animorphslj | The Future of Yeerks

One of the many, many things that 54 never got into was what really happened to the Yeerks at the end of the war.

We know that those on Earth have the opportunity to become nothlits but I can't imagine that all of them wanted to. And what happened to them?

Were they forced to leave Earth? Were little Yeerk pools built to accomodate them? Were they allowed to take voluntary hosts?

Personally, I always imagined that they became nothlits or were booted off the planet. Once the war is over they aren't really in a position to force their presence anymore and I can easily see Congress or the President or the Supreme Court (or all of them) outlawing Controllers and then none of the other countries really wanting to be the one to accept Yeerks after what happened and given that they had an alternative.

America is a country where the government can tell you you're not allowed to ingest certain products, you must wear a seat belt, you are not allowed to sleep with or marry certain people, you are not allowed to have contact with certain people, you must attend school until a certain age, you must give some of your money to the government...It doesn't feel like I live in a very controlling country but then sometimes it occurs to me that if I wanted to take my life in my hands and not wear a seat belt then it really shouldn't be anybody else's business.

Would a country that forces you to wear a seat belt (at least in certain states) really allow people to share their bodies? Even if it isn't the governments business, they will make it their business and take a stance.

And I can't even find myself disagreeing with them. On the hand, people should have the right to do what they want as long as it isn't hurting others but on the other...the idea just freaks me out. I don't think I'd be able to handle talking to somebody if I knew they were a voluntary Controller. If they just switched in a conversation...creepy. And even if it would only be a few people at the start, it seems like in a few generations *everybody* would be doing it. It would be as if the Animorphs lost the war and over time the Yeerk Peace Movement spread across the Empire.

And then there's the huge potential for abuse. Sure the Yeerk is *supposed* to not control you when you don't want to be controlled but at the end of the day it's the one with the power and is allowing the time-share. If you two disagree, who wins? The Yeerk...unless it lets you win. What if it wants you to do something "for your own good"? Even if it really is for your own good, that still seems too much. Or maybe it's going to force you to do something horrible and there's nothing you can do.

Sure at that point when you went in for a feeding you could complain and get rid of the Yeerk but the damage is still done. And what if they find a way to access a Kandrona at a non-approved place and you don't get the chance? There could be secret involuntary Controllers around. And given enough time...who knows? It may be unlikely but just that possibility is too much for me. Plus it's not like infesting others is their only choice anymore and if they'd miss their hosts then there's nothing stopping them from spending all of their time with their former hosts once they become nothlits.

I just don't really see constant companionship as a plus and all of the other so-called benefits don't seem to outweigh the risks.

So that's my take on what happens after the war ends and I've yet to find someone who agrees with it but that's okay. I'm used to having strange opinions.

Other thoughts on the future of the Yeerks?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't think the Andalites really gave a crap about the Yeerks tbh.

Overall? Hells yes.

Hells yes they did or hells yes they didn't?

Also, I should probably actually cite the post and the user I got that opinion from. (Yes, I am a Bad Historian. D:)
By the way, this post is talking about why the Andalites didn't just 'dissolve' the Yeerks via a Quantum Virus.

http://animorphsfanforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2822

by capnnerefir » Fri Jul 29, 2011 11:46 am
From this, we can conclude that the Andalite high-command didn't give half a tail-shake what happened to anyone but the Andalites (unless, of course, they got caught).

So, for that reason, I think that any objection raised on moral grounds is invalid in this situation, since that wouldn't factor into the thoughts of the War Council. While the average Andalite would probably be appalled (as they were with the Hork-bajir incident), the ones making the call would be more than happy to scratch off the entire Yeerk race. Genocide would be a-okay by them.

---

So, basically the Andalite higher-ups would've wanted the Yeerks dead, and to hell with any of those who happened to be peaceful or unwilling.

So if they don't care about anyone but the Andalites and they don't give a damn about the Yeerks, would they still want to make sure that the Yeerks aren't around infesting willing people and maybe one day rising up and striking back at the Andalites when they least expect it? Because I doubt they'd trust the humans to have it under control.

I can definitely see them refusing to allow anything but nothlits (and even then making it difficult whenever they could and not allowing anyone but the specific Yeerks on Earth the deal included to be made nothlits) out of vengeance if nothing else. They're big on vengeance.

And they haven't trusted anyone at all with anything since Seerow.

