Pluribus’s latest episode revealed how Carol is safe from the hive mind virus. After speculation that the Others may have found a way to convert the remaining survivors, this realization arrives in a way she did not expect.
Why Carol didn’t join the Others’ hive mind on Pluribus?
Pluribus Episode 6, “HDP,” explains how Carol and the other survivors cannot be infected with the hive mind virus.
At the beginning, Carol discovers that the storage unit is filled with vacuum-sealed human body parts. After learning the truth and documenting it on video, she plans to show the footage to the remaining survivors. Since she is not sure if the Others are delivering her messages, she decides to speak in person and explain the situation. The first person she seeks out is Diabate, who is in Los Angeles.
When she finds him, she learns that everyone else already knew the truth. He shows her a video in which an infected John Cena explains the reasoning behind using human bodies. Cena explains that the Others are using available corpses as a source of nutrition since they cannot kill any living being, not even something as simple as plucking an apple from a tree. As a result, they have resorted to a form of cannibalism. They call the substance they extract from humans HDP, also known as Human Derived Protein.
The following day, Diabate explains that for the Others to transform the survivors into one of them, they would need to collect stem cells from their bodies and customize the virus to those cells. The extraction of stem cells involves a painful and invasive procedure, which the Others will not perform unless the person has given consent.
Carol then immediately calls her helpline and says, “I’m officially going on record that I do not consent. You will not lay a finger on me.” The Others respond, saying that her “wishes will be respected.” This gives her a sense of relief, knowing that she is safe for now. Unless the Others find another method, Carol will remain unaffected.
Viewers can watch the first six episodes of Pluribus on Apple TV.
