FIREFLY EPISODE DISCUSSIONS

Big Damn Inara Theory

POSTED BY: RAPTORED
UPDATED: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 13:35
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Tuesday, January 3, 2006 4:07 AM

KANESKI


Hello...

The VIAL first:

The way the show was shot and aired is a big problem in unraveling this little mystery. The pilot, "Serenity" was made to original Joss Whedon dark world spec, with a few scenes reshot as said in the commentary. Which goes in line with Minear's mention of the drug that kills during sex. If I remember right, Minear's words were to the effect: "Originally, the show was supposed to be much darker, keeping in line with that, we had an idea where Inara survives by having "something" that kills during sex." Reavers rape people to death, so that seems entirely plausible. The actual episodes, from "Train Job" to "Objects in Space" were much lighter, happier, with jollies, after Fox bitched at Whedon.

The reason she didn't take it out during Reaver chase is fairly obvious to me - she had Simon and River in there and the plan was for them to run. There's no need for something so desperate as the sex-killer injection.

So, I'm going for self-defense by sex. It's something that few of us, who love the series and the characters want to consider - Inara getting mass-raped by reavers. That's what would make such a good story. Such an episode wouldn't be so hard to make sensorship/rating-wise. Bushwhacked didn't show the reavers boarding the derelict, but the survivor is enough to convey the effect. Minear does say "I don't know, next question" when asked if that's what's in the vial, but I think he did give it away. Or at the VERY least what it may have originally been. I wouldn't be surprised if the purpose of the vial was changed at some point, but still... the death-by-sex-defense just fits too well within the pilot. It's clear that they have no chance of repelling them by force.

I completely reject time-travel, age-slowing and all that for three very simple reasons: 1) Science fiction, not Science Fantasy. 2) It would me much more widely known if rank-and-file companions had access to it. 3) Technology in Firefly seems to be of the 'better mousetrap' kind: Faster, more powerful, more accurate firearms, but still firearms. Lasers are few and far between and are either ship-sized (like modern battleship-mounted railguns) or short-use and for mostly for show (HoG). Better medicine and methods - but still to solve heart problems. A better and faster way of doing things, but age-slowing still goes into the miraculous category.


Now, leaving Sihnon thing:

Assassin theories first - the look Inara has when the guy in the pilot mentions leaving the Sihnon is regret. If it was an assassin mission, she should be proud/honoured. If it's companions being recruited into assassins during training and Inara leaving because she things it's wrong, well... I SERIOUSLY doubt the Alliance would let it go at that: Invite a person to join an ultra-secret assassin club and let them refuse, keep official records and licences and just hope they won't spill it? Unlikely. Furthermore, it seems a bit reckless to leave a trail of bodies behind companions. And if the target is specified, it would be far too... wrong, even for the Alliance to put the assassin on a randomly-traveling ship. Government control... I'm doubtful. The companion guild struck me as more of a... not independent, but close. I'd say they're part of the Alliance, but not an operational arm of it. Actually being an operative of it would likely mean access codes and cards and such - i.e. "The Operative" in BDM vs the interrogation in Bushwacked - unless companions are higher ranked than an operative of Parliament (not likely), the theory is shaky.


Terminal illness was something I also thought possible, but too much stacks against it. Running from it (flashback in Out of Gas) just makes no sense. And even if Inara meant it when she said she wasn't running from anything, her chances of any sort of cure would be in core systems, not randomly going on the borders. If it's a case of 'see the universe before I die' - look of regret in Serenity pilot smashes it into the ground. The response in Ariel "same as last year" probably indicates everything's OK. Since they didn't have to come back to the house to get the medical examination, it's probable that any core hospital is sufficient to renew the 'licence to companion'. Unless the examining doctor(s) are either coerced/bribed into lying to the guild or the hospitals/guild/companions are all 'in on it', this is also unlikely.

Personally, for me, there aren't enough hints around to put together a realistic theory that encompasses all of the hints, setting of the 'verse and everything else. At least not without random guessing. And as much fun as that is, there are too many possibilities and my head hurts after I get to 20 :(.

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Thursday, January 5, 2006 3:22 PM

KATRIC


thiefjehat,
Good points.
My first time-be gentle. On the first theory of Inara being terminally ill. In Serenity, when Mal is looking at the capture(picture), Inara is speaking to Kaylee. When Kaylee makes a comment about the captain wanting her(Inara) to stay. Inara says, "that man doesn't know what he wants. I don't have time to waste..." Could be just a simple statement or one with a deeper, sadder meaning. Just a thought.


katric

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Thursday, January 5, 2006 8:07 PM

MISSMADRASSA


Wow! A terminally ill, Time-travelling replicant assassin Inara... If this show were Farscape maybe.

