#starfleet encourages resourcefulness

[badwolfrunning]

Also also he got called out on this MANY times before. My personal faves are City On the Edge of Forever when they first encounter Edith Keeler and he tries to lay on the charm she just goes;

"A lie is a terrible way to begin a conversation."

and Catspaw:

Syliva: "You are using me! You hold me in your arms and there is no fire in your mind! You're trying to deceive me! It's here like words on a page! You are using me!"

Kirk: "And why not?!! You've been using me and my crew!!"

Basically: "You played me!" "Uh yeah bitch, you started the game!"

2x22 - By Any Other Name

[communistkenobi]

i don’t know if you have seen the TOS movies so i will try to be as vague about this as possible so to not spoil them for you. i think a large portion (or at least a portion) of the issues presented in TOS are because starfleet sucks, to put it in the best words. this is not including the issues and harm it has done on real people, im talking about the in-universe starfleet and how it presents itself and its rules (example: colonization (encouraging its captains to colonize, encouraging its captains to make other planets and civilizations join their “american” federation)). a larger and more prominent explanation is how its, as described in VI, a “homosapiens-only club”. the klingon who says this also goes on to say that the federation is racist. and this is shown after both kirk and spock say they believe that the federation is peaceful. and obviously they think that because that’s what it presents itself as to it’s employees. another example is in TSFS when a higher authority from the federation tells kirk that he doesn’t believe in vulcan rituals, therefore, if kirk does this ritual, he will be fired. i know this is shown in the show as well but the more obvious examples are from the movies; to me it feels like they’re outright saying it in the films

i know this is not how it was intended to be perceived but this is what the show presents it as. i could be missing something or misunderstanding but this is how i see it, and from what i’ve heard, this is talked about in ds9

also starfleet coincidentally decides that the dark skinned aliens are enemies (this is more of a writing choice and the writers (and character designers) are at fault for this but it presents itself as an obvious issue, in universe, in V & VI)

I’ve seen the first four movies! My recall on canon and the intricacies of starfleet etc are not so precise, so I appreciate the context and some of that sounds familiar. I’m assuming you’re responding to my bitching about the politics of tos and how disconnected it is (in my view) with the fandom’s perception of tos as a progressive cultural text. 

I think those examples are good highlights of a lot of the in-universe problems with Starfleet. To go a step further, I think even absent Starfleet’s racist or discriminatory history in-universe, the show itself (at least tos, I haven’t seen the others) operates on a colonial imaginary, by which I mean, its basic narrative premises and assumptions are colonial (and therefore racist) in character.

Like okay, the premise of tos is that the Enterprise, as an ambassador of Starfleet/the Federation, is seeking out new alien life to study. The Prime Directive prohibits the Enterprise crew from interfering with the development of any alien culture or people while they do this, so the research they collect needs to be done in an unobtrusive way. I think this is the first point at which people balk at the charge that tos is colonial - the Enterprise’s mission is premised on non-interference, and I think when people hear ‘colonial’ as a descriptor they (understandably, obviously) assume it is describing active conquest, genocide, and dispossession. Even setting aside all the times where Kirk does directly interfere with the “development” of a people or culture (usually because they’ve “stagnated” culturally, because a culture without conflict cannot evolve or “develop” beyond its current presumed capacity - he is pretty explicitly imposing his own values onto another culture in order to force them to change in a particular way), or the times when the Enterprise is actually looking to extract resources from a given planet or people, I’m not exactly making this claim, or rather, that’s not the only thing I’m describing when calling tos colonial.

Its presentation of scientific discovery and inquiry is anthropological - the “object” of analysis is alien/foreign culture, meaning that when the Enterprise crew comes into contact with a new being or person, this person is always read first and foremost through the level of (the Enterprise’s understanding of) culture. Their behaviour, beliefs, dress, way of speaking, appearance, and so on are always reflective of (and represent a microcosm of) their culture as a whole, and more importantly, that their racial or phenotypic characteristics define the boundaries of their culture, ie, culture is interpreted, navigated, and bound racially. Because of this, Kirk and Co are never really interacting with individuals, they are interacting with components of a (foreign, exotic, fundamentally different) culture. And when they interact with these cultures, they very frequently measure them using a universalized scale of development - they have an evolutionary view of culture, ie, that all cultures go from savage to rational, primitive to advanced, economically marginal to economically dominant (ie, to capitalism). And the metrics they are judging these cultures by are fundamentally Western ones, always emphasising to the audience that the final destination of all cultures (that are worthy of advancing beyond their current limited/“primitive” stages) is a culture identical to the Federation, a culture that can itself engage in this anthropological mission to catalogue all life as fitting within a universal set of practices and racial similarities they call “culture.”

This is a western, colonial understanding of culture - racially and spatially homogenous people comprise the organs of a social totality, ie, a society, which can then be analysed as an “object,” as a “phenomenon,” by the scientists in order to extract information from them to produce and advance state (ie Federation) knowledge. The Enterprise crew are allowed to be individuals, are allowed to be subjects with a capacity for reason, contradiction, emotion, compassion, and even moments of savagery or violence, without those things being assigned to their “race” or “culture” as a whole, but the people they interact with are only components of a whole which are “discovered” by the Enterprise as opportunities to expand and refine the Federation’s body of knowledge.

And on the flip side you have the Klingons, which you brought up - a “race” that is uniformly savage, backward, violent, and dangerous. In the episode Day of the Dove, where Klingons board the Enterprise along with an alien cloud that makes everyone very aggressive and racist (this show is insane lol), the Enterprise crew begins acting violent and racist, but the Klingons don’t change. They aren’t more violent than before (because they already were fundamentally violent and racist), and they don’t become less violent when the cloud eventually leaves (because they are never able to emerge from their violence and savagery as a social condition or external imposition - they simply are that way). Klingons are racially, behaviourally, psychologically, and culturally homogenous, universally violent and immune to reason, and their racial characteristics are both physical manifestations of this universal violence as well as the origin of it. The writers and creators of tos are consciously invoking the orientalist idea of the “Mongolian horde,” representing both the American fear of Soviet global takeover as well as blatantly racist fears about “asiatics” (a word used in the show, particularly in The Omega Glory where a fear of racialised communist takeover is made explicit) dominating the world.

This is colonial thinking! Like, fundamentally, at its core, this is colonial white supremacist thinking. Now this is not the fault of tos as an individual show, this is a problem with western science in general, and I am not expecting a television show to navigate its way outside of this current colonial paradigm of scientific knowledge. I’m also not expecting an average person watching this to pick out all the intricacies of this and link it to the colonial history of Europe or the colonial history of western science. But this base premise of Star Trek is why the show is fundamentally colonial - even if the crew never intervened in any alien conflict, never extracted any material resources from other people, and even if the Federation did not have all these explicitly racist practices that you outlined, this would still be colonial logic and colonial thinking. The show has a fundamentally colonial imagination when it comes to exploration, discovery, and culture.

And so my problem, which is maybe where I need to adjust expectations for tumblr fandom, is when people call this show socialist or durably progressive in any way. This is not because socialist societies can’t be colonial or can’t be racist, obviously they can be those things, but because people are bundling “post-racist, post-bigotry, post-discrimination” in their labelling of tos as “socialist media.” When I hear someone call a piece of media socialist I am also bringing my own assumptions into those things, ie, I am expecting this claim to be actually reflective of the politics within the show to some degree. There can of course be debates about the exact nature and quality of those socialistic politics (see conversations about the politics of Disco Elysium, a contemporary canonical example of actual “socialist art”), but I’m at least expecting there to by a whiff of them in there! And I don’t think tos stands up to basic scrutiny in this regard. I genuinely do not even buy that it’s progressive, for reasons I’ve outlined above. Again that’s a genre problem, I think all sci-fi has to contend with this, but tos is certainly not a progressive exception to the political norms of sci-fi as a genre. 

And THIS IS OBVIOUSLY not me saying you can’t like tos or that you’re racist for doing so, I deeply enjoy the show on its own terms, and its politics (good and bad) are part of that enjoyment. I’m also someone who is in university & complicit in all of these colonial scientific assumptions and practices, I’m not positioning myself as morally superior in this discussion. But when people package their enjoyment of the show with their analysis of it as socialist, as progressive, I think that is pretty fucking stupid and leads to a lot of handwaving of its fundamentally racist narrative premises. Hence my bitching 

[mswyrr]

Star Trek: Voyager, 4x26 "Hope and Fear"

This was so refreshing. It was this moody contemplation on choices and consequences without any villains, without moral simplifications.

-Arturis isn't a puppy kicker the way he'd be in, like, MCU style stuff. His problem with Janeway is clear and has limits. He's not here on a rampage, though he is driven by a grief that has clearly broken him inside. When Janeway cannot convince him out of it though - I couldn't blame him, I couldn't say he was wrong. That final image of him entering Borg space (the place that used to be his home, where everyone he loves is now dead and dismembered by the Borg, where he too soon will join them in that living death) is gonna haunt me, in a good way.

-People constantly jump Janeway for her moral decisions but I think this episode puts a neat point on something here which is that, oftentimes, there is no purely good decision for her to make. Just a choice among a bunch of bad decisions. She doesn't have the might and resources of the Federation at her back, she doesn't get to make clean and pure decisions. Every option has problems, consequences she cannot foresee, but she has to make a decision or they lose people, they lose the chance to get home.

As Sisko put it re: the Federation. "It's easy to be a saint in paradise." But Janeway, like Sisko, is not living in paradise. She tries very hard to be a decent person, but she doesn't have the resources necessary to make that easy.

I LOVE that she isn't a saint, a perfect Mommy, or a devil. She just is and this -- this is the best she can do in the circumstances she's in. It hurts and it's not good. But there it is.

Her shift from a kind of predatory rage--once she realizes Arturis is playing and deceiving her and he's a threat to her people-- to grief over what she's inadvertently done to Arturis and his people and the way he cannot be persuaded out of his decisions was beautiful.

-The lovely, funny J7 shippy moment actually captures the episode's themes beautifully:

Janeway: In a brig, nine months ago, I severed you from the collective and you weren't happy about it.

Seven: No, I was not.

Janeway: In case I never get a chance to say this… I realize that I've been hard on you at times, but it was never out of anger, or regret that I brought you on board. I'm your captain. That means I can't always be your friend. Understand?

Seven: No. However, if we are assimilated, our thoughts will become one, and I'm sure I will understand perfectly. [a beat] A joke, Captain. You have encouraged me to use my sense of humor.

Seven is another imperfect decision Janeway has had to make - a person who exists (and has a sense of humor! because of Janeway) and yet continues to have the right to complicated feelings about being made to exist in this way by Janeway's decision.

Perfect choices - perfect understanding - those aren't possible. (Not even for Starfleet captains with all the resources Janeway does not have). Unless you're Borg and have the absolute unity (and erasure of personhood) that involves. Unless you are, as Arturis puts it, more like a storm or a force of nature than a person, the way the Borg are.

Instead of perfection we have a spectrum of what is possible here and now, for Janeway - Arturis and his people, destroyed and unreachable, due to Janeway's decision. And the grace of Seven, who is alive and in front of her and reachable but not fully, not totally at peace with what she's done and maybe Seven never will be. Janeway has to accept that; a choice had to be made, there were no perfect options, the only thing she can do is face the consequences with as much decency as she can muster.

(People who say she never faces consequences confuse and befuddle me so much - but enough of that lol)

[divinemissem13]

Pressure Points

Flufftober, day 17: Massage (reddit)/ Encouraging s.o. to achieve goal (tumblr) Fandom: Star Trek VOY, TNG Ship: Beverly Crusher/ Kathryn Janeway AO3 link

These two deserve some fluff after what I put them through yesterday. Enjoy!

--- Beverly was curled up on the couch in her quarters, reviewing the data on the plants that the away team had brought back from the day’s mission when Kathryn let herself in. Without so much as a hello, the captain kicked off her boots and flopped herself down at the other end of the couch, swinging her legs up so that they landed in Beverly’s lap.

“Long day?” Beverly asked wryly. 

Kathryn’s only response was to wiggle her toes in Beverly’s lap and make an indistinct sound somewhere between a whine and a grunt. It was clear that Kathryn was not in a talkative mood, so Beverly filled in Kathryn’s part of the conversation as she gave in and started rubbing her feet. 

“Oh, hello, Beverly. How was your day?” “Not bad, thanks for asking. A few of the plants you all brought up have some interesting potential.” “That’s wonderful news. How did I get so lucky to have such a brilliant and resourceful CMO?” “Don’t forget beautiful.” “Oh yes, extremely beautiful. The most beautiful CMO in all of Starfleet.”

Kathryn made another noise that could have been a chuckle or a whimper, but she did crack one eye open to regard Beverly as she finally mumbled some actual words. “Sorry. I might be –” she paused to suck air in through her teeth as Beverly began massaging in earnest, “getting too old for this,” she concluded, clearly exhausted from the effort of putting together a coherent sentence. 

Beverly wondered if this might be a moment of clarity or if Kathryn was just whining for the sake of whining. She hoped it was the former - they had, after all, been having that argument for months - but knew it was more likely the latter so she didn’t press the issue. Not when Kathryn was too exhausted to fight back. 

“Oh God you’re good at that,” Kathryn moaned as Beverly dug into a particularly sensitive spot. 

“Good to know all those years of medical training weren’t wasted,” Beverly smirked. “Switch,” she added, dropping one of Kathryn’s feet and picking up the other. She worked diligently at the taut muscles as Kathryn’s eyes began to drift closed and her head sunk lower on the arm of the couch.

When Beverly was sure Kathryn had fallen asleep, she carefully set the foot in her lap next to its mate and began stretching out her own hands so they didn’t cramp. It wasn’t that she minded giving Kathryn near-constant foot rubs these days – after so many years out here, it was still one of the few comforts that Kathryn would allow herself, and Beverly was more than happy to oblige. But it was very precise work and her hands weren’t as nimble as they used to be.

“You ok?” Kathryn asked sleepily.

“Mmm,” Beverly hummed in response. “I guess I’m just getting old too ,” she couldn’t help but add extra emphasis on the last word. Kathryn didn’t answer and, emboldened by her lack of argument, Beverly pressed a little further. “You know, captains really shouldn’t be leading away missions anyway. That’s what first officers are for.”

“Chakotay is even older than I am!” Kathryn huffed.

“So send Harry. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to take on a little more responsibility. And the experience would be good for him…” Beverly suggested, expertly toeing the line between supporting her commanding officer and encouraging her partner to let go of the reins a bit. 

Kathryn grunted noncommittally but she did sit up and hook her feet over Beverly’s legs, using them to pull her closer until she could reach her hands. Her brow furrowed in thought as she automatically began massaging the bothersome joint between Beverly’s thumb and forefinger. “I don’t see you out there training your replacement,” Kathryn pointed out, only somewhat petulantly. 

