"One": How much could you endure?

[DonIago]

With the holodeck I think I'd be okay, though the illusory nature of the 'people' I was dealing with could become problematic.

Without the holodeck it would be a challenge. During COVID and since I don't socialize much in-person, but I do have interactions, at least with people in the grocery store, telephone calls with my coworkers, people talking outside...yes, even interactions that don't directly involve me are still a sense of presence.

Take all that away and Voyager might start to resemble the Overlook Hotel...except you can't even go outside, per se. This is definitely one instance where the E-D would be a better option...not only is it larger, with more places to go, but it generally had more warmth to it.

 

[Oddish]

With the holodeck I think I'd be okay, though the illusory nature of the 'people' I was dealing with could become problematic.

Depends on how good the programmer was, I would think.

 

[DonIago]

Depends on how good the programmer was, I would think.

I don't think I agree. No matter how real they seem, in the end you're going to know they're not real.

 

[Oddish]

I don't think I agree. No matter how real they seem, in the end you're going to know they're not real.

If you have good interpersonal skills, and an active and vibrant network or friendships and relationships, then a holodeck will be a poor substitute.
If your interpersonal skills are a trainwreck, and you have acquaintances and people who tolerate you rather than close friends, and the only dates you ever had are fruit... you might do fine with holograms.

 

[fireproof78]

I don't think I agree. No matter how real they seem, in the end you're going to know they're not real.

I mean, OK, but I don't feel very real with people any way so it's about the same.

 

[DonIago]

Well, this thread took a turn for the depressing... :|

 

[Sumire]

Well, this thread took a turn for the depressing... :|

Look at it in another way, neural differences can be treated like a bug or a feature. Perhaps people who have more spatial, mechanical, mathematical, logical etc. intelligence than interpersonal/emotional intelligence are specially suited for space exploration and the isolation it may require. Takes all kinds as the saying goes, or more appropriately, IDIC FTW.

 

[Jedi Marso]

Good evening!

If it were you that had to remain active on board Voyager for a solid month while the crew slumbered, how long do you suspect you would last before cracking due to the loneliness?

It would be like a vacation. Can you imagine how tiresome it would be to be jammed up on the ship with the same few hundred people day in, day out, eating crappy food, suffering shortages in other areas, and under the constant strain and stress of not knowing if you were ever going to make it home? The ship's counsellor must have been working overtime for 7 straight years.

30 days of vacation from the closest friends I can never escape from? Hell, I'd volunteer.

 

[jackoverfull]

Many of us experienced a bit of this during COVID of course.

Personally I lived for 2 and half months in my apartment back then, my only in person interactions being buying groceries and once when a couple of repairmen came to fix a window. Video calls were not possible due to the bad network performance caused by everyone being at home online, but I kept in contact with family and friends using the regular phone.

My job was among the first to get axed due to the pandemic, so I wasn’t working and I still hadn’t enrolled into the conservatory, I did quite well though, reading a lot, writing both music and stories and recording.

 

[fireproof78]

Well, this thread took a turn for the depressing... :|

It all comes down to perception. To me, people have a certain level of difficulty that has not gotten easier with age. Either I'm more curmudgeonly as I get older, or I simply recognize that I have a less desire to socialize as much as when I was in college. Not sure, but I think 30 days of getting a ship to myself would be pretty damn fun.

 

[DonIago]

I still think that this scenario goes beyond anything most of us have ever experienced, even during COVID. It's not just the 1:1 interactions that we'd lose, but even indirect interactions...hearing other people talking, or moving in spaces adjacent to our homes, or looking out the window and seeing them. It would be more akin to surviving an apocalyptic event in which all humanity and other lifeforms simply vanished entirely. Like, even as I'm writing this I'm hearing my downstairs neighbor to some extent and cars driving by outside on occasion.

Thinking about it that way, one thing that might help me would be setting the computer to create some level of ambient white noise throughout the parts of the ship I was traversing. Nothing -too- intrusive, but the kinds of random noises that inevitably come from sharing a space with other people.

 

[josiephine]

Good evening!

If it were you that had to remain active on board Voyager for a solid month while the crew slumbered, how long do you suspect you would last before cracking due to the loneliness?

I would crack by the end of the first week.

I would make it to the end, though. But I'd need a month of leave to recover from it.

 

[fireproof78]

I still think that this scenario goes beyond anything most of us have ever experienced, even during COVID. It's not just the 1:1 interactions that we'd lose, but even indirect interactions...hearing other people talking, or moving in spaces adjacent to our homes, or looking out the window and seeing them. It would be more akin to surviving an apocalyptic event in which all humanity and other lifeforms simply vanished entirely. Like, even as I'm writing this I'm hearing my downstairs neighbor to some extent and cars driving by outside on occasion.

