#i think hera is so interesting as a take on the 'human AI' character because. the mistake a lot of them make is having a character

[commsroom]

i think there's something to be said about what exactly it means to be "non-human" in a story that is as much about humanity as wolf 359 is, where even the dear listeners are defined less by their own perspective and more by what they fail to understand and therefore reflect about the human perspective - to the point that they don't even have their own voices or faces or identities that aren't either given to them or taken from humans. they speak to humanity as a mirror.

even pryce and cutter are "very much humans" - pryce defined by her resentment of and desire to transcend its limitations, and cutter by his aspirations to redefine and create a "better" type of human - and find the idea that they might not be human laughable. it's interesting that they have distinctly transhumanist aspirations when their goal is the narrative opposite of common science fiction fears: that we will expand the definition of humanity so much that we'll lose whatever it is that makes us human. pryce and cutter's transhumanism narrows the definition of humanity to the worthy and the useful, as defined by them; "there will still be a humanity; it'll just be our humanity."

in direct opposition to that, i think it's meaningful that the show instead expands the definition of humanity in ways that include lovelace and hera, who in another show with different themes might be considered (in the descriptive, non-moralistic sense) non-human. i will always make a point of saying that personhood and humanity are two often-related but meaningfully distinct concepts, especially when talking about sci-fi and fantasy. i am talking about humanity.

the question of how hera identifies, and what social pressures influence that, is a complicated one. i've talked about it before and i will talk about again. what's important for the purposes of this post is that i think the show considers her fundamentally human. think about her role in shut up and listen - consider jacobi's lion example and the concept of different paradigms - that even things that are close to humans, comparatively speaking, understand the world in different ways. whatever differences hera may have from the others, it's primarily in experience, not fundamental understanding. she shares their emotions, their concerns, their values, their thought patterns. she has an appreciation for music, which the show considers a hallmark of humanity. she fits within the framework of humanity as the show defines and is, in her own words, left feeling "uneasy" about how difficult it might be to communicate with beings who don't. and it's significant that this takes place in shut up and listen, of all episodes, specifically because the way she is clearly and unambiguously included in the show's understanding of what it means to be human highlights the ways she and lovelace are othered by eiffel's careless comments that suggest otherwise.

(i don't want to get too into these details for this particular post, but it's worth noting that hera will refer to 'humans' as a category, often when she is upset and feeling isolated, but has never said that she 'isn't human' - she has never been upset that people are treating her 'too' human. i've seen it said about the line "you need to get it through your heads that what goes for you doesn't always go for me", but that's a frustration related to ability and safety, not identity. far more often, she will refer to herself in 'human' terms - referring idiomatically to experiences or body parts etc. that she doesn't literally have - and is upset primarily with comments referring to her status as an AI. it does not diminish how being an AI influences her perspective and experience, but again, so much of that is in terms of ability that it feels almost inseparable from a discussion about disability.)

lovelace's humanity and hera's humanity are so interlinked and directly paralleled in the text that i think it's impossible to really argue one of them is "not" human without making implications about the other. in desperate measures, lovelace tells kepler he's "not human" and he responds "you're hilarious. on a multitude of levels." later, defending lovelace against kepler's repeated dehumanization, hera very pointedly uses the phrase "that woman." in out of the loop, hera says she's never met anyone who "worked so hard at being inhuman" as jacobi, who says "what do you know about being human?" hera very emphatically responds, "i know plenty." later, defending hera against jacobi's repeated dehumanization, minkowski pointedly uses the phrase "that woman." with the care taken towards language and the way scenes and turns of phrase will parallel each other, that's not a coincidence. it might seem strange to have the "non-human" characters be the ones to express criticisms based on perceived "humanity" (something hera will do in other contexts as well - "we don't have funerals for animals" etc.) but in the broader context of the show, i think it's the point.

so, whether hera would ever call herself human, or be comfortable with that, is a complicated question for another time and depends on a lot of other factors. but wolf 359 is a show about humanity, it includes her within its definition of what it means to be human, and i wouldn't be comfortable definitively saying she's not human because of that. it can't be a neutral statement within the particular context of this show.

[nobodysdaydreams]

I WAITED ALL THIS TIME FOR CUTTER’S TRAGIC BACKSTORY AND IT’S THAT HE GOT HIS TELESCOPE STOLEN AS A TEENAGER AND DECLARED REVENGE?

Oh, well then, forget Hilbert’s family dying of radiation, Jacobi’s guilt over his failures, and Maxwell’s alienation from her family, THIS was the sad villain backstory the show was building up to. And Cutter is so serious about it too, y’all I can’t. 🤣

(Or my reaction to Wolf359’s Special Episode: Volte Face)

Hi Dear Readers. Gonna be doing some work during this one, but I hope you like the reaction regardless because I've put off enough, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Here we go!

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom @lovelyladylavie

Special Episode: Volte Face

Huh. A few years before the start of the show. This should be interesting.

Oh ew Rachel.

Wait is this her origin story?

Enlil (yes I looked up the spelling this time, yes I was careful, and yes I did this after the reaction) is so cheery. Like Cutter if he was actually nice.

Wait. Why are they calling her “Miss. Nash”?

Oh. They tried to kill her at the hotel. And she seems to know they’d try to do this, is totally okay with it, and willingly getting on a plan with them? Okay?

Don’t like this David Clark fellow.

Nash is not nice Enlil. She’s not nice at all.

Does Cutter kill or hire all the reporters that come to his door? If so, I hope Minkowski’s husband is okay.

The safety video is on mute? That’s symbolic.

The AI is the only character I like.

Andrea Nash? Am I hearing this wrong, I swear that’s Rachel Young.

So Enlil got the job Hera wanted. Flying a fancy jet all day. Hera did say that’s what happens when you’re happy and do as you’re told.

Huh. Did not expect Cutter to be a Harry Potter fan.

Ew not Cutter doing the “welcome to Wolf359” I hate it.

Was Goddard the OG Marcus? Wright-Goddard? Interesting… let’s see… 40s, 50s, 60s… AI.

Renamed in 1974… so that’s significant. Also when Cutter says “things no monkey could do” why do I think he means humans?

1976. So that’s when he took control.

People? I don’t like the sound of that.

Change the world for the better? …no. I respectfully disagree.

Oh she’s not asking about certain things. Restraining bolt?

“where were we” “how you were gonna change the world for the better” 🤣 yeah. Right after he removes everyone’s free will, sure.

Are all these people that are being listed Cutter? That’s a lot of new people.

Right they all disappeared.

Do the names of the stars have a similar pattern that the fake names have?

What does she mean by “I have EVERYTHING”? What is everything? Like… everything everything?

Oh they got that restraining bolt.

David. I think Cutter might decide to give you the restraining bolt instead.

“The same reason you don’t hold this job for more than a decade” DANG!

Matthew Newman?

Oh that’s him isn’t it? The real him?

IS THAT A GUN?

This escalated so quick.

Oh she got him. And Cutter took this so personally.

Come on Cutter. Drop the backstory. Oh Andrea Nash isn’t her name either.

Yep. Matthew Newman. Here he is.

