The Good That Men Do
This is one of those entries that for the purposes of this project won't be approached in the way it usually would. I'm ignoring the framing story, and since I've not rewatched "These Are The Voyages", I won't be commenting on the novel's purpose in rewriting - and giving frequent middle fingers to - aspects of that episode. For example, early on Archer muses about how Hoshi really deserves a promotion and he'll have to look into that - no, I said I wasn't doing this, didn't I?
The book opens with a collection of quotes that are not only each illustrative of the themes but between them point to another - the uneasy juxtaposition of progress and distasteful compromise. The chosen snippets speak of future risk, deflection, uncertainty and willing ignorance, yet great strides forward are promised; we are asked to consider the cost, both known and unknown.
After being salvaged largely by Archer's speech, the conference from "Terra Prime" has gone ahead - minus the participation of Rigel and Denobula, who were frightened off by Paxton's antics and the implications of such. However, where the episode in question largely celebrated the unity, here the emphasis is on the unsteadiness that results, at least initially. There's still a lot of mistrust and division between the contributor worlds and between their individual internal factions. This is mirrored in the novel in many other places, multiple points at which wariness or disinterest stand against effective response to the needs of the age. We can witness the plight of the Aenar and the lack of regard the mainstream Andorians have for their protection, which includes their unwillingness to give Shran a ship to investigate the slave raid. There's Admiral Gardner's similarly obstructionist position regarding Archer and crew confronting the threat of the Romulans: with the signing of the Coalition Compact only weeks away, Gardner doesn't want to rock the boat. Everyone has a habit of looking the other way, choosing to close the blinds; creating a sense of unbridgeable distance even as everyone is supposedly being brought closer together. Coridanite masks; T'Pol and Trip once again pulling apart; Romulans and Humans never seeing each other directly even as they fixate on the nebulous threat of the other.
Archer and Gardner both mention how the success of the Coalition could be a turning point for local space, ending the reign of the slave traders and gangsters, but the attitude displayed by worlds such as Rigel X and Adigeon Prime - of indifference to your neighbours' suffering and pragmatic self-interest, is actually displayed all too easily by Coalition nations themselves, most notably Earth, Coridan and Vulcan. Just as Earth had to work through its own xenophobia before it could successfully bring the local races together, so must the Coalition first work on helping itself.
On top of this, the Romulans are divided too, their technological breakthroughs and potential for successful conquest imperilled by political infighting. They also feel threatened by the rapid development and expansion of the Coalition worlds. Now that the Vulcan region of space isn't a repressed, inward-looking enclave but an uneasy alliance of up-and-coming powers eager to flex their muscles, Romulan paranoia is in overdrive. The overall impression in this novel is of space as a vast and frighteningly unfathomable place even as it's starting to become crowded and charged with tension. There's an ominous sense of cavernous darkness lurking in the backdrop, in contrast to the optimism of much of Enterprise season four. Instead of various peoples reaching out hands, we now have people sanding uneasily in the same room. As though they're feeling almost exposed and they don't like it. The big fish have moved out of the little pond and are now only reasonably-sized fish in an ocean.
The theme of this one, then - other than historical revisionism and one's place in the historical narratives, since we're not focusing on that here - is the uncertainty that mars efforts to become close to others. There's no real unity as yet, no comfort or trust in the new reality. Everyone is dancing around one another, afraid to truly commit. Trip and T'Pol distance themselves from each other again, after Elizabeth's death seemed at first to draw them together even closer. This of course is followed by Trip choosing to fake his death and sever ties with his family, friends and - for a short while - T'Pol, entirely.
As Phuong the Section 31 agent says, optimistic vision is great but it's going to take time to become reality. Unfortunately, that leads us into another important theme of the book - the absence of adequate time, the pressing deadlines that force costly decisions. The looming threat of paranoid Romulans (or, to invert it, expansionist Coalition members) who aren't going to let things unfold on a comfortable schedule. By the end of this story, the Coalition is finally fact - though with only four of the original seven nations participating - but there's no room for rest because the Romulans are still out there and the political and economic support of Coridan is no longer available.
