The little ones

[bradwnel]

I was thinking that since the man in the pin stripped suit was a serial killer before all of this went started and the little ones have numbers tattooed on them maybe He was out killing children? Serial killers like to keep some kind of trophy of their kills so he was numbering his kills? Or so everyone thought. I was thinking he never was really out killing people but kidnapping children and turning them into zombies and they later broke him out of the mental hospital. Anyone else feel this way?

[bradwnel]

In This episode it was said that they had gotten bigger is what lead me to think that they had started off as children but are going. So maybe they werent killed but turned and are still able to age.

[Mikeyd2tall]

I was thinking that since the man in the pin stripped suit was a serial killer before all of this went started and the little ones have numbers tattooed on them maybe He was out killing children? Serial killers like to keep some kind of trophy of their kills so he was numbering his kills? Or so everyone thought. I was thinking he never was really out killing people but kidnapping children and turning them into zombies and they later broke him out of the mental hospital. Anyone else feel this way?

this is a really interesting idea! and i haven't heard it yet! grats newbie!

[bradwnel]

well thank you

[Heyyouinthebushes]

I've been absent from the forums for a while, and I enjoyed the speculating happening here and in the ch. 30 pt. 1 thread, so I want to try and recap what's been said.e

What we know about the little ones:

(1) they started out little.
(2) they have tattoos of numbers.
(3) they have "unnatural" features beyond that of other "zombies" (ie, long, filed finger nails and slime).
(4) they can grow.
(5) there are at least 12 of them. Setting aside that some may have been killed, the tattoos get us to 12. It is reasonable to think there are more, but how many more may depend on whether we think the tattoos represent an individual or an iteration. In other words, if the 5 or 12 represents an iteration, there may be numerous versions of each iteration.

We have two broad theories (that can have a lot of overlap):

(1) the modification theory - this theory says that the little ones are a result of some sort of purposeful modification. Some modification is self-evident (ie, the fingernails and tattoos). The mod theory takes this further, suggesting that further tampering was happening. The major speculation of the mod theory is that, beyond nail filing and tattooing, "genetic" or "chemical" engineering was going on. I believe it was 7odd who suggested pinstripe was injecting the altering agent via or in conjunction with the tattooing. The greatest strength of this theory is that it fits well well with the fact that the special "zombies" only seem to exist around certain parts of the LA area. If someone is modifying "zombies", tou would expect to only find them in a limited area. It's greatest weakness is that, currently, it relies on speculating beyond what we know. There's good evidence that tattooing was happening at the hospital, but there hasn't, yet, been direct hinting that more was happening. It makes sense, but hasn't been given direct evidence.

(2) the children theory - this theory says that the little ones are children that have turned. While it is clear that tampering is happening, it is only superficial. This theory accounts for why the little ones start little but are able to grow. Characteristics like the slime are not really accounted for; however, little is known about the slime, so that is not a huge problem. While it does not obviously follow from the children theory that they would leave behind slime, because we do not know much about the slime, it is hard to know why it would be a strike against the children theory. The greatest strength of this theory is that it explains the observed growth of the little ones through a method established in canon, namely that the "zombies" retain certain physiological "needs". Like the retained need for food, children "zombies" still grow. It's greatest weakness is that it doesn't account for the specialness of the little ones. If they were only children that turned, you would expect more people from periferal locations (eg, the colony) to be aware of them. Likewise, you would expect them to be more ubiquitous. A random horde that comes around because they hear a potted plant fall from few stories up should be littered with little ones.

There are pretty obvious ways we can combine these two theories, and any new info may require alterations or new theories. Hopefully we'll get some answers in coming episodes.

Cheers.

[Solanine]

Interesting compilation of our knowledge so far. It seems pretty obvious that TWWTM is a leader and is producing/ modifying zombies. He also seems to have turned them into an organised force, possibly explaining the rarity of the zombies during the second half of season two and season three. Another explanation of the absence of zombies is that they are dyeing out just like survivors will be. Think about it, the lack of humans would have huge repercussions in some food chains (or webs) making some sources of food scarce. Also it could just be KC getting sick of howling into biscuit tins, it can't make character development easy when people are constantly running away from/ shooting at things.

[2bgood]

Nice theory, i had not thought of that one.

[Tar Heel Fan]

These little ones with numbered markings must be a part of some kind of experimentation. The question is: whose experiment? It could be TOWTM or whoever created him in the first place. It could be a byproduct of what Tanya or others were doing at the Colony (unlikely) or others like them, searching for a cure. Or could this be a byproduct of an army experiment? The folks at Fort Irving were pretty against experimentation, afterall.

[Solanine]

TBH I reckon the whole hospital base and the nail clippings they found there points pretty conclusively towards TOWTM.
Possibly human caused though you never know.

[Godsendunlimited]

Right. And in this newest episode they are getting stretch marks tough skin and are getting big. What else has those characteristics? The behemoths. So are the little ones just pre pre behemoths? Or children? One thing is children don't have long arms and numerous fingers. But neither do behemoths. So what do you guys think? Also congrats on coming up with that on your own.