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

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Rosalie_A: Oct 30, 2011

This is the one that stuck with me the most, and is easily one of the best in the series.

# ? Mar 29, 2021 20:04

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 16:44

Jazerus: May 24, 2011

i think it's interesting how cassie is so often dismissed as a moralizing wimp yet her first thought here is "there are a million ways to kill this yeerk without any suspicion whatsoever and an equal number of reasons to do so". that she's not going through with it doesn't meant she's blind to the expedient course of action

# ? Mar 29, 2021 20:57

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Is this the first time it's revealed that at least some of the Yeerks suspect there are humans who've gotten their mitts on the morphing power?

Also, Cassie referred to the free Hork-Bajir "colony." But isn't it just the two of them? For now?

# ? Mar 29, 2021 21:05

e X: Feb 23, 2013; cool but crude

Is this the first book that actually presents the Yeerks as something other than completely and irredeemably evil?

# ? Mar 29, 2021 22:50

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

Jazerus posted:

i think it's interesting how cassie is so often dismissed as a moralizing wimp yet her first thought here is "there are a million ways to kill this yeerk without any suspicion whatsoever and an equal number of reasons to do so". that she's not going through with it doesn't meant she's blind to the expedient course of action

Well, of course not, because this Yeerk is specifically a threat to her.

disaster pastor posted:

the cop wasn't a known high-ranking Yeerk and was only indirectly a problem for the rest of the team; he was a threat to Cassie specifically. If someone believes Cassie is a preachy coward, her killing this Controller, in the heat of the fight at the Yeerk pool where nobody would know for sure that she did it or how, doesn't necessarily convince them otherwise.

Note that this is probably not true, because:

disaster pastor posted:

I can't believe at all that that's how we're intended to read her (for one, KAA admitted Cassie's her favorite).

But it doesn't counter the people dismissing Cassie, it feeds into it. I obviously don't believe she's actually supposed to be a coward, but "this war is not worth killing for, I can't handle fighting to protect Jake/Rachel/the others when most hosts are innocent" running right into "how best to kill this innocent little girl to protect me (and I guess therefore the others, too) from the Yeerk in her head?" doesn't throw people off that train of thought. Unintentional subtext is still subtext.

# ? Mar 29, 2021 23:34

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

e X posted:

Is this the first book that actually presents the Yeerks as something other than completely and irredeemably evil?

There was the Yeerk that gave Ax the location where Visser 3 feeds as revenge for his dead lover.

# ? Mar 29, 2021 23:47

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

WrightOfWay posted:

There was the Yeerk that gave Ax the location where Visser 3 feeds as revenge for his dead lover.

Also the Visser 3 vs. Visser 1 gang cold war, setting them free to cause trouble in Book 5, though that's more "enemy of my enemy" scheming than not-evil, necessarily.

# ? Mar 29, 2021 23:53

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

Fuschia tude posted:

Also the Visser 3 vs. Visser 1 gang cold war, setting them free to cause trouble in Book 5, though that's more "enemy of my enemy" scheming than not-evil, necessarily.

Yeah, I consider that just a part of the incredibly hosed up nature of Yeerk politics, while a Yeerk that cares about someone else so deeply that he would help the Yeerk's sworn enemies is a lot more sympathetic.

# ? Mar 30, 2021 00:04

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs-Book 19-The Departure, Chapter 9

quote:

I read a book by this hunter once. He had hunted lions. He�d hunted tigers. He�d hunted bears. But he said of all the dangerous animals a man could hunt, nothing was as dangerous as a leopard. They were smart, adaptable, cunning, and ruthless. They were the ultimate hunters.

Human hunters, professional, experienced hunters armed with high-powered rifles and telescopic sights, had waited in trees for hours for a leopard to return to the place where it had stashed a kill. They had waited with eyes wide-open, nerves tingling, guns at the ready � and had suddenly felt the faint tingling warning that they were being watched. And they had turned to find the leopard sitting right behind them in the tree. The last thing they ever saw.

�A leopard? Are you kidding? This isn�t Africa.�

�One escaped from a sort of private zoo,� I said.

�From a private zoo? So it�s probably tame, right?�

�It put a man in the hospital,� I said.

All the while I swept my eyes back and forth through the trees. It could be watching us. It could be watching us right now. It could have our scent in its nostrils.

I took a deep breath. Then another. I saw nothing. Which proved nothing. I wouldn�t see the leopard unless it wanted to be seen.

�Maybe we better build a fire,� Karen said. �Wild animals are scared of fire.�

�Yeah. Let�s get to some shelter, then build a fire,� I agreed. There was no need to tell Karen that she was wrong: Fire doesn�t frighten most predators. Certainly not leopards. In African villages, leopards come right into the village, right into the huts, right past the fires, and drag dogs and pigs � and children � away.

�Let�s get moving,� I said tersely.

I started walking, slowly, waiting to see how well Karen could keep up. She couldn�t. Not very well. She took a dozen steps and caught her crutch on a root and fell down. I helped her up. On the second try she went farther before becoming entangled in a bush.

All the while the shadows deepened around us. Already we could see no more than a hundred feet through the trees. We had to move faster. I put my arm around Karen�s shoulders.

�Keep your filthy hands off me, Andalite!� she spat.

I didn�t remove my arm. �You know, I don�t know who these Andalites of yours are, Karen, but you sure seem to have a grudge against them.�

She laughed. �We don�t exactly get along with Andalites.�

�Who is �we�?� I asked, to make it seem like I didn�t already know.

We started walking again. Karen was beginning to get the hang of the crutch. I kept looking up at the trees. Leopards often kill by dropping from a tree onto an unwary prey.

�Who is �we�?� Karen echoed. �We are the Yeerks. The Yeerk Empire.�

�I see. So you Yeerks and these Andalites don�t like each other.� The ground sloped upward. It was a gentle enough slope, unless you were trying to walk with a bad ankle and a tree branch for a crutch.

�The Andalites are the busybodies of the galaxy,� Karen said. �Always sticking their noses in other people�s business. We have a right to expand. We have a right to advance. But you Andalites don�t see it that way, do you? No, the whole galaxy has to belong to the mighty Andalites.�

She was trying to provoke me. She was trying to get me to make some answer that would give away the fact that I was not a normal human girl.

�So if I�m an Andalite, and these Andalites are such rotten people, why am I helping you?� I asked. Karen considered for a while. �I don�t know,� she admitted.

�Well, maybe you�re just totally wrong about me, have you considered that? Maybe I�m not a werewolf or an Andalite or anything but a normal girl.�

She said nothing to that. We walked on through darkening gloom. I began to pick up small twigs and sticks that looked fairly dry.

We reached the base of a sort of low ridge that cut straight across our path. It was no more than fifty feet high for the most part. We turned right to follow along the ridge because going left was rougher terrain.

Vast rocks jutted up out of the earth. Fallen leaves covered the slope. Scraggly trees clung to the slope and larger trees lined the ridge itself.

Then, all at once, it was raining. The rainfall clattered noisily down through the leaves of the trees. Within minutes I was as wet as I�d been when I came from the river.

�In there.� I pointed.

�I don�t see anything.�

�Behind those bushes, that shadow. That may be a cave.�

It would mean forcing my way through a thicket of brambles. Karen wouldn�t even be able to attempt it until I�d made a path. And the cave might not even be there.

Or worse. There might be a cave that was already taken by a bear or even a mother wolf, raising a family.

�Use your tail,� Karen said. �You�ll cut right through.�

I sighed noisily. �How about if I just push my way through? I�ll need your crutch to knock some of the bushes down. Why don�t you sit on that rock?�

Karen sat on the rock. I took the crutch and began beating away at the bushes. I deliberately made as much noise as possible. If something was living in the cave, I wanted it to be warned. You don�t want to surprise bears. You just don�t.

