My Theory on Inara's Vial by DanielFyre

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.

The immortality one, while interesting to entertain, is pretty easily debunked. Although everyon remembers that Joss said the vial wasn't a suicide kit, few people mention that he continued to say it was something more "disturbing" or "disgusting" (I don't remember which). While it's POSSIBLE that could apply to immortality in some roundabout way, synching it with Minear's storyline makes it pretty clear, I think.

Folks are also quick to point to Inara's line about not wanting to die "at all," but I believe that Whedon actually states that there's a hint in the SCENE, not the line.

As for Nandi's line that Inara hasn't aged a day: it's POSSIBLE that it applies to immortality, but equally plausible, I think, that it's simply pleasantries exchanged between two old friends, or (more likely) a minor script change to account for the fact that while Nandi and Inara are supposed to be contemporaries, there's a ten year different between the two actresses.

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, September 9, 2007 7:16 AM

DALILABA

Air embolism????? Highly unlikely. She would have to inject a syringe full of air[bubbles don't do it] directly into the Reavers vein, a difficult task when the Reaver is attempting to rape/eat you alive.
Did you see the size of the syringe Jack Nicholson uses to end his life in"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest? It had to be a 20-30cc syringe,much larger than the small one Inara had.

Whatever was in the vial was meant for her to inject into herself............

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, September 9, 2007 10:14 AM

SCHOOLBOYSWINK

Quote:
Originally posted by InpedendantLissa:
OK here is my theory and I would like to know what others thoughts are on this. In the pilot episode Inara is looking at the vial and Joss said it was another story line. In Out of Gas Inara says "I never wanted to die" when she is talking to Simon. In Heart of Gold Nandy tells Inara that she looks exactly the same as she before. I think the drug Inara was looking at was something that was keeping her young. That is the reason she couldn't be with Mal. You can't stay young forever and stay in the same place. It is also the reason she left the companion place. Please tell me if you think I am way off base on this and why. It is really driving me nuts trying to figure out if others think this could have been a storyline.

There's a line of technology and/or other things that we might think of as "impossible" that Joss never seemed willing to cross in Firefly. He's dealt with that kind of thing in his previous work, and I don't feel like these are the kind of stories he was wanting to tell this time around. While we might have seen the hints of such things down the line (kind of like the sythesized organs in The Message), it more likely would have taken the form of something in its early stages that Blue Sun or the Alliance are developing which still has nasty side effects, etc. And now that the BDM has been done, he couldn't even really go to that well without looking like he was repeating a plotline that he'd already done, since it would wind up looking too much like the Reaver plot.

Anyway, it's a good thought, and it would answer a lot of questions (I'd wondered about something in that general direction myself), but I just don't think Joss was going there. Just like aliens; I think if the 'Verse had lived for one episode or 100 episodes, we weren't going to see aliens come into the scene. (And if they did you could bet it would have been studio motivated, a concession accepted to keep the show flying so the rest of the story could still be told as intended.)

"When you can't do somethin' smart, do somethin' right!" -Jayne Cobb quotes Shepherd Book

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, September 10, 2007 12:49 PM

DUKUSUKKER

I've read in a couple of forums/fansites about Inara's secret: use of a substance to keep her youthful appearance. Not sure if the theory came about because of that scene where she is holding a syringe. I cant see her clinging to that substance with the possibility of reaver attack. She's pretty knowledgeable about many things...like realizing (too late) that Mal was only drugged but appeared dead and it was applied as a salve on the lips. I've been playing with the idea that she carries the drug with her. Just in case...to inject in herself (and maybe those around her) in hopes that the reavers will leave the "dead" bodies alone? She knows she's in a dangerous territory traveling on the borders...

dukusukker
---------------------

"noah's ark is a problem..."

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, September 10, 2007 1:49 PM

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?

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 4:38 AM

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.

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.

Quote:
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

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 4:58 AM

Quote:
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..."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 5:28 AM

Quote:
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..."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 5:33 AM

MSG

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

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 5:49 AM

SCHOONER

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...

