Sun of Zartha/Backstory

Backstory talking points for The Sun of Zartha

Actors' names in parentheses are either actors who appeared in the actual Men In Black films or actors I envision in The Sun of Zartha.

- Agent Jay (Will Smith) is the son of Angelique (Angie)(Gina Torres), the queen of Zartha. Angie's family, the royal family of Zartha, is descended from the offspring of a powerful Zarthan alien (the first king of Zartha) and a human woman from Africa.

History of Zartha

Cosmology of Zartha

Zartha is part of a galaxy of the same name, located nine million light years from Earth. In the Zarthan galaxy are several star systems, the principal one being the O'la'a System, which is a binary star system; Zartha is one of five planets orbiting around twin suns.

Zartha is about the size of Jupiter, about 11 times the size of Earth. About 3 to 4 million people live on the entire planet; because the planet is so large, 3 to 4 million inhabitants would make Zartha an extremely sparsely populated world (probably equivalent to the population of three or four of the largest American cities living on ALL of Earth). About half the population lives in the larger villages and towns, the rest are scattered in small settlements throughout the planet.

Because Zartha is part of a binary star system, its atmosphere and gravity is the equivalent of 102.889 percent of that of Earth; Zartha has a stronger electromagnetic field than Earth by a factor of twelve, which is one reason for the enhanced physical and mental abilities of almost all Zarthans.

Zartha was first inhabited by the S'aa, fourth density angelic light beings, who self-developed into humanoid form (technically they are considered humanoid avatars of individual stars). Other tribes such as the Wu'ula'a and the C'ola'a developed later as a result of miniature cataclysms involving water and lava, respectively. Some centuries later, a destructive series of solar flares from the larger of Zartha's twin suns, Ol'a'aa (pronounced slighly differently from the name of the system), destroys most of Zartha, and few beings survive the flames. Out of the energy of the cataclysm, T'ola'an self-generates as a humanoid fire/light being (and by extension, an avatar of sorts of Ol'a'aa itself). He inspects the damage and becomes aware of the destruction that his energy has caused and takes personal responsibilty for it, as he knows he is a piece of the sun. The other surviving beings worship him as the Lord of the Sun. They are fearful at first but T'ola'an convinces them he is sorry for what happened, and they forgive him, becoming his followers.

Some of the surviving S'aa resent T'ola'an's rise to power, but most S'aa accept and understand that the cataclysm was a natural event that could not be avoided; and furthermore ally themselves with the new being and teach him about the ways of Zartha and of Light. T'ola'an marries one of the surviving S'aa women and establishes the tribe named after him. T'ola'a organizes Zartha into a kingdom and builds his palace.

The origin of the T'ola'aa

After several centuries of rule T'ola'an gets lonely and goes on an expedition into outer space, finding Earth; he hears of several tribes of humans that worship the sun of Earth, so he pays them a visit thinking he will be among beings that will understand him and be friendly (This takes place sometime in the late 12th century, during the general period of the Crusades - around the year 1190). He visits several villages across Earth, and remains the longest with a village in the savannahs of West Africa (what is now the modern nation of Ghana) that makes him their "god" and provides him with wives, whom he takes back to Zartha with him to live. The first of these is a chief's daughter, Afua, a young woman of seventeen, who eventually becomes the first ruling queen of Zartha and is still alive to this day (Cicely Tyson).

Afua's people were refugees from the ancient (actual) Ghana Empire, which for the previous 300 years or so was the dominant economic and political state in the western Sudan region north of the river Niger; the decline of this empire and the incursion of Islamic conquerors such as the Almoravids forced many of its inhabitants to migrate eastward across the Niger. Afua's people would later become the ancestors of the Ashanti, Baoulé, Fante and similar (actual) tribes who live in West Africa to this day.

T'ola'an's African wives are genetically altered as a result of the sexual contact with him; they give birth to a genetically enhanced human/alien hybrid population on Earth that becomes the basis for Jay's family. The family shuttles back and forth between Earth and Zartha as the centuries progress. Any and all descendants of T'ola'a are considered part of the royal family of Zartha, whether born on Zartha or on Earth.

Razzleberries

The razzleberry is a hybrid of rasberries, blackberries (brought from Earth in the 16th century) and the berry-like fruit of an indigenous hibiscus-like Zarthan plant now called "old razzleberry". The fruit is made into all sorts of pies, tarts, candies, cordials, juices and wines. Razzleberry wine from Zartha is regarded as the best in its galaxy. Razzleberry orchards abound on Zartha, creating a lucrative industry.

