Chapter 43-3: The Darkness Ahead

[kent17]

Why would Scratch go after them? Lizzy is probably the last person she would want to cause harm to. She still has a bit humanity in her.

Scrathc doesn't care about Lizzy, she just wants the baby that she could never have...

[UndeadSweeper]

Scrathc doesn't care about Lizzy, she just wants the baby that she could never have...

From the conversation they had in the colony it seem that she did. If it wasn't for Scratch Lizzy would have gotten the same treatment as everyone else. Remember that the Mallers brought slave labor with them.

[Verse]

From the conversation they had in the colony it seem that she did. If it wasn't for Scratch Lizzy would have gotten the same treatment as everyone else. Remember that the Mallers brought slave labor with them.

I think that Scratch wouldn't give a shit about Lizzy the person. Lizzy the Mother on the other hand is a different matter. If Lizzy wasn't with Child then Scratch would have tossed her to the wolves. She was preggers though and will be a Mother soon. So I am think Undead is right. She would leave Lizzy alone.

[Red Shirt]

Hi all. Awesome stuff up there @Red Shirt!

Some key things that stood out to me on initial listening to this episode:

- Datu's "taking a backseat" experience

I have been wracking my brain since that came up and I think I have finally come up with (part of) what I was trying to remember:

Depersonalization disorder, a mental condition in which the sufferer experiences persistent or recurrent feelings of depersonalization and/or derealization.
Depersonalization seems to be the key here, as it's symptoms are described as:

An anomaly of self-awareness. It consists of a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a situation. Subjects feel they have changed, and the world has become vague, dreamlike, less real, or lacking in significance. It can be a disturbing experience, since many feel that, indeed, they are living in a "dream".

Though I am not a neurologist, it seems to be largely caused in the temporal lobe of the brain. Given the position of the temporal lobe within the brain in relation to the parts of the brain that govern higher functions and the parts that regulate instinctual functions... the theory that the Z-Virus disconnects higher functions from instinct makes quite a bit of sense. I think the disconnect point is near the temporal lobe. It seems that depersonalization isn't a secondary symptom, it might be a direct symptom, as it seems that this is the region that is being attacked.

We need Dr. Novella even more than ever. Things of this nature have been discussed on the SGU. One other that was discussed that I can't recall at the moment, is a similar disorder where one seemingly disconnects from the physical self and loses the ability to discern the difference between self and the outside world. If I remember it, I'll mention it here.

[UndeadSweeper]

I have been wracking my brain since that came up and I think I have finally come up with (part of) what I was trying to remember:

Depersonalization disorder, a mental condition in which the sufferer experiences persistent or recurrent feelings of depersonalization and/or derealization.
Depersonalization seems to be the key here, as it's symptoms are described as:



Though I am not a neurologist, it seems to be largely caused in the temporal lobe of the brain. Given the position of the temporal lobe within the brain in relation to the parts of the brain that govern higher functions and the parts that regulate instinctual functions... the theory that the Z-Virus disconnects higher functions from instinct makes quite a bit of sense. I think the disconnect point is near the temporal lobe. It seems that depersonalization isn't a secondary symptom, it might be a direct symptom, as it seems that this is the region that is being attacked.

We need Dr. Novella even more than ever. Things of this nature have been discussed on the SGU. One other that was discussed that I can't recall at the moment, is a similar disorder where one seemingly disconnects from the physical self and loses the ability to discern the difference between self and the outside world. If I remember it, I'll mention it here.

Could it be compare to being in a coma state, where you are aware of everything that around but unable to move or said anything?

[a person]

Not tunnels, but a storage cave!

It seems to me that the biggest threat the zeds face is starvation, a problem not easily resolved. What if Ink is directing them into a giant cavern for storage? He could have inscribed the "Enter"/"Address" command at various locations around the city to direct the scattered zeds towards a single location. In this very discrete hiding place, they could safely hibernate and be easily managed. Over time, humans and animals would return to the area and the food supply would be replenished. Then, when Ink is ready...BAM, a second outbreak. During this waiting period he could also quietly continue experimentation; the humans who believed that they had solved the zed problem would be confronted with a host of new and deadly variations. I imagine the zeds keep very well, and don't get bored with the whole playing dead thing (haha...).

Note: This has probably already been said, I don't keep up with the forum very well

[Red Shirt]

Could it be compare to being in a coma state, where you are aware of everything that around but unable to move or said anything?

Not quite, in a coma as they are thus far understood, the patient is unconscious and without discernible brain function. In the case of depersonalization, the person suffering is "awake" but may feel like they are in a dreamlike state and like they are watching themselves as an observer, rather than a participant in the actions they are taking.

Another seemingly related affliction is Locked in Syndrome. This is where the person suffering has lost all voluntary motor control, yet retains all of their higher brain function. LIS can be simulated with Curare poisoning, which when I followed that down the wiki hole, led me to D-tubocurarine, yet another complex carbon ring molecule.

Following on the click throughs, I was also led to Akinetic Mutism. This is a mental state where the sufferer exhibits symptoms that mirror those of LIS, but to a lesser degree. It has been described as "lacking the will to move." Many cases of AM are caused by a stroke originating in the Thalamus, the region of the brain I was trying to remember above. The thalamus is described as being the "central switchboard" and a relay between subcortical areas and the cerebral cortex. Zombification changes in the brain are probably most evident and/or centered here... "...the only test is an autopsy."

[UndeadSweeper]

Not quite, in a coma as they are thus far understood, the patient is unconscious and without discernible brain function. In the case of depersonalization, the person suffering is "awake" but may feel like they are in a dreamlike state and like they are watching themselves as an observer, rather than a participant in the actions they are taking.

Another seemingly related affliction is Locked in Syndrome. This is where the person suffering has lost all voluntary motor control, yet retains all of their higher brain function. LIS can be simulated with Curare poisoning, which when I followed that down the wiki hole, led me to D-tubocurarine, yet another complex carbon ring molecule.

Following on the click throughs, I was also led to Akinetic Mutism. This is a mental state where the sufferer exhibits symptoms that mirror those of LIS, but to a lesser degree. It has been described as "lacking the will to move." Many cases of AM are caused by a stroke originating in the Thalamus, the region of the brain I was trying to remember above. The thalamus is described as being the "central switchboard" and a relay between subcortical areas and the cerebral cortex. Zombification changes in the brain are probably most evident and/or centered here... "...the only test is an autopsy."

Are you sure you are red shirt? You sound like a blue shirt to me. '

[scbubba]

Are you sure you are red shirt? You sound like a blue shirt to me. '

Dammit Jim! I'm a Red Shirt not a doctor!

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

Dammit Jim! I'm a Red Shirt not a doctor!

You know you are in trouble when somebody orders you to change your uniform from yellow to red.



Or, let's go back from ST:ATL to ST:TOS.