Battlestar Galactica: "Revelations"--An Appeal for Peace.

They've been outed. In the most recent episode of Battlestar Galactica, "Revelations," Tory Foster, Samuel Anders, Colonel Saul Tigh, and Galen Tyrol were finally exposed as being four of the 'Final Five' Cylons. Oh, and the humans and Cylons made peace and found Earth, to boot.


Watch BSG "Revelations." (Courtesy of hulu.com--this will probably be up only temporarily).

Yep, "Revelations" was definitely a busy episode.

The first of the 'Final Five' to reveal themselves was, somewhat unsurprisingly, Tory Foster, who, under the cover story of delivering medicine to the captive President, chose almost immediately to join the Cylons--and turn on humanity.

Out of mistrust, the Cylons have a group of humans, including Roslin, onboard their basestar. The humans are held hostage aboard the basestar and are used for ransom to safely obtain the four Cylons from the humans' battlestar. As the 'Final Five' supposedly know the way to Earth, the humans don't wish to relinquish them. So the humans and Cylons are at an impasse, with D'Anna--now leader of the Cylons--taking the decision to execute hostages to press the humans' hand.

While Tory is fully ready to betray humanity, Saul Tigh remains loyal to humanity and to Adama, willing to forfeit his life on behalf of his friends.

The other four of the 'Final Five' Cylons fall someplace in between their fellows.

To make a long story short, the impasse is resolved peacefully, and together humans and Cylons travel to Earth upon a discovery made by Kara Thrace, the harbinger of death of humanity.

What they find is an Earth destroyed by war.

The episode is superb. And the creators of the show have a clear message: an appeal for peace.

Especially poignant is Lee Adama's take on the prophecy, "All this happened before and will happen again." Rather than an elaborate cycle of humans making machines that emulate and then overthrow them, then the humans flee and start anew, eventually making machines that emulate and the overthrow them, rather than that, Lee takes the message far more simply. It is cycle of attack and retaliatory counterattack, and retaliatory counterattack, and retaliatory counterattack, and retaliatory counterattack, etc. Something to which all peoples can relate. One side attacked another side, but that side does not have to seek vengeance against the former. This may have "happened before," but doesn't have "to happen again."

And the end of the episode beggars the question: at what stage in Earth's history is it? Is the devastated scenery Earth at some point in the future, or did the Thirteenth Tribe of humanity arrive on Earth with advanced technology, but then destroyed their civilization through violence? Is the Thirteenth Tribe extinct, and modern Terran humanity the descendants of the Twelve Colonies and the Cylons? Lots of questions to answer in the remaining episodes, even whether or not they actually found Earth.

Yet whether or not the ruined Earth represented a history or a future, Battlestar Galactica gives the viewers a stark warning in "Revelations." Peace is not that much of a voluntary option. Either humanity finds peace, or humankind will destroy itself.

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Why Star Trek: Enterprise Stank.

Reasons why Star Trek: Enterprise stank:

Bad Character Development
The main characters were, by-and-large, static, and weren't all that dynamic at all. They didn't change, progress, develop to much of a degree.

Captain Jon Archer starts out determined for humanity to reach the stars. Besides a few doubts about whether or not mankind was ready for interstellar exploration, a lapse in principles in the Expanse, and changing his opinion about the Vulcans, Archer at the end of the series was much the same as when he started.

T'Pol starts out somewhat bigoted against humans, but then changes opinion. Beyond this however, T'Pol is introduced as a somewhat aloof character and 'the weakest, neediest Vulcan you ever did see,' and ends weak, needy, and still somewhat aloof.

Trip also starts out bigoted against Vulcans and then changes. Yet he starts out as down-to-Earth good guy, and ends as a down-to-Earth good guy.

Similarly, Hoshi Sato doesn't develop beyond a bookish coward, Malcolm Reed doesn't develop beyond being lewd and uptight, Phlox beyond being awkwardly affable, and Travis Mayweather beyond being 'green' and somewhat bewildered (just how many times did that guy say, "Captain....?").

Especially when compared with their Trekkie/Trekker counterparts in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the cast of Star Trek: Enterprise had few character arcs, and little development.


