#Vulcan Starship Monument

[rabbitcruiser]

Vulcan, AB (No. 3)

Enterprise or USS Enterprise, often referred to as the Starship Enterprise, is the name of several fictional spacecraft, some of which are the main craft and setting for various television series and films in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The most notable were Captain James T. Kirk's USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the original 1960s television series, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard's USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Source: Wikipedia

USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) is a starship in the Star Trek media franchise. It is the main setting of the original Star Trek television series (1966–69), and it is depicted in films, other television series, spin-off fiction, products, and fan-created media. Under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, the Enterprise carries its crew on a mission "to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before." Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present) depicts the Enterprise under the command of Kirk's predecessor, Captain Christopher Pike.

Matt Jefferies designed the Enterprise for television, and its core components – a saucer-shaped primary hull, two offset engine nacelles, and a cylindrical secondary hull – persisted across several television and film redesigns. The vessel influenced the design of subsequent franchise spacecraft, and the model filmed for the original Star Trek TV series has been on display for decades at the National Air and Space Museum.

Initially a vision of the potential for human spaceflight, the Enterprise became a popular culture icon. The Enterprise has repeatedly been identified as one of the best-designed and most influential science fiction spacecraft.

Source: Wikipedia

[startrekprodigyfan]

I really like that Star Trek Prodigy, as an introduction to the Star Trek franchise for kids, literally just runs the gauntlet of atypical plot lines. In no particular order we have:

Alien planet is sentient and wants to kill you.

Time travel shenanigans (several times).

Aliens want to help you obtain nirvana… but there’s a catch.

First contact goes awry.

Scary Borg episode.

Sentient AI wants to destroy you.

Sentient AI wants to take over the planet.

Trapped on the holodeck.

Holodeck characters run amok.

Additionally, they also run the gauntlet of introducing different aliens and races and concepts. So we’ve got:

Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi, Vulcans, Tellerite, Andorians, Borg, and Tribbles. But we’ve also got Medusians, Kazon, Caitian, Brikar, Trill, Lurian, and Denobulans.

And on top of that we get slow fed Star Trek concepts and staples such as:

Phasers, Transporters, holodecks, genetic modification, starships, photon torpedos, quantum torpedos, shields, deflector, tractor beams, universal translators, com badges, pips, and more.

Like I cannot overstate how monumental this show is in trying to cover every aspect of Star Trek and get people into the franchise in a way that doesn’t talk down to them or scare them off. Every piece is explained, explored, utilized, and put to great effect in service of the story, not just as Easter eggs or jokes.

[readyplayerhobi]

Captain’s Log | 1

; Starfleet Captain!Jungkook x Ex-Borg!Reader

; Genre: Fluff, angst, future smut

; Word Count: 6.6k

; Synopsis:  Freshly promoted Captain Jeon Jungkook is one of the youngest captain’s in Starfleet history. Sent on a mission to provide aid to a fellow starship, he grapples with multiple problems from a Q who seems to be trying to be human and calling himself Seokjin to having the only Romulan in Starfleet on board and the intricacies of dealing helping an ex-borg crew member readjust. Whether he’ll manage to succeed is another matter altogether, but he’ll try his hardest to prove the USS Yi Sun-Sin deserves a place amongst the most famous ships in Starfleet.

; A/N: So...I’ve just decided to split this. And by split it...I may or may not continue it. I’m not sure how this will be received or if people will even enjoy given it relies very heavily on the Star Trek world. If I can get my inspiration back then I will definitely write the second part which will probably be much longer!

-

Captain Jeon Jungkook stood in the small transport ship, staring out of the viewport with his breath caught in his throat. Before him, was the vast expanse of space. Thousands of tiny twinkling specks of light dotted the view, each one a star that was hundreds, thousands or even millions of light-years away.

There was every chance those stars could already be dead. The big ones would have swelled, more extensive and more substantial as they tried to survive by burning as many gasses as they could before finally going supernova and exploding. All that would remain is a neutron star, the compressed core of what had once been a magnificent sun or instead, a black hole that would eat at the very fabric of the universe.

Smaller stars would simply burn out, becoming white dwarves and cooling for millions of years as they became invisible. Forgotten. What Jungkook was looking at, was visual proof that those stars had existed.

But that wasn’t what interested him.

No, what interested him was the monumental structure that hung in the deadness of space, beyond the atmosphere of Earth. McKinley Station was massive on a scale he couldn’t comprehend. Giant in the kind of way that only space could provide. It was one of Starfleet’s pride and joy, a spacedock that birthed the spaceships that protected the hundreds of planets in the Federation.

Cradled gently in the spacedock’s arms, like a loving mother just waiting to let her child go, sat one of those spaceships. She was brand new, her paint glistening in the lights that shone around her. Like other ships of her class, Curiosity, she had the familiar saucer section that took up a large portion of her size while towards the back, her currently powered down warp nacelles flowed out in two straight lines.

A pale grey, the only notable thing on her was the lettering scrawled across the top of her saucer. It slowly came into view as the transport moved around, letting Jungkook get a good look.

The larger script read her registry number, NCC-75715. It was the clearest text, but he wasn’t interested in that. No, he was interested in what was written above that in a smaller font.

USS Yi Sun-Sin.

Her name. The name she would be known by across the stars. The reason he was interested in the magnificent ship, so new that she would probably have the delightful fresh smell when he got on board, was that she was his. 

Captain Jeon Jungkook, one of the youngest captains in Starfleet history, was the captain of the brand new USS Yi Sun-Sin. This was the first time he���d ever laid eyes on her, but he could feel his heart swelling with pride already as he watched the ship get closer and closer. He would lead her crew through the galaxy, make the hard decisions, explore the unexplored and defend the defenceless. 

It was still hard for him to realise that he’d made it. His years at Starfleet Academy had gone perfectly. Almost too perfectly. The highest grades, the best physical performance and graduated top of his class. He’d only been beaten in the mathematics and physics sections by a Vulcan, which was unsurprising.

After that, he’d run through the ranks of Starfleet at an exponential rate. As a result, he was only 31 and already a captain. His parents were beyond happy and bursting with pride that their little boy had made it to the honoured ranks of Starfleet. Just an ordinary guy from a small city called Busan.

Yet here he was. About to embark upon the greatest adventure.

-

One Year Later

“Engineering, what’s the status on the warp drive?” Jungkook asked, his finger pressed onto the screen embedded into the arm of his comfortable captain’s chair. The bridge stretched before him, a small space before reaching the helm and beyond that was the enormous viewscreen that let him see what lay beyond the Yi Sun-Sin.

A scientific anomaly in the nebula they’d been studying for the last week had caused the warp drive to unexpectedly power down. They’d been operating on thrusters since, managing to push the ship just far enough that they’d left the nebula. Engineering had been working on the drive ever since, frantically running through diagnostics and repairing blown conduits.

A starship without a warp drive wasn’t of much use to anyone. Jungkook was desperate to get it working again so he could get both his ship and crew away from any potential danger.

The last thing he needed right now was for a Borg cube to randomly fly by.

That thought ran through his head and he cringed at the thought, pushing it away quickly. He hoped that didn't happen. With the current roster, Jungkook didn't need his crew needing yet another reason to hate the Borg.

Not that he'd begrudge anyone for their negative feelings regarding the Borg. They were terrifying and Jungkook prayed to whatever god would hear him that he would never have to come across them. 

Any alien species they found that they deemed to be a worthy addition to their gigantic Collective was swiftly captured and assimilated. Rarely did those people ever manage to return once taken.

But a few did.

When he’d been choosing the crew for his ship, Jungkook had had the pick of a wide range of capable candidates. He’d quickly earned himself the Captain of Lost Causes title amongst his peers when they saw who he’d chosen.

His crew was eclectic, to say the least.

And that included an ex-Borg. The only ex-Borg in Starfleet since the demise of Icheb, a capable officer who had unfortunately been killed to harvest his Borg parts. Jungkook, and everyone else in Starfleet, had found that a sad day. Even more so because it had been the infamous Seven of Nine who had delivered the parting blow, ending his suffering when she found him.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how painful that had been for her. A lot of people were under the assumption that those who had once been Borg still retained their lack of humanity. Or whatever you called that in other species. They were wrong. People had it, they just didn’t know how to access it anymore.

Which was why he’d picked you to be his astrometrics officer. You had retained your knowledge from when you’d been in the Borg Collective, one drone amongst millions, even billions. That meant you had a formidable knowledge of space and how to traverse it, a mathematical mind that could only be met by an android and an innate understanding of science.

Needless to say, you were a brilliant Starfleet officer. 

You didn’t quite make such a good human though. Along with struggling to find your place amongst free-minded individuals once more, your social skills found much to be desired as well. Everyone on board Yi Sun-Sin knew about you, and they all knew about the problems you had faced in Starfleet Academy when it came to others.

Jungkook had found you endlessly fascinating for the first few weeks. Your lack of awareness regarding certain social graces and your complete disregard for rules if you felt they were interfering with something worthwhile had both bemused and exasperated him.

