Hall of Mirrors

21
Jun
2013

Recurrent Themes – Religious/Spiritual Leaders

Recurrent Themes – Religious/Spiritual Leaders

Spiritual leaders exist in my fiction.

Background

Religion is Star Trek canon, Barking up the Muse Tree | Janet Gershen-Siegel | jespah | DNA | Spiritual Leaders and of course it is also a very real and very personal human experience.

While much of Star Trek is rather atheist-friendly, I don’t believe that faith will ever, truly, completely leave us. In particular, the Enterprise era should have characters who still practice religion. Hence spiritual leaders would be a nature offshoot of that.

In Between Days Spiritual Leaders

Leah Benson

First showing up in The Light, Rabbi Benson is the official Starfleet Rabbi. She assists Ethan Shapiro in putting together a short service to commemorate the life of his great-aunt, Rachel Orenstein.

In Bread, she is a part of an official Starfleet set of meetings and banquets where all of the Starfleet chaplains have been brought together as a part of welcoming three new worlds to the nascent Federation – the Caitian home world, Denobula and the Xyrillian home world. Leah is cordial with the Imam, a Buddhist monk and others. Religion is very much alive, and she is a big part of it. While reminiscing with Jonathan Archer, she reports that Ethan would often ask her advice about Karin Bernstein, and she is delighted that they wed.

Yimar

In the alternate timeline in Temper, she is the spiritual leader of her people on both sides of the pond. When the timeline is restored, she is only the High Priestess on the Mirror side.

The role of High Priestess is not too well-defined, but Yimar has the power to summon her fellow Calafans, no matter where they are, and can even telepathically communicate with those in the Mirror Universe, a useful talent for a spiritual leader who, in an alternate timeline, leads her government in exile, too.

Yipran

In Reversal, she seems to be dying. But Yipran, the High Priestess of the Calafan people, is not going down without a fight. In Fortune, she reveals that she understands far more of the universe and its origins (and its eventual fate) than pretty much anyone.

Times of the HG Wells

Kaiwev

In Where the Wind Comes Sweepin’ Down the Plain, a Calafan temporal agent, Chellewev, dies in the line of duty. It’s up to Kaiwev, the leader of the Calafan unit, to lead prayers at the dedication of Chellewev’s spot on the Temporal Integrity Commission‘s monument to the fallen. Kaiwev is really just pressed into service. I never meant for him to be a priest.

Milton Walker and Members of the Eligian Order

About half of this order consists of upstanding men who commit charitable deeds and are true believers. The other half is a front for the Perfectionists, including Walker himself. The legitimate monks are unaware of what is going on under their noses.

Interphases

Jonathan Archer

Because there are no religious or spiritual leaders on board, Captain Archer must perform those tasks. This includes everything from officiating at weddings

Recurrent Themes – Religious/Spiritual Leaders

Not just any old wedding

to eventually giving funerary orations.

It’s not much of a stretch to assume that he would also preside over christenings and Bar and Bat Mitzvot.

He presides over Malcolm‘s and Jay‘s funerals in The Three of Us and both of theirs, Tripp‘s and Lili‘s in Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. About the only religious occasion he does not conduct is Nanette Myers’s conversion to Islam. Ramih Azar performs this, in the presence of Azar Hamidi and Maryam Haroun Hamidi as witnesses.

It is unclear who fills in when Jonathan finally dies, but it is not a stretch to assume that the successor captain would do so. In The Three of Us, that’s Charles Tucker IV; in Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, that’s canon character Lorian Cyrus Tucker.

Upshot

Faith abides and, in Bread, for the Mirror Universe and the prime, it’s one of the few things that survives. I believe there is a place for religion in Star Trek, even in the later series, and I am not afraid to show it. Faith of the heart, to me, means all hearts and, by definition, all faiths as well.

Posted by jespah in Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Interphases series, Themes, Times of the HG Wells series, 1 comment
07
Jun
2013

Review – First Born

Background

First Born has an irresistible background, I feel.

Barking Up The Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | First Born

First Born (Jun Daniels Sato)

In response to prompts about disciplining and decisions, I wrote First Born, a story about Richard Daniels, the Empress Hoshi Sato and their son, Jun Daniels Sato.

The story works as a bridge between In Between Days and Times of the HG Wells. Other such bridges include November 13th and More, More, More!

First Born Plot

In Reversal, I established that the Empress had given birth to Daniels’s child, but she thought him (the elder Daniels) to be dead. But Daniels isn’t dead.

Therefore, there had to be another side to the story.

This story explores the fallout at the Temporal Integrity Commission, and in time itself. Eleanor Daniels, Rick’s sister, is a docent at the Temporal Museum on Lafa II. She begins by lecturing about Empress Hoshi’s five children, but suddenly she shakes very, very slightly and ends her sentence talking about Hoshi’s six children.