Bad Acting

On top of the almost non-existent character development, which was the fault of the producers, there was also the bad acting with which to contend.

Scott Bakula, a seasoned actor, performed poorly as Jon Archer, barely venturing beyond being heated and bullheaded in temperament.

The other, less experienced, actors had more of reason for their less-than-spectacular acting skills.

Jolene Blalock wavered between restrictive and infantile as T'Pol. Dominic Keating had that under-your-skin loyalty-disciplined aspect to his Malcolm Reed. Anthony Montgomery, as Travis Mayweather, with his often slack expression and overly wide eyes (it was as though he was trying to pop them out) just added to the impression that his character was an idiot.

The remainder should be given some credit for at least trying for some variety--to limited degrees of success. Connor Trinneer's Trip was expressive, but not over the top. Phlox, played by Billingsley, too was expressive, and he stuck to his role as doctor, a smart decision not trying to over-play his role. Linda Park seems to have tried to make Hoshi a more varied character, and so deserves some credit for putting Hoshi more on the 'radar.'

Bad Plot

Ultimately, either of the above by themselves would have led to a pathetic series. However, both those qualities--bad character development and bad acting--were joined by yet another flaw which ruined the show: a bad plot, potentially the most critical flaw in the series (other other candidate being character development).

Extraordinarily erratic, the series, a prequel of the Original Series and the other Star Trek series and movies, was for the large part involved in the futuristic--more so than 'ordinary' Star Trek--'Temporal Cold War.' The show starts off with a mission of exploration (actually to bring a Klingon to Qo'noS), then changes to looking for the Xindi in the Expanse, then defeating the Sphere Builders, then defeating another group of aliens--and thus finally ending the Temporal Cold War, then exploring, then reforming Vulcan society, then establishing the groundwork for what would become the Federation.... with Andorian and other small interludes in between. The series just jumped from a point to another, occasionally before the first was completed. There was little overriding objective, such as Star Trek: Voyager's mission to Earth. The closest was forming a union of species, but that was subtle at most.

The show was not even given the honor of a decent series finale, but instead was given a pathetic summary of Enterprise's crew from a TNG viewpoint and time frame, with Enterprise being a part of a holodeck program. Technically, all of that episode was TNG; de facto, at least half was. And then they killed off Trip, probably the character to which fans were the most drawn. A despicable ending even for a sub-par show.

Bad character development, bad acting, and bad plot are the primary reasons for why Star Trek: Enterprise, which could have been a great series, was the dismal failure that it was.

Additional Links:
Star Trek: Enterprise's Official Website.
Memory Alpha entry on the series.

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Multiple Super-Earths Discovered in Single Star System.

In a solar system roughly 42 lightyears distant from the Solar System, orbiting a small star named HD 40307, a group of special planets has been discovered.

Called super-Earths, these are terrestrial--or rocky--planets with masses ranging from somewhat greater than that of Earth, but less than Uranus or Neptune. Whereas hundreds of gas giant exoplanets have been discovered since 1995, the number of super-Earths have to date been relatively few, although their number has just been boosted recently.

The newly discovered super-Earths around HD 40307 have been estimated to be 9.4, 6.7, and 4.2 times more massive than Earth. They have years of 20.4, 9.6, and 4.3 days. No news on whether or not any of them are in their star system's habitable zone, the region around a star warm enough for liquid water, but cool enough that the water does not turn into steam or boil off the planet. However, as they are all close to their star, and their primary is only slightly smaller than the Sun, it is a fair guess that the planets are too hot.

The exoplanets were discovered using the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) spectrograph located at a Chilean observatory, and is run by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

Along with the group of super-Earths in the HD 40307 system, 45 exoplanets classified as either super-Earths or small gas giants were revealed by the data from HARPS.

References
BBC
ESO
(within the links).

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The First Petaflop Supercomputer.

A milestone in computing was reached in the United States with the first supercomputer performing at petaflop speeds, or ten to the fifteenth power floating point operations per second. This major breakthrough is reported to have come from IBM's new supercomputer, codenamed Roadrunner, apparently a reference to the speedy bird which eludes Wily E. Coyote, or to the species in general. Roadrunner surpassed the next runner-up, a upgraded Blue Gene/L, also made by IBM, twice over.

