The Worlds of Farscape (17 page)

Two first season episodes revealed a Delvian process called Unity, in which two sentients bind souls and minds, an extremely personal encounter, beyond sexual. It was during Unity that Zhaan killed her lover. In “That Old Black Magic” (1.8), a vampiric sorcerer preys on the people living on a primitive trading planet. Maldis captures Crichton and his enemy Crais, forcing them to confront each other, so that he can feed on their negative energy. Zhaan joins forces with a native of the planet to free it from Maldis' grip. Unfortunately for Zhaan, she must confront “the darkest abyss of her own primal nature” to do so. Following these events, Zhaan worries that she will be unable to control herself in the future, but with Crichton's as well as the rest of the crew's help, she learns to control her impulses rather than deny their existence.

Before her death, Zhaan develops a relationship with a Banik slave named Stark who had been tortured by Scorpius and later rescued by Moya's crew. She commits herself to him; however, her selflessness and love for others causes her to sacrifice her spiritual energy and bring Aeryn back from the dead (“Season of Death” 3.1). Unfortunately, Aeryn is further gone than Zhaan realizes, and bringing Aeryn back to life weakens Zhaan greatly. Since she is flora, the crew tries desperately to find a planet where she can be “planted,” thereby allowing her to regenerate. Unfortunately, they are unable to find such a world in time. Struck by another ship that fuses with Moya, the ships have to be pulled apart or both will be destroyed. To save Moya, someone has to pilot the other ship into the wormhole as soon as the two come apart. Because Zhaan is dying, and there is no way to find a planet for her in time, she pilots the Pathfinder's ship into the wormhole, thereby saving Moya and the crew (“Self-Inflicted Wounds Part II: Wait for the Wheel” 3.4). Zhaan makes the ultimate sacrifice for the crew, since she loves them all. Zhaan's actions throughout her time on Moya confirm her feelings for the crew as well as the ship. Indeed, Zhaan is deemed worthy of shepherding Moya by the Builders, the creators and thus deities of Leviathans such as Moya (“Look at the Princess, Parts I–III” 2.10, 2.11, 2.12). Put to the test, Zhaan is willing to go to any lengths to protect Moya and keep her safe. Her love for Moya and the crew would actually be characterized as consummate, I think, although her passion may be less a sexual passion than an all-encompassing passion for the other crew members' lust for life and desire to carve out a place that each can call home in the unknown part of space in which they find themselves.

Although very sensual and capable of sexual passion, we do not learn if Zhaan is sexually active with Stark. We know that D'Argo has been attracted to her, Crichton as well. However, we know that Zhaan, because she is flora, is extremely attracted to light, experiencing “photogasms” when exposed to intense sunlight. The male characters react with disgust or dismay, but primarily because Zhaan is incapacitated by the photogasms and thus unable to help them when they are in trouble (e.g., “Till the Blood Runs Clear” 1.11). At the same time, they may also feel inadequate confronted with such intense female sexuality for which a male is not necessary.

The Nebari Chiana joined Moya's crew in the Season One episode “Durka Returns” (1.15). In this episode, Moya collides with a starship, carrying a male Nebari named Salis, along with his prisoner Chiana, and the Peacekeeper Captain Durka. Durka was once commandant of the Peacekeeper command carrier
Zelbinion
, where Dominar Rygel was confined and tortured for many cycles. The Nebari claim that they have “mind-cleansed” Durka and eliminated his violent tendencies. The Nebari, as a species, value conformity and discipline above all. According to her, Chiana was destined for similar cleansing; she swears that her crime was that she was too much of a nonconformist for Nebari society. We learn the truth about her past later in the series. In the episode “A Clockwork Nebari” (2.18), we discover that her own people infected her, her brother, and perhaps thousands of other non-conformist Nebari with a sexually transmitted disease. Those infected with the contagion were exiled from their home world. It was expected that these free-thinking and nonconformist Nebari would spread the disease throughout the many alien systems in the universe. When ready, the disease would be activated, rendering all who were infected pacified and defenseless against a Nebari invasion.

