jcolag
/
entropy-arbitrage
1
1
Fork 0
Code Issues 2 Pull Requests Packages Projects Releases Wiki Activity

Automated updates: 2022-09-29

This commit is contained in:
John Colagioia 2022-09-29 17:39:24 -04:00
parent 5aa8226f6d
commit 1b56f39fe0
2 changed files with 304 additions and 63 deletions
Show Stats Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files

127
2020-04-23-leave.md
View File

@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ tags: [scifi, startrek, closereading]
summary: <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i> The outside world in Star Trek
thumbnail: /blog/assets/4382428505_a10c7597bc_o.jpg
offset: -40%
proofed: true
---
![Alice and the White Rabbit](/blog/assets/4382428505_a10c7597bc_o.jpg "Alice and the White Rabbit")
@ -25,43 +26,43 @@ Rather than list every post in the series here, you can easily find them all on
## Shore Leave
We won't be getting a whole lot out of this episode, as evidenced by how we're kicking it off with a completely arbitrary display of unprofessionalism.
We won't get too much out of this episode, as evidenced by how we kick the episode off with a completely arbitrary display of unprofessionalism.
> **KIRK**: A kink in my back.
(Barrows starts to massage it.)
>
> (Barrows starts to massage his back.)
>
> **KIRK**: That's it. A little higher, please. Push. Push hard. Dig it in there, Mister...
(Spock steps forward; Kirk realises Barrows is behind him.)
>
> (Spock steps forward, and Kirk realizes Barrows stands behind him.)
>
> **KIRK**: Thank you, Yeoman. That's sufficient.
There's comedy, here, but also, Kirk imagined that Spock would give him a massage on the job, which shines an interesting light on their relationship, especially when he's put off finding out that the person rubbing his back is Barrows.
We have comedy, here, but also, Kirk imagined that Spock would give him a massage on the job, which shines an interesting light on their relationship, especially when he feels put off by realizing that Barrows massaged his back.
Meanwhile, it looks like the bar has been lowered in replacing Janice Rand. She had a couple of unprofessional outbursts, but there's something particularly wrong with this dynamic. And, as we'll find out later, it's not just Kirk who she treats like she's having a discussion at a singles event.
Meanwhile, it looks like they've lowered the bar in replacing Janice Rand. She had a couple of unprofessional outbursts, but we see something particularly wrong with this dynamic. And, as we'll find out later, she treats her job like having a discussion at a singles' event, even when not interacting with Kirk.
> **SPOCK**: Doctor McCoy is correct, Captain. After what this ship has been through in the last three months, there is not a crewman aboard who is not in need of rest. Myself excepted, of course.
This is our fifteenth episode, two of which (*The Menagerie*, Parts [One]({% post_url 2020-03-26-trek-menagerie-1 %}) and [Two]({% post_url 2020-04-02-trek-menagerie-2 %})) happened together, so this may indicate that the episodes were meant to reflect something close to a real-time schedule and that the stories represent a dramatic departure from the *Enterprise*'s routine that hasn't been evident previously.
This marks our fifteenth episode, two of which---*The Menagerie*, Parts [One]({% post_url 2020-03-26-trek-menagerie-1 %}) and [Two]({% post_url 2020-04-02-trek-menagerie-2 %})---happened together, so this may indicate that they meant the episodes to reflect something close to a real-time schedule, and that the stories represent a dramatic departure from the *Enterprise*'s routine that hasn't made itself evident previously.
Also, Spock insists that he doesn't need to rest.
> **MCCOY**: Depending upon my report and that of the other scouting parties. You know, you have to see this place to believe it. It's like something out of Alice in Wonderland. The Captain has to come down.
**Alice in Wonderland**---more properly, [**Alice's Adventures in Wonderland**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland)---unless we're talking about one of Disney's 1951 animated feature---would have just celebrated its centennial when **Star Trek** was under development. So, it's not too hard to imagine the writers believing it would be a story that would endure far into the future. Honestly, that's believable even fifty years later.
**Alice in Wonderland**---more properly, [**Alice's Adventures in Wonderland**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland)---unless we mean Disney's 1951 animated feature---would have just celebrated its centennial when **Star Trek** began development. Therefore, we can imagine the writers believing that it would remain a story that would endure far into the future. Honestly, that seems believable even fifty years later.
> Captain's log. Stardate 3025 er, point 3. We are orbiting an uninhabited planet in the Omicron Delta region. A planet remarkably like Earth, or how we remember Earth to be. Park-like, beautiful, green, flowers, trees, green lawn, quiet and restful. Almost too good to be true.
> Captain's log. Stardate 3025, err...point 3. We are orbiting an uninhabited planet in the Omicron Delta region. A planet remarkably like Earth, or how we remember Earth to be. Park-like, beautiful, green, flowers, trees, green lawn, quiet and restful. Almost too good to be true.
"Omicron delta" is just a pair of Greek letters, so is meaningless unless it refers to coordinates of some sort.
"Omicron delta" are only a pair of Greek letters, so the name doesn't have much meaning, unless it refers to coordinates of some sort.
More important, though, is probably the phrase **or how we remember Earth to be**, implying that Earth is no longer green. Given that *The Menagerie* has Pike referring to the massive amounts of parkland outside of where he grew up and *The Cage* (assuming it's permissible in this discussion) identifies his home as being in reclaimed land in the Mojave Desert, that may suggest that this lack of greenery is a recent development, something happening to change Earth's ecology in the thirteen years between the two scripts putting Christopher Pike on television.
Probably more important, though, we get the phrase **or how we remember Earth to be**, implying that Earth no longer looks green. Given that *The Menagerie* has Pike referring to the massive amounts of parkland outside where he grew up, and *The Cage* (assuming that we permit those extra parts in this discussion) identifies his home as sitting in reclaimed land in the Mojave Desert, that may suggest that this lack of greenery comes from some recent development, something happening to change Earth's ecology in the thirteen years between the two scripts putting Christopher Pike on television.
> **SPOCK**: Not necessary in my case, Captain. On my planet, to rest is to rest, to cease using energy. To me, it is quite illogical to run up and down on green grass using energy instead of saving it.
Granted, it's not [toxic masculinity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_masculinity), but I feel like "insistence that the etymology of a word must be highly relevant to its modern definition, despite the enormous number of words for which that is demonstrably untrue" is closely related...
Granted, it doesn't qualify as [toxic masculinity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_masculinity), as such, but I feel like "insistence that we treat the etymology of a word as highly relevant to its modern definition, despite the enormous number of words for which that demonstrably disproves the assertion" has a close relationship, in its posturing for dominance...
> **SPOCK**: I picked this up from Doctor McCoy's log. We have a crewmember aboard who's showing signs of stress and fatigue. Reaction time down nine to twelve percent, associational reading norm minus three.
> **SPOCK**: I picked this up from Doctor McCoy's log. We have a crew-member aboard who's showing signs of stress and fatigue. Reaction time down nine to twelve percent, associational reading norm minus three.
