How did the tech in Dollhouse go wild?

Question

In between the seasons, I believe there was a big jump (likely from the writers having to condense several years of planned plot lines) and at some point, the Dollhouse tech went into the wild, which is what created the post apocalypse that consumed much of the last episodes / season. Was it ever explained how that tech got loose?

Answer 1

I don't have references handy, but I was under the impression that Rossum itself broke apart with at least one person having the ability to reprogram a person using only audio. They used that ability to attack the other portions of Rossum, and ultimately both sides started using this technique to build up their various armies to fight each other.

I don't know that it was an important point of the plot, though - it was only important to show that it was out of control.

Answer 2

In Epitaph One, I believe its mentioned offhandedly that the tech leaked from Rossum and eventually China got the tech and started using it through phone lines and through audio broadcasts to do mass reprogramming.

I like that the whole thing wasn't explained explicitly in some big scene - its a way of saying it didn't matter how it happened specifically, because the same end result was inevitable. Topher certainly recognized the likely outcome the instant he learned that remote audio imprinting was possible.

I imagine that once the tech leaked from Rossum, the use of the tech escalated (slowly? quickly? doesn't matter?):

• Upon hearing about Doll tech, any county or entity with a big enough budget would pay or do anything to obtain it and/or advance for themselves, starting a new arms race with Doll tech as the new A-bomb

• Once a conflict is started anywhere, the county/entity with the largest Doll army had the upper hand, so the mass reprogramming of population groups would ensue:

  • selective groups at first (rebels, prisoners, indigents, mentally ill, etc),
  • less selective later (general citizenry) as the situation gets more desperate.
  • After all: s/he ... with the most toys wins.

• Its conceivable that Doll remote audio imprinting was applied directly to the battlefield by both sides, with soldiers getting wiped and reprogrammed by opposite sides over and over again. Shredding the higher functions of the brain with contravening instructions over and over again == eventual zombie brain.

• Doll signals could be combat dropped into the enemy base camp with programming that says "kill, kill, kill anything that moves" == zombie brain

• Less ethical leaders could drop doll signals into an enemy population center (like the A-bomb was) with programming that says "kill, kill, kill anything that moves" == zombie brain

• Attempts at anti-Doll counter-tech started and never get very sophisticated or get very much testing before trying it in the field. There could have been multiple catastrophic failures == zombie brain

With all that messing with the brain, I can conceive how a Doll zombie apocalypse could happen.

Answer 3

There was no explicit mention of this, but I would guess that as the tech to reprogram and erase became smaller and cheaper, it made it's way to the market.. and Rossum turned from a service provided to a product dev company. Like any other weapon, it would have made its way into the hands of anti-social elements.. which would have easily triggered the apocalypse.