Note to 45

Why do I characterize Mulder and Scully in The X-Files as Gardeners rather than Knights when they are FBI agents—the closest thing American civilian life has to real-life knights in shining armor? The answer is simple—they almost never draw their guns or move into direct conflict mode. They are seekers of truth, not warriors for righteousness. A quick way to tell whether a heroic character in fiction is a Knight or a Gardener is to ask how central that character’s weapons are to his or her quest.