Spoilers Pluribus

[Aeson]

We would have no need for websites like this or TV shows. No more games or sports. No need for music. We will already know what the creative ones were thinking. That thing that makes an artist unique would be gone. That pain so many draw from to make their art would be gone.

They know everyone's secrets. They know who's on the Epstein list. Did sociopaths stop being sociopaths? Do drug abusers stop using? The voice on the phone said there was no more crime. What are the police doing now? Soldiers? Clergy? There's no need for religion anymore.

 

[Morrus]

I did wonder why they needed sirens when the emergency services arrived to help--surely everybody knows what's going on? No sirens needed.

People whose jobs are no longer relevant will presumably just do something else to help society be more efficient. The soldiers are now farming, etc. Everybody just does what's best for the good of everybody.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards the 'they're terrified of Carol' angle. In their mind, she's the monster that needs to be constantly pacified lest she kill 10 million of them with an angry outburst. Kind of an "I Am Legend" twist (the book, not the movie).

 

[Aeson]

I asked the same question about the sirens.

It seemed to me they wanted her to be happy before they knew or claim to know how her anger would affect them. Am I wrong that came first?

 

[Morrus]

I asked the same question about the sirens.

It seemed to me they wanted her to be happy before they knew or claim to know how her anger would affect them. Am I wrong that came first?

We don’t know what they knew.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I did wonder why they needed sirens when the emergency services arrived to help--surely everybody knows what's going on? No sirens needed.

People whose jobs are no longer relevant will presumably just do something else to help society be more efficient. The soldiers are now farming, etc. Everybody just does what's best for the good of everybody.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards the 'they're terrified of Carol' angle. In their mind, she's the monster that needs to be constantly pacified lest she kill 10 million of them with an angry outburst. Kind of an "I Am Legend" twist (the book, not the movie).

This show is so fascinating!

The conversation about seeing someone drowning in a lake makes me wonder if the infected see themselves as one single individual, and Carol as another individual of equal value? So if she kills a bunch of their bodies it doesn't actually harm them as an individual. But if she is hurt it's the equal of all 8 billion of the infected being hurt.

The nuclear bomb conversation was also really interesting. They seem entirely incapable of saying no! It makes me think that the virus might be engineered to create a "servant class" of people in order to serve another species?

Another thing that stuck out to me in this episode was how Carol used her independence... She drank and watched old TV. Now she is in shock and super-sized mourning and also it's okay to drink and watch old TV even when things are going well. But to the perspective of the infected it must be mind-boggling that this is how she wants to spend her time and individuality rather than wanting to join them!

And finally I just love how all the infected are so happy. I keep forgetting that they're not robots or empty husks, they're all human consciousness swirled together and with a single biological imperative (that we still don't know a lot about). It's really fascinating!

Can't wait to watch more.