A.

“So anyway, if you are coming out 

of an Irish pub at 11:30 

and you're on your way home, 

the Púca may suddenly decide 

to descend upon you.

Generally, he grabs you by the collar 

and yells "Got yer erse, mate!", 

and drags you off into a parallel universe, 

just like you hear about in Quantum Physics, 

or a set of parallel universes, 

and you meet all of the great Irish heroes, 

Finn McCoel, Cahaugllen, Niall of the Nine Hostages, 

Patrick Columbus, Brian Confucious... 

Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi... 

Zeus, Apollo, the Devas, 

the Pans, the Satyrs... 

Billions, and billions of years 

of adventures in alternative realities.

And when the Púca gets done playing with you, 

he puts you back on the road.

And it's only one minute after you left the pub, in ordinary time."

Different Powers

MOBIUS : 

Training goin’ well?

Main Loki :

Yeah.

MOBIUS

Is that my jet ski magazine?

Put it down. Gear up.

There’s been an attack. Let’s go.

[ Mobius hands Loki a Tactical Field Jacket ]

MOBIUS

Put it on.

Good. Yeah. Smart.

C-20 and her team went dark

shortly after they jumped into the 1985 branch.

All signs point to another ambush.

We’ve grabbed enough temporal aura 

to know it’s our Loki Variant.

But which kind of Loki, remains unknown.

Main Loki :

They’re the lesser kind, to be clear.

MOBIUS

(SIGHS) 

Let me see the back of that jacket.

( It has 'TVA' embossed on the back of it, in 18 inch yellow lettering )

Main Loki :

Hmm.

Very subtle. Well done.

MOBIUS

I don’t want anybody out there 

to forget What You Are.

[ and shooting you -- he's trying to keep him Safe. ]

Main Loki :

Oh, your only hope of capturing A Murderer?

No — A Cosmic Mistake.

MOBIUS

That’s enough.

 

Main Loki :

Lovely.

MOBIUS : 

Here’s The Deal.

When we get out on The Branch,

we’re not just looking for a Time Criminal.

We’re looking for A Loki.

A variation of this guy.

A type we should all be very familiar with,

because the TVA has pruned a lotta these guys,

almost more than any other Variant.

And no two are alike.

Slight differences in appearances, 

or not so slight.

Different Powers, 

although, Powers, generally include

Shape-Shifting, 

Illusion-Projection, 

and my favorite…

Main Loki :

Duplication-Casting.

 

MOBIUS

Illusion-Projection.

 

Main Loki :

No, they’re two completely different powers.

MOBIUS

How?

Main Loki :

Illusion-Projection involves  

depicting a detailed image from outside oneself,

which is perceptible in The External World,  

whereas 

Duplication-Casting entails  

recreating an exact facsimile of one’s own body 

in its present circumstance,

which acts as 

A True Holographic Mirror 

of its molecular structure.

But you already knew that.

MOBIUS

Okay, take a breath. Noted.

 

We’re gonna break into two teams, 

including myself and Professor Loki.

Main Loki :

Why?

MOBIUS

Because whoever this Variant is, 

we haven’t been able to find him.

[ Because you are looking for a He-Loki ]

So let’s bring in An Expert.

Main Loki :

That’s Me.

Do I get a weapon?

MOBIUS

Nah.

 

Main Loki :

Well, I’ll have My Magic back. 

Is no one concerned about that?

MOBIUS

Of what?

Main Loki :

Me Betraying You.

MOBIUS

No.

Main Loki :

Why not?

MOBIUS

You know that we can catch you.

And how’s betraying us gonna get you 

any closer to The Time-Keepers?

Main Loki :

An audience with The Time-Keepers 

is on the table?

[ No. He's just stringing you along (like A Loki).]

MOBIUS

Keep that focus.

Luke Works Intuitively, Throughout Most of The Movies — Until He Gets to The Very End

 

BILL MOYERS: 

Essentially, isn’t Star Wars about transformation?

GEORGE LUCAS: 

Well, it is about transformation. 

And — and ultimately it’ll be about transformation of how young Anakin Skywalker became evil and then was redeemed by His Son.

 

But it’s also about transformation of how his son came to — 

To Find The Call. 

Luke works intuitively through most of the movie until he gets to the very end.

Everything up to that point is very intuitive. 

He goes back and forth with his emotions about 

Fighting His Father 

or 

Not Fighting His Father.

