Threat

J. Paul Getty: 

Morning, Chase.

[Getty walks around a covered table] 

J. Paul Getty: 

Will you, uh, help me with this?

[Getty and Chase uncover the table to reveal a model mansion] 

J. Paul Getty: 

I'm, uh, building a house in California. 

An exact replica of 

my imperial villa in Rome, 

down to the very last detail. 

But with flush toilets. 

Yes, The Mountain may not 

have come to Muhammad, 

but it sure as hell came to me.

Nancy Getty's Secretary: 

Mr. Getty. The West Texas Intermediate, sir.

[secretary hands stock number strip to Getty] 

Fletcher Chase: 

What's it feel like, 

reading that slip of paper?

J. Paul Getty: 

Well, for a moment, 

Money loses all meaning 

and becomes as plentiful as air. 

Like flight. And then, it passes.

[Getty crumples the strip and throws it away] 

J. Paul Getty: 

What's, uh, all this I see on TV 

with Gail 

paying The Ransom in full? 

We both know she doesn't have it.

Fletcher Chase: 

The Lady's made 

other arrangements.

J. Paul Getty: 

But she doesn't have The Money.

 So, uh, what's going on? Come on. 

Where did she get it? 

Is she fucking somebody?

[pause] 

Fletcher Chase: 

You know, I think I'm finally beginning 

to understand what makes you tick.

J. Paul Getty: 

No, no, you couldn't begin to. 

So, spill it. What's going on?

 What's Her Game? 

Don't forget, Chase, 

I have a contract. 

And I'll enforce it.

Fletcher Chase: 

No, I Don't Think So.

J. Paul Getty: 

Oh? Why not?

Fletcher Chase: 

Can you hear me? 

I want to make sure that I'm very clear. 

Because whatever 

Personal Security 

you presently enjoy 

comes from me. Alright? 

Those Alsatians limping around the pool? 

My People trained them. 

Your Security System? 

My People installed it. 

The Bodyguards? 

That's right, you rapacious old fuck,

 You are Protected from 

every threat imaginable, 

unless that threat 

happens to be me.

J. Paul Getty: 

I suppose this is your way of submitting your resignation.

Fletcher Chase: 

Hey!

[Chase grabs Getty by the arm] 

Fletcher Chase: 

'Men of risk'? Isn't that what you called us? 

'I risk my money, you risk your life.' 

You're so full of shit. You and Me? 

We never risked a thing in our lives. 

We never took the chances ordinary people take. 

That's why we are 

What We Are Now. 

You're just cheap, Paul. 

You could have 

All The Money in The World, 

and you are still a no-good, miserable son of a bitch, 

and don't you forget it. 

Goodbye, Mr. Getty.

[Chase begins to walk away] 

J. Paul Getty: 

Those children are My Blood, Chase!

[Chase waves at him on his way out] 

J. Paul Getty: 

They're mine.

[Getty grabs the paper strip and throws it in the fireplace]

J. Paul Getty: 

She took them.

Well... Would You Like Me to Give You a JOKE?

 SCULLY : (smiling)

It's an Alternate Reality -- 

'Fox' doesn't exist in coffee shops. 

MULDER :

No. It's A False Reality, Scully. 

Just like everything we've seen so far. 

Did Paul ever talk to you about having himself kidnapped?

You've got to remember who The Gettys ARE — Every time someone stays in the bathroom for too long,

someone makes A Joke

about being held for ransom.

Paul might have 

cracked A Joke

once or twice among friends...

There's That Word, again —

What word?

A "Joke."

You said you thought it was A Joke when it first happened.

Now you sound like that Policeman.

Whose side are you on, Mr. Chace?

I'm on My Own Side. Always.

And if this is A Joke, 

I'd like to make sure that 

I'm IN on it.

His Visions were Apocalyptic : 
A Pandemic was spreading across America. Hospitals were overwhelmed. People were panicking. A vaccine was needed. One that had to be created with a combination of human and alien DNA. And Jackson himself was the key. It ends with a UFO, hovering over the 14th Street Bridge. 

That's what he saw. 

 
So you think a shared vision means that it's more likely to come true? 
What if I didn't get a glimpse of The Future? 

What if I was just a receptacle for His Message to Me? Just like my dream to come here. 

Starbucks Barista :

( to Mulder, proffering a coffee. )

Hey, Bob.