“I have the EMH,” Beverly shrugged and gently pressed her forehead to Kathryn’s, instantly smoothing the lines of consternation that had settled there. “Besides, my job is rarely as physically demanding as yours,” she pointed out, “and I don’t want you working yourself into an early grave.”

Kathryn’s hands stilled at that, and she pulled back just enough to look Beverly in the eyes. “Fine,” she said softly, “I’ll let Harry and some of the others lead some away missions. Sometimes. ”

“Thank you,” Beverly smiled and nuzzled her nose against Kathryn’s. “I just want to keep you around, you know.”

Kathryn hummed her acceptance as Beverly pressed a soft kiss to her lipse. “Likewise,” she murmured and leaned back against the arm of the couch again,  lol time pulling Beverly with her. 

Kathryn’s arm wrapped around Beverly as her fingers idly twisted through her red hair, now faded almost to blond and speckled with gray. Beverly’s head rested on Kathryn’s shoulder and their legs tangled together while she resumed reading the padd that had briefly been discarded between the couch cushions. 

After a moment or two, Kathryn’s voice pierced the contented silence. “If I don’t go on as many away missions, do I still get those magic foot rubs?” she pouted. 

Beverly chuckled softly and tilted her head upward to brush a kiss on Kathryn’s jaw. “I think that can probably be arranged,” she teased. 

Kathryn hummed her approval, softly kissed Beverly’s temple, and burrowed her face into the top of her head. 

Beverly felt Kathryn’s breathing steady out under her head as she drifted off again and she smiled. She knew that they would both likely regret staying in these positions, scrunched against the arm of the couch for too long, but at the moment she didn’t really care. The cramp already forming in her neck would be a good excuse for more in-depth massages later anyway.

[biblioflyer]

Clancy & Picard: Whose needs? Which many? Star Trek Picard Rewatch s1e2

Is Jean luc a naive pacifist who would risk billions of lives to extend a hand to authoritarian liars or is Clancy (and by proxy, the Federation) an unapologetic xenophobe with blood on her hands?

Truth lies between these extremes but positioning it is not a straightforward task.

This is part of a series of essays reevaluating Star Trek Picard and interrogating the widely held fandom criticism that Picard made the Federation into a Dystopia.

Let's walk through the arguments in as fair minded a way as possible. Also I strongly encourage you to rewatch this scene to take in the full richness of the information presented but also the passion. 

Clancy does not cover herself in glory here, but Picard’s attempt at humility in asking for a small ship and accepting a temporary demotion does present as arrogant, perhaps even senile, from Yancy’s perspective. Yes, the implications of the show with Picard being our hero are that everyone around Picard is basically wrong and he’s right but they’re not wrong because they enjoy kicking puppies, they’re wrong because they have bad information and Picard himself seems to be severely lacking in self awareness. Remember this when we meet Rafi.

In one corner you have Admiral (ret.) Picard arguing passionately that the failure to save the Romulans was wrong and also that he should be permitted to have a small ship to go off in pursuit of a possible descendant of Data whose sister, for whom there is no evidence of her existence, was just murdered. 

In the other corner you have Admiral Clancy laying out supposedly cold hard facts about the astropolitics and logistics of trying to continue helping the Romulans after Utopia Planitia.

Picard’s argument is familiar by now. It's a classic Picard argument about our ethical duties to other beings and the Federation’s ideals. I’m only devoting a couple sentences to it but I don’t want to make it seem like I’m being dismissive of this, I love the conscience of Star Trek and what I believe to be the central conceit of the Federation as a narrative device. Picard is one of my all time fictional heroes.

Clancy contextualizes the Federation’s retreat as being a question of limited resources and internal political tensions. According to Clancy, fourteen species threatened to pull out of the Federation if the evacuation of Romulus continued. She further makes a point about how the Federation simply did not have the ships to spare to conduct the evacuation and meet its responsibilities to Federation members.

On the surface this sounds like the sort of argument that keeps the US Navy flush with aircraft carriers. It is often argued that the US Navy is the ultimate guarantor of freedom of navigation and freedom from piracy in international waters. It has also played a major role in disaster relief operations with the vast caches of emergency rations and medical supplies aboard supercarriers being rapidly deployed to locales that have suffered from tsunamis and hurricanes. 

Whether or not the first claim, that of guaranteeing freedom of travel, is true is worth debating. I enjoy thinking about a dedicated humanitarian response force in place of supercarriers but am pessimistic about anyone ever funding it, short of benevolent aliens showing up to shame us for our intra-human belligerence after World War 3.

With Starfleet, we do have lots of documentation that Starfleet really is critical to ensuring civilization flourishes. We’ve seen time and again that while Starfleet is a security force, it spends more time on disaster relief, provisioning of colonies, and smaller stakes security activities short of war like anti-piracy. It acts as a hybrid of navy and coast guard. Federation ships have been witnessed delivering vaccines, altering the trajectories of rogue celestial bodies about to hit inhabited planets, and much more. 

It's not hyperbole to say that maintaining a certain level of abundance of starships and overall readiness to deploy can save billions of lives even without the specter of war with an unknown entity that can hack Synths without leaving fingerprints and is willing to set planets on fire.

Logistics: The Least Sexy of Universal Saviors

The Federation has other shipyards, but we also don’t really have a reason to discount Clancy’s assertion that Utopia Planitia limited Starfleet’s ability to meet its responsibilities or that it would no longer be able to do so if it also helped the Romulans.

Keep in mind that any ships under construction or being serviced at Utopia Planitia would seem to have been lost. Any ships inbound to Utopia Planitia for refits or repairs will need to redirect to another yard - San Francisco and Earth Spacedock are both in the Sol System but critically we don’t know if they had excess capacity to service and turn around these extra ships on their original schedule. 

We might infer that since Utopia Planitia seemed to be almost entirely given over to the Romulan evacuation effort, every other Federation facility was having to pick up the slack. Which might have been considered an acceptable burden in the short term, but not if the lost capacity of Utopia Planitia is going to be made up for by turning over other facilities to building evacuation ships instead of ensuring Starfleet is able to get medical supplies and comet busting ships to wherever they need to be.

Now Picard is not stupid. He is idealistic, but not stupid. We’ll later learn that he had just as much of a grasp of the numbers: ships, personnel, timetables etc. as anybody else. Which is what we would expect from Picard. So either Yancy and those fourteen species who threatened to leave the Federation are dead wrong and were opposing the evacuation because they think the Romulans should fry, or Picard was wrong and Starfleet’s abdication of its duties would have resulted in tremendous loss of Federation lives, or the truth is somewhat murkier.

It should be said that the Federation fought a whole multi-year war with the Dominion and nobody to my recollection talked overly much about people dying from natural disasters or pandemics because Starfleet was busy breaking things and hurting people. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen off camera, it just means there’s no explicit evidence for it. Maybe it did happen and the failure of a Starfleet ship to arrive in a timely way to provide relief after a tsunami wasn’t even the worst thing that happened that day so none of the characters brought it up.

So what would a murky truth look like? It probably looks like calculated risks. To the fullest extent possible, the Federation likely has very good information on the orbital dynamics of asteroids likely to hit inhabited planets and how soon they need to be made to not do that. It's also known that earthquakes are preventable up to a point and weather control systems can dissipate dangerous storms. This technology is probably not deployed everywhere at all times, some of it may require extensive infrastructure for all we know.

The point being that there are known dangers, dangers that are familiar but not entirely predictable, and finally there are Black Swans, Outside Context Problems, and other unforeseeable problems that ruin your day. And if they’re of the temporal variety, maybe they ruin your day, then ruin the exact same day all over again, and maybe ruin a good day from five years ago for good measure.

Can there be pessimists in paradise?

Just because the Federation is supposed to be a just, tolerant, and well informed place doesn’t mean there isn't still room for optimists and pessimists. 

Picard doesn’t have Kirk’s reputation as a gambler, but he’s a starship captain who commanded an Enterprise. Risk is part of the job description. If Picard is a bit too cavalier with his assessment of whether or not devoting resources to the evacuation of Romulus puts an unacceptable number of Federation lives at risk, consider his experience. The man led his ship and crew through over a hundred adventures across more than a decade wherein through grit and cleverness, they saved the day. 

Despite being the person who once said “it is possible to make no mistakes and still fail” this is a man who time and again has found a positive sum resolution to virtually every zero sum moral dilemma he’s ever faced.

A somewhat more uncomfortable interpretation of Picard’s stance is also possible. Numerous times Picard was willing to risk the Enterprise and her crew for the sake of peace. Given the powers wielded by interstellar civilizations, it is not difficult to view de-escalation as a moral good even when dignity and a sense of justice are offended. 

In spite of the recurring problem of Romulan aggression, Picard reliably chose off-ramps from war. Might this be the same thinking in play?

As a man with a strong sense of history, might it be that Picard sees this as a parallel to Khitomer and a once in a generation opportunity to change Federation and Romulan relations forever? And if  Federation lives are endangered, this is a Needs of the Many scenario. Sacrifice now for peace and untold trillions in the future get to live free of the threat of Romulan warbirds decloaking and chucking a trilithium device into the system primary.

I don’t know if this is definitely Picard’s thinking but I can imagine other people thinking this is how he thinks and getting good and pissed off about it. Maybe to the point of secession.

Author's note: I have found myself the victim of a sort of Mandela effect wherein I swear on my collectibles I looked up and verified the character name of Admiral Clancy and that it was actually Yancy. I re-verified it looking for that scene on YouTube and to my shock, its Clancy. If you see any lingering Yancy's in this text, that's why.

[mazamba]

"Retrieve the armor if possible," requested the voice from the badge.

"...Yeah, I'm gonna file that as not possible," replied Will, warily eyeing the armor, "also, what do you mean evil?"

"Dude, come on," pointed out Brad, gesturing at the mess that had become the repair hangar, "you gotta admit this is not a good look."

"Well, yeah but that doesn't make me evil," he countered, "we're dedicated to protecting peace. How is that evil?"

"You're stealing from our allies!" countered Rutherford, already down in the rubble with a medical kit to help Lunella and Shaxs, "They're going out of their way to help us out and you're pulling this?"

"They're also going out of their way to keep a lot of really important technology from us," countered William, "Vibranium alone could be a game changer! What happens when the next weirdo from their dimension pops up?"

"Then we share our resources and fight back!" snapped Brad, "If they need help, we help. If we need help, they help. That's what Starfleet is all about! We got this far by encouraging peace through cooperation, NOT by treating everyone like a potential enemy. It's something you and high command have both forgotten."

"Dude, our minds are split by less than a year," pointed out the clone, "I know you used to understand that some of us have to get our hands dirty to make sure civilians never notice there's dirt in the first place."

"Well, a lot can change in a year."

With that, he threw a hypospray from the medical kit into Devil's mouth. It went off, waking him up instantly.

Closed RP w/mazamba

This planet Jason was on was once thriving world. A planet full of trees, water, animals, and people. All who lived peacefully on the planet, until a war broke out in this sector. This left the planet in ruins, all of its resources plundered, and its people nearly wiped out. Centuries have passed and the planet has been nearly forgotten.

Jason was told the planet was under the control of a group called the Klingons. He didn’t think too much about it and knew he would be out of here before they found out or one of their allies.

He walks over towards his prize. A box containing a valuable item that he knew would come in for a pretty penny…or whatever currency the people of this universe use. He walks over and begins to disable any security systems around, before getting his prize. He wipes away the dirt from it, opens it, and smiles when he saw what’s inside.

“Just like the buyer said,” Jason whispered before putting the box in his bag. 

@mazamba

[fandom-susceptible]

So I recently remembered tumblr was a place I could post all my fandom bullshit/musings and not annoy my family with them so in the spirit of that

Things People Forget About Vulcans/Vulcan

Vulcan has no oceans, except of lava. It is a desert/volcano planet and the tectonic movement is determined by volcanoes, not water flow.

Vulcans have a secondary clear eyelid, and Spock was somehow unaware or pretended to be unaware of this fact for approximately thirty years of his service in Starfleet, before said eyelid saved his sight in TOS Season 2.

Vulcans aren't JUST touch telepaths; touch amplifies their telepathy, but (as shown with Tuvok in Voyager) they can communicate via telepathy similar to verbal speech without contact, and (as shown in TOS' "The Immunity Syndrome") can sense intense emotions from other Vulcans from star systems away, so they are probably empaths on a level with Betazoids.

In "Amok Time" it is revealed that Vulcans do still worship (at least nominally) a fire or volcano goddess

Also in "Amok Time" they establish that Vulcan culture is traditionally matriarchal

Spock is the equivalent of a prince on Vulcan, as his grandmother was the ruler of the planet, and his father was a strong political figure as well. This is never brought up again after "Amok Time" that I can recall.

Spock may be vegetarian (I can't recall if people just assumed that or if he said so himself, honestly) but that would be something that his human heritage enabled him to be. According to written lore that didn't make it into the show (I'll find my source one of these days), Vulcans, while somewhat omnivorous and capable of eating things other than meat, also have sharpened incisors due to the necessity of eating meat on a literal volcano planet where not much vegetation grows. They are somewhat obligatory carnivores, even if they are capable of using replicators for their meat now.

Vulcan parents encourage pets because it fosters a sense of responsibility. If Sarek is an indication, they also tend to turn a blind eye to pets helping young children with emotional stability. Whatever works as they learn control. (see Star Trek: The Animated Series, the one where Spock goes back in time to his own childhood)

Same as the previous one's source; Vulcans have a rite of passage as a child heads into adolescence, to prove they are ready to learn how to be an adult (heavily implied to at one point be a "ready to join the hunt/the nomadic clan's moving/etc. type thing) where they venture out into the wilderness and have to survive alone for a period of time until they find some sort of truth about themselves. Children are not told this part, but Sarek confides that parents usually follow from a distance to ensure their safety, at least in modern times, which almost got child!Spock killed when he ran away to perform his rite without telling them.

Vulcans do not sweat, according to written lore, although they can't help the human actors sweating onscreen. On Vulcan, water is far too precious a resource to waste this way. They also do not produce as much saliva as humans.

In light of the moisture-preserving situation, Vulcan genitalia is also constructed differently; you know that genital slit trope in fanfic? Apparently, this also started with Vulcans. They also self-lubricate, but this only occurs after they've been worked up enough to open.

Obligatory mention that "fuck or die" was Pon Farr, and people remember that part but they don't remember that in canon it's actually "fuck, fight, or die". They can also just pick a fight until somebody passes out and that's fine, which was the solution to Spock's when T'Pring decided not to marry him.

Vulcans still practice arranged marriage, technically speaking, but when the time of the marriage comes it's perfectly acceptable for ether of the parties involved to pick a fight or choose a champion to fight for them to avoid it.

Sarek and Amanda did not show up to what was supposed to be Spock's wedding, despite arranging it, although T'Pring brought a number of relatives, which leads me to believe neither of them actually thought he'd go through with it anyway.

