i don’t think i ever explained that the idea of this AU was to eventually actually illustrate a set of cards, but art block and everything else has been making me sit on these designs for awhile without actually finishing the clubs category. i will certainly add more as time goes on, but here’s what i got for now
Um, so, I’d like to address “Fair Haven” 6x11. It created a lot of mixed emotions. Overall it was really funny, and I hated it. Sorry if this is a downer, but it’s really bothering me.
The plot follows a fallacy that we often see played out in this universe. Because the Doctor is a character, the writers bestowed personship upon him despite him being a hologram. This is backed up by his role in the plot, and the obvious implication that viewers should view him as a person. It is not backed up with a soul or any other real basis for sentience, it’s just something we accept as part of the story universe. However, because the Doctor, a hologram, is a person, he frequently argues that other holograms are persons. Usually, these are cases where, again, the writers bestow personhood and the viewers simply accept that as part of the story, as we accept alien races and warp drive, but with less logical basis (there’s no reason to think computer programs can be sentient, while there is a theoretical basis for aliens and fast space ships).
Holodeck characters are in a different bracket. The lines are always a little blurry, but, while holodeck characters can have personalities and by association with the computer can develop very personal, interactive behavior toward the crew, they are not really considered people except in exceptional cases, and then still not with huge clarity (Moriarti in TNG). But in normal holodeck programs, theyare not considered to have personhood. Otherwise, it would be immoral to use them purely for entertainment, to conjure them up whenever the crew got bored and delete them just as often. Holodeck characters are not people. They’re just interactive programs.
In this episode, Janeway expresses hesitation to be involved with a holodeck character because she doesn’t think it can love her back. What I hate so much about this episode is that I think she got it right. It can’t love her. It isn’t real. No matter how human it may look and act, it doesn’t have emotions, and it can’t love. Everything that it does is just the very smart computer running a program. Having a relationship with a holodeck character is the equivalent of scrolling through Tumblr looking for a dophamine rush. The computer and Tumblr both adapt what you see to appeal to your interests based on your input. And Janeway stated she gave the computer plenty of input to create a program she would like. The character doesn’t love her, it just is designed to make her think it does. She made this illusion for herself. Furthermore, having an intimate relationship with a holodeck character is also not love, its just space age masturbation. A relationship with a holodeck character is not a relationship. It’s entertainment.
Moral implications aside, it bothers me that they brush aside the reality of the situation. I think it does Janeway a disservice to be encouraged to lean into the “relationship” rather than reminding her that, while this is a tool to stay entertained and to soothe her loneliness, any time she spends building a relationship, putting up with annoyances, getting to know the character- it will always be a one way investment with a computer on the other end. Any emotions she feels toward the hologram, any generosity or kindness or patience or thoughtfulness applied toward it is applied toward the equivalent of a brick wall, no matter what it might look like.
One last thing, I realize that in this universe it might be possible for holodeck characters to be people. As previously stated, the Doctor, a hologram, is a person in this universe, and he is not the only example of a computer program gaining an apparently soul as a plot device. However, in this case I felt that all the evidence suggested that the holodeck character Janeway was getting involved with would not be such a case. If it was, that should have been much clearer. I just felt that the situation was seriously mishandled and it left me verybothered
Remember, in our universe robots will never have souls and will never have feelings, no matter how convincing they may be. Don’t forget.
This.
If Janeway wants a holo-vibrator because she believes it’s her only option, that’s fine with me. Better than fine, actually — realistic within the fictional universe. Janeway/Sullivan is not a two-person romance; it’s a lonely woman and a futuristic sex doll. And that’s actually interesting.
We need a good episode from the perspective of a hologram gaining sentience. It would literally be psychological horror. The Truman Show in space.
What about Spirit Fol….
Yeah, I couldn’t even say type that with a straight face. Wow I wish those Fair Haven episodes would get lost in vault somewhere.
(And yes, I know they weren’t sentient holograms, but the idea seemed to be regular holograms picking up on something being off and their reaction to that)
Bro tbh I think they were totally sentient though! The ep was treated as comedy but like!!! HELLO.
Legit wanted Michael Sullivan to try to avenge his dead wife.
I wish we could have seen Voyager change more throughout the seven seasons because I like the original idea about Voyager being unrecognizable.
When Janeway hails Starfleet command they are greeted by a bridge that has been rebuilt with Borg technology, officers that hasn’t worn their uniforms in three years and the various crewmen, liberated drones, hitchhikers, criminals and at least five dogs she has picked up on the journey. The dogs roam the ship freely, as does Janeway’s and Paris’ salamander offspring.
There’s definitely a duality in this concept which I’ve touched on before too, in the sense that there’s comedy and tragedy there. You can have comedy in those moments where their lives are absurd yet normalized to themselves, but tragedy when their changed selves return home and have to adjust to lives made for what feels like other people. So there’s definitely several ways to tell that story.