SCULLY : (smiling)

It's an Alternate Reality -- 

'Fox' doesn't exist in coffee shops. 

MULDER :

No. It's A False Reality, Scully. 

Just like everything we've seen so far. 

I've been going over the forensics of the case. 

The Police Think, 

Jackson killed His Parents, then himself. 

But the spatter pattern tells me different. 

It Tells Me, 

There were Two Shooters. 

Her Body was moved after she was shot 

to make it Look Like There was One Shooter.

The Ritual of Chüd was A Battle of Wills 

and was The Only Way to defeat IT.

Contents

1 It (Novel)

2 It (1990)

3 It Chapter 2 (2019)

4 Later

5 Appearances

6 References

It (Novel)

Bill Denbrough first found the information about the Ritual when he found Night's Truth in Derry Public Library, where he also found It was a Glamour known to many cultures under many different names. The Ritual itself is from Himalayan belief, who recognized It as a sort of taelus. 

In the Himilayan tradition, a holyman and the taelus overlapped tongues, bit in to each other, and told riddles until one laughed despite the pain. If the taelus laughs first, it gets sent away for a hundred years, while if the man laughs first the taelus gets to eat the mans soul.[1]

THAT'S WHY HE'S A CLOWN.

As children, Bill is the only one to engage with It, being thrust toward the Macroverse, heading to the Deadlights, but his physical body remains put. He speeds by the Turtle, who only offers advice that "–you must help yourself, son," and "you've got to thrust your fists against the posts and still insist you see the ghosts[...] once you get into cosmological shit like this, you got to throw away the instruction manual."[2] Bill engages with it telepathically, biting his teeth into Its' tongue, saying "He Thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he see the ghosts" in his fathers voice repeatedly. Overall, the fight is one of the Losers optimism, imagination, unity, and belief over Its malice and anger. The Losers come out victorious, but ignore the Turtle's advice to make sure they finish the deal, and It escapes, which the Losers suspect but are not sure of.

As adults, Bill is the first to engage It again. However, without his childlike imagination, he is weaker in the battle. It taunts him, saying that the Turtle died some time ago. Bill 'misses' Its tongue, and Beverly calls out that something is wrong, It is laughing. Richie quickly realizes something is wrong and screams out in his Irish cop voice, catching Its tongue and being thrown into the universal sprawl with Bill. He saves Bill from the Deadlights, threatens It with his Voices, but they still struggle against it. As before, their bodies remain still in the real world, but Eddie hears Richie calling for help, and rather than enter with them, he uses his aspirator as before to seriously hurt It in the physical world, losing his arm in the process and dying of blood loss. In this time It is able to escape further into her lair, dropping eggs along the way that Ben stays to crush, as Beverly remains with Eddie's body. Reluctantly Richie leaves Eddie and Bill leaves Audra to go further after It needing to ensure It dies this time. Finding It, they hit It with their collective belief and love and childhood nostalgia along with the power of the Other[3]. Richie is knocked out, Bill crushes Its heart between his hands, and carries Richie, who he believes may be dead, back to the other Losers.

It (1990)

Bill Denbrough first battled It with the Ritual of Chüd with advice that was given to him by Maturin. The ritual was a psychic battle in which the two forces dueled with their wits. The children believed that the metal silver had supernatural abilities, as seen in numerous monster movies. Because the children believed it, the silver became real and was a chief weapon that was used in the ritual as children. Because Beverly was good with a slingshot, the Losers' Club injured It the first time when Beverly shot a chunk of silver into Its skull. The Losers thought that they killed It, but weren't sure, so they made a pact to return to Derry should It ever return. It was finally destroyed in the second Ritual of Chüd by the adult Bill, Richie Tozier, Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak (he was killed by It) and Ben Hanscom.

It Chapter 2 (2019)

Here Mike Hanlon discovers the Ritual of Chüd himself by visiting with local Native American tribes as an adult. The Ritual involves burning tokens special to all those in the Ritual to expose Its true form as the Deadlights and trapping them in a vessel Mike stole from the tribe. Unlike the novel, the ritual is unsuccessful, as the Native Americans that attempted to use it to trap It failed and were brutally slaughtered. Mike withholds this truth from his friends, believing that the tribe was unsuccessful because they had not truly faced their fears and felt that his own group stood a far better chance at survival and victory. The Losers' performing of the Ritual exposes the Deadlights, but fails to actually contain It and are forced to back off. Taking the form of a half-spider/half-Pennywise hybrid, It separates the Losers to go through personal trials, overcoming each together giving them strength. However, this exposes Richie to the Deadlights causing Eddie to attack It with a spear, dealing a serious blow. It retaliates, killing him over Richie, but not before Eddie is able to tell the Losers they have to make It small to kill it. The Losers succeed in doing this, convincing each other that Pennywise is small by insulting It, until all the remaining Losers crush Its heart together, finally killing the ancient evil.