Ah. A little high school student poking his nose where it didn’t belong. Oh so Cutter has been infatuated with aliens since he was a boy.

Wait. That’s it? The government took his telescope when he was 15 and he declared revenge? That’s his sad backstory? That’s the best he could do?

Oh and then he got fired when someone had to take the fall at the company. That too. But he still said he declared revenge when he was in high school? This is ridiculous. And further proof that science nerds who are also over dramatic theater kids cannot be trusted (expect for me because I’m special 🥰).

Oh so when Matthew left he gave the restructure order. I see… but then how did he get the new bodies?

He found Miranda Pryce. But how did she have the tech?

Maybe he used plastic surgery the first time around.

Oh. He was Miranda’s first test subject. And she wanted to manipulate the human body probably because of her blindness.

“Revenge is fun” “you can just steal one” “space exploration is only part of the bigger picture: progress. I want a better future” put those three statements together and tell me if you sound like a good guy, Cutter.

I see. So rather than stop him, Nash wants in so that she can have a hand in it. She’s just as gross as he is.

“No” *cuts to Andrea as Rachel head of special projects*

Cutter has seen Monsters Inc?

“More productive use” “Volte Face” okay this is the part where you should have brought a gun… oh the wave radiation. Good thing she’s knows that. I guess that’s enough to give Cutter the job. Rough day for you David.

Oh she has to reinvent herself. Rachel. Yep. So this is how she got here. I don’t like her. She knows what Cutter’s about, and her response is she wants in? Absolute worst.

“Goodbye Miss. Nash”

Well that was sort of a dark ending. You either willingly give up your humanity to join Pryce and Cutter or they take it. One way or another.

Anyway, now we know more about Rachel and Cutter. Gotta say, his sad backstory is funnier and lamer than I could have ever imagined. I was, bear minimum, expecting something like the board members who pushed him out of the company were close personal friends, or maybe his parents yelled at him and forced him to give up his space dreams or even a line about the kids at school laughing at him for being a high schooler who believed in aliens. But nope. He stumbled upon something, got his telescope stolen by the government and was like “you know what? I’m gonna spend the rest of my life and several more lifetimes getting revenge for this specifically.” The people who took the dang telescope aren’t even alive anymore! Look, I get they also ransacked his house and yelled at him, which is a lot for a teenager, but to respond by declaring revenge then and there and plotting world domination, I just…

I mean, I guess the moral of the story is don’t inconvenience a young science genius if they’re also a dramatic theater kid. Because they will immediately jump to world domination and change their name as part of that process and befriend(?) an evil woman who gives them next level tech. It’s happened too many times in too many of my fandoms (well two so far, show Curtain and Cutter. At least show Curtain’s sad thing was that his family left him. Still not an excuse considering his brother was also a kid at the time, but it’s better than a telescope).

I can see why you all hyped this up. It’s hilarious, but also shows how being affiliated with Cutter makes people slowly lose their humanity (again, one way or another) despite Cutter calling himself a “people person”.

Also if Rachel knows about the modified bodies, does that mean she has one? Or maybe she’s not old enough yet.

On a more serious note: Rachel’s character makes me sad. She could use her powers for good and expose so many bad people. And it sounds like she did for a while. But then she decided to sell out. Disappointing. What a waste. And since Rachel and Andrea were both fake names… we might never learn who she really is. Or maybe that doesn’t matter, since that person, who ever she was, no longer exists. Again, Cutter and Pryce do specialize in taking away other people’s humanity.

Well. Only 2 hours left. Not tonight, but later. When I have time to really sit and give a good listen. We’re in the endgame now dear readers. I hope y’all are ready!

[sammygender]

michelle agresti on maxwell ( + her relationship with hera): transcript from wolf 359 ama #3, 1:41:00 to 1:49:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz95mRZ7VMg&t=4642s

watching the ama and was very struck by these eight minutes of conversation about maxwell so... started writing a transcript for my own future reference + to maybe link to on the wiki so... thought there's no better place to post it than here. for the most part it's transcribed exactly as spoken but there's some repeated words, hestitations etc that i obviously didn't write in. ive bolded specific parts that really interested me (also all this starts capitalised properly but then as i fight to keep up with the speech i stop capitalising... sorry abt that in advance)

this starts with the question: "*slides michelle agresti a $20* tell me absolutely everything about dr alana maxwell. especially hera and maxwell's relationship"

(1:41:00)

Michelle: So first I'm going to say something that I wanted to talk about. So first when I was cast Gabriel wrote a backstory and sent it to me and I was thrilled because, I don't know how he did it, but he somehow nailed certain aspects of my high school and middle experience? that I'd never revealed, at least to Gabriel-- [laughs]

Gabriel: I promise I did not stalk you-

Michelle: It just, it talked about how Maxwell very quickly- how it was very quickly evident in her small country home town that she was brilliant, brilliant in an academic way let me clarify, brilliant at school, and she- and that's kind of like the coat tails that she rode throughout her life, and she achieved things very early, like she went to high school early, she went to college early, she went to grad school early. Because she was so focused on this academic part of her life - and because she kind of like, was skewed in social things, like we know she's got a restraining order on her family, like she kind of has skewed social relations to some extent, or at least what we consider 'normal' standard relations with people, so she kind of- and she was younger than everybody else so she kinda like grew up and reached puberty in a surprising way to her, and it was like she was considered in more of an academic sense, as like a brilliant child and a brilliant young woman for so long that like, all of a sudden, she was now a sexual being, and people looked at her that way, and she didn't know how to deal. And I think that shaped a lot of Maxwell's personality. It was like, one day, she was treated differently and she didn't know how to use it, and Maxwell is a person that uses everything she has. She's a person that uses the tools that are available to her - I think this can get morally shady, but she's on her own moral compass. That's something that was probably initially- I mean I was always a little bit Alana Maxwell because we had a lot of direction in steering these characters and I kind of like immediately seized upon like the idea of ‘she's the only girl in a team of boys and she's totally brilliant she's younger than them and she's probably smarter than them’ [laughs] but that backstory really, like, sealed the deal for me, and I sent an email to Gabriel about it being like HOW DID YOU KNOW??

Michelle: as for maxwell and hera... the relationship between the two of them. take it back to that concept of personhood. maxwell has a very interesting and a different relationship with AIs. they're her passion they're her life's work. i don't think she considers them to be equivalent to humans i think she considers them something different but of equal or more value. i also think maxwell has trouble interacting with humans... which is why her relationship with jacobi is so important. so the relationship between hera and maxwell... i mean i can speak for what i think hera is to maxwell is that there's someone who can finally talk to her not like she's a person. i think the humans on the spaceship interact with hera like she's a human, like if you look at the episode ‘am i alone now’ where hera talks, like people are always like 'hera can you hear me' and she's like i can always hear you... or if you look at the memories in memoria or even the last episode... like maxwell would've known at that funeral that hera doesn't really know what death is. because maxwell knows that hera isn't really a person- i mean human, let me make that distinction clear, she isn't really a human. so... i think there was this like very special and almost- and immediate deep trust between the two of them and has been pointed out hera is a very impressive ai so maxwell respects that and i mean you're kidding yourself if you think maxwell doesn't know that hera tried to escape i mean like maxwell knows this. so i think- maxwell uniquely respects hera as an AI and i think she understand's hera's sudden deep relief that she's talking to a human who knows what's going on - not entirely, but someone who is sympathetic and somebody's who's aware that they're different from her.

