My new Book's past theory...

POSTED BY: Amiton
UPDATED: Thursday, January 26, 2006 09:39
VIEWED: 8857
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AERIN

Monday, January 23, 2006 8:24 PM

It hadn't occured to me that Jubal shouldn't have known Book - good one! Sill, there could be multiple levels of Operatives, some with names. Dr Mathias seemed familiar with people sent by Parliment, but hadn't encounterd a nameless Operative before. Or, Jubal could have encountered Book as an Operative if their missions overlapped. Maybe they were sent after the same person - hire a bounty hunter to flush a guy out of hiding and draw his attention while the Operative sneaks up behind his back. Or, maybe Jubal flunked out of Operative training school and met Book there.

Man, there are so many possibilities! Joss is awesome!

Jayne: I once hit a guy in the neck from 500 yards with a bent scope. Don't that count upstairs?
Book: Oh, it'll be taken into consideration.
Jayne: You made that sound kind of ominous.

GABRIEL

Monday, January 23, 2006 8:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Tayeatra:
Operatives don't exist, like the Academy scientists. There is no way that Juble Early could have identified (at least partially) the Shepard if he had been an operative.

Call me crazy, but I have never thought that Jubal Early actually knew Book. Like his analyses of the character of all aboard, he just made a dead-on but skewed intuitive leap about Book, based on listening in to the crew's conversation before. Early was nuts enough to just read Book's mind, or near enough as makes no difference.

___
RIVER: They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see the sky and they remember what they are.
MAL: Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me?

PDCHARLES

Monday, January 23, 2006 9:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Gabriel:

Call me crazy, but I have never thought that Jubal Early actually knew Book. Like his analyses of the character of all aboard, he just made a dead-on but skewed intuitive leap about Book, based on listening in to the crew's conversation before. Early was nuts enough to just read Book's mind, or near enough as makes no difference.

I think maybe he did know Book. ( and I am crazy! )

Just judging by the way Jubal hid from Book and sneak attacked him. He approached everyone, including Cap'n, as though he was not worried what they tried. Then he snapped out a response to Simon.

Plus, someone brought to my attention that u could see Jubal's ship in "Trash". ...and that got me to thinkin' Maybe he knew a little 'bout all of them before he came on board. 'Cept River... no one knew about her. (Just her capabilities, that is) ...and all parties were surprised.

U gonna be smart here Riva?!?

SPOOTER

Monday, January 23, 2006 10:11 PM

How's this for a theory.... Book isn't an operative, or even former employee of the Alliance. However, maybe he's the son, or brother, etc., of a high ranking Alliance official, one high enough to have great influence, and whose name would be instantly recognizable throughout the Alliance !
As for being on Serenity and "down with" the crew and it's activities, just being related to a higher up doesn't mean you approve of all they are involved with. Perhaps he decided to find out for himself what the other side is like rather than take government "dogma" at face value. And since we know that the Alliance allows religeous freedom, they probably wouldn't want to set anyone off by trying to interfere with his activities as a Shephard, so long as he doesn't get too much in their way....say by harboring known fugitives...... Just something to consider..

"Also.....I can kill you with my brain...."
River's best line ever....

AMITON

Monday, January 23, 2006 10:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Tayeatra:
However, to the people who think he's an operative... think again...

Operatives don't exist, like the Academy scientists. There is no way that Juble Early could have identified (at least partially) the Shepard if he had been an operative.

I have to strongly disagree here. An operative of the parliament cannot be an abnormal occurence, and most certainly our villain from the BDM has to be a special kind of operative...the doctor from the training center knew about operatives, but was surprised be the fact that The Operative (with a capital!) had neither a rank nor name...an instance that wasn't familiar with the existance of...

Amiton.

TAYEATRA

Monday, January 23, 2006 11:07 PM

I'm liking Spooters theory here. Strange but after i'd never continued the family/close relation thread.

I shall have to give it some more thought.

Dark Angel, Firefly, Buffy, Angel, Enterprise, Farscape... anything else you'd like to cancel?

