Semisimian

So, we are continuing the ‘is it legitimate that an elite Red Squad exists in egalitarian Starfleet’ argument? All signs point to no. Still, Nog, you go on with your bad self.

That smile…

When we talk about time travel in fictional universes, almost all of the narratives follow one of three “truths:”

1. Time is one linear thread. What you do now will have consequence X and if you do something different it will have consequence Y. A simple illustration is the movie Sliding Doors. But the same can be said for Back to the Future or Bill and Ted’s. If you make a change to the prime timeline, it will ripple into the past/future. Your cousins will disappear from the 3x5 photo!

2. Time has branches, a truly infinite number of universes and possibilities. Really, as far as I’m concerned, the best example of this idea is Rick and Morty. That show has the freedom to both cook our brains about the concept and also hold a mirror to its ridiculousness. You also see it more famously in the MCU, with their multitude of Lokis and such, though the TVA is still hell-bent on a prime timeline. But the multiverse is the natural order, with only 80s inspired bureaucracy to keep it in check.

3. Time is a combination of the two, which leads us to Trek. Time is linear, so Jake Sisko can tell his dad to dodge a beam that travels at light speed. But time is also non-linear, so… I dunno… most of Voyager. When Seven came aboard with her temporal node all bets were off as far as what could even be considered a prime timeline.

Moreso, the mirror universe is a parallel to our own, marching along at the same pace and whose characters are developing at the same rate as the prime timeline. So, there is no prime timeline, and no multiverse. Just the clean-shaven and the goatee universes.

And to answer your question: yes, I think Trek trends toward a “prime” timeline. It’s honestly the way our brains work. With all the posturing of the wormhole aliens, we just don’t work in a non-linear fashion. And maybe more importantly, good stories don’t work that way either, Kurt Vonnegut aside. Time travel is wearing plot armor in EVERY movie and show because no one has a handle on it.

Thank you for bringing this up. It’s something I think about too much.

There are a bajillion, but maybe you are looking for a specific genre that nails it on the head.

As someone mentioned, there are thousands of social drama films that could’ve easily happened. The success of that type of film is selling a “day in the life” plot.

Someone else mentioned Office Space. That film is a satire, but it condenses and delivers refined representations of the banality of cubicle life that we all can easily relate to. The characters truly seem to be facsimiles of people we’ve known in our working lives.

Someone else mentioned Michael Clayton. It’s an excellent thriller with flawed characters with believable motives that yes, it could be real. And maybe something like that has happened?

What genre will help us answer your question?

“Screw 'em, do what you want” shall be the whole of the law.

I think it would take much more energy to grow the food they need than to just replicate it. That said, if I was stuck for 7 years in space, fresh fruits and vegetables would be the cheapest form of therapy.

The Kanar sounds good. The Romulan Ale sounds way too sweet, though. I think 151, soda and Curacao for color with the rock candy garnish dropped in the drink would be more fitting for something that is supposed to be so strong it’s illegal.

I want to see how big those Targ legs are.

“How is our young doctor?” …“Young.”

I just started my DS9 rewatch today, having just completed Voyager, Enterprise and SNW in my “COVID then RSV then ENT infection” couch-misery marathon. I saw the Q episode with Vash just hours ago - loved O’Brien’s reaction when he recognized Q.

I think they developed Voyager and DS9 to be two halves of the Star Trek whole. Voyager was flung so far that almost every species was new, so right from the start it highlighted the awkward first handshakes the Federation had to endure. DS9 included (mostly) known species and highlighted the increasingly awkward second handshakes, and third, and on and on: the real work of diplomacy beyond first contact. It’s a political drama, The West Wing in space. Q has no patience for such intricacies, though that is what he often says he values so much in humanity.

That’s great! I think we need to pay close attention to our water supply and I appreciate that you are posting a positive take.

We have good water here, though it is the most expensive municipality in the country. The elevated price comes from our long-ignored sewer infrastructure and the layer-cake of band-aids that we are paying for. That said, we have steady rainfall and plentiful aquifers. Water here is almost taken for granted (except for that sewer bill, which is calculated on water consumption).

Even still, I have whole house paper filters to pull the iron out before it gets to any faucet, then a second stage of carbon filters for drinking water. Cheap to install and easy to maintain and it goes a long way to improving our water quality. I don’t know if you are using any other filters, but you can quickly turn an A- water experience to an A+.

I’m still waiting for SNW to make the Gorn interesting. I know they’re trying to retcon them as intelligent and threatening space explorers, technical marvels, etc. But the writers aren’t selling the leap from xenomorph ripoff to mature Star Trek species.

I love the show and get what they’re doing, playing with every genre of storytelling. The Gorn are obviously the horror genre, but again, how the hell are they a spacefaring species?

And you reveal a cloaked ship that is collecting your effluence for fuel. Ew.

It’s been limping for a while, but the momentum was huge to begin with. The niche subreddits still had good participation, not great, but good enough. These latest shenanigans might be the final tipping point, though.

I’m a 12 year too and just switched over when they blocked Boost last week (so, right before this Luigi stuff). I have to say, after a little learning curve, I like this experience a lot better (still on Boost, BTW). Keep on tanking, Reddit; the more users that jump ship, the better. I’m planning on backing up my post/comment history before I delete my account, but otherwise I won’t be looking back.