Gabriel: who can treat her on her own terms, who's not just projecting the terms and the needs of herself on her but who can understand her--

Zach: so... not a burrito loving buffoon

Gabriel: [laughs] sure

Michelle: no but i mean i think that relationship's valuable in its own way

Zach: right right-

Michelle: it's just that i mean if we're talking about blind spots-

Sarah: it's also that this is the first person who can speak her language like literally she speaks her language

Zach: yeah exactly right right that was an insensitive jokey way of saying like ‘here's somebody who gets her in a way that no one else has before’

Michelle: yeah

Zach: without like obvious malintent (cough cough pryce)

Michelle: yeah, pryce and maxwell... yeah but no i think the fact that maxwell truly understands that she's different and does not have the same experiences as hera makes them much closer, makes the relationship really special. as for- i feel like this was like asking something about romantic aspects kind of ish? i mean, that was never addressed and i think for myself as an actress and maxwell it's kind of a relief, i think, that because it's an ai human relationship that like this sexual... that like maxwell isn't being judged or seen through her body in a sexual way because that i think-- i mean that i know is very difficult for maxwell to deal with when it happened as, you know, that happens, so... yeah i think was really important for maxwell and i think that's also why she likes dealing with ais because they don't have bodies

(1:49:00)

[theonlymadmanonmars]

I'm gonna rant about Wolf 359 character Hogwarts houses. Spoiler Warning. Ok so starting off with my favorite character Jacobi.

Jacobi is a Hufflepuff. You could also argue that he'd be a Gryffindor but I think he values loyalty and hard work over bravery. He's incredibly loyal to Kepler until he betrays his trust and remains loyal to Maxwell even after her death

Speaking of Maxwell, Maxwell is a Ravenclaw. She loves to learn more than anything. That was what drew her into Goodard to begin with. The opportunity to be given knowledge just out of her reach.

Kepler is a Slytherin. He's Cunning Ambitious and will go to any means to reach his goal. He's a fan of rules but only rules he makes. He is confident and intelligent. Total Slytherin behavior.

Lovelace is a Gryffindor through and through. She is brave and loves her friends with a fierce passion. She would kill for the people she cares about which is why Hilbert's betrayal hurts her so much.

Hilbert is a Ravenclaw. My first instinct was to put him in Slytherin but everything he does, he does for the sake of knowledge. To find a cure for Decima, to "save countless lives" he's driven entirely by knowledge and science. He doesn't work for his own gain.

Eiffle is a Gryffindor. Eiffle was one I had difficulty sorting because Eiffle has a Hufflepuff energy similar to Jacobi. What ultimately made me put him in Gryffindor is that Hufflepuffs are hardworking. Eiffel is not that. He's also very brave despite being "a man of many fears." He launches himself into the star, he takes down Hilbert, and he survived three months in deep space without (completely) loosing his mind.

Minkowski is a Gryffindor as well. She is incredibly brave and incredibly stubborn both Gryffindor traits. She once spent three weeks hunting a mutant plant monster. She harpooned Cutter in the back. There's really no other option.

Hera is a Slytherin. She's very resourceful, incredibly intelligent (which isn't just a Ravenclaw trait) and loves to learn things. She doesn't love to learn things a Ravenclaw way though. She loves to solve puzzles. She's very focused on helping herself focus better. To take away the buzzing in her head.

Rachel is a Slytherin. She decides to learn the secret to immorality because she's bored and it might be fun. She works for Goodard not to help humanity but to help herself. She's very intelligent but not for the sake of knowledge for the sake of power.

Pryce is a Slytherin similarly to Rachel she's very intelligent but only for herself or Cutter. She doesn't work with AI's because she loves the technology like Maxwell she dose it to rule the world.

Rieman is a Gryffindor. I have no explanation just a gut feeling.

Cutter is interesting. His personality in the show isn't his real personality so you can't really place him in a specific house. He's not a Ravenclaw because despite being smart he lacks wisdom and a will to learn. He's not a Gryffindor because he doesn't value bravery. He's not a Hufflepuff because he's not loyal. He's not a Slytherin because he's, again not loyal. And even if he was any of those things it's a very loose fitting working term because what he displays in the show is not his real personality

Anyways thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[riotbrrrd]

Okay so, that w359 finale, I want your opinions : do you tink they fell into the star ? do we agree that at least Jacobi is an alien clone ? Are you satisfied by Hera's ending being going back to earth ? (I'm not really). Would you still classify Kepler as a malewife or would you be willing to entertain my argument that death by gloating put him in the girlboss category ? Do we agree that they dropped the ball on Lovelace and personhood ? Also, Minkowski x harpoon best love story yes or yes ?

Okay I’m gonna answer but not necessarily in that order and maybe with some personal observations because you’ve enabled me so. get ready

I don’t think they fell into the star? I don’t really see the point of that theory? The narrative isn’t so much about the mystery of their survival, it’s more interested in their isolation, the mystery only feeding into that (”will someone ever know what happened to them” but emphasis on the “will someone”). And they’re doing a good job on that front I think. I’m also not interested in answering whether Jacobi is a clone or not because not having an answer is precisely the good stuff! I think Eiffel after his dive into the star is definitely a clone though, because it’s extremely Eiffel to not even consider the possibility and have a revelation months or years later, except he never will because now he doesn’t remember experiencing that. Something something the tragedy of characters being robbed of their self-awareness.

I also don’t think Hera coming back to earth is necessarily unsatisfying in that regard, a lot of her existence is tied to being around people and connecting to them, and leaving her alone in the end would be a little underwhelming. But also in general I’m not entirely satisfied with how they wrote Hera as a character, simply because I am a nerd and I find that writing an AI as basically “a person but in the walls” is a liiiittle boring, and while she gets her own very interesting part about personhood and identity, it’s never fully addressed how alien (hah) her experience of existence must be compared to a human one, and she could have reasons to stay in space that aren’t only related to “the alternative is bad”. So in the end she goes back to earth well, alright then.

I also don’t really feel like they dropped the ball on Lovelace? I’m not sure what you mean by that? I think in the last season she is kind of “just there” and they just had so many other things to focus on that her storyline takes the backseat, but I think the general message about personhood exists through all the characters not just Lovelace, and she gets her moment of spotlight and then it goes to someone else and it’s fine? Overall the tone of the story I think forces them to rush a lot of the character development for the sake of not weighing on it too much, or put the character development in service of the plot-twists (Jacobi’s grief I think is a good example of that: it’s possible to read him as inconsistent in his values after Maxwell’s death because he’s grieving, but it’s also a little too convenient to have him be a loose cannon who can switch sides anytime just to maintain tension.)

