Between Kevin Kelly and Sly Stallone, What Trek's Writers Missed.

In Season Two of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the writers had things go badly of the rails in the Demilitarized Zone between the #Federation and the #Cardassians. It's good plotline and not the problem. Things in the DMZ basically went wrong because the Federation signed a bad treaty. The #Maquis plotline shows us what happened to the #Colonists who stayed. But that is only half of the equation.

People in 24th century are smart. Are we to believe that nobody sensed that this treaty would be really bad and got out of dodge before the hammer fell? And where did those people end up? In my version of #StarTrek, some of these people founded the lasted version of Nothing, Arizona. Some people might say that doesn't gel with Star Trek as we know it. But I respectfully disagree.

Let's wind things back a bit and asked the question....Why did those colonists move out there in the first place? I would answer with a simple: Earth has become boring. But it's deeper then that. So I'd like to quote Kevin Kelly at this point:

“A world without discomfort is utopia. But it is also stagnant. A world perfectly fair in some dimensions would be horribly unfair in others. A utopia has no problems to solve, but therefore no opportunities either.”

Part of human nature is that to grow, to learn, we have to leave our comfort zone. #Earth (and the other core Federation worlds) have become one giant comfort zone. So to find growth, to find challenges, the colonists left and settled at the border of Federation space. And now those people are forced back into the core of the Federation. Where - having spent years on the borders - they no longer fit in. Or to quote the 1993 movie Demolition Man, starring Sly Stallone (and Wesley Snipes):

See, according to Cocteau's plan, I'm the enemy. Cause I like to think, I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I'm the kind if guy who wants to sit in a greasy spoon and think, "Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecued ribs with the side order of gravy fries?" I want high cholesterol. I want to eat bacon, butter and buckets of cheese, okay? I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in a non-smoking section. I wanna run through the streets naked with green Jello all over my body reading Playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the need to. Okay, pal? I've seen the future, you know what it is? It's a 47-year-old virgin sittin' around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake singing "I'm an Oscar-Meyer Wiener". You wanna live on top, you gotta live Cocteau's way. What he wants, when he wants, how he wants. Your other choice: come down here, maybe starve to death.

Now replace Cocteau with the word Federation and you realize the exact pickle that these (former) colonists are in. So what do they do, they find a ghost town that is off the grid. That officially doesn't exist and where they can life as they see fit. Without the Federation breathing down their necks about 'correct' and 'healthy' living.

And thus the town of Nothing, #Arizona was founded once again in 2367. (I can't speak of the actual, real-life founding of 1977. I wasn't there. I wasn't even born.) Of course, this is just my #fanfiction interpretation. #Canon / #Official Star Trek has never addressed this issue. Hopefully it will do so one day.

(Just for the record. Once the town was founded, it attracted others that had fallen through the cracks of Federation society. Including, ironically, Cardassians refugees, deserters and dissidents. Fueled by the Dominion War, Nothing has a population of rough 900 people by the end of 2375.)

Regards,

Ruben Hilbers

PS: The Forgotten Frontier website is: https://startrekforgottenfrontier.eu/

The Stargate Hot Potato Everybody Avoids

Prologue

Before I get started, I need to explain something. A while back, I read an excellent article about the cancellation of Martin Gero's #Stargate project and why that was a mistake. I figured that this article would interest Robert Meyer Burnett, so I send it the link to him. 

He read it on his YouTube and provided some excellent insights and commentary. To see his video, click the provided link.

RMB's thoughts on the cancellation of Stargate

This letter is a reply to that video. With that out of the way, here we go.

---- 

Hi Rob,

I hope that this letter finds you well. I'm glad that you liked the Stargate article I send you a while back. Your comments and the insights in the video you made about it were great. However, there is an angle about the cancellation of Stargate that nobody talks about. But to get to this angle, I need to do a bit of preamble. 

One of the strengths of the Stargate franchise is that tries to stay as close to "real world" as it can be. It feels like something that could happen or could BE happening while you are going to work, doing your groceries and just living your everyday life. 

Add to that a bunch of frustration for not getting a proper resolution to Stargate Universe, a show that ended on a cliffhanger. Which resulted in me deciding to write my own (fanfiction) continuation. And that landed me straight at the issue we need to talk about. 

Stargate is supposed to be "Close to real world" Science Fiction. But that leaves you stumbling straight into two landmines: Donald J. Trump and his giant ego. Or to put it another way? You've seen the mess he's made out of international politics. Would you trust him with interstellar politics? Or the Stargate Program?

