Chapter 43-3: The Darkness Ahead

[Litmaster]

Holy shit... I go to work for awhile, come back home and the forum blows up. Gotta catch up...

I don't know how I feel about the Zebs being controlled by Symbols. It feels soooo Magicy and Supernatural (Not the TV series, but genre/style/ect). I was expecting it to be they see more colors. Like some animals do. Mantis Shrimp style. That Datu saw an address b/c he saw new colors or something. Nope. Freaking Magic Language given to you via a bite. He even knows one means STOP. Explains that Ink is controlling them via his tat's though. So there is that. It's an answer.

I have faith that KC will not go all Lost on us though.

Hoooo-wee! Verse bustin' out the L-word on Kc's Zombie Insta-Language thing! And now we have confirmation (via Datu's actions at the church) that these symbols don't just INFORM, they COMMAND the Zeds to do something or other. And yet Kc says it ain't magic or whatnot.... WELL KC GOT VERSE ON THE VERGE OF CALLIN'

on this whole thing!!! BETTER HAVE A DAMNED GOOD JUSTIFICATION FOR THESE HEAR PROCEEDIN'S, BOSS, Y'HEAR? DAMNED GOOD!

I don't know because of the higher risk of caving in and such. I can't see the zombies wear hardhats and singing "Everything is awesome" as they build complex and stable tunnels.

and

Also, a vast tunnel system will displace a LOT of dirt. There would have been hills of dirt from the inside of the tunnels.

Yeah, WD... my first thoughts exactly when I heard about this hole and tunnel thing: "Where's the Dirt?" And BOSS MAN BETTER HAVE'A GOOD ANSWER, TOO, ELSE WE GONNA BE CAWLIN'G BOWLSHEEEIIT ON DEZE HEAR ENTIRE PLOT HOLES!! (er, sorry... got temporarily possessed by a cajun crawdad from deep in the bayou.... )

It ain't "magic". Some people's theories are close, and some are way off. You'll just have to wait for this one...

Uh-huh. All I gotta say is if I see dwarves in the next episode.... I'M OUT!

Jeepers, you're putting me on edge with the anticipation of all the answers we'll be getting....

Uh, I'm sorry.... perhaps you've got Kc confused with a different author. When has this man ever been in the business of giving an answer without raising three more questions in the process?

So the zombie symbols are complex enough to relay a street name and street number (not just a general location) that can be directly correlated to english, and they are conveyed as part of the zombie infection (or demonic possession or whatever it is). A little bit out there...

A LOT bit out there, as far as I'm concerned... not that the idea isn't compelling. More in this in another post...

Secondly, Grognaurd and UndeadSweeper have already discussed the lurking behemoth at Cain and I really like Grognaurd's idea of the big one being Lizzy's father. If it's as Datu says and the human side of you is still aware while the zombie side is in control, having Lizzy's bulked out behemoth of a dad around during childbirth could be the best possible scenario if he becomes their own personal watchdog. That'd really be the only way to counter all that noise from the generator, wouldn't it? Plus, if he has been lurking around Cain long enough, it's possible that he has driven other Zed's out of the area.

I sure hope this isn't the case. Last I checked, Los Angeles has a population of about 3.8 MILLION people, and to have such an improbable occurrence as this would really stretch the tenuous cords of believability. We've already has the improbable situation of Scratch knowing who Angel was, and of Michael meeting back up with Randy at the water works, and to have another pre-outbreak relationship manifest this late in the story would get me crinkling my nose...

I guess that Michael will break the fourth wall and ask: "Oh, Kc, why did you give my character this abysmal keen sense of bad timing?"

and

Listening to them running into the tunnel while the zombies approached reminded my of another story wear the character were faced with frying pan or fire. I could place my finger on it till it hit me.( The memory. not my finger.) Riley and Angel going into the pile of bodies.

Kc does seem to be going to the well a bit too often with this one. Let's hope it's the last time.

Maybe there is a giant earthworm zombie in the tunnel, that would freak me out a bit. What if there is something seriously wrong with the baby? I can't help thinking that eventually the zombies are going to run out of food and I'm wondering if Ink has a plan for this already. What if he takes lil' henry and starts cloning him and growing more humans in rows like cornstalks...

