Diksha Sundriyal
In Apple TV+’s ‘Pluribus,’ the whole world is changed by the arrival of an alien virus that grips everyone so suddenly that there is no time to understand how it works. Only a handful of people, including Carol Sturka, are immune to this virus, and barring them, the rest of humanity seems to become their best version. While Carol tries to understand why this happened and how it can be reversed, the Others are also trying to understand why she and 13 other people are immune and how they can be turned into one of them. The details of this process come to light one step at a time, but a revelation in the finale of the first season changes everything for Carol. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Others Find a Way Around the Consent Issue of the Turning
Carol has a lot of problems with the Turning, but a major issue is that no one had a choice in the matter. All the people who turned had no idea what was happening to them, and the happiness and bliss that they seemingly enjoyed now were forced upon them. She doesn’t like the idea of the same thing being forced upon her, and this is one of the reasons why she is so distrustful of the Others. She wishes to understand how the process can be reversed because, for her, this is the only way to save humanity. The Others, however, believe that becoming one of them is the only way to live, which is why they have focused on finding a way to turn the remaining 14 people. In the sixth episode, she discovers that the Others have found a way to change her.
Koumba Diabaté, one of the immunes who has used the Others to gain all the possible pleasures of the world, tells her that the Others have found a way to create a custom virus for all fourteen of them. It is unclear whether this means they now understand the reason for the 14’s immunity, but it is clear that the Turning requires their stem cells. The only way to get it is by jamming a needle into the person to get their bone marrow. Or at least, that’s what Carol thinks, initially. Because it is an invasive process and the Others are not prone to violence, they will need the person’s consent to get the stem cells. So, according to Diabaté, unless the immunes agree to it, they cannot be turned, and hence, there is no reason for them to worry about.
Of course, at this point, Diabaté does not stop to consider that just because one thing doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean that the Others will stop trying. They will continue their search for another way because that is their biological prerogative. While Diabaté might think that the number one priority for the Others is to keep him and the other immunes happy, that is not the case. As Zosia later tells Carol, their job is to send the virus forward. They have to make every single person in this world, and then in another world, and then another world, just as they are. This is the single most important thing for them, and they will not rest until they have achieved this goal. This means turning towards alternative methods, and that’s what they do, starting with Carol.
The Alternative Method for Carol’s Turning Comes to Light
Believing that she cannot be turned without her consent, Carol lowers her guard. Not only does she invite the Others back, but she also acts on her feelings for Zosia, and even starts to empathise with the Others more than she used to. When Manousos travels all the way from Colombia to talk to her about saving the world, she gives him a cold shoulder and leaves when the Others do. She spends her days in a state of bliss, travelling the world with Zosia, probably forgetting that it’s not really Zosia anymore. As she starts to settle into this seemingly perpetual state of happiness, she discovers that the Others have not only not given up the plan to turn her, but they have actually made serious strides in the matter.
When Zosia talks about how it would be so much better if Carol turns, the latter points out that they cannot do it without getting her stem cells. Zosia tries to answer her questions without actually answering them, which is when Carol realises that there is another way for them to get the stem cells. She remembers her frozen eggs and asks Zosia if the Others have them. Zosia confirms that they do, and that it will only be a matter of a few months before they can create a custom virus for her. An interesting point to note here is that Carol comes to her own conclusion about the frozen eggs, while Zosia only addresses the issue of having the eggs. She doesn’t explicitly confirm that the eggs are used to get her stem cells. This might mean that the Others have found an alternative approach, but they have chosen to keep it a secret.
Still, Zosia does confess that creating the virus and getting it to work are two very different things. They do require a stroke of luck for that, which would also hold in the case of obtaining stem cells from eggs. Despite being derived from Carol’s body, the eggs don’t offer a hundred percent chance of producing the stem cells that would work for her, so there is no guarantee that they will actually work for Carol. Their method does show success with Kusimayu, the young Peruvian girl who was also immune. However, just because the process works for her, it doesn’t mean it will work for Carol as well, which suggests that the Others still lack a complete understanding of how exactly their immunity works. In any case, they no longer require Carol’s express permission to obtain her stem cells, and once they have the virus for her, nothing prevents them from using them.
Read More: Pluribus Finale: What’s in the Box?
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