Technology
Star Trek: Voyager, Season 7, Episode 18, "Human Error"
In this episode of Mission Log, hosts John Champion and Norman Lau delve into 'Human Error,' the 18th episode of Star Trek: Voyager's seventh season. They explore Seven of Nine's s...
Star Trek: Voyager, Season 7, Episode 18, "Human Error"
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Interactive Transcript
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You're listening to a Rod Vary podcast.
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Mission log, a Rod and Vary Star Trek podcast, episode 592, human error.
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Welcome into another episode of Mission log, a Rod and Vary Star Trek podcast.
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I'm John Champion and I'm Norman Lau.
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Each week on Mission log, we explore a story in a fantasy simulation and figure out if the
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lessons can shed a little light on real-world morals, meanings and messages.
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And we ask ourselves if it stands the test of time.
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This week, human error, the one where seven of nine goes through an all-too-human process of
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living out a fantasy while finding that it has some repercussions when she gets back to work
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the next day. I'll be right back to trivia, but first, here's Norman with all the details on
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how to reach us. We'd love to hear from you. Mission log is a conversation about Star Trek.
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Find us on Facebook at Mission log pod and on Instagram and threads at Rod and Vary podcasts.
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The conversation always continues in the Mission log discord with near-daily live events and 24-7
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chat about the topics you love. Get your invitation to our private server by joining patreon.com slash
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Mission log. While you're at it, one of the most important ways to help your favorite podcasts
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is to leave a five-star rating and a review at Apple or your preferred podcast platform.
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And remember, your comments could be used on the show.
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And now here's John Champion with this week's trivia.
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All right, here we go for human error. We have a story credited to Andre Bormannis
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and Kenneth Biller. And we saw Andre's name in the credits earlier this season with the
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teleplay for a nightingale. And here he shares that story credit with Ken, who most recently
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was credited on both parts of workforce. Now, they got the story credit. We go up to the
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teleplay and that is credited to Brandon Braga and Andre as well. And it's good to see Andre's
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name here again in writing the teleplay. Now, he said that he would... he took this quite seriously.
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He wanted to explore themes of PTSD in the episode. He's glad with the way that it turned out. And
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also, you may have noticed. So we haven't seen Brandon's name on a teleplay since the very beginning
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of the season with Unimetric Zero Part 2. It's appropriate that he would then house him in
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put on this story since those two are connected. And Brandon had some interesting ideas about how
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this story would inform seven's future, which well, we can talk about later in the season. Don't
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want to give away everything now. But let's just say that the idea of a bored glitch that could
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potentially cause harm. That was not an accident. Now, by this time though, Brandon was working on
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getting enterprise off the ground and considerably less involved in the day-to-day on Voyager.
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The episode is directed by Alan Croker. And we just talked about Alan's work on workforce.
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And now we are at the penultimate of his episodes for Voyager before he makes the jump over to
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enterprise as well. Now, Norman, this is one of those times where we get to keep the trivia pretty
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toy. When we look at guest stars, let me point your direction into the past few episodes where
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the production spent all that money on guest stars just so many guest stars. One after another,
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we're going to save some money this time by relying purely on our regular and recurring characters.
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So no guest stars for a human error.
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Welcome to the Delta Quadrant. There's fewer than 200 people on this ship. You can't swipe too far left.
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Prologue. In her private practice room, 7 of 9 plays the piano. She appears to change her hair
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falls loose upon her shoulders, her ocular and hand implants vanished. Her only companion is the
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metronome, relentless, mechanical, exacting. Each tick demands flawless execution, a reminder that
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in pursuit of perfection, resistance is futile. Act 1.
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Envoyager's mess hall, the crew celebrates Bologna's and Tom's baby shower, with gifts ranging from
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logic puzzles to standard-issued diapers, and even a warm toast from seven coaxed by Chicoetay.
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For a moment, she seems integrated, much like at the piano, her hair's loose, her
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the holiday fades, and seven returns to duty in form and appearance.
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Bologger has entered a region where stray energy discharges, warned of danger.
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Janeway assigns seven to analyze the readings while urging her to attend the real baby shower,
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despite her discomfort. Seven resists, retreating again to her holiday refuge.
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There, she shows Nielix her new quarters, clad in her new Starfleet uniform.
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As he offers decorating advice, Chicoetay arrives and gives her a traditional dream catcher.
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After Nielix departs, seven, reading the moment well, banners with the holographic Chicoetay and
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invites him to dinner. He accepts with charm. It's a date. Act 2.
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During her weekly check-up and after and during the doctor's singing and his probing into her
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personal affairs, something seems off. A few minor physical abnormalities to serve seven's
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otherwise near-perfect operational status. Returning to astrametrics, she and Tuva conclude that
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the random energy discharges pose a genuine threat to Voyager's passage. Seven proposes
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creating a program to forecast these eruptions and allow timely course adjustments.
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After each he believes her shift, seven stops by engineering. Not only to present Bologna
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a belated baby shower gift, but also to seek advice on personal style. Amused, yet intrigued,
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Bologna offers a few tips on cultivating a new look. Seven's uncharacteristic curiosity bewilders
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both Bologna and Harry before she retreats once again into her holodeck refuge. This time,
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her experiment and her appearance have evolved. When Chicoetay arrives, seven follows with care
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what she believes are proper social protocols. Yet as they begin cooking together, and whether or
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not that is a euphemism, both she and Holo Chicoetay find themselves drawn into something far deeper
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than either anticipated, though only within the confines of fantasy. You must remember this. A kiss
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is just a kiss. A sigh is just a sigh. Or so the saying goes, that question remains, do the fundamental
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things apply as seven's holiday time goes by. At three, snapped from her fantasy by the real Chicoetay,
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seven is forced to confront the tension between illusion and reality, pulling her in unexpected
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directions. Leaving the warmth of Holo Chicoetay and comfort of her simulation, she arrives late for
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her duty shift in astrametrics, alapsed both Chicoetay and each have note as uncharacteristic of her
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flawless punctuality and efficiency. New data confirms Voyager has wandered into what appears to be a
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weapon's testing range strewn with active warheads. After Chicoetay assesses the situation and returns
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to the bridge, each eb, ever diligent, reminds her of calibration duties. Instead of focusing, she
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lashes out, irritated by his precision and quiet judgment of her absenteeism. Escaping back into her
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holiday refuge, she sits once more beside Holo Chicoetay, who praises her piano playing. But he
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silences the metronome, urging her to feel the music, not merely perfect it. Her discomfort is not
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with the notes, but with the fear, the fear of stepping beyond rigid control into the uncertainty of a
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motion. Yet while she lingers in fantasy, the hours meant for safeguarding Voyager slip away.