As I got closer, it became clear that there really was a cave. I looked around in the dirt to see if I could spot any tracks. But with the rain, who could tell?

I glanced back. I could barely see Karen. She certainly could not see me. The smart thing to do was to morph now. Maybe the wolf again. The wolf�s nose would instantly know whether there was anything in the cave.

I crouched low. I focused my mind on the wolf DNA that was a part of me. And, with a Controller no more than twenty feet away, I began to morph.

And so much for Cassie following Jake's instructions not to morph.

Chapter 10

quote:

I felt my legs dwindle in size, but not weaken. I felt my chest and shoulders swell and become large. My face began to bulge outward.

If you�re not an Animorph, don�t use the power.

I heard Jake�s voice in my head. It startled me, it was so clear in my memory.

I won�t. That�s what I�d said.

You�ll want to. But if you do, you run the risk of getting caught. Those risks are acceptable if you�re going to help us. But if you�re not in the fight anymore, you can�t use the weapon.

I said I wouldn�t morph anymore, Jake. I�m not a liar.

I stopped morphing. I was still half-human. But I was also half-wolf. And already my hearing was more acute than any human hearing.

I heard the sound of the bushes being parted. I heard the sound of a dragged foot and a slight gasp of pain.

Karen! She was trying to spy on me.

I demorphed as quickly as I could. At the same time, I pushed ahead, shoving my way through the bushes with the crutch. No choice now. I couldn�t morph. I�d promised Jake I wouldn�t. Besides, I�d almost gotten caught.

I found a roughly triangular gap in some tumbled stones. Definitely a cave. Once more I searched the ground. No tracks. I tried to see if any fur had been caught by the brambles, but now the rain was pouring in a torrent.

I crept close to the cave opening. And I sniffed the air. The human sense of smell is pathetic compared to that of a dog or a wolf. Still, maybe I would be able to tell if something was living in the cave.

Closer � closer, I crept �

�Aaahhhh!�

I jumped back. I fell. Had I screamed? No, I was confused. It was Karen�s voice. �Ahh! Ahhh! Help me!�

A trick!

Maybe. Maybe not. I plowed back through the brush. I emerged, panting, scratched and muddy, in time to see the leopard leap from the tall rock down toward the helpless girl.

TSEEEWWW!

A Dracon beam sliced upward at the leopard.

�Rrrraaww-rrrr!� the leopard screamed. But the Dracon beam had only grazed the big cat�s shoulder. It hit the ground, rolled easily to its feet, and turned to attack again.

Karen tried to steady the Dracon beam for a shot. But her bad ankle twisted and collapsed. She fell face-forward. The Dracon beam clattered over some rocks and landed in the mud.

It landed within inches of the leopard.

Everything was frozen. Karen, aghast that she�d dropped her weapon. Terrified.

The leopard, unsure, watching, waiting, trying to assess.

And me. Did I have time to morph? Would it just set the leopard off? Would it make him want to attack?

�Karen,� I said in a low voice. �Crawl toward me.�

�That thing � that thing will ��

�Karen, listen to me. Crawl toward me.�

She was trembling. Barely able to pick her face up out of the mud. She kept her eyes glued to the leopard. Her green eyes seemed huge, shining out of the mud that covered her face.

The leopard watched her with the intensity of a predator. Then it looked at me. It was unsure.

Worried. It was seeing things it had never seen before.

You could almost watch the cunning mind working behind those cold, yellow eyes: The smaller prey had used a weapon. But that weapon was gone now. Still, the hunter had to be cautious when the hunted could sting.

And then, the leopard thought, there was this curious, second creature. The one whose scent was changing.

<Karen,> I said. <Keep crawling this way. Don�t rush. Don�t stop, but don�t jerk or rush in any way.>I don�t know if Karen even noticed that she was no longer hearing my voice. She kept her gaze riveted on the leopard.

�Ooof!� Her arm slipped and she rolled over in the mud.

The leopard saw her bare white throat and made its decision.

He leaped!

I leaped! I landed first. I bristled, snarled, and raised the thick gray fur around my neck.

The leopard saw my teeth and forgot about Karen�s throat.

No, no, the leopard thought, I don�t need a fight with another predator. There will be plenty of time to kill the little, helpless one later.

The leopard turned, and with infinite contempt, walked away into the darkness.

And Karen picked her face up out of the mud and looked at me.

�So,� she said shakily. �I guess you are a werewolf, after all.�

Ouch.

# ? Mar 30, 2021 05:04

Grammarchist: Jan 28, 2013

Okay, this book is awesome. Not too many kids books would risk drawing down the setting from intergalactic war to simple interplay between two characters like this.

# ? Mar 30, 2021 06:36

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Grammarchist posted:

Okay, this book is awesome. Not too many kids books would risk drawing down the setting from intergalactic war to simple interplay between two characters like this.

Yeah, I don't remember this particular book making much of an impression on me (aside from the aforementioned yeerk sex) but reading them now as an adult, it's my favorite of the series up to this point. The book's ending oh that ending though, oof

# ? Mar 30, 2021 06:48

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

e X posted:

Is this the first book that actually presents the Yeerks as something other than completely and irredeemably evil?

I feel like the closest we've come is overhearing conversations between Yeerks way lower down on the totem pole and sympathising with them over having to deal with an awful boss. Cog-in-the-machine type camaraderie.

quote:

�The Andalites are the busybodies of the galaxy,� Karen said. �Always sticking their noses in other people�s business. We have a right to expand. We have a right to advance. But you Andalites don�t see it that way, do you? No, the whole galaxy has to belong to the mighty Andalites.�

This is interesting because it's presumably the line fed to the rank and file in a militaristic, totalitarian empire: we have a right to become strong and advanced and we will seize that right through power. Whereas another line of reasoning that's been sort of hinted at, but which KA touches on more in the future, is one which humans and Andalites might more instinctively sympathise with, but which a totalitarian Yeerk government will downplay because of the vibe of weakness: Yeerks are an intelligent species and have a right to experience the world as more than sightless slugs in some sludge.

# ? Mar 30, 2021 08:15

e X: Feb 23, 2013; cool but crude

WrightOfWay posted:

There was the Yeerk that gave Ax the location where Visser 3 feeds as revenge for his dead lover.

Honestly, that is kind of weird in retrospective. It highlight how unrealistically evil Visser 3 is. With the amount of subordinates he kills, he should have been assassinated a long time ago.

# ? Mar 30, 2021 16:37

Soup du Jour: Sep 8, 2011; I always knew I'd die with a headache.

e X posted:

Honestly, that is kind of weird in retrospective. It highlight how unrealistically evil Visser 3 is. With the amount of subordinates he kills, he should have been assassinated a long time ago.

I�m pretty sure anyone who assassinated him would be summarily executed for losing the only Andalite under Yeerk control

# ? Mar 30, 2021 17:43

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

Even Visser One, who obviously outranks him, will only gently caress with him, not outright attempt assassination.

# ? Mar 30, 2021 19:09

Grammarchist: Jan 28, 2013

freebooter posted:

I feel like the closest we've come is overhearing conversations between Yeerks way lower down on the totem pole and sympathising with them over having to deal with an awful boss. Cog-in-the-machine type camaraderie.

This is interesting because it's presumably the line fed to the rank and file in a militaristic, totalitarian empire: we have a right to become strong and advanced and we will seize that right through power. Whereas another line of reasoning that's been sort of hinted at, but which KA touches on more in the future, is one which humans and Andalites might more instinctively sympathise with, but which a totalitarian Yeerk government will downplay because of the vibe of weakness: Yeerks are an intelligent species and have a right to experience the world as more than sightless slugs in some sludge.

I like that on the surface it's basically the same argument the Japanese Empire made in the runup to WWII, with regard to the colonial powers surrounding them in Asia. Especially when you factor in that the Andalites have been responsible for some major war crimes of their own, making it easier for a conflicted Yeerk to rationalize their own empire's actions.