Uh, oh.

Fallout

Variant logo based on the Terran Empire symbol...

Rick is hauled into his boss, Carmen Calavicci‘s, office. She is, understandably, livid. Carmen has been looking the other way for a while as he’s been bedding women in time. She has been figuring that it’s a way for him to cope with the fact that there are often deaths, or he has to restore deaths. So she has been kind or, at least, indifferent. But this is something else entirely, as the Mirror government is breathing down her neck. They demand that Jun Sato‘s existence be wiped out, thereby restoring Aidan MacKenzie‘s son, Kira, to his rightful position as first born heir.

Rick and Carmen meet with a Mirror government representative and begin to sort everything out. Rick wants Jun to live, but how much of a pound of flesh with the other side of the pond extract in order to make that happen?

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K+.

Upshot

I like the interplay among Carmen, Rick, and the Mirror representative (Ray Jiminez), as they essentially wheel and deal the past. It makes you wonder if that might eventually really happen.

Posted by jespah in Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Review, Times of the HG Wells series, 16 comments
04
Jun
2013

Portrait of a Character – Josh Rosen

Portrait of a Character – Josh Rosen

Josh Rosen was originally an afterthought – sorry!

Origins

First seen in The Light, Josh starts off as something of a background character in my Star Trek fanfiction. Friends with Ethan Shapiro, Karin Bernstein, and Andrew Miller, Josh was originally just meant to be more expositive filler material and not much more than that. Along the way, I found other ways to make him shine.

Portrayal

Josh is played by Seth Green.

Portrait of a Character – Josh Rosen

Seth Green as Josh Rosen

I like how this actor can be rather affable in some portrayals whereas, in others, he can be utterly menacing and evil.

I also like that he plays nerdy rather well. Josh in the prime universe is an engineer, and that is often my experience of engineers. Since he is a security guy in the Mirror Universe, that also works with the actor.

Personality

Dutiful and loyal to a fault, Josh is almost like Malcolm in that he will do nearly anything for the people he works for.

In the prime universe and prime timeline, he is pleasant and funny. In the E2 stories, he is a romantic guy but also is truly perplexed as to how to fix the problems that his marriage has created, and the wedge it has forced between him and his friend, Ethan. And in the Mirror Universe, in both the Temper first alternate timeline and in the prime timeline, he shows a loyalty and devotion to his mother that no other Mirror Universe denizen shows except, perhaps, for Doug Beckett.

Relationships

Karin Bernstein

Josh’s relationship with Karin only happens in the E2 stories, although they marry in both iterations. He is playful with her, calling her angel and generally surprised that she would go out with him, let alone marry him. In the second kick back in time, Karin herself wonders a bit about why she didn’t pursue Andrew herself. But the answer is the same for both iterations – Josh gets there first.

Yimar

In the Mirror Universe, the start of this relationship shows up in He Stays a Stranger. Josh has fairly recently struck out with Leah Benson (although he did help her to escape the Empress), and he is alone. When Daniels and Tom Grant  get the Flux Capacitor back, Josh ends up on Lafa II. Telling her that he doesn’t know anyone, she tells him, “You know me.” When Branch Borodin, a millennium later, explains that time period’s events to a tour group at the Temporal Museum on Lafa II, he mentions that Josh became High Priestess Yimar’s consort.

Mirror Universe

In the mirror, Josh Rosen is a security crewman, and often guards the Agony Booth.

Barking Up The Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Seth Green as MU Josh Rosen (image is for educational purposes only)

Seth Green as MU Josh Rosen (image is for educational purposes only)

But he wants to get out. He also well aware – more than most Mirror Universe denizens – that he needs to help others so that they will help him.

Hence in Temper and The Conspiracy, he is a part of the plot to get Chip, Lucy, and Chip’s two children off the Defiant.

Once they are gone, he still wants to get away, but he’s realistic about his chances. In Bread, he helps Leah Benson leave, as a fulfillment of his mother’s dying wish.

His continued caring for what his mother would have thought of him marks him as one of the few righteous persons in the Mirror Universe. This puts him on a par with Doug Beckett.

Quote

“We’re members of the same tribe. There aren’t a lot of us left. My, heh, my mother sent me a last message last week, before she died. She said I should look out for anybody in the tribe.”

Upshot

This below decks character shows up a lot. And he has been a bit of a utility infielder character, ending up in nearly every series but Hold Your Dominion and Mixing it Up. Not bad for the guy who, at the end of The Light, is neither the star (Ethan) nor the romantic lead (Andrew).

Posted by jespah in Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Interphases series, Portrait, Times of the HG Wells series, 18 comments
17
May
2013

Review – Temper

Review – Temper

Background

I originally wrote Temper for two reasons.

