Created by A-1 Pictures and Troyca working together, Aldnoah.Zero is a science fiction show set in the near future where humanity is fighting off Martian invaders. Except the Martians are really humans who relocated from Earth to Mars. In particular, these humans found a means of transportation to Mars via a hypergate. The Martians of this story view themselves as superior to the "Terrans," or humanity as we know it. Princess Asseylum, the royal Martian princess, descends onto Earth in the first episode in an effort to create a peace treaty between both planets. An attempt is made on her life and a war breaks out between Earth and Mars, prompting the Martians to attack the Terrans. This war is carried out through the use of mechas and other advanced forms of technology. That is the story of Aldnoah.Zero in a nutshell, though this post will mainly focus on specific scenes centered around Princess Asseylum.
The topic of "objectification," which is the act of transforming a human into an object, comes up often in science fiction, especially with the advance of technologies. Objectification comes up often in disability and feminist studies, in addition to other critical theories, because women and the disabled are often transformed into objects with characteristics moreso than conscious and unique individuals. What exactly constitutes a person can become even more blurred when technology becomes more intimately involved in human lives. This situation becomes even more complex when non-normed identities are introduced. The more someone becomes dependent on technology, the more that person can be seen as an object, not a conscious existence. The intersection of medicine and technology, a common theme in science fiction that follows real-life trends, thus has this immense potential to transform people into objects. As someone who plans to become a biomedical engineer, I have seen for myself the pervasiveness of these efforts - unfortunately the field itself often focuses more on the outcome and pays less attention to the morality. Thus, I found this topic worth discussing.
Princess Asseylum, throughout the show, is treated as a character entrenched in a greater power play, though she also receives extensive characterization. The viewer learns about her personality initially due to her desire to bring an ending to the Martian-Terran conflict:
Asseylum-sama is both a very idealistic and driven person but also someone who is forgiving and empathetic. Despite her strength of character, she is still seen as the Martian Princess who should be viewed suspiciously, at least to the Terrans. To some of the Martians, however, she is a threat to their goals. In particular, Count Saazbaum of the Martian Orbital Knights, the person behind the attempt on Asseylum’s life, is particularly vindictive. In many ways, Asseylum is excluded from being the "friend" of anyone. She has a servant, some acquaintances, but many enemies. At one point in the show, following taking a shower, one of the Terrans, in a vengeful act, tries to strangle Asseylum with her necklace. The effort is proven unsuccessful but ultimately shows that the Martian Princess is seen more as an object in a power play than as a person to most of those who surround her. By being amongst the Terrans, she brings them danger, despite her wishes for peace, which further supports this notion.
A complicating matter is a Terran – son of a famous research scientist –
named Slaine (depicted to the right), who lives on Mars but was born on Earth. On Mars, Terrans are
viewed as inferior, thus Slaine is subjected to exclusion from positions of
power and privilege. He seems to hate the Earth but also love Princess
Asseylum, which puts him at odds with the all powerful Martian Orbital Knights.
Asseylum, in the finale of Aldnoah.Zero, is shot by one of the
counts who had orchestrated an attempt on her life. Slaine, after defeating
Terran enemies, chooses to join Saazbaum – someone who should seem like an
enemy to him; he escapes with the badly injured Princess Asseylum in tow. Then
the finale ends, further supporting the notion of the Princess being a valuable
object to be protected, rather than a person to be respected. From
here on, I will again skip a bunch of plot details.
As a result, Slaine and Saazbaum manage to return to Mars and receive
treatment for their wounds. Though Slaine is a lowly Terran, he is recognized
for his noble efforts and promoted to being a knight. On the other hand,
Princess Asseylum receives medical attention and manages to also survive. Her
being “alive” differs substantially from Slaine and Saazbaum. As can be see from the image to the upper right, Princess Asseylum is kept alive attached to medical equipment. In particular, her heart rate is 91 beats per minute and her blood pressure is 127/78, both of which are normal albeit rather high values. (50-100 beats per minute is the "average" heart rate, the one that you shouldn't worry about. Falling dramatically outside of this range is problematic. For blood pressure, one should get around 120/80, but less than 140/90 means blood pressure is not much of a concern.) Her electrocardiogram also displays the typical peaks expected, thus showing the healthy function of her heart. The princess is kept alive in a tank, as shown below. Her presence is again clearly shown to be that of an object, rather than a person.
