DS9: Force and Motion by Jeffrey Lang blurb

[Idran]

Looking into data on that, it looks like you're right that crime rates tend historically to be low in Norway; they've stayed for the most part stable in the last 60 years as has the overall prison population. I suppose that suggests that it's more the nature of governing than prison structure itself that impacts crime rates. I would think, though, that nature of prisons would have a noticeable impact on recidivism rates, but I can't seem to find any historical data on that, only data since after the establishment of Bastoy (the older of the two I previously mentioned).

However, one of the articles I previously referenced is a white paper from the US DoJ, a metastudy that collected data from a wide range of past research efforts into the most effective means of recidivism reduction in practice, and there's essentially full agreement within criminology, psychology, and sociology that rehabilitative methods are key for minimizing inmate recidivism. You might want to give that paper and some of the others it references a read-over if this is something you're interested in.

 

[TheUsualSuspect]

And of course, we're talking about the Star Trek universe, where poverty, injustice, and suffering have been banished, where material gain is irrelevant because it's a post-scarcity society where everyone is wealthy beyond imagining, and where people are encouraged from childhood to develop their positive potential to its fullest. It's not Dickensian London.

This, to me, is one of the core ideas ST has been expressing all along, in all of its iterations -- that we can overcome the things that incline us towards selfishness, cruelty, and self-centeredness. It shows us a society where most people are focused on the common good, and see the needs of others as equal to their own needs. It's the basis of some of the greatest moments in Trek -- such as Kirk's willingness to sacrifice his own career for the chance of Spock's resurrection, and Picard's drive to overcome his Borg assimilation to help Data and Riker defeat the Borg cube.

I rather hope that in this book we'll actually see a rehabilitated Maxwell, one who has come to terms both with his original loss, and the consequences of his own actions in response to that loss. Perhaps he'll even be an ally to O'Brien and Nog in whatever mess it is that they come up against. That would be a pretty great expression of ST's general optimism, I think.

 

[USS Firefly]

Looks interesting, but why do there always have to be TNG characters in DS9 books?
I'm reading now "the missing" by Una Mccormack and there you have also TNG characters with big roles.

 

[The Wormhole]

Looks interesting, but why do there always have to be TNG characters in DS9 books?
I'm reading now "the missing" by Una Mccormack and there you have also TNG characters with big roles.

Sacraments of Fire didn't have any TNG characters, and I don't get the impression the upcoming Ascendance will either. Well, other than the ones that are part of the DS9 cast, of course

It's more coincidence that so many DS9 novels have had TNG characters here lately. The Missing had to have Dr. Crusher because of the storyline established in The Fall. Pulaski was brought in just for the fun of having her finally meet Crusher. And in this novel, if you're going to bring back Maxwell, might as well do it in an O'Brien centred story since he's the main Trek character Maxwell has a personal connection to.

 

[DS9forever]

Looks interesting, but why do there always have to be TNG characters in DS9 books?
I'm reading now "the missing" by Una Mccormack and there you have also TNG characters with big roles.

Sacraments of Fire didn't have any TNG characters, and I don't get the impression the upcoming Ascendance will either. Well, other than the ones that are part of the DS9 cast, of course

It's more coincidence that so many DS9 novels have had TNG characters here lately. The Missing had to have Dr. Crusher because of the storyline established in The Fall. Pulaski was brought in just for the fun of having her finally meet Crusher. And in this novel, if you're going to bring back Maxwell, might as well do it in an O'Brien centred story since he's the main Trek character Maxwell has a personal connection to.

Plus it helps for TNG fans to buy DS9 books and continue the line.

 

[Corran Horn]

In the novel Garth of Izar, he was returned to duty but not as a captain, and was assigned to Antos IV to repair the damage he did there, eventually becoming the ambassador to that world.

Now that is as perfect an idea for a rehab as I have ever seen.

Pity the same thing couldn't have been applied to Maxwell.

Tom Paris was overseen by a 'rehab commission' and was wearing some kind of ankle bracelet. That was for only being with the Maquis for a few weeks. He seemed to be doing some sort of maintenance work.

 

[TheUsualSuspect]

^ We weren't really given a consistent portrayal of how the Federation and Starfleet deal with criminality, IMO.

In TOS, both of the prison or rehabilitation facilities we see are identified as a rarity. (Dagger of the Mind and Whom Gods Destroy) Yet Cyrano Jones is given a choice between facing some sort of prison sentence and cleaning up all the tribbles on the space station, and he chooses picking up the tribbles, even though it will take him almost two decades.

As you say, Tom Paris certainly seems to be in some sort of penal facility, even if it looks pretty nice. And there was a Maquis leader, Eddington, in DS9 who clearly was in some sort of prison that Sisko had to pick him up from.

I seem to remember other references to penal colonies and/or prisons here and there, but I'm not sure if they're from episodes or some of the novels.

