Citizenship

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Greetings!

I have some comments on your posted discussion of "Isthmus Crypticus".

The children playing and Una are in Monica....NOT Bregna.

I'm not sure why some of the posters think that.

Let's look at it. First off....we've already seen how Breen society (with Trevor at the helm) is killing it's citizens, physically and spiritually. As we've seen from "Thanatophobia" the children have their humanity and innocence ripped away.

Second are the buildings. The buildings shown in that scene are common to Monica.

Third is Una. Una is dressed in Monican garb with the common highlights of black/purple leather. She is also a college student, which shows a free society that promots free thought, something Bregna is trying to stamp out in it's population. A dumb people are less likely to revolt.

Fourth is the soldier. Some have said that the uniform that he's wearing looks Breen. I would disagree. It's look similar, but not the same. Besides, the actions of the soldier scream Monica. The soldier helps Una without harming the child and salutes her. Breen soldiers care NOTHING for the population of Bregna. These actions show that the soldier has morals and a loyalty to the people......that the people are sovereign over the government, not the government sovereign over the people.....the KEY difference between the Breen and Monican cultures.

Fifth is the fact that Aeon brings the orders of conscription (the fact that they are really orders from the Monican government and not a ruse made up by Aeon is debatable) to Una shows that they are in Monica. I don't think Aeon would just bust in and yell that all over the dorm complex in Bregna. Monica and Bregna are in a state of war....I wasn't surprised at all that Aeon had come with orders from the government.

On a side note, I DO think that Aeon is a member of the Monican military. One example is that the troops of Monica and Aeon wear the same black/purple leather. The fact that Aeon has quite a bit of freedom and leeway in the Monican military does not mean that she doesn't serve Monica. She has the authority to choose many of her missions yes, but in the end she serves the Monican people and their principles of personal freedom.

I hope you find some use with my thoughts. Take care!

-Pyth-

-- Pythagoras (karl.wolf@unisys.com), December 22, 1998

Answers

I think the Monican military is a purely volunteer service... Aeon, being the dangergirl she is, occasionally takes on the role of Monican Enforcer. Chung said that this is what the Monican "soldier" helping Una is, he's another enforcer.%r%tAlso, I don't think that Aeon thinks very highly of the principles of Monica, but rather the principles of herself (control, mainly). Everything she does is for herself. She's nearly always selfish, and I think even her missions in service of Monica had a hidden agenda for her.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), December 25, 1998.

I always thought that Aeon's alliegance to Monica had mainly to do with the superior sexiness of Monican uniforms... No, actually, we all know that Aeon always fights for her own selfish individualism. Since the Monican society is less repressive than Bregna, she naturally falls in with them. Note that Aeon has worked for Bregna many times when it suits her - e.g. helping Trevor consolidate power in Utopia or Deuteronopia.

-- Charlie Princeton (cmmartin@princeton.edu), December 27, 1998.

I used to think Una was Monican. I'm not sure why, I just always assumed that. On reflection, however, I think she could be either. It really isn't important to the story.

-- Frostbite (foo@bar.com), December 27, 1998.

I think the most likely reason Aeon is Monican is because it's her native country, where she was born. I think the writers of the show modeled Monica after Aeon's personal philosophies. Yeah, Aeon is selfish, but aren't we all? I think the big Bregna/Trevor vs. Monica/Aeon issue is control vs. freedom. Aeon is completely independent: she needs no one and she can do whatever she wants. However this also means she is free from semi-oppressive yet neccissary ideas as Morality, Sanity, and Law and Order. If you watch the shows closely (of course, most of us practically have them memorized by now) you'll see that Bregna isn't the only country that appears to be rotting from the inside, so to speak.

Trevor and Bregna, on the other hand stand for idealism, equality, five-year plans and the like. However, in order for Trevor to keep his people happy, he must also keep them stupid, or so he thinks. He believes absolute power in the hands of the right person can bring his people happiness. And of course, he believes he is that person.

You know, now that I think of it, he kind of reminds me of Ares from Xena: Warrior Princess. They both want to create a Utopia on Earth. They both think "Sure you gotta crack some eggs, ruin a few lives, pervert your original ideals when it becomes convenient, be the ultimate hypocrite, ect... but it's all worth it if you can create the perfect society."

-- Frostbite (foo@bar.com), January 01, 1999.


Aeon does not have orders from the government to conscrpit Una. She steals the documents from Ilbren, remember? But apparently, Aeon can't read Scilote Middle-high Breen (sp?) so she takes it to her old buddy Una to translate. In fact, Nabob says that this happens a lot. "It's that really wierd girl who's always coming over with her priority translations".

After Aeon says her line, Una laughs and says "Monican Enforcer Aegis. That was good. Can I steal that?" She takes it as a joke, which is ironic because it's really true.

That reminds me, does Aeon seem a little jealous of Neric to you? Not, anything big, but it's obvious she doesn't like him, and I think she reffers to him as an "old routine".

-- Frostbite (foo@bar.com), January 02, 1999.



Frotebite is correct. Aeon is jealous of Neric- she calls him Nabob, calls him the same old routine etc.. Its more than obviuos that Aeon and Una are sexually involved. Remember that Aeon purposely leaves her jacket with Una, and Una like to cuddle this jacket. Pretty sexy stuff, I'd like to watch in on what they do together. Foreign tongues indeed!

-- Robert F. Beck (rfbeck@internetconnect.net), February 19, 1999.

Further support for Una being a citizen of Monica:

When Fon is trying to explain to Una that she isn't trying to double-cross her regarding the Seraph-Trevs, she spills the fact that "a Breen named Ilbren" tried to hire her to steal the female. There's a good reason for Fon to mention that Ilbren is from Bregna - She needs to regain Una's trust and this is a subtle way of reinforcing the idea that she and Una are on the same side - the Monican side.

-- Stephen Fuller (stepfull@aol.com), January 23, 2000.


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