(The author chose the name because that was the first thing that came to mind when searching for an exotic yet comical term to describe the Zarthan wine presented to Zed at the royal wedding between Laura and Jay, which takes place towards the end of this story. It most likely came from a song seen as a child featured on the animated holiday television special Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol.)

Exopolitical Zartha

The majority of Zarthans wish to live in peace and harmony with the universe. Most Zarthans are opposed to agressive offensive war, but will support a strong defense of their planet against enemies. Zarthans believe that their highly evolved/advanced spiritual, mental and physical abilities are gifts of the "one true Creator" as part of the primal power of "Light", and as such are to be freely shared without reservation or condition with all beings in the universe; their advanced technology is also to be shared in a similar manner.

This attitude is codified in the Zarthan Imperative: peaceful, non-military contact with other civilizations shall be freely and openly initiated and conducted when it can be determined (through clandestine surveillance) that such contact would be beneficial for both civilizations, even at the risk (and in many cases with the intent) of altering, enhancing, and/or accelerating the natural development of the encountered civilization. Civilizations targeted for contact must display a clear and demonstrable tendency toward non-aggression, or at least a strong element within the society that favors and actively promotes peace. Advanced knowledge and technology is to be freely shared without reservation or precondition, and the encountered citizens educated as best as possible in its proper usage.

The people of Earth are considered exceptionally special to Zarthans. To the Zarthan way of thinking, Earthlings are basically "stripped-down" models of Zarthans, who need genetic enhancement for their own improvement, as Zarthans believe humans were deliberately and unfairly denied the enhanced abilities Zarthans have (when humans were originally created, by an as yet-unknown creator race of extraterrestrial beings). T'ola'an and his advisors saw Earth as a prime example of the Imperative and its potential to make the larger universe a domain of peace, love and light.

In part because of the Imperative and its mindset, due to "alien astronaut" visitation by T'ola'an and other Zarthans to Earth over the centuries (and the resulting intermingling and creation of romantic and family relationships) several communities of Earth-born Zarthans, descendants of all the Zarthan tribes, are scattered all over Earth, with primary centers in the USA including New Orleans and Cincinnati; many are organized into secret societies where the ancient Zarthan customs and metaphysical rituals are taught. The most promising Earth-born students are brought into the official spheres of religion and government on the Zarthan homeworld, and some are charged with recruiting non-alien Earthlings, as well as Earthlings of Zarthan descent who may be unaware of their alien heritage (who number in the thousands), into Zarthan society through the "Sunshine Social Aid" network of social organizations. These social aid organizations target Earthlings who question the established conventional explanations regarding the universe, religion, humanity, and the "alien phenomenon", and use the "open mind" status to slowly introduce them to the existence of aliens and to Zarthan society.

The T'ola'a consider Earth to be a second home under their influence, and try to covertly manipulate events to counteract the dealings of less friendly aliens. This manipulation from Zarthans, among many other things, draws the interest of MIB when it is first formed during WWII. MIB heavily frowns on Zarthans infiltrating into human society and tries to keep close watch on Zarthan operations on Earth, but the Zarthans have used a mix of secrecy, diplomacy, and military threats to maintain their interests on Earth over the 50 years of MIB's existence.

- Jay's branch of the family is considered to be the legitimate royal family of Zartha for the purpose of interplanetary political identification; it has lived both on Earth and on Zartha for the past 800 years, experiencing both the prestige of royalty and the humiliation of slavery (at one point the queen of Zartha lived a double life as both powerful alien queen and Louisiana slave woman), and the family owns a bungalow in New Orleans, where Jay spends the first seven years of his life.

- From birth, Angelique possesses a great deal of spiritual and metaphysical power. She is a hybrid of the two most powerful tribes on Zartha - the Light beings (S'aa) and the Sun beings (T'ola'aa). It is the intent that her child be the long-awaited Sun of Zartha as prophesied in the almost 1,000 year old Book of S'aa, the sacred religious text of Zartha.

Zartha has been plagued by internal turmoil the last two or three decades. Some factions of the S'aa feel that they are superior to other beings in the universe, including other Zarthan tribes. They view the power and energy of Light as a tool with which to impose their will and authority over other beings. They seek to take control of Zartha and impose a fascist political structure. They also want to either annex Earth or destroy it (they can't really decide).

