The Taelon Commonality

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The Taelon Commonality is a phenomenon which occurs in the science fiction television series Earth: Final Conflict. The Commonality is a psychic link between all Taelons, a race of humanoid aliens.

The alien race called the Taelons (or Companions, as they are called in early seasons) are bound together by a psychic link with all other Taelons at all times. This link is known as the Commonality. Relatively little is revealed about the Commonality, this is partly due to the subtle nuances of Taelon phrasing (rarely lying, but often only giving part of the truth), the difficulty in trying to explain such a concept in understandable language, the need to keep the deeply spiritual Taelons mysterious and alien.

The Commonality is not a group mind per se, Taelons have individual personalities and minds, and the Commonality is referred to as "collective sentience". While Taelons can, in some cases, detect lies or actions through the Commonality (as when Da'an discovers that Zo'or has murdered William Boone), the Commonality does not generally allow Taelons to read each others' minds.

Humans with significant psychic abilities have been able to touch the Commonality. Since the Taelons consider the Commonality sacred and pure, they have not responded well to what they perceive as a potential invasion.

In the third season episode "Time Bomb", Da'an implies that every Taelon who ever existed continues to exist within the Commonality. This implies that Taelons, who have a more tangible connection to their spirit selves, do continue to exist in some form, conscious or otherwise, after their physical bodies die.

Renee Palmer and Liam Kincaid refer to the Commonality as being a "virtual plane" upon which the Taelons commune. If a Taelon's connection to this plane is severed, then they revert to an "Atavus"; an ancient life-form from which the Taelons themselves evolved. This term is problematic, as the term has been applied to three visually distinct and separate species over the course of the series. The Atavus have active shaqarava an organ situated in the palm of the hand, which they use to drain life-force from any prey that they hunt. The Taelons do not consider anyone who has fallen from the Commonality to remain Taelon. Interestingly, the psychic link can be damaged or broken by technological interference, as shown when the computer genius Augur accidentally separates Da'an from his brethren. Active shaqarava are required to reconnect a Taelon's consciousness to the Commonality, therefore the Taelons are incapable of restoring the link, though a Kimera can do it.

In the fifth season, a single Taelon survives - Ra'jel. He does not degenerate into an atavistic state. He is said to be the first Taelon and the "sire of the Synod" (the Synod being the Taelon ruling body) and that he contains the entire Commonality of the Taelon race within him. As far as anything in the final season is implied, it is implied that, as the first Taelon, he is the only member of his species to have never needed other Taelons to bond with.

The future of the Commonality is uncertain, while it still exists, there is but a single Taelon left.

Characteristics

• The basis of the Commonality is a psychic link between all Taelons.
• Taelons cannot voluntarily sever their link to the Commonality.
• There is great comfort in the Commonality in knowing you are never alone.
• As a part of the Commonality, Taelons can never act against the interests of the majority of Taelons even when they know the majority is wrong.
• They are governed by a set of rules.
• Taelon children are more dependent on the Commonality than are the individual parents.
• Each Taelon has a Commonality frequency that can be tapped into but the results are almost deadly for the Taelons. They revert to a primitive state known as the Atavus when their connection to the Commonality is broken. This creature is vampire like, draining the life force from their victims in order to reshape flesh.

Da'an

Da'an

Da'an is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Earth: Final Conflict, played by Leni Parker. He is a member of the Taelon race, an androgynous race of energy beings. Da'an stands apart from most Taelons in his divided loyalties and appreciation for humanity's many attributes.

History

Not much is known about Da'an's history, since most of his two-thousand-plus years have been spent elsewhere. However, we do know that he has been a member of the diplomatic caste and a war tactician for much of that time, as well as being the last Taelon to successfully reproduce, which created Zo'or. He has been unswervingly, fiercely loyal to his people in their fight against the Jaridians.

That unswerving loyalty began to shake when he arrived on Earth, where he became the Companion to North America. In this position, he has more influence than even the President, and certainly more public popularity. Da'an enjoys the mass adulation of most of the Earth's population, for his ethereal appearance and kind demeanor, as well as his willingness to use his race's scientific knowledge to help humankind.

His life changes when a sniper seemingly tries to shoot him, and hits megamogul Jonathan Doors instead. Da'an is deeply troubled by this event, but he is also impressed by police captain William Boone, with whom he feels a deep bond. He invites Boone to join them as an implant, but Boone refuses. After his wife's tragic death, Da'an offers again, and Boone refuses... until the human Resistance movement recruits him. Da'an is greatly pleased by the addition of this new implant, and grows closer to Boone until the latter's untimely death. While Da'an teaches Boone about Taelon culture and language, Boone begins to change Da'an's mind about humanity's strength, spirit and compatibility with the Taelon race. These changes have a profound impact on them both.

