[Toby's face doesn't change. Steven can probably still tell that she's angry.]

You might be surprised. My people are subjugated by people more subtle than the witches of Dorchacht, and have been for generations. From birth we are told to see them as our masters. A Yeerk in your head blinks and breathes for you and knows your every thought and feeling; when you sleep, it watches your dreams. It wants you to quietly accept its control, but even if it is distracted when you fight it, all you can manage is a twitch, a step, a few words, and then your body is not your own again.

We fight them anyway, controlled or free. I've seen tens of people rescued from the Yeerks, and for most it is a struggle. People respond in different ways and it is those who had Yeerks that pretended to be their friends who struggle most, I think. Being tormented, though - even if it breaks someone down, helplessness can be unlearned.