I'm glad I hit on this thread- this is my current fav daydream subject!

I think her story is so much simpler tha y'all think. If you consider the themes of Belief, Freedom, Love and Family that run through Serenity and Firefly. And agree that Inara is essentially a mirror-image of Mal ( you don't need me to allude to parts of the series, Joss has said this). Then the following theory is totally buyable:

1. Inara loves being a companion. She believes hard that what she does, in its purest form, is art. It is also a political statement for her, she is educated and a true feminist. She recognises however,that the verse is changing and society definition of companion is starting to get blurry. Companions can be powerful and have true political clout but she questions if it is for the right reasons. She could have the ear of the King of Londinium, for instance, but she would have to fuck him to get it. Even in Sihnon, she has witnessed enough hypocrisy and abuse of power to want to get away.

2. This is not easy because Inara is paradoxically an indentured slave. In much the same way as priests, nuns and monks have much of their rights withdrawn, so do companions- it's the sacrifice that elevates them. All companions need to buy their way to freedom, if that is what they want. The best way to expedite this process is to work the rim planets- clients there, although scarce, are willing to pay more for the prestige of being with companions. Inara is, shall we say, raking it in out there. Cheap rent, no house rules, no complications.

3. She doesn't want to stay on Serenity because staying is compromise. It limits her development, financially and intellectually. She overlooks the fact that she has become a better person in the short time she has spent there. It's loss of control she fears, she is already a slave to the guild, why does she want to be further attached to this crew? This man?

4. She will only stay on Serenity if there were no compromise. When she asks " Why didn't you ask me not to (go)?", she wants an indication that some truce could be drawn. That Mal would be able to accomodate her as she is, companion and all, into his life.

After all of those points, here is the back story quick-like:

In Sihnon, during the war, Companions were used as collateral by the guild to maintain ties with the Parliament. Young Inara, groomed for great things, becomes a VERY powerful man's concubine. ? high ranking alliance Officer- who she likes (not-so-bad fellow). She sees a lot of alliance shnanigans though. She may also have gotten pregnant- but since companions have no parental rights, when sugardaddy dies (in Serenity valley no less)she loses her kid.

This makes her angry and determined to get her freedom. Cheap rent, no complications was the plan- but we know better. How is she getting this kid back? Did she make a deal with the Guild in order to get her release papers sooner?
Does Mal remind her of sugardaddy somewhat?

Thinking about stuff like this, usually while I'm at the gym, tickles me some.

Props to ScrewtheAlliance- your fan fic clears up a lot of grey.

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Monday, January 30, 2006 6:41 PM

RHYIANAN


Quote:

Originally posted by Cheshire:
*Movie Spoiler Below. Read at your own risk*

Think back to the BDM, and the exploding incense trick. If I remember correctly, Inara lit that up before she realized Mal was there;



No, actually, she lit it after she realized he was there....don't you remember mal asking her "what are you doing" and her replying "praying for you"? When she says that, she lights the fake incense.

Wash: Yeah, but psychic? That sounds like science fiction.
Zoe: You live on a spaceship, dear.

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Monday, January 30, 2006 8:01 PM

RACOONBOY


Someone said that Joss likes setting up big mysteries with simple answers, or something to that effect. I skipped most of the posts, so this might have been said already, but what if it was just what Simon and River took, to die so they wouldn't kill her, and she was considering using it in the pilot for that very reason.

Probably not though.

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Friday, February 3, 2006 9:30 PM

UNSARDONIC


Quote:

1) Okay, what’s in that vial that she pulls out in the Serenity pilot when the Reavers atttack? Joss has said it isn’t a suicide kit, which is what everyone assumes. I think the only other thing that make sense is that it’s something she can inject herself with to make herself go backward in time or enables her to reverse time on a limited basis.


Okay... I apologize in advance.. I mean, this is a HUGE thread, going back to November but, the facts of life is that... I just can't keep up with you guys due to my Gigantic Overwork situation... all-y'all oughtta be working 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for 3 years straight... ..if only so I can get some vicarious sympathy... sniff-sniff

So... at the risk that someone has already mentioned this itty-bitty point... when Inara gives the kit to Dr. Simon, she explains that "It's a standard companion immunization kit"... ...something the good doctor may find of use... what was that someone in this thread said about Joss liking big-mysteries-with-simple-answers??? just... thought I'd mention...

okay, rag on me for SOMEthing-or-other "or your friends will think your a stupid, inbred stack of meat."

