“A world without sin.” That is how Captain Malcolm Reynolds in Serenity describes a planet called Miranda in which every inhabitant was given an airborne drug called the Pax to calm them down. The Alliance did that. It thinks of itself as a benevolent government, but it is little more than a puppet master.

As we’re told in the film, the Pax stopped the people from fighting and becoming aggressive, but that was only the beginning of its effects. Thirty million people eventually stopped going to work, breeding, talking, and eating, and they let themselves die. The question is, why?

What could a drug do to people to stop them from doing natural things that perpetuate life? I’m pretty sure I know the answer, and it came from an unusual source.

The Primary Motivation

In a long-forgotten collection of theological discourses called Lectures on Faith, it says:

“Faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen; and the principle of action in all intelligent beings. If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action, in them; that without it, both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental.

“In a word, is there any thing that you would have done, either physical or mental, if you had not previously believed? Are not all your exertions, of every kind, dependent on your faith? Or may we not ask, what have you, or what do you possess, which you have not obtained by reason of your faith? Your food, your raiment, your lodgings, are they not all by reason of your faith?”

Isn’t that interesting? Faith is the primary motivation for every action we take. I will use faith interchangeably with belief from here on out because they are basically the same concept.

We must first believe in something before we can make it happen. If I had not believed that I could have a career, I wouldn’t be a writer today. If I had not believed that I could have a family, I wouldn’t be married to my wonderful wife, nor would I have my amazing children.

My career and family (and everything else I have created) didn’t exist when I set out on my path early in life. But it was my belief in things I couldn’t see in the present that led me to make them a reality over time.

The Theme of Serenity

Faith is an integral part of Serenity. It’s the film’s main theme. Mal is a man who has lost his faith in anything. The betrayal he suffered at the end of the war he fought against the Alliance left him jaded and hollow. He thinks he doesn’t need belief, but a wise religious man named Shepherd Book sets him straight.

Mal comes to him, looking for counsel on how to proceed when the Alliance is on his tail. And Book tells him, “Only one thing is gonna walk you through this, Mal: belief.”

And he’s not talking about belief in God. He’s talking about believing in a cause. Having hope and faith that Mal can accomplish something hard, and that it’s worth doing.

He gives this advice to Mal because the opposing force (the Operative) is so dedicated to his cause that he’s willing to go to extraordinary lengths to bring it into reality. As Book puts it, “The sort of man they’re like to send believes hard. Kills and never asks why.” How right he is. Belief is a powerful tool that can be used for both good and evil purposes.

Mal’s Turn to Faith

Mal thinks he can get away from the responsibility of believing. But he’s doggedly pursued by the Operative who refuses to give up because he absolutely believes in what he’s doing. And this leads Mal to a moment of crisis when Book (and almost everyone else Mal has known) is killed. Book’s last words to Mal are, “I don’t care what you believe; just believe it!”

After that desperate plea, Mal begins to exercise faith. He travels to a world called Miranda that everyone knows is worse than suicide to even approach. Despite all the dangers, he and his crew safely land on it and discover the terrible truth about what happened there.

Mal’s faith becomes unshakable when he realizes that his cause is righteous. He needs to speak for those 30 million dead people and against the Alliance.

What Happens When We Lose Faith

What the Alliance did was more monstrous than murdering Book. They took away a whole world’s faith. If you recall what Lectures on Faith said, “Without [faith], both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental.”

Some people think that faith is childish at best or something from the archaic past that we can easily discard in our scientific age of facts and reason. Such people are following in the footsteps of those who introduced the Pax into the air supply on Miranda. They think they can make people better by eliminating old superstitions. But faith is more important than the very air we breathe. Because we’d stop breathing if we didn’t believe it was worth the effort.

The thing is, if we destroy the foundation on which a skyscraper is built, it doesn’t matter how high the building once reached, it will fall. That will be the fate of any group, country, or world that attempts to root out faith.

Everything we do is based on a belief in something. When you go to work, you believe you will be paid, or otherwise rewarded, for your effort. When you have children, you believe in the future they will live in. When you talk, you believe that someone will hear, decipher, and understand your meaning. When you eat, you believe the food will give you sustenance.

Faith is as necessary now as it has always been. Remove faith, and no one has any reason to do anything but sit down and let themselves die. Just like the people of Miranda.

Faith Restored

By the end of Serenity, Mal and the Operative have switched places. Mal has had his faith restored. He understands the value of believing in things outside of himself. His cause is based on love.

On the other hand, the Operative has had his trust in the Alliance shattered. The cause he was fighting for is proven so completely wrong that he has to come to terms with the fact that he is a monster with no valid reason for being so. He has no name, family, or cause. As he describes himself at the end, “There is nothing left to see.”

So Miranda is not a world without sin. It’s a world without faith. And we must believe in something greater than ourselves to avoid letting our world suffer its same fate. I suppose that’s why I’ve used the word “cause” so much in this article. Believing in a cause leads to an effect.

I hope we will be motivated by Mal’s cause (love and honesty) and not the Operative’s cause (control and secrets).

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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