The Worlds of Farscape (31 page)

In contrast to Noranti and Stark, who display unusual vision but not absolute blindness, the character of Traltixx is completely blind. Although blindness can be seen in some fictional characters to be “compensated for” with inner wisdom or the gift of prophecy, it can also be used as a “metaphor for the inability to see spiritual and moral truth” (O'Connell and Airey 155, Chivers and Markoti´c 2). Martin Norden writes that one incarnation of this character type is that of the “obsessive avenger ... an egomaniacal sort, almost always an adult male, who does not rest until he has had his revenge on those he holds responsible for his disablement and/or violating his moral code in some way” (52). In “Crackers Don't Matter” (2.4) a visitor to Moya, Traltixx, embodies not only this stereotype but other stereotypes about blind people as well, such as the erroneous belief that blind people somehow develop super hearing to compensate for their lack of sight.
⁷
“My ears detect sound well above your range,” he tells Crichton, who also tests his eyesight by holding up two fingers before him. Traltixx can sense them. “My other faculties have compensated,” he explains. “I developed an internal radar of sorts.”

Although Moya's crew hopes that Traltixx will be able to implement a cloaking device that will allow them to escape their nemesis, Scorpius, he (Traltixx) is distrusted from the beginning:

CRICHTON: He says he can't build the device here. It's too big.

PILOT: Do you trust him?

CRICHTON: Have you seen him? He's
blind
. He's got a big head, but he's
blind
. Barring the Yoda factor, if he gives us any trouble we lock him up.

Nor does Pilot, the stable, calm navigator and “voice” of Moya, trust the blind interloper. Traltixx monopolizes the repair drones (DRDs) on Moya to use for his own cause.

PILOT: Traltixx. Where are my DRDs? There are none up here.

TRALTIXX: (to Pilot) I'm sorry, Pilot. I should have told you. I need their help.

PILOT: For what?

TRALTIXX: For the darkness. It hurts my eyes and makes me blind. I need to make more light, Pilot. Bright light! ... Don't be alarmed. I'm just altering Moya's bioluminescence for a few minutes. It won't hurt her. Trust me.

PILOT: I don't.

There is no indication in the narrative that Traltixx has ever used eyesight, yet the audience is apparently meant to assume that he must crave light—a notion that is counterintuitive at best, absurd at most. Just as many deaf individuals are amused or baffled at some hearing people's insistence that the absence of hearing must create suffering and an inferior way of living, so it may be incomprehensible to sighted people that vision is not craved by all those who are blind. Thus the producers of
Farscape
assume what Stuart Hall describes as the dominant or preferred reading position: that of the “normal”—in this case, sighted—viewer (138).
⁸
It is unimaginable to the sighted spectator that Traltixx could be happy with his body the way it is. His characterization perfectly reflects the obsessive “egomaniacal” avenger of which Norden writes. If he cannot have light, then nobody can have light. He screams desperately for that which he has claimed his body does not need: light. “I need more light! I need more! ... More light! Can you feel it, Pilot? All of Moya is beginning to glow!
I am magnificent!
”

Traltixx here exemplifies Norden's “egomaniac,” a character type which is also in line with Barnes' delineation of the media stereotype of disabled people as “sinister and evil,” an interpretation which Barnes argues can be traced back to biblical references connecting disability and sin. “The depiction of disabled people as essentially evil has been a particular favorite among film makers,” writes Barnes, adding that the list of films which feature evil impaired people is “virtually endless” (Barnes,
Disabling Imagery
). While Battis claims that “there are no throwaway aliens [on Moya] ... everyone matters” (10), this is not quite true. Traltixx is utterly dispensable. Of course, he is a threat to Moya, but he is a threat to Moya precisely because of the manner in which he is embodied. His “deficiency” is not simply a difference in his alien makeup, the way that D'Argo's prehensile tongue or Zhaan's blue color is a difference. His difference—blindness—is portrayed as so abhorrent both to himself and to the other crew members that he is distrusted from the very beginning. As with Noranti and Shiva, Traltixx's unusual eyes are shown to contain power, but in his case it is purely malevolent. Like Shiva, he can shoot rays of destruction from his eyes, and he grows stronger and more powerful with his exposure to light. He devolves from being a “person,” another alien with unusual needs, to what the crew members call a “creep” and a “thing.” Crichton now refers to Traltixx not by the humanizing pronoun
he
, but as an “
it
.” “I want to kill it,” he states.

TRALTIXX: You cannot stop me, Crichton! Go on! Kill me! There are thousands more just like me. We will find another Leviathan to make our light. And when we do, we'll spread like a plague. We'll rise from our dormancy and kill you all!

CRICHTON: I told them it was a mistake bringing you on board.

It is unclear what “dormancy” Traltixx is referring to, but the message is clear: His “kind,” sightless aliens, are a threat and a “plague” to what we must only assume are the “good” (sighted?) aliens, the ones who do not need to take light by force. Despite the many forms of embodied diversity in the
Farscape
universe, vision is apparently not negotiable. When Chiana is blinded in a later episode, it is temporary, she is ultimately healed. Traltixx is killed by Crichton thrusting a blade into his chest. Even those with unusual vision, such as Noranti and Stark, must redeem themselves by using their eyes to help others. Thus there is bias in this science fiction world—but it is a bias that the majority of viewers, because they are sighted, cannot see.

PILOT: (To Crichton) You have no special abilities. You're not particularly smart, can hardly smell, can barely see, and you're not even vaguely physically or spiritually imposing. Is there anything you can do well?”

CRICHTON: Watch football.

