One brief scene that I had some confusion about is the one near the end, in which Trevor is taking the supposedly flu-ridden Aeon back to Bregna in that walking-vehicle thing. Trevor: "I appologize for the bumpy ride, Aeon. Are you feeling better?" Aeon then seems to mumble something like, "I don't know," with a wierd look on her face, but I'm not even sure that this is what she says. Soon after, it appears that the Monicans attack, and explosions go off, but it looks like they don't even get near the vehicle, and then the interior of the thing starts flashing, and Aeon is dead again. This could be easily explained by just suggesting that the Monicans blew it up, but somehow the whole thing seems more mysterious than that, especially Aeon's comment, whatever it was. It all just seems odd for some reason. Is it even worth debating?

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 20, 1998

Answers

Chronophasia is my favorite episode of the series. Thus I have given it much in the way of interpetation and analysis. Your question can only be answered if yet an another question is brought to light. While most of the Aeon Flux episodes are based on symbolisim and parallel's in situations, this one seems to be different. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly, but as you may have heard this is the only episode that Peter Chung had nothing to do with. I'm not sure but I think it may be that this episode is more of a puzzle. A puzzle of what is up for debate (the puzzle may be trying to figure out whats going on). The entire episode revolves around the boy, he is the vocal point, and seems to be controling the events to meet his own ends. I think he is a omniscient, omnipotent being who exist outside of time; and since he exist outside of time, he may have created himself. Think of it this way, at one time or other, while Peter Chung was sleeping off a bad cold, lying somewhere drunk, or tripping on acid, he formulated Aeon Flux in his thoughts; and thus after that point in time Aeon existed(in the form of a thought), created by Mr. Chung(her God?). This boy, who exist outside time, brought himself into being by thinking of himself "before" he existed(he could do that since time is meaningless to him). This is supported by him saying that the dead were "unborn" and that he was waiting "forever", and that he was "always" waiting for Aeon. Why Aeon kept "dying" and reserecting in the caveren is a very debateble subject. Personally I think the boy was simply showing Aeon the many different outcomes of the event. When a situation became dangerous or deadly, the boy "killed" her. When she "died" in the vehical, I don't think she died(I can be wrong) but the event was merely "resetted". Does anyone have any thoughts on Aeon breaking the vial? I believe the boy, in a way, was a product of the virus(a pure speculation... maybe it gave him the ability to create himself?) and by breaking the vial it showed Aeon "giving in" to his wish for a mother(Omnipotent beings don't have mommies). Aeon became a part of his reality. The "real" Aeon may or may not have stayed, she might have gone back to her daily schedual of terrorism and seduction, but a part of Aeon will always be with the boy (Much like the Nexus in Star Trek Generations). I might be way off and have too much imagination, but I would like to read other opinions.

-- Tak Loufer (Tak@loufer.bellona), August 20, 1998.

I got the impression that the boy and the vial had nothing to do with each other, at least initially. Perhaps the vial became important only because it was an item of desire for Aeon and Trevor. Thus, it only is connected with the boy in Aeon's mind, perhaps? Perhaps the boy does what he does upon Aeon's breaking the vial because he requires her to forget the importance of material possessions? She believes that the vial is the center of the whole cherade, but perhaps the boy knows that it isn't and is leading her to the truth by eventually bringing her to destroy the vial. Almost like how Zen teachers break down their student's abstract minds to get to the core of things. The vial is unimportant and in the end, Aeon realizes this. In fact, this zen connection seems to show up earlier as well, when the boy is naming off meaningless statements (during Aeon's "Costume change").

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 20, 1998.

Zen also says that the perception of time, and as a result, time itself (as the perception is all that exists) does not exist. This boy is starting to remind me of a zen monk :)

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 20, 1998.

It does seem to fit better that the boy and the virus are unrelated things. The virus may be merely a experement gone wrong and the boy just happens to be "there". Maybe the boy is God?(if thats true maybe we should call Him "The Boy" :). Perhapse the Universe is his play thing, a sorce of entertainment, and so is Aeon. A need or desire for maternal love?.... am I stretching? any thoughts?

-- Tak Loufer (Tak@loufer.bellona), August 20, 1998.

I think in this case it's best (for me anyway) to leave this question to mystery... I think the main thing about the boy is that he is some kind of symbol, and exists purely for that reason alone, so I won't speculate. But if I were, I'd say he's a manifestation of god or something. I still consider him to be a symbol more than anything else.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 20, 1998.

One of the things I like about Chronophasia is the ending. It gives a slight taste of a world beyond Aeon Flux - a more normal world where Aeon's adventures are the daydreams of a young kid. Aeon is in this episode pushing the limits of fiction. She is glimpsing the reality behind her stories - her existence in our world as the nondescript mother of an imaginative child.

