A dark future?

Illustration by Mark Kingsnorth

It was recently announced by CBS that January of 2017 would see the release of a new Star Trek series (missing a 50 year anniversary tie-in by a hair.)

The new series is described as follows:

The brand-new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.

In other words, it's not described at all - that paragraph would match a new Stargate SG-1 just as well.  The press release goes on to explain that the new series has no connection to the upcoming Star Trek Beyond feature film which will be released in the summer of 2016, but other than that, we really don't know anything at all.

Looking at the options, there are two logical approaches (no Vulcan joke intended).  I think it's safe to say that Enterprise can be considered as the historical start of the Star Trek universe, so they're unlikely to go back before that.  As such, a new series would have to take place either someplace within the existing timeline, or beyond it - a Next Next Generation, as it were.

The first option is already being explored, although perhaps not in the awareness of the general population. There is a surprising list of Star Trek fan* movies available on YouTube™.  Examples would be Star Trek: Renegades, Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, and Star Trek Continues.  Describing these films as fan productions does them an injustice:  they feature professional or near-professional  production values for costumes, effects and sets, and in some cases, they even include actors from the various television series.

However, they rarely push the envelope in terms of creating a new paradigm. They're additions to the existing Star Trek universe rather than breaking new ground - grace notes, as it were.

But what of the future of the future?  I've already come up with my cast for Star Trek: The Next Next Generation, but, as much as I'd love to see it, I sincerely doubt that Wil Wheaton is prepping to take a seat in the command chair of a new USS Enterprise. 

Regardless, there are hints regarding the future of the Star Trek universe, mostly thanks to – and involving – time travel.**  In the Next Generation episode A Matter of Time, Matt Frewer’s character utilizes a stolen 26th century time machine, and there are several Voyager episodes featuring the 29th century Starfleet Wells-Class Timeships Aeon and Relativity - not to mention that whole unfortunate 31st century Temporal Cold War thing from Enterprise.

Does that mean that the new Star Trek series is likely to revolve around time travel?  I’d be very surprised if time travel didn’t drive a plotline or three, it’s one of the major science fiction memes, but I don’t think that it will be based purely on time travel.  Time travel stories are a lot of fun, but even Doctor Who doesn’t rely solely on time travel.

In the case of the Doctor, his temporal excursions are based on either whim or necessity – how would the future time-travel-based Federation utilize this ability, compared to the manner in which it explores conventional space?  Relativity is policing the timeline rather than exploring it, and although I’ve read some very good books about contact between time travelling societies, the whole idea of “boldly going” through time rather than space is far more risky – as per the Butterfly Effect, time travel has a huge potential for altering timelines for the worse rather than the better.

So, if we take time travel off the table, what other changes in technology and society could be elements of the Federation's future?
 
Enough time has gone by that the mystery of Data’s construction has probably been solved, so we have the option of androids being a substantial part of the Federation.  Similarly, sentient holograms such as Moriarty from The Next Generation or the Doctor from Voyager may have made the leap to acceptance as citizens of the Federation.

Ultimately, both these options come down to developments in artificial intelligence more than in robotics or holotechnology – and why would it be necessary for that intelligence to be resident in the mobile aspect of its existence? Maybe the Enterprise’s main computer is sentient now, and uses multiple avatars to help crew the vessel.***

If AI has remained an elusive goal, integration with technology might go in a different direction – perhaps the Captain has a telepathic linkage with the ship through the use of Borg-influenced implant technology.

Bio-technology may have made other advancements. Instead of multiple androids, Starfleet may have started cloning exemplary crewmembers, or have come into contact with a cloned species, perhaps one with a shared consciousness. The question of individuality and expendability would be key elements of this idea – there’s a hint of the Borg Collective in this concept as well.

Right in the middle of these two options would be nanotechnology. Like malfunctioning transporter or holodeck technology,**** the possibility for truly horrific consequences from rogue nanotech would make for some easy plotlines.

Ultimately, though, the question of technological development isn't as important as the cultural aspect of the show. Star Trek's relevancy in each of its incarnations has come from the fact that, like all good art, it holds up a mirror to contemporary culture.  The original series, written and produced in the late 1960s, discussed issues like racism and interventionism that dominated American culture at that point in time.*****  The Next Generation era dealt with a Federation that was far too willing to compromise its own principles in the interests of results, with a belief that the ends would justify the means.

What will a new Star Trek series show us as a reflection of our post 9/11 world?  A world of terrorist attacks and school shootings, climate change and climate change deniers, the ongoing struggle with the treatment of minorities, and the new challenges faced by the LGBT community?  It is possible - and perhaps necessary - that a new Star Trek would take place in a very grim setting indeed.

And hopefully, as always, show us that there are solutions and answers to the problems that we face.

- Sid

* A "fan" movie is an unlicensed film which takes place in the Star Trek universe without permission, to which I gather the copyright owners turn a blind eye provided that the producers don't make a profit.

** I realize that time travel is a contemporary phenomenon in several Star Trek episodes, either using alien technology as in The City on the Edge of Forever, All Our Yesterdays, or Time’s Arrow,  through the black hole/slingshot effect from Tomorrow is Yesterday and Assignment: Earth, or any number of one-off things like the classic “tear in the space time continuum”, temporal vortexes, temporal distortions, temporal rifts, temporal radiation, etc.   However, the episodes listed above feature time travel as a controlled technology utilized by humans in the future, which we can use as an indicator of the eventual development of the required theories and hardware.

P.S. It says a great deal about the progress of science fiction in that creating a tear in the fabric of the space-time continuum is now a cliché. 

*** When you think about it, why would you have a human crew at all in this scenario?

**** It’s generally accepted that a smart captain would probably just shut down the holodeck and use the space for storage.

***** Star Fleet's Prime Directive, which prohibits interference with the natural development of other species and civilizations, was a very direct comment on America's involvement in Vietnam.