Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

Episode 19

A lot can happen in 30 years. That's almost half a lifetime. Empires rise and fall. One generation leaves as another comes to take its place. Saturn, however, completes another unperturbed revolution around the sun. Nothing we do on this planet has the power to change that. Our triumphs and tragedies have no bearing on its orbital period. Saturn slowly waltzes deliberately and predictably across our night sky all the same. That may as well be eternal. That may as well be divine.

Draka doesn't quite understand it, but I believe that's what Jolenta tries to tell her in this week's episode. Jolenta herself is a stellar example of how much a single person can evolve in three short decades. She's gone from the daughter of an inquisitor to the leader of a Reformation-adjacent rebellion. Her hands aren't protected by her father's gloves anymore. She's killed people. She points her sword at Draka before relaxing her guard. On the other hand, however, she's still the same girl who looks up at Saturn with reverent awe. If anything, her understanding of celestial physics has only deepened her appreciation of what she can observe.

When Draka compares the HLF's violence and zealotry to the Inquisition's, she has a point. Jolenta acknowledges as much. The causes of science and freedom sound great, but they're both ultimately human institutions, and those can be twisted into orthodoxy that props up selfish ideals. However, Orb is smart to stop short of equating her cause with that of the Church. Jolenta's resistance may be imperfect, but it's still a step in the right direction. Unlike the Church, the guiding principles of science contain built-in mechanisms for doubts, questions, revisions, and evolution. That's closer to freedom than anything the Church offers.

Orb drives this point home by starting the episode with a different and ineffectual form of resistance. Bishop Damian recognizes the futility of the Inquisition's methods, and he can see the current trajectory of their faith as it continues to splinter and fester. Asch, however, hears none of it. He barely pauses his current torture session to consider Damian's pleas. In other words, it's very difficult, if not impossible to undo an authoritarian regime from within. I know there are arguments and evidence to the contrary, but current events have me fervently agreeing with Orb's point of view. Damian can't bring himself to meaningfully resist the Inquisition's violence because it's the mechanism through which he sustains his modicum of power.

To wit, Damian's advice to Asch is to seek out Nowak, the most barbaric inquisitor we've seen throughout this story. The bishop can't be that serious about lowercase-R reformation if he's keeping Nowak around, even if Nowak has seen far better days. I was curious if Jolenta's “death” would drive him further or closer to Church orthodoxy, and now I have my answer. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. In between Nowak's bouts of apparent curiosity, he always returned to the path of least resistance. It's easier for him to drown his sorrows and scapegoat heliocentrism than it is for him to bite the hand that feeds. He's smart. He knows exactly where to look for the HLF. But he's smart in the way that an unmanned drone is. He can read his environment and adjust to it, but there's nothing inside of him besides a clockwork apparatus designed to kill.

It's heartbreaking to see that Jolenta considers herself her father's daughter, as she wryly warns Draka about the dangers of convictions. However, that warning alone is evidence that Jolenta remains kinder and more thoughtful than Nowak could ever be. She doesn't want a “comfortable” world for the next generation. She wants a better one where people are free to waver, wander, and wonder. And any doubt of her heart's contents should melt away when we hear her reaction to Draka's recitation. It's as if she's conversing again with Oczy, whose thoughts and feelings have indeed been preserved through the miracle of literacy. I'm sure a selfish part of her was more motivated for this "reunion" than any downstream effects this book will have on society. I think we can allow Jolenta that much greediness. She's only human, and there's no guarantee she'll be able to greet Saturn when its dance brings it back to that same point in the sky in another 30 years.

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Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is currently streaming on Netflix.

Steve is on Bluesky now, and he's okay with that. He is busy pondering the orb. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.