The year is 3201. At Federation Headquarters, a shuttle with the markings "Just Married" drops out of warp and approaches. Headed towards the mobile starbase's shuttlebay, a voice can be heard hailing the station:
BURNHAM
DSC-01 to headquarters. We are coming in.
TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
HQ acknowledges, DSC-01. Proceed to shuttlebay.
Arriving at the station, Admiral Michael Burnham and her husband, Booker, walk into a starbase decorated for the newly-weds, with paper string and balloons lining the walls, and confetti in the air. Everyone gathered there is cheering and clapping at the couple, with one person holding a sign that says "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi". After the applause stops, Tilly speaks up:
TILLY
Welcome home!
BURNHAM
This was your idea, wasn't it?
SARU
Well, i've figured you might want to come back from the... directive with as little fanfare as possible. Your usual, low-key approach.
TILLY
But there is a time and a place for everything, and this is certainly the time and this is definitely the place for a big party!
Then everyone applauds.
TILLY
Admiral, we have a lot to celebrate. Up to and including your wedding. ..and you two just can't avoid it.
BURNHAM
If i can find a way to get payback for this, i will.
Everyone laughs.
BURNHAM
Thank you!
Everyone cheers again and throws confetti and rice. Burnham and Booker make their way through the crowd and out of the shuttlebay, with Admiral Vance and a Ferengi following them. The latter two stop and the Ferengi asks:
FERENGI
Saru, who died?
SARU
[after a bref confusion] Excuse me?
FERENGI
Well, in Ferenginar, this is how we celebrate a hero's funeral. Our marriage ceremonies are solemn, sober. They're moments of reflection, and also of regret, disagreement, argument, mutual blaming. Once you know your marriage can't get any worse, you and your wife can relax and enjoy the rest of the marriage. But to start with something like this... Well, it's a very bad sign for the future.
Saru and Tilly look at each other, then leave the room.
FERENGI
Was it something i said?
VANCE
Maybe it was everything you say.
Vance then leaves the room. Elsewhere, Burnham and Booker walk into an intersection leading into a corridor with honor guards lining the walls. She stops and retreats to the corridor they just went through.
BOOKER
I knew we should've gone to Earth or Ni'Var first.
BURNHAM
Well, i suppose i can't blame them. I mean, the Chain is gone, we found a new source of Dilithium, the Breen are a non-threat, the Federation is reborn... They want to celebrate. I guess they see us and Discovery as a symbol of that.
BOOKER
I think they should be celebrating themselves, not us. Everyone did it. There is something wrong about taking credit for this.
BURNHAM
Oh, i wouldn't worry about it. What matters is that we're here together. In 100 years, their grandchildren probably won't know who we are.
BOOKER
That's true.
As Saru and Tilly approach from behind them, they and the others enter the corridor with the guards. The perpective then shifts to that of a newsfeed.
FNN ANCHOR
And here is the first shot of the couple who brought the Federation back: Admiral Michael Burnham and her husband, Cleveland Booker, live on the Federation News Network. Their return to Federation Headquarters after the decommisisoning of the time-displaced USS Discovery has brought good- -messages from the Council- -worlds in the former Emerald Chain. I- -live coverage--
The feed then disappears with a message saying "TEMPORAL DISRUPTION DETECTED", before an alien-looking interface with English emerges and a computer voice says:
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Temporal archive retrieval interrupted due to hawking radiation firewall. Compensating now. Resetting to snapshot. Would you like to continue?
HUMAN
Yes.
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Reloading file sequence. Keywords: Discovery, Burnham, Starfleet Captain. 4 files available. Please select a file or select "Auto Play" to view all files in chronological order.
HUMAN
Computer, run auto play.
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Loading 4 temporal archives covering the period 3201 to 4201. Please, stand by.
[Intro]
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Accessing temporal archive one. Date of record: Reference Stardate 12/0102.15. Please, stand by.
