Tango

“What is a vague and carefully unfalsifiable way to slander an entire continent?”, Alex.

Being a Joined Trill is a lot more like being genderfluid than trans. For example Jadzia didn’t look back on her time as the male Curzon as “wrong” or dysphoric. She WAS happy as a man and IS happy as a woman.

Ezri was a lot more confused, but only because she hadn’t been prepared for the joining like Curzon or Jadzia had been, and was thus more overwhelmed by all the new and unexpected memories. It didn’t last, and Illa seemed far more comfortable in her own skin.

Well I can relate to that because I often get intimidated by many seasons of serialized television. IMO there’s too much serialized television these days. Fortunately, TOS is completely episodic - not serialized at all, with each episode being a completely standalone story that you don’t really need to watch any of the other episodes to understand. Like The Simpsons, everything always returns to the status quo at the end of each episode.

TNG and VOY were, like, two-thirds episodic and one-third serialized, while DS9 and ENT were more like one-third episodic and two-thirds serialized. Discovery and Picard were fully serialized, and TBH if I hadn’t already watched TNG and already developed an emotional attachment to those characters, I would have found Picard to be a slog too.

Anyway, on to your question. Tuvix is an episode of VOY wherein two characters - Tuvok and Neelix - get into a transporter accident which merges them into a single being, who names himself Tuvix. At first the Doctor declares that the merger is irreversible so the crew just decides to accept Tuvix and move on. Tuvix proves to be an valuable member of the crew, with the abilities of both Tuvok and Neelix, and even a few new character traits entirely his own. But weeks later, the Doctor discovers that the process is in fact reversible… at which point Tuvix announces that he refuses the separation procedure, as although it would bring back Tuvok and Neelix, it would essentially be death for him. As the ship is currently stuck in unknown space, 70 years from home, the only authority in a position to decide what to do is Captain Janeway. I’ll let you see how that turns out. Fans considered the ending to be extremely dark, and there continues to be “trolley problem”-esque debate over what the right thing to do was. Most memes play up the coldness of Janeway’s decision, portraying her a sociopathically bloodthirsty.

I think a lot of politicians are pleasantly surprised that there was still an American that both sides of the aisle could agree on admiring.

I mean, you don’t HAVE to do ANYTHING. But anyone who wants to get this community’s memes without needing them explained will find that most of the memes comes from TOS, TNG, DS9 and Voyager, the last of which is certainly abound with memes (such as Janeway’s obsession with coffee, vaguely offensive Irish stereotypes, distinctly offensive Native American stereotypes due to the producers inadvertently hiring a bad/fraudulent cultural sensitivity consultant, and… well… the whole THING with Tuvix), but is not everyone’s cup of tea, unlike the other three which are far closer to being universally beloved.

If it helps, TOS was only three seasons, and after each commercial break it’d return with Kirk doing a voiceover summing up what the plot of the episode so far has been. So you could easily second-screen it.

Spock’s Brain? Sub Rosa?

If you’re gonna hang out in a Star Trek fedicomm you’re probably gonna wanna watch TOS (The Original Series), TNG (The Next Generation) and DS9 (Deep Space Nine) at a minimum. They’re quite good, but fair warning: the special effects are pretty dated, especially in TOS. The writing and acting hold up terrifically, though.

I’d be more worried about Joe Pesci.

I dreamed I saw Dolly Parton last night

Alive as you and me

Says I, “But Dolly, you’re 24 hrs dead”

“I never died” says she

“I never died” says she

• Catherine O’Hara: died January 2026
• Brenda Fricker: died July 2026
• Tim Curry: died August 2026

Crosses fingers

Yeah we need whatever microbes break down plastic to remain isolated so that we can break down plastic when we want to but it remains “invincible” otherwise.

There’s a yeast for it now too:

https://www.ucc.ie/en/sefs/news/news2026/researchers-at-ucc-engineer-yeast-to-recycle-plastic-more-sustainably.html

I always wonder how long it’s gonna take before plastic-eating bacteria start to proliferate in the wild. There was a while back in prehistory when there was no microbe in existence that could eat wood and trees were almost immortal, and that’s how we got certain fossil fuels, because when a tree died by getting knocked over by wind or whatever, the wood went into the ground undigested. I think. The main appeal of plastic is that it’s currently nigh on invincible to microbial attack and so is perfect for sealed containers (when you need to keep something fresh and preserved), but I assume eventually plastic will be just as prone to rot as cardboard. I wonder, will glass then make a comeback?