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She had one job, to be the early warning system for Janeway and the bridge, and now the ship
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may pay for her negligence. Act 4
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After returning to her post in astrametrics, seven not only fails to initiate her early warning
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algorithm, but also delivers incomplete data to Tom as he maneuvers against another shockwave.
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Janeway and Chicoetay notice the lapses, critical readings missing, reports delayed.
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Confronting her with cold hard evidence, Janeway reveals the truth. Nearly 50 hours spent in the
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holodeck over six days while duty went neglected. Seven deflects citing a personal experiment,
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but Janeway senses something deeper, an evasion more personal than professional.
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Back in astrametrics, each abdutifully explains how he has compensated for her missed detections.
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Seven, uncharacteristically, terse with her protégé cannot disguise the strain.
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She is faltering, unable to balance fantasy with responsibility, and the cost is mounting,
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for the ship, and for the fragile connections she has begun to form with others.
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When she returns to her program, intent on ending her relationship with Holo Chicoetay,
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her body betrays her. Weakness overtakes her, and before she collapses, she summons the doctor.
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The computer locates her in holodeck 2. He finds her unconscious on the floor.
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The simulation is still running. Terminating the program he sees the truth,
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her ocular implant is overloading, and there is the possibility that that damage could be much worse.
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At 5. In sick bay, the doctor informs seven that her cortical node
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nearly shut down, and only his intervention prevented permanent damage.
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She claims her activities were merely research, but he's already seen her simulation.
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Private quarters, a special dress, and a dinner with a holographic Chicoetay.
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Or luckily, she admits that emotional fragments from her experience in Unimatrix Zero left her
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unfulfilled, driving her to seek further introspection. The doctor praises her self-analysis,
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but seven dismisses his sentiment, insisting they were distractions, inefficient fantasies she
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intends to delete. Suddenly, Voyager is pursued by a new subspace warhead locked onto its warp
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signature. Torpedoes fail evasive maneuvers prove useless. At Janeway's order, seven takes control,
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analyzing the circuitry and proposing a desperate solution. Transport extraction of the detonator
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itself. Against impossible odds, she succeeds, and the missile crumbles harmlessly across the hall.
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Later, the doctor's diagnosis cuts deeper than the crisis. Her node is not malfunctioning,
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but designed a Borg fail save to suppress individuality by shutting down higher brain functions
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whenever emotions intensify. Surgery could remove the inhibitor, but seven refuses. Not at a
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fear of risk. But a reward. To her, efficiency must prevail over distraction.
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In the corridor, Chacote invites her to join the crew for Neilix's latest cooking lesson.
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She declines, claiming she's lost interest. He encourages her to spend more time with the crew,
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but she walks away. Her expression pained, marked by the quiet realization, that to air is human.
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The end. Nicely done, nice toy recap, like a toy, all the emotional highs,
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and complicated lows, which we'll get into. That prologue, the teaser section is super short.
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It's intriguing, just because this is a version of seven we've never seen before. She's playing
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Chopin, and wow. Yeah. Cool. I haven't been keeping score, but we've mentioned a couple times that
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there have been several really short cold ovens. I'm wondering where this falls like in all of them.
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I'm sure someone out there has information. Oh, yeah. I'm sure it's probably on memory
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all for something. And this is probably at least in the top five or top three. It may be
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it's so short, I don't know, but it is. It is awfully. I heard the metronome ticking back and forth,
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and it kind of kind of flashed me back to when I had to use metronomes for piano and violin.
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There's something they just kind of drive you. I was about to say forward, but mad at the same way.
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Yeah. I remember various metronomes in various rehearsal situations or whatever, but we also,
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I think at home, we had an electronic metronome as well. You'd switch it on, and you could change the
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speed, the tempo, and that was cool stuff. In the holodeck baby shower, did holodeck two-vac give
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a lot of time for the baby a rubik snake? Is that kind of what it looked like? I thought so too.
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I had one of those in the 80s. Yeah. I know that there are people out there that say, you know what,
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I wish I don't have to go to that wedding or don't have to go to that baby shark, because I'm obliged
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to bring a gift. But the thing is that I'm pretty sure that these gifts are replicated, so
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are they spending replicator rations on a baby's gift? Is that thing? Yeah, Tom can't have prime rib,
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because yeah, well, he's the one receiving the gifts in this case, but you know, you think about it,
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he can't get a replicator ration for something. Here's the other thing, I just thought of this.
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If they don't like the gifts, can they just put them back in the replicator and come out?
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Let's come out with something else. That's what I would do, and then get the dinner you want to.
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Yeah. Exactly. You catch Tom's joke after so Nielix gives him the diapers, you know, Starfleet's
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finest, and then you hear Tom say, it's kind of off camera, I guess we know who to fall of here is
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a containment breach. I saw Uncle Harry. I'm wondering if like so in the background as
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as Roxanne is putting, you know, showing the diapers off, Tom's like a or she's like fumbling
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the Rubik's snake. I'm wondering if that was like a conscious decision, a director's decision,
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or just an accident, a happy accident. Oh yeah, yeah, good question. Yeah, but it was a natural
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bit of business there, you know, really loved it. Seven requesting a uniform, and they didn't
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tip their hat really in the set. Right. So the first time I watched it, I was like, oh yeah, okay,
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well, now this is where seven is in her life. This is great. Yeah, I think the only thing that,
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you know, made you kind of, I guess, look at this particular scene a certain way, or the missing
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Borg implants, you know, her ocular implant and her hand implant. It was a weird kind of
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exchange when Janeway says, well, now, since your implant's begun, you might want to have,
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you want to think about having children of your own one day, because you know, without Borg implants,
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of course, the next logical step is pregnancy. Right. First of all, first of all, still has
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Borg nanoproves running throughout her bloodstream. And Janeway's super presumptuous. I'm just
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wondering, I know this probably should be helpful for discussion, but I'm wondering if everything that's
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happening in that holiday scenario is exactly what she wants to hear. Well, we're going to get into
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that because I've got a big, big question. I think that will explore a bit. And of course, you know,
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yes, the reveal here, it is a holiday scene. And then I love her talking to holiday Nielix.
