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Yes, yes. We all enjoy speculating to the labeling of your hypothetical pornographic feature.

*now read it in Captain Holt's voice*

 Ahtman wrote:
Deja Vu of the discussion when WotC made a DnD mini, or might have just been a picture, of a character adventuring in a wheelchair.

WotC didn't. There's a third-party module that adds rules for wheelchairs, and a range of fantastic miniatures for different races. The dwarf in particular is an excellent mini.




Wheelchairs in Star Trek don't seem particularly problematic to me. The setting has always included people who either can't or choose not to go through the standard medical options to fix whatever they have going on, and Starfleet is not a conventional military force... it's a scientific exploration force. Heck, one of the books from 30 years or so ago included Scotty running around with a Horta crewmember, and stella cartography on some ships includes a pod of dolphins. Not everybody needs to be able to punch their way through bulkheads and somersault over Gorn.

I always love when people point at ST and go "its being woke/whatever" and you point them to multiple points in its past where it did the same - heck Original Series, for its time, is brimming with the stuff its crazy!

It's just much of it is now normal so people don't see it. Like the Kirk and Uhura kiss

 insaniak wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
Deja Vu of the discussion when WotC made a DnD mini, or might have just been a picture, of a character adventuring in a wheelchair.

WotC didn't. There's a third-party module that adds rules for wheelchairs, and a range of fantastic miniatures for different races. The dwarf in particular is an excellent mini.

I thought it was WotC, but who did it doesn't really change that the discussions that popped up around it was nearly identical.

Whatever happened to Dr. Soong's mind transference/golem thing from season 1 of Picard.

You'd think in the faaaaaaar future of Starfleet Academy, they'd have that tech readily available, so people could switch to new bodies.

Federation in general avoids genetics and clones. There's an element of simple human purity that the uphold even though they've got the technology for it.

That's why Dr Bashir stands out in DS9 - in theory the Federation could do that level of genetic alteration to everyone, yet they don't.

It’s also an imprecise science, as seen with Bashir’s chums. So, whilst it could get you the high flying super genius child Mr and Mrs Bashir received? You could, and possibly are more likely to, receive a broken human being.

Also? Whilst I don’t recall seeing the disabled character in question? I presume they’re among the cadets. And so, with no chosen or qualified specialisation? It may simply be a case there’s no firm Best Option to increase their mobility.

For instance, if you’re going to specialise on Xenobotany? You’ll have different support requirements from someone specialising in Engineering.

Bashir did note that the illegal nature of the genetic alteration meant that you had to trust in untrustworthy doctors and I believe that's the source of the potential mistakes that resulted in the others with similar genetic alterations having problems.

One can then presume that if it were done legally and through authorised practices, then the safety limits would go up considerably. Furthermore they'd also likely improve upon the process.



A lot of the genetic fear comes from the lingering impacts of WW3 which is something that is touched on now and then, but never really a setting that they've dived into. The closest was Picard season 2 and when we encounter Khane in the Original series.

Federation is basically afraid to use that technology much like the Imperium is afraid to use AI




What's more interesting is that many other races in the ST setting also don't use genetic alterations either (or at least en-mass). Even the pragmatic Vulcans have not used the technolog to remove their emotions.

In terms of the Federation? It may simply be they’ve created enough of a paradise that nobody is condemned to a life of poverty due to some chance of birth.

Physical disabilities seem to have a range of treatments, but nobody is force to have them (that would be bordering on a flavour of eugenics). Hence Geordi kept with his Visor, even when other options arrived.

Which I think feeds back to my point that, if the person in question is indeed a Cadet? Until they’re more certain in where they want to take their career, the right procedure is up in the air.

Let’s also keep in mind this is a time when Starfleet and the Federation is just getting itself back together after the burn. So said person may simply have not yet had access to corrective surgery, technological enhancements etc.

There was a story line in SNW all about dealing with Number One being genetically enhanced and how Starfleet was upset about it.

I believe the stated reasons is if you “fix” your genetics to improve them the resulting person develops an inevitable superiority complex that leads to them trying to take over and rule their lessers.

So, just caught the first episode of Starfleet Academy.