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 6:14 AM

Quote:
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..."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 11:57 AM

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.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 12:10 PM

Quote:
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.)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 12:30 PM

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.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 12:39 PM

Quote:
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...)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 2:16 PM

You know something that I just thought of since you mentioned that her flesh might be poisonous to eat Im wondering if it was possible for the reavers to perhaps sense that she had this toxin in her system. Because there is the one account where the reavers left a survivor.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 2:22 PM

The Reavers are still human. Same senses (apart from "common"), same strengths, same weaknesses. I doubt thye would be able to smell it. However, after a few of them drop dead the rest may cotton on...

The survivor in Bushwacked was, as Mal suggested, not really a survivor. He would become one of them.

PS, may I suggest two classes of Reavers?

1. Those we saw in the series. Men gone mad at the edge of space. These have always been there. Always will be. More like pirates really, but totally unruly. The folklore was originally about this group.

2. Those of the BDM - these are called Reavers because they fit the stories of the others "real" Reavers. This is a single generation that will eventually die out. Unless there is more Pax around than we know.

Ofcourse this is an attemopt to fit the changes in Joss's vision between the series and the BDM.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 2:57 PM

RAHLMACLAREN

"Damn yokels, can't even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it." - Jayne Cobb

I think it's more scary if Reavers do what they do, because they consciously enjoy it, rather than some mindless animalistic state.
Like Jagang's horde in SoT.

Dude, brain fart! What if there *are* two different kinds of Reavers, just new and old.

Like, maybe the old reavers are from some older PAX experiment, just slightly as crazy as the new one's, since maybe they're more evolved(learned to love the PAX) and social(by Reaver standards). Maybe the old one's keep some of the new one's on board their ships; maybe release some as cannon fodder every now and then.

--------------------------------------------------
Find here the Serenity you seek.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 3:02 PM

CRUITHNE3753

Quote:
Originally posted by RahlMaclaren:
I think it's more scary if Reavers do what they do, because they consciously enjoy it, rather than some mindless animalistic state.

The raping pillaging and murdering maybe, but the self mutilation and flying with unshielded reactors? "Where does that get fun?"

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 3:03 PM

Not an experiment or Pax or anything (as that would be too close to what we have with the Miranda Generation), but people gone "mad". Or pirates with nothing holding them back, who do as they please and either enjoy it as you suggested, or at least have no qualms about it. It is their way of life.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 3:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cruithne3753:
Quote:
Originally posted by RahlMaclaren:
I think it's more scary if Reavers do what they do, because they consciously enjoy it, rather than some mindless animalistic state.

The raping pillaging and murdering maybe, but the self mutilation and flying with unshielded reactors? "Where does that get fun?"

Self mutilation - tribal markings, extreme tattoos.

Unshielded ships - either for speed, or they don't have no effective/working shielding that they can use. Afterall these are probably older ships, well past their natural lifespan.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 3:41 PM

If I remeber correctly didnt Mal say that they do that as a tactic to get ships to come and help because they would think that the ship is in destress? Not sure if he said that or not but that would be my thought to why they dont have shielding around their reactors.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 3:51 PM

RAHLMACLAREN

"Damn yokels, can't even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it." - Jayne Cobb

Kinda sorta like angler fish.

--------------------------------------------------
Find here the Serenity you seek.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 4:36 PM

NCBROWNCOAT

To get back to Inara and her vial.

This is totally from my own imagination and the "I don't want to die" line.

It's not a youth serum or fix for a terminal disease or kill your rapist drug.

It'S maybe the thing that was meant to kill Inara. My wild theory is that Inara, as a very successful Companion, unintentionally made a very powerful enemy.

Maybe it was another Companion who was jealous of Inara's success or her the fact that she was obviously going to be the next House Priestess, or it could have been one of her clients with a secret that she discovered.

Either one of them could have tried to kill Inara, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. The House Priestess persuaded Inara to leave for her own safety and to avoid scandal for the House. So she carries the vial as a reminder of how close she came to losing her life.

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 10:41 PM

DALLASFIREFLY

Wasn't this question dealt with in the CE cast commentary? I'm pretty sure it was and it was revealed that the serum in the vial would make having sex with Inara deadly. It was not a suicide drug or a life extension drug.

As to why she would use the serum against the Reavers, as mentioned earlier in this thread it would've been to take as many with her as possible. I doubt that she would have had any illusions about being able to kill them all off.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ncbrowncoat:
It'S maybe the thing that was meant to kill Inara. My wild theory is that Inara, as a very successful Companion, unintentionally made a very powerful enemy.

