Spirit of the Abyss

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The Spirit of the Abyss is the leader and god of the Magog in the TV series Andromeda. The Abyss is also referred to as "the Darkness" many times in the series. The Spirit of the Abyss first appeared in the episode Harper 2.0, where it used a minion to try and get highly valuable information from Harper's mind.

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[edit] Fictional biography

The Abyss is something of an enigma throughout the entire series. The main protagonists first discover him when they gain access to the information of the All-Systems Library.[1] Originally calling him "Enigma" from the video that they retrieved, they discover the Spirit of the Abyss is the leader of the Magog, an incredibly aggressive race, and that he has sent his minion, Jeger, to retrieve the information, so the Abyss can stay an enigma. Unfortunately for the Abyss, Jeger fails to get the information back and his existence is no longer a secret; he executes Jeger for this failure.

The next appearance of the Abyss is on his own World Ship where the protagonists come face-to-face with him. Due to Rev Bem's false conversion to worshiping the Abyss, Rev learns the simple-minded Magog worship the Abyss as their god and that the Spirit of the Abyss is their creator. Rev is lead by Bloodmist (a high-level Magog) to the Abyss, where he is able to sense hate in the Abyss, but also that underneath everything the Abyss does there is love. In a display of power, the Abyss is forced to absorb all of the energy from the World Ship's miniature sun, when it is destroyed by a Nova Bomb from the Andromeda Ascendant, yet he seems only to have defensive powers, not offensive ones.

He is absent for the rest of the second and third seasons but reappears in the fourth season, in which he possesses a number of characters, including Beka Valentine, and he also survives an attempt on his life by Dylan and Tyr in his home dimension.

On the fifth and final season the Abyss either takes possession of a General Burma or manifests a body in the form of General Burma (the viewer is never told which) to try and kill all the inhabitants of the Seefra system using the Methus sun. However, the General Burma avatar is killed by Dylan, which forces the Abyss to move on to his final plan, this time aimed at destroying the three galaxies which make up the Known Worlds. To go about this, the Abyss uses an avatar posing as the leader of the Lambent Kith nebula (a collection of Sun Avatars) coupled with his plan of using the All Forces Nullification Point to destroy these galaxies; all the while duping the Lambent Kith into thinking they will destroy the Abyss in the process. Dylan Hunt disrupts his master plan by finding out that Maura, the leader of the Lambent Kith nebula, is working with the Abyss. Once discovered, the Abyss destroys the Maura avatar and is lured to the Seefra system by Dylan. Once in the Seefra system, Trance uses her Sun (the original Tarn-Vedra sun) to destroy the Abyss by burning him to death with it. The Sprit of the Abyss was killed and this was confirmed by Trance when she says "It is my sun, The Abyss is dead!"

[edit] Appearance and features

The Spirit of the Abyss mostly appears as a red glowing silhouette of a man through the scope of the series but the shape, density, and colour of his body changes over time. For example, in his first appearance he is purple, then in another appearance he is crimson red, and yet another time he is orange with a tightly compressed body. He can also create avatars which take on human form, (Maura and General Burma) but whether or not these avatars are truly a part of him is unknown. In the series finale the Abyss appears as a large crimson red vortex floating in space and it is the most drastic change his appearance ever takes.

It is suggested the Spirit of the Abyss is made out of at least some of the Ten Radical Isotopes; this would mean the Abyss is made out of Negative Matter. This theory is further reinforced when it is stated, "The Abyss has entered the world of matter." The Abyss resides in a dimension where mind is everything and matter is nothing, so it is also possible that the Abyss is a thought or spiritual entity.

The Abyss, as noted above, has the ability to absorb most of the energy from a miniature star. However, the Abyss has never displayed equivalent offensive abilities. The most he has ever done in is throw fireballs at Dylan and his crew. He does have the power to possess people by implanting Radical Isotopes into their brains, effectively taking control of their minds and also giving the possessed a sense of euphoria.

[edit] Characters relating to the Abyss

Characters appearing in Andromeda who are possessed or taken over by the Abyss:

Name Role Fate Episode appearance Episode number
Paroo Collector who becomes Head of Commonwealth security, Used by the Abyss to pitch rival factions and races against each other to destroy the Commonwealth fleet Killed by Dylan Hunt at the All Forces Nullification Point Answers Given To Questions