# ? Mar 31, 2021 00:22

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs-Book 19-The Departure, Chapter 11

quote:

The cave was unoccupied. I found that out very quickly, using the wolf�s senses.

It took much longer to build a fire. I�d done it once before. Built a fire without matches, that is. It was in the Cretaceous Period, during a very bizarre episode in our lives as Animorphs.

It had been hard to do then. It was harder to do now. The wood was wet and the grass I used for kindling was damp as well, although it dried out faster than the wood did.

We had to keep the fire near the entrance of the cave, since it was very smoky at first. But eventually we got it going.

We sat there, cross-legged, on hard stone and cold sand. We huddled as close to the fire as we could get. I had gone out, in wolf morph, and dragged as much wood as I could back to the cave. I hoped it would be enough to last the night. And fortunately, I had retrieved my clothes after the morphing.

Night had fallen. The orange glow of the fire lit the low roof of the cave. But it didn�t reach out into the dark woods beyond.

�My parents will be totally frantic,� I said.

�Mine, too,� Karen said.

�I didn�t know Yeerks had parents.�

Karen poked the fire with a stick, pushing an unburned bit of wood into the glowing center. �I see you�ve given up pretending. That�s good. It gets boring after a while when someone sticks to an obvious lie. And yes, we have parents, although it�s very different than it is with you humans.�

It was the first time she�d called me a human instead of an Andalite. I guess I looked surprised.

�Yes, I know you�re human. We don�t know how to duplicate Andalite morphing technology, but we do understand parts of it. We know about the two-hour limit. And we know that you can�t morph straight from one morph to another. You have to pass through your own, natural body first. You�re human, all right. I guess you wouldn�t want to tell me how you managed to acquire Andalite morphing technology?�

I looked at her curious face. Her very human face. Her little girl face. I knew what lived inside her head. I knew she would deliver me up to Visser Three the first chance she got.

If Marco or Rachel had been there beside me, I know what they�d have said: She can�t be allowed to survive unless we can find a way to hold her for three days. That is when the Yeerk in her head would need to return to the Yeerk pool for nourishment. Tobias and Ax would have agreed. Jake, too, although it would have bothered him terribly.

They would all have been right.

�You�re thinking about destroying me,� Karen said.

I hesitated a moment. Then I said, �Yes.�

She swallowed. �You thought about it before. Back at the river.�

I nodded. �But you seemed pretty confident then. You were trying to goad me. I should haveknown you had a Dracon beam weapon. You wanted me to morph and try to kill you. In mid-morph you�d have stunned me.�

Karen nodded. �That was the plan.�

�So why didn�t you use the Dracon beam on the bear that was chasing you?�

She laughed, a little embarrassed. �Pure panic, I�m afraid. That big bear came after me and I justforgot I had the weapon. Besides, you saw what a great shot I was with the leopard.� She held up her hands. �I have little girl hands and little girl muscles. That Dracon beam is designed to be wielded by a Hork-Bajir. I could barely reach the trigger.�

�And now you have no weapons at all,� I said.

�No.�

�I could morph the wolf and make short work out of you.�

�But you won�t.�

�Why won�t I?� I asked.

She shook her head slowly. �I don�t know why.�

�Me neither,� I said.

For a while neither of us spoke. �There�s plenty to drink,� Karen said, nodding toward the rainthat sheeted down across the cave entrance. �But we�re going to get hungry.�
�
I could catch us a rabbit or something,� I said. �But it would mean leaving you here alone.�

�The leopard.�

I nodded. �It won�t attack a wolf directly. But it sees you as a small, helpless, wounded creature. Perfect prey.�

�Yes, I suppose it does,� she said bitterly. �I didn�t want this body! I wanted a human body, but not a weak, innocent little child. This is what they assigned me.�

I noted the word �innocent.� What a strange word for a Yeerk to use.

�That�s how it works? They tell you what body to infest?�

She nodded. �Yeah. It�s my third host. I started out with a Gedd host, like most of us coming upthrough the ranks. I was a Hork-Bajir for a while - boring duty, mostly, interspersed with terrifying battles. Then I was assigned to Earth and a human host. Now it�s your turn.�

�My turn for what?�

Karen gestured toward the fire and around the cave. �We�re stuck here. No food. Nothing to do but talk. I tell you my life story, you tell me yours.�

�You could just be lying, making things up.�

�So could you. You humans are not always honest.�

I nodded. �That�s true, I guess.�

�So tell me. How do you come to have Andalite morphing technology?�

I shrugged. �It was given to me by a great Andalite warrior named Elfangor.�

Karen�s face grew dark at the mention of that name. �Elfangor,� she spat.

�You�ve heard of him?�

Karen nodded. �Part of the time I was a Hork-Bajir I was in Visser Three�s personal guard. The Visser was obsessed with Elfangor. Something personal between the two of them. I don�t know what.But he hated Elfangor.�

�I was there when Visser Three murdered him.�

�Murder? No, it wasn�t murder. We�re at war with the Andalites. There�s no murder in war.�

�It was murder,� I said. �Cold-blooded murder of a helpless person.�

Karen leaned forward, her face glowing from the fire. �And that Hork-Bajir whose throat youremoved. Was he helpless, too?�

I jumped up. �Don�t you compare what your people do with what we do. You can�t compare the attacker and the victim. You people started this war. And it�s you invading my planet, not the otherway around.�

Karen jumped up, wincing at the pain in her ankle. �We have a right to live!�

�This isn�t about you living!� I yelled. �It�s about you enslaving other people.�

�It�s what we are,� she yelled back. �We�re parasites, you humans are predators. How many pigs and cows and chickens and sheep do you kill each year to survive? You think being a predator is morally superior to being a parasite? At least the host bodies we take remain alive. We don�t kill them, cut them into pieces, and grill them over a charcoal fire in our backyards.�

�We�re not pigs,� I said.

�Oh yes, you are,� she said, her face distorted and twisted with contempt. �That�s all you are to us. Oink, oink.�

The answer to that is obvious, of course, even if Yeerks choose not to see it. Humans, or Yeerks, or Hork-Bajir, or Taxxons, or Andalites aren't pigs. Pigs are fairly smart animals, but as far as we know, they aren't sapient, they don't have a separate consciousness or sense of self, they don't make future plans or think abstractly, in the same way that people do. If the Yeerks were infesting horses (and we've seen they're able to), for instance, or even chimpanzees, I don't know that many people would be all that bothered.

Chapter 12

quote:

We took turns staying awake and watching the cave entrance. It was very weird, really. We were deadly enemies to each other. If Karen - or at least the Yeerk in her head - got the chance, she would run to Visser Three and give me up.

The Visser would have me taken. He�d take me to the Yeerk pool that extended far beneath the school and the mall. Hork-Bajir would drag me out on the long steel pier. They would force my head under the lead-colored sludge.

I would kick and scream, but it wouldn�t matter. My head would go below the surface. And one of the Yeerk slugs that swam there would rush to my ear. It would flatten itself and squeeze itself in through my ear canal.

The pain would be awful. But the pain would be nothing compared to the horror.

The Yeerk would slither and squirm around my brain. It would flatten itself over the high parts and sink down into the cracks and crevices.

And then it would open my mind like a book. It would see every memory. It would know every secret. It would know that I wet my bed once when I was six and that I was so embarrassed I threw the sheet away in the garbage. It would know that I checked the closet every night just in case someone was hiding there. It would know that I once cheated on a math quiz and felt so bad I deliberately failed the next quiz to make up. It would know that I cared for Jake.

The Yeerk would open my eyes and turn them left and right. It would decide what to focus on. It would move my arms and my hands. It would decide what to pick up or put down. It would decide when I ate, when I slept, when I took a shower or washed my hair. It would dress me. It would talk to my mom and kiss my dad good night.