It's a news show. We are shown the intro, with a voiceover:
VOICEOVER
FNN Center Chair: a no-holds-barred look at the events of today that will shape the galaxy of tomorrow. And now, here is your host: Scott Hossenfelder.
We then cut to the newsroom.
FNN HOST
Good evening. By any measure, the last few years have been the most memorable in recent memory. The end of the Emerald Chain, the discovery of usable Dilithium, the stopping of a dark matter anomaly which threatened the galaxy, the struggle with the Breen Confederacy, and the rebirth of the United Federation of Planets. It can be more than a little overwhelming.
He turns towards another camera.
FNN HOST
However, there is a word in the pages of the old testament, used to call for silence between passages. Selah. It means pause and consider. So tonight, starting with a report from special correspondent Steve McCoy, and a word or more from our usual panel of experts, we've set aside a few moments to reflect, discuss, pause, and consider. Selah.
We then cut to Federation HQ, where Steve is.
STEVE
Greatness is a quality that is often sought by those who want it most, but are the least worthy. Correspondingly, greatness is sometimes thrust upon by those who want it least, but are the most deserving. These words would seem to best describe Admiral Michael Burnham, both in the way she served aboard Discovery, and in the position she currently occupies as Deputy Chief of Staff for Starfleet.
Then we cut to photos of Michael as she grew up.
STEVE
The only daughter of a career scientist and a foster sibling of Spock, Michael Burnham was an average but enthusiastic learner, drifting in and out of several hobbies, including a brief but obsessive interest in the works of the Dalai Lama before joining Starfleet in the early to mid 23rd century. She served with distinction during the First Klingon War and the Control AI Crisis. Quite a change from those early, unremarkable years, and the woman who traveled almost a millenium and brought the Federation back form the brink of ruin.
Back to FHQ...
STEVE
But now, an even greater challenge stands before her: Can she and the others hold together this reborn Federation? Back to you, Scott.
Cut back to the newsroom.
FNN HOST
Thank you, Steve. We now turn to our panel of experts for their thoughts.
As he announces them, holograms appear one by one.
FNN HOST
From San Francisco, Councilor Martha Williams. From New Berlin, author and journalist Stewart McCarthy. And from New York, Walter Carlson, former speechwriter and political commentator. Gentlemen, councilor, welcome.
THE PANEL
Thank you, Scott.
FNN HOST
Well i don't know which one of you want to be the first out of the gate--
CARLSON
I'd like to jump in for a second here, Scott.
FNN HOST
Alright.
CARLSON
What amazes me is the way everyone is trying to turn Burnham into some kind of heroine. This is the woman who was jailed for mutiny, she did more bad than good.
MCCARTHY
Starfleet cleared her and her crewmates, Walt. And in this century, they called her the heroine of the hour.
CARLSON
Yes, that's what our President said, and she will have to answer for that in the next election. But that's besides the point. Obviously, there was some sort of deal made, which is how she got away with her hide in one piece. Call me old-fashioned, but that doesn't sound like the best qualification to be the second highest ranking person in Starfleet!
WILLIAMS
Sounds to me like most generals and politicians who made history in the last few hundred years.
CARLSON
Aw, c'mon! Let's look at the facts. The woman isn't qualified to be the Deputy Chief of Staff! She can barely be the captain of the Discovery without shooting at everything in sight!
Everyone talks over him.
MCCARTHY
Oh, that's an exagerration--
CARLSON
She can barely get along with her own crew! And now she's gonna be at the head of a post-burn Starfleet and make it work? No, this whole shebang is doomed from the get-go!
MCCARTHY
You're overreacting!
WILLIAMS
Please let her try to prove if she can do it or not, before you subject her to--
CARLSON
With what's at stake?!
MCCARTHY
I agree with the Councilor. Give Burnham a break! You write her off before she's even started! That's irrational, even for you, Walter!
CARLSON
Oh, hoh, hoh! She disobeys orders and you're calling me irrational?
MCCARTHY
That's, that's, that's not fair!
FNN HOST
Excuse me, are you saying the new Federation will work?
