Hypothetical Situation - Could you be in my crew?
- Thread starter USS Triumphant
- Start date
If you think you'd need tissues, I think you're missing the point of the holodeck.
My goal with the platform was to eliminate the bulk of martial ability from the area, and maybe then they would really TALK, and work out their own problems. Kirk and Picard would resolve the problems of the Middle East in an episode - but that's not realistic.
Also, the platform wouldn't discriminate about whose weapons they were - it would, for instance, beam away ICBMs fired from outside of the area, or tanks being brought from ships at the shore. And the platform would be dismantled if things ever reached a point where it was not needed - and if the people there didn't decide they wanted it.
But, none of my solutions are chiselled in stone, by any means. I'd certainly welcome ideas for alternate ways to achieve our goals. I'm most interested in what would work.
I thought about this, but I am disinclined for two reasons:
First, the principles behind the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution are mostly good and valid ones, IMO. And based on this, I don't want the people of the Middle East disarmed permanently - it'd just be nice to give them a time-out.
Second, defense against outside invasion. It wouldn't due to disarm to world just in time to meet some hostile alien force.
Well, if you make sure the planet has a defense grid, people won't need weapons. Not to mention the fact that without personal armament, the planet would be a much nicer place.
The planet would definitely have a defense grid far superior to that shown in Best of Both Worlds, but...
Although ... maybe we could find a technological solution for the first of those. And the second could be dealt with by allowing stunners - phasers with safeties and no setting higher than heavy stun? Heavier weaponry could be distributed by transporters in the event of a planetary invasion or similar emergency.
...an armed populace is necessary to keep governments in check, and people should have a right to defend themselves.
Although ... maybe we could find a technological solution for the first of those. And the second could be dealt with by allowing stunners - phasers with safeties and no setting higher than heavy stun? Heavier weaponry could be distributed by transporters in the event of a planetary invasion or similar emergency.
I'm with you on that one.
That would solve the biggest problem I have with the right for a civilian to arm himself; the fact that there is no stun-setting; the possibility for abuse is simply too great. Transport all weapons out and stunners in and I like the idea a whole lot better.
I guess I can come along, provided you look and sound like Kelsey Grammar.
In spite of the fact that removing all nukes and armaments from select areas would effectively remove humaity's motivation for finding solutions on it's own in a likely slow and painful, possibly bloody unstable process - I'm in.
The chance of that kind of adventure for me and my family would be too irresistable. I would be very interested in medical advances ( my son is developmentally disabled) and I would like to see what could be done for people like him.
A friend recently visited India and was heartbroken to see the conditions so many people there live in - human feces in the streets, no infrastructure, no clean water, no safety measures for vulnerable - people living like animals in caves. appalling that such inequality still exists. that a solution to that could be within our grasp would be irresponsible to NOT try to.
The chance of that kind of adventure for me and my family would be too irresistable. I would be very interested in medical advances ( my son is developmentally disabled) and I would like to see what could be done for people like him.
A friend recently visited India and was heartbroken to see the conditions so many people there live in - human feces in the streets, no infrastructure, no clean water, no safety measures for vulnerable - people living like animals in caves. appalling that such inequality still exists. that a solution to that could be within our grasp would be irresponsible to NOT try to.
While I was writing in character...yes--if you strip away the Cardassian element to my response, you pretty much have how I feel about it. I really do believe that outside intervention of this nature would be quite dangerous and likely do more harm than good, and that human nature will not change, whatever the outward surroundings. I also know that if I were on Earth hearing about this, I could not trust the motives of someone who approached us in this manner.
(I am, of course, discarding the fact that I know you from this board; this is how I would react if it were someone else, and it actually happened.)
If you're wanting to achieve world peace with a starship, you're probably best of threatening to wipe the surface to a cinder if people keep warring. Hardly ethical, but I don't see how you'd accomplish it otherwise.
If the existence of the starship is a secret, then you could do the ol' pretend-to-be-an-alien-ship-and-humble-the-earth-into-uniting trick.
Exploration would be fun - for a few decades, and then when it turns out the Real World doesn't have any alien civilizations on every corner, terraforming and colonization would be probably take over before long.
If the existence of the starship is a secret, then you could do the ol' pretend-to-be-an-alien-ship-and-humble-the-earth-into-uniting trick.
Exploration would be fun - for a few decades, and then when it turns out the Real World doesn't have any alien civilizations on every corner, terraforming and colonization would be probably take over before long.
As long as i can wear a patch or get some sort of anti-motionsickness shot. Im there!
Just an aside: how many shuttles may I crash? Per week? 3? 4?
I would be willing to join and follow the chain of command. BUT! I would have some difficulty following your order on the more difficult descisions (such as not helping people who needed it for some reason or other) as I wouldn't be able to completely trust your judgement, not having risen to Fleet Admiral through the ranks. However if I have read this wrong and you have legitimately earned this position then I would have no problem following orders.
I think you can still kill someone by hitting them with heavy stun over and over in a short period of time - but you can also kill them with a baseball bat, and at least this way, it would be clear whether someone was using a stunner to defend themselves or intentionally to kill.