-- Charles Martin (charmaine@dfn.com), August 26, 1998.

Just a thought in response to the answer given above: What if the entire series is the daydreams of this boy who idolizes his mother? and the ending of the episode shows that - Aeon, in her most shocking form, as a normal woman. I know it's not likely, and far-fetched, but you never know. Maybe that's why Chung chose not to participate with this episode (besides the fact that this episode portrays Aeon in linear conjuntion with every other episode.)

-- TGoodchild (LaTiNcAt16@aol.com), August 27, 1998.

ok, but how about this? The boy is more than just a symbol, he is a being, just one that is unlike us. To say that time doesn't exist for him seems to miss the point a little. He says to Aeon "my time is not your time", thus implying that time does exist for him, but on another level. The bulk of the episode is the boy trying to demonstrate to Aeon that her concept of time is very arbitrary. The thing seems to be that the Boy doesn't see time as a linear entity as we (and Aeon) do. If we think of time as a straight ribbon along which we move in one direction, the Boy seems to relate to time as if the ribbon were crumpled up and piled up on itself; therefore, moving from point to point in time, or not moving through time at all, would be relatively effortless, a simple act of will. He tries to show this to Aeon by allowing her to experience a brief timeframe several times, each one different, but she can not or does not understand the point of what is happening to her ("the waker sleeps", also an interesting time-based paradox). By the end, he tries to force-feed the concept into her brain by showing her that all things in all times ("a brain tumor and an icecream sundae") exist simultaneously, and that linear time is just our way of seeing it so that it can be understood. He shows this to her as well by making her all of the things she is/was/could be/might be/is connected with at the same time (cowgirl/knight/Joan of Arc type person, etc). It is, of course, too much for her mind to grasp, and very nearly tears her mind apart. (think of it like someone shoving the entire North American economic system into the coin slot of a Coke machine). This is the realization that Aeon sees Trevor having made ("time is in our minds"), and the one that leaves her in something of a stupor when Trevor finally finds her.

-- alex (meat_machine@hotmail.com), November 08, 1998.

I don't know if this has been discussed in detail yet (I'm "new" here), but can anyone tell me their take on the meaning/significance of the very end of the episode?

Personally I found that scene both incredibly "comforting" (for lack of a better word), and devastatingly stark and lonely. Seeing Fon sitting in her car as a typical current-day mother taking her son to a baseball game - such an ordinary, mundane existance - the kind of life most of us live now. That's in such brutal contrast with the life of Monican Enforcer Fon Flux, who's lived through so much and seen and done everything. Fought countless battles, seen incredible sights, created history and danced with death in such a bizzare era. It gives the feeling of a melancholy ending to a vast, sweeping, epic story that collapses down to near nothing as the heroine contentedly settles down to a life of anonymity. From terrorist and cold-blooded killer to a mother and your next door neighbour. What if the two Fons could see each other, what would they think of their alternate life? Is a wonderfully ordinary and happy life all she would really want if she had the choice? Is this what the boy wants? The mind boggles, but tell me what you think...

-- oopsmaster (k_d_y@hotmail.com), November 08, 1998.

...created history and danced with death in such a brassiere?

Note to self: Read more slowly. :-)

-- Philip Mills (philip.mills@cableinet.co.uk), November 13, 1998.

Yes, that too! An understandable error. You've got to stop reading with a pic of her nearby... ;)

-- oopsmaster (k_d_y@hotmail.com), November 15, 1998.

...and what if our suburban mom-next-door Aeon is married to...Trevor Goodchild? Now that would be one heck of an ending!

-- K. Anderson (butterflyka@yahoo.com), January 28, 1999.

I've just thought up an entirely new take on the ep. What if Aeon is infected with the virus from the very beginning and all the stuff with repeating time is how her mind copes with the virus. As the story progresses the events get more and more chaotic until finally Aeon gives into it (represented by the drop of blood from the boy'h head to Aeon's head) and her descent into madness is complete, she thinks she is an ordinary mother and the boy is her kid.

-- Keith G. Redhead (redhed@globalnet.co.uk), February 18, 1999.

Regarding the drop of blood someone mentioned earlier, did you notice that the boy bled from the center of his forehead, right where the pineal gland would be? The pineal gland, sometimes referred to as a "third eye", produces DMT (Dimethyltryptamine, the world`s strongest hallucinogen) and is capable of releasing it into the brain during times of extreme stress (death, for example). Some DMT users report being taken to an "alternate dimension" where "time as we know it does not exist". I thought Aeon Flux was drug influenced, this seems to confirm it. Your thoughts on the subject?

-- Paul D. Gilbreath (gilbreathfamily@worldnet.att.net), January 29, 2000.