In “Crackers Don't Matter,” Crichton—who claims that he has no special talent other than watching football—is the individual who ends up saving the ship. Traltixx, the blind alien brought on board to help Moya escape the Peacekeepers, intends to annihilate the others so that he can use the ship's bioluminescence for his own purposes. He warns the crew that as they pass through the pulsars to his planet, those of “lesser species” may be affected by the pulsar light. By “lesser species” he specifies “genetic laborers, ungifted menials,” flattering the crew by assuring them that none of them would surely fall into this category. It is interesting that Traltixx uses the term “genetic” to describe a “lesser species,” one suited only for menial labor. This trope is not uncommon in science fiction—think
Brave New
World—but its inclusion into the
Farscape
universe invites us to reconsider our own attitudes towards genetic differences. One might argue that an outer space fantasy such as
Farscape
,
Star Trek
, or
Star Wars
may understandably portray “other species” as dangerous, suspicious, or threatening. However, we have not yet interacted with otherworldly species, and thus the beings portrayed in science fiction are not “others,” they are
us
. Each and every character constructed in the narrative of
Farscape
is a facet of our humanity—no more and no less. Kimberle Crenshaw describes such fantastical texts, which can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, as a “Rorschach test for whatever Americans think ails them,”
⁹
whether that be tensions surrounding race, sexuality, gender, class, or—I would add—ability. Battis observes that the
Farscape
series is as much about our earthly culture as it is about science fiction fantasy:

[Crichton] learns to question who the ‘aliens' are in this story, and, by extension, to question and explore multiple versions of humanity available to him ... he quickly finds that certain ‘human' characteristics are able to save his life, while others appear ridiculous, even offensive, to the aliens with whom he makes contact [3].

Put another way, Crichton is no longer “normal.” While we in the spectatorial audience may most closely identify with Crichton as “normal” and “human,” although we are not all white heterosexual males, we sympathize with his amazement at finding himself denigrated to the status of a lesser species or lesser form of embodiment. Crichton is used to his body being the epitome of normality on his planet (again: male, white, heterosexual, and “able-bodied”). He is offended when D'Argo calls him “deficient.”

CRICHTON: Who are you calling deficient?

CHIANA: You. You've got the worst eyes of all of us. That's why your optic nerves aren't being affected.

CRICHTON: I got great eyes. They're better than 20/20 and they're blue!

AERYN: ... Excellent. If we're gonna let blue-eyes save the day, we'd better come up with a very good plan.

CRICHTON: I'm not deficient! I'm superior! Humans are superior!

Yet Crichton, this “superior” being, must be smeared with heat-deflecting paste, don special goggles, carry a shield, and be wrapped in solar-reflecting material in order to withstand his encounter with Traltixx's burning eye-rays. What is compelling about this scene is that Crichton understands that the need for this specialized equipment in no way reflects upon the worthiness of his body or the value he brings to Moya. It is simply what is required to enter and function in an environment that is hostile to him, much the same way that SCUBA gear allows non-aquatic creatures to exist for a period of time in an undersea world. Neither land nor sea creature is superior to the other, but the necessity to access a particular environment may render a being vulnerable or “inferior” within the parameters of that environment. Thus people who do not know sign language are functionally inarticulate in a group where that language is used; those who race on two legs will not be able to keep up with the speed of those who use racing wheelchairs; those same wheelchair users may succeed on the race course only to be disabled by architectural barriers in places as commonplace as a grocery store or post office; and, those whose manner of processing thoughts or sensory information is neuro-atypical may be disabled by attitudinal barriers in certain situations.

Crichton declares that “humans are superior,” but faithful fans of
Farscape
have learned early on that Crichton takes everything and everyone—including himself—with a healthy dose of humor and skepticism. This is the man who, upon meeting the inhabitants of Moya in the first episode of the series (“Premiere” 1.1), mutters, “E.T., my ass.” He realizes that he has been sold a bill of goods regarding the gentle, socially advanced alien stereotype of Spielberg's film. Rather, he encounters a baffling, irritating array of beings that can barely exist in the same room, let alone bring peace to the universe. In like manner, when people who identify as “normal” or “able-bodied” encounter those who are disabled (by society if not by impairment), they may respond in a manner similar to Crichton's.

“What's wrong with you people?” Crichton demands, as the alien crew interacts in ways for which Hollywood films such as
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1977) never prepared him. These are not aliens who apologize for their bodies or behaviors. Unlike the extraterrestrials in
Close Encounters,
who attempt to calm their hosts by assuming childlike forms, or the alien in
Contact
(1997) who appears as the human space-traveler Ellie's father, those in the
Farscape
universe are unapologetically themselves: farts, prehensile tongues, and all. In like manner, Crichton is dumbfounded to discover that his “evolved” species' embodiment and behavior are not considered any better than those of his disconcerting crewmates. This leads to conflict, but it also leads to tolerance and growth among the characters. Before heading into the chamber where Traltixx awaits, Crichton faces his fellow aliens and asks, “I look ridiculous, don't I?” Yes, he does. But he cannot resist pointing out the irony of the situation:

CRICHTON: Does this strike any of you superior beings as a little bit ironic?

CHIANA: Why?

CRICHTON: I'm the deficient one and I'm still saving your butts.

Crichton does succeed in killing Traltixx and saving his fellow crew members, but only with the help of the technology supplied by the others on Moya. Had it not been for the devices they provided, he would not have survived Traltixx's chamber. In this aspect, he shares a common bond with his nemesis, Scorpius, who is also dependent upon technology to keep him alive. Half Scarran, half Sebacean, Scorpius presents a tough exterior but is in reality a biologically fragile being: he is utterly dependent upon the cooling rods which have been inserted into his head to provide thermal constancy. Thus he, like Crichton, exists in great part due to the technology and accessibility provided by his society. Both are dependent upon the air that has been provided to them to breathe and the technological intervention that could be denied them at any moment.