Origins of the Little Ones

[thisonegirl]

I could never tell if this was the case. Did their friend, Roman, have a tattoo or were they talking about the one that attacked him?

He had number 12, the one who attacked him was number 6, I believe. I remember something like "the lines of the number were crooked" or something like that. I forget who said it, but that to me kinda sounded like the "little ones" are trained to number those they turn.

[ferroaj]

Eyes are traditionally "windows to the soul". In the LO's case, their eyes are still clear, which is why I'm thinking these are some human/zombie hybrid. They still have a hint of clarity, of humanity. We don't have much evidence of it, but I believe the Little Ones are really smart. Eyes also communicate intelligence--think to all of the people who describe an encounter with a whale or dolphin "you can just look into its eyes and you know that it's thinking". I think they're perfectly capable of learning, planning, using tools and technology. Plus, they're developing physically and it only makes sense that they'd be developing mentally too. It's possible that the transition from human to LO just resets all of the synapses of their brains. The infection grows valves and arteries on hearts, so rewiring a brain isn't too farfetched. It's almost like they're children all over again -- relearning how to manipulate their environments to get the outcomes they want. From then on, it's operant conditioning. Good behaviors get repeated; You learn from what you observe, so sit in the shadows or hang in the trees and watch. If they can still understand the concept of death (something a normal zombie doesn't even consider), they can feel danger, maybe even fear, which would further encourage careful planning and risk analysis.

I'm pretty stuck on the idea that Ink is their creator, and we know there are at least 12, right? I love the idea that we have NO idea how many he's created. He could still be creating and numbering away in his lab. The fact that Ink numbers his creations intrigues me. Normally, things that you care about (even lab subjects) have names. Numbers are the opposite of humanizing. Numbers are for criminals and masses. The Jews in Auschwitz were tattooed with numbers, too. The human survivors are clinging to names as a societal comfort, and they get uncomfortable when that is taken away, like Kimmet's refusal to read Carl's nametag.

So what if their selection isn't so much an honor. Maybe it's a punishment. It could explain the self-inflicted wounds too. It could be repentance, a pain response, a response to psychological trauma, who knows? Maybe retaining some humanity is actually a curse for the special ones... Maybe they can still feel all their human emotions?

[Robzombie]

Perhaps the scratches are indeed self inflicted...babies will claw at themselves and if their nails are not clipped, or if they do not have those little baby mitts (made because babies scratch themselves) they will get scratches, but not so much on the forearms than around the face and eyes. Now consider a baby that had been turned, well eventually these babies got claws, and more signifigant scratching now until it grows out of it.

Or another idea is that those scratches are how Ink turned them. He found them in the nursery and claimed them as his own. He "gently" clawed at them, then named (tattooed) them according to basinet #'s. They are his children so to speak.

[Penguine]

I think Im liking this whole baby transformation theory it makes sense. If there were 12 babies in the Nursery the numbering makes sense. To go one step further what do you think he would have done with the babies in the NICU? Those are the babies that are not as healthy or might have other issues, think he would of played with them? twisted...