The Tadpole

[genie47]

Yes. I'm talking about the *tadpole*.

From this passage. I'm turning the spoilers on.

Warm steam hung in the air; the mirror was misted over. The bathtub was white as before, just a faint yellow streak of old dirt near the edge that never went away. The sink, clean.
It hasn't happened.
Eli had simply gone into the bathroom for appearances sake, dropped the illusion. But, no: the soap. He lifted it up. The soap was faintly streaked with pink and in the little porcelain indentation under it, in the water that collected there, there was a lump of something that looked like a tadpole, yes: alive, and he flinched when it started to - to swim - to move, wag its tail and wriggle its way to the outlet of the indentation, ran down into the sink, getting stuck on the edge. But it didn't move there, was not alive. He ran water out of the tap and splashed some on it so it was flushed down the drain. He also rinsed off the soap and washed out the indentation. Then he took his bathrobe from the hook, went back into the living room, and held it out to Eli, who was still standing naked on the floor, looking around.

It just struck me that this is not Oskar's imagination. After reading HTU with its *caterpillar* as a metaphor for the soul of the person. The *tadpole* is the infectious parasite that causes the vampirism. Eli's "face hugger" alien so to speak.

[stormbringer951]

I found that bit seriously weird. I wasn't sure if that was just Oskar being spooked out or him describing it as it actually happened. I haven't read HTU so I don't really know how to compare it to that.

[Aurora]

I found that bit seriously weird. I wasn't sure if that was just Oskar being spooked out or him describing it as it actually happened. I haven't read HTU so I don't really know how to compare it to that.

I agree, the problem with it is that it contradicts what Eli says about it being an infection. Either it's an infection or it's a parasitic organism, you can't have it both ways.

[a_contemplative_life]

I didn't understand that bit of nastiness, and wasn't sure I wanted to.

[ked101]

it kind of distracted me from the story a little I must say. However it also showed me that Vampires (in this story) are more complex. However if being a vampire is about having some form of parasite inside you then perhaps the blood spilling out of Eli was the blood feeling in danger and trying to escape the host?

[genie47]

I found that bit seriously weird. I wasn't sure if that was just Oskar being spooked out or him describing it as it actually happened. I haven't read HTU so I don't really know how to compare it to that.

I agree, the problem with it is that it contradicts what Eli says about it being an infection. Either it's an infection or it's a parasitic organism, you can't have it both ways.

A virus is a an obligate parasite. It cannot reproduce on its own without a host. Completely using the host for its needs without contributing anything useful. Well, not entirely. Eli is superhuman in many ways.

Technically it is still an infection if some parasite gets into you. Malaria is considered a blood-borne parasite and the last I heard, people still call it an infection.

We know Eli's bite infects. Even Eli gave hints of his own blood's infectious state when the blood pact was brought up. He stated that Oskar will get infected. He is not referring to his bloodlust state but the fact that by just mixing their blood together (Eli has to cut himself too) the organism will cross over to Oskar. Then that bloodlust just takes over making it even more dangerous for Oskar.

Infected without a bite.

[genie47]

it kind of distracted me from the story a little I must say. However it also showed me that Vampires (in this story) are more complex. However if being a vampire is about having some form of parasite inside you then perhaps the blood spilling out of Eli was the blood feeling in danger and trying to escape the host?

This is a very nice take on it. I like it. In my undergrad days, bacteriophage lambda was so well understood, it is textbook example.

For all who don't know, bacteria do have viruses infecting them and they are called bacteriophages. Lambda was special. It was the zombie phage. When it infects a bacteria it sort of incorporates itself into the bacteria's DNA. As long as the bacteria is healthy and having lots of good food and stuff, nothing much happens. The bacteria divides AND the phage is replicated along with it. It is in the lysogeny cycle.

Now if the bacteria is stressed, something triggers the phage in the bacteria's genome and it starts the lytic cycle. It hijacks the bacteria's entire cellular mechanism, makes copies of itself and then blows the whole bacteria to pieces releasing its copies to infect other bacteria who are healthy.

So Eli's infectious parasite senses danger from the host and attempts to escape its demise.

[ked101]

it kind of distracted me from the story a little I must say. However it also showed me that Vampires (in this story) are more complex. However if being a vampire is about having some form of parasite inside you then perhaps the blood spilling out of Eli was the blood feeling in danger and trying to escape the host?

This is a very nice take on it. I like it. In my undergrad days, bacteriophage lambda was so well understood, it is textbook example.

For all who don't know, bacteria do have viruses infecting them and they are called bacteriophages. Lambda was special. It was the zombie phage. When it infects a bacteria it sort of incorporates itself into the bacteria's DNA. As long as the bacteria is healthy and having lots of good food and stuff, nothing much happens. The bacteria divides AND the phage is replicated along with it. It is in the lysogeny cycle.

Now if the bacteria is stressed, something triggers the phage in the bacteria's genome and it starts the lytic cycle. It hijacks the bacteria's entire cellular mechanism, makes copies of itself and then blows the whole bacteria to pieces releasing its copies to infect other bacteria who are healthy.

So Eli's infectious parasite senses danger from the host and attempts to escape its demise.

I like how you explained this in scientific detail - I never gave the tadpole subplot any thought until now but thanks to the observer who brought this to Team Eli's attn

[lombano]

Different fluids don't usually mix instantly - the 'tadpole' struck me as a very natural description of the blood being washed away by the water. Wriggling and so on seems like a description of non-laminar flow, I personally didn't see anything strange about this description.

[genie47]

Different fluids don't usually mix instantly - the 'tadpole' struck me as a very natural description of the blood being washed away by the water. Wriggling and so on seems like a description of non-laminar flow, I personally didn't see anything strange about this description.

It was described as a lump so it is not fluid. Plus it got stuck and kept its form even when Oskar splashed water on it to wash it down.

The hemorrhaging scene as it was described, Eli's blood coagulated. To Oskar's surprise, it did not dissolve or revert back to its fluid state. So Eli's blood was actually clotting like how normal natural blood was clotting.

The tadpole could be a clot residue. However from Oskar's description of it being alive wriggling its tail doesn't make it look like one.