Saul's "Illness"

[Destiny]

What do you think is going on with Saul? Why does Burt not trust him? Is he secretly a zombie? Did the bullet pass through Tommy and then hit Saul, thus infecting him? What are your theories on what's wrong with him?

[Beaumont]

He's probably got the big Z and will kill everyone in the tower.

[nikvoodoo]

Personally, I don't think he has the Big Z as Beaumont put it. We've seen how the smallest amount of Zombie blood turns you (see: Tommy). And that happened immediately. With the amount of blood that should have sprayed out of Tommy when he was shot I would imagine something would have entered the wound in Saul's shoulder, or been carried by the bullet into him. I'm also throwing a bit of stock Tanya's way. The Colony trusts her to screen potential infected humans trying to enter, and she says Saul has a nasty infection.

All that said, would I be surprised if Saul turns? Not at all.

[Beaumont]

Personally, I don't think he has the Big Z as Beaumont put it. We've seen how the smallest amount of Zombie blood turns you (see: Tommy). And that happened immediately. With the amount of blood that should have sprayed out of Tommy when he was shot I would imagine something would have entered the wound in Saul's shoulder, or been carried by the bullet into him. I'm also throwing a bit of stock Tanya's way. The Colony trusts her to screen potential infected humans trying to enter, and she says Saul has a nasty infection.

All that said, would I be surprised if Saul turns? Not at all.

You like "The Big Z"? I gotta copyright that and start a series.

[Wicked Sid]

You like "The Big Z"? I gotta copyright that and start a series.

Ha! Big Z, reminds of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. There was a Wookie whose nickname was Big Z.

[Teethingbiscuit]

perhaps we have an immunity. By we I mean Saul is immune to the virus/bacteria/parasite. I'm flip-flopping on whether the bullet passed through or not. Tommy was a "Smartie" and may have faked the shot? Ahh, Got to listen to episode again. Teeth

[cPT.cAPSLOCK]

I doubt if Saul is infected with the zombie-virus.

As nikvoodoo mentioned, Tommy turned really quickly when he got infected. Saul has been sick really long.
Also, even a small wound that gets infected can kill you if not treated, especially in a dirty environment with little to no medical supplies like in the Tower.

[lectio]

Ah, but take into account Saul's mountain division services. He's been around. Isn't the story that he's served in some elite units? Rather makes me wonder if it opens a channel for a theory that he's received some kind of partial immunity to the virus because of a vaccination received while in service. Bring Radon Labs online with a functioning biotech lab and Tanya's field experience, and you could have yourself with a nice story arc on the search for a cure - or at least a vaccine.

[lectio]

Hmm...or...if the bullet passed through Tommy and into Saul, it might have carried virus with it. The heat of the bullet normally is enough to kill viruses and bacteria, I believe (when Giffords was shot in Arizona, one of her doctors was quoted as saying that they'd leave the bullet fragments in her brain alone, as they'd have been more than likely sterile from the heat of the bullet itself). This virus is a baddie...so I wonder if the heat of the bullet might have only attenuated it (weakened it) rather than kill it outright. Some vaccines contain attenuated virus in them - weakened by heat so that the virus can't reproduce easily, but enough that the body mounts a vigorous enough immune response to achieve the vaccination effect.

So I wonder if it's possible that Saul is mounting enough of an immune response to resist full-blown infection? If he survives the illness, he'd have antibodies circulating in his blood that could be used as the basis for a vaccine - even a crude one. Burt's old enough to have been inoculated for small pox. Maybe he's thinking the same thing...

[Stavie]

I'm pretty sure it was Kelly who described Saul's illness as consisting of a fluctuating fever, which was confirmed by Tanya later to be his body's reaction to an infection. Is it possible that the bullet did pass through Tommy thereby infecting Saul, but because his body is reacting to the infection caused by the wound it is temporarily fighting off the zombie infection as well?