The Big Issue - UK (2020-03-02)

02-08 MARCH 2020 BIGISSUE.COM| 39

CULTURE

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Resistance TECH

is futile

S

tarTrekhaslongbeencelebratedforits

technologicalforesight.IntheSixties,

CaptainKirkandcrewchattedtoeachotheron

communicatorsthatlookandactmuchlikemobile

phones(bothlosingsignalatthemostcrucialmoments).

Anyquestioncouldbespokenaloudandansweredbythe

roboticfemalevoiceoftheEnterprise’scomputer,justaswe

questionsmartspeakersinourhomesabouttheweather.

Videoconferencing,tablets,GPS,instanttranslatorswere

allpartoftheStarTrekuniversebeforebecomingpartofour

everydayreality.

ButStarTrek’s mostprescientpredictionisembodied

bytheirmostmenacingnemesis.TheBorgareevildrones

drivenbyarelentlessquesttoconquer.Theyassimilate

otherlifeformsandtaketheirtechnology.Resistance,

astheirconstantrefrainasserts,isfutile.

Theyaresoruthlesslyrelentlessbecausetheysharea

singleconsciousness.Ifyou’reunluckyenoughtobump

intothem,you’llbeinjectedwithnanoprobes,fusedwith

technology(mechanicalarmsandintimidatinglasers),

turna pallidshadeofgreyandjointheCollective.

Inotherwords,notfarfromwherewearetodaywith

peoplehavingmobiledevicespermanentlystucktotheir

handsorfaces.Allaspectsofourlifeareincreasingly

inter-connected.JustlikehaplessBorgvictims,weare

beingassimilatedintoaninescapablenewculture.

Ifthereisa spokespersonfortheBorgit wouldhaveto

beJeriRyan,whoplayedSevenofNineinStarTrek:Voyager,

andhasreturnedinthenewPicardserieswithSirPatrick

Stewart– sowhobettertoaskaboutparallelsbetween

Borgandhumanbeing?

“Weareallcompletelyconnectednow.Thatisveryhive

mind-ish,”shesays.“Certainlytheassimilationaspect,

whereyouhavethelossofindividuality,feelspretty

poignant.Thescariestthingthatmakesthemsoominousis

thatcompletelossofwhoyouare.That’sterrifyingforus.”

The Borgbecamethebiggestbaddiesofthe24thcentury

andsimilarly,ourinter-connectednesshascreatedan

enemywithin.Insteadofbreedingunityit makesit easier

forustoattackeachother.Inthatrespect,Ryansays,the

Borgactuallyhavea moreprogressiveoutlookthanmany

oftheattitudesplaintoseeonsocialmedia.

“Ithinkif there’sanysortofpositiveaspectit’sthat

theBorgactuallyappreciateandvalueotherspecies

differences.Theywanttoassimilatetomakethemselves

moreperfectbecauseperfectionistheirultimategoal.And

theyatleastunderstandthatthemoredifferencesyoucan

bringtogether,themoreperfectsocietybecomes.They

goaboutit ina reallywonkywaybutthatpartofthemI

canappreciate.”

FirstcontactwiththeBorg(puttingasideeventsinthe

1996 movieFirstContact) cameinseasontwo,episode 16 of

StarTrek:TheNextGeneration, broadcastinMay1989.

Jesting deity Q propels the Enterprise thousands of

lightyearsacrossthegalaxytowarn(andtaunt)thecrewabouta

dangerousnewthreat.

AtthisfarpointtheyencounterthefirstBorgcubewiththepotential

todestroyallcivilisationsintheFederation.Q:“Youcan’toutrunthem,

youcan’tdestroythem...Theyregenerateandkeepcoming.Eventually

youwillweaken.Yourreserveswillbegone.Theyarerelentless!”

Thisdescriptionfromover 30 yearsagowillfeeldesperatelyfamiliar

toanyonewhohasfallenvictimtoonlinetrolls.

The BorgbecamefrequentfoesbutbythetimeSevenofNinewas

introducedtoVoyager, theBorghadadapted.Shewasdisconnected

fromtheCollectivethenadoptedthearchetyperoleestablishedby

SpockandDatainpreviousseries,thecharacterthatallowsustosee

ourselvesasothersseeus.

“It’saveryfineStarTrektradition,”Ryansays.“Eachincarnationof

theshowhashadthecharacterthatisontheoutsideandobjectively

commentingonhumanity.

“Ithinkhumanityatlargeprobablyproveda bitofa disappointment

toher,”Ryanadds.

StarTrek:Picardisexploringthebigissuesthatunitetheworstof

bothtoday ’sandtomorrow ’sworldswhereweseea massiverefugee

crisisandworriesaboutartificialintelligence.

“It’sdefinitelyverytrueto[creator]GeneRoddenberry’soriginal

visionforStarTrek, holdingupa mirrortosociety,andshowingus

wherewe’rescrewingup,andhowwecouldbebetter.Thereisavery

positivemessage,ultimately.It’sabouthope.That’swhatStarTrekhas

alwaysbeenabout.

“We’veneverjustdevelopedandgottenbetterandbetter,”Ryan

continues.“Imean,it’smindblowingthattheHolocaust,thecivilrights

battle,thesethingsaresorecent.Twostepsforwardonestepback–

that’sthewaysocietythathasalwaysbeen.”

OneoftheappealsofStarTrekwasthatit celebratedgoodpeople

tryingtodotherightthing.Ourfuturecouldandwouldbebrighter.But

Picardshowsthata stable,civilisedsocietyistoofancifula notioneven

forasciencefictionshow.

“It’snevergoingtobeutopia– there’salwaysa badegg,there’s

alwaysa mistake,it can’tbeabsoluteperfectionandit’salwaysgoingto

bea crookedpathtogetthere,”Ryansays.

Soareweclosertobecomingthe Borg than a utopian federation?

“Idon’tdisagreewiththat.”

StarTrek:PicardisstreamingonAmazonPrime,

withnewepisodesonFridays

Words: Steven MacKenzie @stevenmackenzie

StarTrekhaspredictedthescariest

elementsofourdigitalage.Actress

JeriRyan,whoplaysoneoftheprescient

evil drones, sees the eerie parallels

Wellconnected

JeriRyan’sSevenofNine

Borg is a forward thinker

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