Chapter 39-1: Chemical Reactions

[scbubba]

From Liam's poll: I like the idea of Randy using humans to do his dirty work.

I'mma just leave this here for you Mikey. Now figure out a cure. Probably not the case, but I love the idea.

Hmmm, so Randy would be working on the same line as Team Human? But for whatever reason Randy can't work on it directly - physical or mental or educational limitation or being watched too closely by Team Zed. So he needs to subtly drop off a key puzzle piece that he knows about that the humans don't. It looks like he is getting jumped by the humans and narrowly escapes the peril. The humans have a line on ....something.... without knowing that Randy is working with/for them.

Unless Michael does know! But I think Michael's reactions when seeing Randy so far have not been the friendliest. Could be keeping up the illusion, though. Take some shots at him but intentionally miss. Stay between Randy and Puck so Puck can't ventilate Randy's skull. Randy gets away but Michael tried.....

Aw crap. I just went Full Tinfoil, didn't I?

[LiamKerrington]

Hmmm, so Randy would be working on the same line as Team Human? But for whatever reason Randy can't work on it directly - physical or mental or educational limitation or being watched too closely by Team Zed. So he needs to subtly drop off a key puzzle piece that he knows about that the humans don't. It looks like he is getting jumped by the humans and narrowly escapes the peril. The humans have a line on ....something.... without knowing that Randy is working with/for them.

Unless Michael does know! But I think Michael's reactions when seeing Randy so far have not been the friendliest. Could be keeping up the illusion, though. Take some shots at him but intentionally miss. Stay between Randy and Puck so Puck can't ventilate Randy's skull. Randy gets away but Michael tried.....

Aw crap. I just went Full Tinfoil, didn't I?

Keep it spinning. This kind of storytelling is what I enjoy most, 'cause it is quite beyond the cliché, and still not too far of a stretch ...

[Arch_Will]

Aw crap. I just went Full Tinfoil, didn't I?

only goes full Tinfoil when you mention aliens.. so i think we're sweet for now.

[HardKor]

And another comment:

I really, really, really like the picture for chapter #39. It really frightens the shit out of me - not only because of the beast (maybe) under the cloth, but also because of the deadly cold atmosphere.

In connection with #39-1 it reveals the dark sides of the human survivors. I mean: Hello? The woman was not turned yet, but only in the process of turning. And what, if a medication like the one Saul received months ago would have made the difference? And then, although the red-shirted woman was neither a zombie (yet) nor dead (!!!), Tanya cut her open in order to check the shit out of her ... Holy shit ... What's going to happen next? Frankenstein is a kindergarden-cop compared with Tanya ...
Or in simpler words: Have the survivors or at least Tanya turned into a monster? Or do scientific causes justify any means?

Best wishes!
Liam

The enthusiastic way Tanya's been going about her job studying the zombies is pretty damn disturbing. It's very easy to imagine her going off the deep end into mad scientist territory, but I'm not sure she's going to fall that far. We're Alive can be pretty damn dark and gritty, but it still falls pretty firmly into the idealism side of the sliding scale of idealism versus cynicism. We've never really seen the main characters go off the deep end for the sake of survival. So, unless there's a pretty big departure from this, I don't see Tanya being the one to take that leap.

Another thing, a couple of people here have latched onto the fact that the turning girl was still alive when Tanya started her vivisection, but I've been pretty convinced for awhile now that all the zombies are of the technically living zombie variety. They need to eat for survival and not just out of instinct (The starving zombies of Catalina), They appear to breath (or else Michael's chloroform wouldn't be nearly as effective), and they also appear to have a working circulatory system (they bleed out from wounds, the Little One Tanya dissected had an enlarged heart and blood vessels, etc.) So I'm not so sure that the fact that the turning red shirt was "alive" is any indication that she wasn't turned. But it's still concerning to say the least that Tanya was so willing to cut her up without a second thought about her being alive when it happened.

But now that I've got the idea of technically living zombies floating around in my mind, I can't help but imagine a scenario where Michael and company have TOWTM cornered and her comes back with a title drop of "We're Alive" and this whole thing takes a turn into I Am Legend territory.

