Drug-Addicted Earth Armies

[Smellincoffee]

Recently I rewatched "Encounter at Farpoint". Before the trial, Q materializes wearing a WW2-era officer's dress uniform, which Picard dismisses as a costume from a period which humanity has grown beyond. Hoping to take Picard down a peg, Q changes his outfit to a soldier from a later period -- the viewer's future. He says humans kept their soldiers in line through narcotic/drug addiction.

Has this reference ever been explored or explained?

 

[Mr Silver]

I don't think so. It's quite possible that post WW3, some nations were using recreational drugs to keep their soldiers in check. We saw one such of those factions in EAF. The whole factions thing is briefly touched upon in FC when Picard tells Lily that he's not a member of the Eastern Coalition.

All we know is that post WW3 until Cochrane's warp flight, Earth was a pretty grim place. They had a cease fire that was necessary to stop them destroying what remained. Military was probably assigned to domestic service, such as keeping the civilian population in line and preventing anarchy.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Non-canon though it may be (since it never actually was written), the logo seen on Q's headgear in that scene would later be revealed as Colonel Green's personal command emblem, thus linking those druggie soldiers to Green's army.

This would have been in an episode of ENT where we learn of that link. It was the episode arc that eventually became Borderland/Cold Station 12/The Augments - it was originally supposed to be about Green, rather than Arik Soong. (Peter Weller would have played Green. They rewrote the whole thing when they learned that Brent Spiner wanted to appear, and thus Arik Soong was 'born')

 

[The Wormhole]

All we really know is that this occurred in the 21st century since we see guards wearing the same outfit in the courtroom scenes.

Presumably this was started during or prior to WWIII. Why? Who knows? Maybe patrotism was no longer considered enough , maybe drugs were so in demand that the government decided to regulate drug usage through military service?

Actually, that is an interesting idea...

 

[MasuPu'a]

There is a Trek book, Federation, that shows a bit about that time period. It's a TOS/TNG crossover novel centered around Cochrane. It shows his life after the discovery of warp, how he ended up on that asteroid, etc. I remember the drug-soldiers were in that book, in fact I think it did mention what drug was used and it's exact effects. From what I remember, the drugs were invented and introduced during WWIII, and there appeared to be some long-term negative side-effects (I think the drugs caused mental deterioration of some kind) that made the soldiers essentially useless after long term use. But it's been a while since I read the book and I'm not certain if it still in print.

The book is interesting, though pretty much non-canonical (particularly when compared to First Contact), but it does offer a deeper look at the WWIII era.

 

[Sybok]

Recently I rewatched "Encounter at Farpoint". Before the trial, Q materializes wearing a WW2-era officer's dress uniform,

its actually USMC class b uniform still worn today but it was indeed used during WWII though

which Picard dismisses as a costume from a period which humanity has grown beyond. Hoping to take Picard down a peg, Q changes his outfit to a soldier from a later period -- the viewer's future. He says humans kept their soldiers in line through narcotic/drug addiction.

Has this reference ever been 'explored or explained?

i could of swore an episode of "Enterprise" featured something regarding WWIII with Colonel Green and a very similar uniform was seen
edit: of nvm, it was that symbol a previous poster said that im thinking of that was in that episode

 

[Timo]

Q: "Rapid progress, to where humans learned to control their military with drugs..."

Three main options there, I think.

Q might be talking about drugs that have a controlling chemical effect - i.e. they make the soldiers go suitably berserk in attack and suitably docile when ordered around by their superiors. Or he might be talking about drugs that make the soldiers feel good, and control that is exerted through regulating the soldiers' access to that drug. Or he might simply be talking about what every military does today already - giving the soldiers drugs that keep them going where non-drugged individuals would fall fast asleep or stop to nurse their wounds.

We see Q-as-soldier take a sniff from his drug dispenser and apparently enjoy the experience. This might suggest Option B, but how is it control when the soldier is given his own supply of the drug to carry? How is the drugged soldier made aware of the fact that only obedience guarantees resupply, when the onboard supply already makes him insensitive to such Earthly troubles?

OTOH, leaving the soldier to himself do the sniffing makes Option A a bit unlikely. How does one guarantee that the soldier doesn't take the berserking dose when asked to become docile?

Option C would sound the likeliest, really. But is it really "control"? Keeping soldiers on uppers has already backfired a couple of times, most notably in recent high-profile media wars where blue-on-blue incidents get unwelcome publicity.

The padded suit is a very welcome scifi element, BTW. Protecting a soldier with soft pillows looks really futuristic for the 1980s (or even today, despite the proliferation of frontline flak jackets) and at the same time oddly realistic... Perhaps the Klingons have the right idea after all?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Yevetha]

Maybe thats where the idea for the Jem'Hadar comes from.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

We see Q-as-soldier take a sniff from his drug dispenser and apparently enjoy the experience. This might suggest Option B

Q looked sarcastic when he took a sniff and then said "Oh...better!" So I wouldn't put too much stock in anything he says. He was making a big joke about it.

 

[captcalhoun]

Federation explains the drug-soldiers serve Adrik Thorsen and Colonel Green's Optimum Movment, which believes in eugenics and anyone not optimal should be executed.

the 'zombies' as they're nicknamed are 'Fourth World' mercenaries and the drugs are said to take away fear and moral compunction.

 

[NSTrekfan]

Just before the guard is shot during the first courtroom scene in Encounter at Farpoint, he takes a sniff and gets a smile on his face. Seems to be fairly clear about the removing fear portion at least.

 

[ChristopherPike]

The WWIII soldier costume is a similar design to cold weather gear seen on ENT.

Both Season 2 episodes. Maybe a clothing fashion that lived on into the next century.

"The Seventh" - the one guest-starring Bruce Davison, as a Vulcan spy gone native

and "Regeneration" - the one where Borg fragments from 2063 are unearthed in the Arctic by Starfleet scientists.

We don't see much of WWIII in "Demons". Basically just a background graphic showing Colonel Green at a rally and learn about his methods of exterminating those who were genetically deficient in some way. Basically that his motivation was to protect future generations from mutations.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Maybe thats where the idea for the Jem'Hadar comes from.

For some reason, I remember that being the case. Might have just been previous fan speculation.

 

[Mark 2000]

Q looked sarcastic when he took a sniff and then said "Oh...better!" So I wouldn't put too much stock in anything he says. He was making a big joke about it.

You forget that the soldier that was executed in the courtroom scene took a hit right before they shot him. Obviously this was meant to be an addictive substance like heroin or cocaine that the soldiers would enjoy but then need and would only be portioned out to keep them in line. No fighting? No drug.