And all the while, I would be able to see, to hear, to know exactly what was going on. As the Yeerk inside my brain betrayed my friends, I would know. When Rachel and Marco and Tobias and Ax and Jake were hunted down, one by one, and killed or enslaved, I would be standing there, giving advice to the Yeerks. I would be helping to destroy my friends.

And I would be helpless.

That�s what Karen had planned for me. A living death. It�s what the Yeerks had planned for the entire world. They would enslave all who were useful, and annihilate everything and everyone else. I poked the fire with a stick. Karen stirred in her sleep. It would be so easy � I had the power. I had the power to destroy her before she destroyed me.

I should do it.

But I knew I wouldn�t. Not now. Not tonight. Not in cold blood. Life was sacred. Even the life of an enemy.

But how about the lives of my friends? Weren�t their lives even more sacred?

Karen woke up. She yawned and looked around with that stupid-just-woke-up expression. �Is it time for me to take over?�

�I guess so,� I said. �We�re low on wood, so don�t build the fire too high. If you see anything, yell.�

I rolled onto my side facing away from her. I was sure I�d never sleep. But I did.

I slept and I dreamed.

ScreeEEEET! ScreeEEEEET! ScreeEEEET!

Twenty human-Controllers stood waiting, armed with rifles and shotguns and automatic weapons.

Behind them stood two dozen Hork-Bajir warriors.

We were trapped. We�d sneaked into the building to retrieve the Pemalite crystal. The crystal would free the Chee from their programming. The programming that forbade them ever to harm a living creature.

With the crystal, we could turn the powerful Chee into allies against the Yeerks.

Erek the Chee stood just outside the building. I could see him through the plate glass. If we could find a way to give him the crystal, maybe he could help.

And then in my dream, just as it had happened in reality, everything exploded into violence.

Hork-Bajir leaped, slashing. And we fought.

We fought and fought. And we lost ground, and lost ground, and lost �

Until, far off, I seemed to hear shattering glass. And suddenly, there was Erek. The hologram that disguised him as a normal human kid was gone, too. He was his own true self: an android of metallic gray and pearl white.

What happened next I have tried to forget. I had seen battles. This was no battle. This was slaughter.

I woke up, crying, with an echo of Erek�s bitter sobs in my head.

�You were yelling in your sleep,� Karen said.

�Was I?�

She laughed. �You were yelling, �No! No!� That kind of thing. Bad dream, I guess?�

�Bad memory,� I said.

�Sounded like a battle,� she said. �From some of what you were saying. But hey, here you are alive, right? So you must have won.�

�Winning doesn�t make it less terrible.�

She snorted derisively, like I�d made a joke. �Of course it does. Don�t pretend with me. I know humans. I know that you love conquest as much as any Yeerk.�

�Not all of us.�

�Oh, I see. So you have morals. You feel bad when you destroy an enemy.� She said it with heavy sarcasm.

�Yes, I feel bad. Most humans do. Anyway, I do.�

�Lies,� she said, yawning. �More human lies.�

�Karen?�

�What?�

�If that�s all true, why have I let you live?�

She looked at me, and I saw her green eyes flicker for just a moment as doubt entered her thoughts.

She closed her eyes and did not answer.

Not much to say except I think this is both a good chapter and a good book.

# ? Mar 31, 2021 04:05

GodFish: Oct 10, 2012; We're your first, last, and only line of defense. We live in secret. We exist in shadow.

And we dress in black.

This book is great so far but it's bothering me a bit that Karen's Yeerk doesn't just swap hosts while Cassie is asleep.

# ? Mar 31, 2021 06:25

Level Seven: Feb 14, 2013; Wubba dubba dubba
that blew.; Megamarm

GodFish posted:

This book is great so far but it's bothering me a bit that Karen's Yeerk doesn't just swap hosts while Cassie is asleep.

Blind natural body, not gonna infest Cassie without a guide. Nobody is around to keep Karen from crushing the yeerk after it leaves her either.

# ? Mar 31, 2021 06:45

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

GodFish posted:

This book is great so far but it's bothering me a bit that Karen's Yeerk doesn't just swap hosts while Cassie is asleep.

Yeah, I was wondering that, too. But I guess the former host could just immediately wake her up.

Fuschia tude fucked around with this message at 07:53 on Mar 31, 2021

# ? Mar 31, 2021 07:11

GodFish: Oct 10, 2012; We're your first, last, and only line of defense. We live in secret. We exist in shadow.

And we dress in black.

Good points!

# ? Mar 31, 2021 08:26

Pwnstar: Dec 9, 2007; Who wants some waffles?

From the perspective of the Karen Yeerk this must be terrifying. She's lost in unknown territory where she absolutely will not be able to leave alive on her own because she's been forced into a pitiful and weak body. She's trapped with an enemy soldier/terrorist who has just revealed a secret of monumental importance which could end the war in days. Karen knows now that there is no way she can ever be allowed to return to her people. She's just being toyed with at this point.

# ? Mar 31, 2021 10:00

rollick: Mar 20, 2009

quote:

If Marco or Rachel had been there beside me, I know what they�d have said: She can�t be allowed to survive unless we can find a way to hold her for three days. That is when the Yeerk in her head would need to return to the Yeerk pool for nourishment. Tobias and Ax would have agreed. Jake, too, although it would have bothered him terribly.

I don't really get why Cassie is so laissez-faire here about the actual enslaved human being controlled by the Yeerk. Letting the Karen Yeerk live must mean condemning an innocent child, right? (I must have read this one, because I remember the Hatchet ref and the not counting to five trick, but the actual plot is a blank).

# ? Mar 31, 2021 12:46

Ravenfood: Nov 4, 2011

rollick posted:

I don't really get why Cassie is so laissez-faire here about the actual enslaved human being controlled by the Yeerk. Letting the Karen Yeerk live must mean condemning an innocent child, right? (I must have read this one, because I remember the Hatchet ref and the not counting to five trick, but the actual plot is a blank).

Yeah, that part stuck out to me too. It seems like something Cassie would definitely pick up on.

That said, this has been such a departure from the normal books and is really fascinating to read. I like it a lot.

# ? Mar 31, 2021 23:21

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Soup du Jour posted:

I�m pretty sure anyone who assassinated him would be summarily executed for losing the only Andalite under Yeerk control

Actually, now that I think about it--would they, though? Surely, what's valuable about any given infestation is the host themselves and the position that person holds, or other power available to them (e.g., morphing). Exactly which Yeerk is doing the infesting is immaterial; they're all pretty much replaceable cogs to be swapped out at will. We've already seen that carried out with Tom, as his original Yeerk got promoted, and he's now controlled by a different Yeerk. Every replacement Yeerk gains instant access to the past knowledge and memories of the host, so there's not even any real onboarding-time necessary after a transfer of control.

And speaking of which, how does Visser Three actually feed, anyway? Am I forgetting a detail from an earlier book, or is this elaborated in a later one? How can the Yeerks possibly contain a morph-capable host during his Kandrona bath? It's not like he can just morph a fly or something and get sealed in a box for 110 minutes, because the body of the infesting Yeerk is absorbed away into z-space during a morph. And every third day, when he's a blind, insensate slug in a pool, what's stopping an ambitious Yeerk (say, one or a conspiracy of several members of his personal guard) from squishing him and infesting Alloran themselves?

