Automated updates: 2025-01-02
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John Colagioia
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@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ And that somewhat reminds me of one of my favorite lines from Pulpy (and public
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> If you have a few problems, you have trouble, but if you have a whole lot of problems, they start solving each other.
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H. Beam Piper wrote that in [*Ministry...of Disturbance*](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20659), as the kindly galactic emperor works out how to overthrow his stagnant regime and turn his empire towards peace, by playing factions and cranks against each other over the course of his life. Whatever the fictional plot, we have many problems. The not-fascists can't figure out how to make their cases to people. Increasing areas of the country have no local news, and the rest of us have too little investigative journalism. Journalists can't afford to stay in their careers. The political party that has the least interest in facts has the easiest time laundering their stories through [view from nowhere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalistic_objectivity#View_from_nowhere) media. I've probably overlooked some others, but regardless, I can't help notice how well-suited these problems seem to solving each other, so maybe we should try it, so that we don't need to rely on outlets that would rather have a good seat in the [Brady Press Briefing Room](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S._Brady_Press_Briefing_Room) than call out dishonesty.
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H. Beam Piper wrote that in [*Ministry...of Disturbance*](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20659), as the kindly galactic emperor works out how to overthrow his stagnant regime and turn his empire towards peace, by playing factions and cranks against each other over the course of his life. Whatever the fictional plot, we have many problems. The not-fascists can't figure out how to make their cases to people. Increasing areas of the country have no local news, and the rest of us have too little investigative journalism. Journalists can't afford to stay in their careers. The political party that has the least interest in facts has the easiest time laundering their stories through [view from nowhere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalistic_objectivity#View_from_nowhere) media. I've probably overlooked some others, but regardless, I can't help notice how well-suited these problems seem suited to solving each other, so maybe we should try it, so that we don't need to rely on outlets that would rather have a good seat in the [Brady Press Briefing Room](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S._Brady_Press_Briefing_Room) than call out dishonesty.
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#### Institutions versus Individuals
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150
2025-01-02-rascals.md
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2025-01-02-rascals.md
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---
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layout: post
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title: Real Life in Star Trek, Rascals
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date: 2025-01-02 17:12:12-0500
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categories:
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tags: [sci-fi, star-trek, close-reading]
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summary: <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i> The outside world in Star Trek
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thumbnail: /blog/assets/51349431101_ac5360bb24_o.png
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offset: -31%
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description: For this episode, we need to talk about authoritarianism, bigotry, status and vanity, and more.
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spell: Ro Laren Guinan Keiko Worf Riker Starfleet tweens stardate Marlonia Wayans Lygos Troi viroxic Spiner Datas Radic
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proofed: true
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---
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{% include mathjax.html %}
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Happy $$\begin{equation}\sum_{n=1}^9 n^3\end{equation}$$...
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* Ignore for ToC
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{:toc}
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## Disclaimer
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In these posts, we discuss a non-"Free as in Freedom" popular culture franchise property, including occasional references to part of that franchise behind a paywall. My discussion and conclusions carry a Free Culture license, but nothing about the discussion or conclusions should imply any attack on the ownership of the properties. All the big names serve as trademarks of the owners, and so forth, and everything here relies on sitting squarely within the bounds of [Fair Use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use), as criticism that uses tiny parts of each show to extrapolate the world that the characters live in.
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## Previously...
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I initially outlined the project [in this post]({% post_url 2020-01-02-trek-00 %}), for those falling into this from somewhere else. In short, we attempt to use the details presented in *Star Trek* to assemble a view of what life looks like in the Federation. This "phase" of the project changes from previous posts, however. **The Next Generation** takes place long after the original series, so we shouldn't expect similar politics and socialization. Maybe more importantly, I enjoy the series less.
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In plain language, you shouldn't read this expecting a recap or review of an episode. Many people have done both endlessly over nearly sixty years. You *will* find a catalog of information that we learn from each episode, though, so expect everything to potentially "spoil" a story for a series that ended decades ago.
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Rather than list every post in the series here, you can quickly find them all on [the *Star Trek* tag page](/blog/tag/star-trek/).
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## Rascals
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I don't imagine that we'll get much out of this episode, though it does have some fun moments.
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> Captain's log, stardate 46235.7 Ensign Ro, Keiko O'Brien, Guinan and I are returning to the *Enterprise* after a fascinating visit to the planet Marlonia.
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I should probably mention now that I have a serious problem with this episode, in that it brings in three recurring guests---all women, two women of color---and immediately *discards* them for the overwhelming majority of the episode.
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Anyway, I have no idea what the planet's name refers to. I choose to believe that they colonized a world based on the teachings of (at the time) **In Living Color** cast member [Marlon Wayans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlon_Wayans). The episode will through around a lot of fictional jargon, so excuse me if I don't quote the individual lines to tell you that the words seem to originate in the script.
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> **PICARD**: It was a very rewarding experience. Look at these fragments. They're very nearly in perfect condition, and yet they're seven hundred years old.
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I hear, in this exchange, that Picard pillaged an important historical site to pad his personal collection. I'd call that "rewarding." The earlier lines didn't seem worth quoting, here, but listen carefully to him talk about the scientific and/or historical importance of the find, which made it into his luggage, rather than to a research facility.
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> **RO**: I...took a class at the Academy. I don't remember very much, though.
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In case you thought that "character secretly loves science" started with the modern iteration of the franchise, I'll have you all know that (a) Ro Laren got there first and (b) they managed to get through the entire exchange without characters calling attention to the revelation, and yet it still managed to come off as funny. Take a lesson, writers...
