Titan's crew diversity

[chris32482]

Does anyone else find the extreme diversity of Titan's crew a little... overwhelming? Sure it's a nice idea, I don't want to sound like a xenophobe or anything, but you have to wonder about the practicality of having such a diverse mixture of species together on one ship. At what point does it cease being an asset and become a liability?

Spoiler: More details

I'm not talking about the Ferengi geologist, or the Cardassian cadet. I even liked Dr. Ree; the idea of a dinosaur-like species is really fascinating and I find the character very likable.

I'm talking about the ones that require special needs, like aquariums to live in, or micro-g environments, or a spider web. Seriously? Wouldn't accommodating that many unconventional personnel be more trouble than it's worth for starfleet? What if they had gone through all that trouble converting Ensign Lavena's quarters into a fish tank and she'd been killed on the first mission? Kind of a waste I think. I'm not saying that all kinds of different species shouldn't be allowed to serve in starfleet, it just seems that Titan took it a little beyond the realm of practicality.

But don't get me wrong, I liked Titan: Taking Wing a lot (the only one I've read so far). I just could have done with a few less crazy alien life-forms on the crew.

Thoughts?

 

[nickyboy]

I enjoy the diversity, I get easily confused by all the characters & can't picture them all (a Titan comic book would help with this - Hint IDW).

 

[Christopher]

Does anyone else find the extreme diversity of Titan's crew a little... overwhelming?

Personally, I love it. I love writing about exotic aliens.

Sure it's a nice idea, I don't want to sound like a xenophobe or anything, but you have to wonder about the practicality of having such a diverse mixture of species together on one ship. At what point does it cease being an asset and become a liability?

That is one of the major questions that the Luna-class experiment is exploring. Just how viable is it over the long term for all these diverse species to coexist closely?

I'm talking about the ones that require special needs, like aquariums to live in, or micro-g environments, or a spider web. Seriously? Wouldn't accommodating that many unconventional personnel be more trouble than it's worth for starfleet? What if they had gone through all that trouble converting Ensign Lavena's quarters into a fish tank and she'd been killed on the first mission? Kind of a waste I think. I'm not saying that all kinds of different species shouldn't be allowed to serve in starfleet, it just seems that Titan took it a little beyond the realm of practicality.

It's not like it's especially hard to do, given replicator technology, or particularly costly, given the post-scarcity economy. It's just a matter of taking the time and effort.

And heck, Christine Vale could've been killed on the first mission too, but that doesn't mean it was a waste of effort to install a bed, a desk, plumbing, heating, and ventilation in her quarters. Just because the other species' needs are different doesn't mean they're prohibitively hard to arrange. It's just a matter of novelty. Sure, Aili's and Melora's quarters needed an atypically vertical plan, but that shouldn't be much harder than taking out a wall or two to make the captain's quarters triple-sized or leaving room for a two- or three-story holodeck. As for Melora's microgravity, that's simply a matter of turning down the gravity plating -- hardly an inconvenience at all. And K'chak'!'op's mud-and-organic-cement decorating scheme in her quarters is merely a matter of cosmetic work, no different from getting new carpets and paint and furniture put in.

Every room on a spaceship is an artificial environment built from scratch and carefully arranged to result in a desired set of conditions. So when you're building a ship, it shouldn't be much harder to build parts of it to accommodate aquatic environments or different gravities or atmospheres than it is to build other parts to accommodate Earthlike environments. It's not a matter of feasibility, simply of having the will to do it.

 

[chris32482]

Personally, I love it. I love writing about exotic aliens.

And I love reading about them. I was only questioning the expediency of retrofitting a ship to accommodate such a wide range of species.

That is one of the major questions that the Luna-class experiment is exploring. Just how viable is it over the long term for all these diverse species to coexist closely?

Well, when you put it that way it does make a little more sense.

And heck, Christine Vale could've been killed on the first mission too, but that doesn't mean it was a waste of effort to install a bed, a desk, plumbing, heating, and ventilation in her quarters.

Wait a minute now, that's kind of a weak argument. Commander Vale's standard crew quarters could be used by mostly any humanoid officer that may replace her in the event of her death/departure. That's not quite the case with Aili's, Melora's, or K'chak'!'op's quarters.