When he’d been given this ship, the only thing he’d thought about had been how to ensure he was commanding a large number of Starfleet personnel efficiently and with care. He wanted to be the kind of captain whom people were confident about coming to with their problems while also inspiring strong loyalty to take them into dangerous situations.

He most certainly had not expected what had happened with you over the last year. Not that he particularly regretted any of it. Starfleet didn’t have any concrete regulations when it came to fraternizing. Jungkook knew because he’d frantically scanned them all when he’d realised how deep he was into his feelings. All he’d been able to do was maintain that his personal life remained personal and that when in command, he didn’t let anything interfere with his job.

Alongside you though, he’d also taken on Lieutenant Commander Jimin. The slight man was currently standing behind the communications console to the left of Jungkook at the back of the bridge. He was Jungkook’s second officer and a Romulan. The only Romulan in Starfleet. Just like you, it had made him a little bit of an outcast amongst his fellow officers and cadets at the Academy.

Romulans were not exactly renowned for being friends of Starfleet. But Jimin’s family had fled Romulus before he’d even been born, gaining asylum on Earth and becoming productive members of society. Jimin had never known what it was like to be amongst Romulans; he’d never even seen the homeworld of his species.

That didn’t stop people from distrusting him though. From viewing him through the lens of hostility and anger. Unsurprisingly, he’d somehow formed a friendship with you and it pleased Jungkook to see that you both at least had each other.

But that wasn’t what was important right now. The damn warp drive was.

“Engineering reporting,” The soft and feminine voice of his Chief Engineer, Siyeon, filtered through to the bridge. “We have almost managed to fix the drive, Captain. I estimate another hour and a second test run will be required before I can recommend restarting the warp drive safely.”

Her words were brisk and precise, the famous mark of the ever so logical Vulcans. Siyeon had been the Vulcan to beat him in the subjects he’d hadn’t come top in at the Academy, her analytical mind pursuing her to move through the engineering ranks. When he’d seen her name available for his crew he’d jumped to bring her aboard, promoting her to a senior rank.

She was exactly like she’d been at the Academy, almost unaged due to her extended Vulcan lifespan. Long black hair in an understated cut, eyebrows in a straight line that made it a little hard to understand what she was thinking sometimes and the familiar pointed ears of her race. Due to the same origins of their species, she looked remarkably similar to Jimin with his ruffled black hair, straight brows and pointed ears.

Jungkook was glad to have her on board though. He felt like she could see problems that he hadn’t even considered before and sometimes came up with solutions that seemed surprisingly creative for a Vulcan. Though her second was a human. Chaos incarnate.

“Great, let me know when it’s ready and we’ll give it a try.”

“Acknowledged.” 

He has to purse his lips to stop himself from laughing at her brusque dismissal. It was still jarring to be dealt with in so quick of a manner but Jungkook knew that Siyeon didn’t mean to be rude. She just had more important things to worry about. 

“Jimin,” Jungkook called out to the Romulan, looking back and taking in his immediately alert stance. “Are the sensors showing anything?”

His direct gaze leaves Jungkook’s to look down at his console once more, fingers flying as he taps in commands and looks over everything. The top part of Jimin’s uniform above his heart is solid gold in colour, signifying he’s part of the operations division. It makes his slim shoulders look slightly broader, but not by much.

“Nothing in front or to the side of us, sir. I can’t confirm behind us. We’re still too close to the nebula and our sensors can’t penetrate.” Jungkook always found it a little odd, even after six months, to be staring at someone who resembled a stoic Vulcan so strongly and yet was the complete opposite. Jimin spoke with urgency, a slight tinge of worry in his voice as he was unable to give Jungkook everything he wanted while his brows dipped towards each other as his face gave away even more.

Romulans had never embraced cold logic like their cousins. If anything, Jimin was prone to bouts of rage if he was pushed to his limit. Quick to take offence and even quicker to take action. An unfortunate Romulan trait.

“That’s fine Commander, don’t worry too much over it. We’re still moving away so keep checking. Sensors at max, I want to be aware of every tiny meteor flying even remotely near us in this sector. I do not want to be surprised.” A brusque nod accompanied Jimin’s acknowledgement and Jungkook turned his attention to the next thing on his list.

Looking over to the chair next to him, he raised a slight brow at the Bajoran male sitting there. For a few moments, Commander Yoongi Min didn’t seem to realise his captain wanted his attention. He was too busy scanning over a datapad that had been handed to him by an ensign.

“Min?” Jungkook prompted, causing Yoongi to look up abruptly. The familiar ridges on the upper bridge of his nose gave away his Bajoran heritage, alongside the traditional decorative earpiece that was connected with tiny chains to the shell of his ear, an important part of his culture.

Licking his lips, Yoongi coughed slightly before nodding as he collated the reports he’d been given while Jungkook’s had been busy. 

“Sickbay reports ten injured when the conduits blew on deck 11, section B and C. No other casualties. Engineering teams have already repaired those conduits. Holodeck 1 is out for the moment due to a power surge caused. No ETA for the moment.” He carried on, the reports less important now he’d gotten the big ones out of the way but Jungkook still listened intently as his mind raced.

Once finished, he nodded his thanks to Yoongi before contacting sickbay for an update from his Chief Medical Officer, Dr Dahyun Troi. 

“Dr Troi, how are the casualties? Are you okay down there? Do you need any extra help?” There was a brief pause but he didn’t push it. He may be the captain of this starship but the Chief Medical Officer was the only person who was allowed to give him orders if necessary. The last thing he wanted was to aggravate her.

“Captain, we’re looking good here. I’ve already treated and released four of the casualties. Another three are probably going to be able to go in half an hour once I’ve given them a final scan. The last three are going to be here a little longer, I’m afraid. Ensign Adewale has a crushed left leg that will require surgery to repair while Lieutenant Martinez has suffered head trauma. I can’t give a firm diagnosis on Lieutenant Kapoor, though I do have a feeling that we may have to divert to a Starbase for the medical facilities there to look after her. There may be amputation required.” Dahyun’s voice was calm and gentle despite what she was reporting.

It made her the perfect doctor in Jungkook’s opinion. Always reassuring and with a soft tone of tranquillity, she managed to keep her patients relaxed even under the most stressful and painful of times. 

Which made sense. She was half-human and half-Betazoid, a telepathic race which allowed them to be empathic. The ship’s counsellor, Commander Taehyung Grax, was a full Betazoid. His stronger abilities made him a better option for sensitively dealing with the crew's psychological issues.

“Okay, keep me updated on whatever you need. We’ll plot a course to the nearest Starbase just in case.” Jungkook responds, ending the communication. Taking in a deep breath, he just lets himself have a moment to compile his thoughts and just...breathe. He hasn’t slept in almost twenty-four hours.

Logically, he knows that he could just leave the bridge and get some rest. Yoongi would keep track of everything for him and call him back if anything critical needed his attention.

The soft noise of the elevator doors opening caught his attention, looking over to see you walking out with your usual, self-assured strides. Your face was carefully blank, the Borg implant along your jawline matched with another at your temple. They’d been too interwoven with important nerves to be removed.

“Captain, the astrometrics lab is functioning as expected-” Anything else you were about to say is cut off by the sudden movement of Lieutenant Commander Jung Hoseok. The Chief Security Officer, normally so jovial and bright, moved at what seemed like warp speed to the main area of the bridge, his phaser pointed in front of him while he called for more security.

“Who are you. Identify yourself.” He said sternly, his elegant face like a stone as he watches the newcomer with wary eyes. Every tiny movement is tracked and before Jungkook even realises what he’s doing, he’s standing as well. Brow creasing, he looks over the man who has appeared in a flash of white light.

“I know who he is,” Ensign Namjoon Dax, the chief helmsman said softly. “He’s a Q.”

“Oh no, please no.” Yoongi moaned softly from Jungkook’s side, a hand coming to rub at his face. There was no need for Jungkook to question why he was reacting like that because even he knew what that meant. It had, unsurprisingly, become required reading to go over the reports from Captain Picard, Captain Janeway and Captain Sisko regarding their encounters with the being simply known as ‘Q’.

It was both his name and the name of his race. Extra-dimensional beings with immense power over time, space and plenty of other things that Jungkook desperately didn’t want to get involved with. Like the laws of physics, for starters.

Q was not something that any Starfleet officer wanted to get involved with. Because for as monumentally powerful as they are, as knowledge as they were, they were like petulant children. Constantly bored and wanting to play with the ants. Of which Starfleet ships often ended up being their playthings.

“You’re right, I’m a Q. How did you know? It’s my dashing good looks, isn’t it? Nothing in your universe could possibly compare to this exquisite facade. Handcrafted by the...well I don’t know but that’s not important.” Q said, his full lips spreading into a beautiful smile.

He wasn’t wrong. The alien man stood before Jungkook was good looking, to the point it almost looked unnatural. Tall and with broad shoulders, he had jet black hair that was swept off his forehead in an elegant style while his large eyes practically sparkled with mischief.

It made Jungkook feel ill.

“I know...because I’ve dealt with a Q before. The Q.” Namjoon is still sitting at this console, the red of his uniform denoting his command division and Jungkook feels a small swell of pride at how calm he’s being. Although, there’s no reason to get hysterical. From what he’d read, there was absolutely nothing he could do to make Q disappear until he got bored and left.

