WMG / Newsflesh

Senator Ryman is a participant in or at least complicit with the conspiracy

• True the conspiracy may seem to be aimed at derailing his presidential aspirations, but at the same time his ability to overcome the obstacles it presents him makes him a very sympathetic candidate. After all, it would be very difficult for people to believe he would be involved with a plot that ultimately killed his daughter and several members of his campaign staff, especially with a Fall Guy like Governor Tate. And in "Deadline" he seems conspicuously absent when the Second Rising hits especially when you consider that he's the President and really ought to be addressing the nation. And let us not forget that he is frequently described as seeming "too good to be true".
  • Interesting theory — because we never did find out exactly who sabotaged the Screamers in Eakly, and who fired the darts at the ranch and at Sacramento.
    • It does seem quite unlikely that Ryman would have had opportunity to interfere with security in Eakly (being as busy as he was and with so many potential witnesses around constantly), and it's physically impossible for him to have done so at the ranch or in Sacramento, since his being miles away from either event at the relevant time is very solidly established.
  • And he and Vice President Rick Cousins were both conveniently incommunicado when Shaun and company needed them most in Deadline.
  • This troper really doesn't think Ryman is Ax-Crazy enough to murder his own daughter for the sake of a conspiracy of fear, especially when he's running on a platform of moderating that same fear. I mean, come on. He's not the Masons, and his wife would probably have killed him on principle for even thinking of it.
    • But that assumes that a) his political positions are sincere and b) he would be stupid enough to tell his wife that he was planning to murder their daughter for the sake of his political career. And neither is a safe assumption if he's actually in on the conspiracy.
    • I get the impression the author may assume all Republicans are Ax-Crazy.
    • Not quite Jossed. He was complicit, but under duress.

Rick's wife didn't really suicide.

• She had ovarian KA reservoir condition. Rick thinks she killed herself, but Deadline puts a whole new light on that tragic series of events.
  • President Ryman's wife also has retinal KA, now that I think about it...
• Confirmed.

In future sequels, the virus will start to infect non-mammal species as well

• We already saw an insect vector for KA, but that was engineered. On the other hand, Dr. Abbey actually has successfully infected tarantulas and apparently at least one octopus.....