Later

Jamie Conklin is introduced to the Ritual of Chüd by former neighbor Professor Martin Burkett, whom Jamie confides in about his continued "haunting" by the revenant of deceased bomber Kenneth "Thumper" Therriault[4]. Jamie, confused and frightened by the fact that months pass and Therriault's specter refuses to "pass over," and indeed appears to be getting stronger instead of fading, explains his predicament to Professor Burkett, who speculatively posits that perhaps Therriault's soul has been infested by a demon since his death. Burkett, though lightly skeptical of Jamie's experience, suggests that there might not be a way to get rid of the unnamed entity residing in Therriault, but that Jamie can instead conquer it.

Though Burkett is a professor of English and European Literature, he claims to know much of the mystic arts through his consumption of supernatural literature, and espouses on the Tibetan tribal ritualistic tradition to Jamie. A present-day Jamie, narratively reflecting on the incident some ten years in his past, has since researched the ritual for an anthropology paper in college, and fact-checks Burkett. Burkett claims the Ritual was practiced by a series of Tibetan and Nepalese Buddhists, who used it as a meditative aid "to achieve a sense of perfect nothingness and the resulting state of serenity and spiritual clarity," which Jamie confirms, and that it was also used in combating demons, both mental and supernatural ("a gray area," according to Jamie). Burkett suggests the Ritual for this reason - theoretically it will be of use to Jamie whether or not Therriault's entity actually exists. Burkett then claims (later refuted by Jamie) that Chüd was commonly used against yetis, who are said to haunt their observers to their deaths, unless they engage and best the beast in a Ritual.

Despite Jamie's obvious disgust, Burkett explains the binding of tongues and subsequent battle of wills, which he surmises happens telepathically in order to not disrupt the physical link, explaining that the first to withdraw loses all power over the winner. Jamie has qualms about engaging Therriault in the Ritual, unsure if he will be given an opportunity to get close enough without luring the spirit and potentially harming himself, which he expresses facetiously, but Burkett explains the tongue-biting aspect is meant to be symbolic, comparing it to the Christian Eucharistic tradition. He also compares the ritual to other ceremonial wartime greetings, such as the Māori haka, Japanese kamikaze mizu no sakazuki, an ancient Egyptian tradition of exchanging forehead strikes between members of warring houses before the formal battle, and Japanese sumo Chirichozu. Burkett says all these traditions have the same meaning, which is a combative meeting of enemies with an expectation that a winner will be declared.

Jamie surmises later that perhaps the Ritual was already in motion, and that every confrontation with Therriault had been an engagement of wills, but he follows Burkett's advice and engages Therriault in a Chüd soon after[5]. During the ritual (in which Jamie simply grabs the entity full-bodied and refuses to let go), he experiences the entity's singular deadlight, implying that he was fighting a Glamour. Jamie describes the experience as a trembling of the world like a plucked guitar string, perceptible at low levels even to passers-by who unknowingly came near the spirit, but which increases to near-unbearable levels with proximity and duration. The Glamour attempts to bargain with Jamie throughout, but Jamie is familiar with the entity's ability (distinct from that of a "normal" spirit) to make untrue claims when unprompted- though it abides by the spirit rule of being unable to lie when directly questioned. For this reason Jamie persists until the Glamour agrees not only to cease haunting him, but instead to be haunted by Jamie- that is, to remain at his beck and call. Jamie also compels the Glamour to admit to being afraid of Jamie before releasing it. The Ritual occurred outside of linear time (as remaining by the elevator doors remaining open), and caused a localized power surge and minor explosions upon its completion. Though Jamie felt invigorated afterwards, these manifestations of the Glamour on the physical world make him believe that it drew power from him, as well, and was no longer bound to the purely incorporeal nature of Therriault's spirit.

