The Theory of Everything - Where is this story going?

[fridginators]

Hey guys,

So essentially I've been re-listening to the show a bit, and I figured that I'd do a bit of a write-up, essentially compiling what factors still have to be explained, and their potential arc significance. I think this is particularly important given the fact that the story has transitioned from the deeply personal and factional to now a grander scheme of things with many different human actors. Of course, we're not even sure exactly of what we don't know, and I write this on the eve of finding out (presumably) what happens to the Chinook and Captain Long, so I'm sure this will be out of date soon, but nonetheless, I think it'd be a good thought project. Note, I'm not going to go through every unanswered question here, just the main story-driving ones:

Michael's Arm and Randy

This is one of the longest-running unknowns, and I'm shocked it's still part of the story actually. I believe this to be of a psychological importance, and I think that our general theory of Michael sacrificing Randy, whether he went willingly or not, is accurate, and I believe that this will come back to haunt Michael. Randy is a smart one, but not a pimp-ass zombie, at least so it seems, so I can't think of anything else relevant. Perhaps Michael will return to LA and see Randy, this will catch him off guard and affect his mission.

Is Ink Pinstripes?

Almost definitely. Mental illness will likely play a role in him being a pimp-ass zombie, but more than that it's hard to say. Nonetheless, KC mentioned Ink for a reason. However:

Is there more than one pimp-ass zombie?

Forgive me if this hasn't been answered, but we have no idea how Ink would have got from the Arena to the Tower so quickly, or how he would even have known about the tower, or possibly even known that it was empty. Unless he outran a car/truck/hummer that the rest of them were in, there is no chance that this could have happened - especially as Ink was there for at least 20 minutes before Michael and co. returned. We are still unsure of the nature of the weird cult of Pinstripes. It would seem strange however to have more than one, as it would rather undermine the ominous, creepy nature of TOWTM.

Why are LA zombies weird?

Probably something to do with the Ring of Fire - this would explain why Kalani's zombies were "meaner" or whatever phrased he used. These places are special, and thus the cracks. Early, in Chapter 3 or 4 where Michael, Saul and Angel read people's journals and plot the timeline, they guess the outbreak happened around Inglewood. This centres future conflicts/missions around LA; gives a reason for them to return.

How do we reconcile the Mallers with the Military/Boulder?

As they no longer pose a real threat to Michael, this appears to be the most difficult element of the story to explain: how we're alive stays a story of people, not zombies. I believe that the Mallers are never going to directly challenge Ft Irwin or Boulder, although Scratch definitely has been trying. Unless they have significant armaments or are using the other survivors as hostages I'm unsure of how this will proceed - perhaps they will confront each other off the battlefield. I subscribe to Nikvoodoo's theory about Riley killing Scratch - with the caveat that perhaps Burt will go down with her and Riley and her will simply combat, although that definitely has to happen for Riley's sake.

Will we see the Boulder crew again?

100%. Michael and Pegs need to reunite (I personally believe Pegs will herself save Michael somehow), Kelly needs to get laid, Hope needs to contribute something, anything, to the plot and Datu needs to put on his brave maintenance man face once more. Their reunion will likely come at a time of crisis.

What will happen to the Colony?

It will eventually be either liberated or destroyed. Scratch cannot remain in control forever; either she will already lose this battle (I doubt it) or she will eventually lose when Saul and co. regroup or Michael and others play back-up. There is also the possibility that the whole place gets overrun, which is a recurring motif in We're Alive. Gatekeeper will likely die, either heroically, tragically or in the process of trying to become ruler again.

Tanya and Saul's blood

We don't have any clue right now. None, except they both appear to be somewhat immune. We don't really know anything about slow-turners either, or how the slow-turner bit Tanya when they executed him/her before they completely turned.

There. I think I covered most of the remaining story strands, although of course others will pop up. There still remain questions about Boulder and the Chinook of course, but we know so little that we don't even know the right questions to ask just yet. The most important part I feel is how KC continues to take this more macro-level trajectory that the story has reached and keeps it relevant on the micro-level.

Any comments or disagreements?

Edit: My bad, forgot the most important question of all: WHERE THE HELL IS SKITTLES?

[DeadPixel]

I think you've just about covered everything here, with sound reasoning too. I think the majority of people probably have similar theories and belief when it comes to the directions the story can go.