>
> **KIRK**: That's much too low a rating.
>
@ -71,13 +72,13 @@ Granted, it's not [toxic masculinity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_mascul
>
> **SPOCK**: James Kirk. Enjoy yourself, Captain. It's an interesting planet. You'll find it quite pleasant. Very much like your Earth.
It's interesting that Starfleet is this motivated to get people to take breaks. The idea of "mandatory fun" is funny, of course, but it's also highly progressive, and ties nicely into the pain we saw Christopher Pike going through in *The Menagerie*.
I find it interesting that Starfleet feels this motivated to get people to take breaks. The idea of "mandatory fun" seems funny, of course, but it also has a highly progressive angle, and ties nicely into the pain we saw Christopher Pike going through in *The Menagerie*.
> **KIRK**: Restful. After what we've been through, it's hard to believe a place this beautiful exists.
>
> **BARROWS**: It is beautiful. So lovely, and restful. I mean, affirmative, Captain.
We get this reminder that the last three months have been rough and Barrows acknowledges that she's not professional.
We get this reminder that the last three months have felt rough and Barrows acknowledges that she doesn't act like a professional.
> **KIRK**: What do you think you're doing?
>
@ -87,9 +88,9 @@ We get this reminder that the last three months have been rough and Barrows ackn
>
> **SULU**: I found it. I know it's a crazy coincidence, but I've always wanted one like this. Found it lying right over there. An old-time police special, and in beautiful condition. Hasn't been one like this made in a couple of centuries.
Sulu isn't just a [fencer]({% post_url 2020-02-06-trek-naked-time %}), but also has a firearms collection aboard the ship and apparently wanders around thinking about guns he wants to track down.
Sulu doesn't only see himself as a [fencer]({% post_url 2020-02-06-trek-naked-time %}), but also has a firearms collection aboard the ship and apparently wanders around thinking about guns he wants to track down.
He obsesses over this particular gun---the [Colt Official Police](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Official_Police) revolver---which would have been produced for about sixty years and producing many thousands of units. Since they're made for use in law enforcement and light military use, it makes some sense that there aren't many in original condition, but it seems strange that a collector like Sulu wouldn't have *any*. Is gun collection a common hobby in the future?
He obsesses over this particular gun---the [Colt Official Police](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Official_Police) revolver---which the company produced for about sixty years, producing many thousands of units. Since they made them for use in law enforcement and light military use, it makes some sense that people can't find many in original condition, but it seems strange that a collector like Sulu wouldn't have *any*. Would gun collection make for a common hobby in the future?
> **KIRK**: I know the feeling very well. I had it at the Academy. An upper classman there. One practical joke after another, and always on me. My own personal devil. A guy by the name of Finnegan.
>
@ -97,9 +98,9 @@ He obsesses over this particular gun---the [Colt Official Police](https://en.wik
>
> **KIRK**: Serious? I'll make a confession, Bones. I was absolutely grim, which delighted Finnegan no end. He's the kind of guy to put a bowl of cold soup in your bed or a bucket of water propped on a half-open door. You never knew where he'd strike next. More tracks. Looks like your rabbit came from over there.
I've questioned previously what kind of screening process Starfleet could have, to end up with so many officers who completely drop the ball in their jobs and ignore the people around them who are obviously in distress. Given what we know about Gary Mitchell's similar Academy days in [*Where No Man Has Gone Before*]({% post_url 2020-01-23-trek-no-man %}), we should probably also wonder about the sociopaths they seemingly enroll and leave with no supervision.
I've questioned previously what kind of screening process Starfleet could have, to end up with so many officers who completely drop the ball in their jobs and ignore their peers as they blatantly experience distress. Given what we know about Gary Mitchell's similar Academy days in [*Where No Man Has Gone Before*]({% post_url 2020-01-23-trek-no-man %}), we should probably also wonder about the sociopaths they seemingly enroll and leave with no supervision.
When we meet him, Finnegan wears what we can presume is a cadet's uniform, much like but distinct from the uniforms of the *Enterprise* and other Starfleet crew we've seen.
When we meet him, Finnegan wears what we can presume qualifies as a cadet's uniform, much like but distinct from the uniforms of the *Enterprise* and other Starfleet crew we've seen.
> **BARROWS**: He had a cloak, sir, and a dagger with jewels on it.
>
@ -109,21 +110,21 @@ When we meet him, Finnegan wears what we can presume is a cadet's uniform, much
>
> **MCCOY**: Sounds like Don Juan.
>
> **BARROWS**: Yes. Yes. It was so sort of story book walking around here, and I was thinking, all a girl needs is Don Juan. Just day dreaming, the way you would about someone you'd like to meet.
> **BARROWS**: Yes. Yes. It was so sort of story book walking around here, and I was thinking, all a girl needs is Don Juan. Just daydreaming, the way you would about someone you'd like to meet.
[Don Juan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juan) is a recurring fictional character dating to around 1630, a devilish man who obsessively uses his eloquence and ability to disguise his appearance to seduce women. That doesn't seem like the sort of thing "a girl needs" while investigating the woods, but the version most likely to be prominent in the minds of the writers and audience is the 1948 Errol Flynn swashbuckler who's merely a flirt.
The fictional character [Don Juan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juan) recurs in various stories dating to around 1630, a devilish man who obsessively uses his eloquence and ability to disguise his appearance to seduce women. That doesn't seem like the sort of thing "a girl needs" while investigating the woods, but the version most likely prominent in the minds of the writers and audience derives from the 1948 Errol Flynn swashbuckler who merely flirts with women as he goes about his adventures.
Unrelated, but I can't help but notice that the tree behind Barrows looks a whole lot like it's been splattered with blood, but...that can't be right, since it's not mentioned. But with her ripped uniform and seeing Don Juan with a knife, I thought this was going darker than I remembered it.
Unrelated, but I can't help but notice that the tree behind Barrows looks a lot like someone splattered it with blood, but...that can't work with the story, since nobody mentions it. But with her ripped uniform and seeing Don Juan with a knife, I thought this would suddenly go darker than I remembered it.
> **KIRK**: Ruth. Ruth, how can it be you? How could you possibly be here? You haven't aged. It's been fifteen years.
>
> **RUTH**: It doesn't matter. None of that matters.
Either Ruth *has* aged or Kirk's Academy-days relationship was with a significantly older woman. Ruth is portrayed by Shirley Bonne, who would be thirty-two years old when this was filmed, only three years younger than William Shatner.
Either Ruth *has* aged or Kirk's Academy-days relationship involved a significantly older woman. Shirley Bonne plays Ruth, who would have reached thirty-two years old when they filmed this, only three years younger than William Shatner.
We don't get any information on Ruth, but if her actor represents an in-universe age gap of about a dozen years and Kirk was the bookish, provincial student this episode and *Where No Man Has Gone Before* suggest, that hints at an unhealthy relationship.
