Spoilers PIC: Firewall by David Mack Review Thread

[David Mack]

I am pleased to share the news that this past Friday, July 26, 2024, Star Trek: Picard – Firewall was honored with a Scribe Award from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers for “Best Original Novel, Speculative.”

It was a hotly contested category, as always, and I feel deeply honored that the judges ultimately voted to bestow the award upon Firewall.

In addition, I received a second Scribe Award on Friday, in the category of “Best Short Fiction,” for “Lost and Founder,” my Star Trek: Deep Space Nine short story in issue 8 of Star Trek Explorer magazine. I was told that this category, which was more crowded than the “Best Original Novel, Speculative” category, was even more hotly contested, and that my story just barely squeaked to a first-place finish.

For those keeping score at home, I have now won four Scribe Awards and been nominated for ten, and I have been the recipient of their Faust Award, which honors me as a grandmaster in the field of media tie-in writing.

I offer my gratitude to the Scribe Award judges, my congratulations to this year’s other Scribe Award winners, and my respect to my fellow nominees for Best Original Novel, Speculative, and Best Short Fiction. They all did superlative work, and but for a quirk of fate any of them might well have taken home these awards instead of me.

 

[Elwro]

Congratulations!

 

[Kertrats47]

Getting caught up on the actual reviews on my Trek book review site has been slow going, but I finally published my review of Firewall. Loved this novel, it is very much deserving of the Scribe Award! Congrats, David!

 

[Christopher]

Just finished this one, which I bought direct from Dave at Shore Leave. After rereading these comments, I wish I'd remembered that he envisioned Jessica Henwick as Ellory -- that would've been cool. The one role I cast in my head was Keon Harper, whom I imagined as Paul Sun-Heung Lee.

It's weird to see a Trek novel dealing so heavily with capitalism and money. Even though we know such things are still common outside the Federation, they generally don't come up too heavily in the fiction outside of Ferengi stories. It was odd that Tazgul/Mardani, a Federation official, was so motivated by greed for money along with all the non-UFP characters. Why would he need it? But then, I've often felt that hunger for money must be a form of addiction, given that the richest people are the ones most desperate to gain even more money by any means necessary. Maybe dealing with capitalists outside the UFP gave him a taste for money and he got hooked.

The Prodigy elements did lead to a strange quirk in the way I visualized things: For most of the book I imagined events as if they were live-action, but for all the scenes set on the Dauntless, my imagination switched to Prodigy-style animation. Not sure what to make of that... Perhaps it's because Mr. Mack captured the voices of Tysses and Noum so well that it just evoked an episode of Prodigy.

I did exactly the same, with Admiral Janeway as well as Tysess and Noum.

I found it a little surprising that Janeway had been in command of the Dauntless as early as 2381. I sort of had the impression from Prodigy season 1 that she only took command of the ship to search for Chakotay.

 

[David Mack]

Just finished this one, which I bought direct from Dave at Shore Leave. After rereading these comments, I wish I'd remembered that he envisioned Jessica Henwick as Ellory -- that would've been cool. The one role I cast in my head was Keon Harper, whom I imagined as Paul Sun-Heung Lee.

Whereas I envisioned Jeff Bridges. To each their own.

It's weird to see a Trek novel dealing so heavily with capitalism and money. Even though we know such things are still common outside the Federation, they generally don't come up too heavily in the fiction outside of Ferengi stories.

Capitalist concerns came up fairly frequently on Star Trek: Picard, especially among those depicted as being part of the criminal element with ties to Freecloud.

It was odd that Tazgul/Mardani, a Federation official, was so motivated by greed for money along with all the non-UFP characters. Why would he need it? But then, I've often felt that hunger for money must be a form of addiction, given that the richest people are the ones most desperate to gain even more money by any means necessary. Maybe dealing with capitalists outside the UFP gave him a taste for money and he got hooked.

It wasn’t Tazgül/Mardani who was obsessed with money — it was General Kohgish. He needed the capital to acquire a black-market used Talarian warship to reinforce his hold over the Qiris sector. Mardani/Tazgül was concerned with the money only inasmuch as it was a necessary asset for Kohgish, who he was cultivating as an unofficial military asset against the Romulans. In addition, Mardani wasn't a “Federation official,” he was a disavowed former spymaster for the Federation Security Agency (similar to the FBI).