The supercomputer makes uses of almost seven thousand ordinary processors about twelve thousand eight-core Cell processors to achieve its high speed.

Although an impressive record by itself, this is a major milestone because at petaflop speeds, a supercomputer can simulate things to much higher degree of accuracy than earlier supercomputers were previously capable. Such a computer could help simulate (or design) how molecules and compounds interact, such as in the design of new materials or in simulated protein folding. Therefore, a petaflop computer or higher could help produce novel new materials, from new substances for construction to more efficient solar panels to a room temperature superconductor. Or a supercomputer running at petaflop speeds can be used to gain greater insight into how various proteins in organisms--including humans--are made, and thus could be used to design new medicines or new treatments.

A petaflop computer is nearing the speeds necessary to simulate a human body, which is why this breakthrough is such a milestone from a technological Singularity standpoint. According to Kurzweil, often considered the father of the technological Singularity concept, a computer able to run at ten to the sixteenth power flops would be capable of simulating the human body, particularly the human brain. (The lower end of his estimate for human simulation is actually ten to the fourteenth power floating point operations per second, but he uses ten petaflops as a standard). Although some of Kurzweil's views are a tad loopy--such as trying to connect the Singularity to the formation of the elements, including hydrogen--in the realm of modern day Singularity, he makes some valid points.

Thus, a computer just ten times as powerful as Roadrunner could be able to simulate a human brain's functions. Although it would still need intelligent software, such a computer could start to match a human's intelligence, and the threshold of the Singularity would be reached.

Roadrunner, the first computer to reach petaflop speeds, could be a major point in history.

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Don't Wipe Threepio's Memory.

Threepio should not have had his memory wiped. At the end of the third episode of the Star Wars sage, Revenge of the Sith, Alderaanian Senator Bail Organa orders to have the C-3P0's memory wiped, apparently due to the droid's talkative nature. Things considering, that would be a fairly despicable action, and one which was hopefully not carried out.

Firstly, from the legal aspect. According to Naboo law, high intelligence droids were deemed to be sentient, and thus the Rights of Sentience enshrined in the Galactic Constitution would be applicable to them. As a high intelligence droid, Threepio would not have been Senator Amidala's property. Threepio would neither have been inherited by Organa, nor could the Senator justly order his memory wiped any more than he could have ordered the memory of an organic wiped. Threepio would have been his own master. Thus a memory wipe against his will would have been illegal, at least if Bail Organa was seeking to uphold the ideals of the Old Republic.

Lastly, Artoo's apparent reaction to the order, as shown in the film, was downright disgusting. It would be literally akin to some guy discovering that his closest friend has Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia, or even just amnesia. Because that's what Threepio would be facing. While the debilitating effects of dementia would not be there, he would lose his history. R2-D2 would not want that.

So, hopefully Artoo's reaction was actually due to his plan to save Threepio's memory. Potentially, just before the wipe, Threepio could transmit a copy of his memory to Artoo for storage--R2-D2 could hold the complete schematics for the Death Star within his casing, after all. This could be done wirelessly. Threepio is fluent in millions of forms of communication. It isn't such a stretch that this would include a way to transmit and receive highly condensed data in a few seconds or less. After his illegal purge, Artoo could upload Threepio's memory into.... Threepio. Additionally, he could give a warning to Threepio to keep his vocalizer shut about his memory being preserved and to stick with the story the wiper gave him.

If a new edition of Revenge of the Sith is released, along with including the bit showing Yoda landing on Dagobah, Organa's loathsome order to wipe Threepio's memory should be excised from the movie. Something for George Lucas to consider for a new edition--or even to put into a new novel (how Threepio retained his memory). As is, the situation is hideous.

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Aliens Aren't Minorities.

In the preceding articles, discussed were how aliens could be used as proxies for: Asians, Africans, Amerindians, or Europeans. Now all those groups will be discussed, and how these aliens relate to racism and anti-racism will be explained.

