Ben Stark
the Maglev bomber
Ben Stark was a Caprican student and Monotheist drawn into the Soldiers of the One. He carried out the suicide bombing of a Caprica City Maglev train, an attack that killed his girlfriend Zoe Graystone and many other passengers.
Ben Stark was a Caprican student and Monotheist who became a member of the Soldiers of the One. He was responsible for the suicide bombing of a Caprica City Maglev train, an attack that killed his girlfriend, Zoe Graystone, along with many other passengers. He was the son of Natalie Stark. (Caprica, "Pilot"; Caprica, "Rebirth")
Athena Academy and conversion#
As a teenager, Stark was a student at the Athena Academy, a private religious school in Caprica City, alongside his friends Zoe Graystone and Lacy Rand. He and Zoe were in a relationship, one her parents knew nothing about. (Caprica, "Pilot"; Caprica, "Rebirth")
The headmistress, Sister Clarice Willow, introduced the three of them to Monotheism and the illegal Soldiers of the One. Ben became a fanatical believer, and the group came to see holoband culture and the virtual clubs it fed as proof of Caprica's decadence. (Caprica, "Pilot")
The avatar and the bombing#
Zoe had achieved a scientific breakthrough of her own: a sentient virtual copy of herself, Zoe-A, living inside the virtual world. She planned to leave Caprica for Gemenon with Ben and Lacy and start a new life there. (Caprica, "Pilot")
Ben had other plans, which he kept from Zoe. At the Caprica City Maglev station, Lacy dropped out. As the train set off, Ben opened his coat to reveal a suicide vest, called out to the One True God and detonated it, killing himself, Zoe and many other passengers. (Caprica, "Pilot")
Aftermath#
A month after the bombing, at a public memorial, Natalie Stark handed Amanda Graystone some of Zoe's belongings found in Ben's room, among them a Soldiers of the One infinity symbol. Amanda had known nothing of Ben or the movement, and in her shock she told the victims' families that her daughter had been the bomber, turning public attention on Zoe. (Caprica, "Rebirth")
Ben's links to the Soldiers of the One had nearly come to light a year before the attack. The Global Defense Department picked him up for a curfew violation carrying what turned out to be bomb-making materials, which he passed off as parts for model rockets, and let him go with a warning. Because the interviewing agent misspelled his name as "Starke", the recording was misfiled and went unnoticed until after the bombing. Agent Jordan Duram then destroyed the tape to spare the department embarrassment. (Caprica, "Reins of a Waterfall")
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Ben Stark?
- Ben Stark was a Caprican student at the Athena Academy and a member of the Soldiers of the One, the illegal Monotheist movement. He was the son of Natalie Stark and was responsible for the suicide bombing of a Caprica City Maglev train.
- How did Ben Stark become a Monotheist?
- Stark studied at the Athena Academy alongside Zoe Graystone and Lacy Rand. The headmistress, Sister Clarice Willow, introduced the three of them to Monotheism and the Soldiers of the One, and Ben became a fanatical believer.
- What was Ben Stark's relationship with Zoe Graystone?
- Ben was Zoe Graystone's boyfriend. Her parents knew nothing about him, and her mother Amanda only learned of the relationship after the bombing.
- Why did Ben Stark bomb the Maglev train?
- Ben was meant to leave Caprica with Zoe and Lacy and start a new life on Gemenon. Without telling Zoe, he had strapped a bomb to his body, and once the train was moving he set it off.
- What happened in the Caprica City Maglev bombing?
- Lacy dropped out at the station, but Ben and Zoe boarded the train. As it set off, Ben opened his coat to reveal a suicide vest, called out to the One True God and detonated it, killing himself, Zoe and many other passengers.
Sources
- EpisodeCaprica, "Pilot", Caprica, Season 1, Episode 1 (2010)
- EpisodeCaprica, "Rebirth", Caprica, Season 1, Episode 2 (2010)
- EpisodeCaprica, "Reins of a Waterfall", Caprica, Season 1, Episode 4 (2010)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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