I did exactly the same, with Admiral Janeway as well as Tysess and Noum.

I found it a little surprising that Janeway had been in command of the Dauntless as early as 2381. I sort of had the impression from Prodigy season 1 that she only took command of the ship to search for Chakotay.

I didn’t see the Dauntless as being under Janeway’s permanent command at that point, but rather just an available vessel that fit her needs and which she commandeered out of necessity and proximity. The fact that it later became her ship and that she formed a significant bond with its senior personnel likely occurred subsequent to the events of Firewall.

 

[Christopher]

Whereas I envisioned Jeff Bridges. To each their own.

I saw "pilot with white beard" and an image of Carson Teva popped into my head, so I went with it. And Keon can be a Korean name, as well as a Gaelic or Persian one. My most recent exposure to Bridges was rewatching Starman, and I haven't seen much of his later work, so he never would've occurred to me.

It wasn’t Tazgül/Mardani who was obsessed with money — it was General Kohgish. He needed the capital to acquire a black-market used Talarian warship to reinforce his hold over the Qiris sector. Mardani/Tazgül was concerned with the money only inasmuch as it was a necessary asset for Kohgish, who he was cultivating as an unofficial military asset against the Romulans. In addition, Mardani wasn't a “Federation official,” he was a disavowed former spymaster for the Federation Security Agency (similar to the FBI).

But didn't you say that the reason he was a former spymaster was because he had embezzled Federation funds? So even when he was living in the UFP, he was committing crimes whose goal was to acquire monetary wealth. Compared to a normal Federation citizen's disinterest in money, a willingness to commit crimes for it seems anomalous, even obsessive.

Now, I'm willing to believe the Federation isn't literally moneyless, just that it has an economy where money isn't required for survival, where capitalism is more an optional pursuit or a hobby than an absolute need. And presumably the UFP government has a treasury it can use for dealings with other nations that do still use money. So that would probably be what he was embezzling from. But the crime of embezzlement is probably extremely rare within the Federation, since most UFP citizens wouldn't see the point.

I didn’t see the Dauntless as being under Janeway’s permanent command at that point, but rather just an available vessel that fit her needs and which she commandeered out of necessity and proximity. The fact that it later became her ship and that she formed a significant bond with its senior personnel likely occurred subsequent to the events of Firewall.

Hmm, okay. Maybe she chose the ship then because she already had a history with its crew thanks to these events.

Anyway, chronology aside, I like the blending of elements from both Picard and Prodigy, tying the 2380s together in much the way PRO season 2 did. I would've liked to see some more Lower Decks elements as well, but I guess 2381 is a bit ahead of that show's timeline, or overlapping with the upcoming season, so it was probably best to tiptoe around that.

 

[David Mack]

I saw "pilot with white beard" and an image of Carson Teva popped into my head, so I went with it. And Keon can be a Korean name, as well as a Gaelic or Persian one. My most recent exposure to Bridges was rewatching Starman, and I haven't seen much of his later work, so he never would've occurred to me.

My inspiration re: Jeff Bridges as Keon Harper was the FX series The Old Man.

But didn't you say that the reason he was a former spymaster was because he had embezzled Federation funds? So even when he was living in the UFP, he was committing crimes whose goal was to acquire monetary wealth. Compared to a normal Federation citizen's disinterest in money, a willingness to commit crimes for it seems anomalous, even obsessive.

Embezzled funds, yes. But you’re misunderstanding his motive. For Tazgül, it wasn’t about enriching himself, but about amassing the resources he believed he would need to recruit and control rogue military elements along the UFP/Romulan border. For Tazgül, the embezzled funds were merely a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. Conversely, for Kohgish, his stated aim of "securing control of the Qiris sector" was really about enriching himself at the expense of others. Tazgül wasn’t in this scheme to get rich; he saw himself as a patriot who was doing what was necessary to protect the Federation while providing it with complete deniability (as a means of preventing escalation to open war when things inevitably go wrong).