“Really? I don’t remember you,” Q said, puckering his lips into a pout while one dark brow rose as he scanned over the helmsman. “Handsome, tall, those familiar markings on your face...you’re a Trill. Do you have one of those creepy worm things in your stomach too?”

Gesturing towards Namjoon, Q’s nose scrunches up in disgust. Trill’s were a humanoid race and some of them were ‘joined’ with a symbiont. A worm-like creature that could only live in the body of a Trill, which was passed from host to host. As a result, Namjoon had the memories and knowledge of all the former hosts of his symbiont.

Including meeting Q, apparently.

“I have a symbiont, yes. And you won’t remember me. I’ve only been joined for a year. You might remember one of my previous hosts though? Jadzia Dax? From Deep Space 9?” There’s a brief moment of quiet as Q thinks before his mouth drops open and he points at Namjoon.

“Yes! You were very beautiful. Though you wore blue then, not red? And you were a woman. Is it strange, going from gender to gender?”

“No. It’s natural. I’m the Chief Helmsman of the Yi Sun-Sin whereas Jadzia was a science officer. You don’t look like that Q though.” Clearing his throat, Jungkook tries to turn the conversation to himself. He was the captain of this ship, after all, it felt odd to be so clearly excluded from the conversation.

“Oh well, that wasn’t me. That was my brother, Q. He shared his memory of you, that’s why I know. I’m Q. But I’ve been quite bored lately so I thought I’d try out this whole...living like one of you things. So, you can call me Captain Seokjin! Reporting for duty!” He says this brightly, grinning as he salutes. There’s another flash of light and suddenly, the plain white robes he’d been wearing are turned into a Starfleet uniform.

A command uniform...with the relevant pips of a Starfleet Captain on his collar.

Letting out a groan, Jungkook tries to control himself as he realises that he wasn’t going to be getting out of this easily. A Q who wanted to be human, or at least act like a Starfleet officer? At least cadets at the Academy were going to remember his name after being forced to read this report as well.

“You can’t just...turn up here and demand to be part of our crew,” Jungkook states, as calmly as he can with high blood pressure rising this much. “Can’t you...go to one of the inhabited planets if you want to live like us? Find a city and-”

“Pssht!” He’s interrupted by Q, or rather Seokjin, lifting a hand and making a gesture as if he was trying to blow away a bad odour. Baffled at being interrupted so blasé, Jungkook just stares at him for a moment with wide eyes before looking over at Yoongi. His second-in-command just gave him an unsure shrug, uncertainty written all over his face.

“I said I want to live like one of you. That means on one of your fancy starships, getting into danger and fighting bad guys. I wanna pew pew everyone!” Finger guns at the ready, Seokjin pretends to fire at Hoseok. When his Chief Security Officer just scowls at the intruder, Seokjin just grins and laughs.

Pressing at his temple, Jungkook reminded himself that headaches didn’t exist anymore. They’d been cured long ago. He was just feeling a phantom headache, that was all.

“You can’t just...waltz onto a starship and give yourself a command. For starters, there’s only one captain and that’s me. Another point is that you are most definitely not qualified to be on this ship. You haven’t passed Starfleet Academy, therefore you can’t be given a rank of any kind. And even if I did give you a field rank, it would be Ensign. Because I don’t know what you can do. If I’d even want to let someone as...chaotic as you even touch anything.” Maybe he went a little too far with that. Some of his words felt a little bit harsh and Jungkook had to work hard not to give away that he was uncomfortably aware that he might have pissed the omnipotent being off.

But all Seokjin does is sighs dramatically, rolling his eyes and flapping his arms around in a remarkably childlike tantrum. 

Subtly raising one hand, Jungkook calls for the security team to stand down. They do so slowly, unhappiness at the order apparent but they can’t go against their captain’s order. Straightening, Hoseok keeps a firm hand on his phaser, the gold of his uniform clashing slightly with the red he’d decided to colour his hair with recently.

“Why not? I’m more powerful than you anyway. I could take you places you’ve never even heard of. How about the Kinmara system?” Clicking his fingers, there’s a flash of light and the view out of the large screen changes abruptly. Instead of the vast expanse of space, there’s a large planet creeping into view.

“What the...where are we?” Jungkook asks, looking over at Jimin with wide eyes. His operations officer is staring with equally wide eyes before scanning the information on his console, rapidly touching it as he changes what he sees. 

“I...I don’t know. The star charts don’t match up with any of the stars out there and we don’t have this planet in the system. From what I can see...it’s an M-Class with a breathable atmosphere. Gravity slightly stronger than Earth but within acceptable parameters. Multiple life signs across the planet.” He stutters slightly, eyes flickering from the view to Seokjin before moving back to Jungkook.

An M-Class meant it was habitable to life forms like humans or Vulcans. The fact that it wasn’t charted, or explored, meant that Seokjin had no doubt used his immeasurable powers to transport the Yi Sun-Sin who knows how many lightyears away from their previous location.

“Yes, it’s called Kinmara. The system is named after it. It has two moons, one of which is also inhabited and is called Breehana. Lovely place, the weather is beautiful and the ocean is just right. Only the ocean is pink, as you can see. I love pink, it’s so pretty to look at, don’t you think? Anyway, the Mara’s, the name of the race down there, don’t get many visitors so you might find it interesting to visit.” Looking back over at the Q, Jungkook realises suddenly that he’s also materialised himself into a fancy chair.

It takes a lot of effort to bite his tongue and not snap at the powerful being. Jungkook needs to get back to where they were, and Seokjin is the only one who can do that. Especially when they didn’t even have warp drive yet.

“I’m sure it’s a lovely place to visit, but right now I would appreciate it if you would just transport us back to where we were? You see, we need to make some final repairs to our warp drive so we’re not interested in exploring Kinmara right now. But if you let us know where it is on a star chart then I’m sure someone at Starfleet will eventually get round to exploring it closer.” Giving a genial smile, Jungkook gives himself a mental pat on the back. He didn’t even sound remotely annoyed then, perfect.

Only he forgot that he’s not dealing with some rational lifeform. He’d read enough about the previous encounters with Q, and read the regulations on how to handle an encounter with one, plenty of times to know that there was no such thing as rational to them. They did what they wanted, when they wanted and how they wanted.

Unfortunately, this Q had chosen the Yi Sun-Sin to be his plaything for today. Which meant that headache that shouldn’t exist was beginning to very much feel like it existed.

“Oh, are we not exploring today? How about some action instead? I know the perfect place.” Another snap of his fingers and everything goes white once more. What takes a mere second feels like minutes, with Jungkook dreading what they’ll be faced with. Because if there’s one thing he’s certain of right now, it’s that it would not be where they’d started.

He’s greeted with a vista of space when he finally opens his eyes, the twinkling lights of far-off stars as familiar to him as the back of his hand. A welcoming sight.

What is not welcoming, however, is the immediate alarm that begins to blare through the bridge. Automatically, the lights dim and a familiar, if unwanted, red light begins to flash throughout the bridge while screens begin to show what the ship deems to be important information. 

Red alert. The standard Starfleet setting for when enemy ships are detected or they go to battle stations. Automatically, the ship has put itself into red alert when something has triggered its sensors. Under normal circumstances, this would mean the Yi Sun-Sin would be primed and ready for battle with weapons ready.

With no warp drive though, it was just a foreboding sound that chilled Jungkook to his very bones. Because there was something out there. Something that his ship deemed a danger to itself and her crew. Something he couldn’t fight.

“Sensors?!” He barks, jerking into movement. Hoseok doesn’t even waste a breath, practically leaping behind the security console and tapping at the screen. There’s no need to ask what he’s doing, Jungkook already knows that he’s trying to see if there’s anything they could do to fight.

“One ship, sir. It’s spotted us, five-million kilometres out and closing. It’s…” Jimin trails off, his already pale face draining even more as his mind acknowledges what he’s reading. His reaction alone makes Jungkook feel sick. Romulans weren’t prone to fear when it came to fighting. They lived for this kind of stuff, beaten only perhaps by the Klingons.

“It’s a Borg sphere, Captain.” The soft words come from behind him and he spins around, eyes widening while the rest of his expression freezes in dual shock and dismay. Your face is carefully neutral, just like it always is and he watches as you work through the data on your astrometrics panel. The sensors for your area are far more sensitive than the general navigation, which makes it no surprise that you’d figured it out first.

“Borg?” He almost whispers. There’s no need to look at the rest of the crew. The subtle wave of fear at the incoming ship moves around the bridge like a harsh wind. But at the same time, he feels a thread of pride at the actions of his senior command. No one panics or starts shouting, instead there’s an odd silence that soon turns the fear into resolve.

There may not be a lot that they could do, but Jungkook would be damned if the Yi Sun-Sin didn’t go down fighting in some way. Even if he had to ram the sphere. Did it make him a bad captain if he’d much rather his crew die in a suicide mission than be assimilated into a lifeless collective?