I didn't. I wasn't happy about having to go more fictional, but I figured Trump would ruin everything. Goodbye, (international effort known as) Atlantis Expedition. Goodbye, mission to rescue Destiny's crew. He'd probably banish Teal'c and Vala as literal illegal aliens. So I created a fictional president to keep things on track. But here's the point...

I got away with that because I am one Dutch guy. I wasn't making money from this passion project, just fun. I don't have a giant studio, I don't have hundreds or thousands people on my payroll. People that depend on ME for their rent, their food and the money they need to send their children to school. I'm not even a blip on the Trump administration radar. And I don't live under it either. I don't have to be afraid of being arrested by ICE, losing my license or being kicked out of the country. 

For AmazonMGM, which has none of these advantages, and any canon Stargate continuation...well, navigating these two landmines is going to be a lot harder. Thoughts? 

Regards,

Ruben Hilbers

PS: Quick idea: Max's answer to my Let's Get Physical letter was really insightful as well. I would bet folding money that if there was dedicated e-mail or electronic PO for people to write to, he would get more letters. Just a thought.

My opinion on MAGA

I am not a fan of Donald Trump. He claims that MAGA stands for Make American Great Again. Well, from what I've seen of his policies, it's Make American Goa'uld Again. 

Trump is a parasite, a Napoleonic Power Monger. He's all of America's worst traits collected under fake tan and a bad wig. Arrogance, bluster, stupidity and shortsightedness. He is still popular because he's figured out how to razzle-dazzle people with short-term gains. But long-term outlook is simple...he is driving the US of A over a cliff.

If he was a Star Trek character, he'd be either Nick Locarno (of Nova Squadron) or Tim Watters (aka the Captain of the USS Valiant who got his entire crew killed). He's William McKinley 2.0. Now if you want to block/un-follow me, you go right ahead. Stick your head in the sand, play ostrich. But don't come to me when your country falls apart into a dystopian dictatorship.

I'm a Count, not a Saint - Edmond Dantes  

Trumpvilles?

Hi Alex,

A while ago, I started my own Star Trek RPG. I need a place to start my story and for reasons, I picked the ghost town of Nothing, Arizona. The rest of the story doesn't matter for this letter. 

What does matter is that by the 24th century, Nothing is a shanty town made out of tents, converted shipping containers and all sorts of makeshift homes. There are even a few brick and mortar buildings.

Nothing is home to roughly 900 people who fell through the cracks of the United Federation of Planets. But the most important thing is that the people of Nothing are there voluntarily. 

And all of this was some harmless fun....until Trump called the National Guard into Washington, DC. Which made we wonder....

How long before life imitates art ? How long before Nothing, Arizona really is repopulated. Except this time, there will be nothing voluntary about it. This time, it will because people will be forced into these...Trumpvilles (or Tarkin Towns if you've seen Star Wars: Rebels)...at the barrel of a gun. While that...chimpanzee...in the White House sells it as....*does his best Trump voice*....his Big and Beauty final solution for homeless people. *end Trump voice*

After all, what better place to dump the homeless the a ghost town. No locals to complain, no votes to lose. *Trump voice* After all, it's not like these homeless people as allowed to vote. And if they are, I'll pass another Big, Beautiful law to end that. *End Trump voice.* 

I really think this is scenario is a distinct possibility. Alex, Americans....please, worry.

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka @Dantes74302 on X)

PS. Alex is not a real person, it is my version of Hello, Kitty/Dear Sigmund.

Serious Science Vol. 1

#1 Why you should never date American girls/Women

Well, it is simply a matter of biology. You see, behind every American girl, is an American Dad, the Abba Americanus And as their female off-spring grow, American Dads develop a sixth sense. This sense is known at the Mate Detector. 

This new sense allows the Dad to detect a potential Boy/Girlfriend a mile away. At the same time, the development of this sense affects the subjects' visual cortex. This makes it impossible for the father to see his off-spring as anything other then "Daddy's perfect little princess."

Upon detection of the potential mate, the American dad will immediately proceeded to 'Communicate' with the potential mate. 

Should you survive this stage of the process, you might end up saying the dreaded "I do." In which case, the American Dad and the Mom will immediately mutate into a pair of inhuman, blood thirsty creatures known only as 'In-laws." This raise the question of... 

American Procreation

....how do Americans procreate ? This is the true mystery of the 21st century. One that will likely not be solved for a considerable amount of time. It should be noted that this 'communication' is one of the reasons why Americans as so fond of their guns. Finally, it should be noted that there is one exception to this mystery. Namely, the Americanus Conspiracy Nuttus. 