MCCARTHY
I don't know if it will work, i'm just saying Burnham deserves a chance to try and make it work!
WILLIAMS
What i think is missing, and being lost in this whole discussion, is that this is an election year, and Mr. Carlson is a speechwriter for the opposition party. I think that he, and members of his party, believe that Burnham and the Federation is a real threat to their chances in the ballot, so they're doing all that they can to discredit her in advance.
CARLSON
That is completely unfair!
WILLIAMS
It's not unfair, it's true, Walter.
FNN HOST
Gentlemen, sorry to interrupt, but we're coming up on a commercial break. So why don't you give me your calls on the following: Can the new Federation survive until the next decade?
MCCARTHY
Certainly.
FNN HOST
Do you think Burnham will make any difference whatsoever?
MCCARTHY
Mm-hmm.
FNN HOST
And what do you consider to be the number one problem waiting for her?
A cacophony of voices.
FNN HOST
Ah! ah! ah! Mr. McCarthy.
MCCARTHY
From where i'm sitting, they've already made a difference. People have been debating the Burn for years and they found nothing. It took Discovery and Burnham to push them into finding the cause of it, and to heal the wounds!
CARLSON
At gunpoint!
FNN HOST
Councilor?
WILLIAMS
Obviously, there is a degree of uncertainty in any new political situation. This next decade will prove critical for Burnham and the rest of the Federation. Look at what they're up against. She has to ride herd on dozens of prospective new members that want to join this Federation, and probably don't fully understand what's being required of them. There's still sporadic infighting between many of them. On top of that, she has supply problems, recruitment problems, raiding parties, not to mention, distrust from elements of her own government here at home! This woman has her work cut out for her, but i believe she can handle it.
FNN HOST
Mr. Carlson, last words?
CARLSON
Whatever Burnham and the others are saying about the Federation, she's going to have to apply military force to make it work!
The cacophony returns.
CARLSON
Don't interrupt me! I don't interrupt you when you're talking. Now, when this happens, it's all gonna fall apart. She's power-hungry, she's unprepared, and that is a dangerous combination.
MCCARTHY
Dangerous combination, that's what your--
FNN HOST
Thank you, thank you very much. We'll be back in just a moment to discuss the implications of this reborn Federation and recent calls for the formatiuon o- independent po- parties on New Mars--
And we're back to the futuristc UI.
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
End of file. Auto play active, three files remaining. Loading next archive. 50 years after temporal archive one. Stand by.
---
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Accessing temporal archive two. Date of record: Reference Stardate 12/6107.21. 60 years after previous archive. Please, stand by.
We open with a shot of a building, presumably a university. A narrator opens:
NARRATOR
With another on our series of educational subspace programmes on the 1100th anniversary of the United Federation of Planets.
We then cut to a room the three people seated.
NARRATOR
Taking part in today's debate from Los Angeles, historian Dr. Jim Lamines from Harvard University, political scientist Dr. Maria Harkos from the University of Cambridge, and psychologist Dr. William Connor from UCSD.
DR. LAMINES
Good morning. We seem to have one million students and teachers connected today, with questions, which is a little more than what we expected. So if the portal lags a little, please bear with us.
He keys his control panel.
DR. LAMINES
Alright, first question. From Mr. Anatoly Fyodorov, Moscow State University... "What role do you feel the crew of the USS Discovery played in the restoration of the Federation?"
DR. CONNOR
Well, the crew, none at all, the ship is, or was, just a symbol for people to rally behind.
DR. HARKOS
I agree.
DR. LAMINES
A symbol how?
DR. HARKOS
Well, the first thing we need to do is separate fantasy from reality. The publicity machine of the Federation would have you believe that somehow, many key events in the Federation's history came about because of people like Kirk, or Picard, or Burnham. But large historical events are rarely the work of any one person. The individual at the center can give others permission to act, can inspire others, but the individual really cannot effect change as an act of will. They did not do, they allowed others to do.
DR. LAMINES
By "they", you mean Michael Burnham, Jean-Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway?