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And he's saying, well, people decorate things like they put stuff around like Harry has some of
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these, you know, wooden knickknacks and stuff. And I just, I like the idea of you use a replicator
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ration. I just need knickknacks. I need like a, I need an ash tray from a stuckeys. You know, I
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need that little, you know, the crab with the googly eyes and make out of shells down in Florida.
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You know, you probably get some down there for me. Or the ice. That's like a best use of
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rock hater ration, you know, allowances just to get the googly eyes. It really is. Yeah. Yeah.
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Yeah. Just put them everywhere. And I like, I like her response to Nielix suggesting getting
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curtains like give me some privacy. She's like, privacy. We're in space. You never know. Yeah.
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And great. Chico, Jay shows up at the dream catcher. And I guess his people just intensified
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in that moment. I know this is kind of skipping ahead a little bit. But is Chico, Jay's gift a
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dream catcher or a date catcher? Whoa. Yeah. I don't think you're jumping ahead at all because
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as he comes in, they're, they're, they're cramping up the, is a intention is intensify.
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Yes. Exactly. I love the doctor saying sleep, little warrior, as the Klingon Lullaby, which reminds
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me a bit of a children's book narrated by Samuel Jackson and the title of that book. I cannot
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look it up. I'm wondering, is there like a contrast hole obligation that allows Robert Piccardo
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just basically sing most of his lines? Is he like Elvis? Might be. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's kind of
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like that. Each ad coming into astrametrics and a couple of times he, he drops the famous quotations.
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And there's a note, don't, don't kill the messenger. But he's saying that he read Etappus Rex and
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up the light. Wow. Each ad. I'm not here to tell you how the rest of that story goes. But boy,
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are you in for something? Question is, did he read it in the original Klingon? Because that's the
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way you're saying it. Yeah. Really. Exactly. Speaking of Star Trek 6. So the whole thing with like
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Janeway telling Tom to turn Voyager into the wave, that reminded me of what Sula was saying in Star Trek
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6 with the Praxis Wave. Yeah. Here's the meta thing. It would have been really cool if Tuvok suggested
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that he was there. Oh God, that would have been so cool. I love that we get two distinct
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sevens in this episode. So I love her trying to socialize in real life now by giving a gift
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belated to Belana for the baby and then asking about the hairstyle. It's just so charmingly awkward
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and humorless. Therefore, there is humor. Exactly. Great. Great stuff. Cut to the holodeck then.
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And I love seven in her inimitable seven style, giving orders on how to chop vegetables.
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How do you see microns? I mean, I understand seven seeing microns. Of course.
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Chico te. Yeah. How do you see? How do you taste something? And it's just I don't want to skip ahead.
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Let's talk about the menu though because Braised Leaks is a starter. I love Braised Lakes.
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So great choice. I love Rack of Lamb. These are all great choices. We don't know what's on the
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dessert menu. But why is Chico te chopping like three pounds of carrots? Because she did not
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mention carrots. And I'm it. Look, you can do it with that. She also didn't mention desserts. So
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maybe carrot cake. Oh, God. Like three pounds of carrots and part of Chico te's turn.
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That is not good. Okay. Yeah. But here's the thing. When you start tasting salt off of each
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other's fingers, there's only one direction. The rest of that scene awkward. So yeah. Yeah.
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Yeah. Exactly. That is exactly how I can go. It's a very, very awkward setup. Like I know they
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are both professional actors. I grant you that. It's just there's something like, okay, do you
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remember that scene in back of the future when Lorraine in the car? She tries to make out with, you
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know, the Calvin Klein, right? Yeah. Calvin. And she says like the way I feel when I kiss you,
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it feels like I'm kissing my brother. That's what it feels like when I watch that scene. Right? Yeah.
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Well, and I guess you have to ask yourself, is it because you have an awkward seven of nine
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and you have a holadette construct of Chico te? So is it because of that? Because of the in
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universe or is it because as a viewer, it's also hard to separate. Oh, no, that seven of nine
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and Chico te who are two characters, I have grown to no one understood. Kind of both. I mean, because
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there's something like weird about the whole, you're beautiful when you're chopping, you know,
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because that's like Chico te for my flirtation intensifies. Right? Because yeah, it's I can see like
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Chico te was like that, you know, with Janeway and not like that. Obviously with, you know, seven,
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because he's not real. But right, Belgren can pull that off. He has that kind of swagger.
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It's just weird here. Yeah. Oh, man. All right. I love this creepy dream sequence. So Alan
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Croker direct this one. I could very much see like a David Livingston shooting that sequence.
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You know, some fish eye and we're streaky lighting effects and they're very good stuff. And also
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just patently creepy waking up next to holo Chico te and then having to go to work with the real thing.
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Should we give him a new name? I'm thinking hello, Tay. Hello, Tay. Oh, yeah. Hello, Tay. Yeah.
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Is holo Chico te. Yeah. Yeah. I dig it. Let's do it. I'm going to need a, a discord icon for that,
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you know, a mojie for that. I like the board green lighting because it's very shorthand for board.
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I dig kind of like the circuitry behind the metronome. So this is a much a long trademark techno metronome.
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So yeah, I like to do that. That's good. Remember folks, seven's loose hair when her hair is
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disheveled. It's shorthand for something's wrong with her. Yeah. But she's gotten really good and
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really fast at taking it down and putting them. Yeah. Because that has to happen multiple. She's
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efficient this time for sure. So yeah, yeah. Better late than never. It's just me shawl. Yeah.
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But he was, but he gets to play it straight. Like no, this is like literally better late than
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ever. And you can't, you can't fault. Now here. Of course. I love seven though with the
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you're relieved. Also, starfleet for dismiss and also starfleet for get out. And again,
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we're going to come back to it. But I just love seeing Jerry play seven in the holodeck. So
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differently from Jerry in or from seven in real work life. You know, we'll definitely be doing
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more discussing. And yeah, again, a little, you know, neglect of duties, but we'll we'll get into
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that. Holiday can do that though. I mean, if that's not like that's not untraditional for
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holiday use in Star Trek, you know, it's it has a way, you know, way laid many a starfleet officer.
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There, there's a long and story. Riker. Yeah. Starfleet officers get maybe a little
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sideline in the holodeck, but here's the thing what Riker didn't have. He didn't have to
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answer to Janeway. And nothing scares me more than having to answer to a disappointed Janeway.
