I've been thinking a lot about Zombis in the His Dark Materials universe lately. They're only mentioned a few times, and the entourage of them that Marisa has in the Subtle Knife appears so briefly and then vanishes without another word.
I wonder where the zombi's daemons are kept. Judging by what little information we're given, they have experienced something like intercision as adults, and looking at the other adults that have had this procedure done, their daemons still exist corporeally (as opposed to the children from Bolvanger whose daemons are ghostly and spectral). As much as TRF added the story line with people's daemons dying while their humans survive, I don't believe it's that kind of situation (mainly because I wish to rinse the whole sequel series from my memory and secondarily because I don't think that fits here where it's treated as a brand new and unique thing).
Maybe they are kept in prison camps, or something like kennels. I wonder if they're subjected to hypnotic suggestive music or words, to further embed their submissive following of orders. Maybe they are simply shoved in a huge room like battery hens and forgotten entirely, as they do not need food or water and make no mess. Maybe they are kept in neatly labelled cages, and a supervisor notes whenever one is empty so they know when one of their assets has died.
What happens to their loved ones? What if you saw someone you loved, saw them without their daemon – a mutilation as horrible as seeing someone without the skin of their face – their daemon whose name you know, and you and your own daemon loves and cares for. How do you deal with the horror of not only that, but if you can fight down the disgust, rushing to them and they look through you as if you don't exist? They still know you, if you were to ask they'd know your name and remember details, still remember every moment. But they fundamentally do not have the capacity to care any more. And if they were told to, they'd mow you down without a hesitation.
I wonder if anyone has bought back a zombi. Somehow raised the funds to buy them learned the price that someone would put on their life. Demanded their daemon back as part of the deal. Tried to rehabilitate them, tried to find a cure or way of putting them back together like a shattered vase.
Maybe they're so compliant, so good at following orders, for some of them, it almost feels like it worked. If only you can pretend you don't remember the version of them from before.