# ? Apr 1, 2021 00:23

Jazerus: May 24, 2011

does visser 3 have small morphs? he doesn't seem to, and in fact seems to exclusively favor very large ones aside from the kafit bird, which might have been the one non-taxxon morph that alloran already had. it's hard to use morphing for escape purposes if you're in a small room and all you have available is poo poo like The Sea Dragon of Talaxias Beta, and they probably sedate him every time too.

it's a good point though that visser 3 must have somebody working for him that's so loyal he can safely leave his host without them killing him. either that, or there's simply a yeerk cultural taboo on violence against the unhosted

# ? Apr 1, 2021 01:34

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Jazerus posted:

does visser 3 have small morphs? he doesn't seem to, and in fact seems to exclusively favor very large ones aside from the kafit bird, which might have been the one non-taxxon morph that alloran already had. it's hard to use morphing for escape purposes if you're in a small room and all you have available is poo poo like The Sea Dragon of Talaxias Beta, and they probably sedate him every time too.

it's a good point though that visser 3 must have somebody working for him that's so loyal he can safely leave his host without them killing him. either that, or there's simply a yeerk cultural taboo on violence against the unhosted

We saw in Book 2 that he's acquired a "Yeerkbane" morph, capable of sucking out an actively-infesting Yeerk and eating them alive. He even plays a recording of him doing exactly that to the last subordinate who failed him. So, if there is such a taboo, it's plainly not universal.

# ? Apr 1, 2021 02:13

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Fuschia tude posted:

And speaking of which, how does Visser Three actually feed, anyway? Am I forgetting a detail from an earlier book, or is this elaborated in a later one? How can the Yeerks possibly contain a morph-capable host during his Kandrona bath? It's not like he can just morph a fly or something and get sealed in a box for 110 minutes, because the body of the infesting Yeerk is absorbed away into z-space during a morph. And every third day, when he's a blind, insensate slug in a pool, what's stopping an ambitious Yeerk (say, one or a conspiracy of several members of his personal guard) from squishing him and infesting Alloran themselves?

I think KA actually answered that first question by saying that when Visser Three comes out to feed, Alloran is drugged and loaded down with all sorts of chains and restraints on top of that, so he's not really in any position to escape when Visser Three leaves to feed.

# ? Apr 1, 2021 02:17

Jazerus: May 24, 2011

Fuschia tude posted:

We saw in Book 2 that he's acquired a "Yeerkbane" morph, capable of sucking out an actively-infesting Yeerk and eating them alive. He even plays a recording of him doing exactly that to the last subordinate who failed him. So, if there is such a taboo, it's plainly not universal.

esplin...is kind of hosed up. i suspect that he gets a bit of a high off of alloran's satisfaction at yeerk death; he's just too gleeful about murdering his subordinates, and, well, we all know that alloran didn't have a very high opinion of the rules of war. it seems pretty clear to me that all of the other yeerks think he is a huge weirdo, so i wouldn't necessarily draw any conclusions about yeerk culture from how he behaves. in fact, i'd say that the visceral disgust of his subordinates at the idea of using - becoming - a yeerkbane supports the idea that killing the unhosted is some deeply weird serial killer poo poo to a yeerk

# ? Apr 1, 2021 02:49

QuickbreathFinisher: Sep 28, 2008; by reading this post you have agreed to form a gay socialist micronation.
`

Jazerus posted:

esplin...is kind of hosed up. i suspect that he gets a bit of a high off of alloran's satisfaction at yeerk death; he's just too gleeful about murdering his subordinates, and, well, we all know that alloran didn't have a very high opinion of the rules of war. it seems pretty clear to me that all of the other yeerks think he is a huge weirdo, so i wouldn't necessarily draw any conclusions about yeerk culture from how he behaves. in fact, i'd say that the visceral disgust of his subordinates at the idea of using - becoming - a yeerkbane supports the idea that killing the unhosted is some deeply weird serial killer poo poo to a yeerk

That last part would also make sense considering what his pool twin got up to in his free time.

# ? Apr 1, 2021 03:08

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs-Book 19-The Departure, Chapter 13

quote:

It rained all through the night till four or five A.M. But when we stepped outside into the morning, the sun was coming up in a brilliant, clear blue sky.

Water still dripped down from leaves and pine needles. The ground was still soft and mushy. The rocks glistened and sparkled.

Karen pushed past me. She limped over to the spot where she�d dropped the Dracon beam. She began scrabbling around in the bushes on her hands and knees.

�You took it! You came out here while I was asleep and took it!�

I shook my head. �It was raining hard all night. We�re on a slope. Maybe it was carried off down the hill. Or maybe the leopard took it.�

I meant that last part as a joke. But Karen�s head jerked around toward me, her expression intense and fearful. �You think this is funny?�

I shrugged. �You weren�t going to use it on me, anyway,� I said. �You don�t need to.�

�That�s not the problem,� she said. �We are issued weapons. We aren�t supposed to lose them. The punishment for losing them is � is very painful. I shouldn�t have been carrying it - I�m on an unauthorized mission. That will double my punishment.�

She looked very old, staring down hopelessly at the spot where the Dracon beam had fallen. It was easy to see that runoff from the rainstorm had rushed down across that area. The ground was smooth and cut with gullies.

�Probably down in the river by now,� I said. With her ankle, now swollen to three times its normal size, there was no way Karen could climb down there.

Karen looked lost and confused. �I can�t go back without it,� she said. �It will mean facing Sub- Visser Nineteen.�

�Your boss?�

�Yes. My commander. I don�t suppose you�d help me look for it?�

I shook my head. �No. Not a chance.�

Karen laughed bitterly. �Well, they�ll go easy on me when I bring you in.�

�Maybe they�ll give me to you,� I said. �Make me your host body.�

�No thanks, I don�t want any more young female human hosts. Too weak. Too emotional. Their heads too filled up with �� She broke off.

I waited for her to say more. But she didn�t. She just set her crutch and started walking with a determined, if painful step.

I fell in behind her.

Too emotional? Their heads too filled up with � With what?

Was it possible the Yeerk inside Karen�s head was bothered by Karen�s thoughts? By her emotions?

I felt a tingling sensation up and down the back of my neck. Was there another way to deal with Karen? Was it possible that the Yeerk felt some doubts about what it was doing? Was it even possible, or was I just grasping at straws?

Could a Yeerk be turned around? Could a Yeerk be made to see that what it was doing was wrong?

I took a deep breath and began to follow the hobbling Controller. How? How to reach the Yeerk inside her?

�So,� I said. �Looks like we have a long walk ahead of us. All day, if we�re going in the right direction. Maybe more than one day, if we�re going the wrong way.�

�I�m starving,� she muttered.

�How do you feel about mushrooms?�

�What?�

�Mushrooms. See? Over there, by that fallen log. You have to be careful, of course, because a lot of mushrooms are poisonous. But I did a paper for Life Sciences class last year. All about wild mushrooms. Those are edible.�

�I�m not eating raw mushrooms. They�re gross.� She had fallen back into her character as a little girl. It was so strange. She was both a little girl and a full-grown Yeerk.

�Well, I�m going to get some. You may change your mind.�

I tromped over and began very carefully choosing from among the mushrooms that had sprouted up during the rain. I squatted comfortably. �So, Karen, or whatever your Yeerk name is, tell me about your life. I know you don�t like your commander. That�s about it?�

�What�s your game, human?� she sneered. �You save, me, you guide me, now you feed me? What are you trying to prove?�

I lifted a pair of mushrooms each the size of my fist and stuffed them in my pockets. �It bothers you, doesn�t it?�

�What bothers me?�

�It bothers you when your victims don�t hate you.�

She let out a harsh, barking laugh. She started to say something. Then she started to say something else. She ended up saying nothing.

I stood up and handed her a mushroom. �Here. You can eat it now or you can wait. We may find some nice green onions or even some edible flowers to go with it. Practically a salad.�

�You think you understand me? You don�t. Nothing bothers me,� Karen said harshly.

�It doesn�t bother you that you�ve enslaved a child?�

�Slavery is a human concept.�

�Okay. Then forget that. How about this: Does it bother you when you hear Karen - the real Karen - crying inside your mind? Does it bother you when you�re with her mother and Karen wants so badly to talk to her mom, just to tell her she loves her? Just to say, �I love you, Mom,� and she can�t even say that? Does it bother you then?�

Karen jerked like I�d slapped her. �You don�t know what you�re talking about!� she cried.

