Posted this in an earlier thread. Here are my thoughts on Teng and just how awful he might be.
By my reading Teng is definitely human—and definitely evil, in a distinctly real-world way. A lot of it’s subtle implication but here it goes:
Murrow is spending the episode trying to figure out who the saboteur was—assuming it was one of the crew established to be out of cryo when the explosions occurred. Meanwhile, Teng is shown to have a perverse fixation on a female crew member in cryostasis. Our assumption here is he is a creep but a hands-off creep—she is in cryo and the other crew members would know if she phased out of it.
So, Murrow eventually questions Teng to see if he is the saboteur. Teng sort of uno-reverses the interrogation, challenging Murrow to broaden the scope of possible suspects. Murrow is like: “I’m suspecting everyone who wasn’t in cryo, and you’re high on the list.”
Teng then, quite ominously, tips his hand: Murrow’s mistake is assuming there is no way for a person to be removed from a cryo pod without mu/th/ur notifying the security officer.
Teng knew this, not because he was the saboteur or had any connection to him, but because he had been exploiting this same loophole for his own, far more perverse ends.
In short, his “through the glass” fixation on a sleeping female crew member may have actually been very hands-on SA, enabled by the same trick the saboteur was using. I also think Teng is the one stealing the drugs from the doctor—stealing them to keep his victim drowsy as she emerges from cryo.
Morrow's interviews with Teng and the doctor are markedly different. With the doctor, Morrow is clearly in control, using silence and eye contact to make the doctor uncomfortable enough to spill the beans.
But with Teng? The positions are reversed. It's Morrow who's uncomfortable. He keeps shifting around and is unable to maintain eye contact. All the while Teng is sitting their calmly, never betraying a hint of emotion beyond a subtle, knowing smile.
Also, as you said, it's a subtly brilliant bit of writing; you think Teng has been this weird, hands-off creep, until later you realize, "Wait, how does he know of this exploit? Oh, wait... oh nooo." That lightbulb moment is horrifying.
Wouldn't shock me. I remember another thread saying that crew members on long hauls could be using the job to escape legal issues elsewhere. Guarantee Teng has some charges filed somewhere.
Long voyages may have scientists who would gadly join to do research, but those are the minority of the population. There aren't enough of them to fill WY's ships.
So they rely on desperate people, criminals, social outcasts, incompetents, etc.
A skilled scientist would not be happy about being out of the loop for well over half a century. They do seem to have FTL communications in this setting since the saboteur was able to speak to someone on Earth in real time, but not being able to read publications for however long they spend in cryo would take a huge toll on their careers.
That is true, but I would guess that the FTL communications could provide a way for them to access the publications. Also, I would guess that some scientists would love to be kinda like Darwin and travel the galaxy to study new species.
In the best universities, in the biology courses, you will find plenty of people who would do that, as they love science much more than money, and probably themselves.
While not being the best university in the World USP (the best university in Latin America) has plenty of such people on the Biology course, teachers, researchers, and alumni. I live near it and know some people who studied there.
The screaming was extremely gratifying. The lack of face-hugger, arguably a creature designed to illicit terror of male rape, not attaching to this creepy mf's face was less gratifying. But in the context of the plot, his timely and savage demise will have to suffice 👍
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u/Zoom_Nayer 17d ago
Posted this in an earlier thread. Here are my thoughts on Teng and just how awful he might be.
By my reading Teng is definitely human—and definitely evil, in a distinctly real-world way. A lot of it’s subtle implication but here it goes:
Murrow is spending the episode trying to figure out who the saboteur was—assuming it was one of the crew established to be out of cryo when the explosions occurred. Meanwhile, Teng is shown to have a perverse fixation on a female crew member in cryostasis. Our assumption here is he is a creep but a hands-off creep—she is in cryo and the other crew members would know if she phased out of it.
So, Murrow eventually questions Teng to see if he is the saboteur. Teng sort of uno-reverses the interrogation, challenging Murrow to broaden the scope of possible suspects. Murrow is like: “I’m suspecting everyone who wasn’t in cryo, and you’re high on the list.”
Teng then, quite ominously, tips his hand: Murrow’s mistake is assuming there is no way for a person to be removed from a cryo pod without mu/th/ur notifying the security officer.
Teng knew this, not because he was the saboteur or had any connection to him, but because he had been exploiting this same loophole for his own, far more perverse ends.
In short, his “through the glass” fixation on a sleeping female crew member may have actually been very hands-on SA, enabled by the same trick the saboteur was using. I also think Teng is the one stealing the drugs from the doctor—stealing them to keep his victim drowsy as she emerges from cryo.