These rebel S'aa are firmly against the intermarriage of "pure" Zarthans with "inferior" Earthlings, while official royal policy, as a subset of the Imperative, is to heavily promote and encourage such intermingling in the best interest of Earthlings and the larger universe.

In the past 30 years, the Black Crystal Clan has been one such faction organized by T'Loria'an, a powerful yet controversial young senator with a cavalier attitude in regards to freedom and unity among Zarthans. He has a long-term plan to assasinate every member of the T'ola'a clan, as he sees them as "unholy" and a threat to his evil aspirations.

Mythology of Queen Angelique

- Angie is a fourth density STO (service-to-others) "Light" entity and is worshipped by many Zarthans as a goddess. The Temple of the Crystals, located in the main S'aa tribal village, is her personal temple and many Zarthan women are "dedicated" to studying the higher energies and aspire to be just like Angie.

She has the ability to appear at will as a being of light, can easily communicate via telepathic clairvoyance and can move between dimensions, altering physical reality for herself and for her family and friends (and her spiritual devotees back on Zartha) by creating telepathic dream environments. Jay possesses the same abilities (and more) and is unaware at first; as he is informed of his true nature, he is highly skeptical and doubts he can manifest the power of his mother.

Angie and Kay

- The rookie Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) is assigned to track Angie's family in the mid-1960's. MIB is aware of the alien origin of the family and wants to limit their influence, as their mission is to keep Earth as a neutral zone where all beings can come and live in peace. Angie works as a teller at the main office of Hibernia Bank in downtown New Orleans, but is secretly preparing to become queen of Zartha, as her mother has chosen to abdicate the throne and not be queen. Her grandmother has served for 100 years and wants to retire.

- Kay and Angie eventually fall in love and have a secret affair. Angie becomes a MIB agent (she feels the expertise will be vital to her as Zartha is undergoing internal turmoil) and is actually Kay's partner for a year. Zed (Rip Torn) finds out about the relationship and orders the couple to break up. Angie implores Kay not to leave her, but Kay comes up with excuses and stops seeing Angie. Angie is heartbroken and vows that the two will be together again one day. Since the two had extreme intimate contact, Angie is able to store Kay's genetic material in her body, in the hopes that any children born to her will be able to call Kay their father, at least in part.

- Jay was born in New Orleans in 1972 and is taken to Zartha very soon afterward to be dedicated in an ancient ritual ceremony.

Major question: Is Kay Jay's father? Kay and Angie do become intimate, and Kay's DNA enters Angie's body as a result.

Actual answer: Jay biologically has TWO fathers : slain NOPD officer Damien Edwards (whose family is of Zarthan descent) and Kay.

The "father" DNA that makes up Jay is half Kay and half another Zarthan-descended man Angie married some years later (slain NOPD officer Damien Edwards (whose family is of Zarthan descent) ).

Jay discovers this after he arrives on Zartha and confronts his mother after he has been installed as king. Angie has re-established a romance with Kay. Jay is 50% Angie, 25% Damien and 25% Kay.

The Mythology of Laura

- Lauranna was a top aide to Angie (her chief of staff). Lauranna volunteered to immaculately conceive a daughter (Laura) to serve as a wife and queen for Jay and help fulfill the ancient prophecies of the Light of Zartha.

- Everyone knows Laura (Rosario Dawson) was the Light of Zartha because after she was conceived, Lauranna's radioactive energy tripled.

- Laura does not resemble Lauranna, whose physical manifestation is similar to the Asian peoples on Earth (Lauranna was played by Asian actress Linda Kim in MIIB). Laura's physical appearance is representative of every human group on Earth, biogenetically calibrated to be as physically attractive to Jay as possible based on his New Orleans cultural upbringing. The calibration was done in a secret laboratory on Zartha.

- Lauranna sampled and internalized male DNA from a variety of sources by means of secretly eating with utensils previously used (and unwashed) by customers of the Chinese restaurant run by her family in New Orleans. The DNA was transmitted through residual saliva on the utensils. Lauranna only did this with the utensils of customers she knew to be non-Zarthan Earthlings. Because the restaurant was a tourist destination, patrons from all over the world would stop by for lunch or dinner. Lauranna also went dumpster diving for food and alcohol, used by male tourists, in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras in 1976. Lauranna never had sexual relations with any male being from any planet. She would die a virgin.