I’ll also admit I kind of lost interest a little by the time Cutter arrives because the question of alien intentions and perspectives was more interesting to me and is artificially delayed/removed from the equation by Cutter showing up, but also because Cutter arriving is just a repeat of Kepler arriving except meaner and that’s. not a super interesting way of raising the stakes imo. (Sidenote on that: similarities between Kepler and Cutter as characters/regarding their place in the narrative is the only reason why I’d give Kepler some points in the girlboss category, because Cutter is obviously girlboss; but I still think Kepler is primarily malewife. He wants to be a girlboss so he has his moments but gloating in the face of death does not a girlboss make, sorry Merlu.) But anyway, my point here is that if Lovelace (or anyone) gets more or less character development after that point I didn’t really pay attention to that I was just. When do they kill the annoying little man.

Subsequently, Minkowski x any weapon is best love story tbh but YES.

[nellied-reviews]

The Sound and the Fury Re-listen

Well, I've reached episode 7 in my Wolf 359 re-listen, which means it's time for:

The Sound and the Fury

In which Hera and Minkowski are fighting, Eiffel gets caught in the middle, and Hilbert just wants them all to submit to the biologically superior will of the Blessed Eternal.

Straight up, I should probably admit that I forgot about this episode, or rather I didn't link the episode title to the episode's events until I was listening to it. And then I was like "oh, yeah, this is that episode" all the way through. For whatever reason, I thought, in particular, that the plant monster didn't come back until Season 2, with The Paranoia Game. That said, I love the plant monster to a possibly unreasonable degree, so its return here was more than welcome, and the rest of the episode was also fun!

We open in the middle of an argument - and for once, it's not Eiffel's fault. In fact, Eiffel isn't even involved, except insofar as he's trapped in the middle between Hera and Minkowski, and is forced to be the voice of reason as the two of them have it out. 

And look, that is always going to be a funny set-up. Hera and Minkowski are both incredibly stubborn personalities, and not at all shy about asserting their opinions, so there's definitely potential for a comically drawn-out, petty argument there. And casting Eiffel as the reasonable, level-headed peacekeeper, in contrast to the two of them, is perfect. It's in character - Eiffel always has been the most pacifist crew member - but it's also a role he's just totally unsuited to, because faced with the combined stubbornness of Hera and Minkowski, he's outmatched, and he knows it.

In an effort not to get involved, then, Eiffel briefly runs through the week's schedule, in a section that isn't really linked to the rest of the episode, but is full of little oddities that remind us just how weird the Hephaestus is. They have a compulsory chess tournament that Hilbert always wins. They have movie night, but only a VHS of Home Alone 2. "On Friday we'll have mustard." It's so weird, and I love it.

We're interrupted, at this point, by Hilbert, who sounds very strange, even for him. And naturally, Eiffel ignores it completely at first, focussed as he is on the unfolding Hera-Minkowski conflict. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, for such a pop culture-savvy guy, Eiffel falls into literally every horror movie cliché. He's so oblivious!

For the rest of us, it's obvious that something's wrong, and our suspicions are confirmed when we learn over the course of his conversation with Eiffel that Hilbert went looking for the plant monster, which now seems to be mind-controlling him, to the point where he's convinced that it's "the most evolutionarily competitive lifeform on this station, the most deserving of life."

And okay, I love the plant monster, but that's very alarming, and is made even more so by the fact that it's something that Hilbert might conceivably have said anyway? I mean, it's cold and Darwinistic and smacks of eugenics, yes, but it also has a callous ruthlessness to it that's totally Hilbert's style, as well as that trademark lack of concern for human life. It's like the plant monster just exaggerated what was already there, turned the mad scientist dial up to eleven. In other words, it made Hilbert even more Hilbert-y.

Luckily, Eiffel realises soon enough that something's wrong, and goes to warn Minkowski. Minkowski, being a mature, rational individual, immediately drops her argument with Hera and goes to - oh, wait, no, she does basically the opposite of that, ignoring Eiffel in favour of continuing her argument with Hera. Great. Good job, Commander.

It's at this point, of course, that we finally learn exactly what Minkowski and Hera are arguing about. And is it petty. Turns out, Minkowski wants Hera to submit reports on the various systems she runs around the station in case there's an emergency, but also just because Minkowski wants to know what's going on behind the scenes. We don't get to hear Hera's side of things just yet, but already, we can see the irony in Minkowski's arguments. Sure, she wants to be better appraised of everything going on onboard the Hephaestus in case of an emergency - but her stubbornness here means she's missing the emergency that's unfolding right under her nose!

Eiffel's attempts to make her see sense don't really help either, at this juncture. Instead, they just get him dragged into Minkowski and Hera's argument. Which I'm sure is that last thing he wants, because those two play dirty. First Minkowski pressures him into saying, to Hera's face, that he doesn't think AIs should be trusted. And then Hera, angry, plays Eiffel's words from earlier back to Minkowski, twisting what he said around so that both parties are angry at him. As a result, Eiffel ends up walking an impossibly thin line, trying to appease both of his friends, while keeping himself out of their argument as best he can and while getting increasingly frustrated with the both of them. It's a painfully awkward situation, and I genuinely feel sorry for him.

That said, the argument that then plays out is fascinating to me, because I think it shines a really interesting light on the power dynamics onboard the Hephaestus, putting the focus on Hera and Minkowski's relationship in a way that we haven't really seen before. Up until now, after all, they seem to have worked in tandem pretty well, with Minkowski giving orders and Hera carrying them out. Here, for the first time, we see a tension between them, stemming from the fact that Minkowski, as the commanding officer, nominally has the most power onboard the Hephaestus, while Hera, as the ship's AI, probably actually has the most power, between her vast sensory array, her huge databanks, and her literally running the entire Hephaestus. Yes, Minkowski is technically in charge, purely by virtue of her being a human. But Hera, on a day-to-day basis, is actually more crucial to their ongoing mission - even though, as an AI, she doesn't get to hold an official ranking position.

That's possibly why Hera takes Eiffel's well-meaning dismissal ("It's just her programming") so personally. It's a reminder of her different, subordinate status, and it reeks of a double standard - she's right that nobody would think to blame a human's erratic behaviours on their biology. That would be patronising, right? As much as Eiffel means well, writing Hera's reactions off as mere programming strips her of her agency - something that comes up again and again in her character arc. How much is Hera responsible for her actions, if she can also be programmed to act a certain way? In what ways has she been "made" a certain way, against her will? And how can she best deal with that while still retaining a sense of agency and control over her life and identity?  They're big, complicated questions, and we're only really scratching the surface here, but I do think it's a solid foundation for later developments. At the very least, we get the impression that Hera doesn't like to be reduced to her programming - and rightly so, I suspect. To some extent, at least, she is more than just the code that she is made of, just like humans are more than the sum of their biology. And that's a good thing to be establishing now, buried in the middle of a relatively low-stakes argument, before the more plotty stuff kicks off later on in the show.

