Thursday, December 31, 2009

Book: VOY: Unworthy by Kristen Beyer

The Delta fleet has launched with it's newly installed slipstream drive. However, many of the prominent figures on the expedition have closely held secrets- including Commander Tom Paris. How will these secrets affect first contact with a new symbiotic species group, and how will Seven' mental health be affected by that first contact?

Episode: ENT: Similtude

An engineering experiment gone awry leaves Trip with incurable brain damage. Phlox proposes and unorthodox treatment: growing a fast growing symbiont to provide needed neural tissue. Ethics are brought into question when it's discovered that, contrary to Phlox's original assessment, the symbiont would have to die to save Trip's life. The resolution of this story left me with a bad taste in my mouth (spoilers follow). It's as if you had a kid with two bad kidneys, decided to have another kid and donate his kidney, and when he is born with only one good kidney say "Sorry kid. The only reason we had you was to give Big Sib your kidney. Yoink!"

Friday, December 11, 2009

Book: Titan: Synthesis by James Swallow

Having left the water world Droplet, with one more soul aboard, Titan comes upon a binary system that is populated by sentient machines. The machines are fighting subspace incursions, and t=when the genesis of the incursions is revealed, so is the genesis of the machines. The book ends with the question unanswered as to whether Titan has gained another crew member or not.

Monday, December 7, 2009

ENT: Shipment, Twilight, North Star

In Shipment, the Enterpirse has followed the lead of Psychic Stalker Alien to a planet with a ketracite production facility which provided the fuel for the weapons both lainched and preparing to be launched against Earth. However, when Archer learns that the colonists had no idea what the ketracite was being used for, he has to learn to trust Xindi.
Twilight begins with Captain Archer waking up, shocked to find himself in Forks, WA , surrounded by vampires who.....oops- to find himself on an unknown planet, with T'Pol making him breakfast. In the course of her narrative, he discovers that 12 years previously he had been infected by parasites that prevented him from forming any new short term memories, the Xindi had destroyed most of humanity, the rag tag fugitive fleet of surviving humans had relocated to...Ceti Alpha V! You know that of course, before the end of the episode they find a way to restore history to what had been.
I can see the planning meetings for North Star. "What if we had some humans who had relocated far away from Earth, and lived like cowboys? Then we'd have...Firef...and episode of Enterprise!" Enough said.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

ENT: Exile

Hoshi, alone in her quarters, hears a strange voice calling to her. At the same time, T'Pol has found evidence of another sphere in the Expanse. The voice continues to haunt Hoshi, and soon takes control of her consoles too. Hoshi tells Archer she feels compelled to find the s
trange telepathic alien who is calling to her, but he is only convinced when the alien promises information about the Xindi. The alien turns out to be an exile from his people, who fear telepaths. Of course, he is not so eager to let Hoshi go. She is returned safely, and T'Pol makes a shocking discovery about the Expanse spheres.