I’m Just a Fringe Trekkie

Tags

astronomy, Carl Sagan, evolution, exploration, Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction, Star Trek, universe

I adored and admired Carl Sagan and read all his books with great enjoyment. I learned a lot, but one thing that Carl and I did not have in common was his conclusion that there was no better time to be alive as an astronomer than this moment.

I would say nay, nay to such a suggestion. This is precisely the wrong time and place to be alive.  Even before my love affair with astronomy and the great wide universe with all its mysteries came to my attention, I fairly thought there were more interesting times to live in.

I, as a young child, read a lot, and I always sought out stories about ancient Rome. I watched all the movies regarding that time, even the religious ones, because for some reason that time held a fascination for me.

Yet, the great unknown of space was always my favorite, and thus I became a seriously devoted Trekkie back in the 60’s. I never of course missed an episode of the original, and I’ve seen I suspect all of “Next Generation” as well as “Deep Space” and “Voyager.” We have even watched I think most of the “Enterprise” shows though that one finally petered out.

I was not a crazy person along the lines of the nerds on Big Bang Theory. I did not attend a convention, nor did I outfit a basement as a Enterprise “bridge” nor did I buy clothing and dress up as Uhura. (Believe me, I actually know folks who did! I know you are out there Data!!!) I was to all intents and purposes, a normal person.

Yet, I singularly day dreamed of living in a time when travel between the stars was common. I wanted to be aboard such a vessel and travel from place to place and meet all these wonderful sentient beings.

I cannot tell you why this was important. It was, and frankly it still is. I have such a desire to “know.” I am convinced that the universe must be teeming with life. Life, proven on this planet, suggests that it has a tenacity of will that is unprecedented. Life struggles and fights to survive. Any trip to the poles or the deepest ocean depths proves this beyond any suggestion to the contrary.

Life alters itself, adapts, evolves in whatever ways are necessary to live in a world that is alien, even to us humans. No oxygen? No light? No matter. Life on earth can find a way. If you don’t believe in evolution then travel to the deepest part of the ocean, some seven miles down or more, and find weird and exotic life forms, seen only by a handful of humans. No rational God would create life there for no reason except to be seen by a few. No, such life evolved naturally, to accommodate a bizarre and unique place.

Thus, as I see it, life in the universe also struggles and adapts as it needs to to find purchase upon rocks near suns throughout this unimaginably huge space-time continuum. And I assume that it takes forms that are outlandish and perhaps not even understandable to us humans. We might, at least at first, not even recognize it as life. 

To be aboard a ship roving the solar winds in search of explorable planets would be exciting indeed. To wiz from place to place in relatively short time periods. To beam from location to location obviating all that time spent in terminals. Ah, what joy.

A time when illness is rare, where life is long, where work is productive, where there is no poverty, where all have the ability to reach their potential? Yes, I know, this is not given, but surely, it is likely. To reach such astounding technical advancement and not have solved our societal issues, is not acceptable in my way of thinking.

For a number of years, my desire for this future was so strong that I read just tons of science fiction, reveling in the worlds and lives we would or might live in the future. Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur Clarke, and dozens of others plied me with the sweet nectar of “future” worlds.

Perhaps there is something to be said for readers of fiction, science or otherwise. Are we escape artists? Are we looking for something we find lacking in our time and place? Perhaps. Perhaps we are locked into a not recognized mind set that assumes all our daily worries and cares will evaporate in this brave and new world. Perhaps.

The sciency fi type of TV we are finding all over the place today, well, I can tell you that I enjoy a good deal of it. Although, there is so much, with Heroes, and Eureka, Fringe, and Sanctuary, Battlestar Galactica, and Stargate, Lost, and on and on, that maybe I’m getting a bit jaded. Maybe some of the wonder and mystery is fading.

I am not sure, but I still think Carl was wrong. A hundred years or so in the future, I think I’d like to be around then. But then, perhaps, God has plans I have no access to yet. Perhaps I have some space future after this one of which I am as yet unaware. Perhaps I still will sail on ships powered by dilithium crystals to exotic realms. I hope so;  I’m looking forward to meeting Tribbles and the staid Vulcans, and robots galore!