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Friday, February 3, 2006 10:16 PM

LITTLEMOUSE


Ganked off www.summerglau.co.uk, from the Transcript of Group Talk from The White Room Convention:
(Ed’s Note: At a writer’s conference last autumn Tim Minear apparently revealed the purpose of the syringe. It was filled with a toxin which when injected into a person has no harmful effects on them but would kill anyone who had sex with that person. The plan apparently had been to have a very dark episode late in the first season of Firefly in which Inara would have been attacked and raped by Reavers and would have survived through her use of the syringe).

------------
"People tell you things all the time without talking. The way they move; the way they aren't talking." -River Tam, R. Tam Sessions: Session 1 Excerpt

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Saturday, February 4, 2006 1:38 PM

UNSARDONIC


whoa...

...now that's the first time I've heard that explanation but ummm... that's a particularly dark and morbid one... and it does seem to kinda fit the various rules of The 'Verse.

...especially in light of, if Inara HAD been raped by reavers, well... YOU know... they kinda like to ...ummm... ...GNAW... on ya, a bit... she might've been transformed into, I dunno... Jayne? ...or some other less delectable creature than the one she is...


mumble, mumble, something,something "or your friends will think you're a stupid, inbred stack of meat."

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Sunday, February 5, 2006 5:28 AM

NUCLEARDAY


Pardon if I'm stepping on stuff that's been said before. Tried to scan through most of the posts here, but it's entirely conceivable I missed someone posting the same theory already.

Just got done watching "Objects in Space," and there's a couple thoughts I ended up with. River's snippets of the crew's inner thoughts are what I keep coming back to when I'm trying to figure some of these mysteries and as usual, I'm coming up with blanks by going in that direction. (Still wonder if it's significant that Kaylee is the only one who doesn't have one of those 'psychic moments' with River, but that's neither here nor there.)

What got me thinking, though, is Jubal's comment to Inara as he's locking her in the shuttle. The whole thing about men being the stronger gender but only women can bear children... I keep coming back to that comment, it's got to mean something, right?

I saw some other posts about maybe Inara having a child, or possibly something related to that. Can't remember the episode, but I remember Kaylee asking Inara about the Companion's stance on dating. Inara says it's very complicated. Maybe she fell in love with someone before coming on board and had a kid with him? Is that what she's running from?

Also, IIRC, there's the scene with Simon and Inara during the 'Out of Gas' episode. Simon talks about it being his birthday and Inara gives him a sympathetic look... Watching the commentary, I believe it's Tim Minear mentioning that that's one of the clues. Is she thinking of her child's birthday at that point?

The wall I run into with this train of thought would be the vial in the Serenity pilot. Going on a child-bearing track at least. It's rather evil-looking for a contraceptive, and some sort of abortion injection wouldn't help with reavers.

While I'm at it, here's a totally off-the-wall and likely untrue theory: This being sci-fi and considering we've seen in the Message that they can replace most of your insides, maybe Inara is already 'with child', and she keeps it with science-type stuff in a state of suspended animation at a very early stage of development. (Like I said, off-the-wall...) Part of her Companion examination during 'Ariel' could be to check on the state of the fetus. The only thing that helps with this theory, is that it could help explain the vial in Serenity. It's either something to abort the pregnancy, or more likely, an injection to resume it's growth. (ie, she's not looking at the vial and thinking of using it, she's looking at it with regret at what cannot be?) Probably not, but worth a shot.

Still, think so far from what I've seen the most compelling theory is the idea of her being a type of assassin. She's certainly had enough combat training... and remember that Jo/Saph/Bridge had the same sort of training, and used the "goodnight kiss" technique...

Kinda fits. Explains the vial at least... Would Jubal's comment then mean that part of the terms of her being a companion would mean that she can't have children? Fits with the clue from the "dating" conversation, as that could certainly complicate a relationship... But what about the "birthday" clue. Is it that she physically can't have children or did she have one at some point and it was taken from her (or worse)?

Sorry the long post, I got carried away again. (Believe it or not, I cut this down a bit before posting.)


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Sunday, February 5, 2006 8:24 AM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!


