Wool - First Shift: Legacy [Spoiler Alert!!!]

[orlok]

I have just finished First Shift: Legacy and found it excellent, and a step up from the previous installments in terms of the strength of Mr. Howey's writing, not that there was anything wrong with #1-5.

What I do have is a question on a plot point - the very end of the book, so please do not look at this if you are intending to read the book.

Spoiler:

Not that it's a surprise when the (nanobot?) bombs are dropped at the end of this installment - this has been presaged throughout the story, and anyway we know it has happened from the earlier books - but my question is this:

Why do you think the bombs were dropped on the USA? I could understand (in extremis) Senator Thurman arranging for them to be dropped on the countries he suspects are developing similar weaponry as a preemptive strike, but why hurry things along by killing of his own populace? Have I missed a vital plot point?

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by orlok

I have just finished First Shift: Legacy and found it excellent, and a step up from the previous installments in terms of the strength of Mr. Howey's writing, not that there was anything wrong with #1-5.

What I do have is a question on a plot point - the very end of the book, so please do not look at this if you are intending to read the book.

Spoiler:

Not that it's a surprise when the (nanobot?) bombs are dropped at the end of this installment - this has been presaged throughout the story, and anyway we know it has happened from the earlier books - but my question is this:

Why do you think the bombs were dropped on the USA? I could understand (in extremis) Senator Thurman arranging for them to be dropped on the countries he suspects are developing similar weaponry as a preemptive strike, but why hurry things along by killing of his own populace? Have I missed a vital plot point?

Spoiler:

To give an excuse/reason to herd people into the silos and start their new society afresh with controllable populations. I took it that a certain group wanted the bomb to drop (so to speak) so they could remake society the way they wanted it.

Andrew

[orlok]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

Spoiler:

To give an excuse/reason to herd people into the silos and start their new society afresh with controllable populations. I took it that a certain group wanted the bomb to drop (so to speak) so they could remake society the way they wanted it.

Andrew

Spoiler:

Thanks for the quick reply, Andrew. I sort of got that, but it seems like a monstrous way to encourage a few of the elite to save themselves, and I was wondering if there was more to it?

Thinking about your answer, it does better explain why most of the "original" silo populace are taking memory wiping pills, due to the huge guilt that goes way beyond wiping out an enemy.

[DiapDealer]

Spoiler:

I think he (Thurman) saw no other option for his plan to succeed. The "nuclear waste containment facility" ruse wasn't going to hold up to scrutiny indefinitely—and those silos were never going to be voluntarily populated once that particular cat was out of the bag (if ever, for that matter).

Without the convention and the immediate, local threat, there would have been resistance—questions. And empty (at least partially) silos. They needed a "flood" to convince everyone to get on the "ark." Nothing else would have worked.

Besides... if a large contingent of the population were left outside the silos, they'd have destroyed the silos trying to get in once they figured out what was in store for them. It would have been too dangerous to Thurman's new "Order" to leave civilization intact outside of the "silos" for even a short period of time.

Just my two cents. The logic (however megalomaniacal and insidious) seemed consistent to me.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Spoiler:

I think he (Thurman) saw no other option for his plan to succeed. The "nuclear waste containment facility" ruse wasn't going to hold up to scrutiny indefinitely—and those silos were never going to be voluntarily populated once that particular cat was out of the bag (if ever, for that matter).

Without the convention and the immediate, local threat, there would have been resistance—questions. And empty (at least partially) silos. They needed a "flood" to convince everyone to get on the "ark." Nothing else would have worked.

Besides... if a large contingent of the population were left outside the silos, they'd have destroyed the silos trying to get in once they figured out what was in store for them. It would have been too dangerous to Thurman's new "Order" to leave civilization intact outside of the "silos" for even a short period of time.

Just my two cents. The logic (however megalomaniacal and insidious) seemed consistent to me.

Between Andrew and yourself, I'm convinced .

[andyh2000]

Just a comment on the book as a whole.

Spoiler:

There was something about reading this as an eBook that made it even more chilling for me. I knew the bombs were going to drop, but because I couldn't see how close to the end of the book I was I never knew if it was going to be this page, or this page, or... Every page I turned where it didn't happen just seemed to rachet up the tension. Excellent stuff.

Andrew

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

Just a comment on the book as a whole.