And of course, it also bleeds into Hera and Minkowski's argument, which really picks up steam at this point, after an impassioned but ultimately futile speech from Eiffel about how it's a stupid fight to begin with and how making him pick sides is dumb and unfair. Hera, ignoring this, accuses Minkowski of feeling threatened by the big, powerful AI. That, for Hera, is why Minkowski is micromanaging her. It's because she's a typical human, insecure about an AI having more power than her.

Hera's point is almost immediately complicated by Minkowski, who rightly points out that the issue, for her, isn't that Hera's an AI. It's that Hera' unreliable. She keeps breaking down and glitching, and so the crew keep experiencing emergencies that could maybe be avoided if Hera would just give Minkowski the reports she wants. We've seen Hera break down as recently as last episode, and so this does kind of ring true, even if the way that Minkowski brings up Hera' vocal glitching feels like a bit of a low blow.

Both of them, then, have a point, and I think it's also worth noting that it's also, as Minkowski points out to Eiffel, a question of protocol. Whether Hera likes it or not, Minkowski is, technically, her commanding officer, and should be able to just give her commands and demand reports from her. Refusing to do so undermines Minkowski's authority. That said, Hera didn't exactly have a choice when it came to joining whatever weird sort-of military thing Goddard has going on. She never signed up for the whole "commanding officer" thing, so why should she obey Minkowski? Because she's programmed to?

It's messy, grey situation, with no clear answers, and it's worth noting that the argument doesn't really get resolved. Neither Minkowski nor Hera back down at any point. Instead, a combination of Eiffel calling them out for being childish and Hilbert attempting a coup snaps them out of it, reminding them that they have bigger problems right now. There is a time and a place for the discussion they were having. But that time is not now, and so they decide, without really discussing it, to set aside their grievances. It's not that their respective opinions aren't valid. But keeping each other (and the rest of the crew) safe comes first, and so they bond over being annoyed at Eiffel, and they set off to save Hilbert. It's sweet, in a way, and I like how quickly they both just get on with it. And Eiffel's dejected resignation at the end is the cherry on top. Bless him.

And so we get to the end of an episode that, while it's reliably funny, also gives us an outline of the main points in an argument that we probably should have seen coming. It's yet another example of how stress and tension can easily build up in the contained, isolated atmosphere of the Hephaestus - only this time, we don't get Eiffel cracking and hoarding toothpaste, we get Hera and Minkowski cracking and unleashing the titular sound and fury. The points raised get us thinking, in particular, about Hera's status, as an AI, but also just as a member of the Hephaestus' crew. Eiffel, meanwhile, is forced into a responsible, mediating role that he is neither comfortable in nor particularly good at. And at the end of the day, we're reassured that Minkowski and Hera do, at least, have their priorities straight. Arguing over reports is fine and dandy, but it's not worth getting killed over.

And of course, perhaps most excitingly, the plant monster returns. Surrender your flesh, and feed your new master :)

 Miscellaneous thoughts:

It doesn't escape my attention that this is the second title that's a Shakespeare reference. Keeping it classy there, Doug

"Umm... that's all it says for Friday."

The schedule bit is basically the Night Vale Community Calendar segment, but in space

Hilbert's voice in this is sooo weird and dull and creepy ugh

I know the science of it isn't really the focus here, and I'm 100% down with that, but also how does a plant mind control people?!? I want to know!

"Our operating system is a tin-headed, insubordinate, feckless fool!"

"Sit your Swiss ass down, and take a side, Doug."

Aww, Eiffel just sounds so confused and stressed-out by the whole situation :(

And finally we get the obvious Little Shop of Horrors plant monster joke :)

I didn't go into much detail about Eiffel in this, but his speech where he finally gets them to shut up and work together again is also great and I love it jsyk

"Shut up, Plant-Hilbert." Bwahahahaha.

[ank-fan]

The name Iason means Healer do you think there is a meaning behind it or was just a random pick from Rieko Yoshihara?

Thank you so much for the question Anon. I love ranting speculatively about this kind of questions!

I do think there are several reasons why Yoshihara-sensei chose the name “Iason”, still I’m pretty sure that they have little to do with literal, physical healing. Iason is definitely more apt at, and keen on, breaking people rather than healing them.  It should also be noted that the name Ιάσων, if derived from the verb ἰάομαι, could also mean (figuratively): to remedy, repair, make whole (or redeem if we take into account Biblical usage). Which is, in my opinion, much more significant to the role Iason ends up playing in the novels.There also is another meaning of ἰάομαι that is: strong, powerful. Thus Iason could be named so because he is objectively very powerful, but this is a very immediate interpretation, that leaves very little room for speculation.  

Truth to be told the mythical Ιάσων (whom I will refer to as Jason for clarity) has not much to do with the medical act of healing either, his main “healing power” is about bringing the golden fleece back to Greece and thus grant a proper “burial” to Phrixus and break the curse plaguing Pelias and the city of Iolcus rather than any medical healing. Of course: the golden fleece has incredible healing abilities, but in my opinion, that is not the crux of the myth. The myth is about a purification rite, thus Jason can be perceived as a shaman of sorts leading the rite and, in that optic, his figure was used as a symbol by alchemists, but I will say more about that later in this rant. 

A good way to begin this analysis is by listing the more immediate parallels between the mythical Jason and Iason. 

Both Iason and Jason are blond, beautiful and the leader of a group of exceptional individuals at the top of their society which they manage to control and lead up to a certain point

Both are exceptional individuals destined for greatness, and both want power for themselves.

Both can be incredibly charming (Iason is deviously so, and Jason, seduction of Medea aside, manages to talk Aeëtes down from his paroxysm of ire and convince the king to grant him the possibility to try and earn the golden fleece, albeit through impossible feats only thanks to his polite conersation) 

Both spend some time in disguise (Jason is recognised by Pelias only because he is “the man with one sandal”, and in the novels we see that Iason, when outside of Eos or Riki’s apartment in Apatia, almost always changes the colour of his hair and wears a visor not to be recognised). 

Depending on the version of the myth you take into consideration both can be seen as deeply emotionally immature and struggling to form and handle interpersonal relationship because they never were part of a familial unit (Jason is smuggled away as an infant by his mother to be saved from death and raised by Chiron, while Iason is an artificial being who was taught to look down on humanity). 

Both manipulate people, and both can be ruthless (Jason, among other things, leaves Heracles behind despite his companions’ protests and abandons Medea, while Iason is pretty much the definition of ruthless).

The might and value of both characters is symbolised by a golden fleece (Iason’s hair and Chrysomallus’ skin). 

Both die ignored by their society (Tanagura in the novels is very careful about not saying a single word about the destruction of Dana Bahn and Raoul makes sure to keep Iason’s name out of the whole mess) and in a way that is as pathetic as it is dramatic (Jason is crushed as an old man by the mast of his rotting ship Argo as he is trying to relieve old lost glories, and Iason looses his legs and dies in a rotting old ruin by the action of someone who he saw as infinitely below himself). 

Both have the favour of a god-like being that they later loose through their actions (Jupiter for Iason and Hera for Jason, here we start to see an interesting pattern).

And, most importantly, the fate of both is defined by one act of kindness and several horrific ones (even though Jason is usually framed by the narrative as an accomplice in them rather than the main perpetrator).

