Plot

[terry]

I may not be able to prove it, but I have always felt that Star Trek's Prime Directive was put in place by Gene Coons, as a non-proselytizing, anti-missionary element that the very secular humanist Gene Roddenberry envisioned for the future. I feel the BEAST of this narrative should have a minority (even hated) voice that is committed to sharing their faith, paralleling the Roman soldier Christians during their Britannic occupation.
Much like the Vikings, the BEAST religion is based upon a fascination with light as power this evolves into a Sun-star theology that includes a warrior’s culture and a Valhalla parallel. BEAST warrior poet-priests wear ornate headgear so that SaR might witness their battlefield might and welcome them around the festive fire of Valhalla (or what ever we choose to call BEAST heaven). BEAST culture develops a warrior worship, a cannibalistic element and a fanatical love for astronomy. Their beliefs are forever changed when the BEAST home world witnesses several Stars go supernova. The planet is at a safe distant, but a prophet, Agap THE Flame comes along proclaiming: “These "Suns" have giving their light so that greater light might be known. These stars have been killed and then reborn in the stellar nurseries the supernova produced. In the same way, true power is not found in Stars or selfish power grabbing True power was far more than a mere Star (even a red Giant), no true power was displayed when SaR’s dead stars sacrificially gave away their light, so that millions of Stars might be born. Hesed (Hebrew for mercy, I know Kathy Tyres used the same name in her Firebird series) is a closet Lightgiver or Lighter in the BEAST invasion force. is a committed follower of this radical new idea of self less power.
“How can the weak actually be the strong,” is a common charge brought against this new religion. “The all-mighty SaR would be mortified by such devotion to such darkness. He gave us the stars as examples of how his image must shine in righteous brilliance! Mighty SaR does not respect, stars too weak to keep shining, so he kills them so that strong stars may come to be, and be examples of true righteousness. “These filthy Lighters are traitors, and atheists that must be silenced. They are the voices of lightlessness and threaten to weaken, destroy our lives!”
Hesed knows that SaR is not a star, or a beam of light, or even a Supernova—but a omnipotent, caring being that we must trust. “Until we are able to lower ourselves we cannot be lifted up,” Hesed is constantly reminding himself. The Flame of flames once said, “As the stars have shown you, give your light away that greater light might be known. Go and give away your light…”

Ideas...comments...etc.

[lexkx]

Okay. That's a lot at once. It's a fascinating start. Your idea raises some questions that are probably better addressed sooner than later.

1. Truth - Does anybody know it? Does either side, Fantasy or SF, believe in God, or is that understanding something that will be brought about in the story? Allegories are great, but they can sometimes become very elliptical.

2. It was unclear to me whether you intended any prophecies to be true or false, which raises the question of what religious backgrounds do our two worlds come from and where do we intend to take them. Some religions don't do prophecy at all, and others exist solely on it, so it seems a point worth clarifying.

3. It's clear that you put some thought into this idea. Are you hoping to use it as a main thrust of the story, a subplot, or a philosophical underpinning?

In Him,
Lex

[terry]

I originally wanted to use a rebellion to the "Prime Directive" as a plot in the new Star Trek online game, but I guess that is not going to be available. Yes, I thought a reforming "BEAST" mindset through a cultural rebellion much like, but not necesarily allegorical to the situation in 1st-4th century Roman army in Pagan Britain would allow for some Chirstian themes to be explored. Many war and nature worshiping cultures were completely rethought with the coming of Christians. Just a iea. Thank you, and God Bless.

[Jeff Gerke]

I like the idea that neither the fantasy folks nor the SF folks have learned the truth. Wouldn't it be cool if (from a theological perspective) this whole story--the SF and fantasy worlds discovering each other and coming into conflict--was really God's way of causing both worlds to discover Him?

I read years ago that giant sequoias do not drop their seeds to produce offspring unless superheated. In other words, unless the tree is ON FIRE it won't drop its seeds to reproduce itself. (The thick outer trunk acts like insulation to protect the tree.)

We're like that sometimes. If not for this current crisis and conflict I never would've discovered X or realized Y. So I've come to see this as a blessing.

