My Theory on Inara's Vial
POSTED BY: DanielFyre
UPDATED: Saturday, October 27, 2007 07:43
VIEWED: 16770
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The "sexually transmitting toxin" seems to pretty much be the canon answer (and the one we took at Virtual Firefly), based on both Minear's discussed storyline and the clues Joss gave us.
I think this may have been considered but wasn't fully developed.
Who in their right mind would want to be brutally raped to death, possibly while being cannibalistically eaten, just to pass on a disease?! I think the revenge would be somewhat tempered the sounds of your own screaming in agony, assuming you lived long enough to see the results (also assuming you still had eyes).
I don't accept the "rape bomb" theory on the grounds of its impracticality, UNLESS an over-dose made it a suicide kit. In other words, it could be used as a "rape bomb" when confronted with a "civilized" rapist (like an out of control client), but could be over-dosed to cause death in the event of Reaver attack.
I like the idea that it has youth extending properties if used correctly and is a suicide drug if over-dosed.
The Firefly 'verse wasn't about the supernatural, so I don't believe Inara would be immortal, but I do think life and youth extending drugs falls within the fictional boundaries of the 'verse.
The idea that Inara is MUCH older than her appearence indicates, explains a lot of the mysterious elements of her character.
Her leaving Madrassa House,
her savvy in renting the shuttle from Mal,
her world weariness for one so young,
the Nandi comment,
the "I don't want to die at all" comment,
her choice of a boat plying the Rim rather than a major cruise line;
and so on.
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I like that...I think that would be a very interesting storyline, but the only problem with it is she did end up going back to the companion house.
She didn't go back to Sihnon, tho'.
The training house that she was at with Sheydra was almost certainly not the Core world of Sihnon based on her deleted scene conversation with Sheydra. She says that while the girls are from good families, they aren't true Companions; a situation that would almost certainly not exist in Madrassa House. also, as powerful as he was, the Operative and his heavily armed and amored troops would not be able to cause the disruption and violence that they did on Core World Sihnon in a house as influencial as Madrassa. It would also not have been very "covert" an operation in the heart of the Alliance.
While I think the "rape bomb" may have been considered, I think Inara's "dark secret" was that she couldn't stay connected any where long-term because of the youth serum.
Mike
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Originally posted by Cruithne3753:
Maybe at the time, JW and/or TM hadn't quite developed the the Pax idea (1 in a thousand) as it is seen in the BDM, and the idea at the time that whatever drug caused "reaverism" caused it in all cases... (thought: maybe the original idea that Reavers were the degenerate dealers and addicts of some sort of crystal meth type drug) so, to avoid being the victim of a Reaver attack, the contents of the vial would turn her into one herself. An unpleasant but prefereble state.
Of course, that would then create another question; How did she come upon such a secret, as it is obviously not common knowledge in the 'Verse with all those daft "going mad on the edge of space" stories?
I can't comment you your theory in particular, but Whedon has admitted (in interviews, and possibly in the commentary) that when he started work on FIREFLY, the Reavers had a different origin than they do in SERENITY (which accounts for some minor inconsistencies in continuity, I think).
www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."
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Originally posted by pennausamike:Quote:
The "sexually transmitting toxin" seems to pretty much be the canon answer (and the one we took at Virtual Firefly), based on both Minear's discussed storyline and the clues Joss gave us.
I think this may have been considered but wasn't fully developed.
Who in their right mind would want to be brutally raped to death, possibly while being cannibalistically eaten, just to pass on a disease?! I think the revenge would be somewhat tempered the sounds of your own screaming in agony, assuming you lived long enough to see the results (also assuming you still had eyes).
I don't accept the "rape bomb" theory on the grounds of its impracticality, UNLESS an over-dose made it a suicide kit. In other words, it could be used as a "rape bomb" when confronted with a "civilized" rapist (like an out of control client), but could be over-dosed to cause death in the event of Reaver attack.
See, here's where people get tripped up on the STT (sexually transmitted toxin) theory. I DON'T think it was intended to deal with the lines of Reavers. It was intended for something else, and Inara was CONSIDERING using it against the Reavers. (Whether she injected or not, we'll never know).
