Scorpius (Farscape)
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Image:Scorpius.jpg Scorpius is a fictional character in the television science fiction series Farscape.
Played by Wayne Pygram, he is the half-Sebacean, half-Scarran scientist and Peacekeeper who pursues John Crichton for the secrets of wormhole technology locked in John Crichton's unconscious mind.
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Physical attributes
Scorpius' body is shaped more like a Sebacean/humanoid than a Scarran, except for his grey, lizard-like skin. He is much stronger than a Sebacean, but is rarely physically violent. His unique heritage gives him the ability to see different light/heat spectrums than most humanoids, enabling him to distinguish a body's energy signatures by sight. This allows him to distinguish between species on sight, and even tell whether or not they are lying. Scorpius has a highly-trained mind, enabling him to resist torture and the Scarran heat-based mind probes.
His clothing is an entirely-leather body suit, designed to regulate body temperature. Since he is a Sebacean/Scarran hybrid, he at once suffers from the Sebacean lack of ability to cool the body effectively and the Scarran craving for heat.
Character traits
He prides himself on his patience and his intellect. Scorpius is a character willing to do absolutely anything to achieve his goals, which he is very honest about when it suits him. He will (and does over the course of the series) lie, kill in cold blood, order the deaths of multitudes, torture innocents, and sacrifice those close to him in order to get what he wants. He is also willing to aid his enemies or humiliate himself if it will further his goals. He has returned from supposedly fatal situations more than once, which he credits to his "foresight and preparation." He manipulates others to do his work but does much on his own; his obsession with Crichton and his wormhole secrets is proof of that. He is highly educated, very intelligent, and extremely clever. Only he knows how deep his schemes run, and, while he claims his main desire is to eliminate the Scarran threat, protagonist John Crichton is loathe to ever trust him.
His rank is never mentioned. He ranks higher than Lieutenant (and later Captain) Braca but not above a commandant. He has the authority to command a research base, a command carrier, and even a fleet of command carriers. He is never called captain, but has the authority of one. He can command a fleet of craft, meaning he has the authority of an admiral. His rank in the series would thus be close to a high-ranking captain, and during the Peacekeeper Wars his rank would most likely be admiral.
Character development
Season 1
In his first appearance on the show, he is protrayed as a walking lie detector. Within seconds of seeing Crichton for the first time, Scorpius identifies him as an imposter (of a Sebacean captain) and has him arrested. While holding Crichton captive, Scorpius probes John's mind with a Peacekeeper device called an Aurora Chair. During the interrogation Scorpius discovers (as does John) that a race of alien beings called Ancients planted knowledge regarding wormhole technology in John's head, gifting him with the ability to effectively research and develop such technology in order to take himself home to Earth. Scorpius then becomes determined to wrest that knowledge from John's mind. Meanwhile, Scorpius takes control of the command carrier formerly captained by Bialar Crais. John manages to escape Scorpius with the help of his friends, leading into Season 2 where the crew of Moya are on the run from Scorpius.
Season 2
Soon John Crichton is seeing visions of Scorpius, often in absurd contexts. Slowly it is revealed that Scorpius placed a neural chip with a clone of his own mind into Crichton's brain to get those secrets. This neural clone appeared in visions only Crichton could see, and could sometimes influence Crichton's behavior. Crichton nicknamed the clone "Harvey" after the imaginary giant rabbit Jimmy Stewart talked to in the film of the same name. Whereas Scorpius is quietly menacing, Harvey is sometimes clownish, appearing in humorous scenes based on Crichton's memories and fantasies. Harvey has multiple goals: firstly, to find a way to acquire the wormhole knowledge lodged in John's brain; secondly, to safeguard John's life to keep safe the knowledge he holds.
From the appearances of Scorpius throughout Season 2, it becomes apparent that Scorpius' goal for weaponizing wormholes is not for galactic domination, but rather for survival in the face of a rising Scarran empire. He appears to genuinely care about Sebaceans and doesn't want them exterminated.
Season 3
Scorpius has removed the neural chip from John's brain and now has some knowledge to help him in his own research. The clone, Harvey, somehow stays behind in John's head. John also begins research of his own in earnest. It is revealed that Scorpius' reasons for hating Scarrans are very personal: he is the product of a Sebacean colonist woman who was raped by the Scarrans who captured her. Scorpius grew up on a Scarran Dreadnought, taught every day that his Sebacean half was weak and needed to be conquered. Failure in any way resulted in more torture. To escape, he killed the Scarran woman who was his teacher and jailer and defected to the Peacekeepers.
At the end of Season 3, John manages to lie to Scorpius (with the help of Harvey) and tells him he finally wants to help in his research. During a test of a wormhole John betrays Scorpius, and the former Captain Crais has the command carrier blown up with the aid of his Leviathan gunship Talyn.
With his ship gone, and having disobeyed Peacekeeper High Command (by continuing his research), vengeance upon Scarrans is seemingly impossible for Scorpius.
Season 4
Captured and humiliated by Commandant Grayza, and later imprisoned by Moya's crew, it is shown that Scorpius will endure almost anything for his own survival. It becomes clear that his other priority is the safety of John until he is in a place to weaponize a wormhole once again. He is capable of mercy when it suits his purposes, because he crafted a device to give John freedom from the shadow of Harvey in his mind.
Harvey resurfaces, however, when John leaves Scorpius behind to die at the hands of Scarrans. His stated purpose was to ensure the survival of Scorpius by influencing John.fr:Scorpius (Farscape)