The Romulan Star Crisis and Starfleet Arrogance — An open letter to Admiral Picard
It’s been over a year since every person within the Federation learned of the impending supernova of the Romulan home Sun. Since that time, Admiral Jean Luc Picard has convinced Starfleet and Federation government officials to allow him to lead an effort to evacuate the Romulan home system, along with all of the worlds projected to be impacted by the looming disaster.
While I wish no ill will to Admiral Picard personally, nor do I wish the Romulan people any harm, with all due respect, the hubris of how this situation is being approached is monumental, narcissistic, and downright wrong.
Admiral Picard,
With all due respect to your accomplishments, and to the gratitude that Earth, the Federation, and hundreds of other worlds owe to your life, I cannot stand by while you and the Federation make what may be one of the largest mistakes in galactic history.
There are many people in the galaxy, and within the Federation, who would just as soon let the Romulan Sun destroy 900 million lives on their homeworld, and there are some who would then want to finish the job that the supernova started. I can assure you that I am not among either of these two groups. That said, there are also countless Federation citizens who do not see it as our job to burden the weight of a responsibility that belongs on the shoulders of The Romulan Star Empire. We are free citizens, and the fruits of our labor are not to be extorted by an authoritarian government for the sake of charity, even for so noble a cause as this.
Your actions threaten to tear the Federation apart. And that is what brings me to the solution I propose.
The New Dunkirk, A Concerted Effort
In response to the strong criticisms raised by Federation Citizens, proponents of your cause have compared it to Dunkirk, a battle during World War II on 20th Century Earth, where Allied forces evacuated their troops from the coast of France. What your supporters fail to note is that the evacuation wasn’t just a military effort: Private citizens also used their boats to save Allied troops, and a lot of people lost their lives in the process. Even then, the Axis powers still captured many of the Allied troops.
The combined efforts of the military, and of private individuals were not enough but had the military tried to do all of this alone, it would have been far worse. Now imagine if history could be redone and if more ships from more people could be deployed, and imagine if every soldier and sailor could be evacuated before the German Army ever set foot on that beach.
We may not be able to change that history now, in our own timeline, but we still have the power to write this chapter of history and to do it right. In terms of the Romulan Crisis, the pages of history are still blank.
The Ferengi Businessman, An Overlooked Ally
Despite Federation propaganda, I’ve had a great deal of experience conducting business with a number of Ferengi entrepreneurs. Several have even invited me into their homes during some of their most sacred holidays. From what I’ve personally witnessed, Starfleet and The Federation have grossly misunderstood and misrepresented the values that typify Ferengi culture.
For one thing, I’ve noticed that a Ferengi businessman will try to get the highest price he can for his goods and services, however, he very much guards his integrity and professional reputation. He understands that in order to survive in a free-market society, his long-term reputation is far more important than any short-term gain.
The attitude of most humans in this regard is the reason that most Ferengi refuse to do business with the Federation, regardless of the profit margin. We are quick to accuse anyone who seeks a profit of being a snake-oil salesman, and the profit motive is all the evidence that we think we need.
Contrary to Federation denunciations, the Ferengi’s guarding of their reputation is highly rational. If I order a glass of Saint-Estèphe with a fresh croissant and I am instead served with a dirty glass of watery grape juice and half of a stale cracker, then I am not going to do business with such a man again. Whatever pennies he may have made off of me in short-term “profit” will be null compared to the loss he sustains in terms of his long-term rational self-interest and business reputation. Ferengi understand that fraud bears a heavy price. So do accusations of fraud, true or not.
This is the value that is understood in capitalist societies. In order to make a profit, other people have to want (or at least be willing) to do business with you. Business and charity are done by consent or not at all.
Humans have a stereotype that a profit motive leads to dishonesty. But a typical Ferengi understands that if his clients do not see him as honest, he will not be able to make a profit.
This is why, when a human looks down his or her judgemental nose at a prophet-seeking Ferengi, he simply refuses to do business with such an individual. The risk of false accusation comes with a cost that is simply too great, and to the Ferengi, it can be impossible to reason with such an arrogant creature.