In fact, while we have no evidence of this, this relationship could potentially refer to when Gary Mitchell "aimed that little blonde lab technician at" Kirk. Seeing someone he almost married would be reasonable grounds for the sort of distraction we see. For example...
In fact, while we have no evidence of this, this relationship could potentially refer to when Gary Mitchell "aimed that little blonde lab technician at" Kirk. Seeing someone he almost married would reasonably produce the sort of distraction we see. For example...
> **RODRIGUEZ**: Captain, a while ago, I saw well, birds, a whole flock of them.
>
@ -135,7 +136,7 @@ In fact, while we have no evidence of this, this relationship could potentially
>
> **RODRIGUEZ**: Sir, our surveys couldn't have been that wrong.
This is a new spin on the distrust in technology. When faced with direct evidence of animal life and even likely human civilization, Kirk is not only completely dismissive of the sensor-based surveys, but also dismissive of someone who assumed they would be accurate at any level. He's also not at all interested in finding the discrepancy.
This seems like a new spin on the distrust in technology. When faced with direct evidence of animal life and even likely human civilization, Kirk not only completely dismisses the sensor-based surveys, but he also dismisses someone who assumed that those sensors would provide accurate information at any level. He also seems not at all interested in finding the discrepancy.
> **BARROWS**: That's just it. It's almost too beautiful. I was thinking, even before my tunic was torn, that in a place like this a girl should be, oh let's see now, a girl should be dressed like a fairy-tale princess, with lots of floaty stuff and a tall hat with a veil.
>
@ -143,23 +144,23 @@ This is a new spin on the distrust in technology. When faced with direct eviden
>
> **BARROWS**: Is that a promise, Doctor?
Hey, remember Tormorlen in *The Naked Time* and how he managed to nearly kill everybody on the ship because he decided that he needed to just randomly touch a bunch of stuff and then touch his face? Apart from his obvious inability to survive a coronavirus pandemic, Barrows putting on a random dress she found in the woods seems to potentially be significantly more dangerous.
Hey, remember Tormorlen in *The Naked Time* and how he managed to nearly kill everybody on the ship because he decided that he needed to just randomly touch a bunch of stuff and then touch his face? Apart from his obvious inability to survive a coronavirus pandemic, Barrows putting on a random dress she found in the woods seems to potentially carry significantly more danger.
Also, McCoy is *way* over the line, here.
Also, McCoy steps *way* over the line, here.
Granted, I actually like the way the characters play off each other. She clearly instigated the banter and---unlike Kirk and Ruth---the dozen years' difference in their ages isn't that big a deal when the younger person is in their thirties. But...
Granted, I actually like the way the characters play off each other. She clearly instigated the banter and---unlike Kirk and Ruth---the dozen years' difference in their ages doesn't make as big a deal when the younger person has reached their thirties. But...
He's propositioning a colleague he's directly assigned to work with, someone who's lower in rank than he is, and doing so when they're both supposed to be working on something specific. That's an entirely new level of unprofessional behavior, and I'm *including* Sulu finding a random gun on the ground and deciding to take random shots into the distance for fun.
He has also propositioned a colleague who Kirk directly assigned him to work with, someone who has a lower rank than he does, and doing so when they have an assignment to work on something specific. That reaches an entirely new level of unprofessional behavior, and yes, that *includes* Sulu finding a pistol on the ground and deciding to take random shots into the distance for fun.
> **MCCOY**: My dear girl, I am a doctor. When I peek, it's in the line of duty.
What the heck is **wrong** with him!?
Now, this obviously veers further into plot analysis than cultural analysis, but since we started the episode with Barrows showing herself as lacking any sense of professionalism and then heading down to the planet where no less than *five* of the crew have at least tried to abandon their duties---Teller making fun of Rodriguez for doing his job, Sulu firing the gun, Kirk blowing off his crew to gape at Ruth, and this highly aggressive flirting between McCoy and Barrows---did the story miss an important plot twist where the crew discovers they're being drugged or otherwise manipulated into being unable to focus? Because that would explain a lot about this story.
Now, this obviously veers further into plot analysis than cultural analysis, but since we started the episode with Barrows showing herself as lacking any sense of professionalism and then heading down to the planet where no less than *five* of the crew have at least tried to abandon their duties---Teller making fun of Rodriguez for doing his job, Sulu firing the gun, Kirk blowing off his crew to gape at Ruth, and this highly aggressive flirting between McCoy and Barrows---did the story miss an important plot twist where the crew discovers that someone drugged them or otherwise manipulated them into an inability to focus? That would explain a lot about this story.
> **SULU**: Captain, take cover! There's a samurai after me.
Sure. Of *course* the Asian guy who imagines himself as one of the [Three Musketeers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Musketeers) and likes 20th century firearms was thinking about a samurai. Why not, right?
Sure. Of *course* the Asian guy who imagines himself as one of the [Three Musketeers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Musketeers) and likes 20th century firearms would think about a samurai chasing him. Why not, right? One word---certainly in the eyes of the writers---overpowers the rest.
> **SPOCK**: This is not human skin tissue, Captain. It more closely resembles the cellular casting we use for wound repairs. Much finer, of course.
>
@ -173,7 +174,7 @@ Sure. Of *course* the Asian guy who imagines himself as one of the [Three Muske
It sounds like at least Starfleet, and possibly the outside world, "repairs" wounds using custom-grown plant fibers to patch the body up for healing, but they haven't quite mastered the technique, leading to significantly larger cells than we see naturally.
It's *possible* that this is a subtle reference to Mary Shelley's [**Frankenstein**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein), where the not-so-good doctor rambles briefly about being unable to work with the human body below a certain scale and so requires a body "about eight feet in height, and proportionably large." I tend to think that he's looking to reanimate a particularly large corpse, given the places he travels in the book to work, but another interpretation is that he needs to construct the body from over-sized cells.
A *possibility* exists that they meant this as a subtle reference to Mary Shelley's [**Frankenstein**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein), where the not-so-good doctor rambles briefly about his inability to work with the human body below a certain scale and so requires a body "about eight feet in height, and proportionably large." I tend to think that he looks to reanimate a particularly large corpse, given the places he travels in the book to work, and most readers imagine a large body made from parts of corpses, but some people interpret it as him needing to construct the body from over-sized cells.
> **RODRIGUEZ**: Of all the crazy things. Remember what I was telling you a while ago, about the early wars and funny air vehicles they used? That's one of them.
>
@ -181,13 +182,13 @@ It's *possible* that this is a subtle reference to Mary Shelley's [**Frankenstei
>
> **RODRIGUEZ**: Not unless it makes a strafing run.
[Fighter aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighter_aircraft) are an almost forgotten technology to our crew. It's hard to imagine why the entire concept would vanish in the future, since air support is so obviously useful. However, this is speculation, but since Sulu tried to explain how his handgun works ("lead pellets propelled by expanding gases from a chemical explosion"), it's possible that the energy weapons we've seen the crew carry---phasers---have displaced conventional firearms. And if that's true, it would mean that ground forces could easily take down an enemy aircraft.