Glancing back over at you, he sees what no one else does. The fear in your eyes. The pure terror at the knowledge that the Collective you had once been a part of was so close to taking you again. From many conversations with you over the months, both casual and a little more intimate just before sleeping, Jungkook knew that you would rather die than go back.

There was no individual in the Borg. No one person, no freedom of thought of free will. There was only the Collective. A central mind that connected to every single Borg throughout the galaxy, billions upon billions of minds all working as one with no thoughts of their own. You had immeasurable knowledge from all the information that the Borg had harvested from the races they had assimilated over time, but you were terrified of losing your individuality once more.

A Borg drone, which you had once been, was nothing. The Collective thought nothing of killing off drones they deemed defective or those that couldn’t be repaired. There was no compassion, no empathy. No love.

Yes. Jungkook would rather his crew die than put them through that. He didn’t think he’d have many complaints about it either.

Perhaps a little selfishly too, he couldn’t bear the thought of putting you through that once more. You’d finally learnt how to be an individual once more and were exploring your humanity. The thought of you lost forever once more was even more painful.

Looking over at Seokjin, Jungkook gritted his teeth and pointed at him with fury. If only the Q didn’t have the kind of power that Jungkook couldn’t even begin to imagine or understand. He would sincerely love to punch the smug, handsome asshole.

“Take. Us. Back. I told you, we have no warp drive! That means we have no weapons! You’re not going to get the battle you wanted. We can’t fight the Borg, not like this. Take us back! You can be on the ship, fine whatever! Just...don’t touch anything and let us just do our mission! Please.” He begged, about ready to get on his knees if necessary. 

Maybe it wasn’t very becoming for a Starfleet captain, but he didn’t care right now. He had no idea where they were in the galaxy and if the Borg got them, then Starfleet would never know either. The Yi Sun-Sin would go down as missing in action, just another mystery that would never be solved.

But Seokjin’s attention has moved onto you, a curious expression taking over. Tilting his head slightly, he walks over to you with long, elegant strides that make it seem like he’s been on this bridge many times. It annoys Jungkook and he has to ball his hands into fists to stop himself from lashing out at the Q.

You could take care of yourself, he knew that. Jungkook had far more important things to stress over than Seokjin taking a sudden interest with you. So it’s with great pains that he turns away and begins to bark orders at his bridge crew, demanding the status of weapons before patching through to engineering and getting an update from them.

“What are you?” Seokjin asks you, eyes of a deep chocolate brown scanning your frame up and down repeatedly. Unlike anyone else on the bridge, the colour of the top portion of your uniform is blue. A signifier of the science division, it was rare for you to be on the bridge; Jungkook wished that you weren’t here right now given the way Seokjin was looking at you speculatively. 

He shouldn’t have been concerned though because you handled the omnipotent being with the same, cool regard that you did everything else. It had been a little frustrating when he’d first taken command, even more so when he’d realised that he had a potential romantic interest but he loved it right now.

Because you just stared at Seokjin, your gaze not giving away a single hint of emotion or expression. A slight tilt of your head gives away that you’re considering him and Jungkook probably shouldn’t get as much satisfaction as he does by the way Seokjin shuffles, almost as if he’s awkward.

“You are a Q. The Borg have never met your species before. I have no frame of reference for how to engage with you except for the reports from Starfleet.” As usual, your words are straightforward and precise. No one ever has to worry about whether you hold hidden intentions, it’s simply not in your nature anymore to engage in subterfuge.

“The Borg,” Seokjin sounds surprised and he scans over you a few more times, brow rising. “You can’t be an actual Borg, they wouldn’t let you stay here. Not to mention you don’t have all that ugly machine stuff on you. Humanoid and in a Starfleet uniform. You were a Borg, but now you’re not with the Collective anymore. How fascinating.”

“Very. Captain, if you will excuse me then I have duties to attend to.” You’re looking at Jungkook now, lips pursed expectantly. Pausing in his questions to everyone else, Jungkook nods and permits you to leave the bridge. It’s not unnoticed by him the way Seokjin watches you in fascination as you leave. His stomach turns at the sight and worry fills him.

Not that there’s any point. You can take care of yourself and more importantly, none of them could stop whatever Seokjin wanted to do.

“How very interesting.” Jungkook can’t help but glare at the Q as he watches you leave, twisting his lips in a bizarrely human gesture. Finally, he reaches his boiling point and points in frustration out of the viewscreen.

“Borg. Danger. Leave. Now.” Part of him knows that he shouldn’t be as blunt and rude, not when the situation was this dangerous. But he didn’t care, he just wanted his crew and ship away from danger. Something that Jungkook couldn’t do himself. He’d begged, he’d argued and now he was being firm.

If Seokjin wanted to pretend to be part of his crew then he would have to learn to take orders from him. It was the only way this whole stupid thing was going to work without causing Jungkook some serious stress. The very fact that he was even considering this said volumes about the fear and pressure Jungkook was under right now.

Exhaling slowly, he pleaded with himself internally to keep himself calm. From what he’d read about the Q, and that was the race as a whole, it wouldn’t do to antagonise him. It’d do no one any good if he decided to just disappear, leaving the Yi Sun-Sin to its fate.

“Fine, fine. Urgh, you lower lifeforms have no sense of adventure. You’re all so boring.” A click of his fingers sends everything white once more. Once his vision clears, Jungkook immediately starts barking orders to his crew. He didn’t need to though, they were automatically moving like a well-oiled machine.

“We’re back where we started, captain,” Jimin confirms with a nod of his head, his gaze still focused on the readout from his console. He doesn’t say anything more, his fingers too busy darting across the screen as he takes in what he’s seeing.

“Well, this was a waste of my time. I’ll be back when the fun starts.” With that, Seokjin vanishes. The bridge is eerily silent for a few minutes after he’s gone, everyone looking at each other in confusion as the red alert status disappears now they’re safe again.

“Is he gone?” Yoongi asks, looking over at Hoseok. The security chief glances down to his console, lips pursing as he scans through the information before nodding his head slowly.

“No...Q life-signs detected on board. Or rather, only what we expect should be onboard. Looks like he’s really gone.” Something inside Jungkook relaxes and he suddenly feels so, unbelievably, tired. Groaning quietly, he flops back into the captain’s seat and rubs at his forehead. He should visit the medical bay, it’s not natural to have a headache.

“Okay. Okay, well. He’s going to come back, we know that. Just be prepared, warn everyone on board and I want to be informed the moment he turns out. Hoseok, you better make sure your security team is ready for anything he decides to do. I know you probably can’t do anything but it’ll sure as hell make me feel better. Yoongi, get onto engineering and see if they can speed this whole thing up. I want to be gone as soon as possible, is that understood?” Yoongi nods, automatically turning to the interface in his chair.

“Yes sir, I’ll collate reports from all departments and send them to your ready room.” Nodding to his second-in-command, Jungkook stands and stretches with a groan. He’d spent long enough on the bridge and he just wanted some time to relax. But he couldn’t do that, not yet.

“Great. I’m going to head to sickbay, check-in with Dr Troi as my head is killing after that incident. Then I’m gonna try and get some rest. You’ve got the bridge Yoongi, once the engines are fixed and working then get us going again. Warp 8, back on our path. And...send a report to Starfleet about what’s happened. Try and get some advice on what to do with all this. Everyone good with their orders?” Looking around, everyone on the bridge nodded in acknowledgement to him and a weight lifted off his shoulders.

He had a good bridge crew, and he knew that he could rely on them while he was gone. Heading over to the turbolift, entering the circular car and asking for the desk that medical bay was one. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed as it began to move.

“Fuck.”

[starryeyes2000]

Retribution: Prologue

Chapter 2 | Masterlist

Pairing: Christopher Pike x OC

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 900

Summary: Years ago, Lieutenant Christopher Pike and his team’s classified mission failed changing the course of two peoples – the Estess whose planet was strategically important to the Federation and the deeply spiritual Gileseians whose out of the way home was location and resource poor. The price for his involvment will be steep and the debt is about to be called in.

This story takes place after the Season 2 finale. Control was defeated and all the events of Season 2 occurred except for Discovery travelling into the future.

Image credit: @ocfairygodmother

Prologue

10 Years in the Future

Sylvia Tilly walked the empty corridors of Discovery, reminiscing. It was good to be back on board after all these years. It felt like … coming home. It had been her first real home, filled with colleagues who became friends as they fought to survive the Klingon war and in the Terran universe. As they defeated Control. Here she had taken her first steps from awkward student to awkward junior officer. Like a toddler growing into a teen.

Tomorrow she would accept command of Discovery, her first command, relieving one of her best friends, Captain Michael Burnham. Michael was leaving Starfleet to begin her duties in the Vulcan Expeditionary Force, fulfilling the wishes of her father.

If Discovery was her first home, then Enterprise was her second home. She took her first steps on Discovery. She grew up on Enterprise. On Enterprise she realized, for the first time, her pie-in-the-sky dream to become a starship captain was truly attainable. That she could make it real. That she had the right stuff.