"They'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing. And if very lucky, they'll do it in that order."
-Zoe, Serenity pilot

Many Reaver rapes are "shown" in FireFly and Serenity, fortunately off-camera. BTW, what do Reavers do with all their children, eat them? Which is what Americans, Europeans and Chinese (The Evil Alliance) routinely do, by cannibalizing fetus tissue for cosmetic products and mad-doc research, and cannibalizing transplants from living children (don't sign your Organ Donor Card unless you want to be Reaverized at $500,000 per LIVING "corpse"). A US abortion doctor was recently arrested for microwaving fetuses for lunch (is that even a crime?), which is popular in Commie China.

When you run out of bullets and grenades, the only choice is suicide. Either by saving one bullet for each person, or somehow detonating the entire ship (Mutually Assured Destruction).

Morphine suicide kit sounds most likely, but since when does Joss take the easy way out in a script?

Coma date-rape drug does you no good when you wake up sewn into somebody's clothing.

Terminator STD is realistic, since HIV/AIDS is a bioweapon, but too slow acting for Inara's situation.

Quote:

Ganked off www.summerglau.co.uk, from the Transcript of Group Talk from The White Room Convention:
(Ed’s Note: At a writer’s conference last autumn Tim Minear apparently revealed the purpose of the syringe. It was filled with a toxin which when injected into a person has no harmful effects on them but would kill anyone who had sex with that person. The plan apparently had been to have a very dark episode late in the first season of Firefly in which Inara would have been attacked and raped by Reavers and would have survived through her use of the syringe).



That's solves the problem, presuming the other Reavers don't just kill you. Inara the assassin? Many prostitutes become serial killers. Spies and assassins do work together.... Was VP Nelson Rockefeller assassinated that way, or was it just a normal heart attack while screwing his hooker Megan Marshak, as his official coroner's report alleges?
www.samsloan.com/marshak.htm

Companion Guild is most likely an extortion racket, like Nixon White House counsel John Dean's Watergate wife, like Congressman Barney Franks "suicided" common-law husband, like George Bush Sr's "Jeff Gannon" (aka kidnapped Johnny Gosch). Companions are also Buddist priestesses (no god, just spies for the Alliance and/or mafias). Local police agencies routinely "license" (extort) prostitution rings for reasons of "intelligence gathering" (blackmail of wealthy and influential customers). As Joss points out, the Alliance uses video cameras to spy on every citizen whenever possible, especially on the Central Planets, so it's likely the Companion Guild does the same, if only to keep Alliance politicians from outlawing its career field.

Inara was "chasing" Mal, and wants him to take her (away from all that boring loveless yet "minimally profitable" sex). Serenity pilot makes that clear, which redeems her character somewhat. She's not an evil backstabbing ho that many guys can relate to, er, but not me. Mal is waiting for Inara to quit "whoring" before he drops his guard against her "feminine wiles". Cathy O'Brien is a good example of a redeemed whore, in her case, a "presidential model", a composite of River and Inara, a Hell-on-Earth lifestyle, but with a relatively happy ending so far ( www.trance-formation.com ). Being raped and electrocuted by Reagan, Bush Sr, Cheney, Clinton-Blythe, Hillary, et al was not fun for her, nor was it fun watching girls suffocated to death by holding their breath for 5-minutes during oral rape, as proven by this photo of "Dick" Cheney's "big secret" in the Milwaukee newspaper, showing his obvious attraction for little girls:
www.vnnforum.com/showthread.php?t=13455&goto=nextnewest
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/10/326950.shtml
http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2004/11/dick-cheneys-other-big-s
ecret.html

www.total411.info/2004/11/photo-corroborates-cheneysex-slave.html
www.total411.info/2004/10/of-scalia-orgies-cheney-and-hunting.html

As O'Brien and many other whores have testified, their pimps often use hideous tortures to maintain mind-control, whether their pimps are their pedophile parents, their mafia kingpins, their priests, their police chiefs, their governors, their senators, their presidents, or their kings and queens. Such tortures routinely include electroshock and/or stun-guns, to ensure conscious compliance, or to create "sexbots" via Multiple Personality Disorder (Dissociative Identity Disorder). JonBeney Ramsey was found with stun-gun burns all over her body, and a videotape titled "How to Create a Mind Controlled Slave Using a Stun Gun" was found in the Ramsey house (O'Brien was used by Pentagon, NASA and CIA to make a training film by that title). Whorin' ain't all it's cracked up to be. No wonder Inara hopes for a "normal" family life with Mal. The Companion Guild is organized crime, whether it's legal or not, since morality can always be used for extortion, to launder profits from the underground economy (true for any business both large and small), or as cover the the illegal sex-slave trade (as Joss shows in Serenity pilot with Badger).

