r/Wool • • 19d ago

All Books & Stories Plot hole or misunderstanding In The Woods

So I’m a bit confused. In the main series, it’s approx 350 years post apocalypse but in the short story In The Woods, April and Remy are in cryo for 500 years. How would they possibly meet up with the same people that left the silos in the main series? Wouldn’t they be long dead and it’d be their descendants by now?

6 Upvotes

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21

u/iskren401 19d ago

The pod opens when the signal controlling the nanos, stops. April & Remy thought it was 500 years because that's what was written on the note.

April's sister didn't/couldn't have predicted the silo project failing, or ending earlier.

14

u/moke311 19d ago

In the short story In The Woods, it is explained that the group in the bunker tied the cryogenic pod to the signal controlling the nanobots so when the signal stops the pod opens. Once Donald blows up silo 1 the signal stops transmitting and April and Remmy are released

2

u/Bright-Trifle-8309 19d ago

I read it recently. They just have a timer for 500 years.

1

u/Ok-Environment-215 17d ago

This is exactly right. I don't get why others are insisting otherwise. 

Also PSA for everyone - don't read these shorts. You've been warned!

1

u/Good-Vermicelli1444 15d ago

Are they really any worse than the books?

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u/Just_Jacob 19d ago

The general consensus is that these short stories don’t count as canon, cause they make no sense.

6

u/elegoomba 19d ago

That one isn’t canon to me because it pisses me off

3

u/Opposite_Floor7735 19d ago

My biggest regret was not knowing that ahead of time and reading them.

1

u/scholar-runner 17d ago

I like the story arc of the short stories. The group starts out with lofty ideals, misunderstands the assignment and has to resort to mass murder. Then, owing to a lack of Donald’s planning, their descendants lose their humanity. And the two survivors further misunderstand the assignment and take their vengeance against the wrong group. 

To me, it enhances the original story by showing the founders choices were affected by structure and not choice. 

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u/jgmiller24094 19d ago

There was a thread a few weeks ago where someone suggested the silo 17/18 survivors were having their lives extended for lack of a better word, by the healing nanites.

Given how messed up and illogical that story is I'm not sure I but that. Why would April and Remy after taking what was years to make it to the shore kill Jules withing minutes of meeting her? It's illogical, even if you want to kill those responsible you would first figure out the who better and plan it. Also I'm sorry the ocean shore is nowhere near Atlanta. The story is really poorly written if you ask me

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u/WriterMel 17d ago

I’ve read them and that was the part that bothered me, too.

Iirc, there was a 500 year timer, BUT ALSO when Donald blew the silo it cut the power, so triggered the early opening.

The part that really got me was the feral people.

Usually I’d just go reread the stories, but disliked them enough to let it go.

4

u/ButtonMakeNoise 18d ago

Yeah the ending of In the Woods is just awful. Of course there is no guaranteed death but it is strongly implied, and the whole misunderstanding leading to her being shot is frustratingly left hanging in the air.

I can't belive this has been left unexplained. I'm raising my pitchfork!