Seemingly as a response to the critique by some that science fiction was 'escapist' literature, modern science fiction is notable for trying to address current issues and their various facets. One of the most prominent of those issues is racism.

That so many science fiction stories and films not only address racism, but try to actively combat it is quite admirable. Especially considering the common reaction of the 'white' majority is one of being a 'silent majority.' The majority despise racism, but don't speak out against it or work to end racial discrimination. Exacerbating this is the fact that many non-'whites' don't have much solidarity. For instance, 'blacks' may join in with 'whites' in insulting Asians or Latinos, while people in those groups may join in with 'whites' in insulting 'blacks' and each other. Then there's the tendency of Asians to be racist among themselves (i.e. Northeast Asians looking down on Southeast Asians). And in rare cases there is contemptible racism towards 'whites' (as opposed to the much more common resentful racism towards 'whites'). Science fiction does a fair job at covering all of this. But, as will be explained, there are still flaws in science fiction authors' tactics.

The earlier articles which set a 'groundwork' of sorts, covered Star Trek, Star Wars, and Babylon 5. Although many other science fiction realms delve into racism, these are the stories that will be used here.

Anti-racism via alien relations began early on in Star Trek, with the Original Series. Spock was a frequent victim of 'speciesist' discrimination, subjected to many insults solely based on his being Vulcan.

In Voyager, B'Ellana Torres mentions being picked on as a child for being half-Klingon; racism is given as one of the main reasons for Torres' temper. B'Ellana once wished that her cranial ridges were less noticeable. Further showing how destructive racism can be, Torres initially seeks to alter the genome of her and Tom Paris' child so as to protect the child from the same insults Torres faced while growing up. Analogous to how many non-'whites' seek out 'white' spouses in the hopes that their children will be accepted as being 'American' or can pass as 'white.'

Star Trek Enterprise, in turn, deals with T'pol and Trip's Vulcan-human relationship. In this case, T'pol's mother states that if they had a child, that child would be a shame. After the Xindi attacks, there is speciesism on Earth; the Vulcans hide in their compound while Phlox faces bullies in a bar who try to intimidate him simply because he's non-human. (Somewhat related is the episode where Archer and co. travel to the Xindi colony and abduct the arboreal Xindi scientist who points out that not all Xindi are bad--an obvious link to the September 11 attacks and pointing out that not all Muslims are bad).

While the Star Wars films do not address racism directly--with an exception being the Imperial prison officer's reaction to 'prisoner' Chewbacca in A New Hope--the Expanded Universe potentially beats out Star Trek in this field. COMPNOR is a speciesist institution. Non-humans such as the Wookiees and Mon Calamari are enslaved by the Empire. Non-humans in general are considered as animals, and alien worlds lost their Senate seats soon after the establishment of the Empire. And even the Chiss look down on other species, a case of Asian racism. The Yevetha boil over into full-fledged genocidal speciesism. Meanwhile, the Gungans are just considered to be stupid, but not worth exterminating, by the human Naboo.

Babylon 5 plunges deep into the topic, actually pointing out how history is a large determinant of racism. The Narn hate the Centauri because the Centauri enslaved them. And because the Centauri were able to enslave the Narn, the Centauri hold contempt for the Narn. This parallels closely with many 'blacks' opinions toward 'whites,' and many 'whites' opinions toward 'blacks.' Similarly, humans and Mimbari have hostility toward each other due to the Earth-Mimbari War. Many Asians, and even some Americans, harbor great anger toward all Japanese based on Imperial Japan's aggression over sixty years ago.

While the use of aliens, and alien settings, is a 'safe' avenue for discussing racism, it isn't the ideal option.

Most poignantly is the fact that odds are an alien species would not be at the same level of development as a human. They would be either more developed, or less.

Aliens would probably not have the same neurotransmitter and hormonal levels as humans. They would thus be more or less aggressive or passive than humans, and would notably separate personalities and behaviors than humans.

Such is not the case for human 'races.' Although each human individual has slightly more or less mutations than other humans, and has varying hormonal and neurotransmitter levels than other humans--both within and between 'races'--all humans have pretty close to the same levels as other humans. All humans are quite similar in their physical composition.

