The Dark Side of the Federation and Starfleet

[Shawnster]

A lot is made of the utopian vision the Federation has portrayed over the course of Star Trek. Repeatedly now we see people say "that's not Gene's vision" every time Star Trek goes dark or looks less than utopian. However, it was brought to my mind recently that, even in TOS first season there are instances that state or imply that the Federation and/or Starfleet is not quite the utopia people think it is.


Here's the example that was given in the Mission Log podcast I was listening to. In "Space Seed" Kirk says about Khan at one point; "Captain's Log. Stardate 3143.3. Control of the Enterprise has been regained. I wish my next decisions were no more difficult. Khan and his people. What a waste to put them in a reorientation centre. And what do I do about McGivers?"

Now, here's the thing. Apparently there are "reorientation centers" in the Federation. Is this a gulag? Is it just a prison? Is it a place where criminals are brainwashed to be reoriented? Are these like the re-education camps that are popular in Communist nations both in the past and even today? Why would it be a waste to put Khan in such a facility? Would it do something to him?

What are some of the dark sides of the Federation or Starfleet have you picked up on? Examples from before Roddenberry died would make excellent points, but I'm sure all eras of Trek are open to review.

 

[fireproof78]

The biggest ones for me come from use of the Neural Neuralizer as a possible treatment for mental health disorder, and that such colonies would be acceptable. So, it reminds me of the reorientation centers you discuss.

But, more troubling for me is the how Spock describes the society that has been built to very specific specifications. Everything is organized, preplanned and sterilized ("Way to Eden") and that going outside of that is so foreign that Spock has to explain it to Kirk.

So, does everyone just go along with the prefabricated communities?

 

[The Wormhole]

The Federation as depicted on screen appears to be some sort of military dictatorship. After all, Starfleet apparently has all the power and cover everything in the Federation. Defense, exploration, civic security, it's all done by Starfleet. Hell, when worlds join the Federation, they give up their defense forces and police forces and allow Starfleet to take over both functions. What few things Starfleet doesn't cover, are still state run by the Federation government, like the Federation News Service.

 

[FederationHistorian]

Well, what makes reorientation centers bad? Maybe the purpose it to help criminals or other troubled individuals be rehabbed and sent back into 23rd century society. And Kirk is just remarking what a waste it is on Khan and his crew, given they are genetically engineered supermen & superwomen.

To me, Starfleet General Order 24, ordering all life to be exterminated on a planet, comes to mind. That its use seems to be indiscriminate in both peacetime and wartime situations makes me wonder what were the origins of such an order? If the Prime Directive was established in 2167, then some serious situation must have occurred over the next century to justify the creation of General Order 24 by the time Kirk took command of the Enterprise. It does mean ALL life - plants, animals, civilians, everything.

 

[Imaus]

Well, what makes reorientation centers bad? Maybe the purpose it to help criminals or other troubled individuals be rehabbed and sent back into 23rd century society. And Kirk is just remarking what a waste it is on Khan and his crew, given they are genetically engineered supermen & superwomen.

To me, Starfleet General Order 24, ordering all life to be exterminated on a planet, comes to mind. That its use seems to be indiscriminate in both peacetime and wartime situations makes me wonder what were the origins of such an order? If the Prime Directive was established in 2167, then some serious situation must have occurred over the next century to justify the creation of General Order 24 by the time Kirk took command of the Enterprise. It does mean ALL life - plants, animals, civilians, everything.

Probably a few Daedalus classes came across Nano-tech ridden or Insect-bug-hive worlds, and thus they needed to be wiped out. Maybe even a few bug-hunts that were 'localized' but still traumatic.

 

[NCC-73515]

The Federation as depicted on screen appears to be some sort of military dictatorship. After all, Starfleet apparently has all the power and cover everything in the Federation. Defense, exploration, civic security, it's all done by Starfleet. Hell, when worlds join the Federation, they give up their defense forces and police forces and allow Starfleet to take over both functions. What few things Starfleet doesn't cover, are still state run by the Federation government, like the Federation News Service.

Ridiculous. The Federation Council is not under SF control, it seems to be democratically elected. Vulcan still had its own ships and intelligence service in TNG. The news services are not run by governments simply because the organization's name appears in it (is USA Today run by the US government?) XD

 

[fireproof78]

Ridiculous. The Federation Council is not under SF control, it seems to be democratically elected. Vulcan still had its own ships and intelligence service in TNG. The news services are not run by governments simply because the organization's name appears in it (is USA Today run by the US government?) XD

What appears to be and the practical application of power seems to be two different things. Even if Starfleet isn't running the day to day they certainly wield a lot of power in pushing Federation presidents around.

 

[Arpy]

The Federation doesn't have a dark side. They have a drama side. Whenever they need drama something unheard of(!) suddenly happens. Again. And again. But only till there's a need for drama, then it disappears, and we revert to normal.

