Fringe: Flowers for Algernon
There is a Classic Science Fiction short story that was expanded into a novella about a mentally retarded man named Charlie who is experimented on by a Transhumanist who is much like the Walters of the Red and Green Universes. Charlie becomes supersmart and does science even better than his Transhumanist Creator and falls in love and then the bottom falls out. Making Charlie supersmart and accelerating his thinking processes has accelerated his mortality. He will soon deteriorate back into senility and death in a very short time. Of course, he realizes this all too late to do anything to stop or retard it. Bye, bye Charlie.
The name of the story is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The Algernon in the title of the story is a rat who underwent the same process as Charlie. Only first and faster.
Here is Fringe's Algernon, I could call him Charlie, but the name of Algernon has that added air of inflated importance and intelligence. And besides, we have a Charlie on the show.
There is Charlie in the background drinking the red Kool Aide of the Red Universe with Agent Lee. But Charlie won't be drinking that Kool Aide long. Like Charlie in the short story, Charlie is beginning to think outside of the box especially in regards to Olivia. I hope that that doesn't get him killed in the Red Universe.
There is a lot of screwing around with the natural order of the Human Beings on Fringe.
It is called Transhumanism.
From the link:
The most radical countercultural spin-off of postmodernism, transhumans challenge collective assumptions about what it is to be human. Their endeavors are a kind of fusion between the futurism of Arthur C. Clarke and the liberalism of Ayn Rand.
"the liberalism of Ayn Rand" ↷ WTF? Miss Rand is no liberal. You might, perhaps, want to find another link about Transhumanism. This one doesn't appear to be capable of getting the definition right.
Practitioners of Transhumanism
The Leading Proponents and Practitioners of Transhumanism on Fringe are:
- Walternate
- William Bell
- Walter Bishop.
Here is Walternate chuckling evilly with RedBroyles about his iniquitous plans for Our Olivia.
And here is Algernon, who too, had a malevolent plan for Our Olivia's demise. But she foiled his plan.
Because she is Our Olivia.
All these Evil MasterMinds just can't take Ordinary and Plain Humanism into account.
Next up for Our Olivia, the Deprivation Chamber. Oh Walternate, that may prove to be the Chamber of Horrors for you. Our Olivia has mastered that mind control technique in Our Universe.
Calculating in the Red Universe
The Red Universe doesn't make a move without an Applied Probabilitist like Red Astrid.
Red Astrid stands at her console and runs off all the probable possibilities for all the actions of the Fringe team. Like that is going to cover their asses. RedAstrid, let me introduce you to Algernon.
He is a Calculating Fool too. And look where that brought him to, the Looney Bin.
Walter over-calculated and ended up in the Looney Bin too.
You might want to put that variable in your differential equations, Red Astrid.
Does RedAstrid have Aspberger's syndrome?
Notice Algernon's fingers as he calculates his probabilities instead of actually living his life.
That horse is Algernon running free in the Field of Vectors and Eigenvalues.
Now notice Our Olivia's hands as she contemplates Algernon and what all his calculations showed her.
Our Olivia is the Butterfly in the Red Universe's Chaos Theory. Our Olivia is making calculations of her own. Does the Red Universe have Chaos Theory?
Our Olivia is still here, well not here in our universe, but in the Red One.
Digression: I am not a big fan of the Peter and Olivia pairing and I am offended that a strong, independent woman such as Our Olivia must use a man, and one of a different universe, to tell her that she is still whole somewhere in her head. That should have been Rachel, Our Olivia's sister, who spoke to her in this scene. It was set up earlier when Our Olivia spoke to Algernon's sister about their relationship and her relationship with her sister. That mirror scene, see the title picture of this post, would lead naturally to Rachel discussing Our Olivia's integration in the Red Universe. Peter has been shoe horned into this scene. He hasn't known Our Olivia that long or that intimately. Rachel has.
I understand that the Fringe Writers might want to go for the Great Transcending Love of All Universes with Peter and Our Olivia, but I do not approve or want that. Why does a woman, such as Our Olivia, have to Do All For Love? What Tripe! Our Olivia is NOT Madame Bovary. She is not some weak and clinging woman. Our Olivia Kicks Ass and Shoots Bad Guys! Show some respect for Women, Fringe Writers.
And then show some respect for your story and characters. Don't force what isn't natural to the story. Let the Peter and Olivia Friendship develop organically not Transhumanically.
Peculiarities of the Red Universe
There are Oxygen Black Holes in the Red Universe. Is this Pollution? Or Industrial Pollution? Or Natural?
Smallpox has not been eradicated from the Red Universe.
Hey Walternate, instead of wrapping Peter in some Transformer's Outfit, why not send people with Smallpox to our Universe. There is no immunity here anymore or vaccines. Outbreaks all over the world would be as frightening and as lethal as the Anthrax attack of 2001 was. There are a lot of ways to fight a war.
Why does Agent Lee remind me of John Scott?
And last of all,
Is the Red Universe....
in Lucifer's Cage?????
Don't worry Dean, Our Olivia has your back.
Screen Caps by Me, because some people won't get off their lazy asses and do them