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And then and then seven actually lying about why her work was taking so long. This is this is
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heavy stuff. Here's the interesting thing about that. Not that Janeway knows or letting on that she
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knows she knows. But it's this romantic triangle now that's being created between seven on one side,
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Janeway on the other side, Chico, T not necessarily in the middle, but holodeck,
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Cote's feelings, you know, or seven's feelings for him in the middle, which is like, okay,
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but things that you're not walking around and saying like, oh, Janeway's like, oh, I'm going to
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clock seven clocking Chico, T walking in and out of the bridge with her with a smile or a
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smirk or some kind of reaction. And also, and does she really know what's going on? Or does she just
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know like she's lying to me? She knows there's a lie. But yeah, yeah, interesting. We'll
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again, he he comes back into the into the holodeck into seven's quarters and he says he smuggled
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flowers out of the aeroponics lab. And I wonder like, is that the kind of thing that the real
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Chico, T would do? And that's the kind of thing that's easy to catch. So I don't know if that's
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the best idea. And by the way, something that seven of nine does not understand is how to actually
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set the mood for a break up. Yeah. Yeah. I love shipping like this. So it's it's hello, T or
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does Chico, Graham work? Chico, Graham. That's great. Oh, user, both grade. Okay. Let's put it to
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like a pole on discord on whatever social media. Hello, T versus Chico, Graham. Let us let us know.
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The thing is that's too bad. Just like, um, hello, T, he doesn't, does he know or does he not know
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about his stash of an Italian cider? Oh, right. Because that would have been maybe that could have
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like stopped the whole, you know, break up from happening. Little and Italian cider goes a long way.
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Could be next chapter. Yeah. Yeah. So I love fake Chico, T, hello, T,
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Chico, Graham, getting the real talk from seven. But here's the thing. That's the
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holodeck computer that is running this simulation and is giving it right back to seven
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by speaking some truth. And I wonder, like, is that a glitch? Or is that the computer just like
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putting its foot down going? No, no, no, no, no, we're being sincere here. You know,
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that goes into a discussion that we've had multiple times off air about chat GPT. Take,
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you know, aggregate all of this data. That's the way the computer would aggregate all the data of
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Chico, T every single thing that he said, his logs the way he behaves, everything that the
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computer has collected and then turns it into this, you know, into this facsimile of Chico, T.
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So is he he's laid on he's laying a great reveal with the doctor discovering that Chico
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T is actually part of the simulation. Love love that whole moment. And I love tying this whole
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thing back to Unimature Xeerite with yeah, who just very innocently saying I wanted to feel those
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emotions again. That gave that up a so much more impact very. So seven says to the doctor,
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I've been conducting simulations to explore different aspects of my humanity. So I have to ask
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simulations or stimulations, all right? All right? Yeah, you're right, you're right, you ain't wrong.
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Yeah, it's a little weird. They they had to cram in all the tentative babble and
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exploding stuff into the last act. And it's just so apparent like, okay, we've only got a few
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minutes. Please put in more offense, ramp up the music, make something blow up. I still love that
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circular star chart in front of seven's console. It's the same thing that I pointed out in
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repentant. It's just really cool. I'm not sure if it's a graphic or painting or what, but I dig it,
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you know, it's just something to eat. Maybe they should have stuck that on her wall.
spk_0
Hey, there we go. Are you painting of that on her wall? Yeah, I like that idea. I do like the
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solution of just, you know, beaming the warhead out because there are all these stories, of course,
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from, you know, wars of the past of a torpedo that is mistimed and then just hitting its target.
spk_0
So I'm not missing the target altogether, but hitting the target and not exploding famously the
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RMS Olympic didn't even realize that they had been hit until they saw the dent later. And like,
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and that could have been a German torpedo that would have taken out that ship, but no, just kept
spk_0
going. So this is why I love your deep analysis. Like you bring up history. I'll bring up red October.
spk_0
Yep. Yeah. Well, look, how far red October is part of our important cultural history?
spk_0
Yes, that's right. But when when Seven brings up the warhead frequency, she says 4.8,
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4 medahertz, and it's not 4.7, 4, you know, it should have been. It's kind of like, how do you
spk_0
start from being accessed? Oh, doesn't that sting? Yeah, the scorpion. What an interesting
spk_0
tragic reveal here at the end, you know, the board programming shuts down when a drone starts
spk_0
feeling strong emotions. The doctor lays it out logically, sadly, but logically. And this line
spk_0
that he says, finding one's heart is the surest road to individuality. That was a nice poet. I
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great. I love that. I also love that there's the potential that this could be a YouTube video of
spk_0
some kind, relaxing, tenderloin in 10 minutes. Fans out there go. Yeah, absolutely make it happen.
spk_0
And oh, man, just when I thought we were done, just when I thought we had maybe resolved this,
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now are we getting set up for Flerty Chicoote in real life? Is it Chicoote IRL laying on the charm
spk_0
here? Does he know about the hologram? Because it's just more sad now if Seven will literally die
spk_0
if she is too happy, but then it is Chicoote. So maybe we are not risking that.
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We'll get right back to human error after a quick reminder about the Mission Log listener survey.
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Hey, Mission Log listeners. This is it. We're down to the wire. The Rod and Barry podcasts
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This is your chance to shape what's next for Mission Log as we prepare to head into enterprise and
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Let us know what you think and good luck.
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Before you start looking anyone's fingers in the holodeck, you'd better make sure the
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cannibalism safeties are working. How embarrassing would that be?
spk_0
All right, Norman, you mentioned at a moment ago that 7 of 9 is perhaps not the first Starfleet
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officer to get way laid sidelineed in the holodeck. And let me refer you, you mentioned Reiker.
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Of course, let me mention somebody else, old friend of the show, old friend of this show,
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in particular Voyager, not just TNG, Reg Barkley. When we first met him, it was all about getting
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sidelineed on the holodeck in the holo pursuits. But let's look at this in relation to Barkley
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and 7 of 9. So definitely some similarities here. Both of them, they find this privacy in the holodeck
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to play out this idealized version of themselves, right? And they both have created their own
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crewmates, which is a little creepy, little weird, but they're more manageable that way, right?
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And both get lost in the fantasy. So they're not focusing on work, like they were before necessarily.
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And in both cases, you can kind of raise this question of the healthy line maybe between coping,
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like using this as a psychological tool to learn, to explore, and then what's just a dangerous
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distraction? What is just the escapism that ultimately leads to something else? So
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now, but these stories are told in very different ways. And if you think about it, you know, Barkley,
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his journey is about the pathology of what's going on. He is truly getting lost there. And
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the people I need to probably make fun of him. And the fantasies are played out in this cringy,
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weird, you know, he's got characters, it kind of designed for his crewmate 7.
