Chapter 42-3 Chasing Ghosts

[Storm]

a little Bible stuff that's creepily sounding close to the story...


i know it seems VERY unlikely for 'religious stuff' to enter the story, but the Chapter "Mark of the Beast" keeps coming to mind. The Bible is a great source for content, albeit out of context, but still great for parallels.

i think there are people in the story that knew what was going to happen.
Durai, i'm now thinking, was one of them.

Yeah, lots of parallels... Even had to cities blown up... A fallen angel... Michael... Not to forget old Scratch
...I should dig up the topics that talks about these Things, I really enjoyed reading them, maybe a second read brings more into the light.

[alexcadtek]

Hey!

Those are very, very good questions. Here are my takes on them:

As for how Ink realizes his Alpha Status: We know that zombs do not attack each other in general. According to Skittles there are exceptions which include special zombs, but this does not change the general rule. Especially because we know it: most of the times zombs hunt in packs or appear in huge numbers attacking survivors; and except for #7 attacking a regular at ground zero we don't have a single eye report speaking of zombs attacking zombs. When Ink became one of them and got out of the van, the zombs did not attack him either. And they also seemed to acknowledge his alpha-status. So I would say that that might be the earliest moment at which he has realized his power ober other zeehs, if it has not been the moment when them regulars stopped damahing the van he was in.

As for other intelligent zombs: cunning we had right from the beginning even with regulars. Was it in the garage of the Tower, when one zomb played hide and seek with Angel and Saul in order to avoid being shot? Or was this on their first scavenge run? Then Burt has mentioned the Smart Ones and has told Saul and Angel what makes them more dangerous. This gets validatet or verified by Skittles, who has spoken about them being around book stores, who have been the nearly worst nightmares. Then we have Randy, whi seems to be a very smart one as well. Ink is outstanding. Already in life he was outstanding as a scientist; and his exceptional brainsszzZZ still makes the difference.

As for why the survivors have not met more smart zombs: This is actually the same number-issue as with normal zeehs: at the time of the zombocalypse
LA had roughly 3 to 3.5 million inhabitants and employees in town. But there were no more then a couple of thousands of zombs right from the beginning, because mostly them zeehs did kill their victims, and only few made it to become zeehs. Also it is safe to assume that police and military services might have killed at least some of them zeehs in the beginning. Just remember how deserted the streets were already when Michael, Angel, and Saul left the base in order to get to the Tower. That was like hours after zombocalypse struck; and in a place with hundreds of thousands up to millions of potential zeehs this should be striking. And the deserted streets and random encounters with zeehs was and is pretty much the rule in the WA Story; this would only change, when the survivors have come very close to certain spots - the Arena and the Hospital, that's it. Considering these rough estimates I tend to assume that the fraction of smart ones within the number of all zombs might be similar low as with the number of really smart people in the average human society.

So still: these are simplifying assessments mostly based in what we actually know from the show. That's why I still lean towards Ink and his zombs adapting towards a major change in the ecology rather than having started it all. I may be wrong, though.

And all this with the tiny iPhone display ...

Best wishes!
Liam

edit:
P.S.: I remember Kc having mentioned something along this line on the WA Fancast - it all started at Ground Zero, and because none survived at what happened there it will remain a mystery how exactly it all started. I think this leaves some room for speculations whether Ink has started the Ground Zero situation, or someone/-thing else. Against Ink is to be mentioned: at the time Ground Zero happened Ink was in custody already for some time - at least enough time for having received the tatoos in jail; so whatever happened there at Ground Zero, Ink must have had some people assisting him doing so. So - is he kind of a a leader terrorist, a cultist, or a solitary madman?

You have a great point, but I don't think becasue you are smart it makes you alpha, I think in the Jail it would have made it hard for him to dominate. ya he killed people before he went to jail but it does not make him Alpha to me. thats why I think that he has the answeres to how the Z's can obey him. He has even made new ones. And in a short spand of time, think about how the tower saw him right away and Datu saw him in the Arena. So how could he have dominated all the Z's by bieng alpha and creating new ones. Seems like a short spand of time to me for him to do all that, I might be totally wrong but its just what I think. between all that Riley also saw him in the hospital and he has been busy attacking the people from the tower. Also I question how quick he turned in the van. what do you think? I think that he turned a little to quick, when other people have turned slow. Again I agree whith part of the stuff you said and some of the stuff I didnt think about. But the two things I said earlier, I just dont know why he would control everybody by bieng alpha. To me being alpha is like lions, the stongest and the best fighters. It is human nature that the fittest survive I think they see him more as there creator! and thats why I think like that.

[Jannit]

Still catching up on some missed posts but wanted to hop in and offer another piece of trivia that might support the idea that Ink has been working towards this plan prior to the actual outbreak.

In Chapter 1, part 1 the zombies are described as being scarred and bruised. If it were only random people being attacked on the spot, it seems unlikely that they'd all be described as scarred given the time required for scars to form. Pardon the for a moment but hear me out. What if a faction were working towards the apocalypse and managed to turn a bunch of test subjects to carry the infection to the people in the major centers? If this were the case, it could explain how so many areas were hit at once plus it would account for the scars on the initial zombies. If this were a pre-planned event and Ink was a collaborator, the tattoos could have been part of the initial planning and have significance from that regard. Who knows, it could be a bunch of nihilists that got together and decided enough was enough.