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Temper

Temper

One, I wanted to introduce a way into a vague idea I had for a Star Trek fan fiction time travel series. And two, I wanted to not only continue the story of Doug, Lili, Malcolm, Melissa and Leonora, but I wanted the kids to be older without aging Lili and Doug quite so much. After all, Doug is fifty-five when he meets Lili. Therefore, he would be in his sixties for any stories where the children could really interact and be an integral part of the plot. But a time travel story could rather neatly fix all of that.

Beyond that, I also wanted a way to continue the saga of the Empress Hoshi Sato and her son, Jun, the son of time traveler Richard Daniels. Furthermore, I wanted more kids in the royal family. For the Empress, it would be a Machiavellian move – she would have several children of different fathers, thereby diversifying genetically and, perhaps, given the tenderhearted paternal feelings that go along with the Y Chromosome Skew, she would get the male members of her senior staff to keep her alive, at least until her children reached the age of majority. And in Temper, they are just about all there.

Plot

The story begins with a snapshot into how the arrangement among Malcolm, Lili, Doug, Melissa and Leonora really works. Doug and Melissa are out hunting linfep, and then perrazin, with phase bows. Malcolm and Lili are going on vacation to Fep City. And the children are either with Leonora or are being cared for by Yimar. The occasion is that Melissa wants to have another baby.

But then Malcolm must return to the Enterprise, and Lili comes home early. Time Traveler Richard Daniels arrives and tells her that he needs Doug for something. She’s not so sure she believes him, and is a bit peeved that he’s landed his ship, the brand-new HG Wells, right on top of her day lilies. In order to fix this, he adds a drop of his blood to the soil but does not tell her that it’s spiked with stem cell growth accelerator.

Rick Steps In

When Doug and Melissa get in, and Malcolm is reached via communicator and Leonora arrives separately, Rick tells them why he needs Doug – the Empress is experimenting with what’s called a pulse shot. She’s looking to get over to our side of the pond, because she thinks that she can get more ships like the ISS Defiant.

But her few attempts are clumsy, and they wreak havoc with time itself, causing breaks in 2166 and 2161, including people from our universe crossing over to the Mirror and being trapped there (this includes the three eldest children, Joss, Marie Patrice and Tommy). Rick’s best information is on 2166, so he needs that part repaired first. Doug is the logical choice because, being from the Mirror originally, he sports a radiation band that matches that universe. Lili is chosen to accompany him because she’s considered non-threatening and, with false calloo tattoos on her arms and legs, she can pass for a Calafan. Rick explains that he cannot go as the Mirror government of his time period forbids it. This is due to the debacle about the siring of his son, Jun, which is explained in First Born.

Once Doug and Lili cross over, they find a totalitarian regime and just what’s going on with their children.

Music

Temper is less musically-driven than Together, but that makes sense as it is more of an adventure tale than a love story. However, there are still individual themes.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated M.

Upshot

I like, for the most part, how the story turned out, but it is deeper into my universe. Therefore, it can be a confusing read for someone who is not fully familiar with works that cover the earlier time periods. I do make an effort to create stand-alone stories, but I believe that the effect was somewhat mixed here. Temper is usually on the lower end of read counts for the first five big books (Reversal, Intolerance, Together, and Fortune are the other four), along with Intolerance, but in the case of Intolerance, it’s because it’s a shorter book. I suspect that Temper is a bit harder to get into. A pity, as it’s the lead-in for the HG Wells stories.

Posted by jespah in Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Review, Times of the HG Wells series, 100 comments
14
May
2013

Portrait of a Character – Izo Sato

Portrait of a Character – Izo Sato

Izo Sato brings up the rear of the Empress’s family.

Origins

In canon, at the end of the second Mirror Universe episode in Star Trek: Enterprise, the newly-proclaimed Empress Hoshi Sato has taken a new lover, Travis Mayweather. However, I realized that, in a Machiavellian sense, this would not necessarily be the best move for her, to only be with him, and stay with him. After all, people would be constantly gunning for her – and that’s canon, anyway. Superior officers are always in danger of being knifed or phasered by ambitious underlings.

Hence I decided that a hot, young and round-heeled Empress (also canon) would likely cement her partnerships with her senior staff via the bedroom. If most/all of them are male, all she’s got to do is sleep with them. And with the Y Chromosome Skew, if she gets pregnant by them, they will keep her alive, at least for a while. This is in order to ensure the continuing survival of their children. Therefore, she’d plan to have several children by the various male members of her senior staff. She selects Travis as a sire last, because she is most confident in his compliance and loyalty. Their son together is Izo Sato.

Izo’s very existence almost does not happen. This is because, during pregnancy, it’s discovered that there is a hole in his heart. The choice is given to Travis – fix the hole and the Empress goes on, or let the Empress die on the table and, presumably, become the next Emperor. Travis doesn’t want to rule and be constantly watching his back and so, in Coveted Commodity, he decides to allow Izo to live, even as Hoshi names the child and Travis has no say in the matter whatsoever.