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We're handling her story with a bit more dignity, a bit more empathy. We're allowing her space
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to figure something out for herself. And I wondered why, why are these two stories that are similar?
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Are they also treated so very differently? And I thought, well, okay, we've, we've got 7 here,
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whose backstory we understand a lot better. We understand that the board took away her social
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and emotional development. So she's not had a chance to do that on her own at all. And in
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sort of really meaningful way, she joins Voyager, she becomes quote unquote human and then immediately
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gets thrown into work. And we've seen how hard it is for her to socialize just naturally, right?
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I think she's also seen as tough and competent. She's not seen the way that Barkley is in this
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kind of creepy way, you know, that there's also something about the types of fantasies that they
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are both playing out. Seven is doing something that in her mind, she thinks will make her better.
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How do I be my best most complete self? Having not had the benefit of learning this throughout my
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life. So there's an awareness there that's really nice to see. Whereas Barkley is more trying to
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force people into a controllable game that he can play where really, you know, there are no
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stakes because he's always going to win because the characters will always ultimately do what he
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has programmed to do. But seven here gets a few surprises, you know? So what do you make of that?
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I mean, I don't really think of these episodes as bookends of each other, but there are interesting
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parallels that this and we could also bring in, you know, a booby trap with the hologram version
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of Lea Brahms, Dr. Lea Brahms. Yeah. And there's something that goes back to what you brought up
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as well, which is Jordi created this version of Lea Brahms, but then the computer takes over and
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starts making that Lea Brahms fit Jordi's expectation, which I'll come back to in a moment because
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I have some thoughts about Holdo Teh on that. But yeah, then anyway, there's your first topic to chew on.
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Well, I mean, it's pretty much a Star Trek trope for lack of a better word where we see the
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the holodeck being used for this very specific purpose where a fantasy or fantasies are played out
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menu-et with Riker, Dr. Lea Brahms, you know, with obviously, you know, Jordi, and then you mentioned,
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you know, Reg and his situations that we've seen not only in the past, but recently here in Voyager,
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or anyone that really delves into the holodeck fantasy. We talked about, you know,
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Jane Lee's issues with that kind of that personal connection that she needs to make with her Irish
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bow, you know, in Fair Havens. Oh, yeah, of course. So a lot of these, you know,
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these examples are very self-serving. I'm not saying that sevens isn't, but what I find a little
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bit more interesting with her exploration as a scientific tool is that we are set up to understand
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that this is a more of an experiment than it is for a personal or sexual, you know, or emotional
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pursuit, per se. The metronome is very specific in the opening, or the cold open, I should say,
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of this episode, because what she's doing is that she's trying to do what she always does with
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heavy pursuit that we've seen her entertain in Voyager, and that is to perfect that pursuit,
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perfecting cooking, perfecting certain things. Now, obviously, her job, she wants perfection in that.
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So, but the thing is that that's not what emotions are necessarily about. You can't perfect
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something that's as volatile as your ability to be able to control this or that emotion.
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The Vulcans, you know, very interesting way of looking at it, but this is where I believe this
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is a pun I wrote. I thought, I hope you appreciate it. Oh, please. I love them all. But this is seven,
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and the way I wrap up kind of like where she is right now, in this episode, I am 16 going on seven
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of 19. Right? Yes. For all you musical theater fans out there, we know you're there in our audience.
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Yep. Because like for all intents and purposes, and we've talked about this on Discord before,
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that seven is entering a very interesting time in her life that she has been robbed of. You
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mentioned this before, that 20 years of her existence, that was taken from the board,
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or by the board from her. So, when when when Anika ceased to be and became seven of nine,
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that put her in a very stunted emotional growth of her own biology, sexuality,
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understanding of who she is as a person, you know, as a human being. So,
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during this particular awakening that she has experienced through Unim matrix zero,
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through axum, and I'm so glad they actually brought up Unim matrix zero because up until that
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point, I'm like, what is she doing? Yeah, you know, we're just not doing it. Yeah, you could not
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have this episode without that reference. This would have been a total bomb. Yeah. Exactly. And
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that's a very specific, very good reference. And I hope that that was the idea behind this
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episode, the time human error, to book and Unim matrix zero, because without without that awakening
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from axum, that emotional awakening, that's maybe that sexual awakening and remembering who she was
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in that space, then who is she? Like, where does she go from here? But it has given her a taste of
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what it is to be more human. And I do believe that even though I don't necessarily accept the
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puzzle pieces fitting together, Chico Tate makes a lot of sense when it comes to who she would
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gravitate towards in terms of this male focus in her life. I mean, Chico Tate is kind. He's
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intelligent. He has authority. He's charming. And he has interacted with seven to the point where
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he's incurred to be more an integrated person in the crew. Now, if you have those conversations
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with somebody at a certain age or a certain vulnerability in your life, some people call that
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being led on. Some people call that becoming infatuated with perhaps emotions or feelings or
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a maturity level that is beyond your understanding at the time. The police have written that,
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you know, probably one of the most famous songs about it. Don't stand so close to me. You know,
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young seven, you know, a subject of this program's fantasy or Chico Tate is. So that's where I see
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her exploration of this part of our identity, not being as abusive as say that the other
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characters that we've talked about regarding the holodeck itself. Well, and that that's what is so
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great about the idea of the holodeck here is that we're actually seeing it used as a kind of
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therapeutic tool. Almost this is a safe space literally for her to work out these ideas to try
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to figure out, well, what does this emotion feel like? And look, she has a very limited sample size
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of people in her life anyway. So you kind of answered it for me. You know, why gravitate towards
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Chico Tate? Well, remember, he's a gentle man. So there is a kind of safe for a safer masculinity there,
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which is, you know, it makes sense at least for the story. And again, we're just talking about
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holodeckote here. And that's with us since the very beginning when he said that. Yeah, we have
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brought that up so many times, but it's it was such a weird, very specific, yeah, scene. Yeah,
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referring to him as that. And but I think here's where it gets really interesting. So holodeckote
spk_0
is informed by the computer's knowledge of the real Chico Tate. Yes. But it is seven of nine
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who set up this program. And this program has very specific things and it has her ability to go to
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a party. It has her quarters. It has Nielix come in and give her decorating tips. And the only
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person who has showed up for a dinner date is Chico Tate, not somebody else. Okay, not not even just
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a made up character, not even say a construct of, oh, look, it's axiom coming by to visit Voyager.