Never Asked

 401
Citizen Eight The Appointed Commonwealth industrialist who is hired to rebuild the commonwealth fleet, used by the abyss to make the Prescient, a fortune telling alien, spread visions of treason against the Commonwealth by both Dylan Hunt and Tri-Jema Killed By Dylan Hunt in front of the Prescient on Ganglia drift Pieces of Eight 402
Kroton A Half human android who built the Magog world ship for the Abyss and is discovered by the Andromeda while finishing a second world ship Is forced to choose one of five slip portals, four of which lead nowhere, he chooses incorrectly, destroying his new world ship, however he escapes in a small pod and is assumed to rejoin with the Abyss Waking the Tyrant's Device 403
Kor-Kavo (Doctor, Professor) A leading scientist who is taken over by the Abyss when she goes to a science convention so that she can murder leading scientists and steal their memories. Killed by Dylan Hunt after trying to remove Harpers memories. Machinery Of The Mind 409
Rev Bem A Wayist Monk who Joined Dylan with the crew of the Maru but leaves later on to find his destiny. He is used by the Abyss to lure Dylan into a trap set up by the collectors. Dylan uses a Beta-Amyloid stinger to extract the Abyss from Revs spine and he lives to help Dylan escape. Fear Burns Down To Ashes 415
Beka Valentine A Freighter captain who joins Dylan to become his first mate, is taken over by the Abyss in the eighth Dimension (episode 407) but lies dormant until discovered when Dylan suspects there is a mole on board. The Abyss is removed from Beka by lowering her core temperature and tricking the Abyss into leaving her mind into a VR matrix, it is then destroyed by Trance, Beka wakes up a few days later. Lost In A Space That Isn't There 416
General Burma A half alien who leads a sect opposed to all technology, he is forced to leave Seefra-5 and is then used by the Abyss to break onto the Andromeda attempting to blow it up. Killed by Dylan Hunt and Beka Valentine on the Andromeda's command deck One More Day's Light/Chaos And The Stillness Of It 519/520

Characters who work or bargain with the Abyss:

Name Role Fate Episode appearance Episode number
Jegar A bounty hunter employed by the Abyss to destroy all record of itself in the known worlds Killed by the Abyss for failing to destroy video footage of itself which is discovered by the Andromeda. Harper 2.0 114
Bloodmist A high-ranking Magog on board the Magog world ship who tries to convert Rev Bem back from Wayism. Killed By Rev Bem after showing him the Abyss itself. Its Hour Come 'Round at Last/The Widening Gyre 122/201
Satrina The follow-up to Jegar. She tries to get the abyss video footage from Harper but promising to remove his Magog larvae in return for it as she can move through matter. Harper almost gives in but resists at the last moment. Escapes from Harper after having the power source of her guards destroyed. Into the Labyrinth 209
Satrina's coherts 4 mutant creatures one red, one blue, one white and one green, who use teseract technology to get onto the Andromeda and attempt to kill Dylan hunt when Satrina fails to get the Abyss video footage from Harper. Harper however finds their ship which powers the teseract technology and destroys. Killed by Dylan Hunt and his crew when their technology fails. Into the Labyrinth 209
Tyr Anasazi A Nietzschean who worked on board the Andromeda before leaving to reunite the Nietzschean prides by calling himself the progenitor. He gets lost in the Eighth dimension and makes a deal with the Abyss to get out alive in return for Dylan Hunt. Is shot by Dylan Hunt while trying to escape from him, he then falls to his death. The World Turns All Around Her 407
Collector Pish The highest collector in the known worlds who tries to get rid of Dylan Hunt and take over the Commonwealth in his lust for power. Although never directly working for the Abyss he does mention bargaining with them to stop the Magog world ship. Pish and the other collectors may also have bargained with the Abyss and used its power to corrupt and attempt to take over the Commonwealth. Unknown but may have been killed when his ships attack the Andromeda above Tarazed. Soon The Nearing Vortex/The Torment, The Release 406/411
Abyss agents (Wayists) Two men sent by the abyss disguised as Wayists murder a true Wayist named Wezlow on board the Maru, they are then found by Dylan and Beka and try to escape. The two try to open an airlock to kill the Maru's crew and passengers but Harper closes the inner airlock in time and they blast themselves into space. Time Out Of Mind 420
Lisset An agent for the Abyss who follows Dylan, Beka and Harper to a True collectors library and attempts to delete all the information by directing a data net. Dylan puts her in fear after he discovers a bell in a VR record, which is why the Abyss sent her to destroy the records, Dylan then exits the VR simulation and takes out the VR key putting her in a permanent loop. Time Out Of Mind 420
Ambassador Galdamez An Ambassador for the Arkology, a peace loving structure that orbits a planet close to where the Magog world ship will arrive, he is picked up by the Andromeda after what he calls, 'peaceful negotiations with the Magog.' Dies when Magog larvae break out of his stomach, it is then discovered the Magog had done this to infect the Arkology and use it as a base from which to launch their attacks of the Known worlds. The Dissonant Interval, Part 1 421

[edit] Quotes

  • "You cannot defeat the Abyss."
  • "The future is mine."
  • "Your code against the Darkness."

[edit] References

  1. ^ Harper 2.0, Episode #114, February 12, 2001