Portrayal

It’s incredibly difficult to find a part-Asian, part-African actor.

Matsu as Izo Sato

Matsu as Izo Sato

I selected Matsu from the Japanese singing group, Exile. His real, full name is Toshio Matsumoto.

Matsu is an actor, too, and reportedly has a starring role in a futuristic drama (it’s difficult to get information as a lot of it’s in Japanese, and I have to rely on Google translations). In this video, he’s the guy with the multicolored headband and the dreadlocks: Carry On by Exile.

Personality

Portrait of a Character – Izo Sato

Matsu as Izo Sato

Nasty and bratty, like all six of the Empress’s children, Izo is also dangerous, and grows up to run the Empress’s secret police. In Temper, in the first alternate timeline, he stays out of the fight for Marie Patrice Beckett but he does tangle with someone else.

The name Izo means “iron“, but Izo is far from being honorable or morally strong.

Relationships

According to Richard Daniels, Izo eventually marries in the correct timeline, but he dies childless. I don’t have a name for his wife yet.

Leah Benson

In Bread, it’s 2192, and she’s in her mid-seventies and is a lesbian, but it doesn’t matter, as Izo is interested anyway. Given the lack of women aboard, it would appear that this is either before Izo’s marriage or he is cheating. He’s thirty – she is over twice his age – but he still, at the very least, wants her to service him. Furthermore, he has had several failures and so is looking for what he believes will be a compliant, easy score.

Pamela Hudson

In the first alternate timeline in Temper, once José Torres is killed, Pamela, Blair and Karin are freed and take up with other partners.

Portrait of a Character – Izo Sato

Matsumoto Toshio as Izo Sato

Karin goes with Josh, Blair goes with Dr. Morgan, and Pamela ends up with Izo. Again, she is a lot older than he is – she is over fifty, whereas he is still a teenager. But it does not matter to him. During this alternate, during a Calafan-style dream, Pamela gets a chance to do to Izo what, presumably, most people, both male and female, would want to do.

Prime Universe

Izo does not have a prime universe counterpart although, like the other Sato offspring, he does have an analogue in the Beckett–O’Day–Madden–Digiorno–Reed family. That person is Tommy Digiorno-Madden, as they are both impulsive warrior types.

Quote

“Am I gonna feel good?”

Upshot

I write the Mirror Mayweather as being mainly a loose cannon. Although when he learns that Izo has issues in utero, he does go to bat for the child. Izo carries that to the next generation and continues as a difficult thorn in many people’s sides. While Kira and Jun are almost heroes (at least, for people in the Mirror Universe), and Takara and Takeo have a chance to become almost moral, it’s Arashi and Izo who remain villains no matter what.

Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Portrait, Times of the HG Wells series, 10 comments
10
May
2013

Recurrent Themes – Scientists

Recurrent Themes – Scientists

Scientists are canon and they are important.

Background

Barking up the Muse Tree | Janet Gershen-Siegel | jespah | DNA | Scientists

Star Trek does not exist without science, and it is of course canon and is terribly important. In addition to canon scientists such as T’Pol, Keiko Ishikawa O’Brien and Spock, my fanfiction also celebrates scientists.

Note – this post will not cover physicians or engineers.

Appearances

In Between Days

Pamela Hudson

During the first temporal dislocation in Temper, she works as the night shift Science Officer on the ISS Defiant, but Pamela‘s main function is to be one of the three playthings for José Torres.

Diana Jones

Diana doesn’t really have much of a defined role in science until the E2 kickbacks. She seems to have a bit of a geology background, as she is the one to comment that, at Amity’s North Pole, there are iron pyrite deposits.

Lemnestra

She is the Ikaaran Science Officer on Verinold and Esilia‘s ship.

Andrew Miller

Andy begins the journey running the Biology Lab, and is responsible, mainly, for alien animal experimentation. When the malostrea are captured, he is one of the people who studies them.

Michelle (Shelby) Pike

Shelby runs the Botany Lab. During  the E2 kickbacks, her work becomes extremely important as she is needed for helping to grow fruits, vegetables and grains.

Preece Ti

This Ikaaran woman is the Science Officer on Ebrona’s ship.

Francisco (Frank) Ramirez

Frank isn’t seen working, but Jenny Crossman notes that he is a planetary geologist studying Saturn’s moon, Enceladus.

Hamilton Roget

He is the Science Officer on the Columbia.

T’Mir Ryan

During the first kickback, she eventually becomes the Science Officer on the Enterprise.