Now, I'm willing to believe the Federation isn't literally moneyless, just that it has an economy where money isn't required for survival, where capitalism is more an optional pursuit or a hobby than an absolute need. And presumably the UFP government has a treasury it can use for dealings with other nations that do still use money. So that would probably be what he was embezzling from. But the crime of embezzlement is probably extremely rare within the Federation, since most UFP citizens wouldn't see the point.

See above. He wasn't in it to get rich. He needed resources with which to control foreign assets.

And I agree that the Federation isn’t without some means of virtual currency, some way of trading with foreign powers, etc. The overwhelming abundance of canon evidence supports this view, while the notion of a moneyless Federation comes predominantly from one misinterpreted line in Star Trek IV. (I always took the meaning of the Taylor/Kirk exchange about there being no money in the 23rd century to mean they no longer used cash that would be recognized in the 20th-century United States.) After all, TOS is replete with references to "earning your pay," Starfleet personnel buying items from merchants, and, in the movies, Scotty’s reference to having "bought a boat."

I imagine that in the UFP there is a UBI (universal basic income) for all citizens and legal residents; probably universally free medical and psychiatric care of all kinds; and subsidized housing plus free mass transit. Maybe even free transit between planets in the same star system, at least in the core systems.

But once one leaves the comfortable confines of UFP space … all bets are off.

Hmm, okay. Maybe she chose the ship then because she already had a history with its crew thanks to these events.

Anyway, chronology aside, I like the blending of elements from both Picard and Prodigy, tying the 2380s together in much the way PRO season 2 did. I would've liked to see some more Lower Decks elements as well, but I guess 2381 is a bit ahead of that show's timeline, or overlapping with the upcoming season, so it was probably best to tiptoe around that.

Thanks, I enjoyed including the Dauntless and giving props to Prodigy. I didn't have much use for Lower Decks references, however, because I felt that the tone of Lower Decks would have been a jarring mismatch with that of Firewall.

 

[Christopher]

Embezzled funds, yes. But you’re misunderstanding his motive. For Tazgül, it wasn’t about enriching himself, but about amassing the resources he believed he would need to recruit and control rogue military elements along the UFP/Romulan border. For Tazgül, the embezzled funds were merely a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.

Okay, that makes sense, but I feel it could've been clearer in the text itself.

And I agree that the Federation isn’t without some means of virtual currency, some way of trading with foreign powers, etc. The overwhelming abundance of canon evidence supports this view, while the notion of a moneyless Federation comes predominantly from one misinterpreted line in Star Trek IV. (I always took the meaning of the Taylor/Kirk exchange about there being no money in the 23rd century to mean they no longer used cash that would be recognized in the 20th-century United States.) After all, TOS is replete with references to "earning your pay," Starfleet personnel buying items from merchants, and, in the movies, Scotty’s reference to having "bought a boat."

Sure, but there's also the fact that a replicator-based society is post-scarcity. You can get anything you want with the press of a button. Since transporter-based replicators didn't come into use until after TOS, I assume that's the reason the economy changed from Kirk saying "You've earned your pay for the week" in TOS to Jake saying "We don't use money" in DS9.

Thanks, I enjoyed including the Dauntless and giving props to Prodigy. I didn't have much use for Lower Decks references, however, because I felt that the tone of Lower Decks would have been a jarring mismatch with that of Firewall.

I dunno... if LD can take a concept from a serious episode like "Symbiosis" or "Tuvix" and turn it into a comedy, it should be possible to take elements or characters treated comedically in LD and present them in a serious context. And I just like the idea of it all being a single whole, and exploring how contemporaneous elements from the different shows would interact and affect each other.

 

[The Wormhole]

IIRC, there is a tiny Lower Decks reference in the novel, a mention is made to Starfleet ships which have crew berthing in the corridors.

 

[bdub76]

Finished this last night. I'm sticking with my 3 out 5 ranking for myself.

It felt more like a Voyager episode than a Picard episode. The author did a great job with all of the Janeway scenes that I felt like I was watching a Voyager episode as if the show had another season. I definitely need to check what Voyager novels this author has written.

