AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have seen multiple exercises like this over the years. I did one in grade school, didn't really get it. I found another one in a quiz book, and remember being frustrated that there was no answer (so I missed the point once again). And there's another one in "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories". The characters are different in each, but the underlying theme is the same: things happen, someone dies, and we have to decide whose fault it was.
It is sometime in the late 2390's, and you are a cadet at Starfleet Academy. You are attending a class in Philosophy and Ethics when your instructor folds down her computer screen and tells you to put down your padds. She explains that she is going to give the class a mental exercise, There is no right or wrong answer, but you will be expected to defend your response. Hearing no questions, the instructor begins to speak:
One day in 2153, the original warp-five starship Enterprise was studying a hypergiant star when they met up with another ship, crewed by the Vissians. As longtime members of the Federation, the Vissians are well known to us now. However, Captain Archer and his people were meeting them for the first time. It was first contact, but not like it happens today, with years of monitoring and surface reconnisance. This was direct interaction between two peoples who hadn't even known the other existed mere hours before. Despite this potential difficulty, the initial contact between the two crews was quite friendly. However, it was not to last.
As many of you probably know, the Vissians require three sexes for procreation: a male, a female, and a rare third sex called the cogenitor. Because there were far fewer cogenitors than males or females, they were required to travel from family to family, to aid in reproduction. Unfortunately, the Vissian culture of the time did not treat cogenitors well, denying them the basic freedoms that men and women took for granted. They were not educated, or allowed to learn to read, or even given names. The Vissian chief engineer and his wife treated the cogenitor living with them as little better than a slave.
Commander Tucker, the chief engineer on Enterprise, outraged at what he saw as abusive treatment, made the decision that he would teach the cogenitor how to read. To that end, he sneaked into her quarters, lying to both his own people and the Vissians about where he was going. However, he was successful: the cogenitor learned to read very quickly, and soon realized the wonder of the universe she lived in for the first time. Soon afterward, she made her way aboard the Enterprise and formally requested asylum on board. Though female in appearance, she gave herself the name Charles, which was Commander Tucker's first name.
For this exercise, it is important that you understand that the Prime Directive did not exist as of yet. Also, Captain Archer was required by Starfleet policies and human customs of the time to consider Charles's request carefully. To that end, he had an informal discussion with the Vissians regarding the matter. He was appalled by the chief engineer and his wife's statements; it was clear that they regarded the cogenitor as little better than livestock, with no inherent value save its ability to aid in conception. They reminded Captain Archer that the Vissian treatment of cogenitors was an aspect of their culture, and that it wasn't Archer's place to interfere. It was plain that they had no intention of treating or regarding Charles as a person with rights of her own.
The Vissian captain, Drennik, while he made it clear that he felt that Charles should be returned, was much more reasonable. Though his ship was technologically superior to the Enterprise, and it had a formidable weapons array, he did not threaten Archer or the Enterprise in any way. Rather, he asked that Archer consider the Vissians' side of the issue. For the sake of this exercise, we will assume that if Archer had granted Charles asylum, Drennik would not have resorted to violence to take her back.
In the end, Archer decided that he had no choice but to reject Charles's request for asylum, and she was returned to the Vissian ship against her will. A short time later, realizing that she was doomed to a bleak and miserable existence, the cogenitor committed suicide.
The classroom is dead silent. Cadets exchange glances but no one speaks. Your instructor lets everyone ruminate for a bit, then continues:
Consider the following carefully:
Captain Archer spoke with the chief engineer and his wife. Their attitude toward Charles was obvious, it it was plain that their opinion (and their treatment of the cogenitor) was not going to change. Undoubtedly, Archer was fully aware of the existence that he was condemning Charles to, and he chose to return her anyway.
Commander Tucker upset a very delicate status quo by teaching the cogenitor to read. Had he not done so, she would never have realized how stunted and limited her life was. As good as his intentions were, his actions set the series of events into motion.
Captain Drennik also requested that Archer to return Charles to her ship, appealing to the friendship that the two had developed over the course of first contact. Further, he was ultimately responsible for everything that happened aboard his vessel.
The chief engineer and his wife, treated as one for our purposes, were the ones most directly responsible for the repression and ill-treatment that Charles was desperate to escape. It was undoubtedly reinstituted with a vengeance when she was returned.
And Charles the cogenitor, in the end, was an intelligent and sentient being. Though the exact mechanics of her death are not known to us, we shall assume that she knew exactly what she was doing.