In the last two similarities, in my opinion, we see a beautiful subversion of the myth and the reason why Jason’s and Iason’s two “acts of healing” are so dramatically different and similar at the same time.Because I do think that both characters are linked to one “healing”, still the object of each healing, its methods, and the reasons behind it are very different. In my opinion is pretty apparent that Yoshihara-sensei took at least some inspiration from the Greco-Roman world while writing Ai no Kusabi. From the title of one novel (Petere, a Latin verb that means “to ask”) to the name of Lambda 300 (Jupiter, like the latin name of Zeus),Apatia, Eos, Kirie, and Tanagura itself (that might be inspired by the old Tanagra), to the whole issue with slavery, oligarchy, and the treatment of strangers. So it makes sense that she would choose the name of the deuteragonist from Greco-Roman tradition too, and with good reasons. 

Jason’s one act of kindness, that wins him the favours of Hera, is to help an old lady cross one stream by carrying her. That is how he looses one sandal before entering the usurper’s court and is recognised. Still, unbeknownst to Jason, the old lady is not an old lady at all, but the goddess Hera in disguise who, impressed by the youth’s act of piety that reflects the values she embodies (respect for the family and traditions), decides to favour him from that moment onward, granting him a place in society through her influence.On the other hand Iason’s one act of kindness proves to be his undoing. By choosing to save Guy and sacrifice himself to save Riki Iason is abandoning everything that grants him power and life. He is knowingly leaving behind all the values and precepts he followed for his whole existence. By that action Iason is loosing the last dreg of Jupiter’s favour he still held by rejecting its dictated laws to follow his (new and still very shaky) “ethics”. In that moment he explicitly acknowledges not only Riki’s importance to him, but Riki’s dignity and pride, going as far as endangering himself to protect them. That action, though, is depriving the system and Jupiter of an important instrument, thus it becomes a senseless waste of resources for it, and (if we leave behind all of our ethics and judge that act of kindness purely from Jupiter’s point of view) Iason’s actions in Dana Bahn are actually detrimental for the order and stability of his society. Which could lead to another interesting addendum about how Amoi’s code of morals is twisted to the point that good becomes evil and evil becomes good, but that is a whole other issue that here I do not have space to explore properly. 

Here lies the first subversion. Jason’s act of kindness starts his story, it is the first clue we are given of his value, in a way that act saves his life and allows him to pursue his destiny as a hero since it is Hera herself that puts in his mind the idea to suggest Pelias to send him on the quest for the golden fleece.Meanwhile Iason’s act of kindness is the one that closes his story, that leads him to his death and that would, if known, irreparably damage his reputation in the eyes of his society. Iason’s act of kindness makes him loose the “golden fleece”.Thus, while Jason’s act of kindness is what makes him, Iason’s act of kindness is the one that breaks him. Not just that, but while Jason helps the old lady without thinking too much about it, because that course of action is the one that he was raised to perceive as “right, Iason is quite clearly torn about what to do, his act of kindness would have costed him much even if he had not died as a consequence of it. I think the old anime is much better than the books in showing that. Iason sees Riki’s plea to save Guy as the ultimate proof that he has failed in the one thing that (for worse or worse, there isn’t much better in Amoi if we do not consider Norris’ love for his geezer XD) he truly cared for. There is nothing spontaneous in Iason’s actions there. 

This is no serene evil cyborg acting spontaneously. He is hurting.Not to mention: this is the most emotional vulnerability we see Iason show in front of anyone ever, let alone Riki whom he purposefully tries to keep guessing about the “true value” he sees in him for fear of loosing control. So, while Jason is torn about his evil deeds and acts kindly without thinking, for Iason the opposite is true.

Jason ends up redeeming a kingdom that he shall never rule because of his evil deeds, he gains the fleece but immediately looses his rights to glory because of the way he escapes Pelias’plan to kill him. In contrast Iason rules a kingdom from the beginning (albeit under Jupiter) precisely because of his evil deeds while his redemption, his act of healing, is private, personal. That has also to do with the fact Amoi is an unescapable dystopia though.Both Iason’s and Jason’s stories are a diminuendo, two downward spirals, but, while Jason is able to redeem his people but not himself, Iason is only able to redeem himself in the end, damaging his society, and his one good action is a suffered one, something he has to force himself to do. 

Which leads us directly to what Iason hasn’t to force himself to do, namely: being a horrible person (GlaDOS wasn’t even testing for that! XD).Iason, from the beginning of the novels almost all through them, has no qualms about using and abusing people, which is why Katze is so surprised by the way Riki has managed to change him into someone able to see the reason why Judd Kuger might still love his son despite the fact that Manon is only a nuisance. Here lies the second subversion. In all the versions of Jason’s myth I know of Jason is always shown to have several qualms about Medea’s ruthless plans. Jason is not vicious by nature, Iason, even at his best, is a sadist. 

Both Jason and Iason are controlled by forces higher than them that they cannot escape or defy (it is very telling how Iason has to make a whole convoluted plan just to be able to leave for Dana Bahn without alerting his peers and Jupiter), but while Iason is the one moving the pieces on the chessboard, Jason is much more dependant on others. To use a chess metaphor: Jason is the king, Iason is  the queen. Jason might be the semi-shamanic guide that leads his peers toward the golden fleece, still most of the heroic acts and plans along the way are made by others. Jason depends on Medea for getting the fleece, escaping Colchis, and surviving Pelias. Jason depends on Orpheus (hi there Orphe Zavi), on Heracles, on all his companions to be frank, for most of his adventures. The one moment Jason is truly alone and desperate is when he dies, having lost all those that might have loved him.On the other hand Iason is incredibly self reliant, he has pawns and a grand total of one friend, but he plays his cards close to the chest; he is very good at working with and in a group, still his plans are his own, he relies on his own strength even when he should not do so. Even when his fellow Blondies have lost respect for him and would gladly trod on his carcass he can still force them to grant him permission to move Riki to Apatia. During his life Iason is almost a monad, despite the wealth of people that would gladly offer him company, still, in the moment when he dies, he is not alone. Iason dies during a deep bonding moment, I think as happy as he ever was, and with the one person he, in his scary twisted and dangerously obsessive way, loved, by his side. Not just that, but Riki comes back of his own accord when he could have walked away free, proving that there was something more than hate and fear that he felt towards Iason.Jason dies desperate trying to relive old glories and leave in search of something, what he doesn’t know himself, while Iason dies happy after having left all of his glory behind (along with a couple of legs), but having gained the one thing he truly wanted. Which could be interpreted as creepy total control, but I do not think it was for several reasons, authorial intent first and foremost. 