I should discuss Coridan, because here Coridan is of equal prominence to Earth, Vulcan, Andor and Tellar, and had it not been devastated by the Romulans it might well have become a founding world of the Federation. It's also the finest embodiment of the political instability and the reluctance to bring down barriers. Building on what we saw in "Shadows of P'Jem", it's described here as an unstable nation wracked with political upheaval - several times the Coridan worlds are said to be close to civil war. Their chancellor is a political opportunist and their justice system and social honour codes seem harsh and occasionally brutal - Ambassador Lekev notes that violating tradition by removing his diplomatic mask could see him imprisoned or even executed. They're a people concerned with privacy and defined by cautious pride, and their teetering on the knife's edge between isolation and participation is a dilemma that resolves itself the wrong way. Even more than the dilithium fires, the loss of its shipyards, and having half its population killed, it's Coridan's last minute withdrawal from the Coalition that relegates it to second- or third-rate status for the remainder of this chronology.
(As a random aside, Coridanites like the letters "ev": Solnev, Chulev, Kalev, Lekev, Hanshev, the Idanev Continent. It's almost on Tholian "ene" levels, though doesn't make as much sense. But that's neither here nor there).
After the progress and positive development of season four, this novel focuses on the rough and fearful times that occur as big steps forward are made, and the compromises or losses involved, and the gaps into which people (or planets) fall. It's a solemn and sober book.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
Rihannsu, the language lifted from Duane's novels and used throughout the novel 'verse continuity, makes its first appearance. The Romulan capital city of Dartha (as it's currently known, a name it will retain for at least a century) is first referenced, as are other locations on Romulus like the Great River Apnex, which presumably feeds into the Apnex Sea, on the shores of which Dartha is situated. Other miscellaneous Romulan terms introduced here include Erebus (read, Hades; that is, both the guardian of the underworld and a name for that underworld itself) and Honour Blades.
The Andorians are also fleshed out. This is our introduction to the four-sex biology and the cultural importance of the four-way gender paradigm, marriage and reproduction; aspects that will increasingly come to define them to the exclusion of other factors, as their genome deteriorates at an increasing rate over the next few centuries. Shran's singular relationship with Talas - and, we might assume, guardsman Theera's relationship with her husband in Rosetta - is representative of bonds formed among older Andorians who have already fulfilled their child-bearing domestic duties or (like Shran) never fulfilled them due to career choices, e.g. the Imperial Guard. Oddly, we see here that the Aenar religion has the same mythological foundation as the Andorian mainstream - actually, it has the same myths full stop, since the wording seems identical - so they must have been part of the mainstream at some point, before becoming isolated. Uzaveh the Infinite and the First Kin are mentioned for the first time, as is the term shelthreth, for an official four-way bond-group as well as the marriage ceremony that affirms it, and the state of existing within it.
We're introduced to a few more political figures of note, including Haroun al-Rashid and Avaranthi sh'Rothress. Both will one day be President of the Federation.
Both the Skorr and the Betazoids are mentioned, but it's made clear that Humans haven't met either of them. The Skorr are a rumour, their world distant from Earth, and Betazoids are entirely unknown.
We might count Adigeon Prime as important, as it will retain its role as a shadily neutral, no-questions-asked world offering private medical services well into the 24th Century: it's the world where Julian Bashir is augmented.
Continuity
Donna O'Neil shows up, as do - briefly - Nelson Kemper and Selma Guitierrez, as seen in Last Full Measure. Other returning characters include Erika Hernandez, Thoris, Gral, Nathan Samuels, T'Pau, Soval, Solkar (last seen right near the beginning of this journey, making first contact, though mentioned since as the ambassador preceding Soval), Jhamel, Valdore and Najil. One thing that amuses me about this reread is that we leave Vrax rotting in prison. He'll actually end up getting the last laugh - a century from now, he'll be praetor - but there's no indication of his future importance here.
Next Time: Kobayashi Maru.