Finally he comes to that decision to say, 

‘No, this is — this is what I have to do. 

I have to simply throw my weapon down.’ 

And it’s only that way that he’s able to redeem His Father, which ultimately is the issue. 

It’s not as apparent in the first three movies, but when you see the movies I haven’t made yet, that — 

The issue of how do we get Darth Vader back is really the central issue. 

How do we get him back to that little boy that he was in the first movie? 

That good person who loved and was generous and kind?

BILL MOYERS: 

Ultimately …

GEORGE LUCAS: 

And had a Good Heart.

BILL MOYERS: 

Had a Good Heart. 

Ultimately, doesn’t it take, particularly in religion, a — a leap of faith? 

What — Kierkegaard’s leap of faith?

GEORGE LUCAS: 

Yes. Yes. Definitely. 

And that’s — that’s — you’ll notice Luke uses that quite a bit through the films. 

Not to rely on his senses, not to rely on — on the computers, not to — but to rely on Faith. 

That is what ‘Use The Force’ is, is a leap of faith. 

That there are mysteries and powers larger than we are, and that you have to trust your feelings in order to — to access these things.

BILL MOYERS: 

Your friend Joseph Campbell called it 

‘the perfect eye to see with.’

GEORGE LUCAS: 

Mm-hmm.

BILL MOYERS: 

How do you develop that eye?

GEORGE LUCAS: 

Well, I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know whether I have that eye. But…

BILL MOYERS: 

Oh, you do. People — your colleagues tell me you’re always making quick decisions, good or bad. 

You’re making intuitive decisions very quickly.

TRY NOT.

DO.

OR DO NOT.

THERE IS NO "Try".

GEORGE LUCAS: 

I’m making intuitive decisions because I — I’m — I — I can see the picture in my head even though it’s foggy …

… and I know instantly whether this fits in there or doesn’t.

BILL MOYERS: 

Do you have to work to keep nurturing your imagination, to keep feeding that interior pool from which these ideas and images …

GEORGE LUCAS: 

I’ve — I’ve never had a problem with that. I mean, my imagination runs wild. It’s — it’s — you know, people say, ‘Well, you’re gonna run out of stories, you gonna … ‘ I — I don’t think I’ll ever run — I have more stories than I can possibly do in my lifetime. And more — and I’m interested in more things to do than I can possibly do in my lifetime. And I’m now beginning to confront the fact that the — the amount of time I’ve got is less and less, that I — more and more things are going to have to go by the wayside, and I’m going to have to focus more on the things that really are meaningful to me, you know, ’cause even if I have 30 or 40 years left, it’s not enough.

The Dreamer and The Dream

'I want to quote for you, to you, from the oldest history book in Western Civilization. 

Not just because it's a book -

but I think this is a point one can make about any history course, it doesn't matter what the subject is. 

It can be Social History, Political History, Intellectual History, any history. 
It can be the History of Ancient Rome, it could be Post-1945 United States, it could be any history. 

But any history course ought to do the two things that Herodotus named in the opening sentence of the oldest history book we have. 

This is Herodotus, 
The History. 

Isn't it great when you're writing The First Book, 
what are you going to call it? 

The History; 

no subtitles, nothing fancy, just-- 

"I, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, am here setting forth my history, that time may not draw the color from what Man has brought into being, nor those great and wonderful deeds manifested by both the Greeks and the barbarians, fail of their report, and together, with all of this, the reason why they fought one another."

I don't know how closely you listened to that, but what has Herodotus just said? 

He's basically said 

History is two things. 

It's The Story, it's the color, it's the great deeds, it's the narrative that takes you somewhere; 

but it's also The Reason Why,

it's also the explanations. 

That's what history does. 

It's supposed to do both of those things. 


Destiny is Male,

Fate is Female

JOSEPH, 

Father of Ben :

I heard about Quentin Swofford. 

I'm sorry.

Benjamin SiSKO : 

Look, Dad, I know I haven't been very good company the last few days.

JOSEPH, 

Father of Ben : 

I didn't come here to be entertained. 

I came to see you and Jake.

Benjamin SiSKO : 

Well, you certainly picked an interesting time to take your first trip away from Earth.

JOSEPH, 

Father of Ben : 

Well, I figured it was now or never. 

Besides, I've been worried about you. 

Last couple of times we've talked it seemed like you were carrying the weight of the entire Alpha Quadrant on your shoulders.

