Thus Spake the Duke



OVERVIEW

After coming under heavy fire from Contessa Albright's Ferronaughts, Conductor EVO-X pulls a small bucket of sand out of a timelocked Travelbox. Instantly, the Ghost Train is pulled from the Dream Corridor onto the Planet of Sand.

There, EVO-X is put on trial by The Duke of Sand for the bucket's theft years earlier. Albert Fikes, as EVO-X's creator, is allowed to defend her in a trial by combat.

The Duke is making short work of Albert, until he utters the phrase, "You life shall soon want for nothing, as its long journey will soon grind to an end."

The clumsy phrasing gnaws at Albert, and he eventually realizes that The Duke of Sand is a character that he created back on World One. He knows the black circle on the Duke's forehead will cause him to die instantly. He gives the Duke a chance to surrender, but the Duke refuses, stating simply that he was, "Made to die."

Albert dispatches the Duke, and EVO-X takes a bucket of sand with her, placing it in a timelocked Travelbox.

ANALYSIS

Pivotal episode in the first season of Paradox Meta, where we first learn that Conductor EVO-X is a robot arm with a woman's body attached, rather than a woman with a robot arm.

Also notable, this was billed as "John Saxon's last role before his death in 1984." The episode was actually filmed in 1987, and at the time of this writing John Saxon is still alive.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Author Colson Whitehead sued the producers of Paradox Meta in 2006 to have his name removed from this episode, as it was "ultimately tarnished" by the cutting of twenty-seven different elevator sequences during editing. Said the author, "I love elevators. Love them, love them love them. If you meet me on the street, PLEASE tell me about how much you like elevators. Ask me as much as you can about their history, and ask me when a movie version of my novel The Intuitionist is going to be made. It never gets old because elevators are my thing. Elevators and NOTHING ELSE."

Colson ultimately won his suit, in no small part because the producers repeatedly referred to him as "Colston" in both their testimony and in all written documentation for the case.