Part 16: Episode 16: "Network Security"
Episode 16: "Network Security"Captain's Log posted:
There's a level of pressure here on the Romulan border. The Romulans attack, the Federation responds, and through it all both sides play lip-service to peace. I'm coming to understand why the Federation is so devoted to the concept.
Humans are an extremely innovative, adaptable, and curious species; and warfare brings out the best and the worst in them. Technological prowess notwithstanding, humans as individuals and human technology seems capable of adapting to changing conditions far more rapidly than their culture can compensate for. It's only in the times of relative peace that they're able to forge those innovations into a cohesive whole: and without peace, it seems there's a risk the Federation could be destroyed… not by the Klingons, but by cultural stresses.
The Pragmatism of the Prime Directive, for example, stands in sharp contrast to human morality. The Prime Directive is not a moral law to keep humans from interfering in the lives of species that aren't yet able to understand that men and shuttlecraft aren't gods and flying chariots. No, the Prime Directive is a pragmatic law which forbids humans from showing compassion in the face of a species' utter destruction (which, in many cases, they would be powerless to prevent). It absolves a human Captain of the inevitable, unenviable guilt of trying and failing to delay the inexorable advance of time.
The Romulans, the Klingons, the Cardassians… we have no such laws. To the Klingons, any race unable to survive on its own simply doesn't deserve to live. For my people, we simply never had time to worry about the moral implications of our rapid expansion-we were driven by need the same way early human expansion was, before humanity invented replicators. Cardassian space has always had extremely limited resources, so every resource available simply engendered fierce competition: either military, political, or covert.
The Romulans, however…
… I begin to suspect that all Romulans are insane.
BlipTV version
Captain's Log posted:
Once again, the Federation brushes an act of open aggression by the Romulans under the proverbial rug. I know humanity isn't afraid of war, of the consequences… indeed I think that open war with the Romulans would be a blessing in disguise: while it would mean war on another front, Klingon and Romulan space is virtually connected, and open war with the Romulans would finally free up the Federation assets along the Romulan border to finally go do something productive: namely, to go remind Sela that being an untrustworthy viper and biting the hand that's trying to feed you will probably just get you dead.
No, the Federation continues to ignore the Romulan insanity out of compassion. The Romulans have just lost their world, and, as their culture is built around violent insanity, they're simply "lashing out" to show their grief.
There are times I envy human compassion. This is not one of those times.
Votes are currently open for:
a) The name, gender, and role (tactical, science, or engineering) of our Romulan officer.