So the question we ask of you is... who, among these five participants, was the most responsible for the death of Charles, the Vissian cogenitor?
Your instructor falls silent. The ball is in your court. What do you say?
It is sometime in the late 2390's, and you are a cadet at Starfleet Academy. You are attending a class in Philosophy and Ethics when your instructor folds down her computer screen and tells you to put down your padds. She explains that she is going to give the class a mental exercise, There is no right or wrong answer, but you will be expected to defend your response. Hearing no questions, the instructor begins to speak:
One day in 2153, the original warp-five starship Enterprise was studying a hypergiant star when they met up with another ship, crewed by the Vissians. As longtime members of the Federation, the Vissians are well known to us now. However, Captain Archer and his people were meeting them for the first time. It was first contact, but not like it happens today, with years of monitoring and surface reconnisance. This was direct interaction between two peoples who hadn't even known the other existed mere hours before. Despite this potential difficulty, the initial contact between the two crews was quite friendly. However, it was not to last.
As many of you probably know, the Vissians require three sexes for procreation: a male, a female, and a rare third sex called the cogenitor. Because there were far fewer cogenitors than males or females, they were required to travel from family to family, to aid in reproduction. Unfortunately, the Vissian culture of the time did not treat cogenitors well, denying them the basic freedoms that men and women took for granted. They were not educated, or allowed to learn to read, or even given names. The Vissian chief engineer and his wife treated the cogenitor living with them as little better than a slave.
Commander Tucker, the chief engineer on Enterprise, outraged at what he saw as abusive treatment, made the decision that he would teach the cogenitor how to read. To that end, he sneaked into her quarters, lying to both his own people and the Vissians about where he was going. However, he was successful: the cogenitor learned to read very quickly, and soon realized the wonder of the universe she lived in for the first time. Soon afterward, she made her way aboard the Enterprise and formally requested asylum on board. Though female in appearance, she gave herself the name Charles, which was Commander Tucker's first name.
For this exercise, it is important that you understand that the Prime Directive did not exist as of yet. Also, Captain Archer was required by Starfleet policies and human customs of the time to consider Charles's request carefully. To that end, he had an informal discussion with the Vissians regarding the matter. He was appalled by the chief engineer and his wife's statements; it was clear that they regarded the cogenitor as little better than livestock, with no inherent value save its ability to aid in conception. They reminded Captain Archer that the Vissian treatment of cogenitors was an aspect of their culture, and that it wasn't Archer's place to interfere. It was plain that they had no intention of treating or regarding Charles as a person with rights of her own.
The Vissian captain, Drennik, while he made it clear that he felt that Charles should be returned, was much more reasonable. Though his ship was technologically superior to the Enterprise, and it had a formidable weapons array, he did not threaten Archer or the Enterprise in any way. Rather, he asked that Archer consider the Vissians' side of the issue. For the sake of this exercise, we will assume that if Archer had granted Charles asylum, Drennik would not have resorted to violence to take her back.
In the end, Archer decided that he had no choice but to reject Charles's request for asylum, and she was returned to the Vissian ship against her will. A short time later, realizing that she was doomed to a bleak and miserable existence, the cogenitor committed suicide.
The classroom is dead silent. Cadets exchange glances but no one speaks. Your instructor lets everyone ruminate for a bit, then continues:
Consider the following carefully:
Captain Archer spoke with the chief engineer and his wife. Their attitude toward Charles was obvious, it it was plain that their opinion (and their treatment of the cogenitor) was not going to change. Undoubtedly, Archer was fully aware of the existence that he was condemning Charles to, and he chose to return her anyway.
Commander Tucker upset a very delicate status quo by teaching the cogenitor to read. Had he not done so, she would never have realized how stunted and limited her life was. As good as his intentions were, his actions set the series of events into motion.
Captain Drennik also requested that Archer to return Charles to her ship, appealing to the friendship that the two had developed over the course of first contact. Further, he was ultimately responsible for everything that happened aboard his vessel.
The chief engineer and his wife, treated as one for our purposes, were the ones most directly responsible for the repression and ill-treatment that Charles was desperate to escape. It was undoubtedly reinstituted with a vengeance when she was returned.
And Charles the cogenitor, in the end, was an intelligent and sentient being. Though the exact mechanics of her death are not known to us, we shall assume that she knew exactly what she was doing.
So the question we ask of you is... who, among these five participants, was the most responsible for the death of Charles, the Vissian cogenitor?
Your instructor falls silent. The ball is in your court. What do you say?