A Ferengi man’s first concern is for his life and the well-being of his household. Yet many humans within the Federation, who talk a big game about “understanding” other cultures, have routinely, and some might say intentionally, misrepresented the values that Ferengi hold dear. The same pattern repeated itself for businessman minorities on Earth for thousands of years.
Admiral, if you want to compare our current situation to Dunkirk, then I have to ask: what side of history are you on? The Allies stood, in general terms, for the rights of the individual. They followed a political tradition that said that man is a free spirit, endowed with inalienable individual rights by his Creator. On the other side, the German Socialists who invaded France said that man was nothing more than a beast with a large brain. One said that man belonged to himself and to God alone, while the other said that man belonged to the collective and to The Almighty State. It was the latter who depicted the Jews as being nothing more than goblins who were greedy for gold, in much the same way that Starfleet and the Federation depict the Ferengi people.
In contrast to the Ferengi, humans run around the galaxy on “humanitarian” efforts, taking resources from our neighbors and giving them to every world that is “in need.” Yet we ignore our responsibility to steward our own lives as individuals and to take care of our own households. Charity by theft is still theft, even if the receiver is “in need.”
Autocrat or Ambassador?
In terms of the current crisis, a man such as yourself, the great Jean Luc Picard, could do a lot more for Romulus and for the Federation, by reaching out to civilizations like the Ferengi than you could in trying to go it alone.
The great capitalists of the Ferengi Alliance could bring fleets of ships to Romulan space to help with the evacuation efforts, and they could charge a price for ferrying people away from the impacted Supernova radius. Humans in the 24th Century may balk at the idea of saving someone’s life for the sake of profit, but for every Romulan and Reman man, woman, boy, or girl who is saved on a ferry run by a “greedy Capitalist,” there is one less individual who is at the mercy of our extraordinarily thin and outmatched resources.
Beyond a purely private endeavor, the Federation and the varying levels of the Romulan government could work with privately-owned companies to ferry people to safety. Vouchers may help many Romulans and Remans to escape the blast zone and would ease the burden on both Starfleet and the Romulan authorities.
An arrangement like this, of course, does not have to be limited to the Ferengi. Arrangments could be made with businessmen from any race whom Romulan citizens are willing to privately conduct business with. Such a trip may be quite affordable given the laws of supply and demand, as long as all governments involved are willing to allow men to be free. This would mean avoiding any taxes and unnecessary legal burdens that would act as an anchor on these lifeboats.
Your role in this, as a great man, known for his diplomatic accomplishments, would be to convince people from widespread and very different cultures, to talk to one another, and to consider trusting one another. In this way you would be a facilitator, not an autocrat, helping people to come together. At the end of the day, is that not what the Federation claims to stand for?
Such an approach, I suggest, would have a much stronger impact on facilitating peace and justified trust in our region of the galaxy. Far stronger than merely placing the entire burden of the supernova on the shoulders of Federation citizens against their will.
Perspective, Responsibility, and Government Power
I expect that the Romulans will use this crisis as an excuse to seize even more power over the lives of their people. The question is, will you do the same? I am all for the Federation using some of Starfleet’s resources to assist in the evacuation effort, however, this cannot be our only or our primary focus in the years to come. At the end of the day, the Romulans are responsible for taking care of themselves. And if we fail to live up to our promises, it could embitter not just the Romulans, but the rest of the local galaxy against us.
Starfleet is talking about building more ships in response to this crisis as if the myriad of wars the Federation has endured weren’t enough reason. As I will explain shortly, I think that the Federation has an obligation to maintain a strong military, however, it has to be made clear that the responsibility to evacuate Romulus is on the shoulders of the Romulans, not ours.
Let Starfleet Be Starfleet
All of this is not to say that there is no role for Starfleet in our universe, but there is a need for Starfleet, and the Federation government, to return to their proper roles. Their chief role being the protection of Federation citizens.
During The Battle of Sector 001, a single Borg cube attacked Federation space, destroying many of our ships, and nearly succeeded in assimilating Earth. The only reason I am sitting here today, writing this article, is because the Borg decided to be nice enough to send only one ship. Imagine if they had sent two cubes, or ten, or one hundred. Imagine if the Borg had chosen to send an equal number of cubes as we have starships.