Present Day

Earth

“There is still time to stop this … barely,” the mourner whispered and reached out to trace the etching on the memorial stone. The stone was one of tens of thousands forming a black granite monument dedicated to those civilians who died in the recent Klingon war. This place was one of a multitude of remembrances for the war dead scattered throughout the member planets of the Federation. “I didn’t expect to feel regret.” The tears flowed, the ache for this much-loved brother as deep as when he was killed helping those displaced by the fighting.

“I’d ask you what I should do, but I already know your answer. You practiced forgiveness not vengeance.”

There was a long pause when the guilt surfaced. I can stop this. They cannot succeed without my help. I should stop this.

No. The pangs of remorse were reburied.

“I’m sorry. I cannot forgive them. That ship, that crew who were trained to fight and took oaths to protect us? Who spent the war in safety far away from the death and the pain? There must be consequences for that.”

The mourner crouched down and placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the marker. “How can I forgive those who abandoned their duty when you, a primary school teacher who had no special training, volunteered and gave everything? I must … I want … to do this for you. No matter the cost.”

The mourner sat next to the stone and leaned against it. “I will wait here with you until it begins. And then those who died unnecessarily, and their families, will have peace … and recompence.”

Gileseia

In the end crafting a web of those willing to act had been easier than he anticipated. The Federation had enemies among those harmed by its policies. His people whose systematic extermination was unchecked due to the Federation’s policy of non-interference. Others whose sovereignty was trampled because their planetary system was too strategic for the Federation not to interfere. Its own citizens who were disillusioned after the Klingon war.

For him this wasn’t about vengeance. That was a waste of time and prohibited in his spiritual doctrine. This was about safety – the safety of his family, his tribe, his species. He had learned a hard lesson living in the refugee camps and now understood that safety could only be guaranteed with power. Today his power would be acknowledged.

He knelt in prayer to the Universal Father and Universal Mother, asking forgiveness for the lives that would be lost in order to defend his people. He alone bore the responsibility for their murders and, after his incarnate life ended, he would spend 10 millennia tormented by ice and fire, hunger and disease. It would be a fitting punishment for the sins he was about to commit.

He regretted that innocent lives would be lost, but that was easier to bear as they were unknown to him. In battle there was always collateral damage.

It was difficult for him to think of the one who would suffer. She had been kind to him and his family. Had worked in the camps as an interpreter and teacher of the language skills that helped many, including his beloved sister, build new lives on Federation worlds. Yet, that she was the necessary catalyst was not his doing. The ways of the Universal Parents were mysterious, and he accepted her fate, like his, was part of their plan. Yet he prayed that her ordeal would be brief. That the Universal Mother would welcome this victim into her loving arms, gifting immediate peaceful eternal rest.

Estess IV

Minister Drey rose to watch the sun rise. Today it would begin, and Christopher Pike would finally pay for his crimes. And thanks to the Gileseian fools, Estess IV would never be implicated. Unfortunately, Isak Bengsston would most likely escape justice, unless he was killed in crossfire. But Pike, Pike would suffer.

Drey smiled, pleased with the irony that Ambassador Robert April would today, all of days, begin negotiating the final draft of the treaty admitting the Estess system into the Federation. The same day vengeance rained hell down on his enemies.

[epistolizer]

Examples Of Transhumanism In Popular Culture

When confronted with the idea of Transhumanism (the idea that human beings ought to embrace the advancement of the abilities of the species beyond our traditional limitations often through the application of science and technology), the average person is likely to zone out. With words such as nanotechnology, cybernetics, and panspermia bandied back and forth in such discussions, it is easy to conclude that one will never be able to understand what some of the most formidable intellects of the era are talking about, much less be able to provide a critique or refutation of proposals being considered in the most influential of cultural institutions such as academia, the media, bureaucracy, and even increasingly the churches.

The average person is not, however, without resources in terms of equipping themselves with at least a rudimentary understanding of the agendas being put forward and the philosophies being advocated. Surprisingly, acquiring this information costs little more than a subscription to your local cable provider or Netflix membership. That resource is none other than popular science fiction television and movies.

Perhaps the most renowned example of Transhumanism in the popular science fiction of the past two decades (so much so that two of the episodes in which they have appeared have been voted as favorites among fans) are the Borg of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Voyager. The Borg were first introduced in the episode “Q Who?“ when an entity known as “Q”, claiming to be omnipotent, flung the starship Enterprise half way across the galaxy in the attempt to persuade Captain Picard that Q could be an indispensable member of the crew.

The Borg would receive their most definitive treatment in the two-parter “The Best Of Both Worlds”. From these episodes and all the interpretative modifications that would follow, the Borg would go on to rank among the most intriguing of Star Trek species.

One of the aspects of the series that has enabled Star Trek to maintain a degree of popularity over the decades has been the detailed alien cultures that have been developed to serve as antagonists or as narrative devices through which to explore a variety of issues. For the most part, these have projected human characteristics against a larger cosmic backdrop. For example, the Klingons exemplified a culture obsessed with honor and military glory, the Bajorans the struggle the deeply religious face when confronted with a rapidly secularizing culture, and the Vulcans what can happen when logic is emphasized at the expense of emotion. However, as an adversary, the Borg --- despite a basically humanoid appearance --- were about as alien as you could get.

What set the Borg apart from most other species in speculative fiction was not their biology per say but rather their mode of being or consciousness. For though a viewer might be startled by the appearance of a Klingon or a Ferengi, what one would be seeing though perhaps slightly different in terms of values and appearance is still a fellow creature that perceives the universe independently within his own mental framework and is concerned to a lesser or greater extent about his own continued existence. What made the Borg provocatively unsettling as a science fiction adversary was the concept of the collective.

For years, analysts mired in conventional thinking assured that Communism was dead and would never again threaten the free people of the world. The Borg presented a scenario whereby this ideology could resurrect itself as a threat from a Transhumanist perspective.

As with the Secular Humanism and the New Age (or Cosmic Humanism as it was termed by William Nobel in his monumental opus of worldview analysis Understanding The Times), Transhumanism diverges into two extremist streams. Neither of these are ultimately beneficial to humanity if the purpose of this technology is to enhance the species beyond its inherent specifications. There is a totalitarian Transhumanist strain and an anarchistic Transhumanist strain.

The Borg represent the totalitarian strain of Transhumanism. It is quite obvious that the name "Borg" is derived from the word "cyborg", which has come to categorize an entity whose physical components are as much robotic and mechanical as they are biological and organic. However, the greatest atrocity committed by the Borg is not so much that they impose these cybernetic enhancements against the will of those forced to undergo these procedures. It is that the Borg obliterate or at least sublimate the sense of individuality altogether.

Through the systems of censors and processors placed within the bodies of those taken in by or assimilated by the Borg, the individual is incorporated into the Borg group consciousness known as the "collective". Thus in a number of encounters with the Borg decisions by the species were not made by a singular leader or council of individuals but instead by the group as a whole. The primary reason for abducting Captain Picard and turning him into Locutus, apart from gaining intelligence on Federation strategy and tactics, was to have a singular voice to represent the Borg to "archaic cultures which are authority driven".

Some Transhumanists might view this as a great leap forward in terms of expanding political awareness that would allow all members of a group to participate in arriving at a decision approaching consensus rather than one arrived at by a singular leader that might not take varying perspectives into account. However, what some Transhumanists might consider the ultimate communitarian democracy comes at what those echoing Lt. Worf's retort of "I like my species the way it is" consider too high of a price.

This communal solidarity is achieved through a fanatic technological suppression of the self. This is done to such an extent that drones disconnected from the group consciousness fall into a disoriented state quite similar to a form of drug withdrawal, continuing to use the pronoun "we" when talking about the individual self and expressing a sense of loss bordering on grief at no longer being able to hear in their minds the voices of fellow Borg. The Star Trek: Voyager character Seven of Nine even continued to prefer that particular numerical designation rather than reclaim her human name and at times considered abandoning her reclaimed individuality in order to rejoin the Borg group mind.

A person's sense of self is not the only thing threatened by the use of Transhumanist technology for the purposes of seamlessly incorporating the singular person into the larger social organism whether they want to be or not. By minimizing the distinctiveness of each individual within the context of the larger group, even if one claims to be elevating the status of everyone by ensuring that each voice plays a part in determining the overall consensus, this notion of the ultimate communal entity having the only real value minimizes the worth of any of its singular components to the point of fostering a mentality of easy bio-disposability.

When a Borg falls in battle, the body is not respectively retrieved even when comrades are nearby. Rather, data components are extracted from the corpse with the remains at best reclamated for what it can “give back to the community”.

One often finds this kind of bait and switch in certain brands of pantheism. One might have the guru or, even in certain instances now, powerful cultural institutions such as academia or the media whispering in your ear that you as part of the universe are a part of God. Such voices then turn around and craft intricate policy proposals as to why the elderly should be rationed medical care or that Genghis Khan ought to be considered some kind of ecological visionary for having slaughtered millions of people.