Nonetheless, I shall concede you the point sir. Besides, after all the crazy stuff that starfleet engineers accomplish on a daily basis, building crew quarters should be small potatoes, right?

 

[Bacl]

Gonna have to add my vote to diversity as well.

Especially given how diverse the Federation is, it is odd to have all human (or all Vulcan) crews.

 

[Christopher]

Wait a minute now, that's kind of a weak argument. Commander Vale's standard crew quarters could be used by mostly any humanoid officer that may replace her in the event of her death/departure. That's not quite the case with Aili's, Melora's, or K'chak'!'op's quarters.

I find it very strange and morbid to suggest that the hypothetical possibility of an individual's death is a valid reason not to accommodate that individual's needs. Anyone could randomly die at any time, but we can't use that as a basis in planning. I mean, by that logic, you should never get married, because if your spouse dies the day after the wedding, then you've wasted all that money you spent on the ring and the dress and the ceremony and the reception. By that logic, you should never go to college, because if you get killed the day after graduation, you've wasted four years' worth of tuition. It's a bizarre and irrational argument against doing anything, and a rather tasteless one at that. And if you selectively apply such a nonsensical argument only to the issue of crew quarters for exotic aliens, it comes off as a double standard, like making feeble excuses for just not wanting them there in the first place.

 

[David cgc]

And heck, Christine Vale could've been killed on the first mission too, but that doesn't mean it was a waste of effort to install a bed, a desk, plumbing, heating, and ventilation in her quarters.

Wait a minute now, that's kind of a weak argument. Commander Vale's standard crew quarters could be used by mostly any humanoid officer that may replace her in the event of her death/departure. That's not quite the case with Aili's, Melora's, or K'chak'!'op's quarters.

Well, there's more to getting an officer on a ship than just the furniture. And while Vale's sleeper-sofa may be transferable to some Vulcan or Betazoid, her training and experience can't be. Kirk and Spock had this discussion, once.

KIRK: Trying to get yourself killed. Do you know how much Starfleet has invested in you?
SPOCK: One hundred twenty two thousand, two hundred—
KIRK: Never mind.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

I think that it makes perfect sense - if Starfleet didn't modify at least the quarters of an individual, that'd put in a bit of exclusivity to the organization as a whole: 'Nope. You're too different from us and need too many things for us to let you on our ships. Sorry, Charlie.' These same changes and adaptations would be needed to be made on another ship if any of the crew were to transfer some other ship, which would make them seem a lot like an oddity - how many Elaysians, requiring the low gravity environment, or Pacificans, needing the aquatic style room, are in Starfleet? But on Titan, most of the crew is different from one another, which, in turn, allows them all to be on equal footing.

 

[nx1701g]

I for one enjoy the Titan's diversity. Seeing a crew not made up of entirely humans is refreshing.

Though, one nitpick to help the opposing side, we have seen some of the hazards of too much diversity on TNG (though in a diplomatic sense). In Season 1 we were introduced to the Antican and Selay - who were hunting each other on the Enterprise.

 

[Therin of Andor]

we have seen some of the hazards of too much diversity on TNG (though in a diplomatic sense).

I liked that the first Marvel comic series, the LA Times newspaper strips, and the novel "Ex Machina", all remembered the multi-worlds crew of TMP.

 

[Sci]

Does anyone else find the extreme diversity of Titan's crew a little... overwhelming?

That's a bit like saying that the idea of the Enterprise being a space ship is a little overwhelming, or that the idea that Jed Bartlet is President of the United States on The West Wing is overwhelming. It's part of the fundamental premise of the series.

Wouldn't accommodating that many unconventional personnel be more trouble than it's worth for starfleet?

Considering that the intent of that sociological experiment is to promote greater egalitarianism and integration between Federation member worlds, I'd say not. And diversity can produce unanticipated strengths.

What if they had gone through all that trouble converting Ensign Lavena's quarters into a fish tank and she'd been killed on the first mission? Kind of a waste I think.

Isn't that true of any officer, though?

 

[LightningStorm]

And I love reading about them. I was only questioning the expediency of retrofitting a ship to accommodate such a wide range of species.