I bet Inara was sold to the Guild by her father, since she obviously did not willingly abandon her family at such a young age. Perhaps the Companion Guild is nothing but industrialized sex slavery? Is Inara "freelancing" on Serenity, to cut the Guild's taxation, and thus a half-step up from being a slave?

At any rate, Mal, please save Inara from her life of "crime", and make an honest criminal of her. Stealing foodstuffs from the Alliance and taking spongebaths together is wedded bliss in comparison.

Is Inara working for the Alliance as a spy, catching her customers with their guard down? Book was a more likely infiltrator for the Alliance, as priests have done for 1,000s of years, ordering the sheeple to "confess all their sins" on a weekly basis (better than Robocop Spy Cams). Catholic Jesuit priests are currently the intelligence arm of the Vatican nation and King Pope, are routinely undercover CIA agents, and ran the torture chambers of the Inquisition. Jesuits are currently in the news as pedophile priests working with CIA in MKULTRA Project Monarch mind-control sex slave and assassin program (aka River, "Jeff Gannon", Cathy O'Brien and her daughter Kelly Cox, who was lobotomized like River). In Serenity pilot, Book was "looking at ships, not destinations". Maybe he was looking for Dr Tam and River, and didn't make his decision until he saw Dr Tam board Serenity? Hence his "protection" of Officer Lawrence Dobson. Maybe Book's not a "retired" Operative or intelligence soldier, as he alluded? You can never really retire from a mafia or intelligence agency. Perhaps Book was undercover for an as yet unamed Resistance to the Alliance, seeking to recruit Mal or River? There's always a civil war between good citizens and evil traitors in every government agency.

Reverse-engineering the Verse is fun. Do ya think Joss will pay us for our hard work?

"They're hurting us! Get me out.' The Government was playing with her brain...."
-Dr T, Serenity pilot

FIREFLY SERENITY PILOT MUSIC VIDEO:
http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2006/01/8310.php
(try again later if server is crashed)

Pirate News TV
Knoxville, Tennessee
Winner Best Music Video
"We Never Went to the Moon"
(no rocket exhaust as Apollo LEM "blasted off" from the "moon")
Los Angeles Music Awards 2005
http://piratenews.org/hollywood.html
http://ufoetry.com

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Sunday, February 5, 2006 9:05 AM

ELOISA


Quote:

Originally posted by nuclearday
Just got done watching "Objects in Space," and there's a couple thoughts I ended up with. River's snippets of the crew's inner thoughts are what I keep coming back to when I'm trying to figure some of these mysteries and as usual, I'm coming up with blanks by going in that direction. (Still wonder if it's significant that Kaylee is the only one who doesn't have one of those 'psychic moments' with River, but that's neither here nor there.)

What got me thinking, though, is Jubal's comment to Inara as he's locking her in the shuttle. The whole thing about men being the stronger gender but only women can bear children... I keep coming back to that comment, it's got to mean something, right?

I saw some other posts about maybe Inara having a child, or possibly something related to that. Can't remember the episode, but I remember Kaylee asking Inara about the Companion's stance on dating. Inara says it's very complicated. Maybe she fell in love with someone before coming on board and had a kid with him? Is that what she's running from?

Also, IIRC, there's the scene with Simon and Inara during the 'Out of Gas' episode. Simon talks about it being his birthday and Inara gives him a sympathetic look... Watching the commentary, I believe it's Tim Minear mentioning that that's one of the clues. Is she thinking of her child's birthday at that point?

The wall I run into with this train of thought would be the vial in the Serenity pilot. Going on a child-bearing track at least. It's rather evil-looking for a contraceptive, and some sort of abortion injection wouldn't help with reavers.

While I'm at it, here's a totally off-the-wall and likely untrue theory: This being sci-fi and considering we've seen in the Message that they can replace most of your insides, maybe Inara is already 'with child', and she keeps it with science-type stuff in a state of suspended animation at a very early stage of development. (Like I said, off-the-wall...) Part of her Companion examination during 'Ariel' could be to check on the state of the fetus. The only thing that helps with this theory, is that it could help explain the vial in Serenity. It's either something to abort the pregnancy, or more likely, an injection to resume it's growth. (ie, she's not looking at the vial and thinking of using it, she's looking at it with regret at what cannot be?) Probably not, but worth a shot.

Still, think so far from what I've seen the most compelling theory is the idea of her being a type of assassin. She's certainly had enough combat training... and remember that Jo/Saph/Bridge had the same sort of training, and used the "goodnight kiss" technique...

