Jacqui wrote:
"Jenny Kaye" jennycat55@hotmail.com wrote:
Sally wrote:
Jenny K:
<There is no need for all this elaborate theorising, when the answer
is
simple: Vila was a thief, and therefore, like most thieves, Vila was
a
liar
as well.>
Ah, but that's just theory as well, isn't it?
No. It's a fact. Vila lies. Haven't you watched "The Way Back"?
<g> albeit simpler (but of
course some of us prefer the complicated stuff).
Remember though, "a pro keeps it simple", something that Avon would recognise and appreciate.
Jenny
On both the London and in 'Rumours' a junior is (asked if he is) studying for promotion - perhaps Vila was told at the recruiting office along the lines 'if you study hard a bright lad like you could become a captain' -
Recruiting office? What recruiting office? Do you really think Vila is someone who is going to volunteer for the army?
and if you don't, the survival rate is 15%
15%? Where did this figure come from? And why would 15% be the survival rate? Who are they fighting? The rebels in B7 appeared to be a fairly negligible problem (how many Space Captains do they kill, versus how many the army of an intergalactic power has? Definitely not "all.") And the war hadn't even been thought of yet. Also surely being told that if he doesn't study hard he is going to die, is more of an incentive to pass the exam then fail it?
- and he later elaborates this
into what he says.
OK, let's look at the scene.
Vila says, "Are you going to let me in on the secret?" to which Avon replies "You wouldn't understand it if we did." Avon then turns his back on Vila. This doesn't go down to well, prompting Vila to respond, "My classification might be Grade 4 ignorant, but I'm not stupid. I bought that classification from a friend at the testing centre." Avon looks on impassively, and Cally in the background rolls her eyes. Vila continues, "I didn't want to be a Space Captain now did I? They all ended up getting killed didn't they?" Cally responds with, "Tarrant survived." "Oh yes," says Vila, "Tarrant says he was a Space Captain, but then Tarrant says he was a lot of things. You don't have to believe it all do you?" Avon then looks Vila in the eye and says, "I'd be more included to believe that he was a Captain than that you could have been?" Vila then changes the subject by saying, "Well never mind about me, but it's Tarrant you should be worried about. And it's not just because he's been out of contact for an hour." Now why do you think Vila changed the subject, and tried to distract Avon by talking about Tarrant?
Do you think it could be because Vila is talking crap?
Could it possibly be that all this talk about Space Captains and testing centres is just a feeble attempt to get one over on Avon?
Could it be that the reason why Vila doesn't want to continue the conversation is because Avon and Cally quite clearly don't believe him, and that if he continues on this line then Avon and Cally might start asking him some difficult questions and stating some quite blindingly obvious facts?
Like for example, that the only reason the Federation lost so many Space Captains is because of a damn great war that no one could have possibly foreseen.
That being a Space Captain would have been a far better life than that of a common thief, who would eventually end up being sent to a hostile prison planet for life.
That the life as a Space Captain would be infinitely more preferable than being a lowly labour grade, condemned to cleaning toilets, mediocre conversation and exploitation by the Terra Nostra.
Vila is clearly talking junk. The idea that everyone who passed a test at the testing centre would be immediately promoted to Space Captain is farcical. The implication that he was forced to take the exam, and that he then bribed this convenient "friend" to fail him is just plain laughable. How many secondary school students bribe their teachers to fail them cos they don't want to go out and get a decent job?
The scene in Volcano continues with Cally saying, "And what about Dayna? Don't you trust her either?" Vila responds by manufacturing an air of contrived nonchalance and saying, "Danya's a different case entirely." Cally smiles, "Oh she's pretty for one thing." Vila then pretends that he hasn't thought about it, "Pretty? Yes I suppose she is. I hadn't really noticed." Vila then walks off, to Avon's sarcastic reply, "We've seen you not really noticing... frequently." The scene ends with Vila looking uncomfortable.
The scene is demonstrating that Vila is:
1/ Shallow
2/ A braggart
3/ An untrustworthy liar
4/ Self deluding
5/ Incapable of forward planning
6/ Stupid, in that he greatly underestimates the intelligence of the people he is talking to. Even though he has known these people for a very long time.
Vila a Space Captain? He wouldn't pass the psychological tests let alone be entered for "The Space Captains' exam" even if such a test existed.
As Avon confirmed, "A pro keeps it simple." Vila is a liar. And you can't get simpler than that!
Jenny
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Speaking of Keeping It Simple, it often doesn't to do assume that any particular B7 line or plot twist is the product of deep thought and complex implications rather than something stuck in at the last minute because the script was too short...
Jenny Kaye said:
Vila is clearly talking junk. The idea that everyone who passed a test at the testing centre would be immediately promoted to Space Captain is farcical. The implication that he was forced to take the exam, and that he then bribed this convenient "friend" to fail him is just plain laughable. How many secondary school students bribe their teachers to fail them cos they don't want to go out and get a decent job?
Readers of the comic strip Doonesbury may recall that Zonker Harris was a sophomore for six years...hmmm. Surfer Dude Vila, with adrenaline and soma bong hits?
-(Y)
Jenny Kaye wrote:
Now why do you think Vila changed the subject, and tried to distract Avon by talking about Tarrant?
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 - his unease about what was going on down on Obsidian. As you've pointed out yourself in a later portion of your post:
The scene in Volcano continues with Cally saying, "And what about Dayna? 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. He didn't have it when he was making the remarks about testing - he was irritated and plunged straight in, without thinking about what he was saying; this supports the idea that this portion of his remarks were based on truth. 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.
My thought is that he could certainly have tested into a slightly higher grade, but didn't want the regimentation and responsibility (i.e., a job) that would come with it. Vila likes being a thief; he's good at it. He'd prefer to remain a Delta, and therefore invisible.
Vila a Space Captain? He wouldn't pass the psychological tests let alone be 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. A lie isn't much good when the liar knows the lie-ee has all the same information that he does.
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. That's not the same thing as confirming it. A few lines later he mocks that position when he says 'Your professional simplicity is beginning to irritate me.'
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; therefore it's not logical to assume that he is, without evidence of such.
Mistral
"Jenny Kaye" jennycat55@hotmail.com wrote:
Jacqui wrote:
"Jenny Kaye" jennycat55@hotmail.com wrote:
Sally wrote:
Jenny K:
<There is no need for all this elaborate theorising, when the answer
is
simple: Vila was a thief, and therefore, like most thieves, Vila was
a
liar
as well.>
Ah, but that's just theory as well, isn't it?
No. It's a fact. Vila lies. Haven't you watched "The Way Back"?
<g> albeit simpler (but of
course some of us prefer the complicated stuff).
Remember though, "a pro keeps it simple", something that Avon would recognise and appreciate.
Jenny
On both the London and in 'Rumours' a junior is (asked if he is) studying for promotion - perhaps Vila was told at the recruiting office along the lines 'if you study hard a bright lad like you could become a captain' -
Recruiting office? What recruiting office? Do you really think Vila is someone who is going to volunteer for the army?
>and if you don't, the survival rate is 15%
15%? Where did this figure come from? And why would 15% be the survival rate? Who are they fighting? The rebels in B7 appeared to be a fairly negligible problem (how many Space Captains do they kill, versus how many the army of an intergalactic power has? Definitely not "all.") And the war hadn't even been thought of yet. Also surely being told that if he doesn't study hard he is going to die, is more of an incentive to pass the exam then fail it?
15% was a random figure - and for recruiting office read job centre/assignment area etc
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Mistral