• The Federation is worse than the Borg spews Eddington! Then he needs them to rescue his beloved and the remaining Maquis.
• The Federation is bigoted against Ferengi! Who enslave their women, don't educate their children, and have no pity for the poor dying in the gutters....until the last episode, when they decree equal rights and labor unions.
• Jake can't buy anything at Quark's because the Federation has evolved beyond money, hippie....only Federation members buy stuff all the time from outside economies.
• And, yes, there are "reorientation centers" or what have you, yet criminals usually request Federation prisons to others.

It's better to wonder how the Federation works as presented than wonder if there's something antithetical there...cough, Section 31, cough...that makes it make more sense to us. That, in fact, would make it the antithesis of what the franchise is even about.

For example, how does Starfleet control both the military and intelligence without there being conflicts of interest or too much concentrated power?

 

[Vger23]

They bastards.

 

[1001001]

 

[Lamplighter]

In TSFS, the guy who arrests Bones is from "Federation Security," which suggests a law enforcement arm outside of Starfleet. It could be the 23rd century's FBI.

To me, the darkest thing about the UFP is that it's a massive bureaucracy where details can get lost in the shuffle or ignored. The Ba'ku situation, for example...

 

[Vger23]

There’s no such thing as pure good.


Despite what some fans have led themselves to believe.

 

[fireproof78]

There’s no such thing as pure good.


Despite what some fans have led themselves to believe.

As Star Trek has demonstrated again and again and again and again.

 

[F. King Daniel]

A dark side, you say?

*glances over at fleet of black Section 31 deathships*

No dark side here.

 

[Arpy]

There’s no such thing as pure good.


Despite what some fans have led themselves to believe.

I don’t know what you’re taking about, I’m pure good.

That said, there is better. Democracies are better than autocracies, though both can work to varying degrees of success, and the Federation is conceptually better than us.

A lot of fictional people fought and worked and died and lived throughout future history to make that possible. It’s arrogant and disrespectful to dismiss their efforts because we think we’re the apex of history and possibility.

 

[fireproof78]

Dismiss? No. But, aware that there is not a perfect society within the Federation and that working to be better should be an on going goal? Yes. Aware that they suffer from similar flaws due to being flawed beings? Also, yes. Capable of great good as well as great evil? Yup.

Acknowledging that there is a dark side shouldn't be arrogant to recognize.

 

[Tribble Threat]

I like the idea of a future where humanity has eliminated many of our problems. But I find that hard to reconcile with Tasha Yar's backstory. And I like Tasha Yar, so I can't really ignore it. How good can the future be if there's an entire planet governed by "rape gangs"?

 

[mike hill]

A lot is made of the utopian vision the Federation has portrayed over the course of Star Trek. Repeatedly now we see people say "that's not Gene's vision" every time Star Trek goes dark or looks less than utopian. However, it was brought to my mind recently that, even in TOS first season there are instances that state or imply that the Federation and/or Starfleet is not quite the utopia people think it is.


Here's the example that was given in the Mission Log podcast I was listening to. In "Space Seed" Kirk says about Khan at one point; "Captain's Log. Stardate 3143.3. Control of the Enterprise has been regained. I wish my next decisions were no more difficult. Khan and his people. What a waste to put them in a reorientation centre. And what do I do about McGivers?"

Now, here's the thing. Apparently there are "reorientation centers" in the Federation. Is this a gulag? Is it just a prison? Is it a place where criminals are brainwashed to be reoriented? Are these like the re-education camps that are popular in Communist nations both in the past and even today? Why would it be a waste to put Khan in such a facility? Would it do something to him?

What are some of the dark sides of the Federation or Starfleet have you picked up on? Examples from before Roddenberry died would make excellent points, but I'm sure all eras of Trek are open to review.

TOS seems to me to show an "improved but still with flaws" humanity, not the utopian version in TNG.
I think that TOS UFP has good intentions, but doesn't always live up to them .
The Conscience of the King shows a failed colony falling into a dictatorship and genocide.
The Galileo 7 highlights racist attitudes towards Vulcans.
Errand of Mercy shows Starfleet officers willing to sacrifice native lives to achieve a strategic goal.
The Cloud Minders society is based upon slavery.
But I think they are better than the whole DS9 Section 31 thing !!!

 

[The Wormhole]

I like the idea of a future where humanity has eliminated many of our problems. But I find that hard to reconcile with Tasha Yar's backstory. And I like Tasha Yar, so I can't really ignore it. How good can the future be if there's an entire planet governed by "rape gangs"?

That's just another example of the franchise's constant insistence of the Federation Way or the Highway. Here we have humans who decide to go it on their own and leave the Federation. As a result, they devolve into complete anarchy with rape gangs. The price you pay for abandoning the shining beacon of civilization that is the Federation!

Eddington's speech comparing the Federation to the Borg contains a lot of truths in it.

 

[Arpy]

Dismiss? No. But, aware that there is not a perfect society within the Federation and that working to be better should be an on going goal? Yes. Aware that they suffer from similar flaws due to being flawed beings? Also, yes. Capable of great good as well as great evil? Yup.

Acknowledging that there is a dark side shouldn't be arrogant to recognize.

It's a far cry from "there is still work to be done" and "unchecked genocidal shadow gestapo." Maybe if the writers spent more time figuring out how to do the former they wouldn't need to resort to the latter.