As time progresses, we learn much of Chiana's past, and it is not pretty. She is a thief who is willing to do
anything
to get what she wants or needs. Chiana's blend of youth, naiveté, wanton sensuality, and amorality served her well following her exile from the Nebari home world. She has a problem with trust: trusting other people and having them trust her. Just when it seems that she has “turned over a new leaf,” maturing at long last into a responsible adult, Chiana does something to remind her crewmates just who she is. Chiana is presented as freely sexual; she has no reservations about sex (Battis). She is aware that Crichton is sexually attracted to her; most males are, although Crichton refuses Chi's offers. She does have an intensely sexual affair with D'Argo until he begins to talk of settling down and marrying. Their sexual encounters are presented on screen by using a standard cinematic technique: Chiana astride D'Argo, naked back to the camera. She is usually very vocal as she indicates sexual pleasure. Chiana grows to care deeply for D'Argo; however, she does not know how to tell him that she is not ready for marriage. Rather than admit how she feels, Chiana seduces his son, thereby ensuring that D'Argo will not continue to pursue her (“Suns and Lovers” 3.2). Even so, the sexual chemistry between Chiana and D'Argo does not dissipate. They resume their sexual relationship by the end of the series.

Chiana's extreme suspicion of other people's motivations slowly erodes as she learns that no one on Moya has ulterior motives for helping her. While not everyone on Moya may love her, they certainly tolerate her and most grow fond of her with time. Aeryn, among others on the crew, at times refers to Chi as a slut; Chi does not apologize. Unfortunately, even in an alternate universe, female sexuality is suspect.

As Season Four unfolds, Chiana becomes closer than ever to the other females aboard Moya, including Jool and Sikozu, the newest additions to the crew. Before this time, she was the type of female that other females did not like, the type they suspected of being after their men, even when she was not. Because Chi is such a sexual being, enjoying the act, but willing to use sex if necessary to achieve what she wants or needs, she typically has no use for other women. Their youth, compared to the others' ages, serves to bond Jool and Chi eventually, especially after Chi saves Jool's life. Likewise, Chi and Sikozu become close as do Chi and Aeryn. Each woman learns of her own strengths and limitations as the series continues, and they learn about each other as well. They realize that they complement each other in many ways, which serves more than once to help the entire crew.

Thus, Chiana's relationships with members of Moya's crew reflect the various types of love described by Sternberg. Chiana's feelings toward D'Argo begin as passionate, but then evolve into romantic love as they become closer emotionally. Although she engages in sexual relations with his son, D'Argo understands why she does so, and his feelings for her grow stronger. As noted above, they renew their sexual relationship toward the end of the series. Chiana is likewise sexually attracted to Crichton, but eventually comes to see him more as an older relative, one she can flirt with safely, knowing that there will be no actual physical contact between them.
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Also, her relationships with Aeryn and Zhaan become more familial—with Zhaan serving as a mother-figure and Aeryn as the stern older sister.

Whereas Chiana is the most sexual of the female characters aboard Moya, D'Argo is the most sexual of the males. Series creator Rockne S. O'Bannon, in his commentary to the first season episode “Thank God It's Friday... Again” (1.6), notes that D'Argo is free to visit all sorts of planets and have sex with all sorts of females. We see such encounters in episodes prior to the beginning of his relationship with Chiana; examples include “Friday” and “Vitas Mortis” (2.2). D'Argo is sexually attracted to Aeryn, partly because she is a warrior like him, and also to Zhaan. He even tells Zhaan that he would have asked for the privilege of bedding her, and she tells him that she would have accepted his offer, if things had not changed (“Friday”). Following Chiana's betrayal with his son, Jothee, D'Argo gradually becomes attracted to a young crewmember named Jool. There is a certain sexual chemistry between the two, but they never consummate the relationship.

As mentioned earlier, Aeryn has no choice but to join the crew of Moya after she is deemed irreversibly contaminated following contact with Crichton. The Peacekeepers might be hired by other species to serve as a military police force, but that does not mean that the Peacekeepers consider their employers equals. Indeed, the Peacekeepers, whose species is Sebacean, consider contact with non–Sebaceans to be unpleasant and refer to contact with unknown life-forms as contamination. A normal Peacekeeper/Sebacean would never consider mating with a member of any species other than his or her own. When the Sebacean Lo'Laan Tar married D'Argo, her own brother killed her rather than live with the shame of her marriage to a Luxan. It was only D'Argo's quick thinking that kept their son from being killed as well.

