Sorry to flip the discussion so abruptly, but I noticed something disturbing when I first listened to
Chapter 48.
Michael had just mentioned the petroglyph found in New Mexico and how archeologists originally thought it was a warning about steep drops, but it turned out to serve another purpose altogether. (46:30-48:50) He goes on to describe
Tanya's theory of the outbreak then says that people no longer talk about that anymore.
"Everyone is focused more on where we are now, rather than why it started." They are ALREADY beginning to forget the cause of the outbreak
Sorry to shamelessly quote myself, but this is the ONLY prediction that I can remember getting somewhat right in the entire series.
They have a symbol that they can use to protect themselves.
When they begin to rebuild, they know why they are using the symbol and what it does.
Now the symbol has been incorporated into a flag.
They lose interest in the origin of the outbreak.
Later they will lose understanding of the meaning and purpose of the symbol. As with many symbols in human history the original meaning and purpose begins to change, evolve.
When
Puck quizzes the new recruits, we see the beginning of the symbol's transformation. (57:00) Nicholas explains the different parts of the armband, then Puck explains how much it should be revered. Nicholas' explanation of the black markings (The original symbol) is that it means protection from the threat outside. This is a concept that has been distilled into something vague. What happens when or if the threat outside is no longer the zombies? CJ already said that there are unfriendly groups. The symbol could easily evolve into a tribal, mythological or religious symbol, removed from its original purpose. We see now that the survivors are losing sight of the events leading to the outbreak, the discovery of the tools they can use to fight back and they brushing off the work and ideas of the prophet/oracle who figured it all out, Tanya.
Right now, perhaps billions of zombies are burrowing underground to die off and produce more gas to inflict another unsuspecting civilization far into the future. They might likely be caught off guard like the ones in We're Alive.
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