The action scenes were well done. I felt like I was in the action, and I enjoyed them. They don't always work in fiction as the medium is usually more in the character's heads than what they're doing. But the author did a good job describing the action.

I also enjoyed Mardani. This was an interesting plot that could have used far more words. The book could have easily topped 400 pages if this was explored more. He was the most interesting character in the book.

What fell flat for me in the novel was the romance. It didn't really work. It's hard to point to specific things that didn't work, but overall I didn't really buy into the Seven and Ellory couple. It did improve towards the end of the book, but it was rushed from the beginning. The pacing felt off.

The other that bit that was a stretch for me was Seven convincing a bunch of rangers she met to go attack a weather station. While the actually attack was one of the strong bits in the book, the fact that so many people would sign on with her for this suicide attack really stretched my disbelief.

Finally, Janeway saving the day every time Seven got into trouble was a bit much. It would have been better if Seven and the Rangers could have handled things without her intervention. While Janeway was the best written character in the novel, her saving the day every time Seven got into trouble bothered me since it happened more than once.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel, and I would read another by this author.

 

[raneclowd]

I am pleased to share the news that this past Friday, July 26, 2024, Star Trek: Picard – Firewall was honored with a Scribe Award from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers for “Best Original Novel, Speculative.”

It was a hotly contested category, as always, and I feel deeply honored that the judges ultimately voted to bestow the award upon Firewall.

In addition, I received a second Scribe Award on Friday, in the category of “Best Short Fiction,” for “Lost and Founder,” my Star Trek: Deep Space Nine short story in issue 8 of Star Trek Explorer magazine. I was told that this category, which was more crowded than the “Best Original Novel, Speculative” category, was even more hotly contested, and that my story just barely squeaked to a first-place finish.

For those keeping score at home, I have now won four Scribe Awards and been nominated for ten, and I have been the recipient of their Faust Award, which honors me as a grandmaster in the field of media tie-in writing.

I offer my gratitude to the Scribe Award judges, my congratulations to this year’s other Scribe Award winners, and my respect to my fellow nominees for Best Original Novel, Speculative, and Best Short Fiction. They all did superlative work, and but for a quirk of fate any of them might well have taken home these awards instead of me.

So well deserved (in my opinion). Congratualtions!

(I have been resisting posting my review as the deadline looms for the tax return extension and I have obligations to that end but my brain just keeps on pulling on me. Motivation to get the work done I suppose. But this site is so much more fun ;.)

 

[raneclowd]

Congratulations that is (some day I will have edit privileges to fix fix these stupid spelling/typing errors).

 

[Ronald Held]

A belated congratulations, Mr. Mack.

 

[Markonian]

Congratulations, that is epic and well deserved!

 

[raneclowd]

Aplogies for the length (it seems to be a defining feature of my brain)…my thoughts on Firewall...

For The Love of Seven

The story in Star Trek Picard: Firewall was exactly what I had hoped for but did not ever think would emerge in Star Trek much less in the story of Seven of Nine’s life.

There are plenty of reviewers who have critiqued the book based on what they think about the plot, style, elements, allegories and even what genre they think the story ventures into - even questioning if it’s even “Star Trek”. Ultimately, none of those mattered to me as I read the book. The story appears to have been carefully thought out and just as carefully told in a deliberate manner.

Starting with the person Seven was a couple of years after Voyager made it “home” (theirs not hers?), it delves into what it takes to try to work through all the trauma and pain that life throws at someone, especially from a young age, that can spiral into self-consciousness, loneliness, frustration and even deeper, guilt, shame and self-loathing. Then shows the resolve and resilience it takes to work through the pain in search of self to find the joy of doing more than just surviving but thriving. All of which is so very relatable and resonates deeply.

I found it meaningful that in between the first and last “framing sequences” chapters, the story starts and ends with interaction between Seven and Admiral Janeway in the only way their relationship allows - friendship, loyalty, trust and not agreeing on almost everything. The story does such great justice to their relationship. It’s like a seeing a grand friend again to have Janeway as part, albeit a small part, of the story. And true to her she asserts herself in a big way. The framing sequences themselves, taking place 5 years after the events Seven goes through, alludes to how much more Seven will go through, how firewalls can be breached. I can only hope that that story will be filled in someday as well (though I do acknowledge that some of it has been in ST: Picard).