�Oh, don�t I?� I said. �Let me ask Karen. Let me talk to Karen and ask her.�

�This human host has no secrets from me,� she said. �I know what she thinks.�

�And feels,� I added.

�And feels!� she said defiantly. �She hates me, okay? Does that make you feel superior? She hates me. She wants me dead. She sits there in the back of my mind and imagines me being tortured, dying a slow, screaming death! That�s what she feels. Hate! Hate! Hate!�

The trees seemed to reverberate with the sound of her screaming voice. The birds fell silent.

I shook my head. �Let me speak to her. Let�s ask her if she hates you.�

�Shut up.�

I smiled. �It works both ways, doesn�t it? You can feel her emotions, but she can feel yours, as well. Is that it? She knows what�s going on inside your mind. So what is it she really feels toward you? It�s not hate.�

�Shut up,� Karen muttered again. She began to walk again, wincing with each step.

�It�s pity, isn�t it? She feels sorry for you.�

Karen walked a few more steps. Over her shoulder and in a voice as cold as ice she said, �Let�s see how much pity you feel after I�ve turned you over to Visser Three, Cassie. Let�s see how well you control the hate when you are nothing but a helpless puppet.�

That's the thing. Karen can't answer.

Chapter 14

quote:

We didn�t move very fast with Karen�s bad ankle. It gave me a chance to look around.

�Look! Deer!� I said. I crouched down and Karen sank onto a log, grateful to take a rest.

�It�s a mother and fawn,� I said. �Look how alert she is. She smells us.�

�Bambi,� Karen muttered under her breath.

�Yeah,� I said. �I loved that movie.�

�This human � this host body of mine, it � she loved it, too. It was her favorite videotape when she was younger. You humans make everything sentimental. It�s an animal. So what?�

I shrugged. �To tell you the truth, I�ve been feeling that way myself lately.�

I stood up and the two deer scampered away, showing us their tails.

�I thought you cared about animals.�

�I did. I mean, I do. It�s just lately � I don�t know. Things have been confusing for me lately. Normal stuff like school or my family or even the animals I take care of, it�s all started to seem boring or something.�

Karen nodded. �Of course.�

�What do you mean, �Of course�?�

�I mean, look at what you do, who you are, what you experience. You fight. You kill. You have power and you use it. Of course that�s more interesting than your old, normal life.�

I shook my head and munched some of the mushroom I�d picked. �That�s not it. I mean � I don�t know what it is.�

Karen laughed. �You were just an average, everyday kid, weren�t you? Before you got the morphing power.�

�Pretty much,� I said.

�Now when you�re morphing, or when you�re in battle, you feel so alive! So vividly alive! Normal life seems boring now.�

�Is that what being in a fight is like to you?� I asked. �Not to me. I hate it. I�ve just gotten all confused. How can I go around doing the things I do and still believe that life is sacred? That every life is sacred? Sometimes I�m a predator. Sometimes I�m prey. I don�t know � it�s confusing.�

For a while, Karen said nothing. Then, like it wasn�t important, she said, �We have people like you, too.�

�People like me?�

�Sure. Yeerks who oppose the wars, who feel it�s wrong to take unwilling hosts.�

See, now that's interesting.

quote:

I was so stunned I stopped walking. �What? There are Yeerks who are against all this?�

�Don�t act so surprised. We aren�t all the same.� Her face took on a bitter, resentful expression.

�See? You believe the Andalite propaganda about us. According to the Andalites, we�re nothing but evil slugs. We don�t deserve to be free, flying around the galaxy. We�re just parasites.�

�It was the Andalites who helped you achieve space flight,� I said. �Seerow was his name, wasn�t it? The Andalite who helped your people?�

Now it was Karen�s turn to look surprised. �You know a lot.� Her eyes narrowed. �You�re not all humans, are you? There must be some Andalites with you.�

�Without the Andalites, you�d still be trapped on your home world, isn�t that true?�

�Yes. Without Seerow, we would be. He was the one good Andalite.�

I smiled. �So there�s at least one good Andalite.�

�And many good Yeerks,� she said.

�Maybe so.�

Once again, neither of us said anything for a while as we walked on slowly. We emerged from the shade of the trees into a small meadow.

It was breathtaking. The rain had raised an explosion of flowers, all lifting their petals toward the sun. Golden and white and blue, all still glistening with morning dew.

�Do you know what life is like for us?� Karen asked. �In the Yeerk pool, I mean?�

�No.�

�We are born with a hundred or more sisters and brothers. We don�t hatch from eggs. And we aren�t born the way mammals are born, either. Three Yeerks join together. They literally join together, with three bodies becoming one. Then that one body begins to fragment. It breaks up into smaller
pieces, grubs they�re called. Bit by bit the body disintegrates, and each grub that falls away becomes another Yeerk. Sometimes there are twins, two Yeerks from one grub. The parent-Yeerks die, of course.�

She looked at me to see my reaction. �You aren�t horrified? You aren�t shocked?�

Actually, I was. �I�ve studied a lot of different animals, so I guess I�m kind of hard to shock.�

Karen looked back at the meadow, �In our natural state, we have an excellent sense of smell. We have a good sense of touch. We can hear. We can communicate, using a language of ultrasonic squeaks. But we cannot see. We are blind, until we enter a host. Over the millennia we have moved up the evolutionary chain to more and more advanced hosts. Eventually, the Gedds became our basic host bodies.

�They are clumsy, slow creatures. But they have eyes. Oh, you can�t imagine! You can�t imagine the first time you enter a Gedd brain and seize control and suddenly, you are seeing! Seeing! Colors! Shapes! It�s a miracle. To be blind and then to see!�

Suddenly she stooped down and snatched up a caterpillar from a leaf. �Do you see this? This is what I am, without a host body. Helpless! Weak! Blind!� She spun and pointed at the meadow. �Do you see those flowers? Do you see the sunlight? Do you see the birds flying? You hate me for wanting
that? You hate me because I won�t spend my life blind? You hate me because I won�t spend my life swimming endlessly in a sea of sludge, while humans like you live in a world of indescribable beauty?�

She put the caterpillar down gently on its leaf.

�Most of you humans don�t even know what you have. You have the most beautiful planet in the galaxy. No other place is so alive. In no other place are there so many trees, so many flowers, so many amazing creatures. You live in a palace. You live in paradise, and you hate me for wanting to
live there, too.�

�I don�t hate you.�

She ignored me. She was talking for herself now. �What choice do we have? Back to the Yeerk pools? Back to our home planet, with Andalite Dome ships in orbit above us, waiting for one of us to try and rise from the sludge, then blow us apart? Leave the universe to the almighty Andalites and the species they happen to like?�

Karen gave me a bleak, hard look. �There are those of us who wish it could be another way. That there was some middle choice between being slugs beneath the Andalite hooves, and being �and being ��

�Slave masters?� I suggested.

I expected her to yell at me. Instead she put her face close to mine. Her voice was low. Her green eyes so enormous I almost felt I could see through them to the Yeerk inside. �What would you do, Cassie? What would you do, if you were one of us? Would you live your life as a blind, helpless
slug?�

I didn�t have an answer. Instead I looked away.

A chance look.

Tan and black! Moving fast!

�Aaaahhh!� I screamed.

The leopard took two liquid, silent steps and with the third step, opened its killing jaws, aiming for Karen�s throat.

The leopard is really kind of a buzzkill, isn't it? But the Yeerk asks a good question. What would you do if you thought the only way you could be not trapped in a weak, defenseless, blind body was to take over another mind?

# ? Apr 1, 2021 04:15

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

quote:

I looked at her curious face. Her very human face. Her little girl face. I knew what lived inside her head. I knew she would deliver me up to Visser Three the first chance she got.

If Marco or Rachel had been there beside me, I know what they�d have said: She can�t be allowed to survive unless we can find a way to hold her for three days. That is when the Yeerk in her head would need to return to the Yeerk pool for nourishment. Tobias and Ax would have agreed. Jake, too, although it would have bothered him terribly.