Appearances

It

It (film)

Later

References

 Part 4, Chapter 13, section 3, PG 683

 Chapter22, section 2, PG 1071

 Chapter 23, section 2

 Chapter 37, PG 145

 Chapter 43, PG 156

Ezekiel The Great

Carol has stolen food and supplies, and is trying to sneak out of The Kingdom after dark, by slipping out via The Garden —

•fruit-Time•

She reaches for An Apple —

Ezekiel: 

By all means, Fair maiden.

Have one.

This enclosure was built for the purpose 

of common recreation and study.

I had it repurposed into 

A Garden Worthy of Our Splendor.

I dare say it's my favorite place 

in the entire Kingdom.

It pleases me that you've seen it 

with your own eyes before 

choosing to leave us so suddenly.

Eskimo Carol :

Geez, yeah, I I'm real sorry about this.

Um, it's just — What good am I here? 

King Ezekiel I :

Jerry would you excuse us? 

Sir Jerry of Kingdom :

[Inhales deeply.]

If you need me, holler.

I keep in hollering range.

Deuces! 

King Ezekiel I : 

If I hadn't happened upon you right now -

What's that saying...? 

Never bullshit a bullshitter.

Have I got that right? 

The Sweet-and-Innocent act 

you've been doing -- it's quite clever.

Worked on me.

Blend in, Get People to Trust You, 

Acquire What You Need from Them, 

and then You're Gone, 

as if You were never there.

The guns you brought here in your pack -- 

they belong to Saviors.

Eskimo Carol :

What do you know about The Saviors? 

King Ezekiel I :

More than I care to, unfortunately.

They nearly extinguished you.

But you did more than 

put up a fight, Carol -- You Won.

Eskimo Carol :

[Chuckles.]

By ending up here? 

King Ezekiel I :

That's funny to you? 

Eskimo Carol :

[Sighs.]

You're A Joke.

This Place is.

That's What You Do with Jokes — 

You Laugh.

Out There -- Out There, it's Real.

I've been to places where 

I thought I wouldn't have to -- 

Where I could just Be.

You're selling These People A Fairy Tale.

King Ezekiel I :

Maybe they need The Fairy Tale.

Maybe The Contradiction is The Point.

Eskimo Carol :

And ruling over people 

and having your ass kissed 

by everyone's just a perk? 

King Ezekiel I :

May I? 

[ He sits by her.]

People want someone to follow.

It's Human Nature.

They want someone to make 'em feel safe.

And people who feel safe 

are less dangerous, more productive.

They see A Dude with A Tiger, shoot -- 

they start tellin' stories about finding it in The Wild, 

wrestling it into submission, turning it into His Pet.

They make The Guy Larger than Life, A Hero.

And who am I to burst their bubble?

Next thing you know, they treat me like Royalty.

They wanted -- They needed Someone to Follow, 

s-so I-I acted The Part.

I faked it till I made it.

I was A Zookeeper.

Shiva -- She fell into one of the concrete moats in her exhibit.

It was empty, the vets were on their way, 

but her leg was ripped open.

She was gonna bleed out.

The sound she made.....

She was in so much pain.

I knew the risk.

I had to try.

And I got my shirt up around her leg -- 

Saved Her Life.

After that, She never showed 

so much as a tooth in my direction.

Keeping A Tiger isn't practical -- I know.

She eats as much as Ten People.

She could yank The Chain out of My Hand -- 

hell, She could yank my arm right off...

But She hasn't.

She won't.

I lost a lot, just like Everybody Else.

When it all started to End, 

I found myself back at The Zoo.

Shiva was one of the last animals left.

She was Trapped, Hungry, 

Alone. Like Me.

She was The Last Thing Left 

in This World that I loved.

She protected me.

She got me here, made me 

Larger than Life.

And I made This Place.

I used to act in community theater -- 

played a few kings in my day 

[Chuckles.]

Arthur, Macbeth Martin Luther.

[Chuckles.]

My Name really is Ezekiel, though.

[Sighs.]

That's 100% real.

Cards on the table.

Nothing up my sleeve.

I'd appreciate you keep this 

between us, though, for Them.

And, yeah, a little bit for me.

Eskimo Carol :

[Sniffles.]

I don't care.

You do what you want.

I just want to go.

King Ezekiel I :

Go where? Carol —

Eskimo Carol :

Away.

King Ezekiel I :

I'm sorry.

Eskimo Carol :

For what? 

King Ezekiel I :

For whatever Bad You've been through.

There's so much of it out there now, you know? 