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You made it out of the beta quadrant, but we have Chico Tate here. And there's something that
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there are a few things that I thought one is, okay, did she program him deliberately? And if she
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did, what does that say about her emotional focus and about her real life connection potentially
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with this person? But if she didn't, if this is something the computer determined, if this is
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an automated part of the storytelling that the holodeck can do, that gets really interesting too.
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Did the holodeck choose holodeckote as a suitable person to explore this part of her desires?
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Is it drawing from interactions that they have had before? And is it in essence leading her in a
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way that the computer thinks might help her evolve? Go to that conversation, go to the breakup
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conversation. She can't handle it anymore. She's literally getting ill and about to get fired
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from her when you're there. I'm going to fire her, but she's getting reprimanded from her job.
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But holodeckote is the one who fights back. It's like, you can't do this. You're missing out.
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You're not going to be a complete person. Boba Bla, with this thing that we have as good. He's
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saying all the things. And I would say, and look, I can't quote it for Baytum right here, but
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in my recollection of that scene, pretty normal stuff. Something that somebody who reasonably has
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feelings for another person would say. And again, it's like, is the computer now letting her
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experience that part of a relationship because it is good for her to make her reconsider?
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I'm wondering, like, are there safety protocols when it comes to emotional manipulation
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when the holodeck program? And because that's how far does he go?
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Yeah. Well, we only see a portion of that scene. We only see, however many several seconds of that.
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I don't know if I go so far as to call it manipulation. I think it's a natural reaction.
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If you're getting broken up with, and this is a surprise to you, and you're trying to find,
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well, wait a minute, how do we get here? How do we get back to where we're? I think the things
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that he's saying are reasonable to understand. There might be pieces of that dialogue that I'm
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missing or forgetting, but I think it would have, I think there would have been huge red flags
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if he was saying stuff that I felt like were specifically manipulating her into a position that
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she didn't want. Last 31 long lines of, I don't know, like, what kind of parameter is she put
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into the holodeck simulation? But what if she basically said, you know, make it as real as possible?
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So the computers, yeah, the manipulation is on the computer end, not necessarily chicote. Chicoce
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is just basically being created algorithmically in the way that all of the data that has been turned
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into this program represents a very sincere, very honest reaction that chicote would have.
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But also that begs the question. At the end of this episode, we do see an example of chicote being
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that way. He's trying to encourage her to be more interactive and integrated with the crew. He is
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why I love his, when he writes, when they write the character right, when they write chicote, he's
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really about making sure that the crew's emotional needs are taken care of because without the crew,
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without the team, there's no dream. Cad night. Right? Well, I think the other thing that's really
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cool here is the glimpse into seven's perception or her idealized version of herself. So we kind of
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have to ask how much of this is just her like in all these times she's been in the regeneration chamber
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where it's been quiet in astrametrics. How much of this has she just kind of thought about,
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fantasize about like, what if I looked a different way? What if I had my own place? What if I had a
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romantic relationship with somebody because that thing that can unimagery zero, that felt good.
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And I want more of that. So I wondered it and I'm going to break up the metronome again.
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You're talking about seven's desire for perfection and almost learning, you know, it's the
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the letter of the law, necessarily more than the spirit of the law here.
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Sure.
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Her experience. Okay. I think there's an ambiguity around her early actions that we see in the
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holodeck that first time that Chico Tay drops by. Look at her reactions to Chico Tay. The first
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time we see him right when he interrupts Nielix in her holodeck quarters, right? Her body language,
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her reactions, they all change when he comes in. She's smiling. She's making this kind of eye
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contact. She seems at ease in a way that we didn't really see her before. And of course,
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she doesn't have her body implants. Her hair is down. She has this more human look, which again,
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it's is her sort of projected version of herself, right? But in these moments, like when she's
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playing piano, wait, and again, look at their facial expressions between the two of them,
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but especially hers. And it left me wondering, is this seven's real desire, or is this running the
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experiment? You know, if she knows, if I react this way, this will bring about this type of reaction
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from him, this furthers the game, this furthers the emotional exploration. So is it a, quote,
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unquote, programmed response from her or at that point, doesn't even matter because the holodeck
spk_0
computer is good enough, it will just keep the game going. That brings up a really interesting
spk_0
point. And I think that it's a little bit more genuine than than we are actually describing it,
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or we are led to belief because there isn't a parameter that stops the program from running when
spk_0
her duty assignments dictate. Oh, yeah. Or when she's physically hurt by the implant. Yeah. So,
spk_0
like she lets time slip by her. She basically becomes a completely different person because of how
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invested she is in the reality of the program, i.e. her emotions, because if she, if this was just
spk_0
an experiment, experiments have goals, parameters, milestones, breaks, you know, she's like, I have to
spk_0
be on duty because I created this program that's supposed to keep us safe from these warheads. And I
spk_0
need to be back at astrametrics at a certain time. Yeah. But she is so personally and emotionally
spk_0
invested in the reality of the program that she loses track of time. That is a very significant
spk_0
indicator of this is actually working. This is distracting her from the efficiency, the precision,
spk_0
the dedication, you know, of her jobs. Like because before it's all about this is seven. She is so good
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at her job. No one else can be as boring like efficient as her maybe two-vac maybe. Right. Right.
spk_0
But because she's actually falling in love because she wants to explore these deeper emotions,
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because she wants to know what it's like to not to work without the metronome to risk, you know,
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to do all of that to put her heart out there with the potential of being broken. That's real.
spk_0
Yeah. It's real to her. Yeah. And it's certainly real to Jane Ways clock. Well, that's the thing.
