As far as I could tell, that android body was probably just a means of communication between them and us. The shell was nothing without that intel core processor thing that looked like the typewriter ball from my old IBM selectric. It put the unit online so they could make use of it. Even though Snyder referred to them as "aliens" for the first time, maybe those were the things he met with when he was first recruited. He understands them to be in control. They're just a tool. Am I crazy for holding out for Nazis behind this whole thing? Nazis on the moon! What would be more terrifying though, seriously? I don't know how they got there, I got nothin.

@Thebridge said:

As far as I could tell, that android body was probably just a means of communication between them and us. The shell was nothing without that intel core processor thing that looked like the typewriter ball from my old IBM selectric. It put the unit online so they could make use of it. Even though Snyder referred to them as "aliens" for the first time, maybe those were the things he met with when he was first recruited. He understands them to be in control. They're just a tool. Am I crazy for holding out for Nazis behind this whole thing? Nazis on the moon! What would be more terrifying though, seriously? I don't know how they got there, I got nothin.

They made a movie about that a few years ago. Nazis on the moon, I mean. Don't remember what it was called. I'll try to see if I can find it.

If the raps get pissed enough about the termination of a host unit to nuke a city, I'm guessing that ball thing contains the consciousness of an actual alien. They probably transferred the information from the damaged one to a new one in that procedure they did. But if it was just a remotely controlled surrogate they wouldn't really care what happened to it. They'd send us a bill or something. And it's always possible the raps are a machine race. Those particular bodies may have been re-configured to resemble humans in order to ease the task of working with us. Who knows. If Will gets his family to the outside resistance we'll get to meet the turncoat rap and find out.

If they're so astutely fascist though, they might put the kabosh on us for a paperclip out of place. Them calling the shots is what it's all about and I can see them killing us for minor things. I think they just want total control. Remember they had people tortured and thrown to the factory just for getting involved in a police investigation of the resistance. Attacking their droids, whether they're in them or not is a big no no. I forgot about the turncoat. We still don't know what that means either, them "turning".

@Thebridge said:

If they're so astutely fascist though, they might put the kabosh on us for a paperclip out of place. Them calling the shots is what it's all about and I can see them killing us for minor things. I think they just want total control. Remember they had people tortured and thrown to the factory just for getting involved in a police investigation of the resistance. Attacking their droids, whether they're in them or not is a big no no. I forgot about the turncoat. We still don't know what that means either, them "turning".

Well the resistance pilot said the rap didn't believe in what the rest of them were doing. And Helena revealed that there are different factions among the raps. She kinda made them sound like Congress. Hard-liners overruling the moderates and whatnot. My point being, this indicates a race of individuals as opposed to a hive mind or something like that. They don't all think alike.

Imagine if at some point in the future we sent an expedition to an inhabited planet in another system. So we're the more advanced race. And suppose they went there with a plan to subjugate and/or exterminate the natives. The Nazis sent people who hid Jews to the concentration camp right along with them if they were caught. Yet a significant number did it anyways. The same thing would happen if our leaders decided to play the role of evil alien invaders. The locals would get aid from "traitors", weapons and knowledge that gave them a chance to fight back effectively. Some humans would do everything in their power to stop the genocide even if it cost them their lives. A fact that might very well surprise the aliens. Not all humans are bad guys. Hmmm. Who knew? As independent thinking individuals, you have to figure at least some of the raps would feel the same way about stopping their people.

the question is why do they need humans? they didn't level la block like the work camp, instead they are taking them all to the factory. i wonder how that will effect the factory? it pushed the hosts' timetable up for the la block which means more humans at their factory than they originally wanted.

@beith1 said:

the question is why do they need humans? they didn't level la block like the work camp, instead they are taking them all to the factory. i wonder how that will effect the factory? it pushed the hosts' timetable up for the la block which means more humans at their factory than they originally wanted.

Maybe they'll go easy on the other blocs for a while. Or maybe the extra staff speeds up their plans a little, whatever those are. We still don't know what they actually make at the Factory. It must be a pretty damn big facility though, to receive all those people at once. I wonder what they do with the kids? Do they go up there too, or do they send them to one of those youth camps? Another place whose purpose we're not exactly sure of. They're being trained for ... something. The raps really need to put out an informational video so people know what's going on. They suck at public relations.

this could go in so many different directions. looking forward to season 3.