At Boone's funeral, Da'an is saved from a killer probe by alien hybrid Liam Kincaid, whom he is intrigued by. He takes Liam on as his protector, and forms a sort of parent-child relationship with him, partly out of his liking for the young, brash hybrid and partly out of repentance. This situation climaxes after Da'an's horrific transformation into an Atavus. Liam reveals his part-alien heritage when he saves Da'an, and subsequently takes Da'an down to the Resistance HQ. Out of sympathy to their motives, Da'an does not reveal their location.

This also adds to Da'an's desire to keep relations between humanity and the Taelon Synod – headed by his offspring Zo'or – from becoming too rocky. He challenges Zo'or several times, and is nearly killed by him on a few occasions. But Da'an also begins to worry that he is abandoning his own kind, and attempts to regain Zo'or's trust. He also finds the relationship with Liam Kincaid becoming increasingly difficult, as his own divided loyalties begin to trouble him. Despite this friction, Da'an cares deeply for his protector, and would never willingly put his protector in the way of harm. However, he frequently puts himself on the line, in the interest of helping his own kind to survive – even to the point of repeatedly endangering his life.

Family

It is not known if Da'an has had a mate, or even if Taelons require mates in order to reproduce. His parentage is also unknown.

The exact number of Da'an's offspring is not known. He has several who, due to lack of core energy, are in a sort of comatose state. He has at least one living adult child, Zo'or, with whom he has an antagonistic relationship. Despite this, he loves Zo'or deeply and even implicates himself in a murder that he believes Zo'or has committed. He also later shares his life-force with Zo'or, to keep his child from entering a deathlike sleep. He is willing to forgive all of Zo'or's personal transgressions, and cares deeply for Zo'or's well being.

Though they are not truly related, he shares a similar relationship with the newborn Liam Kincaid. Though he also clashes with Liam, Da'an cares for the young man, teaching and guiding him.

Personality

Da'an is a complex creature, full of contradictions and difficult divisions. He is a loyal Taelon who is desperate to save his species, yet he has an abiding love for humanity. While he has taken part in great injustices, he has a great love of fairness and justice. While he is peaceful by nature, he shows a temper at time.

Da'an is deeply nostalgic and gains strength from the beauty of his lost homeworld, as well as his appreciation for humans' creation of beauty as well, and their love of freedom. He also is extremely capable in a crisis, bringing his Taelon serenity to the fore when he feels others need his help. When pilot Lili Marquette is severely injured in a crash, Da'an creates a camp, bandages her injuries with a piece of exocovering, and roasts small animals for her to eat.

Despite his great age, Da'an has a childlike liking for new experiences, such as being immortalized in a 3-D artwork. He also becomes excited when he sees Liam Kincaid's attraction to a young artist, and attempts to help bring them together.

Appearance

Da'an's appearance is that of a small, slender humanoid with a bald head and no gender-specific characteristics. His voice is pitched too low for a woman and too high for a man, adding to his androgynous appearance (exactly how he produced Zo'or is open to speculation). His eyes are a brilliant cobalt blue, and his skin ranges from pale human tones to pure white. He wears an "exocovering," ranging from black to purplish-blue, which apparently acts like a second skin.

In reality, Da'an has few of these characteristics – like all Taelons, he is primarily made of energy, and a little matter mixed in. He is actually translucent and made out of channels of glowing blue energy, with some vestigial characteristics like eyes and mouth. Since he is primarily energy, Da'an cannot be injured by bullets or knives, although these can pierce his exocovering and rip it.

About the blog

This blog is about the final coflict on earth ...

Earth: Final Conflict is a Canadian science fiction television series based on story ideas created byGene Roddenberry, and produced under the guidance of his widow, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. However, it was not produced, filmed, or aired until after his death. It aired for 5 seasons between 6 October 1997 and20 May 2002.

The original title for the show was Battleground: Earth, but the producers changed it because it sounded too much like L. Ron Hubbard's novel, Battlefield Earth. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was the Executive Producer. She also appeared in some early episodes as the character Dr. Julianne Belman. Barrett was in possession of notes Roddenberry kept of story and series ideas; after his death, these notes provided the basis for this series. Another posthumous creation of Roddenberry's is Andromeda.