Kinda fits. Explains the vial at least... Would Jubal's comment then mean that part of the terms of her being a companion would mean that she can't have children? Fits with the clue from the "dating" conversation, as that could certainly complicate a relationship... But what about the "birthday" clue. Is it that she physically can't have children or did she have one at some point and it was taken from her (or worse)?



I had had similar thoughts about Inara and either children or enforced sterilisation, though of all the massively obvious snippets on this, I forgot about Early's one to her in OIS. Specifically, I was going off two bits that you've not mentioned - the tone of her voice when she says "Families?" in Bushwhacked when they're looking at the derelict for the first time, and the way she reacts to Mal in OMR when he asks her to imagine him with a "passel of critters" around his feet. The latter is possible to read as plain jealousy of Saffron - but if you're assuming that there's something wrong about Inara and kids, it takes on a different dimension.

Just my tuppence ha'penny.

***
http://forums.ffonline.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19
Creative Writing

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Wednesday, February 8, 2006 7:00 PM

NCBROWNCOAT


The last few posts have had me thinking. The syringe is in a padded box and is obviously precious to Inara. Could it be her unfertilized eggs or even her reproductive organs themselves?

Of course pregnancy would destroy the career of a Companion and they could have been preserved for after she retires as a Companion.

All of us are familiar with freezing invitro fertilized human eggs for implatation later but the technology for preserving a woman's unfertilized eggs for future use is now in it's infancy.

Women in their 40's or over that have fertility problems have the option to use donor eggs but they now have to be harvested and fresh from the donor for invitro fertilization to a receipient that has been prepared with hormone injections. What if you could preserve your own eggs... and what if you could preserve the reproductive system (mainly ovaries)to be "cloned" for later use.



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Thursday, February 9, 2006 2:53 AM

NUCLEARDAY


Quote:

Originally posted by ncbrowncoat:
The last few posts have had me thinking. The syringe is in a padded box and is obviously precious to Inara. Could it be her unfertilized eggs or even her reproductive organs themselves?...



I hadn't thought of that... If you can take out and replace someone's vital organs ala "The Message", it's certainly not too "sci-fi" for the Firefly 'verse. Good thinking.

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Thursday, February 9, 2006 12:05 PM

AGENTROUKA


Quote:

Originally posted by ncbrowncoat:
The last few posts have had me thinking. The syringe is in a padded box and is obviously precious to Inara. Could it be her unfertilized eggs or even her reproductive organs themselves?

Of course pregnancy would destroy the career of a Companion and they could have been preserved for after she retires as a Companion.

All of us are familiar with freezing invitro fertilized human eggs for implatation later but the technology for preserving a woman's unfertilized eggs for future use is now in it's infancy.

Women in their 40's or over that have fertility problems have the option to use donor eggs but they now have to be harvested and fresh from the donor for invitro fertilization to a receipient that has been prepared with hormone injections. What if you could preserve your own eggs... and what if you could preserve the reproductive system (mainly ovaries)to be "cloned" for later use.






Seems unlikely to me.

Removing the reproductive system, or even just a part of it is too risky. The vial could so easily be destroyed by accident and then what?

No halfway intelligent woman would risk her future children like this.


It's much more practical to suspend fertility in the traditional way. An implant of a sort, renewed during their annual exams, for example.

The whole "child in a vial" idea seems too risky for the very practical and realistic (psychics aside) Firefly 'verse.

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Friday, February 10, 2006 6:53 AM

ARCADIA


Quote:

At a writer’s conference last autumn Tim Minear apparently revealed the purpose of the syringe. It was filled with a toxin which when injected into a person has no harmful effects on them but would kill anyone who had sex with that person. The plan apparently had been to have a very dark episode late in the first season of Firefly in which Inara would have been attacked and raped by Reavers and would have survived through her use of the syringe).


Thanks for the link with the transcript. I am off to read it now. I've heard this rumor before. A friend of mine when to a screenwriting confrence and was lucky enough to have a small session with Tim and a giant session with Joss (he got autographs from both -- even stole Tim's pen!). Tim told them -- very, very bitterly, appearently -- about the Inara raped by reaver story that was rejected by fox. I always suspected that this was what the syringe was for, or at least that it was part of Inara's secret, but then I was told that it wasn't... *confusion* Anyway, thanks for the link.

"Objects in Space"
River: It's just an object. It doesn't mean what you think...

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Friday, February 10, 2006 9:37 AM

LITTLEMOUSE


No problem! I live to serve. *bows*

Yeah, that sounds like the same conference referenced in the transcript.