This isn't strictly confirmed by canon, but I'm pretty sure when Pon Farr was introduced nobody actually said it was a men-only thing.

While the Vulcans of TOS originally pretended they did not have emotions at all to humans, it was later admitted that they actually do not only have but fully acknowledge their emotions. It's just that their emotions are so overwhelmingly powerful that, for a highly telepathic race, they began to become catastrophic. Surak began preaching control after a world war devastated something like 90% of Vulcan's population.

Addendum to that last point: You know how when a normal human bursts into room in a panic and screams "Fire!" or something similarly catastrophic, and the onslaught of movement and panic that ensues? Imagine that, but with the full force of everyone else's emotions assaulting you from every direction, feeding off of each other. It's no wonder they ended up so few.

Vulcans already had space travel before the time of Surak, and when some disapproved of his teachings, they left the planet entirely and settled the planets of Romulus and Remus. Interbreeding with the native Remans dulled their volatility, and despite their protest against Surak, they (later known as the Romulans) clearly do practice greater emotional control than many species. I'm not going to get into the ethical considerations of the Romulans and Remans in this post.

Spock established that mind melding is incredibly culturally significant on Vulcan. Doing so by force is absolutely out of the question by law; during their wars, Vulcans found out they could kill each other with thoughts alone in this way, which is why in modern times it's typically reserved for close family members (not that Trek writers would have you remember that, with how often Tuvok melds with random aliens. At least Spock didn't usually volunteer unless it was a survival situation.)

The "Vulcan neck pinch" was never REALLY explained, but Spock was able to produce the same result via telepathy through a wall, so personally I take this as confirmation that NO, we are not in fact expected to believe that every bipedal race in the galaxy has a knockout nerve in the neck, but that it's simply a limited form of the killing-mind-meld Vulcans can do. (and seriously fuck William Shatner for claiming Kirk can do it but McCoy somehow can't. Even if it was a nerve thing that doesn't make any sense.)

Sarek and Amanda are disgustingly sappy for a Vulcan couple, with Sarek constantly asking for physical/mental affection in public. Spock's awkwardness when they came aboard the ship was justified on several levels when the first thing his father does in front of the captain is ask Amanda to kiss him.

Holding hands is familial affection to Vulcans. The index and middle finger held out, pressed together, and touched to the other person, is the actual equivalent of a Vulcan kiss. (Spirk shippers, I love y'all, but calm the fuck down about the hand holding. Spones shippers, y'all got Spock figured out with all those random two fingered touches to McCoy's bare skin. There's no way Bones doesn't know what that means.)

Vulcans can go for two weeks without sleeping, but can also sleep for several days at a time. When healing, they can put themselves into a Tolkien-elf-esque trance in which they are well aware of what's going on around them, but all of their physical energy is devoted to healing, allowing them to recover from injuries that would otherwise be fatal.

Unsolicited skin to skin touch when you are not family members is highly frowned upon by Vulcan society (LOOKIN' AT YOU CHAPEL).

"T'hy'la" was meant to be open to interpretation, though Gene Roddenberry described as meaning "friend, brother, lover". Based on other quotes by him, the closest modern English equivalent to what he imagined is probably a queerplatonic bond. (ship what you ship, personally I am in tired parent!Spones land. The point is, Roddenberry WANTED you to ship what you ship!)

Most creatures on Vulcan have a seven-year breeding cycle.

Sybok was born in 2224 and Spock in 2230, only six years apart, so we can lay to rest the question of whether Vulcans have sex outside of Pon Farr. YES. THEY DO. Romulans at this point in time no longer experience that biological drive, so no, you cannot even blame it on Sybok's mom going through it.

Not to get into individual family histories, but Sybok's mom was a Romulan princess but Sarek somehow got custody and by the time Spock is grown up they're at war, so take from that what you will about Romulan/Vulcan political tensions.

Due to the greater gravity on Vulcan than on Earth, Vulcans are notably stronger and have greater endurance than humans. They also require less oxygen to breathe.

Vulcans are traditionally nomadic; there are not many old settlements on Vulcan, by their own historic standards. They also in TOS seem to construct out of stone and adobe rather than metal, which makes sense. They do have something against closable doors in family residences, it seems as of Star Trek: The Animated Series, where all door frames in Sarek and Amanda's home are empty except the ones to the outdoors. This may have something to do with a total lack of privacy ANYWAY due to how highly telepathic they are, combined with sheer practicality for air flow purposes in a desert shaped by volcanic activity.

No matter what Tuvok says, Vulcans DO consider insults logical, at least if you consider Star Trek: Enterprise canon now that it's been removed from the main timeline (which was honestly a good decision on the writers' part). This does make sense though, given that they interact with many different species, some of whom expect insults as part of communication (*cough*Klingons*cough*), and they do have their own volatile history. It makes sense there would be linguistic holdovers.

Vulcan marriages are traditionally held as a Pon Farr ceremony of marriage-or-challenge (the fuck, fight, or die trope from earlier), so the couple in question are not generally present for any celebration that may occur. They're uh, busy.

Vulcan emotions are so powerful that the mere overflow from an ill Sarek's mind was enough to put Captain Picard out of commission for the duration of his contact with that emotion.

Solkar, the Vulcan from First Contact, was so into Zefram Cochrane that their handshake (again, handholding alone is considered familial affection. A strong handshake would be a lot of telepathic feedback, especially from a species that doesn't know how to shield) induced a lifelong bond between the two and a draw towards humans an Cochrane's family in particular in Solkar's family line. Solkar was Sarek's grandfather. Not much is canon about Vulcan's method of choosing government officials, but nepotism/inhertance seems illogical and unlikely. However, if inheritance is a holdover from the pre-Surak age, it's possible that Solkar's daughter is the one ruling Vulcan during TOS.

This got way longer than I expected it to and the order is probably all jacked up, so I'll stop now. I take only constructive criticism, but while I am shit at remembering episode titles, I am reasonably confident that all of these are or were at one point official canon.

If anybody knows how to put a "read more" cut on a mobile post let me know and I will I just don't know how to do the thing. I find this length annoying too when I don't intend to read the whole thing.

[edzephyr]

hello sir! i just want to say that i love your gender (kirk-gender so true so true) and i would like to steal it. jokes aside, i love ur vibes and i hope u have a very nice day!!

Thank you. It took me many years to realize my gender identity and coming out/transition has been a gradual process. It began with discovery - a strange new dawning inside - is this my gender? I'm sure many can empathize with that moment of realization.

I think it's a little misleading to assume a person's interests indicate their gender (it's important also not to confuse gender with sexuality!), but I was extremely attracted to cars that looked like spaceships, and fascinated by Spocks in a way that suddenly made sense when I realized I was Kirk. It's strange because a lot of people have very wrong ideas about Kirk (really bad, inaccurate ideas), and it meant I thought I didn't identify this way for a long time, but when I realized the truth was nothing like how people sometimes think of Kirk, I knew this was what I was. Societal change is slow but younger folks often get it, and you'll be surprised by the older folks too! Indeed, fandom elders welcomed me with open arms and incredible encouragement; they gave me books and self-made resources from the old days that changed my life!

Experimenting with Starfleet style dress was a revelation. I felt truly comfortable in a way I hadn't before. Since then I have become more confident about wearing clothing expressive of my authentic self in public. My favorite is the green wrap. Of course, no-one should feel obliged to dress a certain way; appearance =/= gender, and although some would say I am conforming to an 'old fashioned' idea of my gender (from the '60s), it feels authentic to me. It's stereotypes again, but I love the 'traditionally Kirk' communicator mobile phone, and no-one will ever change my mind lol!!

Not everyone goes down this route, but I find tesTOSterone invaluable. And so much easier to access on streaming services and Blu-ray than the old days of re-runs and expensive VHS. Recommend, 1701%. As well as the chest surgery - I know it's again the stereotype to have a shapely pair but it felt right for me - I am relieved to say that the shirts always ripping and your nipples falling out is another myth!! I'll admit though when I do want to get them out it's pretty convenient that this is the expectation - I do however see a double standard and strongly advocate for equality in this regard.

But I must add, although there are ways to 'pass', none of this makes you more or less Kirk - it's how you feel in your Bones. Society is again slowly changing to recognize this. Don't let anyone ever tell you you're not Kirk enough!

I only hope now I can find a Spock! Sigh. Haha!

🙃

[galaxy-class]

Star Trek Voyager Chakotay/OC

Hello! This is the first fic I’ve ever written, it’s a 6k Chakotay/OC PWP with some fluff and touch starving sprinkled in here and there. Janeway has an honorable mention in the beginning because I love her, but this isn’t a J/C fic (at least not this time lol). Possible triggers under the cut! 

Possible triggers (If you think of anything to add let me know!): Alcohol consumption, descriptions of male/female sex, themes of dominance and submission (power dynamics between commander and subordinate), mild choking (hand on throat positioning), mild restraining (holding wrists, no ropes/equipment)

A thank you to @marigoldseesstars and @burntheparameters (and other friends not on tumblr so I’m unable to tag them) for encouraging me to post! I hope you guys like it and I welcome feedback good or bad! <3 

Chain of Command (Title is trash because I am trash, thank you!)

Although the Delta Quadrant was full of new experiences and discoveries, the days between each excursion were full of the necessary, albeit mundane, tasks that it takes to run a starship. Duty rosters, shift trades, meetings… Terribly dull, and yet required for the ship to function. Captain Janeway insisted on it. Looking out of some unnamed observation window with a distant gaze, she would lecture crew members who tried to oppose her strict adherence to protocol. “I know, believe me, and I’ve thought long and hard about whether or not it’s wrong for me to impose these rules on this crew, knowing that the institution upholding them is so far away… But these rules help bring us together. They give us purpose and cohesion, and remind us of our principals while we’re so far away from order and reason…” Most people stopped listening the second she got that look in her eye, knowing there isn’t any amount of complaint or protest that could change her mind. And it isn’t too terrible a concept anyway. After all, someone has to be the one to wipe off the com panels when they muck up with the fingerprints of the crew members who insist on using the touch features rather than the voice commands, and someone else has to review the available personnel to cover for Ensign Baytart’s requested personal time off and Tuvok's mandatory fitness training.

Chakotay felt the days growing shorter, while the workload of monotonous tasks crawled on before him. The days of course, where perfectly timed on the ship’s chronometer to ensure maximum efficiency among the crew while allowing for adequate time to rest and relax between shifts. It even took into account the differing night and day cycles each species had grown accustomed to on their home planets and calculated a perfect medium between the variables. What the ship’s computer did not account for however, was Chakotay’s tendency to linger in the small moments between tasks. How he would stop to appreciate the soft thread in a blanket gifted to him by a friend, or steal an extra second to smell the spices mixed in with Neelix’s latest “coffee” blend. And so, his days grew shorter, while the soft glow of the padds laid out on his work station encroached in his peripheral vision, beckoning him to finish up this week's chores. 

Chakotay stood from his chair stretching his arms and looked down at the bottom of his mug, no longer filled with the thick brown liquid Neelix described as “Better than coffee.” He chuckled to himself about what a luxury real coffee had become in this quadrant. ...Duty roster.. Hmm… Why don’t I just go down to each station and see who’s available… Maybe the crew will have some personal insight I could use… His thoughts began to trail off and he found himself wandering towards stellar cartography. 

As the cool metal doors slipped open, light poured in from the hall onto the darkened work stations of a diligent crew, carefully mapping out this new region of space. They had their work cut out for them, creating detailed maps based on Voyager’s data and comparing them to patchwork resources acquired along the way. Slowly adjusting their eyes to the bright light silhouetting Chakotay in the doorway, spines began to stiffen at the sight of their commanding officer. Lieutenant Kelly, who’d recently been promoted to this division, tripped over a few words beginning a report of their progress. “Sir! We didn’t expect- We’re currently running a scan on the left-”

Chakotay put his hand up in protest. “I was only wondering if anyone wanted to spend tomorrow on the bridge, Ensign Baytart requested a day off, and if I have to scroll through any more names on that padd I might just go crazy.” His expression was soft and lighthearted, but the crew shared nervous glances concerning the surprise visit from the ship’s first officer. “At ease” he insisted, and held out hope for a few more seconds that anyone would take up his offer. 

“I’ve never had bridge duty before” someone spoke up from the back of the room.

“Who is that?” He asked, trying to see through the dark. 

“Ensign Salva sir, I have.. some experience with being on the conn, just not Voyager’s bridge… If no one else wants the shift that is.” 

Ensign Bobbi Salva was not tall and commanding, nor did her voice carry well in any way that demanded attention, but she was never one to pass up a new opportunity. What else are star ships for? In fact, she had found herself in stellar cartography on a similar request. Although she was trained as a medical assistant, she found ways into almost every corner of the ship. A recent favourite of hers being the aeroponics bay, where Kes had invited her to learn about cultivating plants after spending time with her in sickbay. “Growing a plant is just like treating a patient” Kes would say to her, “You just have to know what they need, and they can flourish on their own.” She liked Kes, they were similar in size and stature, but very different in personality in a way that complimented each other well. Bobbi had a square face, and curly dark hair which she tried a variety of ways to pull back into the intricate designs that reminded her of all ways her mother would style her beautiful curls. She had high cheekbones, and deep set eyes that sparkled with reflections of scarlet in the dark brown of their center. Sometimes she appeared to have a bluish tint, her father insisted that she was mixed with a Bolian on her cousin’s grandmother’s aunt’s side of the family, but mostly she had olive undertones on lovely brown skin.

"Salva… Aren’t you usually working in sick bay? I wasn't aware of any personnel changes in that area of the ship" Chakotay started. 

"Well actually sir, it's a funny story really, me and Kes were in the aeroponics bay discussing-" 

"Sir, I apologize for interrupting, but if there is nothing further we do have a few more things to get done." said Lieutenant Kelly, who was admittedly happy that Salva had found something else to do. As interesting as Bobbi found it, stellar cartography was not her strong point. 

"Of course" Chakotay responded, "Salva if you'll come with me we can go over the details of the assignment. As you were Lieutenant." With that Bobbi followed Chakotay into the hall, leaving behind her curiosity for star maps and replacing it with apprehension about serving on the bridge. 

"Sick bay, aeroponics, stellar cartography, is there anywhere besides the bridge you haven't been Ensign?" Chakotay chuckled. 

Bobbi was struck with the sudden realization that, not only was she talking to the second highest in command on the ship, but she had neglected to inform him or anyone else about her incursions. 

"I, well, only went to sections that I was invited to observe or help by other crew members, I never meant to break protocol.." 

"That's alright, I was just curious." Chakotay let out a sigh. He knew most of the crew respected him, and he trusted them. In the Marquis however, things were different. Sure, he was their captain and they followed his command like any good crew would, but there was rarely tension between him and his subordinates solely on the basis of rank. Starfleet vessels are polished and prideful, and senior officers are revered for their accomplishments. Marquis ships are built on trust and bonds between crew members fighting for a cause they believe in, and sometimes respect in senior officers is only granted because they can hit harder than you can in a bar fight. A bit far off from the Starfleet sparkle of an extra pip. 

