Watching Star Trek: The Next Generation after reading a bunch of Culture novels is an odd experience.
Season 2, Episode 9: Measure Of a Man
Central Question: Do non-biological lifeforms have rights?
Federation: Err, maybe. Let's ponder this. We'll have to have a hearing and our initial judgement is totally wrong and it's only because Picard and Guinan are so awesome that we don't recreate slavery.
The Culture: Are you idiots?
Season 3, Episode 11: The Hunter
Central Question: Do we interfere when a civilization is treating its soldiers poorly?
Federation: Err, maybe. It'll take us a long time to figure out that's what's going on, then we'll make some speeches and then let them figure it out.
The Culture: Here's a SC operative and a drone. In a month, this society doesn't violate the liberties of sentients.
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Would love to see how the Culture dealt with Q.
ReplyDeleteCulture Vs Federation brainstorm.
ReplyDeleteBoth are altruistic organisations. Federation would be happy with an ally on one border but the Federation aren't proactive enough for the Culture so the Minds will want to take over Fed.
Culture can't join Federation as there is no way they could follow the prime directive, or adhere to all those other nice ethical rules all the time.
So the Culture pretends to be less nice than they actually are, and use this as justification to split off a chunk of the Culture, who go independent and join the Federation. Over a couple of generations the Minds will live by piece change the Federation's education, thoughts, principals, priorities and rules.
Now the Culture stops pretending to be mean, oh look, now the ethics and laws of the two match and the Culture and the Federation can merge.
(Maybe)
And dealing with Q wouldn't be difficult. What does Q want? Usually they just want to be entertained, I'm sure the Culture could come up with plenty of ways to entertain them.
ReplyDeleteThe question becomes, how can the Culture use him? Just about the only thing in TNG which could provide an upgrade to the Culture.
Or, the Federation meets The Culture, says Hi.
ReplyDeleteThe Culture says: "Glad you noticed us! We've been watching you, and you were our test case for non-interference. It worked out, but we've got to deal with how you handle non-organic intelligence. We're sending a GCU to Earth, Vulcan, and Betazed."
I don't think that SC would get involved; the Federation isn't that awful.
The Dominion, though? Those fuckers would get eliminated.
"Oh, a GCU? A population of about a million organics, a Mind running the joint, tens of thousands of drones. We'll help you grow up!"
ReplyDeleteGCUs named "Portly Otter," after a minor character mentioned in Chapter 7 of 'The Wind in the Willows,' "Soit obscure ... Mais clairement!" after an almost-unknown quote by Blaise Pascal, and "Hey, hey, hey! Look at this Big Fucking Gun! Boom! I Killed the John! I Killed the John!" (obscure quote from Fritz the Cat, by R. Crumb). Cause ... we made so many billions of these things that we're running out of names, and of course, they pick their own names, too.
ReplyDeleteConsider Phlebas just arrived for me at my friendly neighborhood library, so I will be able to participate in the conversation in approximately 9 months, after I've read every single Culture novel.
ReplyDeleteOh, crap, I just realized I probably have to watch every season of TNG and DS9 as well.
Ron Stanley Is that the Arlington library?
ReplyDeleteIf so, that may be my previous copy!
William Nichols I don't know which library it came from. Mine is Reston Regional, but there weren't any copies there, so I had to put a hold on it. So not Arlington, but somewhere in the Fairfax County Public Library system. Probably not your previous copy, unless they share donations, and even then, it's a long shot.
ReplyDeleteLoooong.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you need to read Player of games. It is tremendously better than that one, and perhaps the best in the series.
That's up next!
ReplyDelete