As with other faiths and creeds, Transhumanism can be viewed as having a number of denominations. Those bending their knees to the Borg as the patron saint of the Church of Our Beloved Central Processor believe that merging man or metal (or at least high grade plastics) ought to be the path pursued to take the species to the level beyond the merely human. The second path in pursuit of this goal believes it will be best achieved no so much by incorporating or grafting inorganic components onto human beings but rather by directly tinkering with the genetic blueprint already there to advance the capabilities of individuals to levels beyond that of baseline humans. This would be accomplished in part by adding genes from other species into the code for human beings.

This brand of Transhumanism, where the subject itself is enhanced instead of relying on external technology, is likely the version of the perspective the average American is most familiar with. It, after all, forms the backbone of many classic superhero comic books, movies, and television series. The disturbing thing of it is is that there are now scientists and policymakers that want to take these stories from the realm of the imagination and make them a concrete reality even though the tales themselves often warn of undesirable consequences no matter how enjoyable it might be to swing from the New York skyline or to smooch a sopping wet redhead while dangling upside down from a fire escape.

In most heroic graphic literature narratives, powers and abilities are imbued upon the protagonist through accidental circumstances. Foremost among this variety of costumed adventurers rank Spider-Man (bitten originally by a radioactive spider but interestingly in the movie series by a hybrid arachnid engineered through genetic experimentation) and the Fantastic Four (who acquired their abilities as a result of bombardment by cosmic rays while blasting off into outer space). However, the implications of having these enhanced abilities from the moment of conception either as a result of conscientious deliberability or as a result of the fortuity of insemination have also been explored.

The series Dark Angel chronicled the adventures of a young woman who had been genetically engineered --- largely through an infusion of feline DNA --- to give her enhanced reflexes and senses. In similar stories from previous decades, these procedures were often undertaken for the benefit of the individual such as the Six Million Dollar Man (which these days would have gotten astronaut Steve Austin mediocre medical care for that paltry sum) and the Bionic Woman. Neither of these would have survived without extensive technological intervention.

In the case of incidents like these, it is likely those involved would provide some degree of consent to have their physiologies altered so drastically. Dark Angel warned, however, that there could be organizations and institutions possessing this technology using it not so much for the benefit of those it is applied to but rather for the sake of an elite and whatever agenda such conspiratorial entities might be pursuing. For example, Dark Angel, a young woman named Max, was engineered to be a solider and indoctrinated to be such from the earliest days of her childhood in a facility that subjected her and her “siblings” to tortuous physical and psychological testing reminiscent of the tactics used by the Red Chinese shown in news footage around the time of the Beijing Olympiad of how that regime trains its adolescent athletes.

Another interesting aspect of the series is that, unlike Star Trek which takes place in a milieu centuries apart from our own, Dark Angel is set in a world likely to come about in a few short years. In the series, the United States has fallen victim to an electromagnetic pulse attack that cripples much of the nation’s electronic infrastructure. The government agency behind the project is known as “Manticore”, which according to Wikipedia is a creature from Persian mythology composed of parts from various animals such as the body of a lion, a tail of scorpion, and the head of a human (making its description similar to the locust monstrosities mentioned in Revelation 9 that plague those that do not have the name of God sealed on their foreheads). In the second season, it was revealed that Manticore was just the tip of the iceberg and something of a front for a secret society involved in genetic experimentation and selective human breeding spanning back centuries.

The series, however, was not without a ray of hope. It was likely one of the first to feature as one of its protagonists a citizen journalist or blogger using what were at that time technologies just beginning to be used in the capacity of alternative media.

One the fictional milieus that has explored the notion of enhanced human beings to the greatest degree has been that of the X-Men. A part of the Marvel Comics “multiverse” including characters of other enhanced ability such as Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men also stand apart from their other superhero counterparts in terms of how most of these characters acquired their underlying augmented aptitudes.

In interviews regarding how he came up with the origins of the X-Men, their creator Stan Lee decided that they were simply born that way as genetic mutants so he would not have to come up with any more elaborate accidents. Though he might have done this for the sake of literary expediency, it also provides insight for the average person perhaps not scientifically or esoterically inclined into yet another school of thought as to how enhanced human beings might come into existence.

In the cases of both the Borg and Dark Angel, people transcending the limitations of the species are brought about through directed, deliberate intervention. However, with the X-Men, these abilities and differences come naturally usually at the onset of puberty or even from birth if the character in question possesses an appearance markedly different from template human beings. Thus, the X-Men and those like them, in the context of the Marvel narrative universe are seen as numbering among the next stage of human evolution and are given the scientific designation of “Homo Superior”. This would not be all that different than those that think so-called “Indigo Children” represent a leap forward beyond that of their parents.

As intriguing as the perspective is that mankind might not have to intervene in order to bring about our next biological paradigm but rather that it will come about at an unexpected moment like Goldsmidt’s Hopeful Monster hypothesis or at a time when the cosmos itself either deems it consciously or through a confluence of fortuitous happenstance, the greatest contribution made by the X-Men in considering the issues of human enhancement is in the comics' exploration of how these advances would complicate sociology and politics. Often, comics follow a traditional hero versus villain narrative. X-Men, in part, contributed to expanding the perception of those archetypal categories.

Inspired by the social upheaval of the 1960's and long identified with by the most enthusiastic of comic readers who often find peer acceptance elusive, the X-Men have often been depicted as a band of outcasts or even outlaws. Typically in the Marvel universe, mutants born with their powers are viewed with suspicion and are not to be trusted because of the drastic differences setting them apart from the remainder of the population. And though such an attitude might strike the reader as prejudiced as evidenced by the numerous mutant characters mistreated throughout these stories, such suspicions are not without warrant.

From that brief description, those unfamiliar with the X-Men might assume that the bitterest foes of the X-Men would be antimutant human beings. If anything, the X-Men are caught in the middle and just as likely to take on foes of enhanced abilities much like their own. For example, Magneto is a survivor of the Holocaust who, in the attempt to prevent enduring such a tragedy a second time, has at times adopted a militant mutant-supremacism not all that distinguishable from the Nazism that reeked so much havoc in his own young life. Then there is Mr. Sinister, obsessed with genetic experimentation unbridled by any ethical boundaries whatsoever. Finally, there is Apocalypse, who has essentially lived through all of human history from ancient times, seeing himself as sitting above both human and mutant kinds doing with each as he pleases.

As a highly imaginative comic franchise, the X-Men provide a number of points for Christians to ponder. Professor Charles Xavier and his Institute for the Gifted (of which the X-Men exist as its covert elite arm) endeavor to foster acceptance and peace between mutants and humanity, which the X-Men view mutantkind as a part of rather than as a distinct species. The perspective that mutants and human beings are essentially the same is also shared by the mutant-hunting artificial intelligences known as the Sentinels which turn on their human creators at some point in the future when their dispassionate robotic logic concludes that the enhanced and the unenhanced are at the deepest levels one-in-the-same.

Thus, if humanity is successful at some point in the future at enhancing the species at such a foundational level, the church is going to have to grapple with just how much of the genetic code can be tampered with before it is no longer human. This would be of particular relevance in reference to those that have undergone such procedures who may still identify as being human, those who repent in their hearts for having undergone these transformations, and most importantly those who may have been born through no fault or choosing of their own to altered human parents and who may sincerely want to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Even those that have enjoyed speculative fiction their entire lives are going to be shocked the first time they see someone looking like the male lead from Beauty and the Beast walking through the narthex.

Since the primary emphasis of most popular speculative fiction is the action and adventure, sometimes the why and for what purpose often gets glossed over by the captivating pyrotechnics and spellbinding special effects. Often, it was assumed, hinted at, or alluded to that those altering the human species were doing so solely in the name of materialistic purposes. However, a number of popular television programs have suggested that radical intervention into what it means to be human might be undertaken in the attempt to bring those undergoing the process closer to what such individuals perceive or understand to be God.

Even in its late 70's incarnation, Battlestar Galactica possessed an openly spiritual bent, borrowing that inclination from Star Wars with its emphasis upon the Force rather than the galactic-pluralism of the original Star Trek, which emphasized tolerance between sentient species rather than the existence of an overarching metaphysical reality beyond a nebulous declaration of generalized principles. However, unlike Star Wars with its notion of a ethereal dualistic spiritualized energy field that "surrounds us, binds us" as Yoda intoned in “The Empire Strikes Back“, the original Galactica was far from shy in borrowing concepts nearly directly from Mormonism such as wandering tribes on an "exodus" to find the Promised Land of Earth, that the forefathers of humanity began on the planet Cobol (the homeworld of Mormonism's god being Colob), and the idea epitomized in the scene where the angel-like beings told Starbuck and Sheeba that as these entities are, humans would one day become.

The reimagination of Battlestar Galactica retained a spiritual tone, though it was taken in a slightly different direction. In the new version, the faith most often expressed among the majority of the population of the Twelve Colonies is a form of polytheism borrowed nearly word for word from Greco-Roman mythology. However, the most intriguing philosophical addition of the series was the exploration of Cylon religion.