Another element worth mentioning, in my opinion, is the rite of purification that allows the hero back into society. Jason and Medea go through one right after having escaped the Colchis. In most version of the myth the Argonauts leave in secret since Aeëtes, the king that held the golden fleece and father to Medea, went back on his word once Jason overcame the impossible proves he had set (thanks to Medea) and threatened to kill all the Argonauts. So Jason and Medea stole the fleece and, in the most common version of the myth, Medea also kidnapped her young half-brother. This way, when Aeëtes pursued them, she cut the boy to pieces and threw the pieces overboard, forcing her father to stop and recover the remains of his son in order to give him a proper burial. This act saved the mission, yet was so horribly inconceivable for the Greek sensibilities to force both Jason and Medea to seek purification in Circe’s domain. Circe, Medea’s aunt, purified them allowing the couple to travel back in Greece and re-join the “civilised society”. Still, ultimately, despite Jason’s and Medea’s efforts, they were unable to do so. Partially because of the fact that they committed another awful crime to enter the city of Iolcus, convincing the daughters of Pelias to cut their father to pieces in the hope of rejuvenating him. Thus, what should have been Jason’s triumph turns into him relinquishing all rights on the crown or the fleece and escaping like a disgraced exile with his wife. 

This, in my opinion, can be compared with Iason’s attempt at re-normalising the situation after Riki’s year and a half of freedom. Iason tries quite desperately to make Riki fit in his old life, in the Amoian system, going as far as submitting to almost all of Orphe’s rules , but there he ultimately fails, because not only Riki is not a person, or a pet, that can live in Eos, but also because Riki’s presence and influence has changed him to the point of making him unfit for his society. He cannot accept to show Riki, he fights against the house arrest Orphe decrees, he actually cares about Riki’s mental wellbeing (up to a certain point and in his twisted way that doesn’t stop him from abusing Riki, but he does). Besides, soon enough, Riki becomes involved in another crime in Eos, like Jason and Medea did in Corinth. So Iason’s attempt at “cleaning his name” in the eyes of his society fails as much as Jason’s and Medea’s does. 

This leads us to two interesting observations.

The first is wether we can read the Jason/Iason parallelism in the light of Seneca’s interpretation of the mythical Jason.Seneca wrote a tragedy about Jason and Medea called “Medea” in which he explored the classical theme of “civilised hero is dragged down by a barbarian woman” under the light of Stoicism. The tragedy is set, like all of the tragedies by the same name, after the exile of Medea and Jason from Iolcus, when they are living in Corinth. There the king offers his daughter in marriage to Jason and the hero, for reasons that vary from tragedy to tragedy, accepts the offer, abandoning his wife Medea to yet another exile and planning to separate her from their two children. As a result Medea, chooses to make him pay and sends his soon to be new wife a dress that burns her alive before killing the children she had with Jason and fleeing Corinth. In Seneca’s tragedy Jason becomes the mouthpiece of stoicism and is a positive character (which is why I much prefer Eurypides’ Medea, where he is a fool). He is forced into the new marriage by political reasons and acts as he does because the wise man endures stoically the hardships that life throws in his path, choosing based on intellect rather than passions, while his wife is the villain, choosing to destroy everything when life denies her what she wants rather than trying to make the best out of it. So there is this dichotomy of passions and rationality.This theme of passions versus reason is present in the Ai no Kusabi novels too, still there the role of Iason is similar yet completely different. Like Seneca’s Jason Iason is a creature of cold rationality at first, faced with a being of irrational passions. Both this Jason and Iason’s attempt at controlling that irrationality ultimately fails, yet they fail in completely different ways. Seneca’s Jason is not conflicted as Iason is. He knows his path, but doesn’t allow himself to suffer too much because of its cruelty, while Iason’s development is exactly about starting to feel something. His path is the exact opposite of the stoic hero’s one, he must learn how to feel, how to let go of the odd, twisted, form of stoicism that his nature and environment imposes upon him. Both Seneca’s Jason and Iason must overcome their nature, but in opposite directions. Jason’s act of healing is to overcome passions and his suffering, while Iason’s act of healing is about accepting, acknowledging that he has a human side able to suffer. 

This ties back into the elephant in the room that constitutes the second interesting observation. 

Jason’s myth is heavily dpendant on Medea. Is there a Medea in Ank? and, if there is one, who is our dystopian Medea? The most immediate answer would be to say that Medea is Riki. After all both are strangers in a strange place, both are despised for what they are, considered barbarian, savages, both are ruthless and cruel, both are determined, both follow their feelings far more than any logic, both bring forth the demise of Jason/Iason. Still I think that is a false parallelism. Riki is not Medea. Medea is powerful, divine, far more ruthless than Riki ever was, her power is even superior to Jason’s and while she and Riki might fill somehow similar narrative roles, their characters are completely different. Medea is far more divine than Jason, Riki is incredibly human in his virtues and flaws. Riki is not stupid, not by a long shot, still his impulsiveness and ignorance end up thwarting his plans, even the best laid ones, while Medea’s might and knowledge is so great that even her suicidal plan ends with her leaving in triumph on the sun’s chariot. Her very name derives from μῆδος, that means “cunning”. Riki is smart, but he has no chance of being cunning, not faced with a “monster of cunning” like Iason.My pet theory is that Iason is both Jason and Medea. Let’s analyse the possibility: Jason, in his interpretation as the “civilised hero”, the stoic, the “guide”, is Iason’s at the beginning, the dominant side of his personality, what he was moulded into being. All of his actions are carefully planned, he is more than able to use and then throw people away to fit a “greater good”, his master plan. Jason can be, in some interpretations of the myth, seen as some kind of fool manipulated by greater forces and, in some ways Iason is too and, at the beginning, is actually clueless about it, since he is so “indoctrinated” by the system as he can be. To the point that he cannot see how the system could harm him too, since he never felt any desire to go against it in a significant way. Even as he does, to keep Katze alive, he is still operating inside of a strict amoian logic. Keeping Katze alive is a means to an end. Curiosity indeed plays a part, but Iason’s ultimate goal is to benefit his own, and thus Jupiter’s power. 

Now let’s analyse Jason’s evil act, the one that looses him Hera’s favour. That act is abandoning Medea, breaking his family to save himself and his legacy in the “civilised” world. This is the complete opposite of what Iason does in the end of AnK. Iason there chooses his obsession for Riki over his own good, over what is socially acceptable. This way Iason makes Medea’s choice rather than Iason’s. To save Jason, to have him succeed, Medea betrays her family and country, so does Iason.Not just that, but Iason’s obsessive, possessive, twisted, brand of love for Riki very closely resembles what Medea feels for Jason. To have him she is willing to use all of her powers, to defy the most sacred laws and, when he wants to abandon her she is willing to destroy him, even if it hurts her in the deepest most intimate way (the killing of her own children). Still there we see a fundamental difference. By the end of book 6, after the one and only time Iason is forced to show Riki at a Bacchanalia, Iason has a very similar, horribly immature, reaction. He takes his frustration with the situation out on Riki, hurting him in quite an awful way. The abusive mechanism is the same “since I have sacrificed so much for you, if I cannot have you as I want, I’d rather destroy you”. Still Iason, unlike Medea, does not go through with it. Which doesn’t make his actions any less horrible, mind you, but shows a fundamental difference and highlights what, in my opinion, is Iason’s private “act of healing” that only comes as he dies: managing to make his Medea and his Jason coexist. Iason’s redemption is to accept his nature as part-human and act accordingly, granting the object of his twisted brand of “love” a choice, to recognise that a feeling, when not mutual, cannot be enforced and, through this, reconcile his rational and his instinctive side. And, this way, reconciling his rational and his irrational sides. 