D'Argo's relationships on Moya are primarily characterized by companionate love, romantic love, and liking. It is fair to say that he and Crichton as well as he and Aeryn develop companionate love, or committed friendship. D'Argo grows to like Crichton and definitely commits to following Crichton's plan to keep the wormhole knowledge from Scorpius and the Scarrans, dying in the process. He develops the same type of relationship with Aeryn. They bond over the fact that they are both warriors, and he comes to realize the depth of her feelings for Crichton as well as the changes through which she has gone since joining Moya's crew. As discussed earlier, his feelings for Chiana began as exasperation but grow into passion, then liking, and finally into romantic love. Even at the end he is able to forgive her for her transgression against him and rekindle the love and passion that had earlier developed between them.

The three-part episode “Look at the Princess” is a perfect example of how evolutionary theory can explain sexual behavior. I have discussed this episode and its narrative arc in a number of places and thus will give only a few details here (Ginn, “For Women”). In this episode, Moya inadvertently enters space around a Royal Planet at the time of the Crown Princess Katralla's ascension to the throne (“Part I: A Kiss Is But a Kiss”). Rygel reveals his presence to Councilor Tyno who, spying Crichton in the background, invites the crew to the planet's surface for the celebrations. Tyno has an ulterior motive: scientists on this planet have created an elixir which can identify the genetically compatible match for reproduction for any member of the species. The elixir is placed on the tip of the tongue, and the two interested parties kiss. If they are genetically compatible, their elixir tastes sweet. Thus, the elixir completely eliminates the guess work involved in choosing a mate with whom to procreate. Unfortunately, Princess Katralla's DNA has been ruined by her brother, and there are no compatible males on her planet with whom she can procreate. To inherit the throne, she must be able to bear children; however, if she is unable to find a compatible male by the time of her birthday, then her brother, Prince Clavor, will inherit the throne and rule as Regent. (In this society, the throne can only be held by a woman, with her consort serving as Regent.) Tyno knows that Crichton is an off-worlder and thus may be a genetically compatible match for the Princess. He is, and Crichton is then forced to marry the Princess to escape from Scorpius (Simpson and Thomas).

Several interesting notions can be observed in this episode with respect to sexual selection and mating. As mentioned, sexual reproduction is not left to chance. When any individual on the planet wishes to reproduce, she or he simply tests another's saliva for a genetic match. This does not mean that people do not enjoy sexual congress with each other, as evidenced by Dregon's obvious infatuation with Aeryn Sun. In addition, Councilor Tyno is in love with the Princess, and she with him. She wants to marry him, but as with all the men on their planet, he is genetically incompatible with her. She is willing to marry him, even though she might lose her throne. Yet he is unwilling to allow her to make the sacrifice, especially since he knows that a 2000-year-old peace would be destroyed once her brother became Regent. Thus, Tyno's love for Katralla and his love of his planet lead him to do the noble thing: he realizes that Katralla must marry Crichton to ensure the continuity of their way of life. Katralla must bear a female child, who can inherit the throne and continue the royal line. The male with whom she chooses to breed is unimportant to her dynastic imperative. Although Crichton and Aeryn are in love with each other, she is unwilling to admit her feelings for him, even though he is willing and able to declare his for her (“Look at the Princess Part II: I Do, I Think”). Nevertheless, Crichton's love for Aeryn does not stop him from sharing a night of sex and passion with Jena, Prince Clavor's fiancée (who is actually a spy), when she rescues him from those who are plotting to prevent his marriage to the Princess (“Look at the Princess Part III: The Maltese Crichton”). This episode ends with Aeryn challenging Crichton to take the test, revealing that they are genetically compatible; their child will be born during the battle to keep the wormhole weapon from both the Scarrans and the Peacekeepers (
The Peacekeeper Wars
).