What if the sides begin as fantasy vs. SF, but then somehow a few members from both sides stumble upon the new truth?

Like the space marines have lined up to mow down the templar knights in a massive battle; the battle is fully engaged; the SF weaponry is too great for the medieval warriors--but they have used their ingenuity and the space marines' arrogance to slip behind the defenses and take the SF commander captive and are about to kill him; the fighting has gone to hand-to-hand, where the fantasy warriors have the advantage.

But suddenly there is an earthquake and a great flash of light and this unknown God reveals Himself. Both sides are struck speechless. The magic of the fantasy types and the technology of the SF types are both rendered useless as they all stare in awe, shoulder to shoulder, at this incredible Being, and listen as He utters His cryptic but compelling New Truth.

Then how wonderful if the survivors of this battle realize that everybody's been wrong and the only way to prevent a disaster of titanic proportions is for the warriors of both sides--the veterans of this battle only--to unite.

So now you have unlikely allies united both for and against elements from the fantasy and SF worlds. There aren't enough of these warriors (the ones who witnessed the miracle) to take on the armies of both the fantasy and SF worlds--or even one or the other--but if they work together and pool their technology, magic, and wits, they just might be able to stave off the disaster.

And in the meantime, both groups are strugging with what it must mean (to them, to the world, to the galaxy) that this new God really exists. What is He like? What does He desire? How is He to be served and worshipped? In love? In fear? With sacrifice? While some of this newly united group is trying to avert the Big Bad Thing, some of them are gravitating to the more priestly positions and working to figure out what this religion ought to be.

I always hesitate to post things like this. I'm afraid people will feel like they must automatically accept my input because I organized this whole project. But I want to be just another participant. If you guys think my ideas are good (and if you would've thought that if I'd just been Joe Blow), then great, let's use them. But if they stink or just don't fit with what the group wants to do, that's cool, too.

Jeff

[ellij]

What if one of the characters is a messiah figure? The worlds haven't figured him out yet, but he's the first one to figure them out. He can be a wizard, human, alien, or whatever. But, what if he's waiting for that moment when the two worlds need him most...that climactic, reader-gasp moment.

Just a thought.

[Lletherial]

I like terry's rejection of the "Prime Directive" - it plays well with the storyline ducli and I are tossing around - and if ellij's messiah can come to save the day, then we can have a uniting of warriors in both the SFW and FW (as I think Jeff is suggesting) and bring everlasting peace. Or, is it really? Maybe the messiah is really the beast? Is this too Revelation allegorical? Hmm, something to ponder. lgp

[ellij]

There could be two "Messiahs." one is false and the other is true. Only the true one has figured out both the FW and SFW. Yet, both reveal theselves at the end. The worlds have to choose who to follow.

Just an add-on thought.

[mongoose]

IF we're being allegorical,
AND IF we choose to use a messiah figure, revealed as such during the story,
THEN he/she/it will need to be sacrificed and therafter raised from the dead in one way or t'other.

I'd just as soon have the story take place pre-messiah, as in the first book of the Song of Albion series, by Stephen Lawhead, or some time afterword. I've described elswhere my qualms about the big revelation in the sky. I'd MUCH prefer something in which a few individuals find the truth, and then find a way of expressing that truth to the rest of the armies, which temporarily incapacitates them and thus stops the fighting for a while. Then they preach the Truth, and a few more accept it, becoming a significant minority.

Incidentally, though I sort of agree with Terry about evangelism, I think he may have misunderstood the Prime Directive. If you read up on the Directive itself, it says little about religion, at least in its spirit. Rather, it's about staying out of the politics of sovereign planets/nations. It's what is supposed to stop Starfleet captains from interfering in planetary and system wide civil wars. In the series there was no need to outlaw evangelism or proselytizing, because everyone who was anyone accepted that no one could know the Truth to a sufficient extent to preach it at anyone. Be assured, Prime Directive or no Prime Directive, Captain Kirk and others would have preached at people if they had wanted to. There simply WAS no faith to be preached, unless it was practiced by some backward, planet bound, indigenous aliens.

Never-the-less, I can accept Terry's point.