@beith1 said:

this could go in so many different directions. looking forward to season 3.

Likewise.

Yes, there does seem to be independent-thinking individuals among the hosts, that's why I'm not entirely sold on them being artificial intelligence. Unless they turn out to be some sort of AI following a different program/outcome/tangent of say a war game scenario or something like that. If they're taking a moral stance, then we have yet another alien we haven't met. If they're just following an alternate outcome to a series of problems, then maybe we have been taken over by AI.

@Thebridge said:

Yes, there does seem to be independent-thinking individuals among the hosts, that's why I'm not entirely sold on them being artificial intelligence. Unless they turn out to be some sort of AI following a different program/outcome/tangent of say a war game scenario or something like that. If they're taking a moral stance, then we have yet another alien we haven't met. If they're just following an alternate outcome to a series of problems, then maybe we have been taken over by AI.

There's no reason why AIs wouldn't disagree with each other. They're basically just synthetic versions of organic brains; made of different materials, but working the same way. In this case though I think the term "host" means the machine unit is a an artificial body the aliens can transfer their minds into. Maybe they're worried for their safety down here considering how they've treated us humans, and an armored body that's really hard to destroy comes in handy. Or maybe they just can't survive Earth's environment in their native form and the robotic hosts are the ultimate spacesuit. No gas tanks, no worries about the suit being breached, etc. But as I said before, if it was just a remote controlled drone they wouldn't get angry enough to blow up a whole city when one of them was wrecked. Clearly if a host unit is destroyed the occupant dies. And it's always possible that droid is the rap itself, that they're all machines. Just one of many questions yet to be answered.

Ok so maybe Will and Broussard have met with the actual "moderate" drones when they weren't killed by them. Remember how Will was seemingly going along in the beginning, arresting the resistance because that was the only way to live to fight another day? Maybe this is how the moderate enemy exists, making it look good but helping out the good guys they have on the list when they can.

@Thebridge said:

Ok so maybe Will and Broussard have met with the actual "moderate" drones when they weren't killed by them. Remember how Will was seemingly going along in the beginning, arresting the resistance because that was the only way to live to fight another day? Maybe this is how the moderate enemy exists, making it look good but helping out the good guys they have on the list when they can.

I doubt those blackjack guys, who had the do-not-kill list in their car's computer, work for any moderate faction. When Helena talked about moderates vs. hard-liners I don't think it was a matter of disagreeing on whether or not the invasion was a good idea. The hard-liners are the ones who go for a zero tolerance policy. Tight discipline and harsh punishment. That sort of thing. Whereas the moderates probably oppose relying solely on terror tactics. Maybe a little carrot instead of all stick. The renegade rap (along with any comrades still hidden among the others) would be considered a traitor by all. We still don't know if the other raps realize he went AWOL, or if he faked his own death so his people wouldn't be looking for him.

I don't think even the Blackjacks would be aware of the reason for the list. They just do what they're told. True we don't really know what's going on with Mr. AWOL, unless there is a small faction of moderates that knows what happened with him (it). But I suspect "moderate" is going to mean resistance within the AI.

@Thebridge said:

I don't think even the Blackjacks would be aware of the reason for the list. They just do what they're told. True we don't really know what's going on with Mr. AWOL, unless there is a small faction of moderates that knows what happened with him (it). But I suspect "moderate" is going to mean resistance within the AI.

Assuming they really are AIs. When the Governor General was talking about the moderates being overruled by hard-liners I thought immediately of Congress. Yep, the Freedom Caucus wants to make an example of LA but Speaker Ryan thinks we should hold off.

You're probably right that the blackjacks are given information on a need-to-know basis only. They were going around with the list and a stasis pod, but probably know only that they're to collect and freeze as many people on that list as possible. What happens to those people after they make delivery is none of their concern.

I find it hard to believe there'd be only a single rap dissident. If one is willing to oppose their own people, there must be others of like mind. I suspect that the rebels simply chose one of their number to go down and work directly with humans while the rest stayed on the ship. They probably have some way of making contact (although it may depend on the one down here getting hold of that gauntlet).

quote here Snyder meets with the moderates, is told to stay in the fray at all costs that the others are worse. He has always been in touch with the moderate faction. They're small but effective. Maybe, right?