Um... and this is why I'm glad Kc is writing the story instead of someone else...

Now that Vic and Michael are going deeper underground, it is time for a short season 3 hommage. I just hope they are able to make it out of there

I'll do you one better. Here's a preview into what the next episode with Michael, Datu, and Vic is gonna be like:

[7oddisdead]

I have to wonder if they actually checked inside the arena...or just set up cameras outside. If the central part of the arena is still intact, that'd be a reeeeeal good place to hide a lot of dirt.

[UndeadSweeper]

Holy shit... I go to work for awhile, come back home and the forum blows up. Gotta catch up...



Hoooo-wee! Verse bustin' out the L-word on Kc's Zombie Insta-Language thing! And now we have confirmation (via Datu's actions at the church) that these symbols don't just INFORM, they COMMAND the Zeds to do something or other. And yet Kc says it ain't magic or whatnot.... WELL KC GOT VERSE ON THE VERGE OF CALLIN'

on this whole thing!!! BETTER HAVE A DAMNED GOOD JUSTIFICATION FOR THESE HEAR PROCEEDIN'S, BOSS, Y'HEAR? DAMNED GOOD!



and



Yeah, WD... my first thoughts exactly when I heard about this hole and tunnel thing: "Where's the Dirt?" And BOSS MAN BETTER HAVE'A GOOD ANSWER, TOO, ELSE WE GONNA BE CAWLIN'G BOWLSHEEEIIT ON DEZE HEAR ENTIRE PLOT HOLES!! (er, sorry... got temporarily possessed by a cajun crawdad from deep in the bayou.... )



Uh-huh. All I gotta say is if I see dwarves in the next episode.... I'M OUT!

Uh, I'm sorry.... perhaps you've got Kc confused with a different author. When has this man ever been in the business of giving an answer without raising three more questions in the process?



A LOT bit out there, as far as I'm concerned... not that the idea isn't compelling. More in this in another post...

I sure hope this isn't the case. Last I checked, Los Angeles has a population of about 3.8 MILLION people, and to have such an improbable occurrence as this would really stretch the tenuous cords of believability. We've already has the improbable situation of Scratch knowing who Angel was, and of Michael meeting back up with Randy at the water works, and to have another pre-outbreak relationship manifest this late in the story would get me crinkling my nose...

and

Kc does seem to be going to the well a bit too often with this one. Let's hope it's the last time.

Um... and this is why I'm glad Kc is writing the story instead of someone else...

I'll do you one better. Here's a preview into what the next episode with Michael, Datu, and Vic is gonna be like:

Someone get Litmaster his coffee, he be mad. He when all Daryl Dixon on us.

[Litmaster]

I understand where some people are not liking the fact that Datu can read the symbols, or that they mean something to the zombies. But i'm not upset at all.

In this story already, we have zombies...(which already makes it a Sci Fi story.)

Then some of those zombies are more advanced than others some how. Smarter, faster, jump higher...

Suddenly, there was this big freaking hulk-like zombie that just crushed everything in it's path and took an arrow to the eye or a .50cal to the chest without stopping...

then there was introduced one zombie that was wearing a pinstriped suit, could talk, act normal, and even do complex tasks. Then was stronger, faster, jump higher. Later it turns out he is a Scientist who went nuts and killed a bunch of people just before the outbreak and got himself covered in prison ink...

And if all this was not bad enough, we had little creatures which may or may not have been human but grew up to be the meanest mothers around with tattooed arms that lead to long sharpened nails.



We accepted all those things before they were explained. To be honest, the fact that Datu can read the symbols is not the weirdest thing in this show. But, i am trusting KC will explain it too.

PREACH!!

Everyone seems to forget all the above, just because its semi-plausible via -physics- but its so damn true. Soon as we turn to a subject you can't really google, its magic.

Okay, boys... calm down. And very fair point, JHP. And actually, it is not these particular issues that really cause trouble for me. I'm gonna steal a quote from a blog I reference with respect to this believability issue. Supposedly, this is from Tolkien:

“[I]n order for the narrative to work, the reader must believe that what he reads is true within the secondary reality of the fictional world. By focusing on creating an internally consistent fictional world, the author makes secondary belief possible.”

