Mar 212010
 

With the release last year of “Star Trek,” and its subsequent haul at the box office, it was shown that the Trek universe was able to be massively modified and not be destroyed in the process. In the case of the movie, time travel was used to change established Trek history and create a whole new timeline. Since then, I’ve noticed new “Next Generation” novels have been published; while the novels are not canon (and from my reading of a great many of ’em a few decades ago, they tend to not be all that good, either), they show that the notion of now having two distinct and separate Trek timelines is possible. So it is at least vaguely possible that another Trek movie could be made starring the Next Gen crew, with perhaps some mention of how sad it is that Romulus has been trashed and Ambassador Spock disappeared into a black hole.

This being the case, I propose that its possible to write a novel set in the Next Gen continuity that involves a successful revolution in the Federation. The Fed is described as largely being a product of the human race, and the humans of the 24th century are a product of their history. Their history includes the genocidal Eugenics War and World War III, which led to a one-world government. As shown in “First Contact,” Earth after the mid-21st century WWIII was pretty well trashed, with, apparently, civilization and certainly the planetary economy in a state of collapse.

As history has shown, after major natural or man-made calamities, the survivors can be gathered together and unified around political or religious notions that in saner times would gain little traction. It appears that the post-WWIII humans of the Trek timeline have gathered around fascist/Marxist economic and cultural systems. One really good analysis of this can be found here:

http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire/Essays/Trek-Marxism.html

My story idea is predicated on the analysis linked above being accurate, and from my own watching of Trek over the years, I can hardly argue against that. Corporations are seemingly non-existent. There are few private transports, and those that are shown are almost invariably used by pirates, black marketeers, criminals of various types. The few times Fed civilians have been shown, they do not seem to live in the lap of 24th century luxury, but in small, meager facilities often enough lit by candles. There’s no Federation Phaser Association; private ownership of weapons seems non-existent. Given the vastness of the Trek universe and the easy availability of transport, few enough civilians ever seem to actually go anywhere; in a world far greater than ours, their lives seem smaller. Hell, in Deep Space Nine the Fed government is almost overtaken by the military on a whim… implying that the military is already overly powerful in Fed affairs, and there was little to no aftermath shown. While the Fed might not be a tyranical dictatorship along the lines of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, it seems like 1984 with a smiley face. How is this done? While there is a thriving black market – as there always is whenever the government clamps down on free enterprise – the implications seem to be that the Fed citizenry are largely pretty docile. Even after coming together following WWIII, humanity would have distinct factions, especially several hundred years down the line. So are the citizens programmed? Brainwashed? Humans out on the frontier are generally shown to be more… well, human than the meek subjects of Earth. Sort of a more subtle vision of the world of “Firefly.”

The Federation, at leas the Fed of the Next Gen era, reminds me greatly of that other sci-fi group, the Jedi. Both are touted as being great and wonderful keepers of the peace. But both are substantially nastier and more evil than the propaganda suggest. And like the Jedi, the Fed might well *deserve* to be taken down.

So what I’d be interested in is a novel or series of novels that explore that culture, and eventually lead to a rebellion. Millions of humans on Earth rising up to throw off the Marxist attitudes and free themselves. Perhaps the rebellion begins on a farming “collective” on the Moon, with input from the M-5 computer located there… you know, the one that was a pen-pal to Data, and was Mycroft to Data’s Sherlock… hmmm…

The question would become, what would the various established characters do? Picard is kinda easy to guess… he’d come down on the side of Authority, at least initially. He’s a very patrician sort of guy… you can see him defending the order that has done so well for him. Riker? He might be conflicted. Worf? Oh, hell, he’ll join the rebels.

Virtually *every* interstellar organization in Star Trek has been shown to have a revolt. The Romulans, Klingons, Cardasians, the Dominion, even the Vulcans have all been overturned from within. It’s time for the same to happen to the Federation.

 Posted by at 1:26 pm
Mar 212010
 

A comment by Brianna reminded me of something I’ve meant to scribble down for a while.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/naziprog.html

The Program of the National-Socialist (Nazi) German Workers’ Party (1933)

Much of it is racist rubbish, a product of its specific time and place (yammerings about the “Volk” and colonies and Versailles and such), but there are a number of aspects of it that should set off alarm bells for those paying attention to the political news in the last few years:

10. It must be the first duty of every Citizen to carry out intellectual or physical work. Individual activity must not be harmful to the public interest and must be pursued within the framework of the community and for the general good.

Translation: the “idle rich” are banned.

We therefore demand:

11. The abolition of all income obtained without labor or effort.

Translation: no more earning interest on investments.

Breaking the Servitude of Interest.

12. In view of the tremendous sacrifices in property and blood demanded of the nation by every war, personal gain from the war must be termed a crime against the nation. We therefore demand the total confiscation of all war profits.

13. We demand the nationalization of all enterprises (already) converted into corporations (trusts).

14. We demand profit-sharing in large enterprises.

15. We demand the large-scale development of old-age pension schemes.

16. We demand the creation and maintenance of a sound middle class; the immediate communalization of the large department stores, which are to be leased at low rates to small tradesmen. We demand the most careful consideration for the owners of small businesses in orders placed by national, state, or community authorities.