Maybe they didn’t want Stovokor to mistakenly let the albino in or something. It would be interesting if that’s an actual consideration that Klingons need to be aware of, like “Quick! We need to roar for the fallen!” “Wait! This guy over here died like a cowardly petaQ!” “Shit, let’s drag his body away from the others! And hurry, or their souls will already be gone!” “How far do we need to drag it?” “Out of earshot!” “WHAT??” “I SAID OUT OF… FUCK IT THAT’S FAR ENOUGH”

In the original Klingon:

I suspect not. It looks like it’s just English with transliteration, rather than actual translation into Klingon. I appreciate the thought, though.

Why didn’t Jadzia, Kang and Kor do this for Koloth?

Ironically (given the original name of this community), the ancient Chinese had entire discourses on the idea that in order for society to function correctly, people needed to be able to agree what words meant.

A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music will not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect.

–Master Kong (AKA Confucius)

https://ctext.org/analects/zi-lu

The established names of the later kings: penal and legal terms followed those of Shang, noble titles followed those of Zhou, literary titles followed those of Li. As for miscellaneous names applied to all things, they conformed to the established customs and conventions of Zhuxia; in distant regions with different local customs, these were adapted accordingly for general understanding.

As for miscellaneous names applied to people: the inherent nature that causes a person to be what he is called “xing.” The harmony of xing gives rise to refined interactions and responsive 感应; when things occur effortlessly and naturally without deliberate action, this is called xing. The inclinations of xing—liking, disliking, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—are called qing. When the emotions arise and the mind makes choices in response, this is called lü (deliberation). When the mind deliberates and is thus able to act intentionally, this is called wei. When deliberation accumulates and becomes habitual, and only then achieves formation, it is called wei. Acting in accordance with what is righteous and beneficial is called shi (affairs or actions). Acting in accordance with righteousness is called xing (conduct or behavior). The capacity for knowledge within a person is called zhi. When knowledge aligns with something, it is called zhi (wisdom). The capacity for action within a person is called neng. When ability aligns with something, it is also called neng (capability). When xing is harmed, it is called bing (illness or affliction). A person’s encounter with measured circumstances is called ming (fate or destiny): these are the miscellaneous names applied to people, and they represent the established terms of later kings.

Therefore, when a sovereign establishes names, once names are fixed and realities distinguished, the Way is put into practice and aspirations become clear; thus, he carefully leads the people toward unity. Therefore, to split words and arbitrarily create names in order to confuse established terms, causing the people to be doubtful and leading to frequent disputes among them, is called a great jian (great villain or great wrongdoer). Their crime is still akin to that of falsifying tokens, seals, and measurements. Therefore, the people dare not fabricate strange words to confuse established names; thus, their people are sincere and upright. Sincerity makes them easy to lead, and being easy to lead leads to public harmony. The people dare not fabricate strange terms to confuse established names, so they remain unified in the Way and law, and are careful to follow commands. If this is done, then their legacy will be enduring. An enduring legacy and accomplished achievements represent the highest attainment of governance. This is the achievement of carefully upholding the conventions of names. Now that the sage kings have passed away, the guardianship of names has become lax; strange terms arise, and the correspondence between names and realities becomes confused. When the forms of right and wrong are unclear, even those officials who uphold the law and Confucian scholars who recite canonical texts also fall into disorder. If a sovereign were to arise, he would surely follow established names while also creating new ones as needed. Therefore, the reasons for having names, the basis on which things are deemed the same or different, and the essential principles of establishing names must not be overlooked.

–Master Xun

https://ctext.org/xunzi/zheng-ming

Of course, there are also plenty of modern examples of how unclear communication can cause catastrophe.

If you’re referring to “King” on the assumption that it’s a reference to Queen, then no.

• The Spice Women
• Fat Lizzy
• Dupree4
• The Rolling Boulders
• The Prevention
• The Gates
• King
• Bruno Venus
• Some Doubt
• The Cocteau Triplets
• Blackhighway
• Soundfarm
• Jack Six
• Lady Adultspeech
• Eurasia
• Earth, Wind, Fire and Water
• Adam and the Echidnas
• Flock of Cormorants
• The Town People

Nonsense. Changing canon is not an inherently good or bad thing. Sometimes it even needs to be done. It can be done well, like when TOS Klingons were overhauled and replaced with movie/TNG Klingons. And it can be done poorly, like when TNG Klingons were overhauled and replaced with Kelvin Klingons.

The SNW version of the Gorn is a vast improvement over TOS Gorn, and is a logical progression from the changes introduced by the ENT Gorn.