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The experience is real. Whether or not the cause that got you there is quote unquote real. Look,
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we wanted to go on for another hour. We could talk about how that relates to modern day AI as a tool.
spk_0
And how, look, people, people go on to, you know, Chancope T to, I don't know,
spk_0
right ads for a podcast, which is pretty easy to do. But there are other people in this world
spk_0
who have been using that as a kind of like replacement therapist, and which comes with a whole
spk_0
host of pitfalls, especially in a technology that is in its infancy like that. But you can ask,
spk_0
you know, okay, is that just sort of dragging the human component along just to keep them engaged
spk_0
in the, in the game, you know, I'm putting that in finger quotes. But just to engage in the
spk_0
interaction as it were, let me ask you one question. It doesn't have this is more of a
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historical question. It doesn't have the answer right now. But have you had an experience of visual
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reality or virtual reality experience that has been so intense that you've completely lost
spk_0
track of time to the point where someone had to pull you out of that experience to say, hey,
spk_0
you are losing, you are neglecting your responsibility. Oh, okay, no. But I can fully understand that
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because looking even in the simplest way, it's easy to lose track of time, you know,
spk_0
looking at your phone, looking at YouTube videos or whatever, and then suddenly an hour goes by,
spk_0
suddenly two hours go by. And that is not good. VR, I, you know, the weirdest thing that I've done is
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sort of taken the headset off in my home office and been completely turned around and then
spk_0
disoriented and like, wait, what, what happened? But Lisa, I was pretty aware of time. But I can see how
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you extrapolate a little further, a little further and a little further, and somebody's got to come
spk_0
get you to get out. The whole attic may have its own power source, but thankfully it has access to
spk_0
the entirety of human knowledge on social customs, or it might have interpreted baby shower very
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differently. Well, we have come to the end of human error and by no error of our human own error
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or lack thereof. We are doing what we do at the end of every mission log episode. We look at the
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episode in total. Take a look at our observations, take a look at our discussion and kind of boil it
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all down to answering our mission log mission statement. Does this episode hold up? Does it withstand
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the test of time? And then we will get into what kind of morals or meanings or messages or all of
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them, the triple M's as we say, we pull out of this episode, the inspiring to us. And hopefully not
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in any way, shape or form of an error on our part. So here we are, John. Human error were pretty much
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deep in the back half of Voyager season seven. And where does this episode sit with you? How does
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it sit with you? I think we've had some very good episodes. There's a lot of very good episodes
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this season that we have said really you could place them anywhere. Maybe some of those even
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belonged a little earlier in the run like a season three. But this is one that I'm glad we're getting
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when we're getting it. It seems well placed in season seven. We need to push seven of nine's
spk_0
character just a little bit further figure out what else there is there and what will her
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future journey into humanity be like? This actually sets us up with some kind of bad news at the end.
spk_0
So I have to see how that plays out. But it gives us something intriguing about how she is seeing
spk_0
her future as a human as an episode on its own. I gotta say it's a bit clunky because you have
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the shoehorned in this space action stuff with a warhead and subspace anomaly weapons stuff that I
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I couldn't follow and didn't care about at all. It just didn't care. And I wondered if they thought
spk_0
like oh well the seven of nine story it's a little too emotional. It's a little too serious. So we
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can't just rely on that. So it feels like that B plot is just tacked on for the pretence of having
spk_0
a ticking clock and an explosion. That's too bad. But that said I love love love love love what we get
spk_0
to explore about seven's mind her personality her perception of herself and her inner life
spk_0
through this episode. Just seeing her navigate what what it means to her to be more human is a
spk_0
fascinating idea anyway. And even when you pair that alongside the you know the real world version
spk_0
of what's happening the story with Tom and Balana's baby shower all of that stuff has resonance
spk_0
and meaning for what we get out of seven even though we don't see the real baby shower.
spk_0
Just the idea that she is aware of it she's in her holodeck version of it and then has to make good
spk_0
later by bringing the gift like all of those things interact in a way that makes those little
spk_0
details very satisfying. And again like we said before just the reference back to you know matrix
spk_0
zero and that this is something that had impact on meaning for her being able revisit that really
spk_0
smart really satisfying. So is it a perfect episode? No, but it is so easy for me to forgive those
spk_0
flaws because what we get out of the character drama here is so good. And again
spk_0
Jerry Ryan gets to give two performances. It is the Seven of Nine who is failing at work
spk_0
and it is also the Seven of Nine trying like by rehearsing these new types of interactions for her
spk_0
in the safety of the holodeck. And I just think from a a high concept sci-fi idea it's really
spk_0
interesting that you have this tool in the technology that can be used that way but also on this
spk_0
very personal level it it's saying hey what can we do here with somebody who is trying to
spk_0
understand and better balance their own emotional inner life. Yeah. That is a great bit of story
spk_0
telling. So yes it does hold up even though there are things that I would want to change but
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they didn't ask me. So what do you think Norman? I know this will probably
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fly in the face of like a lot of voyage or fans out there when I say what I'm going to say. But the
spk_0
thing is when I watch this episode or pretty much we watch any episode the way that we watch episodes
spk_0
for mission log we have to find the answer in all of what we're saying and see if it stands up to
spk_0
our mission statement. Does it hold up? Does it withstand the test of time? Because we say this as
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the kids say it sometimes things hit differently in different periods of your life especially when
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these things are aired or when you see them for the first time as they are being aired. And
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close to the end of Voyager's seventh season. So I'm sure that there are fans out there at that time
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saying this is what we're getting. Like why aren't we getting this other thing. And as I'm watching
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it here in 2025 I'm like this is a really interesting story to tell because right now in a lot of
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the storytelling that I've been watching recently either within our fandom or outside of our
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fandom there's a certain callusness there's a certain bitterness there's a certain you know in
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the serialization of all these stories there's just something that's missing that you know Star Trek
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of Voyager's era just offers and that's wholesomeness focusing on a character and letting that
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character have the ability to breathe and to embrace the nuance of the character and the quality
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of the writing that goes on with this type of a story. Jerry Ryan has been given the runway to
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actually you know showcase her ability as an actor and like you said twice over with two different
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really specific types of performances here and that's what you want to watch. You want to watch
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this character inhabit not just the character that we know but the character that's being explored
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and rarely do we get a chance to see that today because everything is either so truncated or so
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overproduced that the character is in the middle get lost. That's what I like about this episode.
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It came out of very left field way out of left field when it comes to being in the D
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where they take Chico Tay and I'm sure JC Shipper fans were saying what are you doing with our
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character? What are you doing with Chico Tay? Because yes it is a hologram programmed character
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you know holographic you know designed to you know evoke certain responses out of seven.
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But at the same time though it's weird let's be honest it's just straight up weird it should have
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been axum right because we're talking about Unimetric Zero and we're going to capstone that
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episode you got to bring an axum because that's the reason why she fell in love in Unimetric Zero
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outside of her board identity in the first place right so sure you can make kind of like
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specific points and point fingers that yeah that the chopping vegetables sequence was really
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awkward even like them kissing to end close out I think was like act 2 was awkward a lot of
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awkward stuff going on with that they should have been chopping broccoli. Yeah exactly yeah
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but you know it is what it is I understand that people will bristle about it I didn't because I
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not invested in that way with you know Jane Lee and Chico Tay obviously their relationship their
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chemistry is far better than what we're seeing here but it's being done so in a very specific way
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to explore Stefan's character so I give that a pass I think that it's acted well again it's lit
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well it's produced well the special effects are amazing all this kind of stuff it's just strange that
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for me that we're going in this direction knowing that there there isn't an extension to Voyager i.e.
