Otis Lou Bohr wrote:

(and sorry for the duplicate copy. I'm an old dog, I can't seem to learn new tricks.)

At 05:33 PM 6/13/01 -0400, Susan Beth wrote:

...

In fact, Fox Mulder is given as one of the examples for The Lost Soul (Scully is a Librarian)

...which you say corresponds with the male "Professor"...further fodder for my (Avon == Scully) hypothesis! (;-p)

Yes, I could see Blake and Avon as Mulder & Scully....of course, the plots would change a lot. Blake's not nearly as prone to mournful kicked-puppy-dog passive suffering as Mulder, and far more likely to aggressively go after the conspirators openly and publicly. Which probably would get him snuffed rather quickly.

Well, not having read the book in question, nor being particularly well-versed in the Psychology of Avon, I hesitate to dispute this, even though I feel inclined to (but I will argue that if delusions of morality are a prerequisite for Lost Soulhood surely Travis is even *less* qualified than Avon--Travis' motivation for revenge (against Blake, the Federation, humanity) being "you hurt *me*").

I think I phrased that point badly. The 'morality' hasn't to do with what the Lost Soul himself does, it's that he feels the world/some set of it has broken the rules in dealing with *him*. He thinks he has suffered unjustly, had something stolen from him, been cheated out of what should have been his, and so on.

This attitude comes out clearly in "Trial" -- Travis feels his actions were justified, right, what the military taught him to do and *wanted* him to do, but that they are now hanging him out to dry for reasons political and personal. He's aggrieved. [Is that almost a pun?] So the world/humanity has hurt HIM, so to hell with the world/humanity.

I think it also applies to his feelings against Blake's crippling him. Sure, Blake was fighting back, but Travis was Just Doing His Job while Blake was the miscreant. Surely natural justice requires Blake to be the one to suffer/die/get maimed, not himself. (From Travis' POV, that is.)

I don't see that attitude in Avon. He was consciously breaking the rules, and accepts that his punishment was deserved -- though probably more for his mistakes in relying on the wrong people and whatever he did/didn't do that got him caught, I don't mean he feels guilty over the attempted theft itself. He doesn't feel angry or betrayed by the system/humanity/whatever, just annoyed that he failed to played the game well enough to win.

Come on, some Avon expert out there, support my case. I mean look at me, I'm talkin' about Avon! I'm this close to converting! Don't you want me on your team? Huh? Huh?

Hmmm. Okay, we'll take Penny, but that means you guys have to take the fat kid.

Susan Beth (susanbeth33@mindspring.com)