From the information publicly available from the (heavily redacted) Voyager records, the Borg have far more cubes than we have ships, by many many times over. What would stop them from easily taking the Federation tomorrow, and why they have not done so already, is anyone’s guess.
This is not to mention the myriad of other threats that the Federation potentially faces. We’ve had our fair share of conflicts with the Klingons, Cardassians, and of course the Romulans, but we shouldn’t forget about the tensions with more distant and more powerful enemies, such as the Dominion, the Krenim, the Andalites, and the Drej. The latter being particularly distrustful of humans ever since the creation of The Genesis Device.
There are those who advocate disarmament between the major Alpha and Beta Quadrant powers in the name of peace, but this would be a mistake.
It would do the Romulans no good, if their civilization were spared by the hand of charity, only to be assimilated by Borg drones from their former Federation benefactors. In terms of the Borg threat, every power in this part of the galaxy depends on the strength of itself and its neighbors.
A Free People, And A Free Economy
Humans have a lot to learn, and that will not happen if we are too proud of our own righteousness. As one Na’vi once observed of us “It is hard to fill a cup which is already full.” I mentioned before the principle that business and charity should be done by consent or not at all. It is not just the Ferengi who believe this, a human philosopher on Earth, named Ayn Rand once taught the same principle.
If one objects, then please, tell me — Why do you think that someone else’s life is yours to give away or do with as you please?
I have the right to give to charity out of my own pocket. I do not have the right to give to charity out of my neighbor’s pocket against his will.
That is not to say that Starfleet should never save an alien civilization from an incoming asteroid, or even that Starfleet and the Federation government should play no role in the Romulan evacuation effort. But it is to say that if we are to live in a galaxy that is free, then men have to stand on their own two feet, and not be dependent on the Federation to swoop in at any minute to save us from that from which we could have saved ourselves.
The Need for Technology and Innovation
Admiral Picard, while Federation policy may not be your direct area of influence, you are a man who has performed incredible diplomatic feats for many civilizations. Now I ask that you use these skills to advocate for us.
The Federation has banned anything beyond minor genetic alterations for centuries, even in many cases where the life of the individual was at stake. In our day and age, there are also those who oppose research into slipstream technology, along with those who see the development of positronic brains as highly suspect. Some have even argued for an outright ban on these and other highly needed technologies.
If we are to survive future attacks from the Borg or from other enemies, we are going to need all of the technological resources we can possibly get. Even if we choose to remain stuck in a bygone century, our enemies will not. Remaining technologically stagnant is not a luxury we can afford.
Khan Noonien Singh, A Case Study
Humans have seen genetic technology as taboo ever since its abuse during the Third World War on Earth. In particular, the rule of Khan Noonien Singh has been used as Exhibit A in the argument for genetic purity. But is such a view justified?
Khan lived up to the axiom coined by one of his creators, “superior ability breeds superior ambition”. By 1993, a wave of the genetic “supermen,” including Khan, had simultaneously assumed control of more than forty of Earth’s nations. From 1992 to 1996, Khan was absolute ruler of more than one-quarter of Earth’s population, including regions of Asia and the Middle East. Considered “the best of tyrants”; Khan’s reign was considered the most benevolent. His regime was free of much of the problems that plagued Earth history of that era — as Khan was never known for engaging in genocide or wars of aggression. However, the citizens of his regime enjoyed little freedom. Khan had little, if any, respect for individual liberty, which was also a key issue for Earth history. As such, personal initiative and financial investment were low, and scientific progress suffered as a result.
Rather than seeing Khan’s chapter in Earth's history as a black mark on genetic technology, it ought to be analyzed rationally as a part of history from which we can learn.
Khan, by all accounts, ruled peacefully over one-quarter of population Earth, during an otherwise turbulent period. Both during his reign in the 1990s, at the beginning of World War III, and after the discovery of his derelict ship, The SS Botany Bay, Khan showed himself to be a man driven by ambition.
