General Trek Questions and Observations

[Orphalesion]

If you are writing about the British royal family, the head of it, the monarch, has an role in government. The monarch more or less makes every decision of the parliament, the cabinet, and the prime minister happen by giving their assent. Of course it has been a century or two since the monarch has not given their assent to the will of the government.

I note that most countries in the world have a separate head of government, like a prime minister, who runs the government and rules the country, and head of state, such as a president or a monarch, who is the living symbol of the country. Countries where the head of government and head of state are the same person, like the president of the USA, or the King of Saudi Arabia, are a minority. Which doesn't mean that the many heads of state who are not heads of government have no governmental functions at all.

Yeah we know. Still gonna be difficult to be head of state of a state that no longer exists or sovereign of a nation that's no longer sovereign.

Fair enough. Not that I would think it particularly likely that French would evolve in exactly that direction even though I wouldn't be too surprised for it to incorporate some English influences. But, you can never know

Don't worry I wasn't too serious about that
But I could see Lower Decks using that explanation....

 

[MAGolding]

Yeah we know. Still gonna be difficult to be head of state of a state that no longer exists or sovereign of a nation that's no longer sovereign.....

Unfortunately you replied to my post number 1160 before I finished working on it.

 

[Orphalesion]

Unfortunately you replied to my post number 1160 before I finished working on it.

I don't have the time to reply properly now (I will later)
But using kingdoms in the HRE or the absolute clusterfuck that was the Habsburg Empire as examples is pretty complicated. Both those examples you listed (Bohemia and Slavonia) existed inside an empire (and an Emperor outranks a king) and both of those kingdoms ended up in personal union with the Empires they were part of.
I work under the assumption that there are no nation states anymore on 24th century Earth. So Queen Lizzie's descendant (assuming the line survives) would not be the head of state of anything anymore.

 

[Oddish]

Probably not. But, I could see other Federation worlds having monarchies like the one of today: the sovereign has little real power, but is greatly honored nonetheless. While things like caste based discrimination might be banned under the Federation charter, I don't see why royal families would be.

 

[at Quark's]

Well, we know the catholic church still probably is there in the 22nd century as Phlox tells us about at mass he attends at Saint Peter's Square. Technically, I believe the pope is counted as a monarch. (though the papacy itself might not survive into the 22nd century).

 

[Oddish]

It's lasted nearly 2000 years, though I doubt the actual St. Peter would call himself a Pope (or even a saint). Another 130 is entirely possible.

 

[Tim Thomason]

Well, we know the catholic church still probably is there in the 22nd century as Phlox tells us about at mass he attends at Saint Peter's Square. Technically, I believe the pope is counted as a monarch. (though the papacy itself might not survive into the 22nd century).

The Vatican City State situation is relatively modern, however, and it's likely the Pope will exist even after the Vatican's retrocession into Italy/European Hegemony/United Earth. A core tenet of Catholicism is papal supremacy and the Petrine ministry, so as long as Catholicism exists, there will (likely) be a Pope.

 

[at Quark's]

The Vatican City State situation is relatively modern, however, and it's likely the Pope will exist even after the Vatican's retrocession into Italy/European Hegemony/United Earth. A core tenet of Catholicism is papal supremacy and the Petrine ministry, so as long as Catholicism exists, there will (likely) be a Pope.

True; however the pope acted as a significant worldly power for many centuries, claiming authority even over sovereign rulers, and had the possession over a significant part of current-day Itally, called the Papal States until it was finally taken from them by 1870. In fact, I think the agreement between the Italian government and the papacy about the creation of Vatican City can be seen as kind of acquiescence from the side of the papacy that they weren't a worldly power anymore and would henceforth be content with this (almost) symbolic miniature state from now on- but I would have to re-read some of my history books to make sure. It's for that reason exactly that I think it might even survive the transition into a World Government.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Why is there an option to disengage safety protocols on the holodeck? Makes no sense.

 

[Oddish]

Why is there an option to disengage safety protocols on the holodeck? Makes no sense.

If the holodeck is to be effective in any way, it has to be capable of simulating solid matter. Therefore, if the protocols fail, the holodeck can kill. The only way of making the holodeck exclusively nonlethal would be to ensure that it never creates anything solid.

Since the holodeck cannot be rendered reliably safe without it... not being the holodeck, the safety protocols have to be what they are: potentially fallible. And since they can fail, it stands to reason that they can be made to fail intentionally.

However, it should be much more difficult than it Is to disengage them. Only a command level officer should have the authority, and there should always be a legitimate reason (something like, say, Worf's right of ascension).

 

[at Quark's]

^Perhaps when you need to exercise something that really pushes your limits for a dangerous away mission and you can't push yourself beyond a certain subconscious barrier as long as you know you are not actually in any danger, yet you need the exercise in before you go on the real away mission.... that kind of thing, possibly. Better to do it on the ship, where medical help is still close at hand, even if the holodeck safeties are off.

 

[Oddish]

I'm also wondering if you can reduce the safety protocols: ensure that you won't die, but allow for injuries like bruises and broken bones. That would be handy for combat training, I think.

 

[at Quark's]

Or, can you sustain injuries in the first place on the holodeck, even with safeties on ? (Like you can get injured at home, even if that isn't supposed to be dangerous).

Suddenly I find myself picturing a scene with Neelix limping off the holodeck with a sprained ankle, complaining to the computer how he could have gotten injured while the safeties were on, only to be told by it that it cannot compensate for that level of clumsiness.

 

[Oddish]

Presumably, the holodeck can only reduce the danger from things it simulates. Things that actually exist, like the floor or the walls, can still cause harm.

 

[Orphalesion]

Now I kind of wonder, can you still use the holodeck to get a good look at deadly situations without dying? And how far would that safety go?

Can you use the holodeck to experience the eruption of Vesuvus from within Pompeii without being burned to a crisp? Walk around on the bottom of the sea without breathing operatus?
And would it automatically adjust thing into safe parameters? Like if you wanted to (for whatever reason) watch a nuclear explosion would it reduce the flash to a level that wouldn't harm your eyes?

I mean I know the answer is most certainly "yes" but at the top of my head I can't recall an instance where the holodeck was used to only create intangible projections instead of... Well whatever ST uses to explain it's "hard" holograms.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

O'Brien wrenched his shoulder on the holosuite (I think he was whitewater rafting iirc). I don't think there was any mention of the safeties being off then.

 

[Oddish]

The holodeck safeties might not be able to stop you from overexertion, because the holodeck can't actually control you.

 

[at Quark's]

O'Brien wrenched his shoulder on the holosuite (I think he was whitewater rafting iirc). I don't think there was any mention of the safeties being off then.

No, but Bashir berates him for using that program, so that program is apparently known to be dangerous. There's talk of 'again' in both episodes where we see it (DS9: Inquisition and TNG: Transfiguration), which could mean it happened to him at least four times. So either O'Brien doesn't learn from his experience, or perhaps this is a program where the safeties are off as a standard (possibly to make things more 'exciting').

 

[matthunter]

Agree that the safeties can only do so much - if you fall, the holodeck might be able to lower gravity to prevent injury (though why this wouldn't also apply to anywhere else on the ship is another matter), but it can't stop you overexerting yourself or failing to dodge/block properly when training with a live partner as per Riker and Jadzia suffering injuries (even if in the latter's case it was just being winded) sparring with Worf (Jadzia could have easily cracked her head when Worf swept her legs out, so either just lucky, knows how to fall or the holosuite helped?)

 

[Oddish]

Probably knows how to fall. Any trained warrior (which Jadzia is) would have that as part of their skill set.