The Future of Yeerks

[yunie1281.livejournal.com]

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?

Comments

This got a lot longer than I'd intended...is my Poli Sci major showing? :P 2/2

[nyxelestia.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of ways to handle Yeerks - create an Iskoort system for them, voluntary hosts (total and timeshares), straight-up kicking them off the planet, artificial environments, returning them to their environment, ect...most likely, after the war, a combination of all of the above would have to have been enforced for any kind of humane functionality.

That said, you do have a point - for all that the U.S. masquerades as the land of liberty and freedom, our State is damn controlling at times, and at the top of a slippery slope into totalitarianism. They absolutely would try to forbid voluntary Yeerks/Controllers. The question is, will it do anything? The U.S. has a long track record with failure in limiting victimless crimes - i.e. alcohol (prohibition), drugs (War on Drugs), and prostitution (Nevada may be the only place where it's legal, but that's certainly not the only place it's happening - quite frankly I knew girls in my rural junior high school in Oregon on that track who probably didn't even know that it was illegal, and not just 'against the rules'). Controllers will still be around, it's just a question of if they truly are Voluntary (not as much), and what the side effects of their presence are.

Not to mention - how involved are Andalites and other species with humanity, now? It's been a long time since I've read 54, so I may be remembering it incorrectly/may be remembering the fanon, but it said Andalites started coming to Earth for our Cinnabons, right? What's the American government going to do in the face of that? What kind of technologies are the Andalites going to bring with them, and how much are humans going to get, legally and otherwise? Like, seriously, how is that going to effect our economy? Our religions? Our cultures?

Any new culture clashing into another one headlong, even without colonization or war, creates havoc, at least in human history. An entire new species, or even several? With a sudden and rapid change in technology and interaction? Cultures have changed massively in the last decade or two just because people can instantaneously communicate with each other from around the world - it still takes a day or two to actually get there. But what if suddenly we had access to interstellar travel? My father (who I live in Los Angeles with) would go from having to teleconference with colleagues in China and India and Europe to actually going there himself, and still be back home in time for dinner. How would this effect immigration on Earth? Humans are a rather territorial species. How are we going to enforce not letting people into the Country Next Door when they can hope over to the moon and back as part of a daily commute?

In other words, after the war, there will have been a lot of Total Chaos that got glossed over in the books. I'd be willing to buy the "they were for kids!" excuse, except I'm pretty sure Avatar: The Last Airbender has an even younger target demographic and they are diving headfirst into these kinds of complications with success, so now I'm a lot more hesitant about that sort of thing. That said it was the 90's... With this kind of Total Chaos, one has to consider a.) what everyone will try to do about it, and b.) what will actually happen. In any government (but especially America's) there is a gigantic difference between the two, and that gap would only grow in a post-Alien-War Earth.

Re: This got a lot longer than I'd intended...is my Poli Sci major showing? :P 2/2

[yunie1281.livejournal.com]

Not to mention - how involved are Andalites and other species with humanity, now? Apparently all Taxxons become snakes and the Hork-Bajir stay in their national forest preserve. We don't know what happens to the Yeerks but Andalites do trade technology for food and visit all the time. Still, Andalites all *hate* Yeerks and will be quite vocal about it so I don't think that their presence will make people feel more kindly towards Yeerks. If anything, the stories that the Andalites will tell would make people view Yeerks worse.

[starsong24.livejournal.com]

Upon re-reading the bit about the Hork-Bajir having their forest reserve, my first thought was: "Well, I bet that cut down on illegal logging."

My brain is weird sometimes...

I'd be willing to bet that some nothlit Yeerks took up positions that were helpful to humans, though. (E.g. search-and-rescue for hikers, feral dog control in Moscow, border patrols, rabbit hunting in Australia, etc.) That would make humans a bit more favourable towards Yeerks in general.