One Thing Trek Lit Needs to Address...
- Thread starter LutherSloan
- Start date
Yes, and I know that there is a Denobulan doctor that works in Dr. Crusher's sickbay as of the TNG-relaunch novels.
Hmm... well the Shatnerverse books make an attempt to cover...everything they can.
But - whatever happened to all the world religions, especially monotheist ones, once warp drive and first contact happened? Life can't all be science and exploration - even in the future, I imagine there would be huge sociological changes and psychological issues as entire worldviews were disproved or were forced to be altered.
I think that could be a polorizing thing for a writer to put in a book, but it's always made me wondered how the Earth I know would cope with the reality of other humanoids --- which isn't something Star Trek handles, it's just a foundational assumption that we're not alone.
But - whatever happened to all the world religions, especially monotheist ones, once warp drive and first contact happened? Life can't all be science and exploration - even in the future, I imagine there would be huge sociological changes and psychological issues as entire worldviews were disproved or were forced to be altered.
I think that could be a polorizing thing for a writer to put in a book, but it's always made me wondered how the Earth I know would cope with the reality of other humanoids --- which isn't something Star Trek handles, it's just a foundational assumption that we're not alone.
Actually, Dr. Tropp goes back to the A Time to... series. He first showed up in A Time to Sow by Mssrs. Ward & Dilmore and he recurred throughout the remaining books; I also made sure to include him in Q & A, and both Christopher and Dave kept him around in Greater than the Sum and Destiny (he only appears in Book 2 of the latter).
Well, several of us author types have made sure to have religious humans here and there. As an example, Captain David Gold of the Corps of Engineers series is a practicing Jew (married to a rabbi, and he observes Yom Kippur in his Tales from the Captain's Table story), and we got to present the first Klingon-Jewish wedding in Creative Couplings.
The same way world religions have dealt with being disproven on a host of other issues, I would imagine... reframe the canon to 'allegorically' or 'metaphorically' mean something other than what it actually says but which is supposedly compatible (with vast amounts of mental stretching) with objective reality, while simultaneously whittling down the direct influence of theological forces to whatever phenomena have yet to be explicated empyrically (the 'Shrinking God Syndrome').
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Not so "shrinking" depending on how one views it. The more forces and phenomena I learn about through science, the more I see the intricacy of God's work.
As for the issue of religion in the Trekiverse...well, I've had ideas on what happened. I won't put them here, but all I'll say is there was some definite ugliness involved.
As for the issue of religion in the Trekiverse...well, I've had ideas on what happened. I won't put them here, but all I'll say is there was some definite ugliness involved.
I knew I could count on you when all others fail!
I remember that there was an early episode of Babylon 5 that dealt with the very topic of religion where the main delagates had to show their race's religion. I remember Captain Sinclair kept wondering how to handle this as unlike the other races, there was no predominant religion. I remember his solution involved him leading the delegates down a long row of representatives from different religions.
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Well, several of us author types have made sure to have religious humans here and there. As an example, Captain David Gold of the Corps of Engineers series is a practicing Jew (married to a rabbi, and he observes Yom Kippur in his Tales from the Captain's Table story), and we got to present the first Klingon-Jewish wedding in Creative Couplings.
And new Enterprise security chief Jasminder Choudhury is Hindu, although she's very open-minded about exploring all spiritual traditions (which is itself a Hindu tradition). Also, in GTTS, I hinted vaguely that science officer Dina Elfiki might be Muslim, though I left it to later authors to follow up on that or not. There was a devout Muslim member of Earth's government in my SCE story Aftermath.
What might be interesting, though, is to see some new human religion. Religion isn't a static thing; new faiths and new variants of faiths have emerged many times in our history, especially in times and places where heavy cross-cultural interaction was going on. When different worldviews and philosophies intermingle, new faiths evolve. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism are all themselves products of such syncretism. So when human and alien philosophies intermingle, there should be interesting new religions arising from that.
^ Along the same lines, I established in Star Trek Vanguard that Atish Khatami, who currently in the saga is the captain of the Endeavour, is a muslim; Commodore Reyes, during a memorial service, quotes from the Psalms; after Reyes's memorial address, his XO directs people to the station's clergy, which include a rabbi, a nondenominational Christian minister, a Buddhist monk, and also Andorian and Tellarite religious figures.
Another example, from my first novel, Wildfire, is the transporter chief Diego Feliciano: When he stays at his post knowing it will cost him his life, he recites (in Spanish) the Hail Mary, suggesting that he is a Catholic.
Another example, from my first novel, Wildfire, is the transporter chief Diego Feliciano: When he stays at his post knowing it will cost him his life, he recites (in Spanish) the Hail Mary, suggesting that he is a Catholic.
In addition to what I said before about new religions, I think it would be cool to see some interspecies crossover -- an Andorian Jew, a human Prophetist, a Klingon Sikh, a Tellarite Surakist, that sort of thing.
there's one alien dude in Wildfire (a Bolian?) who worships the Damiani god IIRC...
How about a Vulcan that worships the FSM? 
I don't want to open up any can of worms here, but I've come to speculate whether or not some of the tenets of Bajoran faith were influenced in the creative/development process by the LDS Faith....several of my friends in my house and I have watched several episodes of DS9 (and I got them to read some of the books; Unity and Terok Nor specifically), and one of them seemed to think that there could have been some influence...it's as much as we go to describing the Bajorans as Mojormons here at home...kinda corny, but understand, I'm not saying that it IS fact; just speculation. I don't want to open any can of worms here.
Oh, and as for Future Guy:
"It seems today, or in the days to be
That all you see is shadows and holograms on TV
But where are your traditional Trekkie bad guys
On which we could always rely!
Oh I wish I could be E.N.T.'s Future Guy
Who always talked to Sillik
Who could always be sadistic
And who would make Sam Beckett
Pout and Cry!
He's ENT's Future Guy!"
Oh, and as for Future Guy:
"It seems today, or in the days to be
That all you see is shadows and holograms on TV
But where are your traditional Trekkie bad guys
On which we could always rely!
Oh I wish I could be E.N.T.'s Future Guy
Who always talked to Sillik
Who could always be sadistic
And who would make Sam Beckett
Pout and Cry!
He's ENT's Future Guy!"
i have no freakin clue why the hell i wrote Wildfire, i KNEW it was Invincible...
JeremyW said:
Future Guy, Future Guy
Gives us info on days gone by.
Who is he? No one knows.
Maybe he just wants retro clothes.
Look out! Here comes the Future Guy.