As someone with a background in genetics, this raises a million questions about “nature vs nurture.” How much of Khan’s drive was the result of his augmented genetics? How much was due to his upbringing? And how much was merely due to his individual character as a man? While we don’t know much about Khan’s upbringing, we do know that he was created with the intention that he would command armies. The parallels (and possible relationship to) Project Manticore are tantalizing.
If the history of Khan shows us anything, it’s the importance of recognizing and honoring the rights of the individual. Khan, in almost every way, was a brilliant leader. He brought peace and stability in a time when it was most desperately needed. I question whether the Earth would have survived without it. Where he fell short was in failing to protect the rights of the individual from his government. Starfleet and the Federation should learn this lesson from history.
To despise every genetic “augment,” because of the sins of this one man and those who followed him, is completely irrational. It’s an example of the logical fallacy known as a “hasty generalization.” Not to mention an example of the prejudice that Starfleet and the Federation claim to oppose.
Khan was an individual. There are those who have tried to use Khan to dismiss all genetic technology as it applies to humans, just as some within the Federation have tried to use his status as a Sikh to dismiss all considerations of “Religion.” Such attitudes completely disregard logic.
There are many great people in the history books who were the products of genetic engineering in some form or another, just as there have been those who have followed many varieties of many religions. Yet in both cases, Starfleet is blinded by ignorance.
Those who hold to this sort of ignorant bigotry ignore the great accomplishments made by genetically augmented individuals, including notable figures within the Federation.
The life of the great Dr. Julian Bashir stands in refutation of the claim that genetic “augments” are the enemy of civilization. Dr. Julian Bashir is known for his work in response to the Teplan Blight, and has received multiple awards for his research in this and other areas. Millions of people have benefited from the accomplishments of his life.
Rather than judging a man by his genetics, we ought to have considered him by his values, without confusing or conflating the two.
Khan’s rule is condemned in the history books, while that of so-called “United Earth” is praised. The latter is regarded as a time of peace and stability, yet there are many, including the free people of Wakanda, who might not see it that way. Not to mention the inhabitants of Genosha and Asteroid X, but the Federation History textbooks would rather not talk about that.
A New Philosophy For A Free Federation
If the people of the Federation want to be free, we are going to have to rediscover a proper understanding of philosophy and morality.
The history of our ethical philosophy is rooted, by extension, in the history of Earth. During the “Culture Wars” in the West, a push for NeoMarxism was meant with resistance. This resistance successfully deflected the cultural attack, however, in its place a form of Right-Wing family-friendly collectivism was born. This was very different from the Left-Wing Socialism of the Soviet Union or of Germany in the 1940s, but it was in many ways a form of Socialism, nonetheless. It was a philosophy that saw putting more power into the hands of government and regulators as the solution to our problems. Sadly, it was a reactionary philosophy, built on a response to an irrational belief system, instead of building on a foundation of objectivity and rationality.
This family-friendly collectivist philosophy is how we humans have operated for centuries, and because we have no way of thinking otherwise, this belief system remains unchallenged. Between this and our lax attitude towards sex and slothfulness, especially on Earth, it’s a wonder that the Federation has lasted as long as it has. Societies that abandoned the mind in eras past always collapsed, but ours is able to continue limping on, in an age of food replicators and advanced medicine. The technology we have is incredible, and it’s something that I embrace, but we ought to use this technology as a rope to climb mountains, not as a hammock to remain in a state of indifference.
Each man still only has one life, and he has to choose what kind of life he will live, and what kind of man he will be.
In many ways, we humans still value greatness, as anyone can see in most of Starfleet’s implicit ideals, but we will never be truly great until each man is expected to stand on his own two feet.
As one American philosopher said:
“I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.”
― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
Compare this to the Vulcan mantra, made famous by Ambassador Spock:
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
In practice, this mantra has been used to mean that the needs of the many outweigh the rights of the individual. On Earth, such a philosophy resulted in the deaths of hundreds of millions of people before the end of the 20th Century, and countless individuals during the height of World War III.
One More Consideration — A Personal Note
“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.”
― Ayn Rand
Admiral Picard, as I’ve said, I admire your amazing career. I hope you will see my open letter, and consider my words for what they are, an appeal to reason.