Maybe it was another Companion who was jealous of Inara's success or her the fact that she was obviously going to be the next House Priestess, or it could have been one of her clients with a secret that she discovered.

Either one of them could have tried to kill Inara, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. The House Priestess persuaded Inara to leave for her own safety and to avoid scandal for the House. So she carries the vial as a reminder of how close she came to losing her life.

I like!

It also helps explain why she chose Serenity even after Mal had insulted her in the negotiations. There would then be some urgency which forced her to look beyond the insults.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 4:13 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DallasFirefly:
Wasn't this question dealt with in the CE cast commentary? I'm pretty sure it was and it was revealed that the serum in the vial would make having sex with Inara deadly. It was not a suicide drug or a life extension drug.

As to why she would use the serum against the Reavers, as mentioned earlier in this thread it would've been to take as many with her as possible. I doubt that she would have had any illusions about being able to kill them all off.

Was this finally dealt with? Gorram, I better go listen to the commentary soon!

I think what trips most people up with the "STT" theory is that they assume it was intended for Reavers, which I don't think it was.

This is pure speculation here, but consider the following:

1) In the pilot, Whedon establishes the black vial and shows Inara "pondering" it.

2) In the pilot, Whedon establishes (through Mal) that Reavers WILL chase you if you run.

3) Throughout the series, it's established that Inara is a good pilot (not on par with Wash, but seemingly better than pretty much everyone else).

4) In Minear's discussion on the Reavers/Inara episode, he is very vague as to how Inara (and only Inara) gets taken by the Reavers.

I submit that has the episode been written, we might have seen Inara fly the shuttle away (likely without having first consulted with Mal), gambling that she could lead the Reavers on a merry chase, thus protecting the crew (who are forced to sit and watch her go, or else her sacrifice is in vain). Inara KNOWS that if the Reavers catch the entire crew, they'll all be raped and killed, so she takes the opportunity to do the noble thing and try to protect crew by sacrificing herself. The vial is her backup: if she gets taken, at least she'll take some of them down with her.

And thinking about the possibility of that plan, I think, may have been what was going through her head in the pilot.

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:59 AM

Quote:
1) In the pilot, Whedon establishes the black vial and shows Inara "pondering" it

I might have missed that in the pilot, but when did it show the vial in the first episode. Unless you ment in the Bushwacked episode.(by the way I know I cant spell so if that's wrong well I think i got somewhat close)

Also I missed where it talked about Inara getting taken by the reavers, where was that in cause I missed that to, was it in the commentary?

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:24 AM

MSG

well apparently they can "convert" others so I doubt they'd die out completely...might thin the herd a bit over a generation or so

"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:21 PM

I think the same MSG.

See no one thinks that the reavers leave anyone alive, but imo its because the ones that they convert, like in bushwacked, arent going to say "hey guys they left me alive and now I like to eat people and cut myself".

I belive the reavers convert people all the time this is why there are so many of them now. In Serenity it only says that 1/10th of a percent of the population-and I dont remember how many people were on Miranda, which to me doesnt seem to be that many. At least not enough for them to be as strong number wise as they are in Serenity.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 2:21 PM

DARKJESTER

Can I make a quick suggestion? Listen to Firefly Talk!

We aired a panel with Morena where she dealt with this very topic, in episode #38 last year.

From the show notes - "a revelation from Morena about just what that syringe was for (don't tell Joss)"

MAL "You only gotta scare him."
JAYNE "Pain is scary..."

http://www.fireflytalk.com - Big Damn Podcast

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 5:03 PM

DANIELFYRE

Thanks!

"real men juggle geese"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 7:03 PM

I believe the answer to your query is very clear. Inara, as we all know, is a prostitue. Prostitutes often get high before entertaining a client, this is a fact. Now, depending on Inara's plans she may have had a simple upper or downer; perhaps some good old fashoined crack rock or freebase. My guess is the heron, Inara doesn't strike me as a crack whore. Shooting smack, maybe, but not an all out crack whore. She could have some other meds, as many prostitutes often do. Definitely some valiums to come down from the high, maybe some anti psychotics. Probably some oxy's, too, freaking junky. Who knows for sure? Only Inara.