And this is why using aliens--who would not be all that close to humans in intelligence and the way they viewed the universe--should not be used as proxies for 'races' of humanity. If science fiction wants to address and combat racism, they will have to be brave and address racism on either a human-to-human or species 'x' to species 'x' level. It is good that science fiction authors are trying to instill anti-racist stances in there readers and viewers.

Now they just have to be plucky enough to do it the proper, but hard, way.

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Aliens Aren't Amerindians (or Europeans).

From the Vulcans and Klingons of Star Trek to the myriad aliens of Star Wars, to the Mimbari, Centauri, and Narns of Babylon 5, extraterrestrial non-humans, and human reactions to them, have been used to address racism toward racial minorities in the West, primarily the United States. Although borne of good intent, this tactic for combating racism is neither ideal nor the smartest option.

Firstly, the aliens with their corresponding 'race:'

Amerindians and Europeans
From Star Trek, the Romulans, although distant cousins of the Vulcans (itself suggestive of the mildly racist idea that Europeans and Asians have much more in common than they do with Africans), have an empire obviously based on the Roman Empire. They are run be a proconsul, a Senate, and their planet is named Romulus, which also happens to be the name of the mythological founder of Rome (there is also a Remus for the Romulans). The Romulans are passionate and driven to conquest. There House system roughly approximates the noble houses in European post-Roman history.

In Star Wars, including the so-called Expanded Universe, there are the Yuuzhan Vong, who--while also representing aspects of the Hindu caste system and Islamism--share a fair amount in common with the Maya and other Mesoamerican peoples, in their ritual mutilation of themselves and others, their considering human sacrifice an honor, in their religion, and with their 'oneness' and great skill with nature.

In Babylon 5, almost uniquely for science fiction, Europeans are given their own race apart from humans, the Centauri. Along with humans, the major species in Babylon 5 are the Mimbari (Asians), the Narn (Africans), and the Vorlons (who don't correspond to a human 'race'). The Centauri used to have a great empire and many subject races, one of whom were the Narn. They have since fallen into decline. They are the most similar in appearance to humans (Americans). They are an epicurean species who are prideful and artistic.

Summary
Amerindians and Europeans are the 'races' least represented by extraterrestrial aliens in science fiction. Amerindians because they are few in number, and relatively little has been uncovered about their pre-Spanish (or other European) cultures and ways of life. Europeans because they are often treated the same as 'white' Americans, who usually are represented by humans. Babylon 5 is a notable exception to this tendency.

[This is the third part of a four part series, concluding with an article on how these 'racial aliens' are used to address the concept of racism; this article is primarily to set-up how aliens are linked to human 'races,' while the last in the series will actually address the racism part. The next article will be the conclusion, discussing how science fiction is used to address 'racial' bigotry, and how it falls short.]

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Aliens Aren't Africans.

From the Vulcans and Klingons of Star Trek to the myriad aliens of Star Wars, to the Mimbari, Centauri, and Narns of Babylon 5, extraterrestrial non-humans, and human reactions to them, have been used to address racism toward racial minorities in the West, primarily the United States. Although borne of good intent, this tactic for combating racism is neither ideal nor the smartest option.

Firstly, the aliens with their corresponding 'race:'

Africans
From Star Trek, the Klingons bear some resemblance to common, Western portrayals of African cultures, and racist attitudes toward African peoples. In a lesser strain, they are linked a bit to the Middle East. The Klingons are darker skinned than most Vulcans, and all of the non-TOS Klingons are darker than what would be considered 'white' in a human sense. They are a highly physical species, strong, but brutish. Their facial appearance, from their multiple brow ridges to their teeth seem designed to further their brutish aspect. Culturally, several Klingon knives share a curved shape in common with Middle Eastern weapons. The jejtaj could be based on a particular Zulu blade. Additionally, the Klingons live to a degree in squalor and filth. And they are depicted generally as being barbaric--when following their own cultural norms.

In Star Wars, including the so-called Expanded Universe, George Lucas was justly criticized for practically stating that the Gungans are Jamaicans. Their ears approximate a common Jamaican hairstyle, and there form of speech--an odd variant of Basic--is strikingly similar to Jamaican English. The Gungans are more technologically primitive than humans, and are depicted as somewhat less than competent (and not only Jar Jar).