They would all have been right.

Not quite. What they did with Jake was a unique circumstance - nobody else knew the Yeerk had got into him, it was missing presumed KIA. Karen is an established controller. The Yeerks will realise if she's not a controller anymore. Since she's also seen Cassie morph, they can never permit her to be infested again. So they either have to kill the innocent child witness too (which was bleak even in Breaking Bad) or establish some kind of ad hoc witness protection program. Send her off to live with the Chee or something.

quote:

The leopard is really kind of a buzzkill, isn't it? But the Yeerk asks a good question. What would you do if you thought the only way you could be not trapped in a weak, defenseless, blind body was to take over another mind?

Hmmmm... if only there existed technology to allow one to radically transform one's own body without hurting anybody else... to "morph," as it were...

I used to think it was one of the biggest missed opportunities of the series, that this solution which was right at the core of the story all along doesn't really end up being part of the conclusion (at least not for the Yeerks). But thinking of it now I think it's actually a good commentary on war, which is also at the core of the story; that maybe things could have gone a different way at the beginning, but now there's just too much water under the bridge and intergenerational hatred for the Andalites to countenance that.

# ? Apr 1, 2021 08:13

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

freebooter posted:

Not quite. What they did with Jake was a unique circumstance - nobody else knew the Yeerk had got into him, it was missing presumed KIA. Karen is an established controller. The Yeerks will realise if she's not a controller anymore. Since she's also seen Cassie morph, they can never permit her to be infested again. So they either have to kill the innocent child witness too (which was bleak even in Breaking Bad) or establish some kind of ad hoc witness protection program. Send her off to live with the Chee or something.

Yeah, I don't remember exactly how Karen is resolved in this book, but that is an established way out for them. Erek already provides the example of an "infested" person who ambles down to the Yeerk pool every three days and forcefield-projects a hologram of him letting his Yeerk out to play; the Chee already regularly portray a person from childhood to old age, then take on a new character to start the cycle over again; so they absolutely could do everything they'd need to protect Karen and maintain her as a Controller without tipping off the Yeerks that she'd been compromised.

Sucks for the actual living human child, but on the other hand being forced into hiding is better than her current status quo, so :shrug:

# ? Apr 1, 2021 08:45

QuickbreathFinisher: Sep 28, 2008; by reading this post you have agreed to form a gay socialist micronation.
`

Fuschia tude posted:

Yeah, I don't remember exactly how Karen is resolved in this book, but that is an established way out for them. Erek already provides the example of an "infested" person who ambles down to the Yeerk pool every three days and forcefield-projects a hologram of him letting his Yeerk out to play; the Chee already regularly portray a person from childhood to old age, then take on a new character to start the cycle over again; so they absolutely could do everything they'd need to protect Karen and maintain her as a Controller without tipping off the Yeerks that she'd been compromised.

Sucks for the actual living human child, but on the other hand being forced into hiding is better than her current status quo, so

Pity, this is one book too early for them to give Karen morphing powers and turn her into their own little child soldier...

It's not like (later series spoilers) they have a problem with that by the end. I think it's even Cassie's idea who they end up using.

# ? Apr 1, 2021 17:50

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs-Book 19-The Departure, Chapter 15

quote:

The leopard flew.

Karen never even had time to react. Neither did I.

But someone did.

It happened almost too fast to see. A blur of gray hurtled down from the sky. It hit the blur of tan and black.

A flash of talons, bright red blood welling around the leopard�s eyes.

�Rrrooowwwrr!� the leopard snarled.

But it hit Karen, just the same. Down she went. I lunged toward the leopard.

Wham! It hit me with the back of one paw, as cool and calm as Jackie Chan. It was like being slammed by a hammer. I went down hard.

�Aaaahhhh! Help!� Karen screamed.

The osprey fluttered up a few feet, then came down again in a second attack. It raked the leopard�s face, but this time the leopard struck back.

With a crumpling sound, the osprey was knocked down. It lay jerking and heaving in the dirt.

I had already started morphing, but it was too late. The leopard opened its jaws. Karen, on her back and screaming, kicked wildly at its face.

The leopard chomped her leg. Its jaws closed right over the splint of sticks. Karen screamed, in pain this time.

The leopard looked around, coolly surveying the situation. It could smell the dangerous wolf smell already coming from me. It decided maybe this was not the place to eat its prey.

The leopard began to drag Karen away. It still held her ankle and dragged her along backward across the dirt and leaves and pine needles.

�Help me! Help me, Cassie! I�ll let you go, I swear! Help me!�

I staggered after her on bandy, half-wolf legs, lumbering clumsily and slowly, half-human, halfwolf.

�Help me! Help me! Aarrggghh!�

I looked at Marco. Because, of course, he was the osprey. He was fluttering weakly and starting to stand up. He was also starting to demorph. He�d be okay. But Karen would not be okay. As soon as the leopard felt safe it would apply the killing bite: to the throat, to the back of the neck, or even to the
head itself.

I was mostly wolf now. But would the leopard back down? The last time, I�d scared it away before it got to Karen. Now it would be defending its �kill.�

And I had a bad feeling about fighting a leopard one-on-one.

I bound forward, letting out a threatening growl.

The leopard turned, keeping Karen�s leg twisted in its mouth. It stared at me with curious yellow eyes.

We were each about a hundred and fifty pounds. We each had powerful jaws. Each of us was fast. I had an armor of thick fur around my neck to ward off bites. But the leopard�s teeth were much longer than mine. And it had four deadly paws, each armed with hooked, ripping, razor-sharp claws.

I felt a terrible sinking sensation. One-on-one, in a fight to the death, I would lose.

We stood staring at each other, just a dozen feet apart.

Karen lay on her side, shaking in terror, her face contorted by pain.

�Help me,� she moaned pitifully. �Don�t let him eat me.�

I was shocked. I knew right then: The person begging for help was the real Karen. Not the Yeerk in her head.

I mean, I assume the Yeerk doesn't want to be eaten either.

quote:

At least if I charged, the leopard would have to let her go to fight me.

I advanced a few steps. The leopard opened his mouth and spit out Karen�s leg. It bared its teeth, drawing its lips back in a hideous snarl.

It screamed a threat: �Hhhheeerrrooowwwrr!�

It wasn�t going to just walk away this time. It had tasted the blood of its prey. It wasn�t going to walk away without a fight.

Karen began to crawl slowly away, sobbing.

The leopard watched me. With senses so alert they made the air tingle with electricity, it watched me, waiting, ready.

<Marco, if you can hear me, I am gonna need help,> I said.

I charged.

It was like running into a tornado. I thought the wolf was fast. It wasn�t. I�d been slashed in half a dozen places while I was till snapping at the air with my jaws.

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

I backed away, bleeding, shocked. The leopard�s speed was at a whole different level. And now the leopard knew. It knew it could beat me.

�Hhhheeerrrooowwwrr!� the leopard snarled, with a note of triumph in its voice. Snarling, it bared its four-inch teeth.

It was simple. I could turn and run, and the leopard would let me go. Or I could stay and fight.

I�ve fought before. I�ve fought Hork-Bajir. But I�ve never been more afraid of any creature. The leopard wasn�t just quick. It was quick, with perfect accuracy and terrifying grace. It was fast while looking almost lazy. It was like a supernatural thing. Like it existed outside of my whole notion of
time.

I was a big, clunky thing made out of sticks and nails. The leopard was made of mercury. It was liquid metal.

Was I insane? Was I going to die to save a Yeerk who would destroy me herself? It made no sense. It was absurd. No one but a fool would even think of it.

No, not to save the Yeerk, a voice in my head said. To save Karen, a scared little girl.

Don�t be an idiot! There was no Karen, not anymore. Karen was just a puppet of the Yeerk.