Which, at this point, is where I thought about ending my thoughts on the book but I find I just can’t.

When the Seven of Nine character first burst onto the scene, I wondered what it was that made me take notice and care so much about the character. I later realized that Jeri Ryan had skillfully managed to pull the focus up to the eyes which are a window into the heart and soul of the character which within contained a confused and hurt child. It made it hard to watch sometimes while seeing that.

Which brings me to the reviews of the book I read where some just plain came out and said things like “Could have done without the lesbian love and the story was just so typical and no imagination for star trek” and “Well, seven of nine is queer...I would’ve liked to know this was in the material before I bought it…”

It really does not matter, or perhaps I should say it should not matter who Seven is attracted to - what matters is that she is truly and deeply human. Like us, she needs and seeks connection including the kind of connection that makes us feel vulnerable as it reaches in and clamps down on our heart. Most importantly, when that happens for her it is not a result of trauma or damage but rather as a result of searching for her true self.

Or, it really does matter. There is a reason that when Seven was first introduced into the Trek universe so many "queers” adopted her right away, felt protective of her, as so many understand what it’s like even without the Borg implants. And how much it means to those fans that Trek now adopted this take on her.

Maybe I’m just taking it all too seriously. Or maybe I’m just too sensitive (I’ll admit I’ve been accused of that many times in my life and there is truth to it). Maybe it’s not a big leap for me to understand what it’s like to be in a situation as a child where you have no control. Where you are viewed as not fitting someone’s idea of what you should be like and efforts are made to get you to fit into a “mold” (and maybe those efforts included seemingly ceaseless criticism, teasing and shame for what felt natural, for just being you). Maybe I understand attempting to hold things inside and the resistance and defiance that is built as part of a defense from further hurt. Maybe even after finally reaching a point where you were able to extricate yourself from that dysfunctional “collective” you then had to deal with the fallout of lasting low self-esteem, shame and guilt. I read an article where a psychologist described trauma as an earthquake. There is the initial big shaking, but it’s the aftershocks that continue to reverberate long after (some call them echos) all through your nervous system that you will continue to experience. Truth is, I never felt like an outcast because for a long time I just never felt I had ever been in, I felt disconnected. Maybe I have also put myself figuratively into the mosh pits to force myself to figure out how to connect. Maybe I know many others who have endured this as well.

The section in the book where Seven is talking about what she has come to learn about herself, starts with her talking about how she views her Voyager “friends” as supportive and caring yet there were things she needed to learn for herself. When the person she is talking with asks “Like?”, Seven follows it with a statement that is not cold logic from her intellect but rather an insight into what her heart is telling her. Then fear intrudes and she falls back into the defensive position she has developed of not letting her desires control her, but finally she just lets herself feel. Maybe I know what it takes to be able to get to this point. This is when I felt like the little girl was finally growing up.

As Amanda Gorman wrote as part of “The Big Question: Why do We Tell Stories” (The New York Times Dec. 8, 2022): “For millenniums, humans have told stories to connect, relate and weave imaginative truths that enable us to see one another more clearly with compassion and courage. Finding empathy is a difficult challenge but also the most human of the reasons we tell stories. Often, we explain and express so that we can be seen…We tell stories because we are human. But we are also made more human because we tell stories. When we do this, we tap into an ancient power that makes us, and the world, more of who we are: a single race looking for reasons, searching for purpose, seeking to find ourselves.”

I would say that empathy also has less to do with being the same but rather teaching ourselves how to understand whatever is not similar to us and how those differences make us the same. When I was telling my spouse about when I met Jeri Ryan, early in her stint as Seven, at an event focused on positive representation of LGBTQ+ in the media, how much I appreciated that she was being very supportive of her “queer” fans (I suppose being a bit surprised of it at the time), my spouse replied “it’s because she’s confident in who she is and so has no reason to be afraid”. I wonder if it’s that confidence along with empathy that led to her returning from “never again”. And later led her to state online “Oh, Seven is canonically bi, don’t you worry” - it’s the “don’t you worry” that makes me believe in the empathy. Confidence and empathy are so beautiful. And, well, I do have to add that she has such a beautiful…brain.

