Note: I think the best format for this essay would be the "raw" form, as a discussion between JKBBQ and myself. Also, neither I, nor JKBBQ, have seen Die Me Dichotomy, or any of the Liars, Guns, and Money trilogy, and neither of us read the spoiler posts, so we don't know if these theories are correct yet.
JKBBQ says:
Meantime, with a 'bit' of time on my hands, and a couple viewings of
MTC.... I've been thinking some on conspiracy theories. And I remember you
had one that went along the lines of 'I wonder what the level of
involvement the 'Scorpy Chip' had in the duplications of Crichton in MTC's.
My brain is now going along those same lines. First I kind of dismissed it,
but now I'm thinking that the Scorpy Chip could go a long way toward
explaining the attitude/thought processes of the 'future' version of
Crichton... IF in the duplication, it was 'future' Crichton who got the
chip, and 'past' Crichton who didn't. Anyway, also thinking about what the
'researchers' would have done upon receipt of the 'genetic sample'. ... And
what the 'result' might have been had they tried to 'reconstruct' the
original sample. Do any of your theories expand on that thought line?
30d954A says:
Holy cow! I NEVER thought of that! The Scorpy chip influencing the behavior of Future Crichton and not that of Caveman Crichton. Could this perhaps be one of the main reasons why Future Crichton (FC) wanted to stay out of the sphere, and Caveman Crichton (CC) wanted to go back in? We all know the Scorpy chip is a survival mechanism for Crichton, so FC might have really wanted to survive. Wanted to enough to attack everyone in order to survive. And CC didn't have the chip, so he knew taking himself anf FC back into the sphere was the right thing to do...
BUT WAIT! What if the chip in FC's brain was an EVOLVED FORM of the chip in John's brain? And the inverse--a devolved chip in CC's brain--would have to be true, then. You really struck gold with that one.
And... I'm sure you've seen or heard about the picture of a Scorpius look-alike that has Ben Browder's features that was on the cover of that magazine. Well, I'm also sure you know that the last episode is going to be called Die Me Dichotomy, or, in other words, the Me Division (or, as I prefer for some reason, the Day of My Dividing). Now, what if the Day of John's Dividing did NOT occur after LGM3, but when the sphere invaded Moya in MTC? John was kind of divided, there, what with FC and CC wandering around as well. NOW, you said in your e-mail, "Anyway, also thinking about what the 'researchers' would have done upon receipt of the 'genetic sample'. ... And what the 'result' might have been had they tried to 'reconstruct' the original sample." And we also know that Scorpius put himself, or a replica thereof, in the chip in John's head, as revealed in WGFA. NOW, what if the SPHERE, in an attempt to RECONSTRUCT John Crichton, created a REPLICA of same, with Scorpius's characterists? That would surely explain the cover of that magazine. And it would truly make "Die Me Dichotomy" an apt title.
Another thought is that there could now be two other Scorpy chips somewhere in the universe, and something might happen to Scorpius that would cause him to go chasing after the probe instead of the real John.
And of course, the general feeling around the bb is that something REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD (caps for emphasis) is going to happen in LGM2:WFLT, and continue on to LGM3:PB and DMD.
Oh, and I just BET you that the subtitle for LGM2, "With Friends Like These", features someone (Probably Chiana, but maybe Aeryn--see http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/984/37815) betraying someone else (probably John).
JKBBQ says:
Explains a lot of Crichton's behavior as well. And 'future Crichton's'
statement about: "He wasn't worth saving. ... Come on, Johnny.... don't
tell me you didn't think that? ... I can see 'a part' of you still thinks
that." (and I go--> OMG!! Crap!!!!!).
And RIGHT! The fact that Future Crichton got the chip, or perhaps as you
say, the 'evolved' chip, his sense of Survivial overwhelmed Crichton's own
inherent 'goodguyness' and really had nothing at all to do with the fact
that the man himself was a 'more evolved' version. And this is what allowed
'past Crichton' to behave in a way that Crichton himself NORMALLY would
have. "I always thought of myself as a good guy, Chiana." -- I love that,
and he IS a good guy, but not when the Scorpy personality is overshadowing
his own!
Man! I just can't help but feel this episode is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT that
we initially thought. So many people dismissed it as, stunt storytelling!
LOL! And maybe it was. Only time will tell, I guess.
30d954A says:
I think it's possible that we are on to something correct with MTC. Unfortunately, I don't have it on tape. But I think MTC is a way more important episode than it was made out to be. Especially with the Scorpy chip and stuff. Do you remember if anyone said the same thing after the initial airing of, say, TGAS? Or PKTG? I mean, PKTG might have been a kind of seemingly single-episode dealie (from what I remember about it), but Gilina was PIVOTAL to the finale (what I'll call the NGB (New Gammack Base) Quartet, for lack of a better name). And besides, we've already established that the writers anticipated TWWW when they wrote TGAS, so why shouldn't they be anticipating far into S-3 when they wrote MTC? You know what amazes me? That The Farscape Writers are able to cram so many things into just an hour of show. Hey, do you know what the first episode Jothee was mentioned in, was?
And I think the idea that Future Crichton seemed to cold because the Scorpy chip had a tougher hold on him really fits. Whereas Caveman Crichton didn't have the chip, so he was selfless. He wanted everyone else to survive, not him. The Scorpy chip is a means for John's survival. A way to keep the wormhole information receptacle INTACT until Scorpius can finally get it and open it up, as it were.