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Confession
Jun. 30th, 2004 02:05 amSo I have to tell y'all something.
Once in a while, when my brain needs a rest, I'll read a Star Trek novel.
I found Diane Carey's Dreadnought! (classic Trek #29) in the free-book pile of Kendra's department. Its biggest crime is not that it is a shameless Mary Sue, with a perky female protagonist who out-captains Kirk and out-insights Bones, nor its frequent near-misses of vocabulary, like "he watched the explanation and the interaction of his colleagues with a recessed scrutiny" and "the impact sat on us like a gray numbness."
No, those are fine crimes, but the biggest crime is the weird six-page Libertarian screed that pops up halfway through. "That's what happens," the protagonist says, "when society makes decisions instead of individuals." If only people had listened to her, she says, the Eugenics Wars could have been avoided—which, I guess, means no "KAAAAAAHHHHNNNNN!" Silly ol' statists, leading to overacting.
She's explaining all this to her Vulcan chum, and the capper is his reply, with furrowed brow: "There is no such thing as 'common good.' The only good is in what the individual finds best for himself. If he does no harm in his practice, why would others seek to control him?" In other words, "The needs of the many...can go jump in a creek."
Yow. Now I remember why I don't do this very often.
Once in a while, when my brain needs a rest, I'll read a Star Trek novel.
I found Diane Carey's Dreadnought! (classic Trek #29) in the free-book pile of Kendra's department. Its biggest crime is not that it is a shameless Mary Sue, with a perky female protagonist who out-captains Kirk and out-insights Bones, nor its frequent near-misses of vocabulary, like "he watched the explanation and the interaction of his colleagues with a recessed scrutiny" and "the impact sat on us like a gray numbness."
No, those are fine crimes, but the biggest crime is the weird six-page Libertarian screed that pops up halfway through. "That's what happens," the protagonist says, "when society makes decisions instead of individuals." If only people had listened to her, she says, the Eugenics Wars could have been avoided—which, I guess, means no "KAAAAAAHHHHNNNNN!" Silly ol' statists, leading to overacting.
She's explaining all this to her Vulcan chum, and the capper is his reply, with furrowed brow: "There is no such thing as 'common good.' The only good is in what the individual finds best for himself. If he does no harm in his practice, why would others seek to control him?" In other words, "The needs of the many...can go jump in a creek."
Yow. Now I remember why I don't do this very often.
