Heroes: Ancient and Augured
By James Grahn
"William Boone's life has been destroyed. A man caught between two
worlds: assigned protector to the Companions; undercover agent for the
Liberation. An alien-implanted cybervirus expands his mind controlling
a bio-engineered weapon of unprecedented power. William Boone searches
for the truth."
--The Opening Monologue of Season One of Earth: Final Conflict
The heat of conflict forges heroes into something beyond mere humanity.
Faced with impossible odds, heroes summon their courage and talents to
protect what they hold dear. Heroes extend themselves to accomplish
great deeds while remaining true to their character, and remain true to
their nature until death. Two fictional characters, Beowulf
and Boone, provide excellent examples of heroism.
Beowulf, the hero of the story Beowulf, lived in hard times.
His quest begins when he learns of a mighty evil living in Hrothgar’s land.
Beowulf sails to his relative’s land seeking out this evil.
He displayed his initial courage by going forth into the unknown to destroy
evil.
William Boone, the hero of the first season of Earth: Final Conflict,
lived in times of uncertainty. Aliens had descended from the
heavens just three years ago, and their apparent benevolence had won nearly
everyone over. He led an ordinary life as a police officer
until someone killed his wife in a plot that involved those aliens.
Afterward, he sought her killer for revenge but ultimately surpassed his
desire for revenge and became involved in a broader goal, to learn the
purpose of the aliens’ visitation to Earth. Boone became a
double agent for the resistance, despite the personal danger in trusting
both sides with his life, which illustrates his bravery.
Beowulf displays determination in the face of defeat when cornered by Grendel’s
mother. When Grendel’s mother pinned him beneath his blade,
even when his own sword proved ineffective, Beowulf still persisted in
his courage and won the day. Beowulf also displayed this resoluteness
when confronted with the dragon. Even while he knew he would
die, he continued to fight the threat to his people and emerged the victor.
Boone displayed courage under fire on many occasions. In “Float
like a Butterfly” Boone faced a horde of butterflies altered by a alien
probe into killing machines. Despite their constant onslaught,
he maintained fire until he could bear it no more (his weapon drew power
from his body). Soon the residue from the dead butterflies
accumulated over the probe and formed a barrier to the probe’s transmission.
As Beowulf said, “Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is
good (Beowulf 105).”
Beowulf possessed great nobility. When he heard that Grendel
fought without armament, he decided to meet him on equal terms.
He also honored his family (according his custom) by setting forth to Hrothgar’s
kingdom at the very beginning of the tale.
Boone honored his wife’s memory when he rose above his hate to fight for
the truth. He displayed exemplary nobility and responsibility
when he brought a man back to the service of the aliens when he learns
that he would die otherwise. Though an agent of the resistance,
he consistently favored the aliens when he felt that they would handle
a situation with more responsibility or for the betterment of mankind.
Beowulf’s death stemmed from wounds he suffered from the dragon.
He fought the hoard-guard even after his sword broke. He even
slew the dragon after receiving the mortal blow.
Boone, too, died for his cause and remained in character until the end.
He received near mortal wounds when attempting to negotiate with a race
hostile to the Taelons. This event unfortunately put him in
a vulnerable situation, and one of his enemies, an alien, killed him.
Beowulf and Boone lived in very different times. Yet, disregarding
the insignificant (such as, both of their weapons had names), we can see
the true unifying characteristic of these characters, heroism.
Literature presents us with heroes so that we may observe our kind at its
best and, in doing so, gives us hope that we might one day exhibit such
righteousness. With such role models as Beowulf and Boone,
perhaps we have taken the first step.
WORKS CITED
Beowulf. Trans. E. Talbot Donaldson. Literature
and the Language Arts: The British Tradition. St. Paul:
Paradigm, 1996. 102-113
“Decision.” Writ. Gene Roddenberry. Earth: Final Conflict.
Dir. Allen Eastman. Tribune Entertainment. WTVW, Evansville.
(The week of) 6 Oct. 1997.
“Float Like a Butterfly.” Writ. Paul Gertz. Earth: Final
Conflict. Dir. Jeff Woolnough. Tribune Entertainment.
WTVW, Evansville. (The week of) 10 Nov. 1997.
“The Joining.” Writ. Paul Gertz and Jonas McCord. Earth:
Final Conflict. Dir. Neill Fearnley. Tribune Entertainment.
WTVW, Evansville. (The week of) 17 May 1998.
“Sandoval’s Run.” Writ. Paul Aitken. Earth: Final Conflict.
Dir. Milan Cheylov. Tribune Entertainment. WTVW, Evansville.
(The week of) 19 Jan. 1998.
“Truth.” Writ. Richard C. Okie and Raymond Hartung. Earth:
Final Conflict. Dir. Allen Eastman. Tribune Entertainment.
WTVW, Evansville. (The week of) 13 Oct. 1997.