[Sighs.]

Too much.

Out there, it feels like it's all bad, 

especially when you're alone.

[Sighs.]

The thing is, though 

it's not all bad. It can't be.

It isn't. Life isn't.

Where there's Life, there's Hope, 

Heroism, Grace, and Love.

Where there's Life, there's Life.

I hope that's not what 

you're walking away from.

Eskimo Carol :

So what if I am? 

King Ezekiel I :

Maybe you don't have to.

I made My Own World here.

I found a way to deal with The Bad 

by going a little overboard 

with all The Good.

I just embraced the contradiction.

Maybe you could, too, in Your Own Way.

Like, maybe you could Go and Not Go.

Yeah, I-I sound like a crazy person.

I get it. You know, maybe I am.

But I think I can help if you let me.

Eskimo Carol :

Why do you even care? 

King Ezekiel I :

'Cause it makes me •feel• good.

I'll get your stuff together, 

find somebody I trust 

to meet you at The Gate, 

so you can go and -- and not go.

We'll see if I'm on to something 

or if it's just more bullshit.

What do you say? 

You're sure this is 

what you want, right? 

Eskimo Carol :

I am.

King Ezekiel I :

It's up to you.

It should have always been up to you.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Okay? [Horse whinnies.]

[Snorts.]

Got it.

[Sighs.]

‭Stay there.

It's good we're here.

[Snorts.]

‭How's that? 10 more minutes, 

and I might start to regret 

all the times I tried to shoot and stab you.

I think you're my favorite person I ever knocked out.

Definitely top two or three.

[Chuckles.]

Take care of yourself.

I will.

‭Do you promise? 

Always watching, 

always ready, remember? 

I do.

Okay.

Thank you.

[Lock clanking.]

Whoa.

[Gate creaking.]

[Sighs.]

[Gate closes.]

[Walker growls.]

[Growling.]

[Growling stops, walker thuds.]

Everything Breaks Eventually.

“ If rebellion against the Comics Code took the form of these devastating, coded analyses of America’s psychosexual temperature, it was only to be expected. Squeezed down and controlled by conformity cops, comic-book creators chose the Hermetic route. Transforming their insights and rage into fables for children, the debts to the queer underground and the echoes of the narcotic, psychedelic visions of Ginsberg and Burroughs are still hard to miss.

  Imagine the tight-lipped, plausible Batman played by Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan’s twenty-first-century movie series facing some of the adversaries encountered by fifties Batman: a Rainbow Batman, a Zebra Batman, a Creature from Dimension X that resembled a one-eyed testicle on stalk-like legs. With titles including “The Jungle Batman,” “The Merman Batman” (“YES, ROBIN. I’VE BECOME A HUMAN FISH”), “The Valley of Giant Bees” (“ROBIN! HE’S BEEN CAPTURED AND MADE A JESTER IN THE COURT OF THE QUEEN BEE!”), and “Batman Becomes Bat-Baby,” it was an anything-goes atmosphere. And there’s more where they came from : a whole decade’s worth of unfiltered madness as DC writers used every trick in the book to keep Batman away from the crime-haunted streets where he belonged.

  Weisinger’s fluid bodies, his foregrounding of intense emotions, laid the groundwork for the Silver Age of comics and the arrival of a jet-powered, supersonic LSD consciousness that would turn the world’s largest-ever collection of young people into self-proclaimed superhumans overnight.

  But before that, and for the therapy to be successful, the process of miniaturization, compression, and self-annihilation had to be completed. A collapsing star, a black hole, was created, from which only A God could escape, or an idea. Not even light can escape from a black hole. The event horizon marks the limit of human science, not human imagination.

  Along came The Flash, who could run faster than the speed of light.

  Things began to melt.

  Things began to stream.

Clever Archers

Machiavelli's The Prince (1513)

Chapter VI : 

Concerning New Principalities 

which are Acquired by 

One’s Own Arms and Ability

Let no one be surprised if, in speaking of entirely new principalities as I shall do, I adduce the highest examples both of prince and of state; because men, walking almost always in paths beaten by others, and following by imitation their deeds, are yet unable to keep entirely to the ways of others or attain to the power of those they imitate. A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it. Let him act like the clever archers who, designing to hit the mark which yet appears too far distant, and knowing the limits to which the strength of their bow attains, take aim much higher than the mark, not to reach by their strength or arrow to so great a height, but to be able with the aid of so high an aim to hit the mark they wish to reach.