Benjamin SiSKO : 

Sometimes it certainly feels that way, Dad.

JOSEPH, 

Father of Ben : 

Just say it, son.

Benjamin SiSKO : 

I don't know how much more I can take. 

I don't know how many more friends I can lose. 

Every time I achieve a real victory, something like this happens and everything seems to turn to ashes.

JOSEPH, 

Father of Ben : 

So what do you want to do?

Benjamin SiSKO : 

Maybe it's time for me to step down, let someone else make the tough calls.

JOSEPH, 

Father of Ben : 

I see. 

No one is indispensable, son. 

Not even you. 

Whatever decision you make, I'll support. 

Of course, if Quentin Swofford was here I'd bet he'd have a few things to say to you.

Benjamin SiSKO : 
But he's not here, 

and that's The Whole Point.

JOSEPH, 

Father of Ben : 

I'd say you have some thinking to do, 

and I've got a dinner date with my grandson,

so you'd better get to it.

[Magazine office]

KAY:
What about, 

It Came From Outer Space.

JULIUS:
It's a smashing title. 

Wish I'd thought of it.

(Benny is let in.)

HERBERT:
Hey, Benny. 

Long time no see.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
Is it here?

JULIUS:
Not yet. 

Pabst is still at the printers.

KAY:
We're waiting for his return with baited breath.

ALBERT:
We heard that you were

KAY:
We heard they beat the hell out of you.

BENNY,
Meaning 'Son of' : 

I'm okay.

ALBERT:
Glad to see that you're, you know, up and about.

DARLENE:
Tell him the good news, Albert.

ALBERT:
Oh, it's nothing.

KAY:
Nothing? 

He sells a novel to Gnome Press 

and he says it's nothing.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
A novel. Albert, congratulations!

ALBERT:
Thank you.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
Robots?

ALBERT:
What else?

(Pabst enters.)

JULIUS:
It's about time.

HERBERT:
Douglas? Magazine?

PABST:
There isn't any magazine. 

Not this month anyway. 

Mister Stone had the entire run pulped.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
He can't do that.

PABST: 

Oh, he can and he did. 

He believes, quote, 

‘This issue did not live up to our usual high standards’, 

unquote.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
What's that supposed to mean?

PABST:
It means he didn't like it. 

Which means the public will simply going to have to get along without any Incredible Tales this month.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
What exactly is it that he did not like? 

The artwork, the layout? 

What high standards is he talking about?

KAY:
Take it easy, Benny.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
No, it's about my story, isn't it? 

That's what this is all about. 

He didn't want to publish my story and we all know why. 

Because My Hero is a coloured man.

PABST:
Hey! This magazine belongs to Mister Stone. 

If he doesn't want to publish this month, 

we don't publish this month. 

End of story.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
That doesn't make it right and you know it.

PABST:
Don't tell me what I know. 

Besides, it's not about What's Right, it's about What Is. 

And I'm afraid I've got some more bad news for you, Benny. 

Mister Stone has decided that your services are no longer required here.

HERBERT:
What!

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
You're firing me?

PABST:
I have no choice, Benny. 

It's his decision.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
Well, you can't fire me. 

I quit. 

To hell with you, and to hell with Stone.

JULIUS:
Try to stay calm, Benny.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
No. I'm tired of being calm. 

Calm never gotten me a damn thing.

PABST:
I'm warning you, Benny. 

If you don't stop this I'm going to call The Police.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
You go ahead! Call them! 

Call anybody you want. 

They can't do anything to me. 

Not anymore. 

And nor can any of you. 

I am a Human Being, damn it. 

You can deny me all you want but you cannot deny Ben Sisko. 

He exists! 

That Future, that Space Station, all those people, they exist in here. 

In My Mind, I created it. 

And every one of you know it. 

You read it. 

It's here. 

You hear what I'm telling you? 

You can pulp A Story 

but you cannot destroy An Idea. 

Don't you understand? 

That's Ancient Knowledge. 

You cannot destroy An Idea. 

That Future, I created it, 

and it's Real. 

Don't you understand? 

It is Real! 

I created it and it's Real! 

It's Real! Oh, God.


(Benny collapses, sobbing.)

[New York Street]


AMBULANCE MAN:
Easy.

(Benny is wheeled out to a very old ambulance even by 1953 standards.)

AMBULANCE MAN:
One, two three.

