woods that bordered the construction site. A swift side-to-side movement, just the sort of thing my cat eyes noticed best. But when I stared closer, I saw no further movement. Probably just another Hork-Bajir patroling.

 Visser Three said.
I craned my head up as well as I could to watch. For a moment, nothing changed. Then, suddenly, Chapman sagged. It was like he was a marionette and
someone had cut his strings. He collapsed, straight down. His legs just twisted up under him.

He tried to stand up. But it was as if he didn't know how to make his legs work. They would jerk and suddenly kick out, but he could not stand. Finally, he gave up.

"Fisher," he mumbled. "Fisher Hree. Sor. . . I ... sorry. Visher. Visser. Visser Three."

The real, human Chapman had been out of control of his own body for so long he no longer remembered how to move or speak.

"Visser Three," he said again. His voice was slurry and strange.

<Speak, you fool,> Visser Three snapped. <Do you think I can stay here forever?>

"Visser Three. You ... We had a deal. You know I never wanted to join you. My wife did. But I said no. But . . . but then my wife ... no longer my wife by then, of course." Suddenly he began to cry. I could see his tears very clearly. "My wife who was no longer my wife ... my wife who was one of your creatures . . . threatened . . . threatened to give you my daughter." Chapman managed to raise one clumsy hand to his eyes. "I forgive her. She was weak. And you feed on weakness."

<Yes, yes, get to the point,> Visser Three said.

A Hork-Bajir moved closer. He muttered something to the Visser, then moved away. I couldn't hear or understand what the Hork-Bajir had said, but it looked as if he was reminding Visser Three that they shouldn't hang around too long.

"The point is," Chapman said, "that I agreed to be made into a host. I agreed to ... to ..." He looked like he was about to throw up. "I agreed to surrender my freedom. To become a Controller. To accept this filthy thing in my head. To accept your control. I agreed . . . but only if you would spare my daughter."

It felt like my heart had stopped beating. Chapman had become a Controller to save Melissa? He had given more than his life to save his daughter?

<The situation has changed,> Visser Three said. <The Chapman person is an important part of our work. We cannot have him endangered by some uncontrollable human.>

"The girl -- Melissa -- is no threat. But. . ." Chapman struggled to lift himself up once again with clumsy legs and awkward arms.
He rose to his knees. Then slowly, slowly, he stood up. He was wobbling and swaying, but he was standing. "The girl is no threat," he repeated in a stronger, more confident voice. "But I am."

So the question was raised earlier in thread about why someone would be a voluntary Yeerk host, and here's an example. Chapman agreed to accept a controller, and not to fight in order to save his daughter.

# ? Apr 30, 2020 00:28

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 15:17

cptn_dr: Sep 7, 2011; Seven for beauty that blossoms and dies

Epicurius posted:

The Visitor-Chapter 17

This was brought up in the last book too. Visser Three seems to radiate this unsettling aura.

I wonder if this is a side effect of him being an Andalite-controller, so having access to thought speak. Maybe not a conscious thing, but just constantly broadcasting that he's incredibly pissed off and will kill you without provocation.

Epicurius posted:

Visser Three apparently really, really likes cats.

Professional courtesy.

# ? Apr 30, 2020 00:37

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