Book's past
POSTED BY: Phatcorns
UPDATED: Saturday, January 21, 2006 19:09
VIEWED: 8225
PAGE 3 of 3
Quote:
Originally posted by subtorpman:
However I am not 100% sure of this as it seems his hand to hand combat skills are not too good. His weapon skill seems to be at a marksman level. Good aim hitting kneecaps.
He has his moments of habd-to-hand brilliance. I was rewatching the pilot last night and am always impressed by the way he disarms and incapacitates Dobson after Kaylee is shot.
I think that the theory that Book is a former operative is exactly the conclusion we are supposed to have drawn from the movie. This is why I doubt that it's true. If Joss ever reveals Book's past, I'm pretty sure that he's going to make it a big surprise.
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Here's a novel thought. Book was always big into belief both in the series and, of course, in the BDM. So, maybe there's an alternative to being an operative within the Alliance. Even operatives have to take orders from someone. "Kill or capture River" , for instance which is quite different mission than that of the "Hands of blue" guys.
OT, but related, if you think of the Alliance as more of an alliance rather than a monolithic government (think united federation of planets to steal a concept from ST or the EU of today) there's plenty of room for dissenting views within the "official" governing body. Hmmm, sounds like good fodder for more stories.
Okay, back to my main line of thinking. Book is much older than the Operative in the BDM and both individuals exhibit a strong belief system, eerily similar if you think about it. So here's my thought... Maybe "the Abbey" is a halfway house for members of the "Operatives organization" put out to pasture who have refocused their belief system from a loyalty to the Alliance to religion, in Book's case clearly a Judeo-Christian one.
With that said (remember this is a novel concept--at least I think it is) Book's "been out of the world, want to walk it a while" may be part of quest to complete his personal quest now that the Alliance doesn't have quite the influence on him it once had. Not really a "gee I did bad things and want to atone" (which I hate) but more a next step in his life. This might explain the startling and surprising tone of Book's thoughts (great job on that Ron!) to River in 'Objects in Space'.
One final thought... the Abbey obviously prepared Book for a much more "civilized" 'verse than he found. His early discomfort in the series clearly demonstrates this but he's adaptable and resilient (ex-Operative training kicks in) and, ultimately, sees the 'verse for what it is, a raw work in progress that needs folks like Mal, Zoe, et al, to bring some humanity back albiet in their own interesting way.
A personal opinion: I love this postulating about the mysteries of the show/movie. Although I wish the series could return, it is fun to fill in the gaps rather than wait for Joss to do it for us. In a strange sort of way that's what draws me more and more into this 'verse.
Sorry for my ramblings here but this whole thread was like an itch I had to scratch--till it bled.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Aerin:
After the movie I also thought Book was an ex-operative, retired and continuing the work to build a better world while atoning for his sins. Maybe that's what all operatives do. I never saw any evidence Book was disloyal to the Alliance. If he quit on bad terms the Alliance would not have patched him up and sent him off in Safe. He would be a threat to be eliminated. If Book was an ex-operative the Alliance must have had reason to believe he was completely trustworthy.
I can think of two other related options. Book could have been a sleeper operative. Maybe when they dropped him off before Ariel it was actually for a mission. Perhaps since finding River wasn't his mission he decided not to report it. If the Alliance ever thought to ask he could still tell them where she is.
Or Book could have left the Alliance and forged influential ID cards for himself. Whether or not he left under friendly conditions, he's smart and well trained enough to stay hidden. But again, I didn't see any signs he opposed the Alliance. I notice he never even seemed upset at about what was done to River.
But if Joss said he wasn't an operative...
I don't know. I saw that post too, but doesn't that seem like something we would all know about? That one post is the only time I've ever heard Joss saying that. Not saying the poster made it up at all, but maybe there was a breakdown in communication somewhere? I really would have thought that something as big as Joss saying "Hey, Book wasn't an Operative" would be much more common knowledge.
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I think it's a shame in that of all the characters who could've been killed, Book was the most underused in the series -- and therefore, the one we probably know the least about.
I think there was a lot more potential for this character, and now we'll probably never know (barring another film or series which has flashbacks).
"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
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FIREFLY SERENITY MUSIC VIDEO - SERENITY PILOT EPISODE 1
Music by Tangerine Dream - "Thief" soundtrack - "Confrontation"
http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2006/01/8310.php
Is anyone here old enough to remember that Thief movie with James Cahn, and the Mafia home-invasion shootout? That's why I picked that music for Firefly. That first pilot episode certainly didn't look "too boring for TV" to me. I think Joss was making an anti-war rant, what with all the violence and shooting and killing and dying. I'm sure Mal and Zoe either spent many years in a POW camp, when they held out 2 weeks after surrender, or else they somehow eluded capture entirely and never surrendered, and are in fact still fighting a "cold" war.
On first impression, Book was obviously some type of retired operative, attempting to atone for his "worlds without sin".
On second impression, Joss left other options for the "resurrection" of Book, probably without boring us with the obvious, thankfully. Joss has a habit of breathing new life into dead characters, from Buffy, to Angel, to Spike, to just about every character, in point of fact. I'm sure we shall see Book again, if he doesn't die in real life before then.
The Operative was employed by the future derivative of CIA/MI6. In USA today, almost every "law enforcement agency" has operatives - assassins, hitmen, mercenaries, Death Squads. Their favorite target is killing other operatives/assassins from other US "law enforcement agencies" of Gangsta Govt, in turf wars for shakedown rackets to "license" and "tax" organized crime. Although "traffic cops" do summarily execute over 500 Amerikans every year, including 1/3rd innocent bystanders - without arrest, without a lawyer, without trial, without appeal - during civil service of process for civil lawsuits for alleged breach of civil "driver license" contracts. Police State Death Squads aren't just for "terrorists" in Gitmo anymore - where the Bush Gang has legalized crushing children's testicles as torture for their parents.
My point being, Book may be a retired generic operative, employed by the Alliance, but not employed by the same unnamed agency controlled by the totalitarian Parliament (or by the shadow "govt" that controls the Parliament). So Book may have been a hitman employed by an Alliance rival to the Parliament, where his job was to hunt down other Operatives, and defend assassinations from other Operatives. Today, real-life operative assassins work for CIA, FBI, DIA, NSA, state police, local police, and for their licensed partners in crime - the mafias, often double-dipping in contract killings, as the news often reports when cops get arrested for being contract killers for the Mob.
Or perhaps Book was employed as an operative by the Rebellion, so he had to know his enemy.
Book's "retirement" may be incognito, with unpaid waiver of pension in trade for his life, like The Operative's recent "retirement".
Or Book's new career as shepherd may just be another undercover assignment for the Alliance. Historically, the first govt intelligence agencies were run by priests, such gathering intelligence during Catholic "confessions", and mass murdering the sheeple during the Inquisitions, as all religions have done, including over 100-million Earthlings genocided by the religion of Communist "atheism" (aka Luciferian "Jewish" Talmudic Cabalism, which shall be the chosen one-world religion of the Anglo-Asian United Nations Corporation Alliance).
Joss can resurrect Book and Wash by either flashback episodes, or an entire flashback episode, like in Star Wars (which still confuses me). Or Wash and Book can be resurrected by cloning. Or as sexbots... which is apparently Joss' favorite fetish. Imagine Zoe going mental and palling around with her pet Washbot - creepifying.
That was my big gripe with Joss in later versions of BTVS - the fun was few and far between, and SMG looked like she never had fun. Perhaps the inevitable stress of success? Perhaps killing isn't as muc fun as it's cracked up to be, neither real world nor mak
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