The defining characteristic of WICKED is that they manipulate everyone and everything. These are the people who make the Variables, who are searching for the patterns, and who are supposedly good. Every event, situation, hardship, you name it—it's all been created by WICKED.
Because of WICKED's extreme abuse of power, the Gladers find themselves in what seems to be a futile situation. They have no power whatsoever, and they if they don't follow orders, they'll die for sure. So what else can they do?
Questions About Manipulation
- Since WICKED oversees all of the experiments, why does Thomas get shot?
- Does WICKED manipulate some of the Gladers' minds?
- Does WICKED's manipulation cause the Gladers to give in to their power?