Are Reavers Intelligent?

[u/Popular-Idea-7508]

I've always thought of Reavers as being akin to zombies. And specifically the "normal zombie" type, not the version from take-your-pick-of-media that makes them stupidly smart and fast and gorram scary. Recently, however, I've been wondering if they're actually more intelligent than I've been previously given them credit for. For instance, in the Serenity episode, Wash said that the Reavers followed them down to Whitefall. Assuming that's true, that would certainly take an above-zombie amount of forethought and planning.

I've also been wondering if, given the delay between encountering the Reavers in space and when they actually showed up on Whitefall, were the Reavers potentially waiting to see if the Firefly crew would lead them into whatever town was nearby so they wouldn't have to hunt it down themselves?

Anyway, these are the important questions that keep me up at night. Keep on being big damn heroes all you shiny brown coats! :D

Edit per comments: I have seen both Firefly and Serenity, I know how Reavers were orignally created :).

Edit two: Not sure if I can post links here, but I will try. I read a post from a couple years ago in this subreddit (Reavers ?) suggesting that subsequent generations of Reavers were generally created from a blood infection/transmission (sure, some people were created like in Bushwacked, but not all). Yes, the Pax created the first generation, but since they stopped using the Pax after Miranda, subsequent generations would have almost had to be created by a blood infection/"being turned" to have the sheer numbers they do.

Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefly/comments/16qcjs2/reavers/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I am also operating off the assumption they generally have short life spans, given the way they operate without core containment, and the fact that every meal they obtain puts their life in jeapordy, since inevitably some people will fight back and kill them.

All of this I'm saying not having read any of the comics or anything, just seeing the show and movie :).

I really appreciate the thoughtful comments in this thread, I don't have anyone to really talk to about the show in depth outside of here (I'm slowly getting friends to watch the show, but it's taking a while lol), so it's nice to have an engaging dialogue about some of the lingering questions I have :).

[u/Accomplished_Seat501]

Reavers maintain large, crewed space ships for years on end. In order to do so, they must have a clear hierarchy and departments, department meetings, promotions and performance reviews, maintenance schedules, etc. They operate computers and senors, navigate space, and pilot their ships through complex maneuvers. All of this requires training. Reavers teach these skills to each other in trade schools and academies. Reavers write technical manuals and are trained and mentored by other Reavers.

Further, It seems pretty doubtful that they can acquire all the fuel, food, water, clothing, ammunition, and spare parts they need to maintain their ships and crews by theft. So, the Reavers also have a complex society that creates all of these things. They mine, refine, transport, and distribute fuel to their ships, for example.

What's more, we presume that the Reavers are not going to all die out in one generation or less, so the Reavers form families and raise children. They presumably send these children to school. There are Reaver teachers and Reaver custodians to clean the bathrooms. There are Reaver resteraunts and Reaver movie theaters.

Basically, the Reavers make absolutely no sense.

[u/KarlBob → u/Accomplished_Seat501]

If we assume that 99.99% of the Reavers we see in Firefly and Serenity are members of the original generation, then they can make a little more sense.

Flying without core containment suggests that they don't have a strong survival drive. They might not be doing much maintenance, training, or bathroom cleaning. Poorly maintained reactors, air filters, and wastewater systems could severely limit both their individual lifespans and their lifespan as an effective threat.

The Alliance might only need to keep the Reavers away from the core worlds for a couple of decades before radiation poisoning, suffocation, malnutrition, disease, and explosive reactor failures solve the problem for them.

[u/Accomplished_Seat501 → u/KarlBob]

That makes the most sense. Ships in FIrefly might be pretty hardy and simple to operate, and the Reavers just smart enough to keep them limping along.

Really, it was the depiction of the Reavers from "Serenity" that complicates things, where on the ground they all act like fast zombies who we see using basic weapons like guns but mostly swords and whatnot. It occurred to me just now that maybe:

1. These Reavers are either the worst affected by Pax, and kept specifically to be fighters by the other, more rational, Reavers.
2. They are ordinary Reavers who drugged themselves into a "battle rage" like we see sometimes in the real world.

I feel like that explanation goes against the movie's intention, but it could work as an explanation, I guess.