Tired from his daily tasks and determined to have a sense of normalcy, he started again, “Are you looking to explore another career option? We could always use extra hands in engineering.” said Chakotay.

Bobbi let out a breath and relaxed her shoulders, realising how tense she had been. Chakotay’s warm voice and reassurance took away some of the stress she was carrying around while trying to maintain an aura of professionalism. “Actually I love sick bay. I’ve never felt more right than when I found medicine, I had changed my area of study so many times before…” A small smile escaped her lips, thinking of how many nights she spent worrying she would never find a place to fit in, now feeling so at home with a medical tricorder in her hands. “But as much as I love it, I’m still so curious about everything else. I want to see it, be a part of it for a small time. And seeing the other divisions in action reminds me just how much I love what I do.” she laughed, and looked up at Chakotay to see that he was smiling too. She never noticed before, how his face seemed to light up when he smiled, and caught herself holding her breath again. 

He stopped in the hall outside of his room. “I’m glad to hear you’ve found your calling. It’s a rare gift to know where you fit in. But I’m happy you’ll be joining me on the bridge, even if it’s just one shift. How about I make us some tea and we’ll go over the details of your assignment?” 

…Glad I’ll be joining him on the bridge.. ‘Joining me’ he said… Wait, his quarters? The First Officer’s quarters? Ensign Salva felt her cheeks flush, and the little slice of Bolian blue in her veins sparkled through, turning her subtle blush into a beautiful, almost purple crimson. 

He was nearly caught off guard, watching her face. She’s almost glowing, I wonder what... oh I should have realised that would make her uncomfortable… “Of course we can go in the dining hall if you prefer, I just have to get the padds, I’m sorry if-”

“No no it’s alright, I could use some tea.” She looked up at him again, settling her gaze on the part in his lips forming  what was going to be the next word in his apology, turning her glance quickly back towards the doors to his room. He smiled and welcomed her in.  

Chakotay’s room was softly lit, and sprinkled with things that had been given to him by the people he cared about. A lovely red and orange throw blanket from his grandmother, a crystal set of whisky tumblers from an old pilot he used to know, little pieces of the people who’d helped shape him. 

“Tea first, then work.” He gestured towards the couch for her to sit, and walked over to the replicator for two cups of yerba mate. A red, earthy tea, made from the leaves of a South American holly tree. One of his favourite blends that he didn’t often indulge in, because he didn’t want to spoil it. Tonight it felt appropriate. 

“Bridge duty on Voyager? Maybe I need something stronger than tea.” She could feel herself smiling nervously. Why did I say that? He’s going to think I’m not up for the challenge… 

Thinking for a second, tilting his head ever so slightly, “You know what you’re right. Let me get something… Here it is, warm vanilla brandy from a group of Bajorins that helped us restock on a very cold, very long night with the Marquis. It compliments the tea perfectly.” Adding the brandy to the tea, he joined her on the couch. ...What I wouldn’t give to see that lovely color in her face again… We’re supposed to be discussing bridge duty, I think…

As he sat down next to her she crossed her legs up onto the couch and held the tea in her lap, feeling the warm mug in her hands, letting the steam from the mixture of herbs and brandy curl up around her and closing her eyes for a second. Has he always been so welcoming and kind? Is he always this easy to be around? We’re supposed to be discussing bridge duty, I think… 

He put his arm on the back of the couch, and rested his cheek against his fist “Where are you from?” he wondered. 

“From?” she blinked 

Chakotay smiled and put his hand down in his lap, mirroring her posture and feeling the warmth in the mug he was holding. “Yes, before Starfleet, did you live on Earth?” 

“Oh no, I mean I’ve been there plenty of times, but my dad worked in one of the schools on Mars, he’s a teacher there for kindergarteners.” Bobbi laughed and looked up as if she was watching a memory play on the ceiling, “He used to tell stories to his kids about me being in Starfleet, he was always so proud of me. I wonder what he told them when…” She stopped and looked down, it wasn’t a happy memory any more, not knowing if he had given up hope that her ship would be found, not knowing if she had given up hope that they would make it back either. 

“Hey, I’m sorry.” Chakotay reached his hand out to put his palm on her knee. “We’ll make it back, I have to believe that. I’m sure your father misses you a great deal.” He let out a small smile, “Honestly I would miss you too, you seem like that type of person, who sticks with someone when you’ve gone.” He didn’t even notice that he had moved closer to her.

He may not have noticed his movement, but she was acutely aware of his hand on her leg, and the distance closing between them. She noticed that she leaned into his touch, and she noticed that she was hanging onto every word in that soothing deep tone of his. “I.. thank you sir.” Bobbi felt her cheeks flush again, and cast her eyes down at his hand. Am I flirting with the first officer? Is… Is the first officer flirting with me? She felt the brandy warming her stomach and a prickle at the tips of her fingers. Oh, this is real alcohol she thought for a second. It had been a while since she had the comfort of a genuine drink, and synthehol just doesn’t have that same feeling. 

He paused for a second at the sight of her. That wonderful color, shading the edges of her cheeks and the tips of her ears, stole the words he was trying to formulate. Chakotay didn’t usually like being called “sir,” he always thought it sounded a little pretentious, and while he understood and respected the purpose of formality on a ship, sometimes he just wanted a regular conversation. So then, why did it sound so good when she said it? He was fighting a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, and felt that same warmth in his veins from the brandy that he hadn’t felt in some time. 

“I really appreciate you making me feel so... welcome.” She said, unsure if she should change the subject or push it further. She reached over and placed her cup on the coffee table, and watched as he mirrored her movement, setting his down as well. “I couldn’t have been your first choice for Baytart’s replacement, but I appreciate the opportunity, sir.” she finished, deciding to turn the conversation back to work. Even still, she couldn’t help but wonder where it might have gone instead. I’ve got to be reading too much into this… There’s no way he’s... I just need to get my thoughts together for a second… 

There it is again, ‘Sir’... It felt like honey coming off her lips. The way she said it, like she didn’t need to say it, like she had an inside joke and it was a challenge. “Honestly” Chakotay responded, trying not to linger too long on the thought, “I had no idea who I was going to pick. I spent so long looking at names on a screen, I just had to see someone face to face instead.” This time he did notice that his hand was still on her knee and he had, in fact, moved closer to her. He noticed too that she’d shifted positions and now the other leg was down on the floor, pushing her very slightly closer to him. Before he realised what he was saying, he started saying it. “I’m glad it was you that decided to say something, and that you came with me tonight. That subtle blue is so beautiful in your skin, has anyone ever mentioned that before?” His voice grew quieter and deeper, his eyes trailed across the line of her jaw. 

Oh… This wasn’t her over thinking anything, she realised. And now that she had figured it out, she wasn’t letting it go. Now it was a challenge, if it wasn’t before. Her eyelids lowered and she chose her words carefully, curious how far he was willing to take this conversation without her making it too easy. “Is that so? No, I don’t think I’ve been told that before.” Bobbi could still feel the heat in her face, and was finding it more and more difficult to take her focus off his lips, his shoulders, the feeling of his hand still on her leg, until she felt herself reach down and softly lace her fingers onto the spaces between his. It was almost jarring, how incredible it felt, the softness and warmth of his hand, all from a very small touch that she didn’t realise she needed until it was so obvious that she needed it. 

Chakotay could tell she was playing at something and could see the twitch of excitement on her face, even though she answered him so sparingly. …’Is that so’ Oh, I think you know it is, and I would love to see what else you know… But the feeling of her hand on his brought him out of his trance. He looked down at her delicate fingers fitting perfectly between his, knowing how good it felt to be touched. “Ensign… Bobbi. This wasn’t my intention with bringing you here. If you’re not comfortable, I would never impose…” He tilted his head back up to meet her gaze, “What I mean to say is that I don’t want to cross any boundaries you might have.” 

“Commander, I could say the same to you. But I think, if it’s alright, that I would like to stay for a little while.” She held his stare intently while she spoke, to be sure he would not miss-hear her words. No, commander, I do think I will stay here with you… I think that’s exactly what I want to do. Again, her eyes found his lips, and she moved closer to his seat, sliding his hand with hers further up to the soft middle of her thigh. His fingers tightened their grip just slightly, like he couldn’t help it, like he had to feel more of her, and she nearly lost all of her focus at once. Not yet, she thought, I want to see what you do. You’re the commander, after all, so make a decision. Make a command. Dizzy with the thoughts of what he might do, she waited, giving him no more before he would respond. 

Commander… Say it again… “Then stay.” He placed his hand gently on her cheek, using his thumb to feel the curves of her face before pulling her to him until their foreheads met. “I’m going to kiss you.” It wasn’t a question, his voice was deep and quiet, and full of desire. 

“Then do it.” She whispered. He smelled sweet like the vanilla brandy mixed with the faintest trace of eucalyptus, and his hand felt strong on her face. She could barely contain her composure, waiting for his lips to meet hers. 

Her words felt like another challenge, and without hesitation he pressed his lips onto hers and felt her whole body melt into him. His hand slid up her thigh to around her waist, pulling her deeper into him, and he moved the other hand to the base of her neck where he could feel her draw in a breath between each kiss. She let out a moan that he could feel with the hand on her throat, and he pushed her back gently, stopping her in the middle of her ecstasy. Lifting a thumb to her chin, he pulled down and parted her lips with his hand, and drew his face in close again, just barely brushing the surface of her mouth with his own. “I like that sound, does this feel good?” While he asked, his other hand trailed along the inside of her thigh, making her gasp. “No, I asked you a question. Does that feel good?” His fingers tightened their grip on her leg. 

“Yes.” She whispered again. How could it not feel good? Please... The strength of his hands, his lips, his tongue, he was intoxicating, and she didn’t want him to stop. 

“Good.” His lips were still brushing hers, he felt her trying to move forward and pushed her back again. “You want more?” 

“Yes.”

“Yes what? You weren’t so shy before calling me ‘sir’ and ‘commander’. I even thought you liked it.”

Her eyes turned sharp and hungry, and she waited just a little while, testing his patience until she felt another squeez on her thigh. He wanted to hear her say it. 

“Yes, sir. I want more.” 

This time it was him that let out a moan as he pulled her back. He wanted more too, her skin, her warmth, he wanted to feel every part of her, and more than that, he wanted to make her feel good and watch her move and gasp with every new touch. She smelled like clove and she was soft, so soft he didn’t want to hurt her by gripping her too tight, but everytime he strengthened his grip he felt her lean further into it, deepening her intensity. He stopped her again, this time putting distance between them. “Stand up.” Chakotay ordered. He looked up at her and smiled with that warm inviting smile as she stood. “Good girl. I want you to take off your uniform, I want to look at you, will you do that?” 

“Yes sir.” She turned away from him, and when he started to speak out in protest she silenced him with a look. He was driving her wild with anticipation and now it was her turn. Very slowly she began to undo her clothes, leaving the back open for a few seconds before carefully pulling off one shoulder, then the other, and sliding out each arm purposefully, drawing the fabric down the length of her arms and past her hands, but holding up the front to keep herself covered. Then she slowly turned to face Chakotay. His expression was  intense, his lips parted at the sight of her and his hand was drawn up in his lap as if he was going to start pleasuring himself to her, but he stayed very still instead, watching her movements intently. She nearly forgot what she was doing when she saw him looking at her like that, like she was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. 

He waited patiently, saying nothing. She continued with her game, pulling the fabric slowly off each leg while holding the bulk of it in front of her with the other arm. Chakotay leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, eagerly watching her every move. Once the final items of clothing were removed, and she stood in front of him with only the drape of an empty uniform left to cover her, she took a step closer to him and left the last of the fabric to fall on the ground around her. He sat entranced in her shape only briefly before reaching up to grab her hand, pulling her into his lap. 

Her hands rested on his chest, and she straddled his lap. She was surprised at how comfortable he was physically, and how easy it was to follow his direction. It felt natural, like a game they were playing that they both knew the rules to, and she was fixated on his every next move. His hands began to move up her thighs, onto her hips, up her waist, and up the sides of her breasts to her shoulders. She held her breath, he wasn’t really touching her, not completely. Still dancing around the edges, making her wait, making her want him. One hand curled around the nape of her neck, and the other slid back down to her hips as she let out the breath she was holding in. 

“Look at you, you look stunning.” Both of his hands moved to her breasts and his feather light touch cupped them and brushed his thumbs over her nipples. She lifted her head back and groaned, reaching a hand down to touch herself, but Chakotay grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “No, not yet.” He was still softly stroking her hard nipple with his thumb while holding her wrist away from herself. 

“Please?” She let out a whimper. 

“Please what?” He said. 

“Please, I want yo-” She groaned again, interrupting her words and her thoughts with the feeling his hands were providing. 

He chuckled at her reaction to his touch and felt her squirm in his lap. “Please what?” he said again, and gently squeezed her breast in his hand, shifting his grip to use his index finger to tease her instead of his thumb. 

“Please, I want you to fuck me.” 

“Is that how you refer to me?” His hand moved up from her breast to her neck, with his index finger resting on the line of her jaw putting a small amount of pressure on her throat, just enough to notice. His other hand let go of her wrist daring her to try again, and moved to undo his own uniform. “You were doing so well before. If that’s really what you want then you’ll have to ask me the right way.” 

She watched as he unfastened his uniform and took the length of his cock into his hand, touching himself like he wouldn’t allow her to do, and she was breathless again. He pulled her face close to his with the hand around her neck, and continued to stroke the length of his shaft underneath her. She whimpered thinking about how good he would feel inside of her. He could feel the tension in her legs, and he knew she could only go so much longer before it would become too much. “Go on, say it.” He said between stolen kisses on her open mouth. 

“Please sir, I want you to fuck me.” 

Chakotay took his hand from himself and reached up to her pussy, feeling the wetness between her lips, sliding his fingers up onto her clit and massaging it slowly. She groaned deeply at his touch and her hips began to sway in motion with his fingers. “There, that wasn’t so hard. I want to hear you moan.” He worked his fingers faster on her clit and felt her body reacting in waves to the feeling. 

It felt so good, that’s really the best way to describe it. It felt so good and she felt herself move along with him, her muscles tensing and releasing with his changes in speed and pressure. “Mm it feels so good, don’t sto-” she moaned again, louder this time. And just as she was about to direct him not to, he stopped and pulled his hand away, back to himself. “You’re not done yet.” Bringing her up to that edge, watching her body, her face, he loved every second of it. With one hand still around her throat, he pushed her off his lap so they were both standing and kissed her deeply, letting his other hand explore her curves. 