A classic science fiction title inquired "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?". The producers of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica might not have answered that query directly, but they did suggest that Cylons spent considerably more time cogitating upon theology since their earlier days when they primarily resembled tea kettles with anger management issues and of whom the most articulate among their number was a lava lamp named "Lucifer" (who sounded disturbingly similar to Dr. Smith from "Lost In Space") than most of us realized. But whereas the Colonials were portrayed primarily as polytheistic in their religious orientation, the Cylons (especially those in the form of bioengineered clones that were virtually indistinguishable on the outside from human beings with the exception of the characteristic red light that pulsated up and down the spine when overcome by the throws of passion not unlike Chris Matthews leg during an Obama Speech) were radically monotheistic.

By the end of the series through a revelation of two beings conceptualized as angels for lack of a better term, it was made known that the entire epic was part of some divine plan where the band of humans from across the cosmos would come to earth and, as viewers learned from the Patrick Macnee voice over intro to the earliest episode of the original series “who would becomes the forefathers of the Egyptians, the Toltecs, and the Mayans”. However, apparently it was not enough to end the series on the note that humans walking the earth today are the descendants of the intermingling of the native hominid population found here on earth and that of a prior advent of a species virtually identical to our own. Rather, it was hinted at that the hybrid human/ Cylon child Hera was actually mitochondrial Eve from which every last person on the planet can trace their origin.

All quite fascinating, the reader might think, but what does any of this have to do with human enhancement. In the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, rather than being an external menace alien to humanity in accordance with fears prevalent during the time of a more publicly acknowledged Cold War, it is emphasized in the new version that the Cylons were a human creation that turned against their masters. However, in the shortlived Galactica prequel titled Caprica in honor of the capitol world of the Twelve Colonies, we learn that the Cylons were not developed solely as a result of military or industrial interests. A spiritual component also contributed to this breakthrough in artificial intelligence that was initially thought to assist in helping at least a select few surpass the limitations of human existence.

Echoing shades of Greco-Roman times, the polytheist establishment of Caprica, if not outrightly persecuting followers of “the one true God” derided as Monotheists, looks askance at the adherents of this faith centered around the Colonial world of Gemenon. However, echoing concerns of our own day, such suspicions are not without warrant because within the Monotheistic movement is a faction known as the Soldiers Of The One that utilize violence to further the group's agenda.

At the beginning of the series, Monotheist Zoey Graystone, who thinks she is running away to Gemenon, is killed in a terrorist attack perpetrated by her own boyfriend. However, that was not the last viewers would see of Zoey or at least what was portrayed as her semi-autonomous facsimile.

As the story unfolds, it is revealed that Zoey was something of a computer programming prodigy and was able to replicate an interactive avatar of herself in VWorld, a digital realm that combines the social aspects of the Internet with the tangible interactivity of the Holodeck from Star Trek. Eventually, Zoey's mentor, who turns out to be a member of the terrorist faction, finds out about the sentient avatar and believes it is the first step to achieving her goal of a state called "apotheosis".

As with other terms in science fiction that sound like conceptual drivel to the unsuspecting ear, apotheosis is a notion increasingly bandied about in circles where philosophical and religious thought overlap with technological speculation. Like Sister Clarice (Zoey‘s mentor), proponents of apotheosis in Transhumanist circles hope to transcend the limitations of human temporal corporeality by essentially uploading the human mind or soul into some kind of computer or autonomous android by copying the memories stored in our brains as electrochemical impulses. While you would still technically die eventually as a biological organism, postmodernist thought has so unhinged itself from Biblical concepts of what constitutes life and existence that many would be hard-pressed to refute why an android with a sufficiently complex degree of computer processing power thinking it was you theoretically with all your memories shouldn't simply be considered an upgraded version of yourself.

The humans of the early 21st century look upon all the grandiose predictions made by science fiction authors and analytical futurists and see, for the most part, that at our most basic despite all the advances in technology and culture we are pretty much as we have always been throughout recorded history in terms of our fundamental nature and composition. Another subgenre of science fiction suggests that enhancement will not come about either through our own efforts nor spontaneously on its own. Rather, such stories speculate enhancement will come from efforts directed by intelligences from what would be considered beyond the earth.

Though by no means the only example as this general theme has just about become so clichéd that there is almost the danger of it no longer sparking the imagination the way it once did in terms of stimulating discussion as to both the origins and future of humanity, a prime example of this kind of series would be Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict. The opening narration of the series intoned, "Three years ago they came, forever altering the future of humanity."

Thus, Earth: Final Conflict dealt with mankind's first contact with extraterrestrials from beyond our world. And though the aliens possessed technology vastly superior to our own that they claimed that they wanted to share with us out of their own sense of altruism, it isn't long until it is realized, at first by a small cadre of resistance fighters, that the "Companions" (as these nonterrestrial entities are initially construed as) need us far more than we need them. However, Earth: Final Conflict was not so much the standard aliens trying to take over the earth epic as it was one about aliens coming to earth to manage and manipulate mankind as a pharmaceutical livestock crop.

Though technologically advanced, because of pursuing a gnostic evolutionary course eschewing the material body in favor of existence as beings composed more of energy than physical substance, the Taelons discover that they are no longer able to reproduce their species. Thus, one of the primary reasons for coming to Earth was to utilize the human species to overcome this quandary.

Part of the downfall of Earth: Final Conflict was the failure of producers to stick to innovative plot lines to their ultimate fruition. One introduced at the conclusion of its first season to cover over the departure of the program's lead male protagonist provided a scenario as to how beings from beyond the earth might be the ones responsible for bringing about the enhancement of the human species.

Around the time of the first season finale, it is revealed that the Taelons are not the only other sentient species besides mankind in the cosmos nor human beings the first manipulated for their purposes. Out of suspended animation comes a similar entity composed of an energy-based physiology but unlike the Taelons, this one --- known as a Kimera and considered to be an evolutionary predecessor or at least genetic contributor to the Taelons --- is in no need of interstellar Viagra.

By first mimicking the appearance of an unsuspecting male host, the alien is able to seduce a human woman and cause her to be found with child. And in order to provide a "totally plausible" explanation for the new male lead to assume his role, the child fully matures in a matter of fifteen to thirty sections upon being born.

For a few episodes at least before this conceptual element was downplayed before it was resurrected ironically as a way to write out this thespian as well when the production company decided to dump the American cast members in favor of an all Canadian ensemble, the nature of this character (Liam Kincaid) was examined. Apart from the energy bolts that could be discharged from his palms as a defensive mechanism, one intriguing concept was that the extraterrestrial component of his physiology was centered within a third helix to his DNA. As many will recall from encounters with their high school biology texts or A&E and the Discovery Channel before these networks developed obsessions with fishing trawlers, junk peddlers, and overlytattooed fugitive retrieval agents, DNA is renowned as a double-helixed molecule.

Some readers might dismiss this entire analysis that they have just read. Surely, they respond, one cannot portend from outlandish entertainments the paths science and technology will take in the years and decades to come. However, it must be remembered that twenty or so years ago it would have seemed ludicrous that most Americans would not have to be tethered to literal cables crisscrossing the country in order to access the nation's telecommunications system or that as they traveled about the highways they would no longer be shackled by the whims of local radio programming directors but could assert a degree of control over their own mobile entertainment decisions with entire collections of music at their very fingertips.

The inventors of these very devices, the cell phone and the MP3 player, acknowledge the inspiration derived in part from viewing similar gadgets on various episodes of Star Trek. Such a realization has to cause the reflective to pause when the machine being tampered with and manipulated in so much of speculative fiction these days is nothing less than the human body itself. For we are warned in Genesis 11:6, "And the Lord said, Behold the people are one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."

by Frederick Meekins

[mayonakakitsune]

Good night moon, good night Starship Shenzhou, good night Vulcan, good night Nightmare Klingon touch bearer monument/tomb that is nightmare fuel, good night Nightmare fuel Klingons, good night Borg, and good night tumble, good night.

[komihn-blog]

it takes time to prepare meals by hand, a step most officers do not need to take in the day thanks to synthesizers ... but gestures should be made when a birthday comes around. t'palia has prepared a platter - foods as close as possible to those from their home ( the plomeek soup is her mother's recipe ). " happy birthday, spock. "

home has variable meanings when you reside upon a starship set to scale the stars. home doesn’t resonate when the planet you once knew is destroyed, its death an act of sanctified retribution by a man forsaken in his own time. home is no longer tangible   ;   a concept in an existence focused solely for comfort, for peace, for sanity. there is no home to return to. the sands he has scaled in youth are gone. the house he grew and learnt and aged in is only a memory coveted as if sacred. the vulcan people have little, yet they set to gain so much more in the years to come. he should be thankful as much had survived as it had. ( HE DOESN’T FEEL THANKFUL FOR FEELING THE PHANTOM ARMS OF HIS MOTHER WRAP AROUND HIM. HE DOESN’T FEEL THANKFUL FOR THE MOURNING HE HAD DONE. HE DOESN’T FEEL THANKFUL FOR THE EMPTINESS WHERE ONCE WERE HYMNS AND PRAYERS THAT UPLIFTED THE KATRAS OF SO MANY. ) he should be thankful. he should.he isn’t. yet time and energy, focus and resolve, are pushed to other things. there are monumental achievements ready to be completed, praised. there are new discoveries to document, find. there are new experiments to be done, explored. where there is death there is always life. ( A CONCEPT FORGED IN THE STARS THEMSELVES, IN THE VERY CREW WHO CONTINUE TO SACRIFICE FOR THE GREATER GOOD. ) vulcan’s demise took with it so much, letting ancients crumble and homilies go unanswered. even with their historical, religious sites gone   ;    the lives of their ancestors lost   ;   the lives of children fated to never grow old locked within memory, they rise. they rise and they rise and they forge themselves a path from endurance and strength and the resolve in knowing this is not their end. ( THIS IS NOT A MOMENT OF SORROW, BUT ONE OF ACCEPTANCE. ) they are a people burdened with a death that should never have been. he forgets that. he forgets that he and t’palia are two souls whom each carry their own weights. be it upon their shoulders, chests, hearts. he forgets that. he forgets she has suffered just as he.he forgets that she, perhaps, is thankful. he forgets that not all have lost hope. perhaps it is the loss of his mother, the woman who encouraged without haste, that hastens his own attitude of feigned indifference. ( OF REPRESSING THE SORROW HE STILL HEARS ECHO WITHIN THE MINDS OF THOUSANDS, MILLIONS. )forgive him, he thinks as eyes light upon the gift. forgive him, his lips almost say as he looks to her with astonished gaze, open with not only wonder, but with a thankfulness he had supposed too precious for a child such as he to hold. 

