Chapter 46-3 Under Pressure

[Hoff4D]

Well...So THAT happened...

Okay so this episode had three acts to it, so I'll take them one at a time:

Act 1: Pegs and Tanya
So it does seem like the zombies have been around before and created pockets of z-gas underground. Or at least Tanya thinks so. Not much new here, just nice to know we are starting to get on the right track with all this theorizing.

Act 2: Exit Tardust
Well...damn. So it was starting to look like maybe Riley and Burt might pull out of this vengeance cycle and start to return to a bit to sanity but then Burt get the reveal about Lizzy dying dragged out of him, setting things on edge, then Tardust decides to grab the Idiot Ball and run with it. Seriously I always figured Tardust to be a little more thoughtful and deliberate than that. But no, he just had to go and open his mouth....
I can't say Tardust will be missed by any stretch of the imagination, but now Riley and Burt have reached the point of no return. Either this will wake them up and force them to see that their obsession with revenge will be their undoing and give it up, or they'll continue on and it will end up being their undoing.

Act 3: Randy, Saul and the Tunnel 'o Love
Soo...looks like we're gonna get a definitive answer on the whole "Are Saul and Tanya immune?" question, at least for Saul. My guess is Saul's not gonna be effected by the bite and Michael and Vic are gonna end mounting a rescue party. I mean, how else are we gonna get to explore the dark labyrinthine tunnels of zombie horror and intrigue? Who goes on the mission and how do they deal with the gas? I don't know. But I do know that my whole "Release the gas, kill the zombies" theory just pretty much got shot to hell. That hole was belching out gas like crazy and Randy didn't seem to mind one bit.
So I guess I should move on to my next theory: The zombies are using the haze to terraform the earth. Someone else brought up the Doctor Who Episode "Blink" so I'll keep the theme alive by bringing up "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky." Using poison gas to create a new environment for another species to live in. I'm not saying the zombies are alien (although at this point I won't discount anything) but maybe just something primordial that is trying to reclaim the earth and the release of the zombie gas will help them do so by eliminating any threats to their place as the dominant species.

P.S.
The line of the episode: "She'll hug you one day and slit your throat the next. Literally! That actually happened once!"

So...the scent wore off, but Saul smelled different (Or Randy just has different sensory perception than the normal ones, I mean we've already counted him as different in some capacity) and maybe Randy knew, at some level, that biting Saul wouldn't be your run of the mill change. Maybe saul's "Immunity" we've discussed at length isn't necessarily an immunity. Maybe he becomes something different. We know Randy changed into something different, maybe Saul maintains even MORE of his previous consciousness. Randy bites Saul knowing he can save him from this hell he's trapped in. Randy HAS to do things for Ink, things that may include turning others, but Randy knows turning Saul might create a super human, not super zed. Saul comes barreling out of the tunnels holding ink by the back of his neck swatting aside any normals that dare combat him. Plops ol Inky-poo on the operation table and lets momma get after him with her devices, cure the world, everything back to normal. The end.

[Grognaurd]

This speculation right here, this is why I keep coming back.

Thanks, lol, with me around you get two stories. The goodstuff KC writes and the you can smell the crazy on grog's Bizzaro-We're Alive. You do not follow me down the rabbit hole, I go straight to Prarie Dog City where through the looking glass becomes a kaleidoscope.

[Hoff4D]

I still can't help but thinking about what Kalani says about Ground Zero. CJ's convoys encountered strange creatures there. He then lists the specials ones. Now it seems that Ink may be manufacturing the gas; possibly for his experiments.

It's almost like Ink's special creations are made with gas as opposed to bites. This adds legs to him foreseeing the outbreak, possibly building a tolerance to the gas over time.

Haven't finish all the comments yet, but going back to season 1, all the bodies of the fallen were taken back (we assume to the arena)...and we saw piles of bodies (some of us saw them closer then others, angel/riley). Putting that together with knowing that there were different areas for different creatures (Arena for Inklings, the Psych ward or whatever it was for Behemoths) we might just be sorting the dead bodies, waiting for decay/gas and be breeding/spreading the different types as seen fit.

So not only is Ink injecting people to create new types, he's proliferating them through the decaying bodies of the lost ones. An endless army, no?