“Wait.” It was her turn again. She pushed him away for a second and he waited to listen to her demands. “Let me take off your uniform.” He smiled as she moved her hands over the fabric, as slowly as she did for herself she unfastened his shirt and slid it off his broad shoulders, then moved to his undershirt, giving him light kisses on the stomach and chest as she pulled it up over his head. His pants, which were already partially undone, were the easiest to remove. She found herself laughing with him as he tried to step out of them after they pooled around his ankles, falling back onto the couch and taking her with him. Their laughter moved their bodies on one another in a way that brought her closer to him, and she could feel his warm skin against hers. She layed on top of him for a second, feeling him breathe, listening to his heart beat, and feeling his arms coil around her again.

His hands began to explore, and he felt her shifting on top of him. She sat up looking at him, and his hands slid back up to cup her breasts then back down again so his thumbs were resting on her sex. He began to rub her clit with his thumbs, watching her move to the feeling and moan. He reached for his cock with one hand, and pulled it up to slide between her pussy lips, not letting her have it inside her just yet, rubbing the tip against her clit and letting her wetness cover it’s length. She moaned, the most beautiful sound in the world, and grinded her hips back and forth over the length of his cock. She tried to reach down again to touch herself and intensify the feeling, but he pulled her wrist and sat up slightly, bringing both hands behind her back. “Not yet.” he whispered. He kissed up her neck, brushing his lips against her as he moved and she lifted her head back to feel his mouth and tongue on her skin. 

“You feel so good Bobbi.” Chakotay let out a moan, and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her around underneath him. His hips slid between her legs and he paused for another second, putting his hand back around her neck drawing her focus up at him. “Tell me what you want.”

She could barely form the words now, her head still spinning from the feeling of grinding on top of him. “I want to feel you inside of me, I want you to fuck me.” 

“Is that what you want?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Her words were ringing in his ears …’yes, sir’... and he thrusted the length of his cock deep inside of her wet pussy, watching her face change as she gasped when he filled her. She moaned into his thrusts, and floated her hands up his arms onto his shoulders where she dug in her nails to his back. He felt her nails pierce his skin and thrusted deeper, and her hips matched his rhythm pushing herself harder onto him. His grip on her throat tightened slightly, and he pulled himself up to watch her body move and quiver. Her moans became louder and surrounded him, and he slowed his pace, carefully feeling every inch coming in and out of her. 

Her sex was like velvet, soft and hot around his cock, he moaned at the feeling of her legs beginning to shake. He came to a stop still inside of her and watched her hips squirm around him. Slowly pulling out, he took his hand off her neck and moved it back onto her clit, rubbing slow circles with the pads of his fingers. Waves of pleasure were washing over her as she moaned again. “Turn over.” he said, still rubbing her clit. She groaned and pushed her hips into his hand. He leaned down to kiss her, and said in a low voice in her ear, “You’re not listening, I said turn over.” taking his hand away sharply, and stroking himself instead again. She sat up to turn over, and he stopped her abruptly, thrusting his fingers inside of her pulling them towards her g-spot. “What do you say?” 

Her head was dizzy again, but she knew the words this time. “Yes sir.” she moaned. 

“Good girl.” Chakotay kissed her again. 

She turned over with one knee on the couch and the other leg extended down to the floor, not bothering to hold herself up, she let her back arch and her arms slide forwards above her head. His hands trailed her spine and the curve of her hips before he thrusted into her again. She let out a cry from the pleasure, the change in position reaching new parts of herself. He filled her again and again, grabbing her hips to thrust harder and deeper, listening to her cries and moans change with his changes. “Fuck” she moaned again, “Oh fuck” her body was starting to tense and quiver, and he responded thrusting faster. “Please, you feel so good” she mumbled into the cushion between gasps. 

It felt so good to be inside of her, but hearing her say it brought him over the edge. He started to moan, thrusting harder and deeper, and bent down over her to pull her further into him, reaching a hand around to massage her clit while she quivered and begged. He spoke into her ear again in that low commanding voice “Tell me again, the right way.” 

“You feel so good inside of me sir, please don’t stop” She barely made the sentence out before she started shaking again with waves of pleasure. 

Chakotay felt her orgasam around his cock from the tightening pulses, and slowed his pace to match her body. “Do you want me to keep going?” He asked gently, knowing she might not tolerate more. 

She lazily nodded her head, and mumbled into the cushion again “mhm.” 

He chuckled at her response, and paused inside of her. “Turn over again.” She did so without hesitation. “That’s not right, what do you say?” 

“Yes sir.” She smiled up at him, like she had almost gotten away with it. 

In that moment she had the most beautiful smile in the world. He couldn't help but kiss her again, and again, and trailed down her chest, and breasts, and stomach, kissing her all the way until his mouth found her sex. She gasped again, as he slowly dragged his tongue over her clit, moving softly and carefully. She tasted like heaven, and she squirmed as his tongue began to flick faster. He thrusted his fingers inside of her, and started to suck on her clit, looking up as her body moved and swayed with his actions. Her hands curled into his hair, pulling his face down into her pussy. He reached down with his other hand and stroked himself again, before sitting up and putting the length of his cock back inside of her. 

She let out another gasp, and he began to thrust rhythmically with her hips pushing into him. He stayed with his body pressed against hers this time, feeling her every movement. Her moans became more intense, and he moved faster letting out moans of his own from the feeling of her body pressed up against him. “I’m going to come.” no longer able to resist the feeling, he managed the words between thrusts. 

“I want you to cum inside me.” She responded, feeling the length of him and hearing his moans, knowing it was her turn again. 

He had no time to correct her with their little game, he could feel his orgasam pulsing in her as he thrusted deeply one last time, feeling the waves flow through him, and cumming inside of her. She could feel the heat from the cum running down onto her thighs, and the pulses in his cock as he remained still. They breathed deeply together, being still, feeling each other's breath, dizzy from the orgasams, and happy.

A small laugh escaped Bobbi as she felt the weight of Chakotay laying ontop of her, and he started to laugh too. Before they knew it they were both laughing together, a mess on the couch. She sat up with him and curled into his arms. It still felt so good to be touched, by someone, by anyone. They were all alone together in this quadrant, and neither of them knew exactly how much they needed it, that is right up until they knew how much they needed it.

[my-timing-is-digital]

It was truly stupendous to document the Doctor as he blossomed in response to his words; unfortunately the effect of the validation he provided highlighted the implication that the other AI was not receiving sufficient recognition on a daily basis or that his developments and services were dismissed or taken for granted by the majority of the Voyager crew. Data had served under similar conditions; back on the U.S.S. Trieste the crew appeared to be disinterested in the individual and more concerned with the solutions and results he produced. No one, not even the Captain, encouraged him to enhance his programming on a social level. He was excluded from most group activities performed in leisure, was ridiculed and parodied by fellow Starfleet officers, and did not receive commendations where commendations were due. In other words, the EMH’s predicament was relatable on various personal levels — he could only hope future AI would not be subjected to negligence and prejudice. And ultimately, it were beings like the Doctor and himself who were excavating a new path for all future sentient artificial lifeforms aspiring to join Starfleet, to collaborate with humanoids while pursing and satisfying their intrinsic curiosity for knowledge about life, about science... They were the cornerstones atop which the others could construct their own ambitions without the continual impediments the two of them occasionally walked face-first into.

‘I am looking forward to our future concerto,’ Data replied reverently. ‘Certainly. If the process of transferring the files to me does not deprive Voyager of unnecessary resources, then by all means, feel free to do so — I would enjoy conducting an assessment of your artistic endeavours.’

For the first time during their conversation, the android averted his gaze, his brow lowered in rumination, accentuating the bioluminescence of his yellow eyes as a canopy of tenebrosity shifted over them for several hydraulic circulations. Although he could confidently state that the Enterprise crew regarded him as an equal, he was cognisant that this was a quality that had not always been applicable to them.

‘I believe I understand what you are implying... I shall not bore you with the particulars pertaining to my first assignment on the Trieste, however, I have experienced similar incidents on the Enterprise, especially in my first years of service. Although I was approached with deference, I was unable to eliminate the notion that the respect they preserved was for my rank as Lieutenant Commander, not for me as an individual. Fortunately, over time, the other officers started to confide in me and my abilities. I think it is reasonable to conclude that they now accept me for who and what I am,’ Data said resolutely, his eyes were trained on the Doctor again.

However, he should bear in mind that he was a physical, tangible embodiment of an AI and that humans might alter their comportment when the AI was a computer generated image that could easily be deactivated on a whim by issuing a simple voice command...

‘A name? Mhm, intriguing. Do you feel comfortable disclosing your chosen identity to me?’

"I'm certain that's true," he ageeed graciously. "I certainly benefited from the support of my crew." Or at least the ones who deigned to support him on any given day. "But an accomplishment is just that, and it's not diminished by the help of others."

The doctor hadn't enjoyed such direct attention in many years. For just a moment, he mourned again for Kes, who had always been so happy to sit and give him her direct attention for hours, then he brushed away the pain in favor of pleasure. The eye contact alone was wonderful, but he met Data's small smile with a much larger one of his own. "I've found that as well. Nothing has helped me feel so much like myself as music." His smile widened even further and he bounced on his toes for a moment in his excitement. Was this what it was like to make a new friend? To engage with someone who didn't have to overcome ingrained obstacles in order to see him as an equal? "An impressive list! I would greatly enjoy the chance to perform with you. When we have the time available, I'll be thrilled to discuss it!

"And if you're open to it, I'd very much like to send you some of my work. I'd like to hear your honest opinions. When you get a chance."

He clasped his hands behind his back and grew just a little more serious. "Do you ever get the feeling that for all your crew believes they respect you, they'll never truly see you as just as much alive as they are? I'm not certain that I've ever found the precise line between an acceptable request for accommodation and asking too much of them, when it comes to my personal preferences. For example, I tried several times to implement the use of a name, but at best, the crew seemed to humor me, and I very much doubt now, if you were to ask any of them, that they would even remember the name I chose."

[genidma]

Some areas that need investment and which we do not talk about as often

A positive technological singularity. The technological singularity will most probably occur anywhere from 10 to 40 years. That is, if a technological singularity hasn’t occurred already. 

Rational singularities interacting with each other in a manner that is mutually beneficial. Positive sum games. Basically talking to aliens who are rational agents. The word talking is subject to an on-going evaluation.

Terraforming Venus in our lifetime. Ideally within the next 20 years or less. Experts are welcome to share why this cannot be done in 20 years. 

If the people and the government of Venus approve, then I’d like for us to setup a base on Venus. From this base, we will chart out our expansion throughout the solar system and eventually beyond the solar system. I don’t reckon that we will need a lot of land. 

The intent is to setup a force for exploration and discovery, not unlike Star Trek. Star Trek in a post Picard/Guinan encounter, where Guinan is able to convince Picard that: Starfleet’s mission/values must translate into a peaceful discovery of the galaxy and for scientific inquiry (And not a military force). The network that we will setup, should not take up a lot of landmass on Venus and elsewhere. Star fleet is going to be an organization that governs itself without any specific individual governing for an extended time period.

Overall: Citizens of Venus will abide by a core set of laws, but they will govern themselves, with regards to how the architecture of governance evolves across the wider solar system. A platform for governance will be made available after consultations with key stakeholders. Communities will have the option to exercise different forms of governance, as long as they are compassionate towards each other and other inhabitants. If a one world government cannot be established, here on earth, between a timeframe of now and the next 20 years, then the British Crown will be provided the opportunity to lay claim to a substantial amount of the overall land and sea mass. With a similar amount of land and sea mass being presented as a gift to the government that represents the people of United States. That is, if things remain normal/normative across the United States and reason and humanism prevails. This suggestion can be challenged and should be challenged, in order to foster an environment that promotes collaboration and co-operation on earth, so that we experience long lasting peace and prosperity on non-terrestrial habitats. As well, it is best that a radically inclusive environment is enabled on Venus and elsewhere. In order to incentivize the best and the brightest, those who feel oppressed to move to other habitats. So that they and their children can enjoy life in a relaxed environment and pursue their interests on these new worlds and as they deem fit. 

Coming back to the model, and again, if the one world government architecture cannot be enabled on earth for some given reason, then another portion of the landmass is going to be provided to nations states that seek to invest in the overall project. This need not be just an investment of money, but also of time and effort that has been put in. Perhaps, the allocation should be based on who puts in the most amount of effort. Relating to the nation/state model, nation states may seek to invest in the terraforming project for Venus via their sovereign wealth funds. A very small portion of the land mass is going to be made available to HNWI individuals who are of good moral character (in a secular sense/common sense) and do not have any history of committing crimes,  atrocities and/or oppressing others. (Clean records). 

Rights of women. Reproductive rights. No one can tell a female not to get an abortion. 

Hanging gardens using advanced materials on earth, on Venus, on Mars and elsewhere. 

Brain machine interfaces that are safe to use. 

Semiconductors at room temperature. This will help save a lot of energy and also many amazing new technologies will be developed on top.

Newer forms of computation. Newer ways via which we interact with computers. 

Talking to and interacting with other advanced species across the Galaxy and the wider universe/multi-verse. 

Humans and cyborgs becoming free from boring work and drudgery. Individuals pursuing their interests and further developing their interests as they deem fit. 

Quality universal healthcare for all inhabitants. Including dental work and dental surgeries. Witnessing the enablement of a parallel architecture, whereby mental health related services are equally accessible.

End of warfare. Inhabitants of earth/wider solar system investing in the well-being of humans in another part of the world/solar system. 

Elimination of all forms of human and non-human suffering. Note: I have gone through 16% of David Pearce’s ‘The Hedonistic Imperative’ and up until this point I agree with all the points that Mr. Pearce has highlighted.

Every single venture is supported across the solar system. 

Seeing the further development of blockchains. Having the means and ability to be able to store the massive amount of data that is going to be generated in the future.

Newer storage systems. Maybe nanoscale devices or maybe something uses DNA as a storage medium. Whereby the reads and the writes can be made at a sufficient scale. 

Newer models for innovation. 

Further supporting the mechanism via which research occurs.  Supporting the pillars of basic research and applied research. 

Putting intelligent provisions in place, in order to end loneliness. If someone doesn’t want to be lonely, there there must be many avenues in the offline and online world in order to be able to do so. 

Eradicating all diseases within the next 15 years. Including cancer, HIV, genetic disorders and undiagnosed diseases. 

Reversing and locking ageing. 

Death becomes optional. 

A world where volunteer work is cherished, encouraged, supported. A world in which someone can spend a lifetime being a full-time volunteer and they would also enjoy and appreciate all the glorious wonders that life has to offer. 

Strategic shifts that significantly increase the quality of life of all earthly inhabitants. Whereby, most, if not all earthly inhabitants are able to enjoy the lifestyle of multi-millionaires today. At the very least. 

Worlds that are intelligently designed to enable access to resources vs promoting ownership for the sake of promoting ownership. 

Academy (or academies) of mathematics. Supporting mathematicians. | An academy (or academies) of Physics and sub-branches of Physics at some distance. 

Make friends in the theoretical Physics community and the various sub-branches. 

