From: Masakog@aol.com
Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 11:48:50 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: We Come to Serve...
SD 90520.1454
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CSciO's Quarters
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MD 6.2200
<BEEP blip blip... BEEP blip blip...>
"Go away," murmured Anne Murray, cradling her head in her hands.
The last thing she needed was someone else at the door. She was *tired*,
darn it, and she was going to Stay Asleep. So there.
<BEEP blip blip...>
"I thought I told you to *go away*," growled Anne, sitting up.
She hadn't meant to fall asleep at her desk, really she hadn't; but
then, she'd been doing a *lot* of things she hadn't meant to do these
past few days. She rubbed her eyes and looked around irritably.
<BEEP blip blip...>
Now that she was awake, Anne realized that the sound was coming
from the computer terminal, not the door chime as she had assumed. It
was a new message notice. Well! Who could it be? she wondered, calling
up the index right away.
Ah, the sociological report! *Finally*! She was so excited that
she didn't even bother to check from whom it was addressed. She had been
waiting all of thirty-two hours to see this information, and here it was.
Her bad mood evaporated, leaving behind only the old excitement of
finding new connections and learning something new.
Taking out a PADD and a light pen, she began to take notes
as she read the information.
<<Personal Achievement and Success>>
Hmm, a sort of society where one wouldn't necessarily be
stuck in one place, Anne mused; but also where one wouldn't find
intermarriage among classes... at least, that was the way it
seemed to her.
<<Activity and Work>>
A work-oriented society? Anne wondered. And the use of
double standards seemed well-developed in the RC. Men of leisure,
indeed! Anne wondered briefly what they would think of someone
like Myron. Would he be considered lazy?
Enough dawdling, she told herself firmly. This is *work*.
Don't think about Myron while you're working.
<<Moral Orientation>>
Absolute right and wrong, thought Anne. She often saw things
that way herself. Prejudices and stereotypes? She could think of
some in which she had engaged herself...
...and extracted her thoughts from those lines with effort.
Goodness, it was difficult to concentrate on work today. And after
hounding everyone and her pet poodle about it, too.
<<Humanitarian Mores>>
Well, Anne liked this idea, too. Strictly codified standards
of relationships and how they should go... it would certainly eliminate
some of the relational difficulties she had been having of late. On
the other hand, what would happen to the few friendships that she
did have? Would she have to modify them and make herself less available
emotionally? Would she have to turn more Vulcan than she was ready to be?
Keep emotional distance from your work, she remembered her father
warning her in her younger days. He had been explaining to her about how
he could sit by a dying little boy and just hold his hand without losing
his composure. Emotional distance... but have compassion.
Emotional distance. Okay. She had wanted to be a doctor at one
point; she would see if she could have hacked through medical school on
this count, at least.
<<Efficiency and Practicality>>
Long-term views seemed fine to Anne. And as for lack of
emotional involvement? Well, wasn't that supposed to be a *good*
thing? She went on to the next point before her mind could convince
her otherwise.
<<Progress>>
Anne nodded approvingly. Technology was, indeed, important.
As for social adjustment to the new technology... as far as Anne was
concerned, that was secondary... but then, that was why she hadn't
decided to go into sociology. As for their focus on the future...
quite commendable. Why spend all the resources and attention on a
generation that would be gone in sixty years at best, anyway?
<<Material Comfort>>
A bit unpleasant, this, thought Anne. Lower standards of
living seen as acceptable for the "lower classes." Then she thought
of the way her own society was structured, of her own private quarters
as opposed to the double-occupancy quarters that the Science students
inhabited. Yes, we may walk around with our noses in the air, she
mused thoughtfully; but, at heart, we're all elitists of one sort
or another. If we don't make the "elite" in one respect, we try
extra hard to find another area in which we *are*.
<<Personal Freedom and Individualism>>
And what might those conduct be, wondered Anne, that aren't
protected under the civil code? How much of what goes on in the
Federation itself can be sanctioned as "preservation of the social
structure"? Of one thing she was certain: it would include a whole
lot more than people realized.
The Corellians, it seemed, weren't all that different from
her own people.
<<Equality>>
Anne decided that any views she might have on this matter of
equality would be invalid; her parents, while not of noble birth, were
both engaged in "important" professions. And wasn't the entire military
one big show of class differentiation? Was there a whole lot of
difference between congenital class status and acquired class status?
Yes, her mind told her; then went on to suggest that she stop
*thinking* about each item and get on with it.
<<External Conformity>>
Conformity was the name of the game for Anne, at least during
her early school days. She should know; she had been stuck in a class
for students like herself... those who didn't "conform" to the normal
standards of behavior.
But then, was that really the same thing? Were ideas different,
in some way, from behavior? What if she saw the President of the
Federation as a tyrant? Would she be incarcerated?
Well, whatever the answer to that last question, she had better
not voice aloud any opinions she didn't actually hold.
Someone just might decide to take it the wrong way.
<<Science and Rationality>>
OH.
Thud.
Well, there goes that, thought Anne. She had always been
proud of being a scientist. Her scientific abilities had carried
her through many difficult situations, had given her opportunities
that she might not have had otherwise... but, at the same time,
she could see the Corellians' point of view.
Competent scientists did not necessarily a socialite make.
And let's face it, thought Anne, a competent scientist does
not necessarily a *good* person make, either. It was probably because
she was so used to being regarded with something akin to respect,
especially after joining Starfleet, that she saw science as having
something more to offer than just random knowledge... that it held
some sort of social meaning beyond the occupation.
Who are you kidding? her mind countered. You aren't any
worthier a person than someone who doesn't do squat for science.
What about Myron? Is he any less a person because he can't be a
scientist? Wouldn't you say that he's a better person than you
any day?
Yes, she would... but that wasn't the point. Anne tried
to scroll up the screen and found that the message had ended.
Oh, well... her mind was beginning to wander more and more
anyway. Just couldn't seem to concentrate today.
She frowned at the notes she had taken. Odd, she thought,
as she turned off the lights in the room and headed toward the
shower, that she had managed to take down salient information about
the Corellians while her mind had played self-analyzing games with
her. She was glad that *somebody*, even if it was a somebody hidden
in her consciousness among her wandering thoughts, was paying attention.
Respectfully submitted,
Masako Goto
Lt. Anne Murray, Ph.D.
CSciO
USS CHESAPEAKE NCC-31813
<<NRPG>>
A GCD, I think, though it was *supposed* to be Anne's reaction to the
sociological report... ;) As noted, she *does* have relevant notes
on her PADD, so Anne, at least, got *some* work done. ;)
Amy: Hope your internet problems are at an end.
Takako: Did I tell you that I thought your last post was *cool*?
Melvin: Classes end tomorrow for you, don't they?
Lynnaea: Hang in there, you're almost done!
Fabian: Hope all is well with you.
Chris: How're you doing these days? Are you okay?
James: Hope you're doing fine and that you're safe from tornados.
Naomi: How goes your day?
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