Chapter 47-1 The Lion's Den

[Kc]

This is what I was thinking when I heard Tanya getting all defensive. When did she become a zombie sympathizer? IF this ends with Micheal saying "They are just looking for a place to live" alal the Day of the Dead remake rrrrr...

Just to try and clear the air of this, as it's come up a few times, Tanya isn't saying they aren't aggressive or hostile, just that the actions of our protagonists have escalated the problem. She's saying their actions directly correlate with the enhancement of their enemy.

Is that their fault? That's up to you. I have my answer, but I might keep that to me for now. But, think about this... those "enhancements" and creation of the little ones, were directly responsible for the fall of Boulder.

[Jannit]

On the idea that the special ones only came from the areas with the highest concentration of gas: I don't really dig it. There could be other factors at play as well. Where is that location in relation to people who could have become smart ones? If it's close to the university, hospital, office buildings, etc. there could be other reasons for those ones being smart and/or special other than just the gas.

If smart people become smart zombies, wouldn't it make some sort of sense for strong or fast people to become extra strong or fast zombies? Maybe that's where the runners and jumpers came from.

[Jannit]

Guys, I went back to look at Inglewood in a bit more detail and noticed one of the first mentions on Wikipedia is that there are Hot Springs where Eward Vincent Jr. Park is now. If there are hot springs in the area it lends credence to the theory that the gas could be a natural subtonic phenomena. This could also explain why the gas shows up in other areas of the city in that the other tunnels the zombies are using could be tapping into the same under ground tunnel or water system.

I just wanted to throw this out there as I don't remember off hand if anyone had made note of it before. My theory crafting time is going to be limited for the next few weeks so hopefully someone can get some use out of this.

[Litmaster]

And for those people saying Saul made it, keep in mind they still have a bomb to deliver down a tunnel. Who's the best candidate to sneak into the enemy base on a suicide mission? Someone with a fresh bite and a protection symbol scratched into his face? Michael didn't sound too confident that kodi could get by the zombies.

Fuck that, then just break out some paint brushes and plaster that protection symbol all over KODI!

[Grognaurd]

Here is some more real life stuff from that area... I wrote about it way back when, between seasons and I occasionally just reference "Fracking in Ingelwood". I do not mean do the Battlestar Galactica wild thing, fracking is real life process of pumping stuff down into old oil fields to get more of the good stuff out.

Pulled and edited from an old newspaper article...


On January 10, 2006, fracking at the Inglewood Oil Field released a cloud of fumes so toxic that residents of Baldwin Hills and Culver City were forced to evacuate their homes.

The Inglewood Oil Field in Baldwin Hills is the largest urban oilfield in the nation -- more than one million people live within five miles of the site -- and it sits atop a fault line capable of 7.4 magnitude earthquake. Drilling at the Inglewood Oil Field dates back to 1926, but the oil reserves were thought to be sucked dry ... until 2004, when PXP got the greenlight to drill three new wells.

[Gnex]

Fuck that, then just break out some paint brushes and plaster that protection symbol all over KODI!

exactly!!!! paint KODI up with the protection symbol and then sit him out in the open and yell "HELP!!! HELP ME!!!!" on the Radio........ Sit back and watch the Zombies come running up for a snack and then stop when they see the symbol....... then when they walk off yell Help again so they run back and forth....... just keep doing that until their heads explode from confusion!!!

[Jannit]

My only problem with the fracking angle is it's not something that would necessarily occur on a large enough scale world-wide to cause the apocalypse. I guess I like the idea of hot springs since they're naturally ocurring and water is much more common than oil. If there were a way for the virus/pathogen to spread in the ground water that'd explain how the entire world was affected all at once. At least that's how it plays out in my mind.

[Grognaurd]

That is the crux of the issue. I cannot think of a natural phenomena that happens in so many places at once. Mother Nature is more random and does not communicate over global distances in very short periods of time. That brings up intent. If there is intent, there is a conspiracy. Topside people? They are the only ones we know about, but why would anyone pull the trigger on this? Killing 6.5 billion people has gotta be hard on the karma.

An under-Earth intelligence? They get pissed off at us stealing all their dinosaur Kimche that they have stored away to eat later ( oil ) but, now we are fracking, we are not just stealing their food, we are flooding their tunnels with crap. So they attack. I do not think the story will play out his way. I am just stating that I have been looking at so many possibilities.

This also does not jive with ones that are littered with scars and bruises that Michael sees initially. If they contribute to the outbreak, we are then back to conspiracy, because people have to turn them lose in a number of cities.

If it is a gas, why would a scratch from a little one turn Amy in the attack of the colony? We can put something in the blood and have the little ones scratch themselves to get blood underneath their finger nails. But a gas? It could be a virus. Many virus and small bacteria can be next to impossible to see under a standard light microscope unless very strict staining protocols are used.

[Eviebae]

Just to try and clear the air of this, as it's come up a few times, Tanya isn't saying they aren't aggressive or hostile, just that the actions of our protagonists have escalated the problem. She's saying their actions directly correlate with the enhancement of their enemy.

Is that their fault? That's up to you. I have my answer, but I might keep that to me for now. But, think about this... those "enhancements" and creation of the little ones, were directly responsible for the fall of Boulder.

Is your point that an enemy isn't simply a villain who exists in order to be destroyed? The more you try to destroy a group, the more likely they are to respond in kind because they aren't cardboard cutouts providing you with an opportunity to win?

Humans tend to get caught up in false dichotomies and that's when you get the intractable foe and the unwin-able argument. We must win this way on that type of battlefield. Still, in this instance you'd never have a clearer example of one group's need to completely wipe out another. Co-existence isn't really an option. Maybe that's part of the appeal to the genre. No pesky ethical concerns.

Someone once said to me that every problem starts out as a solution to another problem. For instance, you try to save lives using medicines and end up creating a problematic pharmaceutical industry. I guess that's why Attila the Hun made it a point to only leave people shorter than a wagon wheel--less blow-back.

[Jannit]

All good questions, Grog! This story keeps me going in endless circles like some kind of crazy infinity loop which is part of the appeal. I'm almost dreading finding out how it all ends and getting my questions answered just because the chase has been so much fun.