Unlock with Patreon
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine “Whispers”
Sep 10, 2019
Star Trek: Voyager “The Fight” (part 3 of 5)
Cut to the bridge. Some amount of time has passed, and the crew has figured out how to re-configure the shields so that they work in chaotic space, or so they think. Now that they’re convinced they won’t run into anything, Janeway has Paris take the ship forward. By the way, how could they run into something else? What else could fit inside this tiny little shell with them? From the visuals a while ago, that would be like accidentally running into someone else while walking around in a phone booth.
Now that I think about it, the “two light years across” line was probably meant to indicate Voyager is trapped in a huge expanse, even though the special effects don’t give that impression at all. Nearest I can tell, “chaotic space” looks a lot like one of those Java applets on web pages where you can distort the faces of politicians.
If you can’t see the chaos in this shot, well, that’s just your problem.
Turns out they do encounter something, although they don’t actually run into it. “It” is the hulk of an alien ship, drifting dead in chaotic space. When they investigate, they find a distress call with the last words of the ship’s captain. It was all about how the stars were making “too much noise”, and so forth, so clearly he was coming unglued. They’re able to read the ship’s logs too, and it confirms the captain and engineer were experiencing hallucinations before they kacked.
The alien ship’s sensors were more advanced than Voyager’s, but the ship still got trapped in chaotic space. They lasted a year before they finally succumbed, but again, I’m guessing that Voyager will be in chaotic space for another 27 minutes or so.
To read the rest of this article, support the Agony Booth on Patreon.
Mark M. Meysenburg
Mark teaches at Doane College, a liberal arts college in Crete, Nebraska. Most of his teaching involves computer science, but Mark also occasionally teaches mathematics and the history of science; he has also been known to offer three week courses on the worst movies ever made. Mark's bad movie obsession was kindled in the early 1980s by the Medved brothers, then fanned to full flame by late-night showings of Plan 9 from Outer Space. Who could have predicted the long term effects of satin-pajama-clad, mincing alien menace? Mark's other interests include homebrew beer and wine, and practicing and teaching martial arts.
Latest Comments