Thinking about it that way, one thing that might help me would be setting the computer to create some level of ambient white noise throughout the parts of the ship I was traversing. Nothing -too- intrusive, but the kinds of random noises that inevitably come from sharing a space with other people.

Sounds good to me. People are drive me crazy. A ship all on my own? I can program it with all kinds of different ambiance for different experiences. I could try new things and not worry about people asking how it went.

I routinely turn my radio off in the car and just listen to the engine and the air moving while looking at the scenery. I require no interaction during that process. It's usually about an hour commute each way. It sounds nice to me. And I didn't have that experience for COVID since I kept working, talking to people and interacting with people in some way.

 

[Ragitsu]

If this episode is any indication, the Borg are super-extroverts.

 

[DonIago]

If this episode is any indication, the Borg are super-extroverts.

Of all the races we've seen, the Borg (at least while assimilated) are probably the ones that have the least familiarity with any concept of loneliness.

 

[Thomas Eugene]

Good evening!

If it were you that had to remain active on board Voyager for a solid month while the crew slumbered, how long do you suspect you would last before cracking due to the loneliness?

It's difficult to say. I like to think of myself as a courageous person who would bravely face whatever odds one-month-long loneliness threw at him.
The truth is, however, that you never know. I'd actually have to be under those circumstances to find it out. One thing is clear, I'd often run to those coffins when I was not busy just to make sure that my camarades are there with me - even if fast asleep.

 

[Oddish]

One thing is clear, I'd often run to those coffins when I was not busy just to make sure that my camarades are there with me - even if fast asleep.

And hoping the ship's computer didn't lose its bioneural marbles and do something like this...

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[ReddishAlert]

I think of myself as a solitary guy (even though I have to talk a lot in my job) because in my personal life I stay to myself.

But when I quit drinking I realized how I missed the sound of people talking around me in bars. It never occurred to me that was a comfort until I stopped drinking and I not only was on my own but on my days off sometimes wouldn’t hear another human voice all day.

So I agree with those above. The complete absence of hearing voices etc. is harder than just being a “solitary” person in life.

But I also agree with the person who said being responsible would ground them. I do a lot of things I force myself to do because I am in charge at my job. And being responsible is motivation for enduring psychological distress by focusing on the outcome rather than the experience.

So maybe yes I could last or maybe not. If I had my dog I’d be ok :-)

 

[Ragitsu]

The ship's counsellor must have been working overtime for 7 straight years.

How did I miss this?

*ahem*

...counselor?

 

[Malicia]

It feels like there should have been more scenes between identifying the solution to carrying it out and seems a bit of a knee-jerk reaction from Captain Janeway to move that fast. Considering a crew member had already been killed and the duration added from going around the nebula I would have expected the captain to at least spend more time contemplating the situation and maybe an evening meal with Tuvoc or Chakotay for one of their an off the record chats about it. There's none of that it's literally Janeway says let's do it and the next scene the crew are in the stasis pods. The conveniently large supply of stasis pods.

It would have made more sense to have also found a way to allow another crew member to remain operational perhaps with radiation suits and a protected zone they can live in during the trip so Harry or Tom could be part of the team but if they could do that they could have protected the holodeck so the senior crew could live on the holodeck and The Doctor and Seven could pop in every day with a sitrep. Despite how highly skilled and efficient The Doctor and Seven are they would have been underprepared if they encountered a hostile species and needed to make split second tactical decisions. They needed someone like Harry or Tom at the helm but maybe that could risk a Lord Of The Flies scenario unfolding.

I wouldn't like the job of running the ship while the crew are in stasis and the chance of encountering someone sleepwalking or hallucinating. The sounds from the once busy bridge and mess hall is replaced with deafening silence and the constant fear of being startled by someone sleep walking with a blank stare is Kubrick/Hitchcock scary. I would keep busy on the holodeck and try out some of Paris' wild west saloons for a game of pool and mug of grog after my daily shift and try to keep to a routine. A month isn't that long and I'd also use the music room (if there is one) or play music through Voyager's computer. I like the sound of silence but sometimes it needs to be complimented with music and The Doctor's classical library would more than suffice.

I'd probably move some furniture around in the recreation areas just for the sake of keeping occupied and look out for minor repairs like squeaky door hinges and wonky tables. I'd walk around with a tool belt pretending I'm a cowboy.

If I was with The Doctor and Seven for the month there's only one word......KARAOKE!!!!