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> **WORF**: Enterprise to shuttle-craft *Fermi*.
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They presumably named the shuttle after [Enrico Fermi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrico_Fermi).
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> **WORF**: We have just received a distress signal from the Starfleet science team on Lygos Seven.
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I almost missed this, but I *believe* that they named the star after the original name for [Istanbul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Istanbul#Lygos), roughly three thousand years ago at its founding.
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> **RIKER**: The shuttle is coming apart, Chief. We've got to do it now.
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Notice that Riker feels the need to shout at O'Brien to save (among others) *his wife*, as if he wouldn't have any other motivation to do that, or that yelling will make the task easier.
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> **RIKER**: The shuttle broke up just after we beamed you out. Mister Data is coordinating the salvage efforts now...Sir.
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And Riker has trouble treating Picard-in-a-child's-body seriously. We'll find that the rest of the bridge crew, except for the random ensign, will have the same issue.
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> **RO**: I was in a refugee camp. Fun wasn't exactly in my vocabulary.
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And Guinan *really* should know better.
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> **O'BRIEN**: Black, double sweet
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Adult-wife or child-wife, O'Brien still apparently needs to act condescending and controlling...
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> **O'BRIEN**: I didn't say that. But until they find a way to reverse this, this effect, it's hard for me to ignore the fact that you're a little girl.
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We've finally found a level of creepiness that this crew won't sink to. Bravo, I suppose...
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> **PICARD**: Come.
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Note that Picard (again) spends some time obsessing about his hair, in their highly evolved culture...
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> **PICARD**: I'll have to speak to my tailor, but otherwise I'm well, thank you. It's just so ridiculous. I can't really take myself seriously like this. Counselor, if Doctor Crusher can't find a cure, if I have to stay this way, nobody's going to take me seriously, are they?
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Apparently, the uniforms don't get fabricated on demand, instead---maybe only for people with high status---designed by a tailor and stored.
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> **TROI**: You could return to the Academy. Take another degree. Brush up on your Latin.
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I asked this in [*The Game*]({% post_url 2024-06-20-game %}), but seriously, why does Starfleet care so much about Latin?
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> **CRUSHER**: However, I do have the adult RVN patterns of all four of them. I might be able to send them back through the transporter pattern buffer and replace the missing sequences. But we can't even attempt that until we know why this happened in the first place. If somehow they were to lose more viroxic sequences...
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Yep, they can still use the transporter to magically fix people...except for Worf in [*Ethics*]({% post_url 2024-08-29-ethics %}) and Barclay in [*Realm of Fear*]({% post_url 2024-11-28-realm-fear %}). If anything happened to them, tough luck.
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> **COMPUTER**: Hello. I'm the classroom computer system. What can I do for you, today?
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This computer, unlike the system that everybody else uses, invites people to use it, has security measures in place to prevent the users from doing something inappropriate, and guides the user to a successful interaction. Sure, it recommends a bunch of tasks that it'd rather work on than what they ask for, but still, this seems like *far* better interface design than anything that we've seen on this show.
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> **ALEXANDER**: I was just playing. I'm sorry, Captain.
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This feels like it reveals another huge flaw in the episode, though this has nothing to do with the project of analyzing their culture. Since we won't spend much time with the main or recurring cast anyway, it seems like this would've made for a much more interesting story if Picard needed to rally *all* the ship's kids, instead of the one that he happens to already know well.
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And really, this kid always startles me when he shows up, because the writers seem to always forget that he exists, only to carelessly toss him into random episodes to have little to no effect on the plot...
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> **RIKER**: Then I suppose that's your loss. We consider our families one of our strengths.
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Do they, though? I feel like, other than Crusher and Worf, they all find their families embarrassing at best, but mostly more adversarial.
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> **PICARD**: I believe you're in my chair.
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Even as a child, Picard apparently needs his smug moment of exerting power over non-humans.
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## Conclusions
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As mentioned, we don't get much out of this, other than the child-actors trying to impersonate their counterparts to varying degrees of success.
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### The Good
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I suppose that O'Brien should get some credit for having trouble with romantic overtures from his spouse in a child's body.
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We finally see a decent, if long-winded, computer interface, but for a system exclusively for children.
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### The Bad
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Influential people can take "souvenirs" home from important archaeological digs, regardless of their importance. And maybe related, people feel ashamed of an interest in science.
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We again see that they believe that leadership comes from aggression, yelling at stressed workers in hopes of making them work faster, in this case. The majority of people, possibly related, also can't accept a leader who looks like a child.
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And we see a fair amount of bigotry, pressuring people from disadvantaged backgrounds into admitting that they enjoyed their childhoods or insisting on reminding a significant other of their coffee order.
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Vanity also shows itself throughout the episode, especially Picard's interest in the state of his hair and tailored uniforms. Likewise, we get another hint that people of a certain status can use the transporter to reset their bodies. And Picard still loves to wield power over aliens.
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Starfleet continues to place a high value on learning Latin.
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### The Weird
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They continue to talk about how much they care about their families, despite so many of them having strained relationships with their own.
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## Stay Tuned...
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Come back in a week, when we take a time-out on this whole space-exploration thing to have Brent Spiner play a bunch of Old West archetypes, in *A Fistful of Datas*.
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#### <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i>
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* * *
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**Credits**: The header image is [Chunks of crumbled brick in a person's hand close-up with blurry background](https://www.flickr.com/photos/26344495@N05/51349431101) by [Ivan Radic](https://www.flickr.com/photos/26344495@N05/), made available under the terms of the [Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) license.
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