This subspecies of American had been known to be created by the means of Black Magic. The mamma of the potential ACN burns a pile of old comic books, sacrificing them to the comic book gods Stanicus Lee'us and Jackus Kirbus. This causes the ACN to coalesce fully grown in the middle of their basement. 

And thus ends today's episode.

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (Commander Nash)

Trump

Hello World,

So, it's been a while since I've posted....and especially about politics. But recent event in the US....well, I can't just sit back and watch. I am not a fan of Donald Trump. In fact, I loath the man. I cannot watch him and wonder....

Is this the America the Founding Father's fought for ? The America that people lost fathers, husbands and brothers for ? And daughters, wives and sisters ? Rode into the hell of war across the centuries ? Wars of independence ? Civil Wars, World Wars ? Korea ? Vietnam ? And the only answer I can come up with is.....No, no, no !

Did the colonist on the Mayflower come over to trade one tyranny for another ? Is this what the thirteen colonies broke away from Great Britain for ? The history of America is a history of struggle, strife and sacrifice. All done to build a nation that was supposed to be fair, that was supposed to be free. 

Is America perfect.....absolutely not. Does American have clean hands.....no. There are some pretty nasty black pages in the American history books. Especially regarding the treatment of the Native Americans. But it deserves better then to be stabbed in the back.

And in my opinion, to vote for Trump is a betrayal. Against America, against the principles it was founded on and against those who gave their last full measure to defend both.

Ruben Hilbers

Mister David's Answer to my Letter

After writing my letter on my blog, I used the comment system on Mister David's blog to deliver it. This is what he wrote in reply...

(Edmond Dantes)

I don’t know if we have a class society in the same way that, say, the UK does, so much as a determination of where you are on the financial side of things that is determined by where you start out. But there are plenty of examples of people being born with nothing (including our previous president) who was able to build himself up. Trump may indeed be a part of the one percent of people who have tons of money, but that doesn’t put him in another class that is exempt from following rules. That is a fact that he is currently discovering, and it’s clearly pissing him off. Thus far throughout his life his money and position have exempted him from having to deal with the same laws that everyone else does. But he’s discovering that the founding fathers indeed saw that someone like him might come along and built safeguards–checks and balances–into the governing process. He wants to do something unconstitutional and the courts are saying, “Nope,” just as Sally Yates knew they would.

PAD

An open letter to Peter David

Regarded Mister D,

I hope you do not mind me using you as a crutch, but I feel that this entry would work better as a letter. One with lots of questions, but no answers. (I do not do answers. You can blame Anton Chekhov for that. It's a long story.) So, anyway....

Looking at the world today, I feel the question must be asked....does freedom exist ? Not long ago - from a historical point of few - humanity lived in a class society. (As anybody who has seen Titanic will attest, this was still visible as late as 1912.) Have these days truly passed ? Or have we simply become better at hiding the lines ?

Do we not all follow the expectations of society ? (A good example of this question might be Another Brick in The Wall by Pink Floyd, Part 2. Is it ? Decide for yourself.) We go to school, we get a job and pay the rent. Is this freedom ? After all, how many people actually chase their dreams ? And how many of us put these 'on hold' ? For practical reason, we tell ourselves. And we do not have to worry to about our dreams.

After all, as soon as life allows it, we will resume chasing them. Won't we ? And how many of us are lying to ourselves ? I do not know. I will not say. Instead, I will - as I often do - let people decide for themselves. (Despite not having meant it that way, I seem to have to developed that as a catchphrase. But I digress...*wink*)

To conclude this letter, I would like to speak about why I picked you as the receiving end of this letter. It is The-President-whose-name-shall-not be spoken. Is he not a symptom of the class society attempting to dig its claws into the US of A ? Or am I - as an outsider living the Low Lands - seeing this wrong ? Is this not the true threat to the Land of the Free ?

Should America not demonstrate its principles now ? Which - as I understand them - are that anybody can become anything, as long as they would hard and - this is where it becomes sticky for President Donald Voldemort - play by the rules. (In this case meaning the law and the US Constitution.) And should not demonstrate them by showing that nobody is above said rules ? (No matter how much idiocy they catapult at judges and media.) And is the best way to do this not to remove anybody - regardless of money, rank or status - from office ?

Regards,

Edmond Dantes

P.S. I know the chance of me getting a reply is 0.0 percent. But no pain, no gain. Also - for anybody reading my blog (if there is anybody) - up next in this series....Why did I pick Edmond Dantes as an alias. (Or...why the Netherlands is not perfect either.)