I don't like the ship, and really wish they would quite trying to redesign Federation ship styling. Every time they try to venture outside the box (Next Generation, Discovery, Academy) it just winds up looking ugly and weird.

I'm also not a fan of this level of anachronistic cussing in my Star Trek, but can accept that times have changed on that one.

Other than that, thoroughly enjoyed it. Interesting bunch of characters, entertaining writing, and I'm keen to see what happens next.

 AduroT wrote:
I believe the stated reasons is if you “fix” your genetics to improve them the resulting person develops an inevitable superiority complex that leads to them trying to take over and rule their lessers.

Didn't happen to Picard, maybe they fixed the flaws in the system.

Plus the difference is genetically modification versus transference into a built body that has no flaws (except the flaws you want it to have).

Transferring a person who is dying or severely crippled into a new body is a great way to save lives...

Oh, no, you can’t do that either because death is natural and if you didn’t grow old and die then you’d never truly appreciate life.

That, and honestly who wants to live forever?

I’m not enjoying middle age. Sure, the things I loved when younger are still available to me. But yoof culture is increasingly baffling to me. Not to mention the constant, life long heartbreak of seeing those you loved pass away.

Now. An Android body to ensure I live where a given condition might send me to an untimely grave? That’s a very different proposition.

This topic is explored in greater depth in Alien Earth. Specifically putting the minds and consciousness of children into adult bodies. And then, because amoral tech bro? Put those child minds in adult bodies into situations you kinda need emotional maturity for.

But…as a concept? If you could guarantee my new host body won’t give me an unnaturally long life, but will ensure mental and physical competency until it’s switch off time? I could be persuaded. Particularly if I agree a preset off time.

But living forever and ever and ever? No. Thank. You.

The Kurgan wanted to live forever but Connor had to ruin it.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
That, and honestly who wants to live forever?

I’m not enjoying middle age. Sure, the things I loved when younger are still available to me. But yoof culture is increasingly baffling to me. Not to mention the constant, life long heartbreak of seeing those you loved pass away.

Now. An Android body to ensure I live where a given condition might send me to an untimely grave? That’s a very different proposition.

This topic is explored in greater depth in Alien Earth. Specifically putting the minds and consciousness of children into adult bodies. And then, because amoral tech bro? Put those child minds in adult bodies into situations you kinda need emotional maturity for.

But…as a concept? If you could guarantee my new host body won’t give me an unnaturally long life, but will ensure mental and physical competency until it’s switch off time? I could be persuaded. Particularly if I agree a preset off time.

But living forever and ever and ever? No. Thank. You.

How about live until you don't want to any more - not immortality but longevity

You do what the Culture does - you live as long as you like - in perfect health, in whatever body you want with whatever enhancements you want and change it when you want - when you get "tired of life" you elect to die or go to sleep for a period and wake up and see whats new and see if you want to carry on or not.

Much more advanced culture and tech though.

The dumb idea that you have to have a very short lifespan - some of which is spent degrading in bloody and mind is for a system with limited resources.

Ageing is awful. Honestly the people who claim they would get quickly bored are the same idiots who whined about having nothing to do in Covid. The world is better off if they don;t ;live long lives.

Imagine an Oligarch, already with more wealth than any human can possibly spend in a single lifetime, and all the political clout that can bring, then Choosing To Live Forever.

Welcome to the stagnation of human development at that point. Those that wield power at that time refusing to ever relinquish it.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Imagine an Oligarch, already with more wealth than any human can possibly spend in a single lifetime, and all the political clout that can bring, then Choosing To Live Forever.

Welcome to the stagnation of human development at that point. Those that wield power at that time refusing to ever relinquish it.

Well, it wouldn't change that much, just that it's the very same person and not just the very same family that's in power, as it is now .

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Imagine an Oligarch, already with more wealth than any human can possibly spend in a single lifetime, and all the political clout that can bring, then Choosing To Live Forever.

Welcome to the stagnation of human development at that point. Those that wield power at that time refusing to ever relinquish it.

