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“But anyonedoesn’thave the Force. It’s rare. It’s still special. It just doesn’t have to run in families or be the exclusive property of rich, privileged people.”
“Hmm,” he said, to cover the fact that she was blowing his mind. “Those children on Canto Bight inThe Last Jedi. They were slaves, effectively. Nobodies, as you say. Yet there was a hint that they had the Force.”
“Yes. Exactly. Give the Force to the people.”
On the one hand, this was an odd sentiment coming from this elite management consultant. He knew what Morneau was paying her firm. But now that he knew her better, perhaps it wasn’t so odd. “Regardless of one’s opinion on the last film, there was certainly a storytelling error when you consider the arc of episodes seven through nine.” He was sidestepping the actual topic, but honestly, he needed some time to process her argument. Not to mention the fact that he was sitting in a hot spring analyzing Star Wars with Cara Delaney, whom he had thought of, not so long ago, as the angel of doom.
“There sure as hell was.”
“It was as if no one bothered to plan the whole thing from the get-go.” Thathadbothered him, even if it hadn’t detracted from his enjoyment of any individual film.
“Exactly.”
“Cara, is this the first time we’ve enthusiastically agreed on something?”
She grinned and moved herself up to a higher spot to sit, putting her torso out of the water. “I think it is.”
He watched the steam rise off her skin and thought back to her lack of surprise when he professed his affection for episode nine. “For the record, it wasn’t Rey’s bloodlines, as you called them, that made me likeThe Rise of Skywalker. It was the plot twist. I didn’t see it coming.” He paused, wondering if he should vocalize the rest. He cared what she thought of him, but he wasn’t sure he wanted her toknowthat he cared what she thought of him. Well, hell. “I don’t want you to think I’m a mindless monarchist.”
“How can you not be a monarchist, given your job?”
“Iama monarchist. But it’s not because I think the royal family is somehow better than everyone else. I don’t believe in divine kings.”
“See, that’s what I always wonder. It’s hard to imagine any modern person believing that. But you kind of have to, don’t you? If you don’t believe in the divine right of kings, what’s so special about the king? What gives him moral—or actual—authority?”
“It actually isn’t about the king, Emil specifically or kings in general—or queens. I know that sounds strange, but bear with me. It’s not that Emil is rich or blue-blooded; it’s that he happensto be in line. It isn’t about him, it’s about the consistency and value of the tradition.” He eyed her, waiting for her to object.
Instead, she asked a good question. “What if everyone in Eldovia put their names in a hat, and you pulled one out every twenty years, and there you go, there’s your next monarch.”
He considered it. One thing he’d learned about Cara was that she often had interesting new ways of looking at things—witness the Rey discussion earlier. “I think I’d be fine with that. It sounds like the Dalai Lama, in fact.”
“But isn’t there some kind of divine thing going on there, too? The old divine dude is reincarnated in the baby divine dude? And itisalways a dude. I’m not knocking it, but it’s not exactly a shining example of populist power sharing.”
“You’re right. My larger point is that I’m fine with your hypothetical scenario, as long as the randomly selected monarch upholds the nation’s traditions. It’s the traditions I care about—the nation—not the person. The person is a symbol.”
“Hmm.” She nodded as if she didn’t think his position ridiculous, and she was staring off into space as she did so. Perhapssheneeded time to processhisinsights. Eventually, she returned her attention to him. “Well, anyway, Star Trek is the vastly superior space franchise.”
“Because it’s the anti-monarchist space show?” He smiled.
She did, too. “Maybe. It’s also interesting from a management-consulting point of view.”
He shot her a skeptical look.
“Seriously!” she protested. “So many different leadership styles!”
“Yes, I suppose. Don’t they say Kirk was the heart and Spock was the brain or something along those lines?”
“Yes, yes, but beyond the archetypal characters of the original series, there are so many interesting questions about how to work together, when to question authority, all that stuff.”
“Allow me to turn your previous question back to you: Which is your favorite incarnation of Star Trek?”
“Voyager,” she said vehemently. “Which is funny, because Spock is my all-time favorite character. How often is a character created that is so entirely different from anything we’ve seen before, yet also so entirely himself? But favorite show?Voyager, even though I’m aware that objectively speaking, it isn’t the best of them.”
“Why is it your favorite even if it’s not the best and it doesn’t have Spock?”
“Because of Captain Janeway. It was the first show with a woman captain. It’s kind of embarrassing, but my kid self found her completely inspiring.”
“I don’t think there’s any call to be embarrassed. That sounds rather logical to me.”