         ‘   my birthday is hardly a means for celebration.   ‘   so cynical, yet voice is softened, rough as it were in his moments close to death. this intimacy remains hard to navigate, yet there is an obstruction in throat as he gazes, lost and lost and lost and he swears, he swears, there’s no coming back from this.this is what finding home feels like. ( THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO FIND SOLACE. )lips quiver in slight, hardly noticeable yet present all the same. there is so much emotion, so many elements warring inside, swirling into some tidalic wave he doesn’t truly know how to control. he cannot cry, yet voice is thicker now, damaged by her kindness, her unrelenting understanding. he knows, then, that t’palia will be a woman he respects and admires for the rest of his life. he knows, then, that she will be known as the one who led the people to their salvation, who saved the lambs from slaughter. ( PROVERBIAL, YET PROFOUND. ) she will always hold a place in his heart. she will always be more than subordinate. and he is thankful. he is content. itar-bosh.                                                       ‘   th'i-oxalra, t’hai’lu. would you ... be interested in dining with me?   ‘

[rabbitcruiser]

Vulcan, AB (No. 1)

Vulcan is a town in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Vulcan County. It is on Highway 23, midway between the cities of Calgary and Lethbridge. The population of the town was 1,769 in 2021. Now known as the "Official Star Trek Capital of Canada", Vulcan has a tourism building made to look like a landed space station, a statue of the original series Enterprise, and other Star Trek themed attractions.

Vulcan was named by a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway after the Roman God of Fire – Vulcan. Originally, all the streets of Vulcan were named after gods and goddesses of the classical world such as Juno, Mars, and Jupiter.

The community was incorporated as a village on December 23, 1912, and then as a town on June 15, 1921. In July 1927, a major tornado destroyed many homes and the new curling rink in the town. That tornado was made famous when a photograph of it approaching Vulcan was used for the "tornado" article in Encyclopædia Britannica.

Source: Wikipedia

[rabbitcruiser]

Star Trek Day

People around the world mark Star Trek Day on September 8 to celebrate the legacy of one of the best stories, films, and T.V. shows in history. As one of the most beloved works of pop culture, “Star Trek” still enjoys a loyal fan base even after so many years. Ever since the release of the first T.V. show in the series, the “Star Trek” universe kept garnering attention and wonder at its hope-filled and futuristic vision.

History of Star Trek Day

“Star Trek” was initially conceived as a T.V. series about the cosmos. The first episode was aired in 1966, on September 8, the date of the holiday. Although the ratings of this first series kept dropping throughout the season, later installations proved much more successful. The show was canceled after some years. However, in 1969, reruns of the show helped garner a cult following.

The first “Star Trek” convention was organized in 1972, which was attended by thousands of fans, surprisingly. This attested to the success of the show and the originality of its premise, which later led to the network, Paramount, reviving the series. Paramount produced the “Star Trek” animated series, which won an Emmy Award, as well as The Motion Picture, which performed fairly well at the box office.

The first major success of the Star Trek saga would be “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” the second film in the series. Star Trek would eventually amass six film productions, all of which are now considered classics. Later on, in 1987, Paramount would reintroduce the Star Trek universe back into television, with the production of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” As of the 2000s, “Star Trek” is by far the most successful franchise for Paramount, and will continue to release additional installations to the original work. Even now, several “Star Trek”-themed T.V. shows, animated series, and movies are still in production. This cultural significance is what makes “Star Trek” deserving of a dedicated annual celebration.

Star Trek Day timeline

1966

The First Episode

'The Man Trap,' which is the first Star Trek episode, is broadcast.

1980

The First Movie

The Motion Picture is the first “Star Trek” feature film, and is directed by Robert Wise.

1988

“The Next Generation” Begins

One of the most memorable “Star Trek” series, “The Next Generation,” begins its first installation.

2009

The Reboots

“Star Trek” releases the earliest eponymous reboot film, intended to revive the “Star Trek” legacy for younger audiences.

Star Trek Day FAQs

Who is Star Trek’s most popular character?

Although there are many answers to this, and Star Trek fans are constantly debating this point, Mr. Spock is largely considered the most famous character in all of the series.

What was Captain Kirk’s catchphrase?

Captain Kirk, played largely by William Shatner, is by far the main protagonist of the series. However, he didn’t have a catchphrase.

Did Captain Kirk ever meet Archer?

Captain Kirk started out very young; Archer was around 40 years old at that time and so the two never meet.

Star Trek Day Activities

Binge watch the series: Star Trek is considered one of the greatest media franchises in the world. It offers amazing stories and an expansive universe. Watching the series and its productions is one of the best ways to celebrate this special day.

Host watching parties: Watching parties are incredibly popular amongst loyal Trekkies. It is one of the best ways to share your passion for this series, as well as to discover the great stories it offers.

Attend the convention: Star Trek Day is usually celebrated as part of the “Star Trek” Convention. Attending this event will put you at the center of “Star Trek” related festivities. Make sure you check out all the organized events and participate.

5 Interesting Facts About “Star Trek”

Captain Spock was originally red: In the original screenplays, Captain Spock was supposed to have red skin but was later changed.

Eddie Murphy turned down a role: Eddie Murphy was going to be cast in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” but he turned down the role.

The only person to play himself: Stephen Hawking, the American cosmologist, is the only person to play himself in the series, “The Next Generation.”

A Royal fan: Abdullah II, the King of Jordan, is a huge fan and even has a silent cameo appearance in the Voyager episode, “Investigations.”

William Shatner has never watched the series: Although he played a protagonist role, William Shatner has never watched the series.

Why We Love Star Trek Day

It’s one of the most recognizable series: Star Trek is still one of the most recognizable series in the history of T.V. and cinema. It is still an important part of pop culture and yields an important fan base. This celebration is indeed a recognition of the series’ significance.

“Star Trek” is fun to watch: It has amazing stories and is very fun to watch. If you’re wondering what to binge-watch next, “Star Trek” is definitely a winning choice.

Popular among different generations: “Star Trek” is one of the very few series that can yield fans from different generations. Be it the original series, the great movies produced in the ‘80s, or the recent reboots, “Star Trek” indeed offers something for everyone.

Source

[rabbitcruiser]

Vulcan, AB (No. 2)

Since 1990, Vulcan has hosted the annual Vulcan Tinman Triathlon, which takes place at the beginning of June. This sprint-distance triathlon attracts nearly 1,000 participants. There are classes for adults of all ages and skill levels as well as for teams and children.

The town's name has brought some attention that has helped it become a tourist attraction. In the Star Trek television and feature film series it is the name of the homeworld of Mr. Spock and his fellow Vulcans. Capitalizing on this coincidence, the town has built a Star Trek–themed tourist station (the Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station), which provides tourist information, displays an extensive donated collection of Star Trek memorabilia. The Trek Station also offers unique photo opportunities and interactions with iconic Star Trek characters in their ever-evolving Cosplay Costume Collection. Nearby, a replica of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek V has been mounted on a pedestal which includes writing from Star Trek alien languages such as Klingon. In 2010 Leonard Nimoy visited the town and was honoured at the town centre with a bust and handprint. A transporter, Doctors Mural and other Star Trek attractions can be experienced throughout the town. The Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station has hosted an annual Star Trek Convention (held the last weekend in July) "VulCON" since 1993 where celebrity guests are "beamed" in to spend the weekend with attendees. It is a unique convention in that celebrity guests & Trekkies get to know each other during the Meet & Greet, Q&As and a banquet and dance. This convention attracts hundreds of Star Trek fans from around the world.

The town also hosts another annual event called "Spock Days". This is a family-friendly weekend with a parade, children's spaces, a ball tournament, fireworks and more.

Source: Wikipedia

[rabbitcruiser]

Alberta joined the Canadian confederation on September 1, 1905.