I also suspect that those who were part of what led to the story in the book being told, including the author, are the same.

And all of this, to me, is very Star Trek. With Captain Seven leading the way. To quote P!nk, “…you are f***in’ perfect to me”.

 

[David Mack]

For The Love of Seven

The story in Star Trek Picard: Firewall was exactly what I had hoped for but did not ever think would emerge in Star Trek much less in the story of Seven of Nine’s life.

First, thank you for the entirety of your review! Hearing from a reader who has connected with my work in such a profound manner, and one that clearly understands what I was aiming for, is one of the greatest rewards of being an author. In a very important way, it is reader reactions such as yours that (for me) make the work worth doing.

There are plenty of reviewers who have critiqued the book based on what they think about the plot, style, elements, allegories and even what genre they think the story ventures into - even questioning if it’s even “Star Trek”. Ultimately, none of those mattered to me as I read the book. The story appears to have been carefully thought out and just as carefully told in a deliberate manner.

Indeed. I conceived of Firewall as a queer-normative coming-of-age tale for Seven. My original remit from the editors was to tell the story of how and why she joined the Fenris Rangers. Once I dug into the story, however, I realized there was a much more important story to be told: her belated journey of self-discovery, and her journey from one “found family” (the Voyager crew) to another (the Rangers).

Which brings me to the reviews of the book I read where some just plain came out and said things like “Could have done without the lesbian love and the story was just so typical and no imagination for star trek” and “Well, seven of nine is queer...I would’ve liked to know this was in the material before I bought it…”

It is not a coincidence that my acknowledgments page in Firewall calls out Star Trek’s LGBTQIA+ fandom and says “this one is for all of you, with love and respect.” I’ve been taking flak from certain benighted quarters of Trek fandom for many years over my efforts to include positive representation for various ethnic groups, gender identities, and sexual orientations in my novels. Each time it only reminds me of how necessary it is to continue to make sure everyone has a chance to see themselves reflected in Star Trek’s better future.

It really does not matter, or perhaps I should say it should not matter who Seven is attracted to - what matters is that she is truly and deeply human. Like us, she needs and seeks connection including the kind of connection that makes us feel vulnerable as it reaches in and clamps down on our heart. Most importantly, when that happens for her it is not a result of trauma or damage but rather as a result of searching for her true self.

Or, it really does matter. There is a reason that when Seven was first introduced into the Trek universe so many "queers” adopted her right away, felt protective of her, as so many understand what it’s like even without the Borg implants. And how much it means to those fans that Trek now adopted this take on her.

Maybe I’m just taking it all too seriously. Or maybe I’m just too sensitive (I’ll admit I’ve been accused of that many times in my life and there is truth to it).

Not at all. In fact, you’ve understood the story perfectly. Seven’s story was constructed as an allegory for queer and trans persons struggling to find acceptance in a dangerous universe that doesn’t always welcome the unfamiliar.

The title refers to both the firewall she declares herself to be at the end — i.e., a defender standing between the innocent and evil — but also the emotional firewall she has hidden behind ever since her unwilling liberation from the Borg Collective.

A key point of the story is that Seven needs to learn to let down her firewall in order to make meaningful connections with other people. It’s because of her lingering trauma as a Borg drone that the moment that finally topples her firewall is being shown the mass grave on Soroya IV. In essence, she discovers the full range of her capacity for empathy in the aftermath of a holocaust-level genocide.

Maybe it’s not a big leap for me to understand what it’s like to be in a situation as a child where you have no control. Where you are viewed as not fitting someone’s idea of what you should be like and efforts are made to get you to fit into a “mold” (and maybe those efforts included seemingly ceaseless criticism, teasing and shame for what felt natural, for just being you). Maybe I understand attempting to hold things inside and the resistance and defiance that is built as part of a defense from further hurt. Maybe even after finally reaching a point where you were able to extricate yourself from that dysfunctional “collective” you then had to deal with the fallout of lasting low self-esteem, shame and guilt. I read an article where a psychologist described trauma as an earthquake. There is the initial big shaking, but it’s the aftershocks that continue to reverberate long after (some call them echos) all through your nervous system that you will continue to experience. Truth is, I never felt like an outcast because for a long time I just never felt I had ever been in, I felt disconnected. Maybe I have also put myself figuratively into the mosh pits to force myself to figure out how to connect. Maybe I know many others who have endured this as well.