Kira MacKenzie Sato

He’s really the only denizen of the Mirror Universe whose primary function is science (Andy Miller’s counterpart is eventually promoted to the rank of Science Officer, but the reality is that his function is mainly as the Empress‘s bedroom playmate). Kira, who is the second-born son of Empress Hoshi, and the only child of Aidan MacKenzie, is not exactly gifted, and he’s slated for rule anyway, but he does at least perform this underserved function on the other side of the pond.

Lucy Stone

When T’Pol leaves Starfleet (after These Are the Voyages, my assumption is that T’Pol is leaving as it’s too painful for her to stay), Lucy steps in although, according to Day of the Dead, she is already aboard. During the events of Take Back the Night, Lucy studies the Daranaeans.

Nyota Warren

This Science crewman is not as high-ranking as Diana and, as a result, is not placed on the Bridge as often as Diana is.

Times of the HG Wells

Elston McCoy

Never seen, he is a job candidate with a specialty in ancient sciences.

Mixing it Up

Fetlaff

Never seen, he is Rayna Montgomery’s Science teacher.

Upshot

Necessary for any successful mission, scientists are one of the cornerstones of my fan fiction. There will always be more.

Posted by jespah in Emergence series, Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Interphases series, Mixing It Up Collection, Themes, Times of the HG Wells series, 0 comments
03
May
2013

Portrait of a Character – Diana Jones

Portrait of a Character – Diana Jones

Diana Jones works for a lot of purposes.

Origins

This original Star Trek fan fiction character fulfills a few purposes rather neatly. First off, in Reflections Down a Corridor, Entanglements, The Three of Us and Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, there need to be additional people who assist Doctor Phlox with medical matters. Andrew Miller becomes a medic and, eventually, can be called “doctor”. Diana, who also comes from the Science Department, essentially becomes a nurse.

Additionally, I wanted the skewed gender ratio to have even more of a radical skew. So there needed to be at least one lesbian. And because life isn’t necessarily fair, Diana would be the only gay woman aboard.

In Bread, I wanted someone for whom Leah Benson – on either side of the pond – might be doing everything for. Furthermore, it would work better for that story if that person was declining. The contrast proved irresistible.

Portrayal

Diana is played by Mira Sorvino.

Portrait of a Character – Diana Jones

Mira Sorvino as Diana Jones

I wanted an older actress who is still very lovely. And I feel that this Oscar-winning actress can get across Diana’s shyness about coming out, her desire for a mate and her eventual sad decline.

I also wanted Diana to be someone who the men might take an interest in. But they would be a bit disappointed when they learn that she is not reciprocating the attraction. She would also be someone who gay crew member Preston Jennings would select as a friend and confidante and, truly, as a convincing beard at times.

Personality

Warm and friendly, Diana is a natural for helping out in Sick Bay. In a way, she’s a gay version of Crewman Liz Cutler. The actress who played Cutler (Kellie Waymire) is deceased. So it’s a bit unclear whether Cutler made it to the kick back in time in E2. I prefer to think that, in the Azati Prime episode, that Cutler was one of the crewmen who perished, as this ties in with reality and brings the loss home even more. Hence there is room for Diana.

The other side of Diana is that she just plain doesn’t want to make a big deal out of her sexuality. To my mind, that works, as this would likely be a society where being gay is far less of a news story than it is now. However, that’s a double-edged sword. Without the drama of coming out, a person with non-majority preferences is apt to have to deal with some confusion unless they’re very demonstrative about what they’re like. Diana isn’t – and she and Malcolm find they have that in common – so she ends up sometimes having to fend off unwelcome male advances.

Relationships

Preece Ti

In The Three of Us, after the rescue of the first batch of Ikaaran women, this Science Officer approaches Diana when she realizes that there are two women aboard who do not live with men. The other is Lili, but by that time she’s committed to both Malcolm and Jay. Preece Ti thereby deduces that Diana is a lesbian. They take up together and have a loving, committed relationship until Preece Ti’s eventual death from the decline, This somewhat neatly parallels Diana’s own later years in the prime timeline.

Leah Benson

In both universes, Diana and Leah are, at some point or another, a couple. And in our universe, they stay together, even as Diana begins to exhibit symptoms of some form of senility. In the Mirror Universe, Diana leaves when she learns that Leah killed her previous lover, Leonora Digiorno. Moreover, Diana performs a major service for the Mirror Leah. She helps her to stop drinking.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Diana Jones

Mirror Diana Jones

Diana exists in the mirror universe, but is in a far more limited Science capacity. This is not due to a lack of talent; rather, it’s due to the Empress not wanting or needing detailed scientific work.

After Diana breaks up with Leah, she is unceremoniously dumped on Andoria. This happens when the Empress becomes displeased with her job performance. She lives there with the same caregiver, the Andorian Tallinaria, who also cares for her in the prime universe.

Quote

“Sorry, Thing Two. I bet you’re still really peeved. We just want to get to know ya.”