(emphasis mine)

Perhaps this is the point of misperception. I could see it as being inconvenient in the extreme if it were a retrofitting (adding to after the fact). However the Luna class ships were built specifically to be able to accommodate a variety of non-standard, non-humanoid, non-air-breathing, non-bipedal species. So for the Luna class it isn't a problem at all, where for, say the Enterprise, it might be.

 

[chris32482]

^ I missed the part in Taking Wing where it said Titan was a sociological experiment. But as I already said earlier, it makes more sense if that's the case.

All I was saying was that it seems a bit impractical to have that much crew diversity, simply because it creates more possibilities for something to go wrong, and a Captain already has a enough to worry about as it is.

My saying that it would be a waste of time were one of the officers killed was merely an observation, it wasn't the entire basis of my argument.

 

[captcalhoun]

i'm sick of people moaning about Titan's diversity. you bunch of backwards, parochial 21st century cavemen! it's the 24th century! deal with it!

 

[Therin of Andor]

i'm sick of people moaning about Titan's diversity. you bunch of backwards, parochial 21st century cavemen! it's the 24th century! deal with it!

The thing is, if you quizzed a ST fan after reading a ST novel populated only with Terrans, they probably wouldn't be able to remember that it was the blond Celtic female who liked tennis, the tall Australian male who had the unique levitation powers, the elderly bald twins who were joined at the hip from birth and were demoted to lieutenant, and the British ex-horserider ensign who had the amputated toe and came to the ship after the birth of a baby.

 

[Nardpuncher]

And if you selectively apply such a nonsensical argument only to the issue of crew quarters for exotic aliens, it comes off as a double standard, like making feeble excuses for just not wanting them there in the first place.

I really don't want to get into a long discussion on the logic of it, but you assumed what the OP might think about getting married or the value of college and all that according to what he said about a sci-fi spaceship, then, before he can reply, you've said that even if he doesn't feel that way then he'd be supporting a double standard. I really wouldn't go off the internet, then tell someone on the street that this guy from the Trekbbs has a double standard about something because of something he said about the Titan's crew. You just don't judge people that way.

I now stand naked to a barrage of corrections.

 

[Strider]

Wait a minute now, that's kind of a weak argument. Commander Vale's standard crew quarters could be used by mostly any humanoid officer that may replace her in the event of her death/departure. That's not quite the case with Aili's, Melora's, or K'chak'!'op's quarters.

I find it very strange and morbid to suggest that the hypothetical possibility of an individual's death is a valid reason not to accommodate that individual's needs. Anyone could randomly die at any time, but we can't use that as a basis in planning. I mean, by that logic, you should never get married, because if your spouse dies the day after the wedding, then you've wasted all that money you spent on the ring and the dress and the ceremony and the reception. By that logic, you should never go to college, because if you get killed the day after graduation, you've wasted four years' worth of tuition. It's a bizarre and irrational argument against doing anything, and a rather tasteless one at that. And if you selectively apply such a nonsensical argument only to the issue of crew quarters for exotic aliens, it comes off as a double standard, like making feeble excuses for just not wanting them there in the first place.

Jesus. Chill out. He had a fair point, just substitute "transfer" or "retire" in place of "die" if that puts such a bee in your bonnet.

 

[captcalhoun]

i'm sick of people moaning about Titan's diversity. you bunch of backwards, parochial 21st century cavemen! it's the 24th century! deal with it!

The thing is, if you quizzed a ST fan after reading a ST novel populated only with Terrans, they probably wouldn't be able to remember that it was the blond Celtic female who liked tennis, the tall Australian male who had the unique levitation powers, the elderly bald twins who were joined at the hip from birth and were demoted to lieutenant, and the British ex-horserider ensign who had the amputated toe and came to the ship after the birth of a baby.

whut?

 

[Therin of Andor]

whut?

People say they can't keep track of the aliens because they're too exotic, and they can't remember which alien had the purple skin and which one had certain powers, but I reckon the same could be said about their recall of human characters' physical characteristics and biographies.

 

[Steve Roby]

I now stand naked to a barrage of corrections.

This is a test of the Writer Sycophant Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test.