That’s a fascinating analogy, one I’d not heard before. Food for thought.

The section in the book where Seven is talking about what she has come to learn about herself, starts with her talking about how she views her Voyager “friends” as supportive and caring yet there were things she needed to learn for herself. When the person she is talking with asks “Like?”, Seven follows it with a statement that is not cold logic from her intellect but rather an insight into what her heart is telling her. Then fear intrudes and she falls back into the defensive position she has developed of not letting her desires control her, but finally she just lets herself feel. Maybe I know what it takes to be able to get to this point. This is when I felt like the little girl was finally growing up.

Exactly. That's her leap of faith, letting down her defenses to share her attraction and risk rejection. She has finally accepted that one must risk sorrow in order to pursue true joy — a key lesson on the path to emotional maturity.

When I was telling my spouse about when I met Jeri Ryan, early in her stint as Seven, at an event focused on positive representation of LGBTQ+ in the media, how much I appreciated that she was being very supportive of her “queer” fans (I suppose being a bit surprised of it at the time), my spouse replied “it’s because she’s confident in who she is and so has no reason to be afraid”. I wonder if it’s that confidence along with empathy that led to her returning from “never again”. And later led her to state online “Oh, Seven is canonically bi, don’t you worry” - it’s the “don’t you worry” that makes me believe in the empathy. Confidence and empathy are so beautiful. And, well, I do have to add that she has such a beautiful…brain.

I also suspect that those who were part of what led to the story in the book being told, including the author, are the same.

We’re certainly trying our best, while also remembering that there is always room to grow and to learn.

And all of this, to me, is very Star Trek. With Captain Seven leading the way. To quote P!nk, “…you are f***in’ perfect to me”.

Beautifully said. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts. It means more than I can say.

 

[TedShatner10]

Whereas I envisioned Jeff Bridges. To each their own.

I imagined him as either Josh Brolin or Stephen Lang quite vividly actually, with Ellory resembling either a younger Gina Bellman (Leverage) or Claudia Doumit from The Boys. And Star Wars' Diana Lee Inosanto as one of the high ranking Fenris officials.

For the bad guys I get the image of DSCO's Jason Isaacs recast in prosthetics as Kohgish, with Tazgûl resembling The Boys' Derek Wilson (Tek Knight).

 

[David Mack]

I imagined him as either Josh Brolin or Stephen Lang quite vividly actually, with Ellory resembling either a younger Gina Bellman (Leverage) or Claudia Doumit from The Boys.

FWIW, my inspiration for Ellory Kayd was Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing in Iron Fist).

 

[TedShatner10]

FWIW, my inspiration for Ellory Kayd was Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing in Iron Fist).

Makes sense, also Elodie Yung, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, and Sonoya Mizuno seem to fit as well (and Sir Terry Pratchett supposedly said Vimes was based on British character actor Pete Postlethwaite and William Gibson based the broad looks of Molly Millions on US musician Chrissie Hynde, etc).

Eliza Dushku, Shannon Elizabeth, Krysten Ritter, or Rosario Dawson as Ellory could work as well (all very attractive, athletic looking brunnettes with dark eyes like Ellory).

 

[David Mack]

Makes sense, also Elodie Yung, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, and Sonoya Mizuno seem to fit as well (and Sir Terry Pratchett supposedly said Vimes was based on British character actor Pete Postlethwaite and William Gibson based the broad looks of Molly Millions on US musician Chrissie Hynde, etc).

Eliza Dushku, Shannon Elizabeth, Krysten Ritter, or Rosario Dawson as Ellory could work as well (all very attractive, athletic looking brunnettes with dark eyes like Ellory).

All of which make it obvious why I resisted over-describing the character. I wanted there to be lots of room for each reader to see the character the way they wanted her to be.