Learn more about Quantum Mechanics and try and understand the mathematics behind it. 

Learn what is means by relativity and how people are working on figuring out how to bridge relativity with quantum mechanics. (Mathematical models).

Travel from any point on earth to any other point on earth within 1 hour. 

Biological recapitulation using advanced printers. 

Taking steps in order to help enable a world where it’s normal to be gay. Whereby the law grants non-heterosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples. Within and outside the Western Hemisphere. This is going to mostly come from engaging with, empathizing and building bonds with communities that have traditionally been opposed to the concept of gay marriages. 

Where we understand the correlates that power civilization in a mathematical sense. Whereby we have the developed and continue to nurture the necessary functions that will support these correlates. 

Worlds whereby people get more karma points for helping others. This is best achieved in a radically transparent society. 

Where we understand the correlates of innovation of different types. Whereby we have developed the simulations that have a very high probability attached to delivering the kinds of outputs that we seek. Outputs that would continue to guarantee our expansion throughout the solar system and beyond. As well, outputs that will continually power a high standard of living for all. 

A post scarcity reality for an indefinite amount of time. 

Sending a cluster of crafts throughout the farther reaches of the galaxy, close to the speed of light. Have the crafts send data back. 

Developing Alcubierre drives. Requires the ability to be able to create an engine that is large enough to harness an adequate amount of negative energy. 

Genetic arks for seeding life across the galaxy. Involves a lot of ethical decision making. 

O’Neill colonies. 

Large scale O’Neill colonies which can house 10,000 humans and cyborgs. Travelling in clusters to the next star system. In ideal conditions, we’d have data from these worlds before the decision to travel there in the first place. 

Mindfiles. 

Laws that protect the rights of mindfiles. 

Laws in place in order to protect relationships between humans and cyborgs. 

All optical circuits. 

Genetics and synthetic biology experiencing the kind of growth that the general and wider field of computation has experienced since Turing/Zuse.

Transparent societies where neural correlates are stored on advanced storage devices.

Ensuring that the mechanism via which new ideas are generated is protected. That the original creator is part of the profit sharing mechanism. Or however we attach value to physical and virtual innovations. 

Having multiple properties across the solar system. And the means and ability to be able to travel between these locations relatively quickly. 

Newer propulsion systems. Fusion, anti-matter drives. 

Portals, wormholes that enable space and time travel. 

House of friendship. 

Protecting land mass across the solar system. Putting a sousveillance system in place, in order to prevent illegal mining/dumping. 

Ending human trafficking. 

Regulating the sex industry. With a keen focus on the rights of the workers.

Supporting missions on Mars from earth, from Venus and elsewhere. Signing pacts of indefinite friendship and treaties that link the various colonies together. Constant and deep interaction between communities that are geographically separated. Using a multitude of processes, systems and techniques (In-person, communications centres, leaders on a 1 to 2 year term servicing inhabitants in another part of the solar system, newer constructs)

Interesting Quests in the real and virtual worlds. Perhaps a combination of the two via mixed and augmented reality. 

Seeing the enablement of interesting and unique innovations. Like backpack wings. Whereby humans put on a pair of giant wings (synthethic nano bio) and fly like birds. 

Absorbing knowledge encoded in logic quickly and safely via brain machine interfaces that are safe to use. 

Dematerializing and dematerializing in other realities. Exploring friendly territories. 

Putting measures in place, in order to educate ourselves why separation of religion and governance is good for society. Promoting the separation of religion and state.

Promoting secularism. Secular cause. 

Ensuring that the rights of religious communities and individuals who are religious are protected. 

Ensuring that the rights of non-religious communities and individuals are protected. 

Reforms across the criminal justice system. Treating humans with respect, irrespective of the crime that they have committed. A right to a fair trial and access to quality legal services and a lawyer. Focus on reform and not punishment.

Abolishing capital punishment. Abolishing capital punishment for mind-files.

Ending surveillance. Enabling sousveillance. 

Very open towards making accommodations to the list. Additions, amendments. 

Let’s make wealth and create beautiful surroundings for ourselves and our children. 

Join me.

[sights-on-the-scifi]

THE COMPLETE SIGHTS OF SCIFI STAR WARS REVIEW PART 2.

BRIDGES TO A NEW HOPE.

https://sights-on-the-scifi.tumblr.com/post/189186099956/the-complete-sights-of-scifi-star-wars-review-part PART 1.

These next four pieces of STAR WARS media have exactly the kind of things i’m looking for in STAR WARS prequels, they fully understand what made the original trilogy so great. All of these titles meaningfully expand the universe not just with words, but also through engaging cinematic techniques and fun characters all wrapped up in an entertaining adventure general audiences can enjoy!

Action, drama, politics and effective score. Its all here in full force.

JEDI FALLEN ORDER 2019.

Years after the fall of the galactic republic and the destruction of the jedi order. The newly formed galactic empire has begun its conquest of the galaxy, seizing complete military enforced control of the means of production and industry, invading disobedient planets, taking control of natural resources through force then assimilating all species and their cultures under the emperors one rule.

Oppression can be felt everywhere.

The burnt out husks of the republic, separatists and the clone wars are being brought down to shipwrecking planets like Bracca to be stripped for valuable parts, melted down and recycled into materials that will construct the empires growing imperial war machine fuelling this transition.This is all carried out by overworked and underpaid engineers turned scrappers... This location also serves as a fantastic opening to the game! Giving us a believable insight into how the aesthetics and technology of this galaxy changed so drastically into the one we are all familiar with.

All of this world building is organic and we get to experience the emotional and political impact of this new reality at the same time the character we play as does. Cal Kestis is a jedi padawan who has gone into hiding after the events of order 66, and it is here he has spent most of his young life dismantling the world he had once known to blend in, waiting for any sign of other surviving members of the jedi council to hopefully tell him what to do next and its fantastic juxtaposition. We see him and his friend Prauf running through and scaling the dangerous work environments of this planet talking about their hopes and dreams for a future outside of this depressing place.

The heroes journey is an essential part of STAR WARS storytelling.

Prauf being the oldest wants Cal Kestis to someday find his destiny and tries to motivate him to do so. As you can see there, the performance capture on this character even Cal is incredible and you really feel the emotion in the dialogue. Layered within this endearing narrative is great foreshadowing of events to come, political commentary and emotional content, this is stuff that I wish the Lucas directed star wars prequels were better at. But regardless its amazing to finally see it done so well here.

Jedi fallen order is not just an exciting star wars action adventure game with sleek mechanics, its also an intriguing narrative that shows us how survivors of a gone away world cope with the loss of that civilisation and their role within it. The game is full of great characters who assist and motivate Cal on his journey to discover hope for the future! I dont want to spoil too much of it because its really something you gotta experience for yourself to fully appreciate.

These qualities will also be expressed in the next three pieces of bridge media ill review.

SOLO A STAR WARS STORY 2018.

This is the second movie to be released in the STAR WARS anthology movie series. In it we are shown the backstory to one the original trilogy’s most recognisable characters Han Solo! While it is not a perfect production (What star wars movie is?...) its still a fun and exciting adventure full of style.

Like with Fallen order we get a detailed look at the ways in which the empire is taking control of the galaxy not just in terms of society and culture but also on the economic level, and it all has some interesting real world parallels. On the planet Corellia Han and his girlfriend Qi’ra are trapped in a life of crime for the local gangsters who use orphaned children as a means to carry out scams and steal expensive vehicles from rival gangs and even the wealthy elite. Discovering a rare resource on a job which is used by the empire to power their enormous starfleet, Han steals this along with a lighting fast speeder to outrun their masters and hopefully bribe the imperial guards at the immigration port checkpoint to then escape off world for good.

Its through this impressive opening sequence that we get an insight into the class divide of this universe and how the empire oppress and exploit populations of the worlds they control, we are even shown how they collude with the gangs to funnel desperate youths into recruitment offices for the empire’s vast military. Again its all organic, interwoven with the narrative of the character we follow. We experience it as they do! With shots of the newly constructed empire star destroyers that we saw were built with the re purposed scrap seen in Fallen order for an example.

This is what STAR WARS excels at, wrapping interesting social commentary and scifi themes around a fairly simple heroes journey. There is even more of this stuff too throughout the rest of the film, like we see in vivid detail how the empire sends the poorest of these worlds to fight in off world conflicts across the entire galaxy to eliminate native resistance and install a regime loyal to the emperor. It is fascinating way to show how oppressive and brutal this fascist empire is... When Han’s escape plan fails and he is separated for Qi’ra, he is then forced to escape from the gangs and imperial authorities by posing as a civilian looking to become a soldier in the empires army, though he does not get to be a pilot like he imagined for long. Han is thrust into a survival situation, as he and many others like him are forced to fight in a world war 1 inspired hellhole.

We see thats its not just elite storm troopers that compose the empires forces, but also these scarcely equipped mud troopers comprised of the working poor. After these amazing sequences the film settles into a more predictable heist narrative with a ragtag criminal crew, seeing Solo develop into the character we all know and love from those original films. Finding Chewie, getting the Falcon, his iconic Blaster, meeting Lando you name it and its all here!

Solid stuff.

STAR WARS THE FORCE UNLEASHED 2008.

Originally intended to be the official bridge between REVENGE OF THE SITH and the 1977 CLASSIC STAR WARS. This game tells the tale of Darth Vader's secret apprentice Starkiller, who is tasked in eliminating the emperors enemies and former Jedi.

The game received very mixed reviews upon release as it was criticised for being perhaps a little rushed and a very bland button masher in terms of gameplay mechanics. Though the way in which you could use the force was pretty impressive, especially when combined with very impressive physics systems. What ultimately makes this game so interesting is its story, showing us how Darth Vader desires to escape the control of his master even while he still serves him... He uses Starkiller (Who was a child he stole from his original father/former jedi he was sent to kill), as a means to find the emperors enemies covertly, who just so happen to be rallying together to fight against the sith lord. In so doing Starkiller becomes a double agent, encouraging the formation of this resistance while at the same time killing Jedi to appease Lord Vader and aid his secret plan to assert control of the empire from within.

Over the course of this journey Starkiller will eventually grow to be sympathetic to the rebel cause and fight for the freedom of the galaxy, though I wont spoil the specifics here.

Like with the previous media shown in this review we get even more glimpses into the ways in which this galaxy operates, and also how the empire operates. We see junkyard planets filled with the remnants of the clone wars, a deathstar in a very early stage of construction, and small insurrections formed by a surviving Jedi striking at the hearts of the imperial war machine. Its pretty similar to how Fallen order does it, but I feel that Fallen order does a much better job at this while at the same time being a phenomenal gameplay experience.

Despite its flaws though FORCE UNLEASHED is still a fun adventure that fits surprisingly well in the overall narrative i’m experiencing here chronologically! :D

ROGUE ONE A STAR WARS STORY 2016.

The first movie in the STAR WARS anthology film series, ROGUE ONE does everything that SOLO did right perhaps even more so! This movie takes place directly before the events of the 1977 classic, showing us the daring mission to secure the Deathstar plans that Luke then stumbles upon. What is so clever about this narrative is how it wraps a human story around such a small annoying detail in a new hope relating to the Deathstar’s ultimate weakness we are all aware of. The thermal exhaust port...

ROGUE ONE shows us how the empire exploits the minds and talents of the galaxy’s brightest individuals to construct its oppressive technology and weapons, destroying livelihoods and families in the process as we see in the opening. Galen Erso, a former lead scientist for the Deathstar super weapon project has gone into hiding to avoid aiding in the empires efforts to construct it, becoming a moisture farmer on a remote world. Much to his dismay, Director Orson Krennic a high ranking imperial officer he was once associated with has discovered the location of this farm and intends to bring him back to finish the research on the weapon.

Foreseeing this eventuality that he will become a hostage to the program, he devises a plan to hide his wife and daughter from the empire while he attempts to avoid being taken away, something that unfortunately is unlikely to happen... The plan does ultimately fail and his wife is killed, while only his daughter manages to escape Krennic’s elite bodyguards. Its a very emotional and impactful opening sequence that has real world relevancy, the history of WMD’s are full of personal tragic complexities like this for example.

Jyn Erso, Galen’s daughter is orphaned by this event, growing up to become a member of local rebel groups until becoming disgruntled and solitary. When broken out of imperial prison she will soon realise once tasked by the Alliance to retrieve information on the Deathstar that her Father is still alive, and while forced to work on the weapon placed a weakness in the design of the station the rebels can exploit. The groundwork for his revenge. The scene where she views the message made for her is amazing, see for yourself.

Its very well executed and the emotional impact of the scene really makes it heartfelt while also expanding the universe in a really unique way! The climax of the film expertly shows us the bravery and sacrifice involved in a mission like this aswell, but I wont spoil it go watch the movie yourself to see :D. Again like with the other media shown, it sprinkles in lots of social and political commentary in its visual world building.

This is what a STAR WARS prequel should do!

I hope you enjoyed these reviews and are encouraged to add these films to your viewing list :). I’m now going to be rewatching the 4k restored theatrical cuts of the original trilogy then playing battlefronts 2′s singleplayer so stay tuned for those reviews once they release!

[spyrograph]

Star Trek and the Social Economics of a Post-Scarcity Earth

TL;DR Earth is a highly individualist society that maintains cohesion through passive exclusion. (The exact opposite would be the Borg's extremely collectivist society that maintains cohesion through aggressive inclusion.)

So it’s canon that there's a steady stream of people leaving Earth more-or-less permanently to live on distant colony planets IN SPITE of the fact that Earth is the perfect place for humans to live. Which leads me to conclude that resources (or at the very least, real estate) are in fact limited; and in order to keep up the illusion of uninhibited prosperity, various means (propaganda, social coercion) are used to keep Earth's population below a certain figure. For example: People who want to have large families are given incentive to homestead offworld. People with chronic disabilities are encouraged to get the best treatment possible- in facilities that happen to be offworld.  Scientists doing the kind of research that is dangerous and maybe unethical are encouraged to do it offworld and out of sight. People who exhibit antisocial/criminal behavior are sent offworld to penal colonies.

I think the most common method of getting people to move away is simply to set the bar really high and make competition very stiff. For example:  maybe a hundred people want to be physicians but there are only positions/work available for thirty physicians. All 100 of these people genuinely want to do the work and are willing to put in the insane amount of time and energy it takes to become doctors but only a third of them will be able to practice medicine on Earth in any real capacity. This might be true of pretty much every profession on the planet (lots of teachers, not as many classrooms. lots of musicians, not as many concert halls. lots of athletes, not as many sports teams) so the ones who aren't the best of the best end up going elsewhere in order to pursue their vocations.

As for the average Joe? Since no one has to work and everyone is guaranteed never to need anything- Joe can devote his life to building model ships and never go hungry, be cold, or ill.  Joe could just build model ships and live on the basic pension, in basic housing, wearing basic clothes. Life on Earth might seem very bland to Joe and very much less than ideal. Average Joe with no appreciable talents and no true passions might easily be convinced that life on a colony is more interesting/challenging/enjoyable.