"Take my love, take my land,
Take my crack stem from my hand,
I don't care, I'm still free,
My fingers stink of feces

Take me out, buy some crack,
Tell your mom I'll be right back,
Burn the land boil the sea,
You can't take this high from me

There's no place I can be
since I started smoking trees

You can't take my crack from me"

all time classics from beneath the bridge:
Enjoyed by over 2,500 Firefly Fans:

http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=15&t=21727#497424

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 7:07 PM

Proof:

Items commonly found in vials:
crack
heroin
perfume
crack

Crack is often distributed in vials, called crack vials

"Take my love, take my land,
Take my crack stem from my hand,
I don't care, I'm still free,
My fingers stink of feces

Take me out, buy some crack,
Tell your mom I'll be right back,
Burn the land boil the sea,
You can't take this high from me

There's no place I can be
since I started smoking trees

You can't take my crack from me"

all time classics from beneath the bridge:
Enjoyed by over 2,500 Firefly Fans:

http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=15&t=21727#497424

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, September 13, 2007 3:59 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by sirThomas:
I think the same MSG.

See no one thinks that the reavers leave anyone alive, but imo its because the ones that they convert, like in bushwacked, arent going to say "hey guys they left me alive and now I like to eat people and cut myself".

I belive the reavers convert people all the time this is why there are so many of them now. In Serenity it only says that 1/10th of a percent of the population-and I dont remember how many people were on Miranda, which to me doesnt seem to be that many. At least not enough for them to be as strong number wise as they are in Serenity.

Not if we assume that that is a characteristic of the more classical "bogeymen" Reavers. The Miranda breed had not been imagined 'til after the series was cancelled.

30 million people on Miranda. 30,000 reavers. More than enough to fill 50-100 ships (as specified in the script).

Say they average 30 per ship, we are looking at a fleet of around a thousand. (so only up to a tenth were destroyed in that air battle.)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, September 13, 2007 4:02 AM

WYTCHCROFT

yeah - and this really has me thinking... there's a BIG reaver fleet somewhere still. there's no definitive proof that miranda was the only test site either...

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, September 13, 2007 4:15 AM

I would assume there to be a lot of lone rangers out there, not a massive "fleet".

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, September 13, 2007 1:10 PM

Yeah after I posted that I did the math and figured out that there would be quite a bit.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, September 13, 2007 1:18 PM

darkjester

Quote:
Can I make a quick suggestion? Listen to Firefly Talk!

We aired a panel with Morena where she dealt with this very topic, in episode #38 last year.

From the show notes - "a revelation from Morena about just what that syringe was for (don't tell Joss)"[/qoute]

I cant pull that up right now could you tell me the high points of what was learned

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, September 14, 2007 12:52 AM

SPACEANJL

Okay, my crack about Immortals was a joke.

People on the Core worlds seem to be very accepting of the world they live in. Maybe it's something to do with the food. Or the toothpaste. (Listen to River's little Shindig freak-out again.) So I don't think the idea that the Companions would have access to and training in the use of certain pharmaceuticals, beyond the bounds of reason.

It goes beyond the bounds of reason, however, to have too many 'Verse-changing secrets on board one little ship.

I've a few ideas on Reavers etc, too.

Just a thought. So, you release a gas into the atmo, and it affects a certain percentage of the population. Wouldn't it make sense to try and capture some of that percentage and see what the common factor is? Some genetic twist (hey, a Sylar gene...

) So, you then take people with that genetic marker, and expose them. You wouldn't have your super-soldiers, but you could then let the horde loose someplace, and then come along to clean up the mess, hail to the saviours...

But then I believe in large political conspiracies and the duplicity of government, and I really distrust GM food.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, September 14, 2007 8:00 AM

crack?

"Take my love, take my land,
Take my crack stem from my hand,
I don't care, I'm still free,
My fingers stink of feces

Take me out, buy some crack,
Tell your mom I'll be right back,
Burn the land boil the sea,
You can't take this high from me

There's no place I can be
since I started smoking trees

You can't take my crack from me"

all time classics from beneath the bridge:
Enjoyed by over 2,500 Firefly Fans:

http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=15&t=21727#497424

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, September 22, 2007 9:15 PM