[Fighter aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighter_aircraft) seem like an almost forgotten technology to our crew. It seems hard to imagine why the entire concept would vanish in the future, since air support has become so obviously useful. However, I could probably speculate that, since Sulu tried to explain how his handgun works---"lead pellets propelled by expanding gases from a chemical explosion," he says---the possibility exists that the energy weapons that we've seen the crew carry (phasers) have displaced conventional firearms. And if that holds true, it would mean that ground forces could easily take down small enemy aircraft.
The fake pilot is an *excellent* shot, however. With only a few rounds fired, judging by the audio, it took down Angela Teller under fairly complete cover.
The fake pilot seems like an *excellent* shot, however. With only a few rounds fired, judging by the audio, it took down Angela Teller under fairly complete cover.
> **FINNEGAN**: I'm still twenty years old. Look at you. You're an old man.
The "old man" crack aside, Finnegan seems to cement the idea that the Academy is basically college, probably modeled on the [Naval Academy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Military_Academy) or similar military academies that also function as colleges.
The "old man" crack aside, Finnegan seems to cement the idea that the Academy basically stands in for college, probably modeled on the [Naval Academy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Military_Academy) or similar military academies that also function as colleges.
> **KIRK**: I'm not a plebe. This is today, fifteen years later. What are you doing here?
>
@ -195,7 +196,7 @@ The "old man" crack aside, Finnegan seems to cement the idea that the Academy is
"[Plebe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plebe_Summer)" cements the USNA comparison, but Kirk also referred to a fifteen-year gap when talking to Ruth, putting them in roughly the same context.
It's not particularly relevant, but if Finnegan is as he was when he was twenty years old, it's fifteen years later, and he was ahead of Kirk, that makes Kirk somewhat younger than William Shatner.
While not particularly relevant, if Finnegan appears as he did at twenty years old, and we see him fifteen years later, and he graduated ahead of Kirk, that probably makes Kirk somewhat younger than William Shatner.
> **SPOCK**: Just for example, when Rodriguez thought of a tiger...
@ -203,7 +204,7 @@ Amusingly, the tiger has an extremely visible chain around its neck.
Similarly amusingly, Barrows has somehow managed to mend her uniform, only to conjure Don Juan again to tear it.
This interests me probably more than it should, but it's a cute twist that the crew is now thinking about the things they think about, which seems to be a pretty significant bug in the system.
This interests me probably more than it should, but it feels like a cute twist that the crew now thinks about the things they think about, which seems like a pretty significant bug in the vacation system.
> **SPOCK**: The term is amusement park.
>
@ -211,7 +212,7 @@ This interests me probably more than it should, but it's a cute twist that the c
>
> **SPOCK**: An old Earth name for a place where people could go to see and do all sorts of fascinating things.
In addition to fighter aircraft, there are also no more amusement parks. This seems stranger than the technology shift, though, because amusement parks are basically just stationary outgrowths of traveling or periodic fairs, and those go back at least as far as [Bartholomew Fair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_Fair) in 1133. We could argue that an amusement park has mechanical rides, but...this clearly does not, so I'm sticking with the fair.
In addition to fighter aircraft, they also have no more amusement parks. This seems stranger than the technology shift, though, because amusement parks basically developed as stationary outgrowths of traveling or periodic fairs, and those go back at least as far as [Bartholomew Fair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_Fair) in 1133. We could argue that an amusement park has mechanical rides, but...this clearly does not, so I'll stick with the fair analogy.
> **CARETAKER**: This entire planet was constructed for our race of people to come and play.
>
@ -221,11 +222,11 @@ In addition to fighter aircraft, there are also no more amusement parks. This s
>
> **CARETAKER**: Exactly, Captain. How very perceptive of you.
I can't decide if this exchange is an oversight or a subtle jab at Spock's insistence that he doesn't need time off. I mean, he's standing right there and the show isn't usually afraid to take the wind out of his sails on issues like this to teach the audience a lesson, *but* there's no reaction shot and nobody picks up on it.
I can't decide if this exchange results from an oversight, or a subtle jab at Spock's insistence that he doesn't need time off. I mean, Spock accompanies the group as they talk, and the show doesn't usually hesitate to take the wind out of his sails on issues like this to teach the audience a lesson, *but* they also don't have any reaction shot, nor does anybody pick up on it.
> **MCCOY**: Oh. Them. Well I, er, I was thinking about a little cabaret I know on Rigel II, and...er, there were these two girls in the chorus line. And well, here they are. Well after all, I am on shore leave.
> **MCCOY**: Oh. Them. Well I, err...I was thinking about a little cabaret I know on Rigel II, and...er, there were these two girls in the chorus line. And well, here they are. Well after all, I am on shore leave.
[Rigel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigel) (β Orionis) is a busy place. There's McCoy's colony on Rigel II with a cabaret, Pike had that disasterous fight on Rigel VII (*The Menagerie*), and the lithium mine on Rigel XII ([*Mudd's Women*]({% post_url 2020-02-20-trek-m-women %})). I guess, if you're going to leave a colony 860 light years from Earth, you're going to use as many planets in the neighborhood as you can find...
[Rigel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigel) (β Orionis) seems like a busy place. They have McCoy's colony on Rigel II with a cabaret, Pike had that disastrous fight on Rigel VII (*The Menagerie*), and the lithium mine on Rigel XII from [*Mudd's Women*]({% post_url 2020-02-20-trek-m-women %}). I guess, if you want to leave a colony 860 light years from Earth, you'll find a use for as many planets in the neighborhood as you can get...
> **KIRK**: You say your people built all this. Who are you? What planet are you from?
>
@ -233,9 +234,9 @@ I can't decide if this exchange is an oversight or a subtle jab at Spock's insis
>
> **SPOCK**: I tend to agree.
We had hints of this earlier, but it's interesting that everybody agrees that the caretaker's society is so absurdly advanced that they can't be understood well enough to even tell Kirk where they live, when the core technology---the cultivation of cells---is something already in use aboard the *Enterprise* and we've seen technology to create androids identical to people in [*What Are Little Girls Made Of?*]({% post_url 2020-02-27-trek-girls %}) and even reads minds, so the difference between this civilization and humans is just a matter of scale, rather than anything qualitative.
We had hints of this earlier, but it seems interesting that everybody agrees that the caretaker's society became so absurdly advanced that they can't understand it well enough to even tell Kirk where they live, when the core technology---the cultivation of cells---already sees use aboard the *Enterprise*, and we've seen technology to create androids identical to people in [*What Are Little Girls Made Of?*]({% post_url 2020-02-27-trek-girls %}), and even reads minds, so the difference between this civilization and humans seems like mostly a matter of scale, rather than anything qualitative.