Opposite this stream of emigration is the potential for upward mobility.

Average Joe might decide that he isn’t content with living at the basic level. Joe raises people’s interest in model ships by giving some away to well-connected people, reserving space for a small showing, offering tutorials, etc. One of  Joe’s creations might be given to Captain Picard who decides to commission other models which he gives as gifts to alien ambassadors. Joe becomes known as Model Ship Joe.  Joe suddenly has friends who are tailors (he no longer has to wear simple clothing) and friends who are artisan bakers (he no longer has to eat replicated food). He now has the social leverage to get on the shortlist for a bigger apartment in a building with a recreational holodeck. Joe has moved up in the world.

This economic system creates a whole class of artisans and artists. It’s is a really cool thing in some respects and kind of uncanny. Since Earth’s major exports are art, and literature- one can arguably say that this artisan class is Earth’s working class.

The true currency of a post-scarcity economy is the Social Connection.

If Joe’s abilities are similar to those of his parents, he might come into his profession with a ready-made set of connections.  Joe’s parents might even encourage him to study something similar to their own interests. The largely home-taught nature of education offworld might factor into the trend of family members in similar vocations. (Having a parent in Starfleet seems to be commonplace for many Starfleet personnel.) If Model Ship Joe had an uncle Model Car Guy then Joe would have an easier time raising interest in his work than if his parents were both lab assistants. So in this sense, one’s “inheritance” is a genuine advantage.

[data-is-my-favorite-android]

Some thoughts on M!Lorca and Emperor Georgiou

I was reading some posts and thought that a greater exploration of these two characters and their respective villainy may be called for. The main thing I keep coming back to is: is it really so hard to accept that both mirror Georgiou and mirror Lorca are both pretty bad and neither of them should be “sided” with? The sins of one don’t cancel out the sins of the other, and they’re both horrible (albeit interesting) in their own special ways. I’m just sayin’, though Michael will probably have to make an alliance of opportunity at one point or another, neither of them is a “good” choice.

So let’s break it down a little, shall we?

Georgiou:

-eats sentient beings

-doesn’t hesitate to kill a room full of people

-is a-okay with torturing people for life

-may or may not be an overbearing, controlling mother-figure

-kills and subjugates alien races without a second thought

-rules the human population through terror

Big Evil Things all.

Lorca:

-possibly killed the entire crew of the prime Buran to cover his entry into the prime universe (arguably speculation at this point, but something weird happened there and lorca at the very least lied about his “eye injuries”)

-pushes his crew past their limits, jeopardizing their health

-orders Dr. Culber to fake a medical report

-pulls Dr. Culber away from taking care of Paul so he can’t figure out what happened (with an extra dose of gaslighting when Culber accuses him of planning their departure from the prime universe), therefore extending their stay in the mirror universe

-tries to manipulate Katrina Cornwell with sex and, when that fails, sends her into a dangerous situation hoping she will be captured or killed and refuses to help when it is confirmed she was kidnapped (what happened to his whole “i know what happens to people captured by klingons and not on my watch” spiel??)

-puts a traumatized p.o.w back into action without any therapy

-to avoid punishment (and complete his own personal mission) he inputs coordinates to take the Discovery to the MU, stranding his crew in hostile territory and erasing the last coordinates to keep them in the dark

-apparently manipulated a woman named Ava and used her until he was done with her before casting her aside or worse--and he has no remorse concerning his actions

-allegedly manipulated/had a relationship with mirror Michael, whom he must have known saw him as a father, and conspired with her to kill the emperor, her mother-figure (just sayin’, if the relationship bit is true, even if they aren’t technically related and she was an adult when a relationship began, that’s still super problematic. She still grew up under his care looking up to him as a father. The inherent power disparity there is stunning and unnerving. and regardless, her father-figure was helping mirror Michael plan the murder of her foster mother. just...wow)

-we don’t know if he wants to overthrow the emperor to make the empire a better place or just to usurp power. but we do know he was the right-hand man of the emperor, tasked with executing her most sensitive missions (which probably included mass murder on the reg), that he ran his ship in the prime universe like his own personal fiefdom and he didn’t think twice about telling michael to destroy the rebel base, no questions asked

(note, the lorca section is longer because we know more about lorca than we do about the emperor. To that end, I will include more commentary about lorca because, again, I’ve had more time to ponder lorca than evil georgiou)

Okay, so a lot of this might be excused(?) by arguing cultural relativism on behalf of the Terrans. Personally, I don’t think borderline incest is acceptable by any universe’s standards, but for the sake of argument I will agree that the source reporting this likely isn’t reliable and maybe that part isn’t true. But I don’t think Lorca is a “good guy” and unless some dramatic shift happens, I don’t think he should continue as captain.

From a certain perspective, Lorca may be said to have done a lot of good, too, and there are interesting arguments in favor of this. But I also think there’s another side to that coin, and I want to explore that a little more.

Look, Lorca has always struck me as an expert at manipulation. Expert manipulators know that it’s all a game of give-and-take, but they make sure to stack the deck in their favor when it’s their turn to take. They’re also extremely savvy when it comes to securing the loyalty of their followers.

Let’s look at some examples from Lorca’s stint on the Discovery using this theory as our guide.

Busting Michael out of prison? He didn’t do it solely for the pleasure of her company. He needed her for his own plans, as we now know. He also likely meant to cultivate a sense of indebtedness between him and her. When that didn’t go as planned, he had to change tactics and appeal to her curiosity and sense of duty to convince her to stay, a much softer but decidedly more effective approach. And Lorca, above anything else, cares about results, not how he gets them.

Rescuing Sarek? He knew that mission was important to Michael, sure, but he also predicted that allowing her to rescue Sarek would make her feel gratitude and loyalty to him as well as convince her to trust him (trust being one of the most basic and important tools a manipulator has to work with). When she thanked him for his support, he even said as much: “I need a group of people around me to carry the day”. He wants her steadfast loyalty and trust so she will follow him even when he’s doing things she knows aren’t strictly in keeping with Starfleet ideals.

Speaking of which, from the get-go he encouraged her to shift her thinking away from Starfleet’s diplomatic ideals and start thinking in a more zero-sum, militaristic way. She proves a little less pliable than he might have liked, but she trusts him enough that she ignores his underhanded tactics. Still, he has to step lightly around her because he doesn’t have full control of her yet and he knows it. That’s another reason why he has to bend to her will at times; if he pushes back too hard she might begin to question his motives and start to doubt him, and that can’t happen for his plan to work.

Another thing expert manipulators do is forge a sense of commonality between themselves and the target of their manipulation, emphasizing their mutual (but superior) “otherness” from the group. Lorca is quick to call Michael superior to the other Federation scientists around them because she, like himself, can think outside the box and do what needs to be done (”universal law is for lackeys; context is for kings”). They are members of an exclusive club, one that knows what’s really happening, what needs to be done, and the difficult means by which to do it; everyone else belongs to the lackey club that must be guided by their superior insight.

As for other “nice” things he’s done? Springing Tyler out of prison was a strategic decision. Tyler said it himself;

Lorca needed Tyler as much as Tyler needed him.

What about promoting Tyler and giving him a place among the crew? Look, if someone helped me escape a klingon prison hellhole after seven months of torture, I’d feel pretty fucking indebted to them. Lorca also knew that Tyler, like anyone who’s been through torture, would be anxious to get back at his tormentors and be prepared to break any rule to do it (see his conversation with Saru on Pavo).

I wouldn’t exactly call Lorca’s actions here altruistic, but rather a calculated risk, like most of his decisions.

He sounded pretty kind to Tilly when she was freaking out on the captain’s seat, but then again, yelling at her and making things worse would have blown their cover and made a mess of his grand plans, so... *shrug*

The thing that’s so insidious about Lorca, even assuming his intentions are “good” and his end-game somehow justifies the means, is that he’s so good at manipulating people and so incredibly deft at controlling the people around him that it really makes me question his true intentions or feelings about anything. He’s a long-term strategist who can pivot and adjust to any situation, which makes him an extremely interesting character. It’s easy to look at his actions in the moment and say they are good, but Lorca is a big-picture thinker who dons whatever hat he needs to fit the situation. For manipulative people, kindness and cruelty are both tools that must be used appropriately and in the right measure to get what they want. Particularly in the Federation, honey will catch more flies than vinegar, and he knows that.

I’m not saying that Lorca isn’t a fantastically dynamic character and that I haven’t enjoyed watching his arc. And I’m not saying he’s devoid of emotion either; he may have some passing fondness toward a few of his crewmates, but at present I get the feeling that, while he doesn’t want to lose them and waste resources, they’re all pretty expendable if it comes right down to it. I do think he cares about Michael more than he cares about anyone else (that doesn’t excuse the bad things he’s done “for her” though...). And, smart man that he is, he has been careful to bend the truth instead of outright lying when possible. But that doesn’t mean he’s honest or that the sentiment he holds toward Michael is “pure”. I think her mirror counterpart always represented some avenue to power for him. He could care about her while also using her, but that kind of takes something away from the dynamic, doesn’t it? I don’t think you can love someone/have a healthy relationship with them while simultaneously using them imo. Even if he and mirror Michael were working together in full equality, prime Michael isn’t; Lorca is holding all the cards and that means he has all the power in the situation. She hasn’t been given a real, honest choice (as opposed to the illusion of choice), and that is fundamentally unequal and manipulative. He has asked her to trust him, but he hasn’t trusted her with critical information about himself and his goals in return. That’s selfish, dangerous, and pushes him further into bad/evil character territory for me.

Pivoting back to Emperor Georgiou, I also think she cares about Michael--or at least mirror Michael. But that also doesn’t make her a good person or better than Lorca. She’s comfortable in her fascistic regime. She commits genocide regularly and uses torture daily to impose fear and order among her subjects. That’s pretty cut-and-dry evil right there, no excuses. She’s probably her own special brand of manipulative, exploiting Michael’s straightforward Federation ideals and attitudes to her gain. Like, she’s obviously no peach herself (but holy hell, does she know how to dress to impress).

At the end of the day (and with the information currently available), neither of them are a good option for Michael to form an alliance with. On the one hand, she’s got the devil she knows; Lorca seems interested in protecting her, whatever his reasons, but fuck, he’s royally screwed all of the crew on Discovery over, and possibly the Federation too (remember they had the information needed to win the war but that don’t matter if they can’t deliver it). On the other, she has the devil she doesn’t know; Georgiou represents an evil empire, but hasn’t personally betrayed Michael and initially seems to be on-board with getting the infectious ideals of the Federation out of her empire and back where they belong. Obviously neither of them are trustworthy, but they aren’t trustworthy for different reasons. Hopefully Michael will be able to find a solution that doesn’t “side” with either of them and possibly plays them off each other.

Personally, I don’t even think either of them are going to be The Big Bad. I predict that dubious honor will go to:

He only corrupted the Mycelial Network, aka The Cosmic Force That Binds All Life Together. Seems pretty important.

Just a thought.

Anyway, long story short, characters can be evil for different reasons and be equally deplorable (though is Lorca that different from the Emperor? If he was emperor, would he use his power any differently? He seemed pretty okay with the idea of killing all the non-human rebels. Even if it’s all a show and the end justifies the means...that’s pretty ghastly. Hopefully the next episode will shed more light on his character). It’s not a linear spectrum where one must be more evil than the other. They both, at present, look pretty fucking terrible from my perspective. Lorca might pull some more magic out of a hat and somehow make himself less horrible, but that also doesn’t mean he’s automatically a good guy. And Emperor Georgiou could assist the Discovery and that wouldn’t erase the fact that she’s a genocidal maniac. Complex as they both are, they’ve both committed acts of evil and they both should be held accountable for their past deeds.

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 6 Review: Scavengers

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This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 6

If you want to understand how Star Trek has evolved as a franchise, look no further than “Scavengers.” The Star Trek: Discovery episode sees its main character, Michael Burnham, disobeying a direct order from her commanding officer (again) in order to go on a rogue mission with Emperor Georgiou to save her, ahem, friend Book and secure a pre-Burn Starfleet black box. It’s the sort of stunt Kirk pulled on the regular (and, yes, this includes Kelvin Kirk), and it’s the kind of stunt Kirk would have been celebrated for it—both within the world of the TV show or film and, more importantly, by the viewer. Here, the context is much more complicated. We viewers are encouraged to understand why Michael did it and to see the goodness of her motivations, while also being encouraged to see how and why Burnham’s actions negatively impacted her crew and could have led to some devastating consequences. Frankly, it’s a radical and deeply interesting subversion of the myth of American individualism, and it’s one that the Star Trek universe is well-equipped to make.

American pop culture has a relative dearth of good stories about institution, especially for a culture currently struggling with the failure of so many and a deep distrust in the ones that remain. Star Trek has, generally, been an outlier to that rule. From the beginning, it has been a story that is not so much interested in depicting a utopian future as it is depicting a future with a utopian institution: the Federation. The world of Star Trek has never been one without its problems. This is a universe that still knows wars, famine, and systemic inequality. But it is also a universe that has an institution that works, one that our heroes are not only a part of, but believe in. Though this is challenged as Trek goes on, especially in a show like Deep Space Nine, it is rarely completely undermined as a possible ideal. In Trek, the dream of an institution that works for the many is not a pipe dream; it’s a pragmatic one.

How does this all relate to Star Trek: Discovery? Well, unlike the first two seasons of this show, Season 3 is deeply interested in exploring this idea of the possibility of a good and functional institution. The Burn may have destroyed what the Federation once was, but it still exists in some form. Much of Season 3’s tension has been the question of whether that pragmatic dream of putting one’s trust, work, and time into this collective organization is a worthwhile one or rather, like so many modern TV series tell us, that believing in something larger than yourself is for suckers.

In “Scavengers,” Michael demonstrates how she has lost patience with that dream. For her, for a no doubt very long year, it was for suckers. The Federation wasn’t coming to save her, so she had to learn how to save herself, and that is a hard habit to break. In that time without her crew of her Federation, Michael did have someone. She had Book and it’s understandable that she wants to save him here. When his life is put in jeopardy, Michael is forced to choose between the status quo she once had (which fostered a belief in the Federation) and the status quo she has been forced to live with for the past year (which fostered a belief that she could only trust herself and Book).

In Michael’s mission into Emerald Chain territory, not only is she trying to find information that she believes will help the entire Federation, but she is also trying to save someone she cares deeply about. Her motives fit well into Federation values, but her actions chafe against them. Part of being part of a collective (no Borg allowed) means making decisions together and, in a hierarchal institution like Starfleet, it means sometimes having to go along with a choice that you think is the wrong one. It’s an experience that a deeply individualistic American culture is not often encouraged to accept as a valuable one. And it’s a part of my culture I have been thinking a lot about during the COVID crisis, as we watch the United States failure to embrace a “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few” ethos.

