Jan. Challenge: "On the Conservation of Species"

[Nerys Ghemor]

DarKush wrote:

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A good story, I'm glad you left it open ended, because it was the debate more than the end result that was the most important thing, IMO. Like Dnoth I'm not familiar with your work, but you definitely put a lot of time into building your universe and it pays off. I enjoyed the points and counterpoints and it reminded me of a lot of debates we are having in the US regarding immigration and religious tolerance. So, the social timeliness is very much in the tradition of Star Trek.

You might laugh...but I was actually deep enough into my universe as I wrote that the US parallels weren't really that clear to me until I read it back. I just wish that in real life, we could discuss things calmly like these people did.

There are key differences, though, between the AU Cardassian government and the US. Parts of their government remain overtly religious, so what the religious authorities say has a chance--though not an uncontested chance--to become law. I do not believe that we humans can pull that off without serious problems, though.

Anyway...thanks for taking the time to read this.

EDIT: Rush Limborg, please clean your PM box!

[mirandafave]

That was a thoroughly engaging debate among the leaders of the Cardassian people. It was a very realised picture of this particular AU and it was a very fitting gesture on the part of the Cardassians. Being somewhat familiar with this AU universe and your others, I wasn't surprised by the generous act of the Cardassians however I still found myself absorbed by the discussion.

[Nerys Ghemor]

Thank you so much for reading...I'm glad you liked it and it still drew you in even though you may have been able to see it coming.

[Rush Limborg]

Nerys Ghemor wrote:

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EDIT: Rush Limborg, please clean your PM box!

I actually started doing so the moment after I sent my last message.

Surely Cardassians are renowned for their patience, amid Machiavellien planning? (And I'm speaking as someone who's just read The Prince for Political Theory class....

ADD/AS Moment: I can't help but wonder if there was a Cardassian version of Machiavelli in Cardassian history? I wonder...)

[Nerys Ghemor]

Hm...Tret Akleen himself could count, in a way. The Sigils version, that is...the SigCat version is ornery and pragmatic but not so Machiavellian anymore. But I'm sure there are some ideological forbears he drew from (although knowing the government pre-Cataclysm, those might not have been the easiest writings to find).

[Triskelion]

I really enjoyed this story, Nerys Ghemor. The mention of Machiavelli now makes me wonder about how the Cardassians would perceive Vulcan telepathy, and the threat it may represent to security, as well as how it might be conscripted into any local cultural practices.

Purely on a cultural level this story raises a lot of intriguing questions. For one thing, what of the legalities and religious reservations involved in Vulcan mating/death rituals? What of government representation? Well that's a can of worms.

I enjoyed this story; its unfolding, pacing and character perceptions too. Makes me curious what would happen that nobody predicted. And I'd definitely want to be a fly on the wall in those meetings with Vulcan delegates present and arguing as if their lives depended on it.

Thanks for writing it! Well done!

[Nerys Ghemor]

Triskelion wrote:

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I really enjoyed this story, Nerys Ghemor. The mention of Machiavelli now makes me wonder about how the Cardassians would perceive Vulcan telepathy, and the threat it may represent to security, as well as how it might be conscripted into any local cultural practices.

Well, we do know that the canon-universe Cardassians succeeded in developing mental shielding. We have not, however, heard anything about any ability on their part to use telepathy on their own. So I can't see it becoming incorporated into their society in any way.

Bear in mind, too, that this is not the Cardassia you know; this is an AU that is the direct descendant of the Hebitian culture. It never became what you see in the canon universe...they reformed rather than having a revolution.

I find myself thinking most AU Cardassians would not want Vulcan telepathy used on them, but they are more likely to take a live-and-let-live approach as long as the Vulcans respect a request to keep those abilities to themselves.

Purely on a cultural level this story raises a lot of intriguing questions. For one thing, what of the legalities and religious reservations involved in Vulcan mating/death rituals? What of government representation? Well that's a can of worms.

That I did wonder about, but I suspect that even the most knowledgeable person in that room--Councillor Hoven, the science minister--doesn't know the full details about pon farr. I think that all she knows is that there is a low birth rate and suspects a fertility cycle of some sort as opposed to being able to mate any time. (I'm sure that there are other sentient species that are more open about the fact that there are times that they are "in heat" and times that they are not.)

Given the AU Cardassians' intelligence and inquisitiveness, they were able to figure out something is going on by means of mathematical modeling, but I don't think they know everything. Even Starfleet doesn't know everything about pon farr at this point in time (hence it being such a shock when Spock started to go through it).

As far as government representation, it depends on what form of guest/resident status they're given. I at least think their leader would have an open line to the Castellan to address any concerns.

I enjoyed this story; its unfolding, pacing and character perceptions too. Makes me curious what would happen that nobody predicted. And I'd definitely want to be a fly on the wall in those meetings with Vulcan delegates present and arguing as if their lives depended on it.

Thanks for writing it! Well done!

You're very welcome! It's not "our" Cardassia, but I'm glad you liked it.

I definitely wonder what the Vulcan meetings would've been like, too! No idea, though.