Upshot

I liked putting together this friendly if a bit misunderstood character.

Portrait of a Character – Diana Jones

And it was genuinely upsetting to turn Diana Jones, eventually, into a person who suffers tremendously toward the end of her life. But this is what happens to some people. It would take the punch out of the decline if she didn’t start out so sympathetically. I do like Diana Jones. I suppose I’d like her to have a happy ending, but not everyone does, unfortunately.

Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Interphases series, Portrait, 11 comments
22
Mar
2013

Portrait of a Character – Gina Nolan

Portrait of a Character – Gina Nolan

Gina Nolan is more than a widow.

Origins

Portrait of a Character – Gina Nolan

As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 came closer, I found myself thinking about that day. I wanted, in particular, to write about women who had been pregnant at the time of the attack. The Breen attack on Earth seemed a good backdrop for that. Plus it was a chance to learn about a part of Star Trek that I really didn’t know anything about. Therefore, I began with a story of a pregnant woman, and framed it against Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Gina Nolan

Gina Nolan (Elisabetta Canalis)

Gina is portrayed by Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis, currently best known in the United States for dating George Clooney.

Personality

Brassy and no-nonsense, Gina becomes a widow. This is when her husband Michael, a Xenobotanist, is instantly killed at his Beijing laboratory. She has been at home on Proxima Centauri, safe from the attack, but bereft all the same. Most of her story is told in Hold Your Dominion, although a portion is told in Wider Than the Sargasso Sea.

The Five Stages of Grief

Denial

Keeping away the soldiers tasked with informing her of the death seems her only logical move. Of course that doesn’t bring Michael back; it just prolongs the moment of learning of his death.

Anger

On Andoria for a memorial service, Gina loses patience with just about everyone.

Bargaining

To get across the idea of bargaining, I had her haggle with a Ferengi merchant. Still on Andoria, and still run ragged, she gets redbat at a decent price. This is particularly after a security officer intervenes.

Depression

Returning to Proxima, smells and rudeness overcome Gina Nolan. But it all comes to a head when she sees the destroyed tree in her front yard. A symbol of her and Michael’s love, it was killed when a military shuttle landed on it and its inhabitants told her of her husband’s death. It’s all too much for her, and she spirals downwards.

Acceptance

She spends her first Christmas after Michael’s death with her parents. She takes them to a crossing of streets now named Michael Nolan Square. A dedication plaque reads, “This square is dedicated to Xenobotanist Michael G. Nolan, born July first, 2341. Nolan died on October tenth, 2375, at his lab in Beijing, when the Breen attacked Earth. He left a wife and a daughter.”

Aftermath

Healing

Five years after the attack, someone pulls Gina Nolan along to look at artwork. Whose artwork? Her daughter’s. The children at Decker Elementary have all drawn something about the Breen attack. While there, they spot a lost child. She’s a little Klingon girl who is a bit older than Gina’s daughter, Gabrielle. The girl, Freela, is crying for her father. When they are back together, there is a ribbon award for the best drawing in the first grade. It goes to Freela. Gina suggests ice cream, and Freela’s father, Kittris, agrees.

Ice Cream

As the grownups talk and the girls play, it becomes apparent that there might be a chance for something more than just a pleasant afternoon.

Rituals

Ten years later, a milestone in Kittriss’s family is an occasion for Gina Nolan and Gabby to again try to fit in.

Good-bye

Five years afterwards, Gina is part of an interview for a commemoration of the attack. She remembers Michael, but not with sadness.

The Next Generation

In Wider Than the Sargasso Sea, much of the action shifts to Gabrielle. But Gina is still there, still fighting, and is a part of a large crowd protesting Breen moving into their neighborhood and, as that story begins, yells, “Breen, go home!”

Relationships

Michael Nolan

I never show him alive, although I might write a flashback at some point. Their marriage was a decent one, but they worked on different planets, and that could not have been easy.

Kittriss

Originally, shared grief draws them together. But then it becomes something more. Together, they raise their daughters – and I often (albeit not actually in my fan fiction) refer to them as “The Klingon Brady Bunch”.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Gina Nolan

Mirror Gina Nolan

In the Mirror Universe, Gina is a Captain’s Woman, to Alexander Bashir (In The Point is Probably Moot he’s the captain of the ISS Molotov). But she does have a taste for Klingon men, and meets Kittress under very different circumstances, in Smash Your Dominion.

Quote

“It wasn’t meant to be fair, and that’s not just because of the Breen. It’s, in general. (so) It’s never meant to be fair. It’s death, and while I think it holds account books, I also don’t kid myself. (so) It’s not a simple equation. It’s not like we gathered all the bad people together, and then told the Breen to have at it. (so) It’s not that. And it’s not God taking the most righteous or that kind of bull, either. It was just a bunch of people who drew the unlucky card that day. If I didn’t have my teaching job here, I would have been living in Beijing, too. And then Gabrielle and I would be gone, too.”