Oh wait, yeah, good point. I realise my previous post was unrelated, because the Andalites weren't trying to exterminate the Yeerks in 54, they were trying to stop their invasion of Earth. They wanted all the Yeerks dealt with, is probably more accurate. But anyway, I agree. I can’t see them just... leaving humans to deal with the remaining Yeerks by themselves.

This is a guess, but maybe there's a sense of race-guilt about the Yeerk invasion that won’t allow the Andalites to consider alternatives? Like, "We screwed up with Seerow's Kindness, now we need to fix this whole invasion before it gets out of hand.”
There's a lot of history there, and strong resentment on both sides, that IMO doesn't allow the Yeerk/Andalite relationship to be anything but that of sworn enemies. I think a lot of Andalites would've been brainwashed into an anti-Yeerk mindset because of that (and vice versa).
If Andalites (as a society) had acknowledged that Yeerks were an intelligent, sentient race who were capable of peaceful coexistence, compassion, etc., it would've needed the Andalites to step back and admit that hey, Yeerks might actually have some reason for infesting other species. I think it was much easier to other (”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other”) the Yeerks, like “OMG they’re evil technology-stealing parasites who’re trying to take over the world!”, than try to understand their motives. Of course, as people have pointed out on TV Tropes, the Yeerks could’ve handled their conquest very differently and much less antagonistically. I like nyxelestia's suggestion of Iskoort-type symbiosis, for example.

Following on from that, I can't see the military Andalites (whom I imagine would be very conservative, much like military leaders on Earth), embracing the idea of voluntary hosts. They'd see it as a horrible fate because they themselves wouldn't be able to bear the idea of being Controllers. So their mindset would be "All Yeerks are bad, they need to be dealt with as efficiently as possible." I don't even know if it crossed their minds that some Yeerks and humans might be okay with voluntary hosting. Or if it did, they didn't care. Obviously that sucks for the Yeerks as a whole, but… these are Andalites we're talking about.
Does canon say how much impact the Animorphs had in deciding what happened to the Yeerks?

And they haven't trusted anyone at all with anything since Seerow.

I don’t know that Seerow had much to do with it… I think that law about Seerow’s Kindness was more to do with not passing on state secrets/classified technology. And maybe they loosened up a bit, because according to Wikipedia they href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beginning_(Animorphs)”> gave humans a single Escafil device against terrorism.

Edited 2012-05-03 01:59 (UTC)

If Andalites (as a society) had acknowledged that Yeerks were an intelligent, sentient race who were capable of peaceful coexistence, compassion, etc., it would've needed the Andalites to step back and admit that hey, Yeerks might actually have some reason for infesting other species.

I don't think it would have made much of a difference if they DID acknowledge it. I mean, it might be a bit harder on morale if they all pulled a Cassie and realized that some of the people who sincerely wanted them dead and were enslaving others and aiding in the enslavement of a lot of people were just doing their job and didn't have many options. Still, the Yeerks chosen course of action necessitated resistance so even if they tried to sympathize like Cassie did they'd still need to fight.

I think the whole mess could have been avoided if the Yeerks hadn't jumped the gun and took off with Andalite ships before the morphing technology had been perfected. They had no way of knowing, of course, but it was some really bad timing.

I don’t know that Seerow had much to do with it… I think that law about Seerow’s Kindness was more to do with not passing on state secrets/classified technology. And maybe they loosened up a bit,

I believe Seerow did have a lot to do with it because they either hadn't really shared a lot of technology before or they had and it hadn't blown up in their faces. Even if things went wrong, they had been able to be contained. The Yeerks were the first case that things went wrong and they couldn't fix it and so that started all of their 'never tell anyone anything' policy.

They did start to loosen it, yeah, but I'd say it was a gradual process over the three years that the series continued. There were a couple areas that the Andalites refused to share information on even if whoever was narrating thought that that might change. But sharing technology with a trusted ally race isn't quite the same as trusting said ally race to successfully deal with the species that has been plaguing you for generations all by themselves when they've only recently even realized they weren't alone in the galaxy. Their culture (or at least their military) has gotten extremely paranoid since Seerow's time.

Edited 2012-05-03 04:11 (UTC)

I could definitely see a higher-up making call. Now that, there, would be truely chilling fic -_^

The Future of Yeerks

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