It seems like the equivalent of finding a lost tribe of humans in some jungle, gain their trust, but refuse to tell them where you're visiting from after they ask you about your boots.
It seems like the equivalent of finding a lost tribe of humans in some jungle, gaining their trust, but then refusing to tell them where you visited from, after they ask you about your industrially produced boots.
> **SPOCK**: Did you enjoy your rest, gentlemen?
>
@ -245,58 +246,58 @@ It seems like the equivalent of finding a lost tribe of humans in some jungle, g
>
> **SPOCK**: Most illogical.
Wait, what!? This exchange is played as a big joke, complete with them sharing a big laugh as Sulu fires up the engines and we fade out, but none of it is funny.
Wait, what!? They play this exchange as a big joke, complete with them sharing a big laugh, as Sulu fires up the engines, and we fade out, but...none of it has anything humorous in it.
## Blish Adaptation
This adaptation comes from the twelfth adaptation, the final normal compilation before the all-Mudd book after Blish's death, so there isn't much devation, here. It's a blow-by-blow recap, with only the smallest amounts of narration, such as...
This adaptation comes from the twelfth adaptation, the final normal compilation before the all-Mudd book after Blish's death, so he doesn't deviate much, here. We get a blow-by-blow recap, with only the smallest amounts of narration, such as...
> Somehow in the pressure of final examinations and qualifications and his first cruise, he had lost her, and put away the regrets.
> Fifteen years ago. She still looked exactly the same, the fresh, young, gentle creature who had wept so bitterly at their last goodbye.
Well, we get a decent sense of how this ended, now. And I guess Ruth is intended to be substantially younger than her actor. Oh, Teller is revealed to not be dead at the end, too, something the episode apparently forgot about.
Well, we get a decent sense of how one version of this ended, now. And I guess that they (or only Blish) intended Ruth as substantially younger than her actor. Oh, they also reveal Teller to not have died, at the end, too, something the episode apparently forgot about.
## Conclusions
This episode relies on 1960s culture to get its point across, so a fair amount of what we discover is indirect and deduced, rather than actually found in the text, unfortunately.
This episode relies on 1960s culture to get its point across, so a fair amount of what we discover feels indirect and deduced, rather than actually found in the text, unfortunately.
We get a little bit of insight into the technology, the idea of "repairing" a wound by filling it with cultivated plant cells.
We get a bit of insight into the technology, the idea of "repairing" a wound by filling it with cultivated plant cells.
### The Good
While the opportunities to practice the policy seem to be fairly limited on the frontier, the medical staff carefully monitors the crew's performance and interactions with the rest of the crew, using that information to require certain people to take time off before they burn out and---presumably---endanger the ship.
While the opportunities to practice the policy seem fairly limited on the frontier, the medical staff carefully monitors the crew's performance and interactions with the rest of the crew, using that information to require certain people to take time off before they burn out and---presumably---endanger the ship.
Sulu also goes back to the well of showing at least our main characters as having varied interests. In addition to fencing and botany, he's also a gun collector and sharp-shooter.
Sulu also goes back to the well of showing at least our main characters as having varied interests. In addition to fencing and botany, he also styles himself a gun collector and sharp-shooter.
### The Bad
Most prominently, everybody in this episode is thoroughly unprofessional, except for Rodriguez. Barrows even *acknowledges* her lack of interest. Usually, we can at least count on Kirk to pull himself together, but in this case, we just get Spock dropping in at the end to set them all straight.
Most prominently, everybody in this episode acts thoroughly unprofessional, except for Rodriguez. Barrows even *acknowledges* her lack of interest. Usually, we can at least count on Kirk to pull himself together, but in this case, we just get Spock dropping in at the end to set them all straight.
However, Spock continues to cling to toxic masculinity, insisting that he's too tough to relax, even as he insists that Kirk needs time off. Before scrambling to point out that Kirk is the one showing signs of fatigue, let's remember that Spock has advocated for multiple deaths, been tortured by Charlie Evans, had what amounts to a nervous breakdown over his repressed emotions, tried to trick Kirk into acting like a dictator, harassed at least one of his colleagues (who has notably left the ship), and mutinied to risk the death penalty for himself and four hundred of his colleagues in order to give a gift to a former commander who was insistent that he do no such thing. And even in this episode, he defends his workaholic tendencies by arguing over the dictionary definitions of the word "rest," so that he can misinterpret the statement. Spock needs a vacation more than *any* of them.
However, Spock continues to cling to toxic masculinity, insisting that he's too tough to relax, even as he insists that Kirk needs time off. Before scrambling to point out that Kirk also shows signs of fatigue, let's remember that Spock has advocated for multiple deaths, suffered torture by Charlie Evans, had what amounts to a nervous breakdown over his repressed emotions, tried to trick Kirk into acting like a dictator, harassed at least one of his colleagues (who has notably left the ship), and mutinied to risk the death penalty for himself and four hundred of his colleagues in order to give a gift to a former commander who repeatedly insisted that he do no such thing. And even in this episode, he defends his workaholic tendencies by arguing over the dictionary definitions of the word "rest," so that he can misinterpret the statement. Spock needs a vacation more than *any* of them.
The terrible behavior we see apparently goes back to the Academy, too, with Kirk remembering getting aggressively bullied by an upperclassman and nobody pulling him aside to talk about his relationship with a woman ten years his senior. And if she's the blonde Gary Mitchell sent to manipulate him into a relationship, that's even worse.
The terrible behavior we see apparently goes back to the Academy, too, with Kirk remembering getting aggressively bullied by an upperclassman and nobody pulling him aside to talk about his relationship with a woman ten years his senior. And if she connects to the blonde Gary Mitchell sent to manipulate him into a relationship, that makes everything even worse.
And speaking of relationships, McCoy is basically cornering Barrows to proposition her while they're both on the clock trying to solve a serious problem. It gets even worse, when what he thinks about in his brief recovery are two young burlesque dancers (possibly strippers) he has apparently been interested enough in to reproduce their faces and bodies, which...yikes!
And speaking of relationships, McCoy basically corners Barrows to proposition her while they both have a schedule to keep, trying to solve a serious problem. It gets even worse, when he thinks about---in his brief recovery---two young burlesque dancers who he has apparently remained interested enough in to reproduce their faces and bodies, which...yikes!
(To be clear, I'm not shaming the possibility of a fictional character associating with strippers. I'm shaming the implication that he's been having persistent fantasies about strippers, which he saw on stage at some point in the not-recent past, to a degree that he can mentally reproduce their mostly naked bodies, discussed in the same episode he insisted that any "peeping" he might do with respect to a naked Yeoman Barrows would be for "professional" reasons.)
(For the sake of clarity, I don't shame the possibility of a fictional character or anyone else associating with strippers or sex workers. I *do* shame the implication that he has such persistent, obsessive fantasies about the women, who he saw on stage at some point in the not-recent past, to a degree that he can mentally reproduce their mostly naked bodies---and that he would gleefully make such a reproduction---discussed in the same episode he insisted that any "peeping" he might do with respect to a naked Yeoman Barrows would for "professional" reasons.)
