As I've mentioned before, we're watching the "Star Trek: Voyager" series again. Last night, we saw the episode entitled "Sacred Ground." Seeing it reminded me of a conversation I had with Tracy about science fiction. I read science fiction regularly, and she wondered what I liked about it, what made it science fiction, and so on.
"Sacred Ground" is a good example of the kind of story that can be told very well in science fiction. In it, one of the crew is critically injured by walking on sacred ground. She will die unless -- well, unless the Captain can figure out how to stop it, or so the Captain thinks. The Captain, in this case, is Kathryn Janeway, and she's a scientist to her core. The people on the planet, however, have strong beliefs in their faith, and though she is respectful of all faiths, the Captain has none. Yet, as she faces a series of obstacles, she tries to overcome them with rational means, though at each point she is assured that her science will not provide answers. Still, she persists.
Eventually she must face the fact that her science does not have the answers, and, in fact, her trust in the assumption that it would qualifies as a faith.
Faith and science, faith in science, science as faith; all of these can be done outside the realm of science fiction I'm sure, but they are done very well here [1] and, the genre provides a great platform for some themes, and this is one of them. It also serves as a fine environment for stories about the effects of intolerance, and of course the apocalyptic warnings provided projecting various uses or misuses of technology are common. What makes a person a person? When, if ever, are the rights of an individual over his body to be lost when others could survive if only the individual would sacrifice part (or all) of himself. Again, a common literary theme, but with very poignant ways of telling the stories available when fantastic environments are the norm.
Anyway, I'm enjoying "Voyager" again. And I look forward to reading my next collection of science fiction stories.
Sigh. And if only I had the resolve to attack that story with Mike. Perhaps someday, with continued inspiration.
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[1]"Contact" does it, too, by the way. A fine film, and yes, with more meat than this episode.
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