For Babylon 5, which seems in part a series designed to combat racism, Africans are represented by the Narns. Narns were formerly slaves of the Centauri (Europeans), and at the start of the series hold an enormous and irrational grudge against their former masters. However, even in this series whose goal is to strike a blow at racism, the Narn ambassador himself, G'Kar, refers to his own species as being the youngest race to Delenn (and the Mimbari as the oldest) and points out that Narns are the only ones of the five major races represented at Babylon Stations. These points basically state that Narns are less developed both culturally and genetically than the others; by extension, this suggests that Africans are less developed culturally and genetically than other human 'races.' Clearly racist. Oddly, the Narns share in common with Klingons a Middle Eastern substratum--through religion in the case of the Narn--along with their African base.

Summary
Although with a spattering of complimentary aspects to 'African' aliens, as a whole, these races get a pretty bad wrap. Compared with the 'Asian' aliens, who are frequently portrayed as more sophisticated than humans (commonly used to represent 'white' Westerners), a common theme for 'African' aliens is that they are more primitive and barbaric than humans and other races, occasionally even genetically. The highest levels of clearcut racism, BY THE AUTHORS, are towards the 'African' aliens.

[This is the second part of a four part series, concluding with an article on how these 'racial aliens' are used to address the concept of racism; this article is primarily to set-up how aliens are linked to human 'races,' while the last in the series will actually address the racism part. The next article will discuss 'Amerindian and European' aliens.]

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Aliens Aren't Asians.

From the Vulcans and Klingons of Star Trek to the myriad aliens of Star Wars, to the Mimbari, Centauri, and Narns of Babylon 5, extraterrestrial non-humans, and human reactions to them, have been used to address racism toward racial minorities in the West, primarily the United States. Although borne of good intent, this tactic for combating racism is neither ideal nor the smartest option.

Firstly, the aliens with their corresponding 'race:'

Asians
From Star Trek, the foremost 'Asian' aliens are the Vulcans. The Vulcans physically have straight black hair (in later series, brown is also seen), sallow (yellow) skin, and slanted eye....brows. Socially, they are logical, and have an enormous degree of composure. Culturally, their writing system seems to be based on a cross between Chinese (vertical, with separating lines drawn onto the paper) and Indic script (flowing, with lines connecting words), while they meditate and practice martial arts. Other 'Asians' in Star Trek are the Andorians--with whom the Vulcans are often hostile--who play the part of the Palestinians (in this case, the Vulcans are the Israelis).

In Star Wars, including the so-called Expanded Universe, extraterrestrials bearing resemblance to Asian nations are also quite conspicuous. Duly criticized, was the portrayal of the Nemoidians as greedy, cowardly, immoral, business-oriented opportunists--charges often leveled at Chinese. Similarly, the critics pointed out that the Toydarian, Watto, played to Middle Eastern stereotypes. Also in the Middle Eastern vein--to some degree--are the Twi'leks and Hutts. Meanwhile, the Chiss are clearly a Chinese-Japanese mix, with the Vagarie being the Mongols. The Noghri bear a similitude to Filipinos. And the Yuuzhan Vong are used to address the South Asian caste system, Islamism, and East Asian warrior 'ethos.'

For Babylon 5, there are the Mimbari, a race that dresses in Chinese-Korean style garb, holds stereotypically Asian ethics, and is considered more advanced than, but more culturally stagnant than, humanity.

Summary
Overall, the 'Asian' aliens often tend to not get such a bad shtick, often considered to be more advanced technologically and more civilized than the humans (who--somewhat offensively--are practically synonymous with 'white' Westerners). Which is merely a manifestation of the actual world, where those of Asian descent are largely less mistreated in the West than those of African descent. As will be seen in the next part of this series, 'African' aliens do get a bad wrap.

[This is the first part of a four part series, concluding with an article on how these 'racial aliens' are used to address the concept of racism; this article is primarily to set-up how aliens are linked to human 'races,' while the last in the series will actually address the racism part. The next article will discuss 'African' aliens.]
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