Mallers are slavers?

[Brokenzipper]

So, after listening to the episode where Liz gets captured, does anyone else assume the mallers are slavers? Kinda reminds me of fallout3 in the way apocalyptic times call for slavery. Maybe today's episode will answer the question. What do you guys think?

*edit: sorry, just read a post with a similar topic*

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

BrokenZipper gets the "AH HA!!" Award for being right on this one!

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

Ok, so now that this theory has become fact, what do we think they're doing with the slaves?

Could they be sacrifices to the Arena? I'm going to say no to my own question. Why? The ambush. Wait... i'm going to also play devils advocate to myself... lol. ahem..
Lets say the slaves HAD been used for sacrifices to keep the Zombies confined to one area and not wandering around getting in the Mallers way as they canvased the areas for supplies and weapons.
Something happened and the mallers reneged on the "deal" so they got ambushed.
OOOORRRRR.... Durai being the super smart dude he is, decided to do some Operative Conditioning on the infected and got them used to feeding on slaves in the arena and get used to him/them being around so they could eventually attack the arena.
Sacrifice the slaves to get rid of the threat seems like something he'd do.

[Rock Daddy]

Yeah, I definitely think the slaves are just being used as bait and disposable labor, so the mallers don't have to risk their own lives out there in L.A. Which is pretty f*cked up. Makes you wonder what they're trying to undertake with all this extra manpower...

[Teethingbiscuit]

Boy oh boy did BrokenZipper call this one early. Slaves. Labor of course and a warm body that isn't theirs would make it seem more likely to escape a siege (or an ambush, but they didn't see that coming one bit).
Rock I don't think they would send out the slaves on supply runs or scouting missions because they would just try and disappear or even try to find someone to help free the other slaves, or bring back a wave of Zs. I can see where a mission would want to use a few to send into a building first in order to "clear" or bring out the Zs for clearing. Pretty chickenshit but it could be effective... until you loose more than you gain.
Teeth

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

That's the big question isn't it? What the hell are they using the slaves for?

1. Bait?

2. Force Labor...but for what? Where?
a. Eastern Bay??
b. What kind of labor would you need there?

3. Where the hell did they get the slaves?
a. Guards and workers from the prison?
b. People visiting fam and friends during the outbreak?
c. People they scooped up while they were out scavenging?

4. How did they secure them in such a porous place like the mall?
a. Did they acquire them after they left??

[nikvoodoo]

Well, we know they are using slave labor to clear the road and apparently be used as sacrificial lambs should the Mallers be attacked by zombies.

I really really have no idea why the Eastern Bay option is so attractive to everyone. Imagine you are a convicted murderer, you have been locked away in a hole in Eastern Bay for 18 years. Suddenly, you're free to roam about the city and do whatever you want. What would make you even think Eastern Bay is a place you'd want to go back to? So I don't think Eastern Bay is getting any slave labor done. Besides, electronic doors in jails would be pretty much inoperable at this point thus negating much of the safety provided by the prison.

One place to get the slaves would be the mall. Enough people have seen Dawn of the Dead that they probably thought going to the mall would be an awesome way to ride out a zombie apocalypse. They just didn't count on the mall getting over run with ex-cons who are aggressive and willing to do anything. I also wouldn't be surprised if they attracted people while they were on the move. A force of bad ass people carrying weapons (assuming they stole what the prison had in its armory) would seem like a better situation than most people are in at the time of the outbreak.

Their mall is a strip mall. Strip malls aren't as porous as a regular mall. There hardest part would be to blocking off the entrances to the parking lot and the back loading doors to the different stores. So if you can block off a perimeter, it's relatively safe, but as Durai pointed out there are many drawbacks. They had made a look out Tower, the one that shot at Saul on the roof.

The Mallers had to get their slaves early on when there were survivors...you know...alive. If they tried to get them at this point, they'd be running into people who had survived for over 3 months in this hell, who would have to be pretty well prepared and very not inclined to listen to another group of survivors. We've seen nothing but hostility between survivors when they first meet because remember: All the passive ones are dead.

[Rock Daddy]

The Mallers had to get their slaves early on when there were survivors...you know...alive.

This makes sense. Now I understand how Tardust & Bricks could confuse Lizzy as a "runaway" at first. A runaway slave.

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

Nik,

I assume that the prison is the "best" option. Like a mulitiple choice quiz. It makes sense and is most secure. Yah, they were prisoners there and that also means that they can go back and run it because they're "Comfortable" there.
Remember Angel's line about the prison? He said "I know I can handle living in a cell"..

I don't want them to be at Eastern Bay.. it's too easy and been done, but for PRACTICAL reasons.. it is the best place.
I still want them to have cleared out the Arena.. hahah.

Them getting slaves from the Mall would be a good starting point. I think they captured them "After" the WAR though. That many people wouldn't fit in the tower would they? it smacks of a contingency plan instead of an initial strategic plan.

[nikvoodoo]

It depends on the building. Some apartment buildings have 10 apartments per floor. That would in theory give the Tower 140 units, but we don't know those specifics.

Angel said he could handle living in a cell, but again, even if Angel is a former convict he wasn't in there for a large number of years. He's 25 now, the earliest he can go to jail is 18. Even assuming he spent all that time in prison save his time in Officer school, that's no where near a lifer.

Is it a logical choice? Yes, but only to those who haven't spent a long time in a place that sucked your life away.

And I really don't see how they could accumulate a large supply of slaves after the war. There simply wouldn't be enough live ones who wouldn't be prepared to fight off a now humbled group of prisoners. Everyone (except Skittles) has dug in deep and holed up somewhere. They would encounter the same problem they did at the tower if they tried to overtake another established survivor refuge.

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

I envision the mallers have been kicking in doors and straight up snatching people from their homes. A vast majority of the population are normal cubicle workers and sofa quarterbacks. They have a simple home or an apartment to board up and stay in. They won't be able to keep out a determined armed group.
I'm trying to wrap my head around the thought of people still in a mall while all this is breaking out, but I think you mentioned that people would have run there for protection.. right?