As someone with a career in science, I’ve considered joining Starfleet. I grew up with stories of the early days of Pandora, and the dragons of Berengaria VII. I would love to join a ship and study organisms and ecosystems that no human has ever before laid eyes on. But I am concerned because Starfleet has not upheld its own professed ideals.
As a Christian, I take issue with many of the practices associated with The Prime Directive. Starfleet is seeking to save an advanced culture like the Romulans, however, Starfleet officers are expected to allow pre-warp civilizations to die when they encounter a preventable natural disaster. If an asteroid or a volcano threatens to destroy a humanoid people, created in the image of God, we are supposed to turn a blind eye in the name of a non-interventionist ideal.
Imagine if Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul had not intervened to help pre-warp humans during our time of need, in direct violation of his own people’s greatest law, a law which closely mirrors our own Prime Directive.
Because of my stance that this is wrong, my faith is regarded as suspect by Starfleet officials.
When I was in college, one of my biochemistry professors, a Vulcan man, explained that his people are very conservative in terms of their beliefs about sexuality and eating meat. (Traditional Vulcans mate for life and are vegetarian.) Yet no one ever took issue with him saying this. Vulcans are often outspoken about their beliefs, and yet respectfully holding to and advocating their beliefs is not regarded as bigotry. If I hold to the view that it is wrong to let a helpless people die, when it is fully within our power to help, or that it is wrong to cheat on my wife or to degrade my own self with casual sex, I should not be regarded as a second-class officer. My beliefs might be regarded as “uncool,” along with the traditional beliefs of cultures such as the Ferengi, however, the stats show that our families are intact, compared to those of secular humans, whatever fashionable “shade” the stereotypes might throw.
Any university man-child can sling one-word objections about the “crusades” or the “witch trials” at the Christian, but few if any of these so-called “Skeptics” can name a single date, historical individual related to or fact involved in these events. Almost none of them are aware of the fact that it was Christians who invented hospitals, the printing press, the university system, and the modern Scientific Method. And almost none of them are aware of the historical facts undergirding the case for the Christian faith, particularly those facts relating to Jesus Christ’s Resurrection.
Ever since the era of Captain Pike, and the expansion of the Prime Directive, there has been an unspoken policy to look down on Christians who serve in Starfleet. Yet there are many Christians, including Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, one of the greatest xenolinguists in Starfleet history, who have served faithfully on some of the Federation's greatest ships.
Any number of alien beliefs are displayed and advocated in our society, even within Starfleet. And there are those who will bend over backward to show how accommodating they are. What I ask for is the same freedom and respect to practice and share my faith, and to argue for change within Starfleet policy. Sharing wisdom does not make me a bigot, and wanting to preserve the life of every humanoid individual, created in the image of God, should not be a pretense to disregard the value that I bring to the table.
As Reverend Fer’at of ShiKahr Theological Seminary is known for pointing out, many humans regard faith as something within the realm of emotion. Yet when we read the text of Scripture, the argument for the Christian Faith is built on fact, reason, and logic. Fer’at points out that Jesus argues based on logic, as do the Apostles in their evangelical efforts. And Fer’at also points out the famous passage, the same passage that he had inscribed at the entrance of the seminary, for all of Vulcan to see.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”- Isaiah 1:18–20
Admiral Picard, please do not make Starfleet or the Federation bear a burden that we were never meant to carry alone. In a galaxy filled with individuals created in the image of God, let’s not overlook the value of turning to one’s neighbor to ask for help when a burden becomes too heavy. Like the Good Samaritan, may we have kind neighbors who can help us back to our feet. I pray that during this time of crisis, we can reason together.
Conclusion
Admiral Picard, as I’ve argued in this letter, man is not the property of the collective. He belongs to God and to himself alone. Just because the Romulans may be in need, does not give you, Starfleet, or the Federation the right to take from private individuals by force and without consent.
You are one of the best men in the galaxy to act as an ambassador for the evacuation efforts. I would also recommend reaching out to Ambassador Spock to see if he might join your team, given his current work on Romulus.
That said, if you want this effort to be successful, the responsibility has to be on the shoulders of the Romulans. Reaching out to other local galactic powers is also going to be necessary. I suggested the Ferengi here as one example.
