I could see that. But then I could also see it being a literal atom bomb. That she can set off if they come without her permission.
We know that agency is out the window when it comes to direct transmission. But if the intended “benefactor” of a transmission has expressed suicidal ideation, with the means to do it, if they so much as approach her, what wins out? Is it enough like the intermediate step of stem cell extraction that they can’t cross the boundary without consent, or is it still fair game?
The village girl at the beginning - the Others used her DNA to synthesize the smoke, right? I have visions of crop dusters chasing Carol around once they figure out her eggs.
Sure. They can try whatever they want (or can they?) and if she’s clever about how the bomb has been rigged to go off (if it is in fact a bomb), she can ensure that even if she is infected, it’s not for long.
But I think the bigger question—if it is a bomb—is whether a “suicide pact” is enough of an agency-inhibitor that it overrides Their ability to infect her. Because they would be causing her death if they dare try and get close enough to do anything.
Anyway, I felt validated seeing the entire village up and leave once they coaxed the last inhabitant into drinking the flavor-aid. There really is no need for Them to remain in remote areas, except to the extent they might be plentiful in windfalls (and it didn’t look like that village in the mountains would be), and thus no need to ship food to such remote areas.
It’s also fitting, I suppose, that (presumably the first of) the voluntarily infected was in a small, remote community where one can imagine communal life (a sort of collective of its own) was already deeply ingrained. So drinking the flavor-aid (or inhaling the mist) was just growing closer to the community. Something that might have been viewed as virtuous and/or desirable even before the infection.
Thinking more about the atom bomb – assuming it is an actual atom bomb, I was trying to figure out why Carol would want it. If it’s just for a suicide pact, it seems like overkill – I think another hand grenade would do the job just as well. I’m wondering if it’s more symbolic. Carol knows she’s prone to loneliness and susceptible to their (Zosia’s in particular) charms. Now if she ever feels like trying to get them back, she can look out at her driveway and remember that they gave her a freaking atom bomb just because she asked for one. It’s like a visual cold shower.
I’m entertained by the juxtaposition of rigidity in morals. The other will give Carol an atom bomb, and can’t lie even in pursuit of their primary objective. Manuouso’s refuses to break into one of the many Spanish language bookstores in Albuquerque to steal some Spanish electronics books, and instead gets some English ones from the library.
This was the last spoiler I read, and I got up at 6 AM to watch it. And of course, that whole opening sequence made me think they were going to ignite one.
“Perhaps?”
A real modern-day atom bomb is about the size of (forget her name) sniffed to join. Manu knows or will soon find out that the contents of that container is the exact gear he’ll need. Where they got it, I’ve no idea. Why Zosia retrieved and delivered it might mean she is giving Carol (and to extend the idea - perhaps the entirety of Plurbtiness which so far doesn’t seem blissful at all, despite the smiles) a fighting chance. I mean, did Carol tell Zosia, " Let’s load up a container with electronic stuff, because that will make Manu happy?" It damn well ought to.
Of course, it’s a bunch of electronic equipment. The contents of a Radio Shack poured into a container box. I’m not sure how Carol knew what Manuosos was up to. Yet he brought his own handheld HAM, and after the shotgun blast, she somehow got the idea that Manu is a tech geek with a solution in mind: Monitor that frequency, broadcast something on it. I dunno how many more “rages” he’ll have to inflict, yet if he can gain more information - indeed bring someone “back” it’s worth 10 million lives. I’m not sure he understood Carol telling him, “You don’t know how many people you just killed,” yet let’s assume he explained what he was trying to do and the kind of tech he would need.
That box is big enough to contain an antenna that can reach the entire planet.
Zosia knows the chemicals that make her happy. Yet so far, no one has praised the Great Satellite or whatever is broadcasting on that frequency.
Carol’s last words, “Atom Bomb,” meant go ahead, find a way to bring them back or kill them all, as 2-3 months till Plurbing without her consent just will not do.
I think he just screamed at him. My question is, given that he’s done everything to avoid contact with them, how did he know that screaming at them would have that effect? Did Carol explain it in one of her videos? I can’t remember.
Same thing. He was screaming at them to trigger a (worldwide) seizure on purpose to get data for an experiment. He ultimately gained evidence that the radio frequency he picked out has something to do with their interpersonal communication system. Although merely pleading for the host to “come back” was obviously not enough.
They have Carol’s eggs. I think it would be wise to presume they have Manousos’s stem cells as well, from when he was in the hospital. They will have a running clock for next season - fix everything in a month or two.
FWIW, I think the imperative does have to apply to the unconscious as well. Otherwise, the solution would be cartoonishly simple: just wait until an individual immune is asleep, then gas them with a general anesthesia and go from there.
I don’t think he was trying for a worldwide seizure. Unlike Carol, he didn’t know that what they do to one person affects everyone else. I think he just wanted to see if he could reverse the Joining on that one person.
It may not matter from a story perspective - all that matters is do the characters believe it? Manousos is paranoid enough that I’m guessing he will presume it one Carol explains that they have her eggs.
I think he did know, because Zosia already told him everything. Everything. Plus, it would be odd for her to tell him “yelling at us in a rage causes a seizure” but not “yelling at us in a rage causes all of us to have a seizure.” And they clearly did tell him the former at least, as indicated by his warning to them it was about to happen (and the fact he gave them time enough for Zosia et al to lay down further suggests he expected a global result, as otherwise his direct victim was already on the couch).
I noticed that Carol didn’t ask Zosia if her former spouse/lover/whatever was a man or a woman. I assume Carol realized that absent the Joining, Zosia might not be interested.