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StaceyPowers

How Do the Infected Not Starve to Death in the Last of Us?

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Okay, so I admit I could just be missing something obvious here, but I can’t figure out how the Infected manage to survive as long as they do in the Last of Us.

In fact, on my first play-through, I just assumed that all of the Infected I saw had only been in that state for a week or so, and that those that didn’t get shot probably starved to death (or died of thirst) not long later.

But since then, I’ve seen lots of references saying that the Infected take months to progress through the stages to reach the Bloater stage.

That’s all good and well, except how do they survive that long? What are they eating? Did we ever actually see them eating in the game (if we did, I can’t recall)? It seems like they can eat, being as they have mouths—but it can’t be easy for a blind Clicker to locate food, unless it only hunts down and consumes live prey. Or is there some kind of photosynthesis at work?

I’m not asserting this is a plot hole, because I don’t think it is—but it is unintuitive, and it makes me realize there’s a lot we don’t understand fully about the Infected life cycle. Anyone have thoughts or theories to share? Do you think we might learn more about the life cycle or even see new stages in the next game?

 

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8 hours ago, Ben said:

I mean... they're dead, are they not? Do they even need to eat?

I'm not sure that's actually the case. I mean, insects infected by real-life Cordyceps aren't actually dead while they're still walking around, are they? If they are, that's even more bizarre than I realized. Now I'm curious whether they eat while infected too.

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On 7/8/2018 at 9:27 PM, StaceyPowers said:

I'm not sure that's actually the case. I mean, insects infected by real-life Cordyceps aren't actually dead while they're still walking around, are they? If they are, that's even more bizarre than I realized. Now I'm curious whether they eat while infected too.

Hopefully they clarify in a tie-in comic/novel?

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Iirc the infected aren't dead, they're living people with... well... an infection. :v

The game depicts them eating people a lot. Also, maybe now that they're part plant they can eat through the process of photosynthesis. 😛

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12 hours ago, fantanoice said:

Iirc the infected aren't dead, they're living people with... well... an infection. :v

The game depicts them eating people a lot. Also, maybe now that they're part plant they can eat through the process of photosynthesis. 😛

Why can't I picture this? Was I just not paying attention to stuff going on in the background? 

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On 10/24/2018 at 9:46 PM, StaceyPowers said:

On a playthrough I did catch a couple of them eating a corpse, so yes--I can confirm that they are eating the dead.

Aye, I was gonna chime in to say this. I remember seeing them eating bodies of people in the game. Also, they really like eating people who are alive, too. Pretty sure that’s how they get their sustenance. I’m guessing the cordyceps infection also gives them a prolonged lifespan, giving them living properties more in-line with a fungas. Creepy, right?

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4 hours ago, Demon_skeith said:

Sounds like something that the game makers forget to detail more on, but maybe that will be told upon the upcoming new game?

Aye. There’s definitely room to expand the science/origins behind the cordyceps virus. Really looking forward to The Last Of Us 2. My most anticipated game, for sure.

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