There are two (and, as near as I know, only two) facts that are relevant to the contents of the black vial:
1-It is not a suicide kit (statement by JW in the commentary for the pilot)
2-It is something "more disgusting" or "more disturbing" (also from the commentary for the pilot; I apologize for being uncertain of the word used)
The following two facts apply to Inara's SECRET(S), but not necessarily "the black vial":
3-There is a hint to Inara' secrets in the Inara/Simon scene in "Objects in Space" (per JW's commentary; I don't recall JW specifically calling out the "I don't want to die" line)
4-When discussing an episode idea they didn't have the opportunity to use, Tim Minear stated "they learn that she had something that would make anyone who had sex with her die." [note that this is paraphrased by an attendee who saw Minear speak.]. This "fact" is somewhat speculative, since the episode was never written, and the idea was discussed when the show was intended to have darker tone than FOX wanted.
I imagine it's POSSIBLE that Inara's running around with a chemical arsenal of a bunch of vials, but that seems pretty implausible. If Tim Minear's story idea can be accepted as potential support to canon, the black vial-as-STT is pretty clearcut.
Even if Minear's statement is disregarded, the "youth serum" theory doesn't account for fact #2. Indeed, it seems to hang mostly on the unsubstantiated speculation that Whedon MIGHT have been referring to a specific line in OiS, combined with a Nandi's line of greeting.
While Inara does seem savvy, world-weary, and experienced beyond her years, she's a talented woman who has been trained in social skills since her early teens. Of course she's going to be savvy about a lot of things, as well as mysterious and aloof without being arrogant. It's what she was raised to be.
As for her reasons for leaving Sihnon, spending time on the Rim, etc.: We don't have enough information to do more than speculate, but I see no reason to assume that it's directly tied to the black vial. I'd be more interested in knowing exactly why Inara DIDN'T become House Priestess, because I have a feeling THAT has some direct impact on why she's on Serenity.
www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."
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Hmm love all the theories. I would definitely read Nandi's compliment as just that a compliment to an old friend. I don't want to die isn't an indication of desire for immortality, just basic human fear. I'd say the vial fell along the lines of, if you can't stop em, take as many with you as you can.
Just my opinion though
"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs
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I don't think Inara is very old. I think she's about Nandi's age. My idea regarding Inara's vial is that she's terminal.
In "The Train Job" it's mentioned that every terraformed planet has it's own quirks, and different diseases are among them. My idea is that Sinon is home to a rare disease that causes some sort of genetic deterioration, and that continued exposure to Sinon's environment causes the disease to progress faster. The diseae is incurable, but is treatable. Treatment would include a procedure to reset the patient's genetic code (the yearly physical in "Ariel"), and stem-cell or nanocyte injections to conteract the disease's effects on the system, possibly with death or coma resulting from an overdose.
This would explain Inara's ageless appearance, why she can't return to Sinon, her mysterious lines in OOG and OIS, and even her reluctance to form new attachments, say to Mal. The only problem is that I have no evidence for it outside my own imagination...
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The only problem is that I have no evidence for it outside my own imagination...
Hey, that doesn't stop folks from saying Inara is immortal. :)
Just kidding! Just kidding!
www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."
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See I have a problem with the theory that whoever has sex with her would die. My reason behind that is that the reavers do not always rape you first. Remember that Zoe told Simon that they will rape us to death eat our flesh and sew our skin into their clothes and hopefully in that order. So my point is that Inara might not be alive by the time they start raping her and that wouldnt seemed to be a very good defense since the point would be to stay alive.
If someone see's a problem with the observation just let me know cause I may have missed something that someone else knows.
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Originally posted by sirThomas:
See I have a problem with the theory that whoever has sex with her would die. My reason behind that is that the reavers do not always rape you first. Remember that Zoe told Simon that they will rape us to death eat our flesh and sew our skin into their clothes. So my point is that Inara might not be alive by the time they start raping her and that wouldnt seemed to be a very good defense since the point would be to stay alive.
If someone see's a problem with the observation just let me know cause I may have missed something that someone else knows.
You are assuming that this weapons is first and foremostly for use against Reavers.
it would work against unruly "clients", who are probably the major concern.
After all Reavers do not officially exist and the Guild is a mostly Core world organisation. (the poor Rim worlders have other concerns such as putting food on the table.)
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I understand the point of the vile being a way to kill unwanted customers but if she was not planning on using it as a weapon against the reavers then why did it show the vile in the episode, we have to assume that it was going to be used against the reavers.
So my point is that it seems that it would be a bad defense against the reavers since she could be killed before she would be raped. Thats why I think that it was not that type of weapon.
Unless she knew she was going to die anyway and had no desire to fight them off, she just was going to take as many as she could down.
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Unless she knew she was going to die anyway and had no desire to fight them off, she just was going to take as many as she could down.
My thoughts are similar. She would want to fight them off and survive, but if not, maybe take a few down with her.
(another question - would her flesh be poisonous to eat? I would assume so...)
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