PLURIBUS’ Hive Mind Finally Gives Carol Hope She Can Reverse the Joining

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Okay, let’s talk about the latest Pluribus episode, but fair warning: major spoilers ahead! If you’re connected to the collective, you’ve likely already experienced it, because someone, somewhere, has definitely seen it. If not… well, consider yourself warned!

The virus that connected everyone on the planet Pluribus into a single, shared mind is even more frightening than it appears. Ironically, the resulting collective intelligence is too naive to grasp the danger. Making matters worse, the thirteen remaining independent people lack the expertise to fix the situation. However, a recent episode of Pluribus revealed a potential cure for “The Joining” – the process that linked everyone together. The catch? The collective mind will never willingly share this information with Carol.

In the podcast Pluribus, during the episode “Please, Carol,” the main character, a famously grumpy writer, discovered a key trait of the collective consciousness: it’s incapable of lying. While it readily answers most questions from the few people left on Earth, it fell silent when Carol asked if the joining process could be reversed. As the collective’s spokesperson, Zosia, explained, “We really want to help you, Carol, but we simply can’t answer questions like that.”

Even though Carol was very angry, she was still able to think clearly. Her previous conversation with “Larry” had given her a key insight. She realized that the hive mind – or Zosia’s refusal to discuss Pluribus – indicated a way to undo the joining process. “So, your avoidance is confirmation enough for me,” Carol stated. “I believe you’re incapable of lying, but you would tell me if the answer was simply ‘no’.” And that was exactly right.

Just days ago, the collective consciousness didn’t understand how its alien virus functioned. Now, by combining the knowledge of almost everyone on Earth, it’s figured out how to break the connection. However, the collective isn’t capable of deception, even though lying would be beneficial – it doesn’t want to give Carol the information she needs to undo the joining process known as Pluribus.

The collective consciousness is thriving in its new reality. It’s more than just a natural instinct; it genuinely enjoys the feeling of being connected to everyone else. While it remembers past pain, it no longer experiences it. This shared life is filled with peace, happiness, and a sense of belonging. It believes this is so wonderful that it’s worth giving up personal identity, privacy, and close relationships – everything that defines being human. The hive mind deeply wants the remaining survivors, including Carol, to experience this too. However, even if it can’t persuade her, it won’t reveal any information that could threaten its existence.

Carol wasn’t giving up on finding out how to reverse the key. She’d already checked with Zosia about whether the hive mind’s members all got intoxicated if just one of them drank too much. Zosia explained that wasn’t the case – each body was still its own, and affected by things like alcohol, shrapnel, or strong drugs.

Carol initially tested the drug on herself, and it—not a fake version—caused her to become disinhibited and brutally honest. The barbiturates removed her self-control, and the same nearly happened to Zosia after Carol drugged her. Zosia became disconnected from the collective consciousness, which avoids drugs altogether, but she remained eager to please Carol. This created a conflict, as she also wanted to protect the crucial information the author needs. Had Zosia not nearly died, or if she’d been more alone, she might have revealed how to break the connection on Pluribus.

Carol’s attempt didn’t work, and she likely won’t have another chance. The collective intelligence now understands how she tries to extract important information from its members. It also knows what Carol is capable of and how determined she is to undo their connection and disrupt their peaceful state. Even though this collective isn’t capable of deception, it clearly understands the threat she poses.

Even though things looked incredibly difficult for Carol, and for the person facing similar challenges in Paraguay, she now feels hopeful – something she didn’t have before.

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2025-11-21 18:04