An interesting thing happens when stories are told about more “evolved” humans: if you tell them for long enough, they get boring. The characters can be too good. The audience—people with flaws—loses the ability to relate. It’s easy to idealize for a moment or two, but there are only so many different ways you can spin a tale of infallible people.
So what do we need? A villain. Someone to represent the worst of humanity. Exaggerated flaws, yes, but flaws that we’ve experienced firsthand in our own lives—things that we can relate to and understand.
Now, to prove both my nerdiness and the assertions found in the previous paragraphs, I shall provide two examples, each from some of my favorite Science Fiction universes.
The first is the Ferengi from Star Trek. They were originally introduced to be the new big bad—the danger lurking behind every plot in the galaxy… something scarier and brainier than the blade-wielding Klingons. But it didn’t go that way. Regardless of what was planned off camera, they came across as goofy, laughable nitwits.
Instead of scrapping the characters, however, the writers decided to develop them into something that represented the worst of capitalism. In the Star Trek universe, humans have evolved beyond the need for money, so there was no easy way to tell stories centered around greed… and greed is an easy thing to relate to. We’ve all, at some point in our lives, wanted more of something.
A Ferengi’s entire life was built around profit. Their holy book is called “The Rules of Acquisition.” And when they die, if they were a good Ferengi, their soul goes to “The Divine Treasury.” Oh, and they’re almost all cowards. When good, upstanding troops march into battle, Ferengi squeal and run in the opposite direction.
Despite their ugliness and deplorable natures, people identified with them.
My second example is Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars. If you watch Episodes I – III, there are plenty of bad folks in the galaxy, but very few of them are relatable. The Trade Federation, much like my previous example of the Ferengi, serves, in some ways, as a “greed archetype,” driven entirely by profit and corporate avarice… but they’re not developed in an accessible way. And while there are several planets with less-than-optimal conditions (like Tatooine), many of the scenes on Naboo feel rather utopian—a refined senate of upstanding people who solve all their problems by talking to each other.
Plus, our main characters are Jedi—basically, space monks who stay truly good and police everyone to be better. The Jedi and Sith were so far apart on the moral spectrum that neither was relatable.
And then Anakin came along. He wanted to be good—he tried to be good—but he ended up being bad. Despite his Jedi training, Anakin felt real human emotions like fear. And when people hurt him or the ones he loved, he wanted to hurt them back. He went for revenge on more than one occasion.
In a world filled with Jedi, Anakin was more understandable.
And if you think about it, you’re probably more of a Sith than a Jedi.
Good morning and happy Monday, friends!
Early in the week, Selene and I went to Eataly and sampled their “Summer of Pesto” experience menu. It was delicious.
Yeah, that’s a pesto pizza!
I got some new books in the mail, which you’ll be hearing about pretty soon.
And I had a really great conversation with Stacey Willians-Ng.
Here’s the planned scheduled for M3 episodes: this week, Heron Michelle. The episode is almost done… just a couple more days for me to get it posted! Next, Nicholas Pearson… and then Stacey Williams-Ng. I’m really excited to share all of these with you! They were all excellent conversations.
On Friday, I volunteered at a local botanical garden. There were cats there, so it felt like home.
I spent most of the day putting tiny plants into slightly bigger pots. The work was simple and repetitive, but it was nice to disconnect from screens for a while. I took a baby mugwort home with me… because how can you be surrounded by plants all day and not leave with one?
Friday night was coven. We had a wonderful ritual.
On Saturday, Selene and I finally obtained a new vehicle, replacing the one that was stolen a couple of months ago. Car shopping is always a horrible experience, but we needed to get it done before the summer ended. I’m just glad it’s over (the car shopping part, not the summer).
On Sunday morning, we had cinnamon rolls.
I took a nap with Loki.
And we ended the day by trying a new hot pot restaurant.
For today, I must resume my video editing. After all, I did promise you a new M3 episode this week.
That’s all for now, but stay tuned for more soon!
Aerik Arkadian 
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