The mystery of Agnes Jurati

"Agnes Jurati" is an unusual name. But is it a clue?

Certainly, Agnes Jurati is a secret wrapped in an enigma. As of “The Impossible Box,” she’s had a mysterious meeting with Commodore Oh, conveniently shown up to help Picard when Romulans attacked, wormed her way into his mission without a security check, and slept with Rios. And, oh yes, murdered Bruce Maddox. That seems important.

Does “Agnes Jurati” tell us anything about all of that? Definitely maybe.

Just to get this out of the way: It’s possible Agnes is a synth whom Oh activated to kill Maddox. Or she’s not a synth, but whatever Oh told her compelled her to action. Either way, Agnes Jurati (like Soji) is bound to a destiny the truth of which has yet to be revealed.

But anyway, back to the name. A quick search reveals that jurati is the genitive form of the Latin word juratus, meaning “one who swears an oath.” Yes, like that other familiar word: juror. From Elementary History of England:

“When the king’s judge went round to hold the assizes, or law courts, in each county, he was helped in trying prisoners by a body of men belonging to the neighborhood who swore that they would tell the truth as they knew it. They were called a jury, from the Latin word jurati, which means sworn men.”

Certainly, Agnes’ killing of Maddox implies that she is carrying out someone’s orders, possibly as judgment or punishment. Clearly, she’s bound (by oath, or the synth equivalent, programming) to some mysterious cause. But why? On whose behalf? Is she trying to help or hinder Picard? Is she on the side of whoever activated the Mars synths and scuttled the Romulan rescue, and therefore presumably part of an anti-Romulan conspiracy? Or is she working to bring that side to justice somehow? (And relatedly, which side was Maddox on?) And how do the Borg figure into it? It sure looks like the Romulans had something to do with the creation of the Borg eons ago, and something about the tech being harvested from ex-Borgs now is related to that history.

So, Jurati. An oath sworn, a mysterious allegiance to an unknown cause. (And if so, a contrast to Elnor, whose oath of allegiance is sworn in absolute candor.)

And the name Agnes? A famous poem by John Keats, The Eve of St. Agnes, is based on a folk myth that, on that one night of the year, a young woman's dream may reveal her future love. In the poem, a young woman awakens to the sight of her admirer, who has snuck into her room. Seeing in him the figure of her dream, she decides, despite her terror of the unknown, to run off with him.

Or in the Picard version:

Rios: “Sorry. Did I wake you? Can’t sleep?”
Jurati: “Why do you like it out here?”
Rios: “In space?”
Jurati: “It’s cold, and empty, and it wants to kill you.”

And off they go together, for one of the most surprisingly simple, honest couplings in Star Trek history. In this telling, Rios doesn’t so much represent true love as, well, truth itself, to judge from his idea of light reading, Miguel de Unamuno’s Tragic Sense of Life: “The truth is that reason is the enemy of life.” Put another way, life is short. Sleep with the hottie now.

And then there’s Narek, seeking to unlock the secret truth at the heart of Soji’s dream by means of a Romulan ritual. He gets some truth, but Soji gets betrayed. Is this her eve of St. Agnes? It sure seems like there is a very important link between Soji and Agnes that has yet to be revealed.

And because I enjoy tying myself in knots, I’ll again bring up the fact that Elnor, an exile living the way of absolute candor, is from a planet called Vashti, the name of the biblical queen who was banished from her land for her forthrightness, and who was replaced by Esther, a woman with a secret identity waiting for the right moment to be activated to save her people.

The big open question regarding Agnes is, will Picard pull a Discovery and go with the Evil All Along trope, a la Lorca? I hope not.