So it seems like we get a mix of indications that the Federation uses some sort of rehabilitative/therapeutic approach, but also indications of a prison sentence/retributive approach similar to the one current in the US.

 

[Christopher]

In TOS, both of the prison or rehabilitation facilities we see are identified as a rarity. (Dagger of the Mind and Whom Gods Destroy)

Tantalus isn't defined as a rarity. As Kirk says, "Bones, are you aware that in the last twenty years Doctor Adams has done more to revolutionize, to humanize prisons and the treatment of prisoners than all the rest of humanity had done in forty centuries? I've been to those penal colonies since they've begun following his methods, and they're not cages anymore... They're clean, decent hospitals for sick minds." He also says "They're more like resort colonies now." So penal colonies are not rare in the UFP, although it sounds like they were pretty nasty places prior to about 2246. But we can assume that the "humanized" rehabilitative practices that Adams pioneered before he went bad are the template for the practices the Federation still follows in the 24th century.

And Elba II was not a penal colony per se, but a mental hospital for incurable, violent cases. The premise of the episode was that mental illness had been all but eradicated except for these few untreatable patients.

 

[TheUsualSuspect]

In TOS, both of the prison or rehabilitation facilities we see are identified as a rarity. (Dagger of the Mind and Whom Gods Destroy)

Tantalus isn't defined as a rarity. As Kirk says, "Bones, are you aware that in the last twenty years Doctor Adams has done more to revolutionize, to humanize prisons and the treatment of prisoners than all the rest of humanity had done in forty centuries? I've been to those penal colonies since they've begun following his methods, and they're not cages anymore... They're clean, decent hospitals for sick minds." He also says "They're more like resort colonies now." So penal colonies are not rare in the UFP, although it sounds like they were pretty nasty places prior to about 2246. But we can assume that the "humanized" rehabilitative practices that Adams pioneered before he went bad are the template for the practices the Federation still follows in the 24th century.

And Elba II was not a penal colony per se, but a mental hospital for incurable, violent cases. The premise of the episode was that mental illness had been all but eradicated except for these few untreatable patients.

My memory of the details of the episodes is clearly not what it once was!

That raises an interesting point, though. Kirk's characterization of Tantalus and other penal colonies - "clean, decent hospitals for sick minds" - along with the nature of Elba II, suggests that the Federation views at least some forms of criminality as mental disorders, rather than deliberate transgressions of social and moral norms.

This lines up with my own personal belief that many physical crimes against persons - murder, sexual and serious physical assault, etc. - might be better viewed as expressions of mental illness, rather than simply conscious disregard of the consequences of one's actions upon other individuals.

That understanding of criminality and how to deal with it does not line up neatly with some of the other depictions in ST, especially in the 24th century series.

 

[ToddCam]

A very interesting debate. I think, while rehabilitation is the best way to have a criminal justice system, my sense of justice requires punishment for crimes of a certain severity. I do not believe in the death penalty, and lifetime incarceration may be unnecessary with a good enough rehabilitation system. But I would not be able to accept a mass murderer having the full breadth of freedom they had before their crime. Is it a need for vengeance? Maybe. But as open-minded as I would like to be, I can't shake the idea that it is wrong to let someone "get away with" such a horrific act.

 

[Christopher]

^That may be true, but it just goes to show that it would be better to focus our efforts on preventing such crimes from happening in the first place. Reforming society so the causes of crime (and availability of deadly weapons to irresponsible or unstable users) are diminished, catching signs of mental illness and psychopathy and treating people before they escalate to murder, etc. The more we can prevent crime, the less we have to deal with the question of punishment.

 

[ToddCam]

I absolutely agree. I'd much rather have to punish no one.

 

[JWolf]

Here is the cover for Force and Motion

 

[JD]

Very cool cover.

 

[The Wormhole]

Very nice!

 

[Jeffrey_Lang]

Yay! Cover art - at last. Thank you, Doug Drexler!

 

[Avro Arrow]

Great cover!

(Although the station looks very Starfleet-y for something what was described in the blurb as a "private science station".)

That little ship in the background... is that something we've seen before? I can't place it.

 

[Csalem]

Oh I like it. Makes me wish my Kindle was in colour and not black and white.
Really looking forward to this as it has been a while since we had an O'Brien story.

 

[Jeffrey_Lang]

Great cover!

(Although the station looks very Starfleet-y for something what was described in the blurb as a "private science station".)

That little ship in the background... is that something we've seen before? I can't place it.

There is a reason the station looks Starfleet-y. The little ship is based on a type seen very briefly in a DS9 episode. All will be revealed.

 

[Jarvisimo]

@Jeffrey_Lang, this looks & sounds great! Just to check, there is this line in Ascendance where Nog refers to an adventure with the Chief - I presume, then, that Force and Motion is set before Ascendance? Or is it set after? Merci!