Chemda's Star Trek Thread

[fraggle312]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

the Doctor seemed to be self-aware from day 1 which leads me to believe there's a process for giving it that quality that we deny them so we, frankly, don't have to deal with the ethics. and it seems to crop up naturally given enough uninterrupted time and acknowledgment from others around it. they treat the Doctor as a person from early on; Kes really saw to that. a hologram can discover it is holographic and be quite surprised. the bartender in Fairhaven does this very thing.



gracious, the Doctor marries a human. so, again, i have to assume at some point there's legislation created backing his sentience and agency if he can enter into a contract.

Took awhile for many of the crew to see the doctor as a person. I mean, a backup holographic doctor is a great idea! They did mess with his program a little though, so that may have contributed to his humanity. Seems like whenever they started messing with the holograms programming, they ended up with this issue. Moriarty, Fairhaven, the Doctor. It doesn't creep up naturally on its own. They gave the doctor more memory and processes and stuff so he could handle being on all the time and retaining so much info.



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[Sparrow]

when did they tweak his program? i don't remember that and i just got through it. they repair it sometimes, but his advancement was done of his own volition. /he/ chose his own additional sub-routines; singing, holo-photography, etc.

and we can debate if we want to the ethics around his 29th century holo-emitter. they bent the rules to let him keep that.

[fraggle312]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

when did they tweak his program? i don't remember that and i just got through it. they repair it sometimes, but his advancement was done of his own volition. /he/ chose his own additional sub-routines; singing, holo-photography, etc.

and we can debate if we want to the ethics around his 29th century holo-emitter. they bent the rules to let him keep that.

I think the first thing they did was give him the ability to activate and deactivate himself. Then I remember at some point they had to give him more memory so he could handle being on so much and retaining all that info. They stopped him from having to say "please state the nature of the medical emergency" and then as you pointed out, he made his own adjustments. I feel like B'lana and Harry were often messing with his programming to help his subroutines and all that.


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[picard102]

The Doctor was programed to appear sentient. From Eye of the Needle

KES: He's self aware, he's communicative, he has the ability to learn.

JANEWAY: Because he's been programmed to do that.

By the end of the episode we see him gain control over his deactivation protocols, and an open offer to make further adjustments if he would like.

Later on in Latent Image they discuss how they "gave him a soul", added personality subroutines.

Even by Author Author the idea that he is in fact sentient is still up for debate. Being granted the ability to be considered an artists legally, but not giving him the definition of sentient.

Data on the other hand was built with the intentional limitations that he would have to overcome to evolve.

[fraggle312]

Just watched an episode of DS9 where Odo and Dax go to a planet in the Gamma quadrant and discover that *spoiler* there is a planet full of holograms. One guy is "real". They convince him that the people in his holographic town are real because he programmed them to grow old and reproduce and so they grew and cared about him. Another bit of evidence that holograms can be programmed to be sentient beings. Although sometimes they programmed just to give massages or serve drinks or fight.


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[Sparrow]

finished Voyager, now i'm doing some DS9. holy moly, this is ringing particularly relevant.

the Bajorans aren't taking any of these displaced refugees; they could, but they won't. i mean, they just got out from underneath being holocuasted,…still, though.

[Sparrow]

so, the Bajorans are the Jews, the Cardassians are an Axis power, and the Federation are the good 'ole Allies keeping Bajor something like free post-liberation with hopes to turn them into a Federation planet b/c they have a strategic position near and control of (with Federation backing) the galaxy's only known stable worm hole.

i think with the airstrikes in Syria and posturing with North Korea, now might be a good time to examine our war related ethics through a Trekkie lens.

[Sparrow]

oooooh shit! O'Brien gets arrested by the Cardassians and it's a critique on our own prison system. Keiko is pissed.

[fraggle312]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

finished Voyager, now i'm doing some DS9. holy moly, this is ringing particularly relevant.

the Bajorans aren't taking any of these displaced refugees; they could, but they won't. i mean, they just got out from underneath being holocuasted,…still, though.

I dunno. I guess it makes sense but then they were all "we are farmers. We could make stuff grow in that land where you've been struggling and then I was wondering if maybe they could help each other. What if they had let them stay there but the Federation agreed to step in and help support them if they started struggling? Definitely had mixed feelings by the end of that episode. Just saw it a week or so ago.


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[fraggle312]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

so, the Bajorans are the Jews, the Cardassians are an Axis power, and the Federation are the good 'ole Allies keeping Bajor something like free post-liberation with hopes to turn them into a Federation planet b/c they have a strategic position near and control of (with Federation backing) the galaxy's only known stable worm hole.

i think with the airstrikes in Syria and posturing with North Korea, now might be a good time to examine our war related ethics through a Trekkie lens.

Seriously. The Cardassians persecuted the hell out of the Bajorans. So many Holocaust parallels. Definitely makes DS9 one of the darkest series.


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