So primordial Haze = normals, Ink steps in makes smart one, jumping ones...etc, spreads the bodies around and repopulates with the species. Perhaps why he did different expirements at different locations, keep the kinds from intermingling when decaying. Not like Skittles thinks and they're 'bad together', they're just literally told to stay separate.

The only question to me is how Ink came to be. How did he know about the gas? Did he discover it and setup it's 'release' date, did he read some ancient texts about judgement day and used these signs to secure his rise to the top of the new top of the food pyramid? I've supported the jurassic era haze for a long time (see signature) I just wanna know how!

[Jannit]

I've skimmed the pages to try and catch up but, as always, sorry if I'm double posting something that's been said.

The Gas...

CJ said that one person from her tower was exposed to the gas at ground zero and then exhibited changes similar enough to the biters that she shot him. We have already seen multiple exposures to Victor and Pegs as well as Tanya and Saul. I sure hope Michael got a small exposure when rescuing Lizzy in Chapter 2 and has built some antibodies to resist the gas and does not go the way as CJ's person.

If Saul, Michael and a few others go over to Ink's side, who will you route for? Maybe a question of the week for WAFancast?

I like this. By this logic it’s okay for CJ to shoot Pegs.

I still can't help but thinking about what Kalani says about Ground Zero. CJ's convoys encountered strange creatures there. He then lists the specials ones. Now it seems that Ink may be manufacturing the gas; possibly for his experiments.

It's almost like Ink's special creations are made with gas as opposed to bites. This adds legs to him foreseeing the outbreak, possibly building a tolerance to the gas over time.

Or he just has a natural tolerance like Tanya and Saul. I’m very interested to see how Saul changes for this point. It could answer a lot of questions about Ink.

Looks like another Witch Doctor prediction bites the dust. Tardust, that is. So he's not going to help analyze the Z-gas. But he did live long enough to tell Burt the secrets of making biodiesel fuel.

Now for another prediction: There doesn't seem to be a rescue to a civilized safe haven in the future. Now that they can make fuel Burt's firetruck o' death, this story may end with a reboot for humanity.



Now, if they can only get Lady to talk.

Or this is the same thing that happened to the dinosaurs and humans all just die off. Hundreds of thousands of years later the next superior species asks the same question: What happened to the Humans?

I have long thought there is more to Riley than we know. Mainly due to how the story is written. She doesn't put much of her personal stuff into the Journals. Much like Michael for the most part. Saul, Pegs, Lizzy, they all tell you how they feel. They tell you who they hang out with. Riley never did that with her Journals. It is all "Just the facts Ma'am" with her stuff. So we have seen very little of the inner working of her mind. She went to the Hospital prior to the Kulani, Burt, Her, and Angel trip and she never mentioned it before they go there. Just a "Eh. It was thick and we didn't get far". She has been mentally unstable from the beginning. If you remember she was getting drunk within the first few chapters. They made a passing comment about it really early. I think it was when when Kelly fell asleep. Maybe sooner. Angel said she was messed up and Riley said "I should be ok".

Add to her anger issues like KC said, with her need to 'do something'. She went to the Hospital twice, volunteered for everything, ect. She HAS to being doing something. She doesn't want to be a colonist. Even in the Military she didn't want to be behind the walls. She wanted to see action. One would think after LA she would be ok with being safe. Nope. Hated cooking and wanted to shoot stuff. I think the getting nowhere with Scratch was wearing on her. She was spinning tires. Tardust just pushed an emotionally unstable woman.

Your post made me wonder something and pardon the . If she has all of these psychological problems, it’s possible that Riley could have spent time in the mental institute prior to when the SHTF. For all we know she was released the day before and was BFF’s with Ink prior to the crazy. I know it’s doubtful and very unlikely but it’s still possible… maybe.

It's interesting that Tanya seems to be saying she is immune in spite of being exposed so many times. Could she not be immune for that very reason?

That’s a good point. The only issue I see with it is we never see the build-up of the immunity. My memory truly sucks at times but I can’t recall her ever getting even a little sick which might have indicated her body slowly building up a resistance.