[Witch_Doctor]

Dang! Day 2, Page 13 Post #124! You guys are busy. Not just short posts, either. Everyone is posting dissertations. I had to do a double take to make sure I didn't stumble onto a scientific journal. Worse of all, most all of this is way over my head. (Witch Doctor didn't do so well in Alchemy 101) But I'm exited.
All I got is Ants & Folic Acid. Folic acid an component of Vitamin B. Folic deficiency includes

A lack of dietary folates leads to folate deficiency, which is uncommon in normal Western diets.[citation needed] A complete lack of dietary folate takes months before deficiency develops as normal individuals have about 500–20,000 µg[9] of folate in body stores.[10] This deficiency can result in many health problems, the most notable one being neural tube defects in developing embryos. Common symptoms of folate deficiency include diarrhea, macrocytic anemia with weakness or shortness of breath, nerve damage with weakness and limb numbness (peripheral neuropathy),[11] pregnancy complications, mental confusion, forgetfulness or other cognitive declines, mental depression, sore or swollen tongue, peptic or mouth ulcers, headaches, heart palpitations, irritability, and behavioral disorders. Low levels of folate can also lead to homocysteine accumulation.[7] DNA synthesis and repair are impaired and this could lead to cancer development.[7]

So, scavenge for those Flintstones Vitamins, this out break is over! Think I'm wrong? When readinG about folic acid on Wikipedia, I read, ' greek greek greek greek greek greek Aromatic greek greek." Yep, something aromatic. I don't know what that means but it's one of Redshirts favorite words. REDSHIRT!!! WHERE ARE YOU?

[7oddisdead]

So, forgive me if I parsed out your post a bit incorrectly. Here's my take: The anion gap is not what is being reported because the numbers are just so dang high. But, ketoacids are produced in large quantities in diabetic ketoacidosis resulting from....a hyperglycemic state.

Also, 3 notes about formic acid. One, it is the byproduct of methanol (moonshine/wood alcohol) metabolism that causes blindness. But, you wouldn't see the cloudiness in the eyes from the way formic acid causes blindness, unlike cataracts. Two, I think in the cases of poisoning, one of the key ingredients is a confined space, which we don't see with the turning zombies since they're usually out in the open. Three, I can't find confirmation quickly, but if what we're seeing is methanol or formic acid poisoning, neither of those would result in a hyperglycemic state, they would actually go in the opposite direction.

I guess my feet are dangling over this ledge too, but we'll see how the next couple of chapters play out.




To be fair, Tanya euthanized Amy after Michael was ready to shoot her. I interpreted that as her trying to take a more humane route for a required end, especially with someone who was still mostly human. Personally, I wonder if she didn't euthanize this girl off-screen. Unless she's gone really far over to the dark side, I think it would be difficult for a vet to intentionally cause unnecessary pain to any living/semi-living/not totally dead creature.

I completely agree...at least with the little bit of info I have. I don't have a clue what kind of tests tanyas running, I was simply following links....found that stuff fascinating as hell..

I guess the question at this point could be...is Tanya actually running a test we could/would/should recognize? Again..i have absolutely no medical background...so any guess I make is the same as anyone else..."guess's"

good work troubleshooting! We'll keep throwing stuff at the wall til something sticks!

[Hellbringer]

Wait. What? I think he's on to something. Didn't we already have Christmas?

GDI! This is what happens when I have to work late.... hold on, I'm still going through the posts before I say something about this.

[Hellbringer]

Ok, I'm caught up and saw no more references to the date...

Oh, love the episode, KC! (before I forget)

So we went from December 2009 to 1 March 2010, which by the way was an important day for me personally so I got a goose bump or two when I heard the date. Everyone is on their theories about the current situation, but....

I see a prime opportunity for a Christmas episode, to be released around the holiday season. I could hear it now... it'd be a flashback or throwback episode. Think about it; according to Michael, nothing really happened until four months later from the early December time frame. That leaves an ample hole to be filled with a holiday party (or two, if there's enough booze for a New Year's party as well). I'm not talking something horrific like the Star Wars Christmas special of the 70s, but something that could add even more depth to relationship building for any number of folks at the colony or at Dunbar. Okay, it's wishful thinking, I know.

Also, damnit Muldoon, step up a bit. I presume he's a "spot."


Oh, and when I heard Michael's description of Randy, I immediately thought of Moosjaw Bourdeau from Rock Band 2/3. 22092009486.jpg

[HardKor]

I see a prime opportunity for a Christmas episode, to be released around the holiday season. I could hear it now... it'd be a flashback or throwback episode. Think about it; according to Michael, nothing really happened until four months later from the early December time frame. That leaves an ample hole to be filled with a holiday party (or two, if there's enough booze for a New Year's party as well). I'm not talking something horrific like the Star Wars Christmas special of the 70s, but something that could add even more depth to relationship building for any number of folks at the colony or at Dunbar. Okay, it's wishful thinking, I know.

I can see it now: TOWTM shows up at the colony gates bearing gifts of rotting meat and dismembered body parts and then they all sit around exploring the meaning of "Unlife Day."

[FunkyDung]

I can see it now: TOWTM shows up at the colony gates bearing gifts of rotting meat and dismembered body parts and then they all sit around exploring the meaning of "Unlife Day."

I see an opportunity for TOWTM to do his best Grinch impression. Will his heart grow three times its original size? Hmm...

Datu, Randy
Dead Kalani
Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day...