This is one of those entries that for the purposes of this project won't be approached in the way it usually would. I'm ignoring the framing story, and since I've not rewatched "These Are The Voyages", I won't be commenting on the novel's purpose in rewriting - and giving frequent middle fingers to - aspects of that episode. For example, early on Archer muses about how Hoshi really deserves a promotion and he'll have to look into that - no, I said I wasn't doing this, didn't I?
The book opens with a collection of quotes that are not only each illustrative of the themes but between them point to another - the uneasy juxtaposition of progress and distasteful compromise. The chosen snippets speak of future risk, deflection, uncertainty and willing ignorance, yet great strides forward are promised; we are asked to consider the cost, both known and unknown.
After being salvaged largely by Archer's speech, the conference from "Terra Prime" has gone ahead - minus the participation of Rigel and Denobula, who were frightened off by Paxton's antics and the implications of such. However, where the episode in question largely celebrated the unity, here the emphasis is on the unsteadiness that results, at least initially. There's still a lot of mistrust and division between the contributor worlds and between their individual internal factions. This is mirrored in the novel in many other places, multiple points at which wariness or disinterest stand against effective response to the needs of the age. We can witness the plight of the Aenar and the lack of regard the mainstream Andorians have for their protection, which includes their unwillingness to give Shran a ship to investigate the slave raid. There's Admiral Gardner's similarly obstructionist position regarding Archer and crew confronting the threat of the Romulans: with the signing of the Coalition Compact only weeks away, Gardner doesn't want to rock the boat. Everyone has a habit of looking the other way, choosing to close the blinds; creating a sense of unbridgeable distance even as everyone is supposedly being brought closer together. Coridanite masks; T'Pol and Trip once again pulling apart; Romulans and Humans never seeing each other directly even as they fixate on the nebulous threat of the other.
Archer and Gardner both mention how the success of the Coalition could be a turning point for local space, ending the reign of the slave traders and gangsters, but the attitude displayed by worlds such as Rigel X and Adigeon Prime - of indifference to your neighbours' suffering and pragmatic self-interest, is actually displayed all too easily by Coalition nations themselves, most notably Earth, Coridan and Vulcan. Just as Earth had to work through its own xenophobia before it could successfully bring the local races together, so must the Coalition first work on helping itself.
On top of this, the Romulans are divided too, their technological breakthroughs and potential for successful conquest imperilled by political infighting. They also feel threatened by the rapid development and expansion of the Coalition worlds. Now that the Vulcan region of space isn't a repressed, inward-looking enclave but an uneasy alliance of up-and-coming powers eager to flex their muscles, Romulan paranoia is in overdrive. The overall impression in this novel is of space as a vast and frighteningly unfathomable place even as it's starting to become crowded and charged with tension. There's an ominous sense of cavernous darkness lurking in the backdrop, in contrast to the optimism of much of Enterprise season four. Instead of various peoples reaching out hands, we now have people sanding uneasily in the same room. As though they're feeling almost exposed and they don't like it. The big fish have moved out of the little pond and are now only reasonably-sized fish in an ocean.
The theme of this one, then - other than historical revisionism and one's place in the historical narratives, since we're not focusing on that here - is the uncertainty that mars efforts to become close to others. There's no real unity as yet, no comfort or trust in the new reality. Everyone is dancing around one another, afraid to truly commit. Trip and T'Pol distance themselves from each other again, after Elizabeth's death seemed at first to draw them together even closer. This of course is followed by Trip choosing to fake his death and sever ties with his family, friends and - for a short while - T'Pol, entirely.
As Phuong the Section 31 agent says, optimistic vision is great but it's going to take time to become reality. Unfortunately, that leads us into another important theme of the book - the absence of adequate time, the pressing deadlines that force costly decisions. The looming threat of paranoid Romulans (or, to invert it, expansionist Coalition members) who aren't going to let things unfold on a comfortable schedule. By the end of this story, the Coalition is finally fact - though with only four of the original seven nations participating - but there's no room for rest because the Romulans are still out there and the political and economic support of Coridan is no longer available.
