DEADLINE open thread. Have a party.

I cried on p. 219. I read amusing bits about cheering when Bambi's mother didn't get up again to eat Bambi. I related the high points to my 11-year-old kid who cried about both the shooting and the "she might've gotten better" part.

Now. Okay, I re-read the relevant part of Feed, and my first assumption -- that if you fix the spine, the virus would keep the brain alive enough for memory retention -- while maybe supported by text (Shaun once says "blew her brains out" and then says that he did the spine-shot), doesn't seem to be George's suspicion.

If George is right, then, okay, you can add in my assumption (that the virus keeps the brain alive enough for memory retention), but... When the heck did they get braintaping technology?? Or did they do a brain-transplant? Or is the memory somehow in the virus itself? And how many clones did they have to go through to make it work if it's not a transplant? And with the retinal reservoir gone, how are her immunities going to work?

(Also, thank something the first Blackout chapter is there, because if it weren't, the rabid speculation would probably drive both fans and author to drink (lots of chai for me, but the principle's the same). Instead, the rabid speculation will only slightly drive us all gibbering...)

Oh, right, and the total "FFFFFfFFFFFFfffffffFFFF" of the "bug vector" part was probably everything Ms. Grant could've hoped for.