I don't, but the ship's computer, aka Lt. Cmdr. Richard Bateson, does.
Definitely noble causes. Welcome aboard.
I did give threats as a means of bringing world peace some thought before setting it aside - it is MUCH better for people to want the changes, for a lot of reasons.
But, if I were going to do that, I would give 48 hours of warning for the city to be evacuated and observers from international governments to get into place, I would make certain that the city was cleared of people using transporters, and then I would blow the everlovin' hell out of Indianapolis, Indiana. I frikkin' hate that place.
And then, I would use transporters and replicators and build the refugees the first of those 23rd century tech cities to live in - both by way of apologizing for the inconvenience of the evacuation, and to apologize for the fact that they ever had to live in Indianapolis in the first place. I don't hate the people, just the city. But I would insist that they call it something else.
I think that would provide ample example of both the power I can wield against troublemakers, and the benefits I can provide.
But like I said, I don't think that would be the best option.
Why do you assume there wouldn't be aliens? I think it is much more likely that there would be. But even if not, terraforming and colonization could be cool, too. Or... the ship's computer does contain the genetics for the various species of the Federation....
This isn't Voyager, dammit.
I'll join so long as I can be the traitor. Aliens pay well.
I think you'd be better off counting on an existing Earth government to pay you to acquire the technology than aliens we may or may not meet.
But either way, that's still kinda short-sighted. Just wait a bit and the replicator based economy would let you have almost anything you want, anyway. Unless you're power-hungry?
If you're going to try to muck about with the Earth's climate and involve yourself in politics, I'm going to blow your ship up. I've no reason to trust your judgment or expertise on any of this.
hellsgate
Commodore
I could be among your crew BUT, I'd have to know I wouldn't be charged with the equivalent of "Violating The Prime Directive" or (in the pursuit of uncensored/free internet,) inadvertantly give angry youth, jilted spouses or random mentally challenged/disturbed individuals the means to do a hundred times more harm than good.
I'd tread carefully. I'd go in and try something like The Starfleet Diplomatic Corps first. Solve the underlying problems while offering the option of warp transport to a Class M (or "terraforming project") world to develop and flourish as each culture wishes to, with no further interference from you and/or me and/or the option of frequent communication with their loved ones and future transport of their loved ones to their new planetary "Washington D.C." of their belief system.
If they ~ALL~ want to leave, GREAT! One problem solved.
If the moderates and the hardliners both see our FTL technology and want to lawfully/peacefully talk/negotiate, meanwhile the hardliners choose to leave for a planetary homeland of their own making. (Hopefully) leaving the far-less-violent / more moderate crowd with the option to stay behind on Earth to choose to lawfully / peacefully live/work in global peace. BETTER! Military Occupations the world over would be utterly DONE.
I'd love to beam over volunteer crews and assist the matter/energy transport of whatever FERTILE volcanic soils are spewed up from Hawaii or wherever else to Ethiopia.
(I'd love to be the founder of a 2380 version of "Doctors without borders", etc.)
After all the truly aggressive jerks are chilled out, everything else will fall into place on its own. Jobs would start popping-up at random, people would feel better about themselves and their lives in general. If they can't chill out on their own, they'd be asked or sentenced to leave, or there would be spots opening up in hospitals for those in truly sincere pursuit of mental/physical health to get better ---- or failing that, donate themselves to science.
Christ, it would be like a global disneyland. When was the last time you saw Muslims and Jewish (obsessive-compulsive, blood oath-taking, extremist-hardliners) REALLY going for broke at each other with automatic weapons at Magic Mountain?
I'd tread carefully. I'd go in and try something like The Starfleet Diplomatic Corps first. Solve the underlying problems while offering the option of warp transport to a Class M (or "terraforming project") world to develop and flourish as each culture wishes to, with no further interference from you and/or me and/or the option of frequent communication with their loved ones and future transport of their loved ones to their new planetary "Washington D.C." of their belief system.
If they ~ALL~ want to leave, GREAT! One problem solved.
If the moderates and the hardliners both see our FTL technology and want to lawfully/peacefully talk/negotiate, meanwhile the hardliners choose to leave for a planetary homeland of their own making. (Hopefully) leaving the far-less-violent / more moderate crowd with the option to stay behind on Earth to choose to lawfully / peacefully live/work in global peace. BETTER! Military Occupations the world over would be utterly DONE.
I'd love to beam over volunteer crews and assist the matter/energy transport of whatever FERTILE volcanic soils are spewed up from Hawaii or wherever else to Ethiopia.
(I'd love to be the founder of a 2380 version of "Doctors without borders", etc.)
After all the truly aggressive jerks are chilled out, everything else will fall into place on its own. Jobs would start popping-up at random, people would feel better about themselves and their lives in general. If they can't chill out on their own, they'd be asked or sentenced to leave, or there would be spots opening up in hospitals for those in truly sincere pursuit of mental/physical health to get better ---- or failing that, donate themselves to science.
Christ, it would be like a global disneyland. When was the last time you saw Muslims and Jewish (obsessive-compulsive, blood oath-taking, extremist-hardliners) REALLY going for broke at each other with automatic weapons at Magic Mountain?
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