[Kc]

So...the scent wore off, but Saul smelled different (Or Randy just has different sensory perception than the normal ones, I mean we've already counted him as different in some capacity) and maybe Randy knew, at some level, that biting Saul wouldn't be your run of the mill change. Maybe saul's "Immunity" we've discussed at length isn't necessarily an immunity. Maybe he becomes something different. We know Randy changed into something different, maybe Saul maintains even MORE of his previous consciousness. Randy bites Saul knowing he can save him from this hell he's trapped in. Randy HAS to do things for Ink, things that may include turning others, but Randy knows turning Saul might create a super human, not super zed. Saul comes barreling out of the tunnels holding ink by the back of his neck swatting aside any normals that dare combat him. Plops ol Inky-poo on the operation table and lets momma get after him with her devices, cure the world, everything back to normal. The end.

There was a reason Skittles avoided "the brains"... they could tell he wasn't changed regardless of anything else. You could consider Randy a "brain" if you like.

Just from curiosity, if you were to change the scene to be clearer to more people would you do it verbally or by description? I mean, would you have the characters describe what was going on or use different sounds or words? What would have the most impactful change?

I could have included Tardust trying to make up more excuses about him living at the colony and knew who she was, but ultimately would have just made the scene longer. Riley was already seeing through his bullshit the second he mentioned Lizzy.

[Grognaurd]

Riley was already seeing through his bullshit the second he mentioned Lizzy.

We should not forget how well Riley can read people. This is established as far back as Chapter 1, but the way the story has progressed, she has not had many opportunities to demonstrate it.

Zoinks, anyone got a shovel, I can feel it changing me...

[Osiris]

I could have included Tardust trying to make up more excuses about him living at the colony and knew who she was, but ultimately would have just made the scene longer. Riley was already seeing through his bullshit the second he mentioned Lizzy.

This show is filled with murderous fucks.

[Witch_Doctor]

There was a reason Skittles avoided "the brains"... they could tell he wasn't changed regardless of anything else. You could consider Randy a "brain" if you like.

Skittles says of the Brains, '...Those are the worst, I can't get away from them or hide." Chapter 17 Part 3
I just woke from a nap to write this and found that KC beat me to it.

[Eviebae]

I could have included Tardust trying to make up more excuses about him living at the colony and knew who she was, but ultimately would have just made the scene longer. Riley was already seeing through his bullshit the second he mentioned Lizzy.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant, if you approach making a scene clearer, is it more effective to use dialog or description? Maybe it differs according to content? Just wanted you to muse.

I read/watch a lot of Sci Fi and really appreciate creative exposition. I get so frakin' tired of paragraphs of history lectures but I've noticed that if a lot of readers seem unhappy without it. I tried to watch a CSI and after 10 minutes of professionals explaining elementary procedures to one another in a lecturing tone I was done.

[Ginja]

Yup, to quote Puck She did it to herself. He then council's Michael to not stick his neck out for her. Sure, the cruelty to Lizzy pisses Riley off, but she does not pull the trigger until Angel was brought up and Her entire existence is avenging Angel.

I actually thought her breaking point was being compared to Scratch. His saying that Angel and all of them were so stubborn it fueled Scratch's need for revenge implied (to me) that their being stubborn in their insistence that he was lying fueled them. That's why I thought she exploded...I mean aside from her drunken and emotionally fragile state of being.

I have been thinking that maybe it isn't Skittles' scent that makes him immune. I am wondering if he had some agreement with Ink. Not because he survived the attack on Dunbar but I can't shake the thought that if he was the one who let Ink in, how did Ink just pass him by? He would have been the likely first dead no? So maybe he had a deal with him somehow and to keep his part of the bargain, he stayed away in hiding. Or maybe Ink gave him some drug that made him secrete the scent that made the others leave him alone. Randy being one of the smart ones, would recognize that Saul and Michael were not Skittles even though they smelled like him and went in for the attack anyway. Just a thought. I love Skittles but I don't think he's entirely innocent. Especially when I think of his certainty that Ink would find him and kill him if he helped CJ and Michael. Yeah. I think he's sort of in on it.

About the rest....I already predicted that Vic and Kelly would have to raise the baby but I got some new clues from earlier in the chapter that changed my outlook:

1. Saul asking CJ to keep his son safe....sounds to me like Vic (who he asked before) won't make it through leaving the baby to CJ which would be really weird.

2. Pegs joking about Lady only listening to Saul tells me that Lady will play a part in trying to rescue him from the tunnels and the others won't be able to stop her. She might succeed but will more likely die trying to save Saul.

3. If Lady doesn't go off after Saul, that clue fairly screamed to me that Lady will somehow be involved in the final final battle. Probably Hope too since she is the one that keeps her.