How many Reavers? by JDC

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

How many Reavers?

POSTED BY: JDC
UPDATED: Wednesday, March 1, 2006 12:07
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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:15 AM

I'm pretty new to this, so sorry if it's been done to death, but:

In both forum posts and podcasts I've heard mention of the 300,000 Reavers. My understanding is that Reavers are supposed to be 1/10th of 1% of the population of Miranda, which was 30 million, IIRC.

I'm no math genius, but ain't that 30 thousand?

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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:21 AM

BISHOP76

1% of 30 million is 300,000

1/10 of 1% is 30,000

So, you are correct sir.

That's not of course counting any Reavers they may have "converted" like in "Bushwhacked", but I can't imagine that happens real often and even had a bit of a hard time imagining it happening in that episode, especially given what we know about how the Reavers came to be.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:23 AM

MATTCOZ

Maybe they mated and had little baby reavers...

that's a disturbing thought.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:25 AM

BISHOP76

Also, really unlikely. I'm gonna guess their birthing and child-rearing skills aren't exactly top of the line.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:28 AM

LANCER

remember Reavers do recruit, like in the Episode Bushwacked

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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:40 AM

JDC

Can we call that recruitment? After all, they didn't take him with them and left him on a booby-trapped ship.

Personally, I just view Bushwacked as a good story before Joss fully developed the Reavers backstory.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:51 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by mattcoz:
Maybe they mated and had little baby reavers...

that's a disturbing thought.

The trick would getting Jr to survive the first few years and making it to puberty. Reavers have to be able to function at some level, or else no one could fly their space ships. But because of their nature(ultra violent ) and penchant for flying around in ships spewing radiation, it's hard to imagine them living for very long at all. How they've been able to survive for more than a year or two is quite a mystery. Recruiting seems like a popular answer, but would new recruits be as formidible as those originally infected w/ the Pax? Maybe Reavers recruit and infect w/ the PAX, somehow....

One idea is that the Alliance always knew of the Reavers, but figured they'd all kill each other and die off before too long. Somehow a group of Reavers figured out a way to supress their rage to such a degree that they could pilot ships, plot raids and somehow organize themselves into a society that didn't engage in nonstop raping,killing,flesh eating, skin wearing orgy.

Quote:
Can we call that recruitment? After all, they didn't take him with them and left him on a booby-trapped ship.

Who can say for certain? But the booby-trap on the settler's ship is an indication that the Reavers indeed planned to come back. That's why Mal suggested the Alliance destroy the ship. Maybe it's their way, to 'initiate' the new recruit , and should somone try to come rescue him, they'd have more victims waiting for them.

People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 7:07 AM

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Could you please just make it stranger? Stranger. Odder. Could be weirder. More bizarre. How about uncanny?

Just because they are vicious, doesn't make them dumb. Cannibal tribes in South America don't eat their own.

Also Reavers fly ships, use tactics, and can obviously manufacture vehicles out of other miscellaneous parts. So what is to say they don't have access to the Pax? Maybe the use it on folk when they go on a "recruiting drive" instead of a "food drive".

One really should assume they have methods of swelling their ranks (and being the RAPING kind of folk, they may procreate, though they haven't been around long enough to have spawn reach adulthood), otherwise they would have died out a while ago (radiation sickness alone would have prevented 10 years of terrorizing the 'Verse), and there was a whole passel of chickens come home to roost in the movie!

And if you figure they can "recruit", and in 10 years they've been smart enough to avoid direct confrontation with the Alliance, and their reputation causes people to tremble rather than fight, they could have an awfully large group.
(and what Mal did to both the Alliance & Reavers was a wondeful dirty trick since the ion clouds prevented either side from knowing the other was there until they were face to face)

Reavers aren't animals, they are still doctors, lawyers, janitors, pilots, etcetera, they just happen to be drugged to the point of mad agression. Even a sociopath can drive a car, sharpen his knife, and think of how NOT to be caught, despite his cruel barbaric nature.

Reavers may be mean, agressive, cannibals with poor fashion sense but they are not stupid. And if they can procreate, I'd fear the second generation Reaver more. The generation who only knows raping, eating, and wearing people as a way of life and never had a life before being turned. (whoa. that had a vampirey sound to it)

What I want to know, is who will be the first research team to try and "film them in the wild" and observe their mating habits and flesh eating rituals?

BWAH!
TCM

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Wednesday, March 1, 2006 12:07 PM

JDC

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Who can say for certain? But the booby-trap on the settler's ship is an indication that the Reavers indeed planned to come back. That's why Mal suggested the Alliance destroy the ship. Maybe it's their way, to 'initiate' the new recruit , and should somone try to come rescue him, they'd have more victims waiting for them.

Hmm, I take your point, but I'm not sure I agree. The booby-trap appeared hidden to me, signifying that the intent was to blow up anyone who docked, rather than a visible trap designed to let someone know they could never leave. I would think they would want to use the latter if they intended to return.

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