-Laura is also a fourth density light entity living in a third density body. She is completely unaware of her alien heritage or her life mission until she is summoned back to Zartha. Her mission is to bring Jay to the full knowledge and utilization of his genetically-given 4D abilities and to prepare him for a life together of ruling Zartha, including fulfilling the ancient prophecies of bringing forth a super-child who will be a savior figure for all beings in the universe.

- Laura was born on Zartha in 1977 and taken to Earth soon afterward briefly; Lauranna shuttles back and forth between planets as a normal routine part of her duties.

Plans to eliminate the royal family

- T'Loria'an and his "Black Crystal" faction of the S'aa, opposed to a T'ola'a ruling family in charge of Zartha (and especially since they have "Earthling" blood), makes an alliance with the Kylothians and plot to forcibly remove and/or eliminate Angie, Jay and Laura, and eventually assume control of the planet. Black Crystal operatives, disguised as drug dealers, kill Jay's (25%) father, Damien, who is living as a New Orleans police officer, but actually a Zarthan. T'Loria'an leaks the general whereabouts of the children cryptically, and Serleena begins plans to take the Light for herself. She does not know the Light is Laura per se, as T'Loria'an didn't specifically name the children, but referred to them as the Light and the Sun of Zartha.

T'Loria'an wants to take over Zartha, and eventually the entire universe, making all non-S'aa beings their slaves under a fascist and totalitarian system, while he and his followers reap the riches of the slave labor. Eliminating Angie and her family is his way of achieving this goal.

- After the assassination of Damien, Lauranna frantically brings the baby Laura to MIB HQ in New York and tries to get Kay to hide her. She fears bringing Laura directly to the T'ola'an house in New Orleans (Agent Jay's boyhood home) will endanger both Laura and Jay, as T'Loria'an has given that location as the one where the Light and the Sun are being kept, making that house a target. Kay arranges for a decoy meeting in Iowa to "transfer" the Light. Laura is taken to New Orleans and the family compound is heavily guarded by MIB and Zarthan forces. Meanwhile, Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) is fooled by the decoy but kills Lauranna (the killing of Lauranna is intended to be represented and discussed by the characters in The Sun of Zartha exactly as it actually appeared in MIIB.)

The exile of Angie

- Upon Lauranna's death, Angie is thrust into a period of deep depression and anger. Senator T'Loria'an, leader of the rebel factions, seeing his best chance to use the tremendous power of Angie for his own gain (and still destroy her after he has used this power), nearly convinces her to marry him, join the rebels and declare war on Earth for failure to protect Lauranna. Although such an alliance would likely put an end to rumors of an impending civil war on Zartha, Angie decides against the alliance on the grounds that it will do much more harm than good to Zartha as well as the larger universe; T'Loria'an's hunger for power, as well as his fascism and totalitarianism, are ideas which Angie cannot bring herself to accept, regardless of her anger at MIB. She resigns herself to the idea that she will have to work with MIB to protect her child and Laura (and ultimately Zartha and Earth), even if it means long-term separation from them.

Zed and Kay make a deal with Angie: Angie agrees to go into "protective exile" in a prison in Baton Rouge, where she will be safest, and Jay and Laura will be neuralyzed and placed in MIB-sanctioned foster homes until the danger has passed. This is supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but the MIB delay the reunification for several years citing the danger to Earth from Jay and Laura's energy.

- In actuality, MIB greatly fears that Jay, once initiated and installed as king of Zartha, will take over the universe and act as either a totalitarian dictator (either in partnership with T'Loria'an or by acting alone), using his and Laura's near-infinite energy to brutally enforce his will over all beings (the ultimate scum of the universe), or at best unify all planets into a more peaceful yet Zarthan-dominated federation, including Earth.

- Angie suspects MIB's fear and dismisses it as unfounded and misplaced, as the traditions of both the S'aa and the T'ola'a strongly emphasize unconditional respect, love, support and tolerance for all beings. Angie reluctantly goes along with the delays, using the time to orchestrate a defeat of the rebels and re-establishing her authority as queen. Millions of dollars worth of communications equipment is covertly installed so Angie can conduct official business with her royal court and councillors in real time. A "war room" similar to that in the White House is built in the solitary confinement wing just for her use.