Spoiler:

There was something about reading this as an eBook that made it even more chilling for me. I knew the bombs were going to drop, but because I couldn't see how close to the end of the book I was I never knew if it was going to be this page, or this page, or... Every page I turned where it didn't happen just seemed to rachet up the tension. Excellent stuff.

Andrew

To be perfectly honest:

Spoiler:

What you're describing is something I've come to appreciate on the whole regarding ebooks. With physical books, simply the thickness of the remaining pages forces me to make assumptions about some things at various times. The fact that I can choose to remain relatively ignorant of how close to the end I am, is a huge bonus for me. The ending can truly "sneak up on me."

[orlok]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

Just a comment on the book as a whole.

Spoiler:

There was something about reading this as an eBook that made it even more chilling for me. I knew the bombs were going to drop, but because I couldn't see how close to the end of the book I was I never knew if it was going to be this page, or this page, or... Every page I turned where it didn't happen just seemed to rachet up the tension. Excellent stuff.

Andrew

Yes, I do find the not knowing how far from the end of an ebook you are a bit disconcerting (I know there's the percentage, but sometimes the book finishes at around 95% or in some cases sooner). Quite a number of times I've had that "Oh, was that it?" moment.

[hughhowey]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Spoiler:

I think he (Thurman) saw no other option for his plan to succeed. The "nuclear waste containment facility" ruse wasn't going to hold up to scrutiny indefinitely—and those silos were never going to be voluntarily populated once that particular cat was out of the bag (if ever, for that matter).

Without the convention and the immediate, local threat, there would have been resistance—questions. And empty (at least partially) silos. They needed a "flood" to convince everyone to get on the "ark." Nothing else would have worked.

Besides... if a large contingent of the population were left outside the silos, they'd have destroyed the silos trying to get in once they figured out what was in store for them. It would have been too dangerous to Thurman's new "Order" to leave civilization intact outside of the "silos" for even a short period of time.

Just my two cents. The logic (however megalomaniacal and insidious) seemed consistent to me.

You nailed pretty much everything. All I can add is:

Spoiler:

There was another need that the bombs provided (which weren't necessarily dropped, mind you. They could have been ground based). In order for the medication to work, there needs to be a horrific trauma for them to act upon. To seal off memory of the former world, there had to be a cauterizing event that could allow new memories to form while the drugs worked on all that was old. Hence the name changes and everything designed to foster a new existence.

Without this, news of the old world and what took place would persist across generations, which would be tumultuous and cause dissension and uprisings. Donald thinks this to himself toward the end of the book, that the bombs were props and nothing more. The nanos were in the air for years prior to the convention. They were already in everyone's blood.

MEGA SPOILER: Donald may have feared that meeting Thurman in the nanochamber infected him with something. But maybe it *cleaned* him of something worse. And maybe everyone who survived at the convention had a similar meeting with someone, somewhere, before the convention.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by hughhowey

You nailed pretty much everything.

Woah. I actually got something right for once?

[orlok]

Originally Posted by hughhowey

You nailed pretty much everything. All I can add is:

Spoiler:

There was another need that the bombs provided (which weren't necessarily dropped, mind you. They could have been ground based). In order for the medication to work, there needs to be a horrific trauma for them to act upon. To seal off memory of the former world, there had to be a cauterizing event that could allow new memories to form while the drugs worked on all that was old. Hence the name changes and everything designed to foster a new existence.

Without this, news of the old world and what took place would persist across generations, which would be tumultuous and cause dissension and uprisings. Donald thinks this to himself toward the end of the book, that the bombs were props and nothing more. The nanos were in the air for years prior to the convention. They were already in everyone's blood.

MEGA SPOILER: Donald may have feared that meeting Thurman in the nanochamber infected him with something. But maybe it *cleaned* him of something worse. And maybe everyone who survived at the convention had a similar meeting with someone, somewhere, before the convention.

Thanks Hugh. I wouldn't normally get this caught up in a plot device, but this time it was worth it .

[QuantumIguana]

Spoiler:

I got the impressions that the bombs were a distraction, to get the people to rush into the silos. "Get inside! Nanobots are everywhere! Might not have worked as well.

[cearbhallain]

I really want to read this but I can only find it at Amazon. If I buy it there, will I be able to convert it so that I can read it on my Nook? Is it DRM free?

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by cearbhallain

I really want to read this but I can only find it at Amazon. If I buy it there, will I be able to convert it so that I can read it on my Nook? Is it DRM free?

Yes.

[cearbhallain]

Thank you. I loved the compendium and am itching to read more.