Upshot

I think the Sargasso Sea story mainly wrapped up this story line. But I don’t know. Gina Nolan often surprises me, and she may yet do so again.

Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Hall of Mirrors, Portrait, 16 comments
19
Mar
2013

Spotlight on an Original Mirror Universe Condition – The Y Chromosome Skew

The Y Chromosome Skew

A chromosome skew?

Background

In order to explain as much as possible about the Star Trek mirror without having to continually launch into a lot of long, drawn-out explanations, I decided that the Mirror Universe would be, mainly, explained via a genetic mutation.

Spotlight on an Original Mirror Universe Condition – The Y Chromosome Skew

DNA up close

But the Mirror Universe is so close to our own that I wanted a fast-moving mutation, one that would run through the genome like a forest fire. This would rather neatly explain why things are close, but not quite, the same as conditions are here. After all, it’s canon that literature is similar but not the same (except for Shakespeare), and there are several mentionings of Roman times. How could I put it all together in a way that made sense scientifically without demolishing canon or making my own creative process more difficult?

Marcus Titinius

Marcus was a real historical figure. In ancient Rome, he was a tribune in 450 BC. That’s true history. Now for my spin.

In the mirror, Marcus had a genetic mutation (hereinafter referred to as the Y Chromosome Skew). As a result, he produced sperm that were about 75% XY (e. g. with the potential for creating sons) and 25% XX (with the potential for fathering daughters). The true ratio is a lot closer to 50-50. Marcus was drenched in testosterone and, as a result, was bigger and stronger than most men, too. He was also (and this is where fantasy truly takes its leave from reality) better-endowed than most men, and was a better lover. Hence Marcus had the following things going on with him.

What’s so special about Marcus?

  • He was constantly on the make for women, even though he was married. Also, he had countless mistresses and dalliances with women in all levels of Roman society. He was just as likely to have sex with respectable matrons as with slave girls.
  • Also, he was a good lover, so women sought to keep him. And, if they told their friends, those women also tried to make it with Marcus.
  • His sperm were stronger and more resilient than that of a normal man, so he was more likely to father a child if there was any chance of it at all. E. g. a woman could be two or three weeks away from ovulating, and there would still be a pretty decent chance of him impregnating her.
  • Also, he was stronger, and could fight, so he could fend off rivals. And he was rarely too tired for sex, and could be described as “endlessly insatiable“.
  • He was also a good provider, working hard to support any known children, legitimate or not.
  • Also, he was a good father, working to ensure the success of his offspring, and them reaching the age of maturity.
  • He passed the mutation on to all of his sons, without exception.

Immediate Effects of the Y Chromosome Skew

The two things that any genetic mutation needs to get a foothold are:

  1. The creation of offspring with the mutation and
  2. Those offspring being more likely to survive long enough to pass on the mutation.

The Y Chromosome Skew takes that to extremes. Marcus fathers dozens of children, by all sorts of women. He creates a boatload of genetic diversity, all by himself. He also works to assure the survival of his offspring. His children all inherit these tendencies from him, and even his daughters are more aggressive, particularly when it comes to optimal mate selection.

Long-Term Effects of the Y Chromosome Skew

By introducing a few dozen offspring with the skew, these sons fanned out across the Roman Empire. Just like Marcus, they were endlessly insatiable, but were also good providers and good fathers. As time went on, skewed males began to crowd out non-skewed males. They could fight for their women, and the women were much more likely to select them, anyway. While it is still possible in the 2150s to be a non-skewed male, the percentage is small, and the chances of those men passing along their genes are greatly diminished. José Torres does not have the skew, so if he is Arashi Sato‘s father, then Arashi does not have it, either, by definition. However, all of the Empress‘s other sons have it, even Jun.

Richard Daniels and the Skew

Why does Daniels have the skew? The shortest, easiest answer, is that he is a descendant of Doug Beckett. As Eleanor explains in Where the Wind Comes Sweepin’ Down the Plain, Doug fathered five children on our side of the pond, and they all had a mixed radiation band. But what he also passed on was the skew. Two of his children, Joss and Neil, have children of their own (the other three do not reproduce), and each of those two sons has a son and a daughter. By the end of the events depicted in the prime timeline in Fortune, it’s known that at least Joss is a grandfather and the line will go on.

But as Eleanor explains, if you have a radiation band of less than 21 centimeters, and it’s before trans-universal crossovers became common (in 2762), then you’re a guaranteed descendant of Doug’s. And, because the Y Chromosome Skew is also prevalent, although Eleanor does not mention it in her little talk, it’s probable that you’ll carry the skew as well.