Interestingly, “Scavengers” puts a decent amount of narrative time into looking at why Michael’s choice was perhaps the wrong one, and it’s a thematic thread that picks up on characterization from earlier in the season, and earlier in this series. Since her reunion with the Discovery, Michael has been trying to have her cake and eat it too. She wants to be part of the crew and the Federation, but she only wants to follow the rules when they align with her personal priorities. We saw her go behind Saru’s back in “People of Earth,” planning a rogue mission with Book that relied on Saru blindly trusting her, which he did. But, after this latest stunt, that trust is seriously frayed. Saru can’t rely on Michael and, perhaps, vice versa. If Michael tried the “People of Earth” stunt now, it might go very differently. Saru is smart to recognize how that is a serious problem that needs to be addressed now, when the stakes are relatively low.

Of course the stakes aren’t low emotionally. The weight of how he should respond to Michael’s insubordination obviously weighs heavily on Saru’s shoulders. He goes to Tilly for advice, and she tells him what he needs to hear: Michael’s decision puts the entire crew’s future in the Federation in jeopardy. It must be met with consequence. And it is. In the final, best scene in the episode, we see Saru strip Michael of her first officer duties. It’s the right decision—even Michael thinks so—but that doesn’t make it any easier for Saru to accept. This willingness to lean into the difficult questions is, more than anything else, what makes Saru a good captain.

Interestingly, Vance also rebukes Saru before giving Michael a bigger dressing-down. He thinks Saru should have come to him with Michael’s intel about the black boxes and the opportunity of securing another. Like Michael, Saru has perhaps become somewhat used to not having a commanding officer to check in with. And he really hasn’t been a captain for very long.

Is Vance hiding something about The Burn? Perhaps. Vance continues to dismiss Michael’s valid point that, without solving the mystery of The Burn, the Federation will never be able to properly move on. Vance’s reluctance to invest resources in solving this mystery could simply be a very understandable attempt to prioritize saving lives rather than investing in the long-term health of the Federation as an institution, or it could be that he is trying to hide something ugly about the Federation’s potential role in the disaster. Only time will tell. For now, the crew of the Discovery continues to move forward, with the belief that the dream of the institution is something worth investing in. What a statement.

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Additional thoughts.

If you’re a fan of Big Plot Development, the beginning of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 was like Grudge-nip. The first three episodes of the season dealt with the major repercussions of Michael and the Discovery, respectively, jumping through time and then, eventually, coming back together—with an additional one-year time-jump for Michael thrown in for good measure. While the fourth episode leaned into the character repercussions of it all, last week saw another major plot development when the Discovery found the 32nd-century version of the Federation. This week’s episode, “Scavengers,” like that other Season 3 outlier “Forget Me Not,” was another episode that was more about moving the chess pieces than taking any pieces. This is the kind of transitionary installment that is all about following up on lingering character moments and minor plot threads, which is not to say that it didn’t have its excellent moments, just that it very much felt like an episode that comes in the middle of the season. I have a feeling that, looking back on “Scavengers,” we will see the many major plot developments it is setting up for the second half of the season.

One of the captains who takes part in Vance’s meeting is an older woman and I know this is not the first time we have seen an older woman in a position of authority in Star Trek or pop culture in general, but it still feels rare enough to both give me a thrill when it happens and to be commented upon.

I can’t help comparing the Discovery this season to the experience of living in a quaranteam. This episode, Michael made a decision to increase the quaranteam’s risk level without getting the pod’s approval. Not cool, Michael. (But also: good job saving lives.)

I am Team Healthy Institution, generally, but working within bureaucracy takes time. Being a lone wolf is definitely faster and more flexible. I do get Michael’s frustrations here.

Do we think Georgiou likes Saru? When Michael asks her to go rogue with her, Georgiou immediately points out how it will screw over Saru, which is kind of cool and unexpected.

Michael “I’d rather regret something I did than something I didn’t” Burnham.

I love how, within weeks of getting captured into this forced labor camp, Book knows like the whole history of the place, including the failed revolutions.

We get an Adira/Stamets plotline this episode that is both sweet and somewhat frustrating. Like, I get that Stamets is being supportive here and I love that, but also life-death does work in a linear fashion in almost all cases. Rather than Star Trek: Discovery having to give queer characters a Get Out of Death Free card, I’d rather they, you know, just not kill them in the first place.

Michael and Georgiou’s rescue mission has got to be one of the most obvious rescue missions in history. This isn’t a critique. I love how big they go here. Georgiou is obviously loving it.

In the great dogs v. cats debate, Star Trek seems to come down on the side of the cats. Porthos aside, from “Catspaw” to Grudge, the cat energy in this show has always been stronger than the dog energy. And I say this as someone who has neither a metaphorical dog nor a literal dog in this fight. (But Tilly doesn’t like cats, which I love for her as a character trait. Just when you think she’s gonna zig, she zags…)

But is there more to Grudge than meets the eye? Almost definitely.

For the record, a cat in a spaceship would probably convince me.

Do we think Linus will ever get a proper storyline? Do we want Linus to get a proper storyline?

Um… I feel like this black box information is something Michael should have already mentioned to Saru. Or is this a symptom of how deep her inability to trust right now goes?

We get more information about the Emerald Chain here, mostly about the character of Osira. While we don’t get to meet her in person, we do meet her meathead nephew. Presumably, this means that she is an Orion and also that she is the worst.

“I love me.” I love you too, Michelle Yeoh.

We don’t get a lot of answers regarding Georgiou’s apparent PTSD here. She seems to be remembering something from her Mirror Universe past, and it was not fun. Is this a result of her conversation with Kovich? Probably. Is it something that will lead to her Section 31-centric spinoff? Most definitely. Read some of our speculation on that here.

“Let me just say, there’s no head injuries…” I love this as a conversation opener.

“We always find each other.” If you were wondering, yes, I am 100% into the Michael/Book thing. Thank you, show, for giving Michael a healthy love interest storyline this time.

Bonus!: We get another “toothbrushing” scene with Stamets and Hugh this episode, which is to say: a scene of them being domestic and sweet together. In general, I am for more domestic scenes for this entire ensemble. After all, the Discovery is not only their workplace but also their home. #relatable

I want bocci on my spaceship.

“One day, we will find the answers we are all looking for.” Yes, Saru is my favorite character. Yes, I am so happy he is getting so much to do this season.

The post Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 6 Review: Scavengers appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Plot Bunny Dump: Star Trek XI

This is a post on my old blog. Originally published Jul 12, 2012.

I hate when my plot bunnies just decide to reproduce like, well, bunnies! I couldn't care for them all so I’m putting it here for adoption if anyone cares for one.

The 2009 Star Trek movie gave me a great big kick. I got a couple of bunnies popping up in this fandom.

Warning: Highly K/S, but not necessarily

The Kirk-has-kid fic:

(For this bunny, I’m actually using the edit I posted on K/S archive)

Summary: During the second year of the five-year mission, Kirk was contacted about an illegitimate son he didn’t know existed who would be transferred to his care on the Enterprise. It’s one thing to fight off Klingons and Romulans. It’s another to have a fight at home.

Detail:

After Jim drove his father’s car down the cliff, Winona Kirk finally took notice of her family problem and came back to divorce Frank. In the meantime, Jim was sent to Tarsus IV to stay with his relatives. The famine struck, and Kirk and a bunch of kids stuck together to survive. He got attached to one older girl who took care of him at the time. They were together for a while before they were saved and separated once got back to Earth. Jim was sent back to Iowa without a chance to tell her where he was going, and they never saw each other again.

Jim only knew that he fathered a son with her on the second year of the five-year mission when Starfleet contacted him that she had died. Without other relatives, the boy was sent to his father on the Enterprise and the drama ensued. Jim tried to be a father when he never really had one. His son, with a deep grudge against his father whom his mother loved and worshipped but was never present, took every opportunity to throw it at Jim’s face that he had abandoned them. Spock tried to be a mediator and ended up with the boy kind of hero-worshipped him and his Vulcan coolness. Add that on top of life-threatening missions and a tension between Kirk and Spock that they never thought of exploring, until they were forced to raise a child together.

Notes and Bonuses: I kind of see Jim’s son as the angrier version of ten-year-old-something Jim Kirk with Jim’s IQ and all that, but I’ll leave it to the writer’s discretion on how much of a troublemaker he’s going to be. I don’t think he actually hates Jim, he’s just kind of jealous that his mother loves Jim (ahem, giant Freud alert!) and is angry that Jim was never there for her. So, bonus if he is the first to realize that there is something going on between Jim and Spock, and he disapproves at first because he doesn’t want Jim to forget his mother just like she had never forgotten about him. Another huge bonus for a happy ending, please. Note 2: Just in case you're wondering what to do with Uhura. I never think she and Spock are in a romantic relationship, although they are obviously attracted to one another because: (1) during the Academy years, Spock would have been her instructor. I don't think his moral code would allow them to overstep the bound. (2) he would have made clear to her after Narada that he intends to join the New Vulcan colony. They would have agreed to go their separate ways if she shows up on the Enterprise for its launch. (3) once he joins the Enterprise, he would be her commanding officer. Again, I think Spock would find it inexpedient to initiate a relationship with her. Of course, the writer can play with their friendship or chemistry as much as they want. :)

The Dystopian AU fic:

Summary: In an alternate reality, Terran civilization collapsed before the invention of warp-drive and the First Contact never occurred. Cities disintegrated in chaos and centuries later what was left was settlements of humans, now mostly nomads and farmers, scattered across the world with only a glimpse of the world that came before.

How will Kirk and Spock find each other and save the Federation from a crazy time-travelling Romulan, then?

Detail: Earth was labelled a loss after a global collapse and the Federation rarely paid attention to the contacts made by aliens who try to reap resources and capture human for slave-trade. The incidents were few enough for them to be the stuff of legend for the human struggling to survive in the aftermath.

Jim Kirk of Iowa was out in the field with his sheep when a gang of alien tried to abduct him. He was saved and brought back to the Enterprise, a sentinel ship protecting the Earth, by Captain Spock due to the violation of the Prime Directive. Without anyone else in his family (Father, died since he was young, Brother died in Texas IV, Mother died from illness a few years earlier), Kirk agreed to join the crew, which consisted of aliens but mostly of human Spock has saved from all around the world.

In this universe, Starfleet actually comprised different fractions based on their home planet and thus was quite fractured, more like a group of mercenaries under than an actual organization. Spock was under the Vulcan Fraction but was at odds with them due to his mixed heritage and his fascination with his mother's people who were now regarded as backward. Against his father's wish, he proposed project Enterprise (christened by Amanda) as a collaboration between the Vulcan Fraction and the Vulcan Science Academy so he could spend time studying and protecting Earth from orbit.

Kirk is directly trained under Spock because of his aptitude in logical thinking and computation. Kirk also had a fascination with the Time-That-Has-Gone-Before and liked to spend hours with Spock's personal book collection salvaged from Earth. After a close friendship with Kirk, he started to see the human's potential in command and later appointed him First Officer.

After things start to settle down, they were called back to Vulcan because of Nero's attack. The Vulcan Fraction lost to Narada's superior technology. They, however, managed to save a small group from the planet, but not Sarek whom Nero captured because of his status in Starfleet and Amanda whom Nero psychically broke and killed to spite Spock. Unable to save his mother, suffering from his broken bond with T'Pring and a psychic back-latch from an entire planet being destroyed - Spock became unstable and transferred his command to Kirk but not before he managed to relay an order to aid every Vulcan survivors in all surrounding planets.

Because of that order, Chekov found a life signal on Delta Vega belonging to an elder who seemed to know Kirk. He told Kirk of Nero's intention to destroy all Federation planets and that he would destroy Earth despite the fact that Earth was not a member of the Federation in this reality. With that information, Kirk, against all orders from the Federation, took the Enterprise to Earth to stop Nero and saved Sarek.

I didn't have much idea on how it transpires between here and the end where Spock gave Kirk permanent command of the Enterprise while he decided to join the other survivor and rebuild their race. Kirk, of course, convinced Spock that the Enterprise and Earth needed him more than the Vulcans. Spock was finally convinced to stay with the people that had now become his family and took the position of First Officer.

The MPREG fic (Yes, I've Been There):

Summary: Kirk and Spock went on a mission with the result of Kirk getting an alien uterus and a fetus with his and Spock's combined genetic. With Spock wanting a child, Uhura reluctantly agreed to her boyfriend's suggestion of co-parenting between the three of them. However, as time went by, she started to feel the rip in hers and Spock's relationship and a beginning of Kirk's and Spock's.

Detail: I don't care much about how the pregnancy is made possible, only how they deal with it. McCoy wasn't happy for medical reasons. Uhura wasn't happy because she wasn't ready. Spock wanted a child because his race was diminishing, and Kirk wanted to make Spock happy (in a non-romantic way, at first). But due to the different biology between the carrier, the uterus, and the baby. The pregnancy was complicated and their daily lives changed to accommodate. Although she agreed with the co-parenting term, Uhura soon started to realize that she didn't feel a connection to the baby while Kirk and Spock started to behave more and more like a couple. She also learnt from Kirk in one of their rare private camaraderies during the pregnancy that Kirk had fallen in love with Spock but was not planning on doing anything about it because he respected hers and Spock's relationship. Uhura started to have doubt in her own feeling soon after when she spotted Spock attempting a telepathic communication with his unborn child while Kirk was beaming and realizes that she didn’t really have a place there. When Kirk had to go through preterm birth and was isolated, and Spock was almost driven crazy both because of Kirk's condition and his need to telepathically bond with the child. Uhura confronted Spock about his feeling for Kirk and encouraged him to explore it (she had seen it coming months before after all; she had lots of time to prepare for this). She remained the third parent according to their agreement (and maybe finding comfort in McCoy?), while Kirk and Spock started to build a family.

The Real Reason Kirk Can't Sleep Alone:

Summary: Kirk didn't like his bed empty. Spock just assumed it was his captain's libido. That was until one diplomatic mission put Kirk and Spock in the same room that he realized Kirk's problem ran much deeper and attempted to help.

Detail: After Tarsus IV, Kirk was traumatized because a friend of his died during the night that he developed a fear that everyone might just drop dead while he slept. He dealt with the problem by either exhausting himself, getting drunk or bedding somebody so he had a warm body to hold and feel safe. On the ship, he often resorted to Bones' sedative or cuddled with the man himself (they were best friends after all). It was never a problem to his ability to command as long as he had enough sleep. Spock, only aware of Kirk's reputation with women and his frequent visit to the Doctor's quarter, assumed all along that it was just Kirk's sexual appetite until they went on a diplomatic mission together and Kirk's problem started to make itself known. (He was really stressed and really needed a cuddle, and McCoy wasn't around to help.) Upon learning about the true nature of the problem, Spock offered to cuddle with Kirk. They took the practice back to the Enterprise which soon turned into intimacy, and, of course, McCoy was always the first to know.