Prophecies for those that should know better
By RazzaTazz 15 Comments
Prophecies are a weird thing when they get applied to science fiction. In terms of the literal meaning of a prophecy, it is essentially the word of a god which gets sent to a prophet. In more general terms it is often used to give a sense of meaning more along the lines of a premonition or a prognostication, but to give it a certain amount of extra value (plus maybe to sound more menacing.) What is interesting though is that two intergalactic bodies of highly advanced beings – the Guardians of Oa and the Jedi High Council – were both depicted as falling for a prophecy. In both cases the prophecy gets acted upon and in a sort of reverse of the grandfather principle of time travel (as in don’t travel back in time and kill your grandfather) the powerful beings set themselves up directly into the path of ruin by actually listening to the prophecy. In the case of the Jedis this is the collapse of the Republic and the rise of Darth Vader. In the case of the Guardians, this is the enactment of new rules for the Book of Oa which eventually lead to the events of Blackest Night. Still the question remains, why would these people who have such amazing scientific insight resort to something far more religious in nature. Of course there are aspects of religion for both the Jedi and the Guardians. The Jedi maintain a philosophy which some say borders on religion while the Guardians understanding of the emotional spectrum goes beyond that of only science. It is still not fair to abandon science in such a way, it is akin to that kid in the not so good movie Lady in the Water, that can read prophecies off of cereal boxes. With such an “expert” at the helm it takes away from the ability to control one’s future which the two groups advocate more than listening to superstitious predictions.
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