From the information provided, the
viewer can glean that though her brain and organs are performing, Asseylum is
kept in a deep sleep. Whether Asseylum could stay alive without this equipment
is unclear. Slaine, shown kneeling in the image to the right, stands up and
says "I see that you are in good spirits again today," as shown to
the left. Though the intent is sincere, the statement itself seems laughable
because she is obviously in a deep trance and seems unchanged. Though a person
kept in such a trance is considered alive, that status is generally more
"technical" than meaningful; the person is not considered to be fully
human, but more of a human lying in a shell. Thus this act of encasing Princess
Asseylum in a life tank, despite done with "love" by Slaine,
completes her transformation from person to object in his eyes. Though Slaine
clearly values her presence, his respect for her is more akin to a precious object
rather than an important person.
There is an intersectionality at play that obfuscates this situation. A woman being valued as an object for her beauty and body is nothing new but in this case Princess Asseylum is being kept alive because of her body. There is a greater purpose to her being alive, though; as someone with the royal bloodline, Asseylum is deemed valuable enough to live. Slaine also seems to have purely selfish reasons for wanting the Princess alive. Either way, she is not afforded humanity by surviving in such a comatose state. At the same time, as she is, Asseylum fits the definition of disability well: most of her major life functions, other than breathing and organ functions operating, are severely limited. She cannot speak or walk or engage in many activities; the show is unclear as to whether the Princess can hear what Slaine says to her but the viewer can assume she cannot respond in any way. Thus, Princess Asseylum is objectified as both a woman and as someone who fits the definition of disability. One should probably wonder if she could survive without the equipment; either way, she is confined to the status of non-human.
A greater moral dilemma is thus raised. Medical technology is used to sustain the princess in a manner that is quite close to true disability, which transforms her into an object. On a minor note, the tank is transparent and allows for Slaine's male gaze that reflects his love for her body; there is no indication that Slaine genuinely cares for Asseylum as a person, casting doubt upon his love. Thus this intersection of medicine and technology for the purpose of sustaining her interferes with her identity; complementarily, Asseylum is reduced from personhood. This use of technology therefore denigrates self-worth and acts to value “livelihood” over life as one’s own agent; furthermore, the solution of medical problems is elevated in importance over the individuality of the person being “treated.” In Kantian ethics, a person cannot be used as a means but instead must be treated as an ends. Princess Asseylum, by being kept barely alive in a life tank because of her body, reflects her existence as a means to Count Saazbaum’s goals; clearly this is self-defeating. Thus this action of sustaining her in this manner is immoral according to Kantian ethics. This action could also be judged immoral under virtue ethics using the ethics of either self-reliance or the ability to defend oneself (subset of justice). She is not allowed to rely on herself due to the medical equipment and at the same time she is not allowed to reject the equipment she is kept on. The princess could possibly die if taken off of the equipment but her inability to articulate her views is itself immoral. The morality of medical interventions and devices – and medical procedures for keeping people alive – must be critically analyzed when it becomes intimately intertwined with people’s lives. Princess Asseylum’s situation thus represents a powerfully complex moral dilemma that needs to be understood in context of other medical problems.
In Aldnoah.Zero, Princess Asseylum is, despite being reduced to non-human in so many different ways, a rather strong character; someone whose idealism, though seemingly misplaced in 2014-2015, and desire for peace is inspirational. Having not completed the show yet, I hope that she may find a self-fulfilling conclusion as a person that extends beyond the immense power play that dominates the series.
Works Consulted
Aldnoah.Zero. Dir. Ei Aoki. Perf. Sora Amamiya and Kensho Ono. A-1 Pictures + TROYCA. 2014-2015. Anime.
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