I say, therefore, that in entirely new principalities, where there is a new prince, more or less difficulty is found in keeping them, accordingly as there is more or less ability in him who has acquired the state. Now, as the fact of becoming a prince from a private station presupposes either ability or fortune, it is clear that one or other of these things will mitigate in some degree many difficulties. Nevertheless, he who has relied least on fortune is established the strongest. Further, it facilitates matters when the prince, having no other state, is compelled to reside there in person.

But to come to those who, by their own ability and not through fortune, have risen to be princes, I say that Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, Theseus, and such like are the most excellent examples. And although one may not discuss Moses, he having been a mere executor of the will of God, yet he ought to be admired, if only for that favour which made him worthy to speak with God. But in considering Cyrus and others who have acquired or founded kingdoms, all will be found admirable; and if their particular deeds and conduct shall be considered, they will not be found inferior to those of Moses, although he had so great a preceptor. And in examining their actions and lives one cannot see that they owed anything to fortune beyond opportunity, which brought them the material to mould into the form which seemed best to them. Without that opportunity their powers of mind would have been extinguished, and without those powers the opportunity would have come in vain.

It was necessary, therefore, to Moses that he should find the people of Israel in Egypt enslaved and oppressed by the Egyptians, in order that they should be disposed to follow him so as to be delivered out of bondage. It was necessary that Romulus should not remain in Alba, and that he should be abandoned at his birth, in order that he should become King of Rome and founder of the fatherland. It was necessary that Cyrus should find the Persians discontented with the government of the Medes, and the Medes soft and effeminate through their long peace. Theseus could not have shown his ability had he not found the Athenians dispersed. These opportunities, therefore, made those men fortunate, and their high ability enabled them to recognize the opportunity whereby their country was ennobled and made famous.

Those who by valorous ways become princes, like these men, acquire a principality with difficulty, but they keep it with ease. The difficulties they have in acquiring it rise in part from the new rules and methods which they are forced to introduce to establish their government and its security. And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, then to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them. Thus it happens that whenever those who are hostile have the opportunity to attack they do it like partisans, whilst the others defend lukewarmly, in such wise that the prince is endangered along with them.

It is necessary, therefore, if we desire to discuss this matter thoroughly, to inquire whether these innovators can rely on themselves or have to depend on others: that is to say, whether, to consummate their enterprise, have they to use prayers or can they use force? In the first instance they always succeed badly, and never compass anything; but when they can rely on themselves and use force, then they are rarely endangered. Hence it is that all armed prophets have conquered, and the unarmed ones have been destroyed. Besides the reasons mentioned, the nature of the people is variable, and whilst it is easy to persuade them, it is difficult to fix them in that persuasion. And thus it is necessary to take such measures that, when they believe no longer, it may be possible to make them believe by force.

If Moses, Cyrus, Theseus, and Romulus had been unarmed they could not have enforced their constitutions for long--as happened in our time to Fra Girolamo Savonarola, who was ruined with his new order of things immediately the multitude believed in him no longer, and he had no means of keeping steadfast those who believed or of making the unbelievers to believe. Therefore such as these have great difficulties in consummating their enterprise, for all their dangers are in the ascent, yet with ability they will overcome them; but when these are overcome, and those who envied them their success are exterminated, they will begin to be respected, and they will continue afterwards powerful, secure, honoured, and happy.

To these great examples I wish to add a lesser one; still it bears some resemblance to them, and I wish it to suffice me for all of a like kind: it is Hiero the Syracusan.[*] This man rose from a private station to be Prince of Syracuse, nor did he, either, owe anything to fortune but opportunity; for the Syracusans, being oppressed, chose him for their captain, afterwards he was rewarded by being made their prince. He was of so great ability, even as a private citizen, that one who writes of him says he wanted nothing but a kingdom to be a king. This man abolished the old soldiery, organized the new, gave up old alliances, made new ones; and as he had his own soldiers and allies, on such foundations he was able to build any edifice: thus, whilst he had endured much trouble in acquiring, he had but little in keeping.

[*] Hiero II, born about 307 B.C., died 216 B.C.

 

 

Identification : Friend or Foe?

Elicitation is a technique used 

to collect information 

that is not readily available 

and do so 

without raising suspicion that specific facts are being sought.

Focus

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

May I enter? 