With the Appearance of CODI, I'm guessing trips to the cracks will soon be on the agenda. With some recording equipment attached, they'll be able to have a good look around the area. This is just speculation, but it would seem logical, not to mention safer.

KC has several possibilities available in his tool box and I cant wait to see how events will unfold.

Great post btw!

[LiamKerrington]

No.

More important then Skittles is this question:

WHERE THE EFF IS MR WHISKERS???

Anything else: solid, valid, although I am not so sure about all assumptions.

Ink/ pins-stripes: He seems to be pretty quick. When the Tower-folk met him and Burt tried to bust him, he ran pretty fast away. On empty streets he might not outrun an Hummer or car; but the streets of L.A. were packed with scattered cars, so no driving fast. Ergo: Ink would have the chance to move from the arena to the Tower fast enough. But this is just "theory". I am next to believing that Ink is a special smart-one, while there are some to many others. And if "we" concurr with the idea of a - slim - hierarchy, maybe Ink is the uber-in-charge doin' what he wants, while other "colored"- or smart-ones do all the major-management stuff ...

About Scratch being killed by Riley - maybe. A classic revenge theme. But a few days ago I thought about it: We have a personal conflict between Michael and Pegs. So how unlikely would it be that Pegs gets cornered by Scratch, and either Michael kills Scratch defending his chick, or even Pegs kills Scratch like she did with Scratches brother ...

But anyway: You have mentioned plenty of stuff Kc will have or at least might have to deal with. And each of those cases is open to quite many differen predictions. Therefore the question would be: How twisted is Kc's mind???

All the best!
Liam

[DeadPixel]

WHERE THE EFF IS MR WHISKERS???

Remember when Scratch said 'We have 2 of your people'..?

<Insert Dramatic Realization Music Here>LE GASP!!









Just Kidding :P

CJ is the most likely person to have Mr Whiskers... Or maybe, Ink needs a cat to complete his evil genius cliché?

[Cabbage Patch]

TOWTM beat the Hummer back to the Tower because it got stuck in traffic. It may be post-Apocalypse, but this is still LA, and everyone is always late because of traffic!

[ferroaj]

Hey guys,

How do we reconcile the Mallers with the Military/Boulder?

As they no longer pose a real threat to Michael, this appears to be the most difficult element of the story to explain: how we're alive stays a story of people, not zombies. I believe that the Mallers are never going to directly challenge Ft Irwin or Boulder, although Scratch definitely has been trying. Unless they have significant armaments or are using the other survivors as hostages I'm unsure of how this will proceed - perhaps they will confront each other off the battlefield.

I think I can answer this one!

Ft. Irwin wasn't too selective about who they sent to Boulder. I can easily see the mallers contacting Ft. Irwin by radio, playing the part of a colony of survivors. Ft. Irwin would send transports and a medical team to check them out and bring them to Boulder. En route they either hijack the planes/choppers (unlikely unless they have a pilot) or stage a coup when they get to Boulder. Then Ft. Irwin would have to respond.

[fridginators]

Ooh, clever. That then also brings in the element of Puck's complaints about the recruits. As we have learnt from this show: almost everything mentioned is mentioned for a reason.

[Kc]

:

Is there more than one pimp-ass zombie?

Forgive me if this hasn't been answered, but we have no idea how Ink would have got from the Arena to the Tower so quickly, or how he would even have known about the tower, or possibly even known that it was empty. Unless he outran a car/truck/hummer that the rest of them were in, there is no chance that this could have happened - especially as Ink was there for at least 20 minutes before Michael and co. returned. We are still unsure of the nature of the weird cult of Pinstripes. It would seem strange however to have more than one, as it would rather undermine the ominous, creepy nature of TOWTM.

The story isn't explicit in the details of how long Angel and Riley spent looking for Datu at the Arena. In other words, it could have been some time after Samantha was killed before they got back to their tower.

Check out July 3rd area: http://www.zombiepodcast.com/forum/s...ne&redirect=no

[Witch_Doctor]

The story isn't explicit in the details of how long Angel and Riley spent looking for Datu at the Arena. In other words, it could have been some time after Samantha was killed before they got back to their tower.

Check out July 3rd area: http://www.zombiepodcast.com/forum/s...ne&redirect=no

Wow, beat me to it.

[fridginators]

Thanks KC.