Chapter 33-3 Red Winter

[LiamKerrington]

Hi there,

... They are heartier, craftier, and seem to spread quicker than other types.

Yes, they are heartier, craftier ... But no, they don't spread quicker than other types. Tommy and Fernando turned within minutes (Tommy) or less then a minute (Fernando) as well; and from different sources we know that infected humans turned quickly as well, which supports the and also is supported by the simple fact how fast L.A. and later the US was overrun by Zeds.

I suppose there have not been as many of them exposed to masses of people (only other zombies), and the cliffhanger in Boulder might be the first setting in which a lone Inkling comes into contact with a mass of humans.

As Robzombie says: The first Little One's were encountered by Skittles, Kalani and Angel at the military base in L.A; that was by the end of July in the WA-timeline. At that point in time the number of survivors in L.A. was less then half a thousand if we consider The Tower, The Mall, and The Colony as the only places with humans being alive and Skittles as well as CJ surviving solo on their own. When it all started on May 8th the city of L.A. was obliterated of life within less then a day - with Regulars/ standard biters/ zombies. The very first 'special' zombie we know of were the Runners encountered by Lizzy, Saul and Burt; then the Behemoth troubled Riley, Angel, Datu and Michael; later Ink showed up after having killed Paul, and then the next special one was the Jumper that knocked down Saul. It was after all these special ones that the Little Ones showed up the first time. And if we stick with the most solid theory so far that the first at least 12 Little Ones were infants and young children from the hospital, then it makes perfect sense that they were simply too late at the party to become a real threat so far, i.e. they were too late to spread their type of zomby-agent, because there was nearly no one available to be infected anymore.

That is why I agree with you: We probably to most likely have our first Little One at its feast; considering its cunning on the one side and on the other side the lack of intel on the Little Ones within the standard military forces in Boulder so far, Boulder might have some serious shit to deal with.

It might be setting the stage for an entire city to become super-zombies, like the Inklings.

Would be time for the Toxic Avenger to show up, I assume ...

I also suppose that it's possible that Michael Keaton's Multiplicity theory holds true: "A copy of a copy is not as crisp as the original," and those infected by ADLOs do not see the same quick physical developments. ...
Appreciate any thoughts/clarifications on this one, cause it's been gnawing at me.

Mh. Not sure, if MK's Multiplicity Theory really applies. Do you remember Glen mentioning how Roman changed over night? This implies that the process from human => infection => Little One does not stop at the level of Little One, but it goes on. And here the mystery is on ...
Angel and Kalani found some slime; where was it when Saul and Victor checked the dead Little One in L.A. or killed the other Little One at the elementary; where was it when Tanya made her autopsy?
Skittles highlighted the funny way of walking of the Little Ones, and he together with Kalani and Angel recognized the small size of the Little Ones at the base; and later the beasts were so huge wherever you encountered them.
Briggs was able to rip off an arm of a Little One; I am pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to do so, if the skin and muscles and bone-structure of it was as tough as the ones Robbins and Carl found at the Chinook Crash side and really had trouble to bring down.
Considering this amount of information and the changes within the various 'qualities' I would say: Actually the Little Ones prove to be quite the opposite of what MK's theory says ... Because the farther we go in time, the more resilient, potent and dangerous these beasts become.

All the best!
Liam