Who are the Hands of Blue? * spoilers *
POSTED BY: Gendou
UPDATED: Friday, October 28, 2005 19:12
VIEWED: 9869
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Quote:
Originally posted by thiefjehat:
Yes I agree. A friend of mine who is a chemist suggested that blue sun food contains chemical free radicals that attach to nerve cells (brain and spinal column).
Oh wow, so there's a realistic possibility of this and everything... I was getting the idea from the Thought Control government type in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri; wasn't sure how much it applied here. KF
~Kaiser Farooque
ZOE: Preacher, don’t the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?
BOOK: Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps...
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Based on the high-pitched wail the Blue hands device emmits I had always assumed that it killed using sound. Setup a harmonic vibration in a persons body then they're going to liquify, blood shooting from the orifices and I imagine that it would be quite painfull. Add to that any one in range of the sound would be effected.
This of course would harm the operatives as well, but I imagine that there is ways around that.
I don't see the Blue Hands as telepaths though. In Ariel they don't know that the feds had spoken to the prisoners until they were told... couldn't they of read them if they were telepaths?
Blue Sun IMHO is definatly linked with what was done with River, but so is the goverment. That still fits in with the paradigm of Aliens tho. The corporation in Aliens is Wailand-Yutani (you don't really see it refrenced, if at all, except in the special edition). They have deep ties with the goverment. Getting colonial marines dispatched, for instance, plus theres a lot of canon and non-canon evidence to support that. Think the east india company and the British goverment last century, but even greater integration.
As for nanite, personally I don't see it. The only evidence to support it seems to be Rivers rant, and there are other explinations for that...
It is an eligant theory though, and I could be wrong...
It has been known to happen 
.
Zen Buddhist to the Hotdog Vendor:
"Make me one with everything."
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Quote:
Originally posted by citizen:
Think the east india company and the British goverment last century, but even greater integration.
It's interesting you wrote that because I have built an image of the political atmosphere of the Alliance as a reflection of the british government circa 1700.
In that time period you had the government(parlimnent) as the psudo-democratic ruling body. Then you had the King and the nobility and finally you had the strong influence of big business...the biggest of which was the East India Company.
In the Firefly 'verse I have found that the Alliance government fills the role of parliment. You also have all kinds of nobility including an actual king on the planet Londinum. Finally you have the influence of big business, the largest of which is Blue Sun.
In both models you find that the bodies of noble and corporate culture work hard to influence the controling government body. This is done to establish and maintain positions of control. Corruption is surely rife between the 3 controling bodies as bureaucrats, nobles, and business execs all play a game of power.
Do not fear me. Ours is a peaceful race, and we must live in harmony.
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It could also be a the current American system/culture taken to its logical extreme, with nobillity added to the mix. Most capatalist nations experience this to some degree or another...
I see the Alliance as a governing body that has become so interwind with big buissness that its almost indistinguishable. In fact I'd go as far to say that Blue Sun is so intergrated that goverment bodies may also be Blue Sun divisions.
Zen Buddhist to the Hotdog Vendor:
"Make me one with everything."
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Quote:
Originally posted by Eleanor:
Wow, that nanite theory is really good...I wish I'd thought of that!
Regarding the comics:Select to view spoiler:
Yeah, it was dissappointing how easily defeatable they were, after all that buildup. Issue #2 promised a "shocking revelation" in #3, but we really didn't learn anything about the HoB's...except that they're not just wearing gloves....
"Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out." –Cardinal Wolsey
Actually, when I read that I assumed it was regarding one of the crew members, like maybe something about Book or Inara.
Select to view spoiler:
Maybe it was just the fact that Book left Serenity, and if that's the case that was a bogus blurb. A BB if you will.
Simon: You...you came for us.
Mal: You're on my crew.
Simon: Right. I guess I just didn't...you don't even like me.
Mal: You're on my crew. Why we still talking about this?