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a spin-off of Voyager because we're going to be going into Enterprise so where are they really
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taking us with the story when there are like eight episodes left right two of which are the finale
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in two parts so what are they trying to tell us right well let's talk about what they're trying to
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tell us because I think there are some maybe not morals here but at least some some ideas some
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messages some meanings as aware and I walked away with a couple here you we like to talk about how
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Star Trek's aliens are always us you know so any any attribute that we're exploring in an
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alien species is always about humanity the human condition so we talk about Vulcans and Star Trek
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they're kind of this superhuman species because they can suppress all the messy difficult emotions
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and they can channel their energy into logic and discipline just look at two vach with a tomigun
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so because Star Trek's aliens represent humanity in their own way Vulcans are they're kind of aspirational
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well if only we could turn off that nasty emotion for a moment and just think things through logically
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if only the people around us could turn off that emotion for a minute and just think logically
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imagine how much better we'd be but real human emotions are unpredictable they're unstable they're
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illogical and sometimes they're overwhelming and yet they are essential to what it means to be
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human we keep seeing that over and over and over again in Star Trek now at this episode Star Trek
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is two very different kinds of tragedy now the Vulcan tragedy is where someone won't embrace
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their emotions that's what makes Spock stand out because he actually does he breaks through right
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and now with seven the tragedy is someone who can't embrace their emotions not without it literally
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harming her her biology will reject the thing that she most desires which is connection
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and vulnerability and intimacy to have that ultimately human experience now switching gears here
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a little bit so the doctor has this nugget of wisdom for seven he says well you have to find the
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right balance between work and recreation it's good advice but it's a bit oversimplified when the
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emotional terrain is so new it's so difficult and so overwhelming for somebody like seven
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but there's something that's so relatable about seven's journey here and we've barely touched
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on it we've barely said the word in our discussion today and yes people in our audience who are
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much more knowledgeable about neurodiversity they are going to have some very insightful things to
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say and I look forward to that conversation a lot because that is a whole other episode of
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Mission Log that we could get into about how this parallels that experience as well but but even
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before we get to labels or a diagnoses this is just human all of these human moments that she has
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trying to understand your place in a social world figuring out what kind of friend or co-worker you
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want to be and what you want out of those other people overthinking a gift because you're not sure
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if it's right yeah that hits home and how about this one feeling something for someone and not
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knowing what to do with it now maybe I'm just speaking for myself here but I think a lot of us
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have been in that space trying to figure out how to be seen and understood without feeling exposed
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or inadequate and human error doesn't give us easy answers but it reminds us that the attempt that
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trying is as human as anything else what do you got Norman I know that we don't read each
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other's notes before we get to this final segment but you and I are very similar pages and I
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think that that's a credit to the episode itself because I think it's very clear in what it's
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trying to say I mean at the heart of this episode this episode asks a very profound question is
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like what does it mean to pursue humanity when biology culture politics religion circumstances
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stand in the way in this case the Borg's you know they're programming in their cortical node seven
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uh it's she's tried it in this episode because she's trying to create this connection she's trying
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to understand what this means to be able to put herself out there and understand humanity from a
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very new and more deeply satisfying level that was unlocked in her during the Unimagic Zero experience
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and and she's being punished for it you know by her biology technically or I would say the
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implants that were put into her to curve that biological urge so she doesn't want to give up on that
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but it literally hurts her when she tries to become more human so what is that going to do to her
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right is it going to basically say to her and prove to her that it's not worth the risk or
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is it worth risking because I can't live my life at the cadence of a metronome anymore
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because that's not what life is about and being on board voyager she's seeing it time and again how
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relationships affect the quality of these people's lives not just following protocol not just
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following orders not just following all of these tenets of starfleet but using her human experience
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to be able to filter that through what is essentially the right or human thing to do I mean she
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is like straddling this interesting double existence right now because she has the perfection of her
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job performance that identifies her and then there's this need this very much specific and very
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understandable relatable desire to connect with someone in a very specific way you have to be able to
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come to terms with what you're saying to be able to understand the moment for what it is that's
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that moment she had with jacote actually two moments the first time when jacote and seven had that
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very passionate physical embrace and secondly and most importantly when jacote said let go the
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metronome and play with passion risk the ability to be able to get out of that structure and play
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you know invest yourself in the emotion of what's happening because that is how you actually achieve
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getting closer to this quote unquote humanity that she's seeking in a pursuit of her manity
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seven risks becoming the opposite of being human in a way because she's striving for perfection
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uh let's look at the way that she misinterpreted the omega particle right she thought she would see
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perfection there but it wasn't what she wanted and she doesn't understand that that kind of perfection
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it's not that it's unobtainable it's just not how humanity works the board nature wants perfect
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flawless perfection but it's lifeless it's meaningless right life isn't designed to be perfect life
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isn't designed as a performance metric it's about falling it's about picking ourselves up it's
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about getting messy and it's about not resisting passion you know because that to the board is futile
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that humanity is exactly what humanity needs to drive itself forward now being philosophical and all
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of that aside mm-hmm I haven't done this on a while john mm-hmm but I would be remiss if I didn't close
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my thoughts without a nod to rush yeah there we go haven't had that in a while yeah yeah their
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song primemovers one of my favorites because I pick different lyrics at different times to relate
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to different episodes primemovers from hold your fire and this this set of lyrics mirror seven's
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journey in a way being human isn't about achieving perfection it's about the daring to love to
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risk to live as rush says basic elemental instinct to survive stirs the higher passions thrill to
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be alive alternating currents in a tide water surge rational resistance to an unwise urge
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anything can happen mission log is produced by rodent berry entertainment if you'd like to support
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us directly you can do so at patreon.com slash mission log for early access to shows and the
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mission log discord our website is mission log podcast.com and for more star Trek news and
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discussion visit trekmovie.com on the next mission log q2
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some of the music for mission log provided by warp 11 online at warp 11.com
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special thanks to consulting producers matascozito, tom cozac, mic richards, mic shabel and Paul
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shabel. watch tovac gift this kid a rubik something for every birthday that just seems like the
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most tovac gift imaginable
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and transmission
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this is a rodent berry podcast for more great podcasts visit podcast. rodentberry.com