[Ambulance]

(Benny is in Starfleet uniform. He puts on his glasses.)

PREACHER:
Rest easy, Brother Benny. 

You have walked in The Path of The  Prophets. 

There is no greater glory.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
Tell me, please. Who am I?

PREACHER:
Don't you know?

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
Tell me.

PREACHER:
You're The Dreamer and The Dream.

(There are stars streaking past the rear windows.) 




[Isolation Ward]


(Benny Russell has been writing on the walls of his padded cell)

WYKOFF:
I said, put down the pencil. Put it down, Mister Russell.


BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
But I haven't finished my story yet. Captain Sisko has found the Orb of the Emissary. 
But he hasn't opened it yet.

WYKOFF:
Mister Russell, you promised not to write on the walls.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
No one will give me any paper.

WYKOFF:
I thought we agreed that you weren't going to write at all. That you needed to rest.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
No, I don't need to rest. I need to tell my stories.

WYKOFF:
You were doing so well, Benny. 
Making real progress. 
We were all so proud of you.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
I need to go home. 

I don't belong here.

WYKOFF:
We're going to send you home as soon as you're well.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
I'm fine.

WYKOFF:
But you're not fine. 

People who are fine don't write on walls.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
Then get me a typewriter.

WYKOFF: 

You're not listening.
The stories have got to stop, Benny. 

They're too dangerous.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
Too dangerous to whom?

WYKOFF:
To you. This world you've created, this Deep Space Nine. Captain Sisko and Kira and the others. None of it is real.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
Oh, it is to me. 

If I don't finish My Story, if Captain Sisko doesn't open the Orb box, then he cannot contact the Prophets.

WYKOFF:
It doesn't matter, Benny. 

The Prophets don't exist either. 

They're all figments of your imagination. 

Get rid of them. 

It's the only way that you're going to get well. 

Now give me the pencil, Benny.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
But My Story!

WYKOFF:
It's over. Just let it go.


[Desert]

(Sisko is sitting with his hands on the box.)

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, The First Friend :
Benjamin, what are you waiting for? 

Open it. That's why we're here, right?

JAKE, 

Son of Ben Sisko :
He can't hear you.

(Jake puts his hands on his father's and is thrown backwards)

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, The First Friend :
Jake! Jake, are you all right?

JAKE, 

Son of Ben Sisko :
Yeah.


[Isolation Ward]

(The doctor is offering Benny a roller of white paint.)

WYKOFF:
Take it, Benny.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
What for?

WYKOFF:
I'm offering you an opportunity few people ever get. 
You can wipe away all your mistakes.

BENNY, 

Meaning 'Son of' :
You want me to paint over My Story?

WYKOFF:
They're only words.
Meaningless words that no one cares about.
Get rid of them and you can walk out of here a free man.

(The last line on the wall says 'Sisko reaches for the Orb box and...' )

WYKOFF:
Go ahead. 
Save yourself.

(Benny holds the paint roller close to the writing.)

[Desert]

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, The First Friend :
Ben?

Ben SISKO : 

Got to cover it up. 

Bury it.

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, The First Friend : 

Ben, what are you doing?

[Isolation Ward]

WYKOFF:
It's for your own good, Benny. 

Wipe away the words. 

Destroy them before they destroy you.

[Desert]

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, The First Friend :
Ben, stop.


(Sisko raises his shovel to smash down on the box.)

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, The First Friend :
No!

Ben SISKO : 

Get out of my way.

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, The First Friend :
Ben, you came here to find The Prophets, remember?

Ben SISKO :
Move!

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, 

The First Friend :
No, listen to me. 

You promised Jadzia you would make things right.

Well now is your chance. 

Open the box, Ben.

(Sisko raises the shovel, Benny holds the roller. They both drop them.)

[Isolation Ward]

WYKOFF:
No!

(Benny punches Wykoff and the male nurse, picks up his pencil and writes 'Opens it.')

[Desert]

(Sisko obeys. The glow of the crystal orb shoots of into space, then)

[Limbo]

(Sisko watches the energy shoots past DS9 and WHOOSH! the wormhole reopens.)


[Limbo]

Ben SISKO :
Show yourselves. 

I've come to speak with you.

[Sisko's restaurant]

(The baseball rolls off the piano and is picked up by)

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' : 

The Sisko has completed His Task.

Ben SISKO : 

Sarah?