If we take everybody literally, Earth's ecology has recently been thrown for a loop. Kirk marvels at the "park-like, beautiful, green, flowers, trees, green lawn, quiet and restful" planet, suggesting that calling it Earth-like is wrong and correcting his statement to "how we remember Earth to be."
If we take everybody literally, there Earth's ecology has recently gotten thrown for a loop. Kirk marvels at the "park-like, beautiful, green, flowers, trees, green lawn, quiet and restful" planet, suggesting that calling it Earth-like feels wrong and correcting his statement to "how we remember Earth to be."
### The Weird
The "moment" Kirk thinks he's having with Spock massaging his neck is out of place on so many levels. Kirk's comfort with the attention and shock when he discovers it's someone else, combined with Spock's amusement at the mistake, is *really* hard to read as the two of them being lovers. And episode writer Theodore Sturgeon was known for stories treating gay people as...well, *people*, such as in [*The World Well Lost*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Well_Lost), published June 1953 in **Universe**. But it's also not something we follow up on, to my knowledge, anywhere else in the franchise, and certainly wouldn't be permissible on NBC in 1966.
The "moment" Kirk thinks he has with Spock massaging his neck feels out of place on so many levels. Kirk's comfort with the attention, and then shock when he discovers someone else touching him, combined with Spock's amusement at the mistake, feels *really* hard not to read with the two of them as lovers. And episode writer Theodore Sturgeon built a reputation for stories treating gay people as...well, *people*, such as in [*The World Well Lost*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Well_Lost), published June 1953 in **Universe**. But it also falls into the category of something we don't follow up on, to my knowledge, anywhere else in the franchise, and certainly wouldn't generally pass NBC's standards and practices office, in 1966.
As mentioned, we name-drop...
* **Alice in Wonderland**, referring either to the Lewis Carroll books or the 1951 Disney feature,
* Don Juan, most likely the 1948 Errol Flynn movie,
* The Colt Official Police revolver (the "Police Special") with an indication that they and other firearms are extremely hard to find,
* The Colt Official Police revolver (the "Police Special") with an indication that they and other firearms have become extremely hard to find,
* Some random samurai,
* Fighter aircraft and how they're now an obscure technology, and
* Fighter aircraft and how they've become an obscure technology, and
* Amusement parks and how they no longer exist.
So, the [Blue Angels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Angels), bullets, and [Six Flags](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Flags) are things of the past, but samurai, Disney adaptations, and watered-down Don Juan are still popular. It's a choice...
In essence, the [Blue Angels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Angels), bullets, and [Six Flags](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Flags) have vanished without much trace, but samurai, Disney adaptations, and watered-down Don Juan remain popular. It does qualify as a choice...
## Next

240
2022-09-29-heart-glory.md Normal file
View File

@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
---
layout: post
title: Real Life in Star Trek, Heart of Glory
date: 2022-09-29 17:39:09-0400
categories:
tags: [scifi, startrek, closereading]
summary: <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i> The outside world in Star Trek
thumbnail: /blog/assets/6283771859_ac3f742e3d_o.png
proofed: true
---
![Tea and a crumpet](/blog/assets/6283771859_ac3f742e3d_o.png "Yes, what stuck with me is that the Klingons order something that sounds suspiciously like tea and crumpets, not any of the plot...")
## Disclaimer
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 are 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.
## Previously...
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.
Put simply, you shouldn't read this expecting a recap or review of an episode. Those have both been done to death over nearly sixty years. You *will* find a catalog of information that we learn from each episode, though, so expect everything to be a potential "spoiler," if that's an [irrational fear](https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/aug/17/spoilers-enhance-enjoyment-psychologists) that you might have.
Rather than list every post in the series here, you can easily find them all on [the *startrek* tag page](/blog/tag/startrek/).
## Heart of Glory
Do you like Klingons? Do you like stories that exist to establish which secondary sources qualify as canonical and which do not? If so, then I have the story for you. If not...oh, well.
> **WORF**: Captain. Communication from Starfleet. They have reported a disturbance in the Neutral Zone.
In discussing [*Coming of Age*]({% post_url 2022-09-22-coming-age %}), I suggested that the episode introduced some light serialization to an episodic series. In a way, though, I misspoke.
Technically, (extremely) light serialization came to the series with the subplot in [*Angel One*]({% post_url 2022-08-18-angel %}), though it seems so minor that the subplot didn't affect the post. That episode planted the seed that the Romulans had *something* happening on their side of the Neutral Zone, framing it as a planned attack against the Federation---unsurprisingly, given that this era's Starfleet seems to view everything as an imminent threat---but this at least hints at a third-party attacking.
Weirdly, not only will we not get a solid answer to the question of who until late next season, but the writers also won't bother to connect the dots between the episodes, leaving us to wonder whether they intentionally set it up this way, or if this plot actually has nothing to do with that plot...
Oh, back near the point of this post, all of that prologue *does* give us some idea of how militaries plan attacks, seeming to take around two months to get everybody where they need to appear. Granted, this might represent a special case, given that most of us already know this mysterious {% sfx snore💤 %} enemy's big reveal and complete unwillingness to let go of the franchise, but it gives us more information than we've had on military deployments.
> **RIKER**: Ferengi?
Yes, definitely blame the Ferengi, before even knowing what the Romulans need to deal with...
> **RIKER**: Shall we separate the saucer?
"We have stock footage from the pilot and everything, that we haven't used all season..."
> **DATA**: Sir, I have analyzed the residue from the explosions. This is of no known Ferengi design. It is possibly Romulan.
>
> **PICARD**: Now there's a name we haven't heard for a while.
In fact, they heard the name in *Angel One*, and it seems to go implicitly with the...you know, Romulan Neutral Zone.
> **PICARD**: Lieutenant Yar, you stay at your post. If this is the result of a Romulan attack, they may still be in the area.
While we don't know the political situation in this century, I suppose that we should probably keep in mind that all media in the franchise up to this point tells us that crossing into the Neutral Zone---which they just did---qualifies as an act of war. That *seems* to suggest that he keeps Yar in place with the intent of killing any Romulans who show up. If he had a different plan, he would surrender the *Enterprise* in a confrontation, which wouldn't require Yar's presence.
> **DATA**: It has restrictions. The information from Geordi's visor is so complex it is difficult to encode. Therefore, the signal breaks down easily.
I heard this line and giggled---as you might have---because in 2022, not only do we know how to encode video for streaming, but most of us probably watch this show encoded as a digital stream. Our modern algorithms can scale fairly well with the required resolution, the complexity of colors, or whatever else that you might want in a video.