------------
"People tell you things all the time without talking. The way they move; the way they aren't talking." -River Tam, R. Tam Sessions: Session 1 Excerpt

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Thursday, February 16, 2006 9:41 AM

CTHAWK


I like two ideas presented here. First, the ageless Inara and second, the eggs/embryos/fertilization theory.
I think perhaps Inara may have been hooked on some sort of drug which reduces the effects of age but may lead to some sort of terminal illness. The check up in Ariel (is that right?) could be the regular medical treatment she needs, the River insight in OiS could be here finding out she has been diagnosed, and the comments about her not wanting to die at all in OoG might support her trying to put off the inevitable. If this is not a communicable disease then there would be no reason for her to be disbarred from the Companion's Guild.
Thus if she is older and physiologically altered she may not be able to have children and would use the syringe as a pregnancy method. The look of regret in the pilot could just be her thinking about potential not realized.
I also think the Companion's Guild is not some mysterious front for the Alliance. I believe that it is tolerated and powerful because the companions know many secrets about high ranking Alliance/Parliment leaders. It is a relationship of mutual convenience/benefit where morality is second to profitability and desire. (I think this fits with Joss's ideas about human nature and about power.)
Let me know what you think.

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Thursday, February 16, 2006 9:43 AM

CTHAWK


I like two ideas presented here. First, the ageless Inara and second, the eggs/embryos/fertilization theory.
I think perhaps Inara may have been hooked on some sort of drug which reduces the effects of age but may lead to some sort of terminal illness. The check up in Ariel (is that right?) could be the regular medical treatment she needs, the River insight in OiS could be here finding out she has been diagnosed, and the comments about her not wanting to die at all in OoG might support her trying to put off the inevitable. If this is not a communicable disease then there would be no reason for her to be disbarred from the Companion's Guild.
Thus if she is older and physiologically altered she may not be able to have children and would use the syringe as a pregnancy method. The look of regret in the pilot could just be her thinking about potential not realized.
I also think the Companion's Guild is not some mysterious front for the Alliance. I believe that it is tolerated and powerful because the companions know many secrets about high ranking Alliance/Parliment leaders. It is a relationship of mutual convenience/benefit where morality is second to profitability and desire. (I think this fits with Joss's ideas about human nature and about power.)
Let me know what you think.

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Monday, February 20, 2006 5:09 PM

KLEE99


This companion/assassin theory has merit.

Why else would a sophisticated woman like Inara join a crew of roughneck pirates? She must have been assigned to them.

But if she is rebelling against her masters, how could she return to Ariel for a medical exam? How could she continue to have dealings with high profile clients without being caught? Perhaps she is good at using false identities.


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Tuesday, April 11, 2006 1:02 AM

SPOOTY


Hi, first time poster, been a lurker for about a month.

From what I gather from the OiS commentary is that Early and River treat people completely differently from others. They treat them like objects too - Objects in Space.

Early deals with every person on the boat differently, Mal is a physical threat so he takes him out first, Zoe a threat so he keeps her locked up, Kaylee is no threat but he knows how to scare her like a little mouse. What is notable about this is the way he takes down Shepard Book instantly and also 'That ain't a Shepard'. Early is borderline psychic, or extremely intuitive as is River (moreso than Early obviously).

Now to pull this back on track, Early would have treated Inara completely differently had she been an assassin and River would be able to see right through her. Sure Early hits her but that's for 'visiting his intentions' and trying to mess with the plan (perhaps cause she would try to surpress or kill him with the use of that vial).

The idea that it's time travel I think is out the question due to it's been stated that Psychic was as far as Joss was willing to take this, but I can see how it could be impressionable because of the nature of the show being Sci-Fi we've no idea what could happen ie.

Select to view spoiler:


when you first hear River has become the ship you've no idea whether to believe it or not without Joss telling you



I'm willing to stick by the Tim rumor, even though it doesn't sound particularily strong. Perhaps we will see more or understand more at a later date but as it stands I think it's safe to assume what we've been presented with, that being that it's a suicide kit and it does sit kinda nicely, even though through watching the commentary and speculating it's purpose leads to more discussions.

Interesting topic all the same, guess I better go introduce myself properly now :P

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Thursday, April 13, 2006 3:52 AM

POEANDFAITH


A lot of posts, so if someone said this before my apologies.

I was under the impression that it was a powerful chemical bomb, one strong enough to tear the Firefly into shards...
In order to save herself should Serenity be overrun, she'd plant it and fly her shuttle away. If they were about to reach her, it's a good chance the rest of the crew is dead or worse, and the explosion of Serenity would take out the Reaver ship grappled next to it.