You don�t risk your life to save your enemies. You protect your friends and destroy your enemies. That was life. That was reality. Basic survival of the fittest: Protect yourself first, protect your own family and tribe second. Protect your enemies never.

Walk away, Cassie, I told myself. The leopard will be quick about it. One bite and it will be all over for Karen and the Yeerk in her head. One bite and the threat will be gone. One bite and the secret of the Animorphs will be safe.

Die for your enemy?

No, walk away.

I stood there, poised, frozen, unable to decide.

And then I saw the leopard�s malevolent gaze waver. It focused up and behind me. I sniffed the air and knew what had happened.

<Run away, little kitty,> Marco said. <You may be able to take on a wolf, and you may be able to take on a gorilla, but you can�t take on both of us.>

The light in the leopard�s eyes went dull. The calculation had changed: The odds were too great now.

It turned and walked slowly away. It had backed down twice now. And I had the feeling the leopard didn�t like losing.

It stopped near a tall fir tree and looked back over its shoulder. It stared at me with its yellow eyes. Of course it couldn�t talk, but I knew what it was saying: Next time the little one is mine.

Marco to the rescue! Which also makes this whole situation a lot more complicated.

Chapter 16

quote:

<How�s that for a last minute rescue?> Marco crowed. 

The �little girl� was clutching her ankle and writhing in pain. I began to demorph.

<Hey! Hey! What are you doing, Cassie? You can�t demorph in front of that girl!>



<So run off into the bushes, out of sight. Then come back. She�s just a kid. You can come up with some story to explain it. She was probably too scared from the leopard to even track on what you and I were doing.>

I continued demorphing. <Marco, she already knows.>

<What do you mean, she already knows?> Marco said, all humor and joking gone from his voice.

I made the transition to mostly human. �I mean, she knows.�

<Oh, great, Cassie!> he sighed. <Okay, well, she�s just a kid. Who�s gonna believe her if she starts ranting and raving about some girl who turned into a wolf?>

I knelt in front of Karen and began unwrapping the splint I�d made around her ankle.

�Listen to me,� I said in a low whisper I hoped only Karen would hear. �Don�t tell him what you are. Not if you want to live.�

But Marco is not a fool. He could see that I was whispering. And Karen was in such pain I wasn�t sure she even understood.

 Marco said. <How about telling me what�s going on? You disappear, your parents are both losing their minds from worry. We all go looking for you, and now, here you are, whispering to this girl.>

I was human again, so I couldn�t answer him in thought-speak. It gave me a little time to think about what I should tell him.

<Ah. Okay. Tell you what. I�ll go �bye-bye� for a couple seconds and come back as my own cute, lovable self.>

Marco lumbered away, a massive, powerful gorilla with shoulders that looked like they�d been built by Mack trucks.

�He�ll be back in a few seconds,� I hissed to Karen as I tore strips of cloth from my morphing outfit to clean her wound. �If he finds out what you are, he might � he might not see things the way I do.�

Karen grimaced in pain, but the Yeerk in her head was still alert and sharp. �A monkey morph? How�s he going to hurt me with that?�

�You idiot,� I snapped, �that gorilla morph could rip a tree out of the ground and play baseball with you as the ball.�

�Sorry,� she muttered. �The only things I know about Earth creatures are what the host brain knows. She thinks he looks like Curious George.�

�He�s curious, all right. And smart. And he doesn�t like Yeerks. And in that morph he could stuff you into the nearest gopher hole, so listen to me!�

�Why are you protecting me from him? You weren�t so sure about saving me from the leopard, were you?�

I didn�t answer. Instead I focused on cleaning the wound. It wasn�t easy, and it was almost useless. The bite marks didn�t go deep because the wood splint had stopped them. But they were sure to become infected eventually. And there could be crushed blood vessels below the surface that I couldn�t even see.

�How does it look?� she asked.

�I don�t know. It might become infected. It could even lead to gangrene.�

�What�s gangrene?�
�Putrefied flesh,� I said harshly. �It could mean the foot will have to be amputated if it goes on too long. Maybe more of the leg.�

To my surprise, Karen laughed. �That would be just perfect. I�d not only be stuck in a little girl host body, I�d be stuck in a crippled little girl.�

�She�s already crippled,� I said. �What do you think you�ve done to her? She�s already lost both her legs, and her arms and eyes and voice as well.�

She looked up at me with her startling green eyes. �You hate me so much? Why don�t you just finish me off?�

�Because I can�t destroy you without destroying the girl,� I said.

She shook her head. �No. No, that�s not all there is to it.� Suddenly she burst out laughing. �Ah, hah, hah, hah! Amazing! I just figured it out! You�re trying to turn me. You�re trying to get me to turn against my own side.�

�I�m trying to save you,� I whispered.

Karen snorted. �You want to make peace, don�t you? You want to find a way to stop us without having to get your hands dirty. You want to defeat us � without having to kill us. It�s almost sweet. It is sweet. Sweet and naive and foolish and utterly, utterly futile.�



I turned and saw Marco. Only he was in his osprey morph again, sitting twenty feet above us in a tree.

Ospreys, like all birds of prey, have amazing eyesight. But what many people don�t know is that they also have very excellent hearing.

 Marco said, his thought-speak voice vibrating with suppressed rage.

<There�s no peace with parasites. You don�t turn them around. You bury them.>

Uh oh.

Also, somebody asked a few days ago if this book was the first time that a Yeerk had suspected that the Animorphs were humans. Chapman and Tom (or their Yeerks, at least), discussed the possibility in an earlier book, but came to the conclusion that Visser Three probably wouldn't believe them and would murder them for bringing it up.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 03:48

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Fuschia tude posted:

Yeah, I don't remember exactly how Karen is resolved in this book, but that is an established way out for them. Erek already provides the example of an "infested" person who ambles down to the Yeerk pool every three days and forcefield-projects a hologram of him letting his Yeerk out to play; the Chee already regularly portray a person from childhood to old age, then take on a new character to start the cycle over again; so they absolutely could do everything they'd need to protect Karen and maintain her as a Controller without tipping off the Yeerks that she'd been compromised.

Sucks for the actual living human child, but on the other hand being forced into hiding is better than her current status quo, so

I don't think the Chee would like it. They've spent 10,000 years hiding their true identity from humanity, only revealing it to the Animorphs because Marco realized Erek was an android. They don't like the Yeerks, but at the same time, I don't think they'd agree to shelter a bunch of escaped human hosts indefinitely. It's too much of a risk for them for too little benefit.

Now, if the Yeerks had Dog Controllers, they'd definitely save the puppies, but that's the difference between dogs and humans for the Chee. Dogs are IMPORTANT.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 03:53

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

It's really, really hard to argue with Marco here.

Christ, Cassie's lucky he doesn't waste the kid on the spot.
There is of course more to the story, but knowing what he knows now,...

# ? Apr 2, 2021 04:03

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

I mean, I assume the Yeerk doesn't want to be eaten either.

Actually, do we know what happens yet if a host dies? Can the Yeerk still get out?

# ? Apr 2, 2021 06:24

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Fuschia tude posted:

Actually, do we know what happens yet if a host dies? Can the Yeerk still get out?

I think it's been seen before by this point in the books but not really focused on, but the Yeerk has a very limited window to bail out of the dying host before system shock kills them too. Most Yeerks aren't quick enough on the draw to disconnect before they go down with the host as well, especially in cases of instant, traumatic death.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 07:58

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 16:44

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

Fuschia tude posted:

Actually, do we know what happens yet if a host dies? Can the Yeerk still get out?

I don't know if we've been specifically told that Yeerks die when their hosts die, but we've seen Yeerks abandon ship when their hosts are near death like Visser 3 after he got bit by Ax's rattlesnake, so it's probably safe to assume they do. Otherwise it would probably be safer to stay put and wait for the body to be recovered by other Yeerks.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 07:59

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