However, when this aired, the world's best video encoding adhered to the [H.120](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.120), only a few years old at the time, and not usable over longer periods. Practical algorithms started with [H.261](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.261), released about seven months after the episode. 1991 brought the [MPEG-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-1) standard, which the film and television industry widely adopted, and which still influences how almost all communications work, today.
That said, if you can envision *analog* television broadcasts, how people originally watched the episode, then that should also have worked fine for the twenty-fourth century.
> **PICARD**: Extraordinary. Now I'm beginning to understand him.
...What? I'll grant that we don't know LaForge *extremely* well. We certainly haven't lived in a small community with him and worked with him for a few months. But nothing that we've seen about him suggests that his personality has anything to do with seeing multi-spectral images of everything. It helps understand his disability, though, and while we probably all disagree, we've seen fairly consistently that people in the Federation do think of people with disabilities *as* their disabilities.
> **RIKER**: Sir, I hate to break this up, but...
>
> **PICARD**: Oh, yes, of course, Number One. Proceed.
Imagine if they had lives at stake? Oh, right. They came here to rescue people.
> **DATA**: I am detecting high levels of deuterium gas, probably from the leakage in the drive system.
>
> **RIKER**: Toxic?
[Deuterium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium), also known as hydrogen-2 and heavy hydrogen, consists of common hydrogen atoms---itself sometimes called "protium"---with additional protons in their nuclei. On Earth, deuterium makes up less than one in six thousand of hydrogen atoms.
If you have a membrane around your nucleus---you *probably* do, but I can't say for sure that no bacteria read my blog---then heavy water (two deuterium atoms bonded with one oxygen atom) presents a mild toxic threat, causing problems with cell division and eventually sustenance as it displaces ordinary water in cells. However, as a stable isotope of hydrogen, deuterium doesn't generally pose a radiation threat.
The gas will make their voices sound funny and eventually might lower the percentage of oxygen, yes, but it doesn't usually cause other problems.
> **LAFORGE**: It's impossible to be exact. I'd say five minutes. Probably less.
The impending rupture of the hull won't speed them up any, of course.
> **PICARD**: What is it? What do you see?
>
> **RIKER**: Klingons.
Oh...no? Riker seems irritated or disgusted, but we haven't seen much evidence---other than the microaggressions that Worf lives with---that anybody has problems with Klingons anymore. And this episode mostly tells us that impression largely matches their reality.
> **PICARD**: Tasha, go to transporter room three. I want you there when the away team returns.
While, yes, Picard's suspicions bear out by the end of the episode, I feel like we should note that he seems to have based his decision on whether this situation requires security on the ethnicity of the visitors. If other visitors have warranted Yar's involvement, that has had a diplomatic aspect, where Picard went, as well.
> **KORRIS**: We were attacked without warning by a Ferengi cruiser. During the course of the battle we must have unknowingly entered the Neutral Zone.
>
> **WORF**: The weapons were not Ferengi.
This strikes me as telling. Korris seems sure that he can pin this on the Ferengi, because as we've seen since [*Encounter at Farpoint*]({% post_url 2022-05-26-farpoint2 %}) that the Federation has tended to believe any horrors blamed on the Ferengi. This indicates that they do this often enough and publicly enough that even random Klingons believe that they can use this for manipulation, even when the evidence directly contradicts them.
> **KONMEL**: O'Mat gri tea and piviots.
This seems to mark the first appearance of the replicators, probably the show's signature contribution to the franchise. Riker hinted at it in [*Lonely Among Us*]({% post_url 2022-06-30-lonely %}), but we haven't seen it before now. Its presence suggests that ships no longer have kitchens.
> **KORRIS**: I did not know there were Klingons serving on human Starfleet vessels.
>
> **WORF**: As far as I know, I am the only one.
This exchange tells me two things. First, Starfleet doesn't publicize the diversity of its officers as current militaries often do. Second, they probably don't release demographic statistics, as the various branches of the United States (and other countries) do. While we can't say for sure, it seems safe to assume---especially when we note the general (though not complete) lack of non-humans beyond the bridge crew---that either the Federation doesn't see much value in diversity or can't drum up enough diversity to want to publicize it.
> **CRUSHER**: He's dying.
>
> (goofy death-screaming)
>
> **CRUSHER**: Is there any special arrangement you would like for the body?
>
> **KORRIS**: It is only an empty shell now. Please treat it as such.
>
> **KONMEL**: The opponent that killed Kunivas should have been an enemy, then his death would have been even more glorious.
This basically overhauls the Klingons, from sleazy fascists to...I don't know, a drunken biker gang, maybe? I find it absurdly boring, and yet, we'll see multiple episodes trying to flesh this out, like a PBS nature documentary.
> **WORF**: Through an act of kindness. The Romulans attacked the Khitomer outpost. Everyone was killed. I was buried under the rubble and left for dead. A human Starfleet officer found me. He took me to his home on Gault and told his wife to raise me as his son.
You might remember---though the film sits in the future of this episode---that Khitomer gets a mention in [**The Undiscovered Country**]({% post_url 2022-04-21-tuc %}), as the location where conference on Klingon relief takes place.
> **KORRIS**: They shunned you. Cursed you. Called you vile names, and you knew not why. Even now do you know why you are driven? Why you cannot relent or repent or confess or abstain? How could you know? There have been no other Klingons to lead you to that knowledge.
While we've watched several people make snide comments about Worf's Klingon background, Worf's agreement with this tells us that people have also called him "vile names."
> **KORRIS**: Yes. To fit in, the humans demand that you change the one thing that you cannot change. Yet, because you cannot, you do. That too is the mark of the warrior. You said that I mock you. I do not. I salute you.
Look, you know that I don't have a rosy view of the Federation, after watching so many of these episodes, but the crew has actually given Worf a shocking amount of latitude to shout about what he perceives as his Klingon heritage. They haven't given him much screen-time in a while, but in the early part in the season, he'd loudly demand permission "as a Klingon" to fight people, without Picard once pulling him aside to explain that he needs to give it a rest.
> **PICARD**: And as I watched Worf, it was like looking at a man that I had never known.
Two things, here.
First, Picard has apparently only just discovered [code-switching](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching). Or, rather, he just discovered it in other people. After all, he acts quite differently around his crew than he does towards the Ferengi in [*The Last Outpost*]({% post_url 2022-06-16-outpost %}) or Lutan in [*Code of Honor*]({% post_url 2022-06-09-code-honor %}).
Second, Picard has re-introduced the idea that any non-human has divided loyalties. By suggesting that Worf becomes a different person among the Klingons, he signals the crew that they should no longer consider him their friend.
> **K'NERA**: He is a criminal. A renegade, who with two others stole that freighter, and somehow destroyed the Klingon cruiser sent to bring them back. We expect the criminals to be delivered into our custody as soon as we are within transporter range.
Oddly, given how much I remember this show---in marketing, I guess---selling the idea of the Klingons as allies, they apparently don't have a particularly good relationship with the Federation. Generally speaking, you'd spread news of missing criminals more widely and have extradition worked out.
