A suspicion about Book...
POSTED BY: Kurukami
UPDATED: Monday, December 2, 2002 17:21
VIEWED: 4780
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For some reason, I can't shake the nagging feeling that he's ex-Alliance, and that he was likely in the higher echelons of an Alliance intelligence agency.
He knows Niska by rep (as shown in The Train Job, which as Jayne has commented is rather remarkable for a sheltered preacher straight from the monastery). He knows details about interstellar chopshops and a lot of criminal background (as shown in Our Mrs. Reynolds). And in Safe, he pulls out his ident card and the Alliance commander instantly changes his policy regarding taking care of wounded "nobodies".
On the other hand, it has been clearly demonstrated that Book possesses faith, and that he's not just mouthing the dogma. The scenes with River, in Jaynestown, and those which show him praying over his Bible in Out of Gas, strongly imply a man who holds to the strictures of a religion because he believes it's the right thing in his heart.
So here's my guess about Shepherd Book -- he is Alliance, high-ranking in military intelligence (with information tending towards the Independents and interstellar crime, which many of those who fought for Independence could have drifted towards after their loss). He is retired from active duty, though -- call it a crisis of faith, having seen firsthand the policies the Alliance put into place after the closing of the War. He's spent the last few years in his monastery on Persephone, trying to reconcile his beliefs with his life.
So... what's your theory about Shepherd Book? 
History doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes it merely shouts "Weren't you listening the first time?!?" and lets fly with a club.
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If we're going to figure he was an Alliance agent of some kind, we could also figure he was PLANTED on this ship, most likely because of the Tams, but also possibly because of anyone else they might be interested in, like former independent soldiers or anyone who might have pulled off a major crime in the past. (Then being near the Tams would be just a benefit.)
One nifty thing about that idea is that he doesn't need to be "former". I mean, if you want to have an agent frequently interview and try to influence River and possibly become trusted enough to eventually spring some kind of trap, then a priest trying to help someone who's been through a lot would be a wonderful cover, wouldn't it? (Of course, to pull this off, he'd probably need mental abilities like River's and better control over them.)
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My problem is that if he is still in Alliance Intel then River probably would have picked up on that.
OK, maybe he was Alliance Military Intel (dealing with criminals.Indepandants) then got a transfer to Blue Sun and their Blue Hand division which freaked him out, made him go reglious, etc...
The reason he doesn't know about River being so important from the Blue Hands is because he was only there long enough so see them use that creepy gadget of theirs/see their methods. He disagreed with them (Mil Intel would be less likly to those methods) and so he left.
Comments/suggestions?
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May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May you be in heaven an hour before
The Devil knows you’re dead.
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I'm guessing along the same lines - former spy or intellegence agent. Maybe saw something, maybe started asking questions he wasn't supposed to be asking, maybe had a personal crisis and found his answers in a King James where others of his station would head for the bottle.
I'm guessing he's going to be this universe's answer to Garak. We don't know quite where he's been, or what he's up to, we just know he's not as plain and simple as he looks.
I also think that is he wanted to burn the crew, he would have done it by now. My guess is that he got out of the life he did lead and really wants to stay out - even to the point of switching sides.
Co-founder of the Evil Writing Crew - causing hell, one hero at a time!
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Book being ex-Alliance makes sense. His knowledge of crime is extensive. Who besides a criminal would know what he does? A cop, of course.
I don't agree that he's still with them though. If the piousness is just an act, its a damn good one, and if he were really a plant I think the Tam's would already have been caught. So why would the Alliance be so eager to save his life if he's no longer working for them? Maybe Book's the type of guy a lot of people owe favors to. That could be enough to get him medical attention and a blind eye turned to Mal's obviously illegal operation.
"I was gonna get me an ear, too." - Jayne
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Given that the Alliance is a corrupt and massive bureaucracy.
Given that the blue team killed half a dozen Alliance Marshalls.
It could be our Book is working for someone in the system, trying to discover what the rest of the system is doing.
Jeff
Who notes it takes a bureaucracy to fight one.
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Quote:
Originally posted by JaynesGirlfriend:
Book being ex-Alliance makes sense. His knowledge of crime is extensive. Who besides a criminal would know what he does? A cop, of course.
Or a Military Chaplain, in an Intelligence Outfit.
In the US Army Chaplains start at the Rank of Captain.
Jeff
Who figures the Chaplain of an Intelligence Unit should be cleared for Top Secret Blabbers Boiled Alive, then goes up from there.
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My absolutely-off-the-wall, utterly wild and unsubstantiated theory about who Book really is?
He's the true head of the Alliance, travelling incognito, trying to see what effect the Alliance is really having on the worlds at large.
Okay, I know, it's full of holes. I just got a weird feeling, though, when those Alliance troops got a look at his ident card and their demeanor totally changed. Not a moment's hesitation in taking him aboard their vessel, nor any difficulty or questions after. Whatever his identity is, he's important and high-ranking, I think.
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Quote:
Originally posted by TinyTimm:
Given that the Alliance is a corrupt and massive bureaucracy.
Given that the blue team killed half a dozen Alliance Marshalls.
It could be our Book is working for someone in the system, trying to discover what the rest of the system is doing.
I like this one.
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May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May you be in heaven an hour before
The Devil knows you’re dead.
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I don't think he is ex military intelligence or an agent. Someone with field experience would not stand around the corral when gunplay starts.
I believe Book is royalty. A prince, or the head rulers younger brother would rate the kind of medical attention that he recieved. I think he didn't agree with the war and went to the monastery because he was a conciencious objector.
I think that someone raised to run the whole show would learn about the underworld elements in the society. He would be responsible for keeping them in check once he did inherit the throne.
This is my favorite show.
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