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
The Kosst Amojan no longer threatens us.

Ben SISKO :
You mean the Pah wraith? 

It's no longer in the wormhole?

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
I have cast it out.

Ben SISKO :
Is that why The Prophets sent me to Tyree? 

To release you from The Orb?

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
The Kosst Amojan tried to stop you with a False Vision. 

But you did not waver. 

You fulfilled Your Destiny.

Ben SISKO :
My Destiny? 

You talk as if My Life was over.

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
The Sisko must still face many Tasks.

Ben SISKO :
I don't suppose you'll tell me what they are.

[Sisko's restaurant - alley]

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
The Emissary is Corporeal. Linear.

Ben SISKO :
Linear or not, I need some answers.

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
The Sisko is intrusive.

Ben SISKO :
Are you Sarah Sisko? 

Are you My Mother?

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
Sarah Sisko was corporeal. 

For a time, I shared her existence.

[Sisko's restaurant]

Ben SISKO :
You took over her body, made sure she married My Father so that she'd give birth to Me.

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
The Sisko is Necessary.

Ben SISKO :
And once you didn't need her anymore, you left her. 

No wonder she walked out on My Father. 

She didn't chose him, you did.

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
The Sisko would prefer different answers.

Ben SISKO :
What you're telling me isn't easy to accept. 

You arranged my birth. 

I exist because of you?

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' :
The Sisko's Path is a difficult one.

Ben SISKO :
But Why Me? 

Why did it have to be Me?

SARAH, 

meaning 'My Princess' : 

Because it could be 

No One Else.

[Desert]

(Sisko closes the Orb box.)

EZRI DAX, 

or ENKIDU, The First Friend :
Benjamin? That must have been some Orb experience.

Ben SISKO :
I'll tell you about it someday.

 

You Can’t Win — But There ARE Alternatives to Fighting

Winning? 

Is that what you think it's about? 

I'm not trying to win.

 

You Can’t Win  

(So Don’t Even Try) — 

But There Are Alternatives to Fighting.

Obvious Next Question :-

 What are a Few of These Alternatives of Which You Speak, Master..?

The Marriage of  Luke Skywalker

The Vows :

• ‘I want to come with you to Alderaan — I want Learn The Ways of The Force and Become a Jedi Like My Father’
• ‘I feel The Force — I’m not afraid’ (You WILL Be [ Subtext : You SHOULD Be (And you aren’t yet, you Young Fool.)] )
• ‘You’ve Failed, Your Highness^* — I am a Jedi; Like My Father Before Me^**...’

!!! CROM !!!

I have never prayed to you before. 

I have no tongue for it. 

No one, not even you, will remember if we were 

‘Good Men’ or ‘Bad’. 

Why We Fought, or Why We Died. 

All that matters is that 

Two stood against Many. 

That's what's important! 

“There are some corners of The Universe which have bred the most terrible THINGS.... 

Things that act against EVERYTHING that We Believe In.... 

They Must Be FOUGHT.”

Here’s What We Had This Year Instead of 

Traditional Conflict/Battle/Combat :

The Woman Who Fell to Earth :

 Cheating 

It isn’t The Point that Tim Shaw is collecting teeth or hunting sentient life forms, or Male Rites of All Passage, or ‘Toxic Masculinity’, its the fact that he is blatantly, massively CHEATING at it, and he DOESN’T.

He only care’s to the extent of Not-Getting-Caught & Punished : 

Which is The Definition of Tyranny.

The Ghost Monument : 

Marriage is a Project, not a Race.

Women are more interested in People

Men are more interested in Things

Rosa : 

It’s not about ‘Social Justice’ it’s just Justice — 

and they had to go to the 51st Century to find someone who thinks that’s a bad idea.

Arachnids in The UK : 

Laws of Nature

and 

Law in General

The Tsuranga Conundrum : 

Parasitism vs. Parenting

Demons of The Punjab : 

Spiritual Warfare

Kerblam! : 

Corporate Social Responsibility 

The Witchfinders : 

Scapegoating 

(it’s not actually about ‘Women’, as such)

It Takes You Away : 

Alienation, Loneliness and Social Isolation

(Or, ‘Norway.’ )

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos : 

Revenge.

Resolution : 

...but you can’t negotiate with a Malignant Narcissist. 

Ryan’s Dad is NOT a Malignant Narcissist — he’s just a bit of a clueless d*ck.