> **RIKER**: You don't think Worf would allow them access to the battle bridge?
>
> **PICARD**: I think, Number One, we cannot assume anything.
Picard *really* works hard to sell the idea that Worf has abandoned the crew. He never comes out and says it, but he keeps implying Worf's disloyalty, as if he hopes that someone else will say it for him.
> **WORF**: That is not our way. Cowards take hostages. Klingons do not.
They literally *just* told him the story about their valiant battle against their own government, where they pretended to die so that they could commit mass murder. That sounds at least *mildly* cowardly.
In any case, this recalls what I've mentioned before---and what we learned earlier in this episode---about Worf not growing up with Klingons: He seems to have assembled his own imagined version of Klingon culture, and applies it with rigor, even to these creeps who just tried to con Worf into letting them hijack the ship. He read an encyclopedia entry saying that Klingons act with honor, so to him, Klingons must act with honor.
> **PICARD**: Lieutenant, the Klingon vessel has yet to arrive. They have requested return of the renegades.
>
> **WORF**: They will be tried and executed, sir.
That seems fair, no? They killed an entire military crew to avoid getting caught for their theft, and---given that they never gave Worf any sympathetic back-story---don't seem to have had any grand goal beyond that. I don't support capital punishment, but nobody her objects to the injustice of executions. And really, nobody presents the characters as the sort who would take to rehabilitation. Plus, if their native judicial system finds them guilty, does the Federation care?
I mean, if the episode portrayed them as dissidents, even if they wanted to overthrow the Klingon government to establish a military dictatorship---an absurd situation that would continue to make them unsympathetic---I could imagine having an ethical problem. But this? They want to go bat for violent criminals, apparently on the basis that their actors had some chemistry with the rest of the cast.
> **RIKER**: He seems to be handling this quite well, sir.
>
> **PICARD**: So far. He must be torn. These are his people.
Maybe Worf feels torn because he keeps shouting about how Worf can't possibly stay loyal to the Federation. Maybe if Picard would shut up for a minute and stopped insisting on a conflict, Worf would do fine. Or maybe if he sat Worf down and talked about their shared and conflicting priorities, he wouldn't have these deep concerns.
> **K'NERA**: Brother, I feel as you. I, too, wish they could fly free, but I have no choice.
This feels like a big deal, no? A high-ranking officer just told us that many Klingons, including him, want to abandon whatever peaceful ways that they've developed, possibly to some state before their first appearance in the franchise, and start making war on whatever they can find. And we just...gloss over that, and never really get back to it. I mean, sure, we spend a lot of this series on plots and counterplots to seize control of the Empire, but none of them imply anything this big, to my recollection.
> **K'NERA**: He is a trained Klingon warrior, Captain. Perhaps more than you can handle. It is not a disgrace to request our assistance.
>
> **PICARD**: I think we can handle the situation.
Nobody ever has any problems provoking Picard, you notice. If you just mildly insinuate that he has some imperfection, he loses control.
> **WORF**: Captain, permission to leave the Bridge.
I love the confused look that Data gives, as if he didn't deal with almost exactly this plot in [*Datalore*](2022-08-11-datalore). I can't wait for upcoming weeks, where we meet the villain who plays on Yar's nostalgia for her terrible childhood before betraying the *Enterprise*, the evil Betazoid who wants to feed the *Enterprise* to her space-dragon, Riker's duplicate tries to take his place, and an evil blind person tries to sabotage the warp core after befriending LaForge. 🙄
Oh, wait. At least one of those actually happens. Oops...
> **KORRIS**: Brother, I knew you would come. Now I, we have a chance. I could not do it alone, but I would rather die here, than let the traitors of Kling pick the meat from my bones. With you, it will work.
It won't last long, but for a while, the Klingons came from a planet called Kling.
> **WORF**: My brother, it is you who does not see. You look for battles in the wrong place. The test of the warrior is not without, it is within. Here, here we meet the challenge. It is the weaknesses in here a warrior must overcome.
Didn't he say exactly the opposite, about five minutes ago? Did we miss an extended scene where he needs to take a long look at himself to come to this new conclusion?
> **WORF**: Perhaps not.
I don't care about this line. I quote it for the timing, because I want to point out that the *Enterprise* engine room has glass floors to dramatically shatter and rip passers-by to shreds.
> **WORF**: I am honored. Thank you...I was just being polite, sir.
I love that he actually *needs* to tell them he wouldn't *really* take the job, as if any other answer to a hypothetical job offer ever exists.
## Conclusions
This episode hints that it takes militaries about two months to prepare for a major battle.
It also gives us rather extensive insight into Klingon culture. I won't bother to cover it except for the occasional broad strokes, since nobody appears to think of them as part of the Federation, but for those with an interest, start here.
### The Bad
We see quite a bit of racist thinking, here. Despite two encounters where the Ferengi acted well, the crew still jumps to conclude that they have caused all major problems. One of the Klingons uses this bias against the Ferengi to try to slip lies past the crew. Picard violates treaties to enter the Neutral Zone, preparing to destroy any Romulans that might discover his infraction. Picard and Riker express suspicion about the Klingon visitors, seemingly only because of their Klingon backgrounds. Worf acknowledges that people have called him "vile names" for his Klingon heritage, and Picard spends most of the episode trying to accuse Worf of having divided loyalties. The crew also seems to have some inability to understand Worf's joke.
Similarly, Starfleet doesn't show much interested in the diversity of its officers, neither publicizing advancements in representation, nor reporting on the demographics of the fleet, suggesting that neither they nor the civilian government places much value in it.
We also see ableist thinking, in Picard associating what he sees of LaForge's vision with understanding the man, as if his personality revolves around his disability.
Other than bigotry, the crew seems surprisingly lax, taking time for entertainment and jokes, when they have lives to save on an imminent deadline. They also seem thoroughly disinterested in a high-ranking Klingon officer telling them that he counts himself among a significant population that wants to abandon peace. They also briefly consider the Klingon government illegitimate, themselves, and consider letting mass murderers go free, rather than risk their execution. And probably related, the *Enterprise*'s engine room seems to have a lot of non-tempered glass used for structural purposes, for easy shattering.
Picard also continues to bristle when others suggest that they might have some advantage over him.
### The Weird
The relationship between the Federation and the Klingon Empire seems erratic, cordial, but not sharing any information until it becomes transparently necessary. This even extends to cultural information, so that someone like Worf, growing up in the Federation, can only get the broadest, most sanitized view of his ancestors.
## Next
In seven days, Picard and Crusher get trapped in the worst commercial in history---yes, even worse than a Progressive Insurance ad---in *The Arsenal of Freedom*.
#### <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i>
* * *
**Credits**: The header image is [Yorkshire Gold tea & crumpets](https://www.flickr.com/photos/dianamoon/6283771859/) by [Diana Moon](https://www.flickr.com/photos/dianamoon/), made available under the terms of the [Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) license.