NUCLEARDAY

Monday, January 23, 2006 11:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Amiton:
My new assertion is that Book ran smuggling ops much like our current beloved crew. The ident card? It's a forgery... He likely even used to do a mission (or all of them) on the older Fireflys...the ones prior to the E-model with the extenders for stability =)

I've always had a bit of a gut feeling about something along similar lines myself. We know that Joss likes juxtaposition, and it somehow fits in my mind at least. I can even see perhaps Book being more of a kingpin or something whereas Mal and his crew are more along the lines of petty thieves. Book certainly has enough of an age difference to have "climbed the ranks" of crime, and to have made his shift to shepard by the time he comes into contact with the crew.

I still "officially" go with the Book as an operative theory, but I could never shake the idea of Book as a smuggler/crimelord either. I guess I like the idea of thinking that every time Book is there to act as Mal's conscience, it's because in the past Book has made the "wrong" choices in similar situations.

Oh, and really shiny idea about the ident card being a forgery! I'd never thought of that, either. Makes sense as something to keep around, just for good luck, as he goes back out into the ''verse at large...

Also, anyone else ever wonder if maybe there's something more to his decision to go wandering in the first place?

NCBROWNCOAT

Monday, January 23, 2006 11:39 PM

OK, here's my theory on Book. I think he was a high Fed law enforcement official.

Most law enforcement officials would have tactical experience and come up thru the ranks. That would account for Book's abilities with weapons and tactics. It would also explain his feeling that what Mal was doing was small potatoes. He's seen lots worse.

That would also explain why he knows the procedures regarding contacting other Fed officers (The Message) when you are out of your sector and his protection of Dobson (the pilot).

If he was involved interrogating prisoners that would explain his familiarity with the theory of torture, at least on an academic level.

It would also explain his knowledge of Niska (which makes him more likely to be a Fed), familitarity with Operatives and the reason Jubal Early recoginized him. The disgust that Jubal Early uses suggests some sort of scandal or noteritiy attached to Book.

I feel that something happened. Maybe he was involved in a operation that either hurt a lot of innocent people or there was a disaster for the Feds but was officially called a success and he felt responsible none the less. He either retired with high rank (most likely) or was forced out. The incident, what ever it was, caused him to reevaluate his life and faith and he entered the monestary.

KWICKO

Tuesday, January 24, 2006 4:52 AM

I won't call this a "theory", or even call it what I believe, but it *could* help explain a few things...

Suppose Book was a high-ranking military man. Say, a commander in the Alliance forces. Then suppose that Book had actually been one of the Alliance commanders in charge at the battle of Serenity Valley. He saw things there that could absolutely change a man and cause him to question his beliefs (whether he was fighting on the wrong side, for instance), AND it would go a ways towards explaining his response to Mal when Cap'n Reynolds says Book will have to tell him about his past sometime. "No, I don't," says Book. Could that mean that he's so ashamed of his involvement with the Battle of Serenity that he can't tell Mal about it, or fearful of what Mal's reaction would be if he DID tell him?

Could be that Book left the military after the war and entered the abbey in an attempt at some sort of redemption (remember, Joss is BIG on redemption!), and that he later came to identify with Mal and his crew as being The Good Guys in all this mess. Sure, they're petty criminals and up to no good, but that might just suit Book fine, given what he's seen the other side do in time of war.

Just an idea.

Mike

"Kaylee, find that kid that's taking a dirt nap with baby Jesus; we need a hood ornament."

SPERMBIRD

Tuesday, January 24, 2006 5:24 AM

Surely Book's knowledge of both Alliance procedures & criminal elements points towards law enforcement in a hands on capacity.

Now if he wasn't an operative in his previous life before becoming a Shepherd, then I think that he must have been involved in something like a secret police.

Someone who travels the verse, consorting with the criminal element (allowing him to know Niska) while at the same time able to call local authorities into action (knowledge of Alliance proceedures).

Jubal would have recognised him as not a Shepherd simply by the way he moved. People who deal in violence generally are able to judge the capacity in others. Hence he recognised that Book didn't move like a Shepherd rather than someone who was trained to fight.

(I finally got around to posting something around here)

Spermbird

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