In terms of the role of the Federation, our contribution should be primarily as facilitators of dialogue. Taking on the full responsibility for the evacuation is simply not our place. Nor is it right for you to tear the Federation apart by giving resources that belong to Federation citizens to the Romulans without our consent. With that boundary set, I think you will be surprised how much people will be willing to freely give by voluntary means, which is the only means by which it is moral to conduct charity.
Finally, I argue for the Federation to reassess our culture, our economics, and our values. If the Federation is to survive as a moral society, we need to value the life of every individual and seek to protect individual rights. And with individual rights, fashionable prejudice has to be rejected. The smallest minority in the universe is the individual. The respect for the individual has to extend to all individuals, regardless of which culture he may come from, be it human, Vulcan, Ferengi, or a pre-warp society. The respect has to include men and women, augmented or natural born, and it has to extend to individuals from all societies, even those that may be different from ours.
This is not to say that all values are equal. Certainly, that is not the case. But it is to say that each individual is endowed with inalienable rights by his Creator, and these rights, and his dignity as an individual, ought to be respected.
This respect has to include respect for Traditional Ferengi, and Traditional Vulcans, along with Christians, and Jews as well. Selective tolerance may be fashionable, as is selective bigotry, however, bigotry that we like is just as evil as bigotry that we don’t.
In closing, your role in the Romulan evacuation effort is going to take great wisdom. It’s not going to be an easy process. But keep in mind that there are hundreds, if not thousands of worlds with millions or billions of people who would gladly help you. Do not abandon individual rights for the sake of a crisis like this. If anything, use it as a time to expand and empower the rights of the individual.
When this is all over, I hope that the worlds look back at this time and remember the great Jean Luc Picard, the man who brought the sons and daughters of former enemies together to a table as allies, if not as friends. Take what was once a dream on Earth, and make it a reality for the people in the here and now.
As my great-great-grandfather once said to Zefram Cochrane, “Live long and prosper.”
Your friend,
Greg
Author’s Note
Thank you to all of the readers in the real world who read my fan-fiction article! If you can’t tell, I am a huge fan of Star Trek, and I’ve been very much enjoying the Picard series. With this article, I wanted to take on the role of a character that addressed the Romulan Star Supernova in a way that played with Star Trek’s moral dilemma framework.
This moral dilemma framework is what makes Star Trek so brilliant. The characters are people who strive for greatness, yet their universe is not a perfect place. The characters often struggle with when and how they should involve themselves in the affairs of alien societies, whether they should alter the past with time travel, or whether they should regard an android as having equal rights with a human.
Scenes, where two characters debate the ethical merits of a decision, are a common feature in the Star Trek franchise. If everyone agreed on everything all of the time, it wouldn’t be as interesting, and it would no longer be Star Trek. I could just as easily have written an article arguing for Starfleet to come to the aid of our oldest enemy, and how Federation leadership and human compassion in this situation could be used to bring peace to the galaxy, but where’s the fun in that?
On a more serious note, I thought it was important to challenge some of the values that the Federation takes for granted. I had to call nonsense on the depiction of the Ferengi as greedy “Capitalists.” While there are no shortage of con artists in the world, the Capitalist ideal is a world without force, fraud, or coercion. It is for this reason, and many others, that I find the conflation of Capitalism, Individualism, and rational self-interest, with fraud to be itself dishonest.
Seeking profit is not evil. Even Jesus Christ Himself routinely compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a Capitalist endeavor, where a man is seeking to make a profit. I talk about this more elsewhere.
On the contrary, Star Trek overall tends to exemplify the value of individualism and the value of seeking greatness, both individually and as a civilization. It’s a franchise with a strong positive value orientation. It’s a franchise that shows us that men should strive for a better future. But, I think it could do more to hold to these individualistic values. Then again, that is where the moral dilemma framework comes in — if their society had everything figured out, Star Trek would not be Star Trek.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article! I tried to remain relatively faithful to Star Trek canon, despite my subversion with the Ferengi, and the many many crossover easter eggs, not to mention my own take on some of the events and characters.
Until next time, may you seek the LORD and His wisdom, and after doing so may you live long and prosper!