[scbubba]

Still catching up on some missed posts but wanted to hop in and offer another piece of trivia that might support the idea that Ink has been working towards this plan prior to the actual outbreak.

In Chapter 1, part 1 the zombies are described as being scarred and bruised. If it were only random people being attacked on the spot, it seems unlikely that they'd all be described as scarred given the time required for scars to form. Pardon the for a moment but hear me out. What if a faction were working towards the apocalypse and managed to turn a bunch of test subjects to carry the infection to the people in the major centers? If this were the case, it could explain how so many areas were hit at once plus it would account for the scars on the initial zombies. If this were a pre-planned event and Ink was a collaborator, the tattoos could have been part of the initial planning and have significance from that regard. Who knows, it could be a bunch of nihilists that got together and decided enough was enough.

Good thoughts. I've been bothered by the "burned and scarred" description for a while.

Thinking about it now I'm wondering, would there be a particular population that might be scarred already that could have been turned quickly? The jail and prison jump to mind but I'm not thinking that inmates/prisoners would have that many more noticeable scars than the average population.

Hmm... the only other thing I can come up with off the cuff might be a particular ward/unit in a hospital. Perhaps the burn unit? They are usually kept separate from the other populations in the hospital, I think, due to a high risk of infection in burn victims (someone who knows more about this please jump in here). Maybe it was meant to infer Ink working out of the hospital at that point in the story?

[Jannit]

Good thoughts. I've been bothered by the "burned and scarred" description for a while.

Thinking about it now I'm wondering, would there be a particular population that might be scarred already that could have been turned quickly? The jail and prison jump to mind but I'm not thinking that inmates/prisoners would have that many more noticeable scars than the average population.

Hmm... the only other thing I can come up with off the cuff might be a particular ward/unit in a hospital. Perhaps the burn unit? They are usually kept separate from the other populations in the hospital, I think, due to a high risk of infection in burn victims (someone who knows more about this please jump in here). Maybe it was meant to infer Ink working out of the hospital at that point in the story?

If they did come from a place like a hospital or prison, it seems likely to me that they'd all be wearing the same clothes. The only similar characteristics mentioned was the scars and bruises. I went back to double check the description and this is how Michael describes them on the freeway:

"The first time I saw 'em, I froze. Something inside of me told me not to move. The group of them moved past my car to the man honking behind me. Their bodies were littered with scars and bruises and their eyes were glazed over. The news made it sound like people gone mad but the way they moved made me think these may not be people at all."

[UndeadSweeper]

Good thoughts. I've been bothered by the "burned and scarred" description for a while.

Thinking about it now I'm wondering, would there be a particular population that might be scarred already that could have been turned quickly? The jail and prison jump to mind but I'm not thinking that inmates/prisoners would have that many more noticeable scars than the average population.

Hmm... the only other thing I can come up with off the cuff might be a particular ward/unit in a hospital. Perhaps the burn unit? They are usually kept separate from the other populations in the hospital, I think, due to a high risk of infection in burn victims (someone who knows more about this please jump in here). Maybe it was meant to infer Ink working out of the hospital at that point in the story?

Burn victim, would that include Angel? Then he should had been high risk of infection but he stay the same.

[scbubba]

Burn victim, would that include Angel? Then he should had been high risk of infection but he stay the same.

I wasn't implying that they would turn first or fastest. Just that they could have been isolated form the rest of the hospital population.

Looking at the exact reference that Jannit posted I now recall that it was in 1-1 so there wouldn't have been an Ink operating from the hospital timeline yet, I think. I was thinking that the scarred and burned reference was from later when Randy grabbed Tanya....

As for Angel, well I guess he could have been a slow turner.... But Scratch never gave us the chance to find out.

[alexcadtek]

This is a great point by Jannit Becasue I do not recall but if you guys do let me know. I dont remember tanya saying that the girl they had in the morg had any scars or bruising.
Very good point!

[Grognaurd]

Yes, the scar reference is interesting. It does not sound like the normal populace and may imply test subjects. To add another bit of the obscure, Angel says that the mental hospital is not far from here and we might have been brought in to take them down.

This is so wrong on so many levels. Calling in the reserve units to conduct local law enforcement for a menal health problem. No Way! I can just let it slide to get the characters together and start the story with a bit of foreshadowing. OK, but real life, no way. However, it does sound like something a Family Cult might do in real life. Sounds like the mafia calling in some toughs to solve a problem with violence.

Tanya does not reference bruising and scaring, but she does make an interesting statement about supposed self-inflicted wounds. I take that to mean tht the Little ones bleed themselves to get blood under the nails. It is much easier to spread the disease with a scratch then a bite.

[Jannit]

I just noticed something on the art for the finale and apologies if this has been said elsewhere. While there are more of the symbols we've already seen as well as a few new-ish ones that I need to add to the wiki one thing really stood out. It looks like Ink is holding the strings to the various marionettes included in the picture. Seems like another mark in favor of him being the puppet master.

Any guesses on what the apparent x-ray quality of his arms in the picture indicates?