New subject: Captain Vila

28 Apr 2001


      Mistral wrote:
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Do you think it could be because Vila is talking crap?
Actually, you're making an assumption that Vila was trying to distract
Avon,
and so your question is inherently biased.
I don't agree with that
assumption; I simply think he was breaking off a tangential discussion
that was going away from what he really wanted to talk about
How can you possibly say that you know what he "really" wanted to talk
about? All you can go by is what's on the screen.
- his
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unease about what was going on down on Obsidian.
If that's true then why doesn't he say that? "Avon, what really *is*
worrying me is not knowing what's happening on the surface of Obsidian," but
no, instead he mounts a personal attack on Tarrant. Why? Because he knows
that there is friction between Tarrant and Avon and that to his mind
bringing it up is the best way to head off the conversation. Like in Orbit,
when Vila tries to hide his cowardice by saying that Avon needs to take
someone else down to Egrorian's base, because he will need Vila on the ship
to keep a keen eye on Tarrant. You don't really think Avon's response --"If 
I didn't know you
better, I'd say you were trying to get out of this," is serious, surely?
As you've pointed out
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yourself in a later portion of your post:
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The scene in Volcano continues with Cally saying, "And what about
Dayna?
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Don't you trust her either?" Vila responds by manufacturing an air of
contrived nonchalance and saying, "Danya's a different case entirely."
Vila tends to acquire an air of faux innocence when he's lying.
No. Only when cornered.
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He didn't have it when he was making the remarks about testing
No, because he hadn't been caught out at that point!
- he was irritated and plunged straight in, without thinking about what he
was
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saying;
this supports the idea that this portion of his remarks were
based on truth.
No, this supports the idea as to why this portion of his remarks are
muddled.
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The specific reference to Space Captains was IMO likely
an exaggeration, due to having issues with upper grades generally and
(as Sally mentioned) Tarrant specifically.
I'm with you on that, but if he's lying here, why believe anything else he
says in the rest of the scene?
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My thought is that he could certainly have tested into a slightly higher
grade,
I think that's right as well, but the problem is someone who is an
inveterate liar and a thief isn't someone you would want to employ in a
sensitive area, or indeed anywhere.
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but didn't want the regimentation and responsibility (i.e., a
job) that would come with it.
I don't know, a cushy office job is a damn sight safer than being a thief.
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Vila likes being a thief; he's good at it.
Yes, but he also likes the idea of being rich, and getting a cushy job is
the faster and less strenuous way to get money than stealing. Although if 
you can combine the two (perhaps with a job in the civil service)...
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He'd prefer to remain a Delta, and therefore invisible.
Well he wasn't invisible though, was he? He spent time on a penal planet 
when
in his youth. He had his head "adjusted by the best in the business" on a
number of occasions, and eventually he was arrested and sent to Cygnus Alpha
for life.
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Vila a Space Captain? He wouldn't pass the psychological tests let
alone
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be
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entered for "The Space Captains' exam" even if such a test existed.
The tests must exist, or Avon would have called him on that immediately.
The test may exist, but you don't just suddenly take an exam out of the blue
and then you're a Space Captain. As indicated in Games you have to train to
be one, and you've got to actually get accepted into the armed services
first, which must also involve exams of some type. So yes, the test must 
exist,
but not in the way Vila is describing.
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A lie isn't much good when the liar knows the lie-ee has all the same
information that he does.
Well, that hasn't stopped Vila before now. See Orbit, see Shadow, see
Hostage etc.
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As Avon confirmed, "A pro keeps it simple." Vila is a liar. And you
can't get simpler than that!
??? Avon was restating someone else's position when he was conjecturing
what that person might do.
And in so doing was recognising the fact that said person was a pro and
therefore would keep it simple.
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That's not the same thing as confirming it.
Er... Yes it is. Avon recognises the fact that a pro keeps it simple. 
Remember, Avon employed a similar strategy himself in Mission to
Destiny. Everyone kept coming up with complicated reasons, but Avon kept it
simple and therefore found the traitor.
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Afew lines later he mocks that position when he says 'Your professional
simplicity is beginning to irritate me.'
He isn't mocking the position, just expressing annoyance that such a simple
position is difficult to overcome.
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Quite apart from which, professional simplicity surely shouldn't include
ignoring relevant data, such as the fact that Vila isn't always or even
mostly lying;
No, but they should look at what's going on in the scene, then judge Vila on 
past
experience, perhaps even test it against previous statements from him, and
then come to a conclusion. Which is exactly what Avon and Cally do. They
come to the conclusion that Vila was talking crap, and I agree with them.
therefore it's not logical to assume that he is, without
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evidence of such.
It's not an assumption. The info is there in the scene. Vila is
lying. It is not however, logical for you to come up with a complex and 
tortured
explanation as to why Vila could be telling the truth, when you acknowledged
that during that short scene, Vila *does* lie on at least two occasions.
Next minute you'll be saying, "But he's got such an honest face!"
Jenny
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Re: [B7L] Captain Vila