Sort of a darker side to her, and why she looked at it so. Knowing the danger of running the black, she might have brought it for her own safety...but now isn't sure if she has the heart to use it.

Dear Diary... Today, we were kidnapped by hill folk never to be seen again. It was the best day ever.

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Thursday, April 13, 2006 4:40 PM

GIDEONSTARGRAVE


This is probably going to sound really twee, but I keep coming back to the "Objects in space" reference. "It's just an object, it doesnt mean what you think.."

Could it all just have been a massive red-herring that would have distracted us from something else that would pay off a good two or three seasons down the line? Got to admit, we're all fixating on it as a key to the Inara Mystery, I wonder if that's a little obvious?

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006 1:46 PM

SLAYERCHICK


So its official! Morena Baccarin reveals what the syringe is!

And a couple of folks on here got it right!

According to Inara herself, the syringe contains a 'medicine' that would kill Reavers if she was to be raped to death.

http://fireflytalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=133486">

***************************************
Morena Baccarin and Nathan Fillion, when asked about the Mal and Inara dynamic:

Morena: Who knows where this relationship is going.
Nathan: If I had my druthers, if we ever hook up I hope it’s on my death bed.
Morena: You don’t want to kiss me, do you?
Nathan: I do. But not for the sake of the show.
Morena: Good answer.
***************************************
*sigh* even adorable off screen...

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006 2:12 PM

DANNIISUPERNOVA


Well, I think that (since they are based on geisha) she might be like a certain geisha I read about who was in line with the samurai and acted not only as a spy but as an assassin for them. I dunno. I personally thought the vial was something to make her super strong or (like in one of my fix) invincible for a while until the drug wore off. *shrugs*

================================================
I love the Castro, because if somebody grabs my ass, I know they're picking my pocket.

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Wednesday, October 11, 2006 12:25 PM

DONCOAT


Okay, for the moment let's assume that the Tim Minear version (as confirmed by Morena) is accurate, or at least that it was the original intent of the "black vial", which might have been changed -- but never mind that.

Let's also assume that the end of the Black Vial plot is also true -- that Inara would take the drug, get gang-raped (destroying the Reavers in the process), but survive.

What then?

Perhaps the drug wears off, Inara recovers, and things progress from there. But... what if the drug's effects are permanent and irreversible?

Now we have a Companion who can no longer have sex... with anyone... for any reason... ever again (unless she wants them dead, that is). What would happen to Mal/Inara if she were no longer a whore, but Mal couldn't have her either?

Just food for thought...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

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Friday, October 13, 2006 6:16 AM

MARVLGRL


This is all so "Ninja Scroll" to me. A woman who is so poisoness that she can't have sex with anyone because they'll die.

And don't Reavers like to kill and then rape the bodies? How could she not die?

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Monday, October 16, 2006 5:39 PM

SLAYERCHICK


No I believe that Morena specified that Inara would be raped to DEATH, as many of the characters in the Verse have mentioned. A killer sex-drug would be a safe guard to make sure that Inara took the Reavers down with her as she died.

***************************************
Morena Baccarin and Nathan Fillion, when asked about the Mal and Inara dynamic:

Morena: Who knows where this relationship is going.
Nathan: If I had my druthers, if we ever hook up I hope it’s on my death bed.
Morena: You don’t want to kiss me, do you?
Nathan: I do. But not for the sake of the show.
Morena: Good answer.
***************************************
*sigh* even adorable off screen...

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Tuesday, October 17, 2006 1:53 AM

DONCOAT


Quote:

Originally posted by slayerchick:
No I believe that Morena specified that Inara would be raped to DEATH, as many of the characters in the Verse have mentioned. A killer sex-drug would be a safe guard to make sure that Inara took the Reavers down with her as she died.

I don't recall that from the Morena interview. I know for sure that Tim's description of the scene had Inara surviving the Reaver attack (though terribly injured), and being rescued by the crew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

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Tuesday, October 17, 2006 1:35 PM

SLAYERCHICK


Well, what I meant was that Morena suggested that one would expect that being captured by reavers would mean being raped to death. lol hope that makes me more clear :P

***************************************
Morena Baccarin and Nathan Fillion, when asked about the Mal and Inara dynamic:

Morena: Who knows where this relationship is going.
Nathan: If I had my druthers, if we ever hook up I hope it’s on my death bed.
Morena: You don’t want to kiss me, do you?
Nathan: I do. But not for the sake of the show.
Morena: Good answer.
***************************************
*sigh* even adorable off screen...

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