Star Trek Ruminations

I can't personally comment on how "I, Mudd" compares to the first episode featuring Harry Mudd, but the comic overtones in this episode seem right on target. Not only is there some great banter between Mudd and Kirk, but the solution to overload the androids involves some all-out silliness that's plain entertaining. (In fact this episode contributes some great footage to the " Python's Camelot interlude, by Kirk and crew, " which I also happened upon recently.) But aside from all the silliness, it struck me that this episode lays the groundwork for a lot of modern Trek . What I mean is this: The androids in this episode have a kind of collective consciousness that almost anticipates the Borg collective. Norman is basically the Borg Queen of his day. He processes and controls the other "drones." If you can put all the silliness aside and consider the implications of what the androids were attempting to do, their objective to control biological l...

Earlier, while discussing the fractal-like organization of the Borg collective , I raised the following issue: On the Matter of Unimatricies - The term Unimatrix has been thrown around as a unit or division within the collective. Each unimatrix is a miniature collective, much as I have described above. We know that the Unicomplex is called Unimatrix 001. Beyond that, I am not certain if the term has been used consistently enough to be precisely defined. Is each Borg ship a Unimatrix, or does a Unimatrix encompass multiple ships? In other words, where does a Unimatrix fit in the layers of collectives? Any thoughts or observations on this would be appreciated. Recently I saw "Dark Frontier" ( VOY ) again and drew a significant conclusion: I don't think the writers had any clue what a Unimatrix is. The episode manages to use the term in at least two different and seemingly contradictory ways. In the opening sequence the Borg "coffin" ship says, "A vessel has...

Fractal - n. "In colloquial usage, it denotes a shape that is recursively constructed or self-similar, that is, a shape that appears similar at all scales of magnification and is therefore often referred to as 'infinitely complex.'" ( Wikipedia ) The Borg collective exemplifies this colloquial definition of a fractal - the idea of something that is the same at all levels of magnification. In effect, the Borg are a fractal civilization. The Borg, on the largest scale, form a collective. In fact, Seven of Nine often referred to the Borg simply as "the Collective." We can mentally picture this - swarms of cubes populated by a vast array of interconnected drones all fulfilling specific roles within the collective. Tasks are carried out for the whole. As much as each drone may perform some particular task, this specialization is part of a larger scale decentralization. There is redundancy built into the very fabric of the collective. Eliminate a drone, damage a...