- Jay grows up in a group home in Brooklyn; Laura in a group home in the Bronx (Ben is a councillor on the royal staff, sent down by Angie to be guardian to Laura - and a check on the authority of MIB - as part of the deal). MIB keep close covert watch on the kids as they grow up. The kids meet several times during chance encounters throughout NYC, and the magical "Knowing" energy generates a little. MIB agents (sometimes Kay personally) neuralyze one or both of the kids to erase the memory of the encounter.

- Angie was never officially decommissioned from MIB and her personnel file is still active. Officially she is Agent AZ (Angelique from Zartha). As part of the deal to remove Jay and Laura she is placed in the line of succession to become MIB Director (effective officially only after Zed's retirement).

The preparation of Jay

- Jay serves four years in the Air Force after high school where he learns about top-secret weapons, propulsion and communications technology. The top brass have full knowledge of Jay's alien identity, heritage and royal Zarthan lineage, but do not tell him; they assign tasks to him based on suggestions Angie gives to MIB. Jay is disilluisioned with the Air Force after being passed over for fighter pilot training - even after making 2nd Lt., and joins the NYPD after his discharge.

- When Jay is recruited as an agent, Zed orders all references to Jay, Laura, Angie, and the entire family moved to a secret file, separate from the main database. Only Zed, Kay, Angie and a few other long-time MIB people know Jay's real identity.

- Jay is recruited as an agent as an attempt to prevent him from knowing his true heritage and potentially taking over the universe and using Laura's power improperly. Other Zarthans eventually join MIB but are forbidden to mention their planet of origin to Agent Jay.

- Most Zarthans back home are generally aware that Jay is the crown prince and is serving MIB on Earth in preparation for his eventual reign - much like Britons keep up with the doings of the royal family, Zarthans know all about Laura's "Employe of the Month" award and Jay's exploits as a MIB agent.

- Shakita (Da Brat) is a second cousin to Jay and was recruited out of high school to be Angie's chief of staff and MIB liasion. Her father, of course a Zarthan, works for the video production house owned by MIB that produces "Mysteries In History". Shakita's knowing mate is Agent Enn (Nick Cannon), who is the son of the chief councillor of the Rock people on Zartha (Dennis Haysbert).

The plan to make Jay and Laura king and queen

• After 25 years, Angie is ready for Jay and Laura to take over as king and queen (keeping the plan of the Light of Zartha going as prophesied for hundreds of years); she initiates an elaborate plan for the two to meet and fall in love over the course of six weeks. Shakita would have met with the two and disclosed the truth about their heritage and they would have been moved to the Zarthan royal palace. Serleena simultaneously sets out to find the Light of Zartha (she suspects it's Laura but is unsure) and her killing of Ben accelerates Angie's plan. The operation (described as follows) was to commence the Monday after Ben was destroyed:

- Pre-planning: Angie sends "medication" via Ben to temporarily neutralize Laura's self-destruct powers (he slips some into her Mountain Dew she always drinks at work). She does not explode when time runs out and Earth is left unharmed for the moment.

- week 1: Jay to receive a coupon for free slice of pizza and medium drink at Ben's, good only that week. Coupon has photo of Laura on it.

Week 1.5: Jay goes to Ben's as he never passes up a deal on food, and sees Laura. The "Knowing" makes them fall in love. Jay compelled to disclose his secret job as agent.

Week 2: Jay and Laura meet alone at Empire Diner for lunch. They hit it off and plan to see a movie later in the week.

Week 3: Zed suspects Jay is seeing Laura; Angie sends ultimatum to Zed warning him not to interfere, or face grave political consequences.

Week 4: Shakita meets with Jay and Laura at MIB HQ with Zed present. True identity of the pair is disclosed, as well as the fact that Jay is in part Kay's son (no plans are made to retrieve Kay or bring him out of retirement, and he remains in MA as a postmaster.) Jay and Laura fly in egg-shaped transport to New Orleans. Some neuralyzed memories return and the destiny of the pair is explained in detail. Pair warned not under any circumstance to make love while still on Earth. Conference call with Angie.

Week 5: Ben discloses his true identity to Laura and gives final "fatherly" advice; Angie pegs him to give away the bride at the wedding. Jay and Laura to resign from their respective jobs and pack for Zartha.

Week 6: Jay and Laura move to the royal palace without incident and prepare for the royal wedding.

Of course, Serleena "destroys" Ben in Men In Black II and the events unfold as seen in MIIB, setting up MIB3.

Spoilers end here.

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Sun of Zartha