Michael :

Yes, of course. 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

It would appear the human proverb is accurate : 

old habits die hard. 

Michael :

Or, they never die at all. 

I wasn't aware you knew Amanda read Alice to me. 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

While I was often occupied by work in the evenings, 

it did not prevent my listening from upstairs :

Her voice gave comfort to us both. 

I will be leaving Discovery as soon as we drop out of warp —

Vulcan High Command has asked that I work with Starfleet in assembling a Federation task force :

These signals must be deciphered, 

and the timing must be considered, 

so soon after A War. 

Michael :

Do you think they're related? 

Could the Klingons be involved? 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

No. I reached out to High Chancellor L'Rell. 

The Klingons have seen the signals, too, and they have no explanation for them, either. 

Michael :

….Why do you think he didn't come on board? 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

Undoubtedly, Spock has 

devoted himself to bringing 

The Enterprise back on line. 

There's more to it than that. 

How long has it been 

since you spoke to him? 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

Years. 

Michael :

Me, too —

When I first came to you, I- 

I know that you considered 

every possible effect 

a Vulcan education, a Vulcan life, 

might have on a human child. 

….what did you want Spock to learn from me? 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

Empathy(!) — Something he would need to understand 

to successfully interact with humans. 

Michael :

Would he not have learned this 

from Our Mother? 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

Spock has great reverence for his mother —

But reverence tends to... 

Michael :

….Fill up the room. 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

Indeed. 

Michael :

So from a peer, 

a sibling, 

you thought... 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

Yes. But I do not think I was successful. 

I do not think he ever fully accepted you. 

Michael :

He may have. For a time. 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

Just a time? 

I'm discouraged he did not 

embrace the lesson. 

Michael :

Father, I am confident that 

Empathy is very real for Spock. 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

I can hear the missing notes, Michael. 

There is something about your relationship you're not sharing - 

It weighs on you. 

Despite my departure, 

I will avail myself to you, 

should you choose to speak of it someday. 

Michael :

Thank you. 

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan :

In the meantime, 

I suggest you focus on 

The Problem in Front of You, 

rather than What is Behind. 

Mr. Dreams

 In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Morpheus is one of the thousand sons of Somnus (Sleep). His name derives from the Greek word for form (μορφή), and his function was to appear in dreams in HUMAN guise. According to Ovid “no other is more skilled than he in representing the gait, the features, and the speech of men; the clothing also and the accustomed words of each he represents.” Like other gods associated with sleep, Ovid makes Morpheus winged.

Ovid called Morpheus and his brothers, the other sons of Somnus, the Somnia (“dream shapes”), saying that they appear in dreams “mimicking many forms”. Ovid gives names to two more of these sons of Sleep. One called Icelos (‘Like’), by the gods, but Phobetor (‘Frightener’) by men, “takes the form of BEAST or bird or the long serpent”, and Phantasos (‘Fantasy’), who “puts on deceptive shapes of earth, rocks, water, trees, all LIFELESS things”.

The three brothers’ names are found nowhere earlier than Ovid, and are perhaps Ovidian inventions. Tripp calls these three figures “literary, not mythical concepts”. However, Griffin suggests that this division of dream forms between Morpheus and his brothers, possibly including their names, may have been of Hellenistic origin.”

The Day of Complex Emotions

BILL MOYERS : 

The mesmerizing character for me — 

is Darth Maul.

When I saw him, I thought of 

Satan and Lucifer in “Paradise Lost.” 

I thought of the Devil in “Dante’s Inferno.” 

I mean, you’ve really — have brought from — 

it seems to me — from way down in our unconsciousness 

this image of — of — of Evil, of The Other.

GEORGE LUCAS: 

Well, yeah. We were trying to find somebody who could compete with Darth Vader, 

who’s one of the most, you know, 

famous evil characters now. 

And so we went back into 

representations of Evil.

Not only, the Christian, but also 

Hindu and Greek mythology 

and other religious icons and, 

obviously, then designed our own — 

our own character out of that.

BILL MOYERS: 

What did you find when you went back there in — in all of these representations? There’s something …

GEORGE LUCAS: 

A lot of — a lot of evil characters have horns. 

It’s very interesting. 

I mean, you’re trying to build An Icon of Evil, 

and you sort of wonder why the same images 

evoke the same emotions.

Evolution & The Culture of Death ~ Fr Ripperger

Evolution & the Culture of Death ~ Fr Ripperger