The newest episode of Pluribus answers the big question from last week’s cliffhanger in the most disturbing way possible. Episode 6, titled “HDP,” reveals what Carol saw under the tarp at the Agri-Jet pet food plant and sends her to Las Vegas for a tense meeting with Koumba Diabaté. The trip uncovers major new information about the hive mind’s plan and a critical vulnerability that changes the game for the thirteen immune survivors.
The Horrific Discovery in the Warehouse
The episode picks up immediately from the shocking end of Episode 5, “Got Milk.” What Carol found was not just milk. She documents the scene with her camera: frozen human corpses, wrapped in plastic, stored in a warehouse. The next room contains massive industrial meat grinders and cooking vats. It is clear the hive mind has been processing human remains.
Instead of sending her latest video to the other immune survivors via the hive mind’s drone service, Carol decides to deliver it in person. She packs a bag and drives from Albuquerque to Las Vegas, Nevada, to confront Koumba Diabaté with the evidence.
Life in Sin City with Koumba Diabaté
Carol finds Koumba living a life of extreme luxury on the 30th floor of the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas. He is hosting a constant party, using members of the hive mind to act out elaborate scenes like a high-stakes poker game. The Others around him behave like cheerful party guests, but the moment he leaves the room, they stop all activity and stand silently, revealing their true, empty nature.
When Carol arrives, eager to show her video, Koumba is not surprised. He tells Carol he has already seen her previous videos, calling them “very dramatic”. More importantly, he already knows about the contents of the warehouse. The hive mind, he reveals, made their own video to explain the situation to Carol.
John Cena’s Chilling PSA on HDP
Koumba plays the hive mind’s video for Carol. It features a cameo from John Cena, who speaks directly to the camera on behalf of the collective consciousness.
“Hello, Carol. We’re John Cena,” the video begins, “and we’re here to address some questions you might be having regarding our food supply.”
Cena explains that the hive mind’s core rule—they cannot harm or kill any living thing—extends to all life, including plants. They cannot pick an apple from a tree. They can only consume food that was already harvested or an organism that has already died. With over 7.3 billion mouths to feed, this created a severe “caloric deficit”.
Their solution is HDP, or Human-Derived Protein. The mysterious fluid Carol found is not milk but a nutritional supplement containing 8 to 12 percent processed human remains. The hive mind views humans who died during the initial Joining as a resource that should not go to waste. As Cena puts it, they “cherish the memory of these people and appreciate their sacrifice”.
A New Strategic Divide and a Critical Weakness
The conversation between Carol and Koumba reveals a deep split in strategy among the immune. Carol is hellbent on finding a way to reverse the Joining and restore humanity. Koumba and the other ten survivors (excluding Manousos) have been holding meetings without her. They are focused on a different problem: even with HDP, Koumba tells Carol, most of the hive mind will starve to death within ten years because they cannot farm or raise livestock.
While Carol argues the only way to save people is to turn the Others back, the other immune are trying to find ways to save the hive mind from starvation. Koumba mentions they pitched the idea of robot farmers, but the hive mind said programming robots to terminate life, even plant life, was forbidden.
Amid this argument, Koumba reveals the episode’s most critical piece of information: The hive mind cannot assimilate the immune survivors without their consent.
“The only way to make their virus work on us is by tailoring it to our individual stem cells,” Koumba explains. “But to obtain those stem cells, they must first collect them from our bodies.”
The process is described as painful and invasive, involving a large needle into the hip bone. Because the hive mind cannot cause harm, they cannot perform this procedure without permission. Relieved, Carol immediately calls the hive mind’s hotline and loudly withholds her consent, which they say they will respect.
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Manousos Makes His Move
The final segment of the episode shifts to Paraguay, checking in on Manousos Oviedo, the immune survivor who has refused all contact. He finally receives and watches Carol’s first video message. For the first time, he learns he is not alone and hears Carol’s findings that the Others cannot lie.
Inspired, Manousos leaves his storage unit office and returns to his apartment for the first time since the Joining began. He packs a bag with supplies, maps, a portable radio, and an English language course. As he prepares to drive off into the night, a member of the hive mind appears, taking the form of his mother. She warmly offers to answer any questions. Manousos, knowing his real mother was unkind, sees through the act.
“Don’t call me son,” he says. “You’re not my mother. My mother was a bh.”*
He then drives away, seemingly beginning a journey to find Carol. Before he left, he was also shown scanning radio frequencies, repeatedly finding a mysterious pulsing signal on frequency 8.613.0, which he notes with question marks in his book.
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