We are the Borg and Why Time Travel should be Banned
Okay, sometimes dreams can inspire, even in a round-a-bout way, things that make you go "Hmmmm..."
I had one of those dreams this morning. The dream itself had me caste in a role where I was confidant, in control, and facing challenges that I could conquer.
While telling breimh about the dream, I mentioned that I had felt a little like a combination of Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Harry Dresden (yes, I was a male in my dream, don't ask me why). This got me thinking about Harry Dresden and that got me somehow to thinking about the eternal question, "Why am I here?"
My answer to that question is that we are here to, if even in some small way, influence the universe with our distinctiveness.
Of course, as a card-carrying Star Trek Geek, my brain went to "We will add your biological distinctiveness to our own"... the Borg chant.
Suddenly, I realized, humanity is several levels of the Borg Collective. We are assimilated at birth with no choice, joining into and being absorbed by our family. Then our culture assimilates us, and so forth. Resistance is Futile.
Discussing the matter further with my husband, I also thought about how our influences, no matter how insignificant they may seem to us, could have serious repercussions upon others. ANY loss of that influence caused by a time-traveller, could be disastrous.
Take this example. You're walking along the street and a complete stranger walks by eating a doughnut. Suddenly, the thought of eating a doughnut occurs to you. So, unplanned, you walk into that big-brand coffee shop. Oooh! Doughnut and coffee! So you get your doughnut and coffee and continue on the way. You pass another stranger and they smell your coffee. Suddenly she wants to have coffee. She turns into that same store. There, she stands in the sudden line of cafFiends, waiting her turn and the guy behind her bumps into her while he's reaching into the cold case for a yogurt. He apologizes, she smiles back and they chat for a moment about the weather. She gets her coffee and leaves, but thinks, "Gosh he was cute. I wonder if he's a regular." The next day she returns, they become friends and eventually marry. They have kids... etc.
Now. Imagine what would have happened if that first stranger had not been at that spot at that time to inspire you to stop in the coffee shop. The chances of her meeting Mr. Cute drop significantly in a large city where there's coffee shops on every corner (in Seattle, this is very literal). The chain of events is broken, and the time line changes.
As much as I personally like the fantasy of going back in time and changing something, Voyager's "Year of Hell" 2-part episode helps drive my point home. You fool with time on any scale, and you ruin what you know. Let's not do it folks. This goes the same for traveling forwards... just make the best choices you can now, and work towards your ideal future.
Another Philosophical discussion that started up was in response to a post on Facebook by the Star Trek group of "Who is the smartest character in DS9" begged the question, pure intelligence or intelligence with the wisdom to use it? We kinda left it there... ;)
I had one of those dreams this morning. The dream itself had me caste in a role where I was confidant, in control, and facing challenges that I could conquer.
While telling breimh about the dream, I mentioned that I had felt a little like a combination of Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Harry Dresden (yes, I was a male in my dream, don't ask me why). This got me thinking about Harry Dresden and that got me somehow to thinking about the eternal question, "Why am I here?"
My answer to that question is that we are here to, if even in some small way, influence the universe with our distinctiveness.
Of course, as a card-carrying Star Trek Geek, my brain went to "We will add your biological distinctiveness to our own"... the Borg chant.
Suddenly, I realized, humanity is several levels of the Borg Collective. We are assimilated at birth with no choice, joining into and being absorbed by our family. Then our culture assimilates us, and so forth. Resistance is Futile.
Discussing the matter further with my husband, I also thought about how our influences, no matter how insignificant they may seem to us, could have serious repercussions upon others. ANY loss of that influence caused by a time-traveller, could be disastrous.
Take this example. You're walking along the street and a complete stranger walks by eating a doughnut. Suddenly, the thought of eating a doughnut occurs to you. So, unplanned, you walk into that big-brand coffee shop. Oooh! Doughnut and coffee! So you get your doughnut and coffee and continue on the way. You pass another stranger and they smell your coffee. Suddenly she wants to have coffee. She turns into that same store. There, she stands in the sudden line of cafFiends, waiting her turn and the guy behind her bumps into her while he's reaching into the cold case for a yogurt. He apologizes, she smiles back and they chat for a moment about the weather. She gets her coffee and leaves, but thinks, "Gosh he was cute. I wonder if he's a regular." The next day she returns, they become friends and eventually marry. They have kids... etc.
Now. Imagine what would have happened if that first stranger had not been at that spot at that time to inspire you to stop in the coffee shop. The chances of her meeting Mr. Cute drop significantly in a large city where there's coffee shops on every corner (in Seattle, this is very literal). The chain of events is broken, and the time line changes.
As much as I personally like the fantasy of going back in time and changing something, Voyager's "Year of Hell" 2-part episode helps drive my point home. You fool with time on any scale, and you ruin what you know. Let's not do it folks. This goes the same for traveling forwards... just make the best choices you can now, and work towards your ideal future.
Another Philosophical discussion that started up was in response to a post on Facebook by the Star Trek group of "Who is the smartest character in DS9" begged the question, pure intelligence or intelligence with the wisdom to use it? We kinda left it there... ;)