17. We demand land reform in accordance with our national needs and a law for expropriation without compensation of land for public purposes. Abolition of ground rent and prevention of all speculation in land.

18. We demand ruthless battle against those who harm the common good by their activities. Persons committing base crimes against the People, usurers, profiteers, etc., are to be punished by death without regard to religion or race.

19. We demand the replacement of Roman Law, which serves a materialistic World Order, by German Law.

20. In order to make higher education – and thereby entry into leading positions – available to every able and industrious German, the State must provide a thorough restructuring of our entire public educational system. The courses of study at all educational institutions are to be adjusted to meet the requirements of practical life. Understanding of the concept of the State must be achieved through the schools (teaching of civics) at the earliest age at which it can be grasped. We demand the education at the public expense of specially gifted children of poor parents, without regard to the latters’ position or occupation.

21. The State must raise the level of national health by means of mother-and-child care, the banning of juvenile labor, achievements of physical fitness through legislation for compulsory gymnastics and sports, and maximum support for all organizations providing physical training for young people.

24. We demand freedom for all religious denominations, provided that they do not endanger the existence of the State or offend the concepts of decency and morality of the Germanic race.

The Party as such stands for positive Christianity, without associating itself with any particular denomination. It fights against the Jewish-materialistic spirit within and around us, and is convinced that a permanent revival of our nation can be achieved only from within, on the basis of:

Public Interest before Private Interest.

25. To carry out all the above we demand: the creation of a strong central authority in the Reich. Unquestioned authority by the political central Parliament over the entire Reich and over its organizations in general. The establishment of trade and professional organizations to enforce the Reich basic laws in the individual states.

Additional reading includes lists of books that the Nazis banned: http://www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/burnedbooks/documents.htm

Of potential interest:

“Prinzipelles zur Säuberung der öffentlichen Bücherein,” Börsenblatt für den deutschen Büchhandel [Principles for the Cleansing of Public Libraries] 100 (5/16/1933):  Guidelines from Die Bücherei 2:6 (1935), p. 279

6. Writings of a philosophical and social nature whose content deals with the false scientific enlightenment of primitive Darwinism and Monism (H�ckel).

 Posted by at 10:35 am
Mar 202010
 

A scan directly off of some microfilm I have, showing an overview sketch of the proposed Lippisch P.13 supersonic ramjet fighter. This wartime German design was to use powdered coal for the fuel, contained within the “saucer-shaped” basket in the interior, which is just barely visible here. The specific design shown here is generally referred to as the P.13b, while the P.13a featured a truly enormous vertical fin that contained the cockpit, and a single nose inlet. The P.13b version was substantially less oddball looking.

This scan falls squarely in the “meh” category as far as quality is concerned. I need to rectify that, as the microfilm contains rather a lot of Lippisch design drawings that, so far as I’m aware, have never been published before.

scan0001.jpg

 Posted by at 6:46 pm
Mar 202010
 

Something has him upset today. He’s normally a pretty good “guard cat…” he always alerts me when someone is coming. He can hear people on my property long before I can, and when someone approaches the house, he growls and runs and hides. Well, he’s been doing that a *lot* today, and numerous investigations have so far failed to turn up any visitors. His tail is all fluffed out and he’s dashing hither and yon. Under the circumstances, I’m keeping an eye on this:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Maps/US10/37.47.-115.-105.php

Nothing of note as yet. Koshka’s not much help in such matters, as she’s *always* kinda spooky. Right now she’s in a distant bedroom screaming at the walls. She does that…

 Posted by at 10:10 am
Mar 202010
 

A guru attempts to use magic to kill a skeptic. It works out about as successfully as just about every other attempt to use magic ever has.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7067989.ece

When a famous tantric guru boasted on television that he could kill another man using only his mystical powers, most viewers either gasped in awe or merely nodded unquestioningly. Sanal Edamaruku’s response was different. “Go on then — kill me,” he said.

Mr Edamaruku had been invited to the same talk show as head of the Indian Rationalists’ Association — the country’s self-appointed sceptic-in-chief. At first the holy man, Pandit Surender Sharma, was reluctant, but eventually he agreed to perform a series of rituals designed to kill Mr Edamaruku live on television. Millions tuned in as the channel cancelled scheduled programming to continue broadcasting the showdown, which can still be viewed on YouTube.

First, the master chanted mantras, then he sprinkled water on his intended victim. He brandished a knife, ruffled the sceptic’s hair and pressed his temples. But after several hours of similar antics, Mr Edamaruku was still very much alive — smiling for the cameras and taunting the furious holy man.

Three cheers for the Indian Rationalist Association and the “Guru Busters.” Check out the plethora of vids on YouTube on the topic of “guru busters” for more science-vs-magic smackdowns. It’s the sort of thing that the West needs every bit as desperately as India… while Indias superstitions are more blatant and obvious, the west has its own pack of superstitious rubbish holding us back. Appeals to unreason take the forms of socialism, anti-nuclear activism, anti-rights activists, appeasing the percieved wishes of delusional middle eastern deities, etc.

NOTE: “sceptic” seems to be the way the Englandlanderish “press” spells “skeptic.” Remember, this is the same pack of baboons with typewriters who insist on spelling “NASA” as “Nasa.”

 Posted by at 9:59 am