Internally consistent. That is the issue that is centrally important when creating a fictional world such as this post-Zompoc Los Angeles.... do the given laws of this world contradict themselves during the course of the story? This is what bothers the hell out of me with The Walking Dead--they contradict their given zombie rules at every turn. The story has to be consistent within itself, and I think, for the most part, this story is.

Whether or not the elements are fantastical (e.g., zombie's wearing suits, talking, creating mutations, etc.) is not the aspect that gets me to cry "Booooowwlsheeeit!" Rather, such things as plot holes (Denver somehow gets destroyed without any mention of the existence of a nuke planted there), unjustified character motivations (Pegs suddenly whips out a .50 cal and starts mowin' 'em down out of revenge for the Mallers killing of landlord Bill!), or inconsistent story physics (flying Zombiedactyls!) really tend to get my panties in a bunch.

Part of the issue here is that Kc has essentially created a low-fantasy story, meaning that it takes place primarily in our regular world of reality, yet draws upon many fantastical elements (zombies) that are not part of that world. This would be different than, say, a high-fantasy like LOTR or GOT, which take place entirely in an alternate fictional reality which may or may not reflect elements of our own reality. We tend to judge Kc's story strictly on our given reality, rather than the one he's created.

[7oddisdead]

^I'm on my phone, so I'm not quoting all that. Look at litmasters second big post.

the last sentence there is the issue. Its unfair to judge the story on comparisons to our world. That's an issue for the reader, not the author. There's been enough of a separation of the two throughout the story (in my eyes) to make that a non issue.

another problem, and this will sound like criticism...is KC is far too accessible and answers too many questions. What little hs said about this chapter so far(in my opinion) he shouldn't have. It goes into a lot of my feelings on why LOST got the hate it did for the ending. The creators coloring the fans opinion outside the show material.

I'm done for now. This little keyboard sucks when you have a lot to say..

[Witch_Doctor]

I'll do you one better. Here's a preview into what the next episode with Michael, Datu, and Vic is gonna be like:

There's even a Mata gun.

[Grognaurd]

Lit, two days and there was no one left in LA, I do not think that was enough time for them to be eaten or bitten. We have evidence that the gas itself can kill and or induce change. I figure everyone left is special with some partial resistance. The people left in LA have been preselected for some phenotype that runs in families.

Latch & Scratch
Saul & Tanya
Tommy & Kelly
Samantha & Hope

I do not feel like a Lizzy & Nick Rivers link is too far out there. Although it could be misdirection for people like me that grab every lose thread and try to link them, but I do not think it is another Puck & Puck incident.

[Gooer]

Uh, I'm sorry.... perhaps you've got Kc confused with a different author. When has this man ever been in the business of giving an answer without raising three more questions in the process?

Well, yea..... But he has to give us most/all the answers eventually....

[Litmaster]

another problem, and this will sound like criticism...is KC is far too accessible and answers too many questions.

Nah... I think the fact that he is so accessible and reads so much fan input is a strength rather than a weakness. You gotta think, how many other writers have had the opportunity to witness such an instantaneous reaction to their work, even within a few minutes of publishing it? Stephen King never experienced that. Kc says he doesn't take fan input into account insofar as shaping the story, but I can't see how this cannot affect his writing process, at least to a degree.

It's got to be challenging to keep switching back and forth between 'creative' mode (when writing) and 'critical' mode (when directing, editing, interacting with fans, etc). Imagine the equivalent if, say Van Gogh were in the process of painting "The Starry Night", got a few brushstrokes down, then hung it in a gallery and stood amongst some reviewers to criticize it, then back to the shop to work on it a bit more, then back to the gallery again, etc. It is definitely a new way of creating that didn't exist prior to the technological means we now have. I wonder to what degree this is changing art in general, but this is another discussion for another day...

But the story is strong, nevertheless. I think the fact that, this far into the story and the fucker has STILL got us guessing as to the nature of certain mysteries--despite all his input and clarifying--is damned near miraculous.

[7oddisdead]

Your taking what I'm saying too literally. What I'm getting at is the little things hes said here or there color OUR OPINION. We know KC as a rational, skeptical, science-minded type o guy. That colors our opinion in what we see within the story. I'm all for everything you said. But understand it affects us the listners.