I should discuss Coridan, because here Coridan is of equal prominence to Earth, Vulcan, Andor and Tellar, and had it not been devastated by the Romulans it might well have become a founding world of the Federation. It's also the finest embodiment of the political instability and the reluctance to bring down barriers. Building on what we saw in "Shadows of P'Jem", it's described here as an unstable nation wracked with political upheaval - several times the Coridan worlds are said to be close to civil war. Their chancellor is a political opportunist and their justice system and social honour codes seem harsh and occasionally brutal - Ambassador Lekev notes that violating tradition by removing his diplomatic mask could see him imprisoned or even executed. They're a people concerned with privacy and defined by cautious pride, and their teetering on the knife's edge between isolation and participation is a dilemma that resolves itself the wrong way. Even more than the dilithium fires, the loss of its shipyards, and having half its population killed, it's Coridan's last minute withdrawal from the Coalition that relegates it to second- or third-rate status for the remainder of this chronology.
(As a random aside, Coridanites like the letters "ev": Solnev, Chulev, Kalev, Lekev, Hanshev, the Idanev Continent. It's almost on Tholian "ene" levels, though doesn't make as much sense. But that's neither here nor there).
After the progress and positive development of season four, this novel focuses on the rough and fearful times that occur as big steps forward are made, and the compromises or losses involved, and the gaps into which people (or planets) fall. It's a solemn and sober book.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
Rihannsu, the language lifted from Duane's novels and used throughout the novel 'verse continuity, makes its first appearance. The Romulan capital city of Dartha (as it's currently known, a name it will retain for at least a century) is first referenced, as are other locations on Romulus like the Great River Apnex, which presumably feeds into the Apnex Sea, on the shores of which Dartha is situated. Other miscellaneous Romulan terms introduced here include Erebus (read, Hades; that is, both the guardian of the underworld and a name for that underworld itself) and Honour Blades.
The Andorians are also fleshed out. This is our introduction to the four-sex biology and the cultural importance of the four-way gender paradigm, marriage and reproduction; aspects that will increasingly come to define them to the exclusion of other factors, as their genome deteriorates at an increasing rate over the next few centuries. Shran's singular relationship with Talas - and, we might assume, guardsman Theera's relationship with her husband in Rosetta - is representative of bonds formed among older Andorians who have already fulfilled their child-bearing domestic duties or (like Shran) never fulfilled them due to career choices, e.g. the Imperial Guard. Oddly, we see here that the Aenar religion has the same mythological foundation as the Andorian mainstream - actually, it has the same myths full stop, since the wording seems identical - so they must have been part of the mainstream at some point, before becoming isolated. Uzaveh the Infinite and the First Kin are mentioned for the first time, as is the term shelthreth, for an official four-way bond-group as well as the marriage ceremony that affirms it, and the state of existing within it.
We're introduced to a few more political figures of note, including Haroun al-Rashid and Avaranthi sh'Rothress. Both will one day be President of the Federation.
Both the Skorr and the Betazoids are mentioned, but it's made clear that Humans haven't met either of them. The Skorr are a rumour, their world distant from Earth, and Betazoids are entirely unknown.
We might count Adigeon Prime as important, as it will retain its role as a shadily neutral, no-questions-asked world offering private medical services well into the 24th Century: it's the world where Julian Bashir is augmented.
Continuity
Donna O'Neil shows up, as do - briefly - Nelson Kemper and Selma Guitierrez, as seen in Last Full Measure. Other returning characters include Erika Hernandez, Thoris, Gral, Nathan Samuels, T'Pau, Soval, Solkar (last seen right near the beginning of this journey, making first contact, though mentioned since as the ambassador preceding Soval), Jhamel, Valdore and Najil. One thing that amuses me about this reread is that we leave Vrax rotting in prison. He'll actually end up getting the last laugh - a century from now, he'll be praetor - but there's no indication of his future importance here.
Next Time: Kobayashi Maru.
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Very good point! 
I actually like that there is a design lineage from the UN logo to the UE logo. Presumably, in universe, the United Nations and the New United Nations were both considered precursors (at least spiritually) to the eventual United Earth government.
).