Now, as promised at the beginning, I will explore a bit the “alchemical” symbolic interpretations of Jason.In Rome there is a famous landmark, the “Porta Alchemica”, (alchemical door), which references Jason in two of its incisions and in both cases the meaning given to him and his name was not the one of “healer”, but the one of “the discoverer”. This is aligned with the theories and interpretations of the myth that see the Argonauts voyage as a mythical recounting of the first commercial travels of Greek merchants towards unknown riches and knowledges. The golden fleece there is a symbol of redemption and knowledge rather than healing per se. Its gold is the alchemic gold, the philosopher’s stone able to turn “vile metals” into gold, heal every ailment, and grant eternal life. What I like about Ai no Kusabi is how that search is turned on its head. Iason starts the story by having a high-tech version of the philosopher’s stone/golden fleece. He is immortal, eternally young, has incredible power, he knows more than any other being, yet precisely because of that he is blind to everything he does not understand, he is prejudiced to think that everything “below” himself is unworthy. He frequently refers to Riki as a “gem in the rough”, but ultimately, his path leads him to the conclusion that the “rough” is exactly what makes Riki so appealing to him. He never ceases to want to dominate Riki, that is his nature, still he doesn’t want to “break him” anymore. Only by loosing his “golden fleece” Iason is able to recognise what he ultimately is and wants, and thanks to this realisation, redeem himself and gain one thing of true value.Iason, at the beginning, doesn’t truly care for anything because his own golden fleece blinds him. Both Riki and Iason loose the people they were before meeting each other and, through the books, search for a new identity, a rebirth (another theme that appears again and again in Jason’s and Medea’s tale). Pelias being tricked into thinking he can be rejuvenated, reborn, and then killed by Medea could be accosted to Kirie’s fate. A false rebirth that only means death. In fact Kirie’s name itself means “Lord”, like Pelias is the lord of Iolcus. 

The most meaningful inscription, in the optic of the reconciliation of Jason’s and Medea’s figures, is the one where it was written “Passing by opening the door of the villa, Iason obtained the rich fleece of Medea”. In that context one could argue that Iason’s travel “through the door” symbolises a form of acceptance of Medea’s rules and values, and that true knowledge and redemption from human limitations can only be achieved when rationality and passion are both taken into account and given their own space in a human’s life. In that inscription the treasure, the fleece is Medea’s.

In conclusion: yes, I do think the meaning of Ιάσων is important to the plot of Ai no Kusabi, and I also think that there are several interesting parallelisms that could be made between the characters of the myth in some of its interpretations and Iason.Still I also think that the meaning of “healer”, should not be taken literally, but interpreted in the context to signify a sort of “spiritual healing”, a conciliation between opposite positions and pulls. As I said in previous posts I think that Elites, Blondies in particular, can be seen as “failed projects” since they are supposed to serve as a bridge between men and machine, yet they are taught to look down on mankind rather than try to understand the humanity in them and “embrace it”. This way they are made ultimately ineffective at presenting the human position before Jupiter and Iason’s only “healing” act comes at the end of the novels and is about accepting his “human” side and acting upon it not for evil but, once in his life, for good. Thus “healing” that flaw of his whole specie. Besides, in such an optic, death, rather than the eternal life granted by the fleece, becomes the one way to freedom from Amoi’s society, the great equaliser. 

Are many of these speculations of mine pretty wild? Absolutely. After all the cultural context Yoshihara-sensei lives in is very different from the one I am speaking from, and there are issues of Japanese society explored in the books that I only tangentially know and which can be appreciated and spoken of far better by people who are part of, or know well, Japanese society.Still I think that Yoshihara-sensei did a kind of “syncretic effort”, to present a far-future culture that stemmed from many different roots (the Vila of slavic folklore are mentioned and subtly likened to the Elites, the reliefs on Midas’ gates are described as very similar to Indian reliefs, an angel is the symbol of the Guardians, one of Riki’s nicknames is Vajira and so on), thus I think that some of the observations I made might have indeed occurred to her while choosing the name for Iason. 

Thank you so much for the question again, and sorry for this humongous rant. I hope it could interest you, Anon! 

[commsroom]

to me, the question of whether hera would want a body is first and foremost a question of autonomy and ability. she has an internal self-image, i think it's meaningful that the most pivotal moments in her character arc take place in spaces where she can be perceived the way she perceives herself and interact with others in a (relatively) equal and physical capacity, and that's worth considering. but i don't think it's about how she looks, or even who she is - and i think she's the same person either way; she's equally human without a body, and having a body wouldn't make her lived experience as an AI magically disappear - so much as it's about how she would want to live.

like most things with hera, i'm looking at this through a dual lens of disability and transness, both perspectives from which the body - and particularly disconnect from the body - is a concern. the body as the mechanism by which she's able to interact with the world; understanding her physical isolation as a product of her disability, the body as a disability aid. the body as it relates to disability, in constant negotiation. the body as an expression of medical transition, of self-determination, of choice. as a statement of how she wants to be seen, how she wants to navigate the world, and at the same time reckoning with the inevitable gap between an idealized self-image and a lived reality, especially after a long time spent believing that self-image could never be visible to anyone else.

it's critical to me that it should never imply hera's disability is 'fixed' by having a body, only that it enables her to interact with the world in ways she otherwise couldn't. her fears about returning to earth are about safety and ability; the form she exists in dictates the life she's allowed to lead and has allowed people to invade her privacy and make choices for her. dysphoria and disability both contribute to disembodiment - in an increasingly digitized world, the type of alienation that feels like your life can only exist in a virtual space... maybe there's something about the concept of AI embodiment, in particular as it relates to hera, that appeals to me because of what it challenges about what makes a 'real woman.' when it's about perception, about how others see her and how she might observe / be impacted by how she's treated differently, even subconsciously. it's about feeling more present in her life and interfacing with the world. but it's not in itself a becoming; it doesn't change how she's been shaped by her history or who she is as a person.

i think it comes back to the 'big picture' as a central antagonistic force in wolf 359, and how - in that context, in this story - it adds a weight to this hypothetical choice. hera is everywhere, and she's never really anywhere. she's got access to more knowledge than most people could imagine, but it's all theoretical or highly situational; she doesn't have the same life experiences as her peers. she has the capacity to understand that 'big picture' better than most people, but whatever greater portion of the universe she understands is nothing next to infinity and meaningless without connection and context. it's interesting to me that hera is one of the most self-focused and introspective people on the show. her loyalties and decisions are absolute, personal, emotionally driven. she's lonely; she always feels physically away from the others. she misremembers herself sitting at the table with the rest of the crew. she imagines what the ocean is like. there's nothing to say that hera having a body is the only solution for that, but i like what it represents, and i honestly believe it'd make her happier than the alternatives. if there's something to a symbolically narrowed focus that allows for a more solid sense of self... that maybe the way to make something of such a big, big universe is to find a tiny portion of it that's yours and hold onto it tight.