104

"Avatar"


Developments

  • James Pike stole Sandoval's skrill, but it was later returned to him.

Backstory


William Boone


According to the computer files read by Pike:
  • Boone was born in 1972 in Cleveland, Ohio and his middle initial was "S."
  • Boone broke the junior decathlon record in high school and received a track and field scholarship to Notre Dame.
  • From 1997 to 2003, he was a member of U.S. Army Special Forces, a U.S. Army Ranger (later confirmed in "Horizon Zero"), and a consultant for the United Nations (later confirmed in "Old Flame"). He was awarded two Purple Hearts and the Distinguished Service Cross.
Ronald Sandoval
  • Sandoval lives at Companion Headquarters in Washington D.C.
Dr. Julianne Belman
  • Dr. Belman works for a company called Comtech.
  • Dr. Belman was involved in the “experiment in rehabilitation” two years ago in which James Pike became the first human to receive a CVI, his having the MI to “love humankind.”
The Taelons
  • Agenda on Earth


    • Pike’s dying words to Boone: “You will be their [S]aqa[r]ava…Their world is inside the mind they gave you—your implant…When you see, when you know, you will judge them…They are afraid…The sleeper will come.”
  • Attitudes and Beliefs


    • Da’an recites the Taelon myth on Pike’s cell wall by heart: “The sacred texts tell of a sign, a dire omen appearing in the heavens. Two avatars of grace, Um[r]athma and [S]aqa[r]ava, quarrel over the meaning of the omen. Um[r]athma vanquishes [S]aqa[r]ava and casts him into the void. But the void does not consume [S]aqa[r]ava. Through anguish and denials he emerges with the fury of truth that burns away all the illusions of Um[r]athma, the voice of all lies.”
    • Da’an: “Truth reveals itself in enigma. Let us approach it with awe as diviners of the one mystery.”
  • Language


    • “Um[r]athma [s]inaüi [e]uhu[r]a [S]aqa[r]ava i[z]uli im[r]a naüi[z]i um[r]a [S]aqa[r]ava uma” - the words spoken by Pike to Da’an
    • Da’an’s parting word to the Synod: “[e]u[r]a”
  • Psychology


    • Da’an: “The implant may have allowed his mind to evolve into a neutral state suggestive of our own collective sentience.” This indicates that the Taelons are mentally linked in a group consciousness.
  • Technology


    • CVI: The CVI can allow an Implant to tolerate tremendous pain and to switch his or her vital signs on and off. However, it also has a built-in obsolescence of about two years. Boone explains that the “mind works at such incredible speed that eventually it just crashes.” Symptoms of a CVI breakdown include bleeding ears and erratic, violent behavior. It is unclear if the Taelons knew about the obsolescence.
Miscellaneous
  • Pike has a poster on his cell wall featuring a picture of Da’an and the words “Working Together for Peace.”
  • Da’an attends the All Nations Ecumenical Conference.

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