Thats a dark side - Imagine that tech and resources available to Everyone - like the Culture

Yeah and as said how is that different to now - its just the names and bodies of the people changing - not anything else

 Just Tony wrote:
Started Starfleet Academy. I'm eyebrow cocked over the lore breaking alien bits, but not to the point of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Then I saw the paraplegic Cadet.


Picture if you will: the ship is in dire straights with heavy damage while trying to work a miracle engineering feat to regain power to overcome the hostile force of the episode. There's only one officer in the area who can possibly climb the vertical Jeffries tube to enact the miracle fix, and it's the paralyzed woman. The ship is now destroyed or worse.

There's a reason paralyzed people aren't recruited to serve on Navy vessels, and this principle should apply just as readily to Starfleet starships.

My biggest gripe about this is the ego-stroking some reviewers have given it. A few days back I read an article entitled "first ever person with a disability on Star Trek". The comments section was totally full of "WTF? There's been tons of wheelchairs in Trek." I think Voyager and Picard are the only series we didn't see them. And that's not counting any other type of disability. I mean we've had characters with blindness, paralysis, artificial hearts, mental deterioration, PTSD, limb amputation, etc.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 AduroT wrote:
I believe the stated reasons is if you “fix” your genetics to improve them the resulting person develops an inevitable superiority complex that leads to them trying to take over and rule their lessers.

Didn't happen to Picard, maybe they fixed the flaws in the system.

Plus the difference is genetically modification versus transference into a built body that has no flaws (except the flaws you want it to have).

Transferring a person who is dying or severely crippled into a new body is a great way to save lives...

I think there is a split in genetic modification and genetic enhancement. The Federation is totally cool with genetic alterations as long as you stay, more or less, "normal". Heck, just take the infant child of Tom Paris and Belana Torres. The Doctor was totally okay with altering the baby's genetic code to filter out a spinal deformity.

Going in to correct something to baseline is definitely a different proposition to going in an attempting to improve from baseline.

The first is an attempt to give the subject as normal a life as possible.

The other? Is trying to remove them from a normal life.

Perhaps another way to look at it would be the Paralympics. There, prosethetics are allowed. Some of which outright enable to athlete to compete in the first place. But performance enhancing drugs remain a no-no.

Prosthetics enable you to complete (blade runners for instance), but have to meet certain rules. So, no Rokkit Powered Gyro-Stabilised Mono-Wheels sadly. The rest is down to the athletes training and dedication.

And so, the option to overcome or outright correct a disability is just morally more straight forward than attempting to improve someone beyond usual human limits.

Yeah Federation is clearly ok with genetic repair just not genetic enhancement. Of course the line between those two states is insanely fuzzy so in some part we don't have to consider it because its a TV show that isn't focused around genetic modification. So it only has to deal with the blunt extremes and not delve into the fuzzy grey area between.

Actually cyber augmentation is also super rare to the point that Geordie is about the only person we see with it. Which is strange when you pause to consider that the Federation does exploration and yet they don't provide eye enhancing equipment. In fact away teams are insanely under-equipped save for the triquarter.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Imagine an Oligarch, already with more wealth than any human can possibly spend in a single lifetime, and all the political clout that can bring, then Choosing To Live Forever.

Welcome to the stagnation of human development at that point. Those that wield power at that time refusing to ever relinquish it.

This is honestly my biggest fear for the future. As Chaplin said in 1939, the one guarantee for liberty is that dictators die.

Academy E4

So, new background! Might’ve been mentioned in Disco, but not sure anyone would’ve noticed through the hefty required Facepalm Protection….but Qo’nos is gone. Destroyed. Possibly.

And so the Klingons are a diaspora.

It’s also lovely to see the Klingon Cadet get some real back story too, set among the debate society.

Whilst it remains to be seen if they properly pull that off? It’s a very welcome return to Trek at least flirting with ethics and diplomacy.

Easily the best Academy episode thus far, and it absolutely emobides Trek. It may even be one of the best Modern Trek episodes outright.

Of course, my tastes are highly suspect impeccable somewhat unique, so pinch of salt. But I would say if you’re on the fence or outright skeptical about Academy? This might be one to check out. It shows real potential. Potential we can only hope isn’t squandered further down the road.