Societal Effects of the Skew

Society tips more in favor of hunting and warfare, and away from agriculture and peace. Artists become rather rare, and become valued. However, even though women become rarer, they are far less valued. So they tend to be treated like dirt most of the time. This is even when Empress Hoshi is in charge of things. As a result, women’s roles are mostly subordinate.

There are women on starships more because the men will all tear each other apart if there aren’t. This is as opposed to any other real reason. In Temper, in an alternate timeline, the Empress has forbidden all relationships except for her own, and every man is theoretically supposed to be available to her. Some women, such as Lucy Stone, the Science Officer, and Shelby Pike, the pilot, have some status, but the vast majority of women are oppressed like Karin Bernstein, Blair Claymore, and Pamela Hudson, who exist as little more than playthings for José Torres.

The Y Chromosome Skew and the Prime Universe

Although Doug brings the skew with him in 2158 when he crosses over from the Mirror Universe, the effects are different. For one thing, Doug is far less violent, and vows to Lili that he will no longer kill. He is as good as his word, and makes every effort to rein in his temper.

As for the genetic mutation itself, it just doesn’t have the same effect in our society. A lot of that has to do with women. Unlike in the Mirror Universe, women have a far better place in society. And they fight to stay that way. Hence in our universe, Karin is in Tactical (and in the E2 stories, she gets command experience as well). Blair and Pamela are doctors. Hence, one of the conditions for the Mirror Universe being the way it is just does not come about. E. g. women do not suffer subjugation, or at least not because of that.

The Future of the Skew

With the skew becoming more and more a part of the Prime Universe in Richard’s time, it would appear that the Prime Universe would become more like the Mirror. But that is not likely, due to the position of women in our society. Our valuing of agriculture, cooking and gentleness will also keep us from becoming like the Mirror. And with Mirror Universe denizens crossing back and forth (as we will), it’s entirely possible that by, say, the fifth millennium (e. g. 4000 AD), we might find there are few differences between the Prime and Mirror Universes.

At least, that would be the case in my Star Trek fan fiction, if I ever write about a time that deep in history. And perhaps I might.

And as for Discovery, while my explanation isn’t quite the same as theirs, it’s not too far off.

Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Hall of Mirrors, Spotlight, 6 comments
12
Mar
2013

Portrait of a Character – Anthony Parker

Portrait of a Character – Anthony Parker

Anthony Parker shows morals when others do not.

Origins

For the HG Wells Star Trek fanfiction series, I needed a bad guy who would, ultimately, do the right thing. In addition, I wanted him to have a chance to do this in an alternate timeline. In the prime timeline, he balks at what the bad guys are doing. But he never really gets a chance to prevent the temporal mischief from occurring.

Portrayal

Anthony is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Personality

Originally a musician, the Perfectionists’ ways trouble Anthony, as they cut a swath through history and attempt to change it for their own purposes without much thought of the consequences. Helen Walker is too much of a game player, Marisol Castillo is a psychopath, and Milton Walker is misguided. For Anthony, things are off.

Hence, he protests, and more than once. During Ohio, there is a secret voice-only meeting, and his is one of the voices. But he’s skeptical, questioning everything. And he balks when the leader requests that someone steal the temporal force field technology from the Temporal Integrity Commission.

His end?

Because he refuses to be a party to petty theft, they mark him for death. Helen Walker murders him during that book. The means are an infection with Ebola virus (a prefiguring of the issues in You Mixed-Up Siciliano). And while his body was trying to fight that, he was hit repeatedly by some sort of blunt force trauma, mostly from behind.

Almost as important is the fact that Parker has a tattoo mentioning Saint Eligius. Eligius is the patron saint of lots of things, including all manner of timepieces. Therefore, he is as close as you can come to a true patron saint of time. This ends up being a vital clue to the whereabouts of several Perfectionist operatives.

Alternate Timelines

Anthony is only known during the alternate timeline that is generated through the Perfectionist meddling during Where the Wind Comes Sweepin’ Down the Plain.

Portrait of a Character – Anthony Parker

During that scenario, most of the human race has an addiction to fortified wine. Anthony is a protestor, and he goes to the Saint Eligius ship in order to destroy casks (the Eligian order is the prime winemaking company), when his axe splinters a much larger box, containing one of the members of the Temporal Integrity Commission, the imprisoned Otra. Although Anthony meets his death in that timeline, too, at least he does the moral thing.

Mirror Universe

Anthony is from the mirror and does not appear to have a prime universe counterpart.

Quote

“So this is the wrong timeline. Do you know what happens to me? In your so-called correct timeline, that is. Forgive me, but I’m a bit of a skeptic.”

Upshot

Morally conflicted and troubled, I wish I had been able to showcase Anthony Parker a bit more.

Posted by jespah in Hall of Mirrors, Portrait, Times of the HG Wells series, 8 comments