-Safe
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Gotta remember that the Alliance is a mesh between American and Chinese government systems. So I can see a pretty fair amount of corporatism and authoritarianism, each sort of playing off against the other for a constant struggle of business versus government. Though, it's likely more complex than that, with business controlling or influencing aspects of government, while occasionally the control flows in the opposite direction.
Now, I'm still trying to figure where a revived nobility fits it. But, it seems to me that nobility arises most easily where there's a void in power that can be easily filled by moneyed folk--the Magistrate in Canton, or Atherton Wing or Warrick Harrow in Persephone (well, Persephone's kind of mid-way). But I'd wager that the more influential nobility also have a heavy hand in big business.
While we're on the subject of the British Empire, when I think of them and China, first thing that comes to mind is the Opium Wars. And all this talk on Blue Sun engineering agents to have some control on the populace is taking on an eerie similarity to what the Brits did. KF
~Kaiser Farooque
ZOE: Preacher, don’t the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?
BOOK: Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps...
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kizyr:
it seems to me that nobility arises most easily where there's a void in power that can be easily filled by moneyed folk--the Magistrate in Canton, or Atherton Wing or Warrick Harrow in Persephone
I always figured the same thing. Mal reinforces it when he asks Simon if the girl in the box was destined for a "Border World Baron" The only thing that breaks the mold is the King of Londinum. Londinum and Sihnon are the 2 largest core worlds. Londinum is the anglo world and it apparently has a king based on Mals quip to Kaylee in the pilot.
Quote:
(well, Persephone's kind of mid-way).
My understanding of Persephone is that it's a Border-Core world. It's kind of a nexus of commerce to and from the core going to the rim. This is why you see developed buildings in the scene when Inara is taking off in her shuttle in the pilot. It's also why Simon was told by the folks who helped get River out of the Acadamy that they'd get her to Persephone and from there he could go wherever. Persephone is a jumping off point to any destination. It's also the perfect place for a slimeball like Badger to operate.
Do not fear me. Ours is a peaceful race, and we must live in harmony.
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The only actual evidence of nobility is on border worlds. There being a king of Londinium based on a single one liner is a bit of a stretch. I see Mal's quip as more of a flippant remark, along to lines of "and I'd like to be the king of the world", and there isn't a king of the world 
.
The Brits in China is interesting, though. Theres a lot of parallels you can draw, Joss seems to see the Alliance as an America gone wrong, which is a big reason why I draw that comparision more than any other.
Zen Buddhist to the Hotdog Vendor:
"Make me one with everything."
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Quote:
Originally posted by thiefjehat:
Mal reinforces it when he asks Simon if the girl in the box was destined for a "Border World Baron" The only thing that breaks the mold is the King of Londinum. Londinum and Sihnon are the 2 largest core worlds. Londinum is the anglo world and it apparently has a king based on Mals quip to Kaylee in the pilot.
I really got to go along Citizen's line of thought. When I heard that, it sounded like a joking line, sort of how when I say I'd like to be Emperor of the World or Lord of the Rings, or some such. Since the core worlds are all Alliance, I figure they have the same government / bureaucratic hierarchical structure all the way on down to the local levels. The semiperiphery and periphery is mostly where things get shaken up.
Quote:
Originally posted by thiefjehat:
My understanding of Persephone is that it's a Border-Core world. It's kind of a nexus of commerce to and from the core going to the rim. This is why you see developed buildings in the scene when Inara is taking off in her shuttle in the pilot.
I think that's why it's my favourite world so far. It has everything and, in a lot of ways, it's the closest to Earth-that-was. Well, except I don't think it's split up into rival nations and whatnot. KF
~Kaiser Farooque
ZOE: Preacher, don’t the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?
BOOK: Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps...
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I've also been of the opinion that Blue Sun is a Governement front, or a law-unto-itself, exactly like Weyland-Utani in Aliens.
If you look real close at the "CryBaby" in the pilot ep of the show, it is made from a Blue Sun coffee drum.
Add that to the other list of times Blue Sun products/adverts/tshirts we see and I cannot see how they could possibly NOT be plot related. Only person i'll accept an answer to the contrary from is the mighty Whedon himself...
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