Pluribusthe new television show Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, made his debut on Apple TV and wastes no time laying the groundwork for his overall mystery.
In fact, while many sci-fi dramas hide their secrets for several episodes and/or seasons, the two-episode premiere of Pluribus explains what happened to almost all of the humans from the beginning.
Okay, so what has caused all but 13 humans in the world, including protagonist Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), to suddenly form some sort of hive mind? Thankfully, Pluribus it forgoes the traditional ‘alien takeover/invasion’ narrative trope, but that doesn’t mean aliens or cosmic matter aren’t part of its plot.
Essentially, the mysterious signal first discovered by astronomers at the beginning of ‘We Is Us’ contains a recipe for a sequence of nucleotides that can produce a molecule known as ribonucleic acid (RNA). These single-stranded polymers play a crucial role in numerous biological functions, in addition to acting as the genetic material of some viruses.
It is the latter that seems to be the culprit Pluribus. In fact, as Davis Taffler, in-universe undersecretary of agriculture for the US government, explains to Carol (and us, by proxy) the aforementioned signal, located 600 light years from Earth, was discovered 14 months before the apocalyptic events that occur in the second half of episode 1.
Unlike conventional radio transmissions, it consists of four “tones” that correspond to different amino acids (proteins that are the building blocks of all life) called adenine, cytosine, guanine and uracil. This quartet forms a type of RNA that exists as part of the radio signal.
After recreating the sequence in a laboratory, scientists began testing the sequence on rats using a gaseous substance.
As expected, said experiment goes wrong when one of the scientists is bitten by a rat. The substance enters the unfortunate brainiac’s system through the rat’s bite, turning him into a carefree human running on autopilot who soon sets about infecting the rest of the lab’s human workforce.
Bottom line: Billions become infected and linked by what Taffler describes as a “psychic glue” in a process that, as episode 2, titled “Pirate Lady,” reveals, is known as “The Joining.”
Although there are people who die as a result of said contagion. Among the people who succumb to her are Carol’s partner Helen, the President of the United States, and several other members of the government she formed. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of people around the world also died through accidental means, such as crashing the vehicle they were driving, when they became infected.
In total, as Zosia confirms in ‘Pirate Lady’, more than 886 million people died when those who were already part of ‘The Joining’ accelerated their plans to infect the rest of humanity after being discovered by the military. Add in the 11 million people Carol inadvertently kills during her tantrum in episode 2, and nearly 900 million have lost their lives so far.
As expected, not all questions about “The Union” are answered, whatever the cause and true purpose of those infected in Pluribus‘Premiere of two episodes.
How did the RNA sequence/signal/organism spread around the world? Why did some people die after being infected? Why are Carol and only 12 other people immune to it? And how will the rest of humanity try to assimilate Carol and her seemingly invulnerable companions?
I think RNA infused gas has something to do with the first question. As for the rest, I hope answers emerge throughout this season and/or Pluribus‘ sophomore outing, which was greenlit along with its debut season in September 2022.
Pluribus episodes 1 and 2 are now available on Apple TV, aka one of the world’s shows best streaming services. New chapters are broadcast weekly.
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