DR. CONNOR
We all have a profound psychological need to believe in heroes, a knight in shining armor. If they don't exist, we create them. The people you just mentioned are classic examples. If you look at their social dynamics, they didn't actually do anything. They were the open vessels which people in their respective times poured their hopes and dreams into, and this sets up sort of a gestalt where events take on a life of their own.
DR. LAMINES
So you think the record of their accomplishments is overrated?
DR. CONNOR
Absolutely. Good PR, as Harkos said. In a lot of ways, they blew it.
DR. HARKOS
It was only the force of history which saved the situation from collapsing under its own weight. After so many people died in a year of these people becoming Captains, and what happened concerning Burnham's son--
DR. LAMINES
I don't want to go off the rails and into discussions of other people, so let's move on to the next question. [keys his panel] "If your assumption is correct, where did Archer, Kirk, Burnham, and the others go wrong?"
DR. HARKOS
Where do you start? I was starting to say so many people died in the first few years of these people becoming captains.
DR. LAMINES
Well, you can't pin the blame for all of that on those people!
DR. CONNOR
Of course you can. Why, here's one example: Jean-Luc Picard had no business creating a fleet of synthetics! These androids, the behavioral matrices were unstable! They were fundamentally flawed, they had to go! Sooner or later, they were bound to turn on their masters, and that's what happened on Mars!
DR. HARKOS
I agree. In fact, this incident, and later accusations of Romulan involvement, may have done much to precipitate the Martian Colonial Remnant Crisis!
DR. LAMINES
You can't cherry-pick one incident and claim that was the cause--
DR. HARKOS
Not the sole cause, no! But it was a contributing factor!
DR. LAMINES
I'd like to turn our attention now to this historical record in the Federation database. It was recorded aboard the USS Enterprise, registry NCC-1701-G. Recorded about one year after the Frontier Day Attacks. I would like to get your comments on it.
Switch to archival footage aboard an unknown Starbase, with Raffi surrounded by unknown people. Things are burning.
RAFFI
Listen to me. It doesn't have to be this way. If you give yourselves up, we can go back, we can talk to the others! ...i can say you're doing it for revenge, what kind of sympathyh are you gonna get by killing innocent people in cold blood? You want payback, this ain't it. I can work with you, i can get you out of this mess, but you've gotta work with me. What do you say? [sigh] Yeah, that's what i thought youwere going to say.
Suddenly, someone appears on the monitor behind her:
SEVEN
This is Seven of Nine. I have consulted with Admiral Picard and we have reached a decision regarding the current situation. It is not the policy of Starfleet or of the Federation to bargain with terrorists for the lives of hostages. We open that door even once, we'll be unable to close it again. You have two choices: Surrender, or we'll have to use lethal force to bring you down. You have 10 minutes. [disconnects]
Someone raises their gun.
RAFFI
Hey, please, i'm sure we can work soemthing out--
Cut back to the real world.
DR. LAMINES
Comments?
DR. CONNOR
Well, i don't know what more needs to be said. These videos speak for themselves. Captains like her were clearly pathological.
DR. LAMINES
Well, i heard that was the opposition's take.
DR. CONNOR
Well, i'm not debating that, but you can see it in her attitude, when she addresses the MCR soldiers. That coldness is emblemic of her personality. She was power-hungry, it's as simple as that, and she never let anything get in her way.
DR. LAMINES
Doctor Harkos?
DR. HARKOS
Truly pathological individuals could never have constructed mythos around themselves like these people did. It's a very sophisticated PR campaign, brilliantly done.
DR. CONNOR
And then there was the way Sisko's death was handled.
DR. HARKOS
Exactly. Everyone knows Captain Sisko died on Bajor after killing Winn and Dukat. The cover story they put out was clearly designed to perpetuate the myth of his status as Bajor's Emissary. And i guess it worked, because a lot of people still believe it, nearly 800 years later.
DR. LAMINES
So, where do the two of you fall on the Discovery question?
DR. CONNOR
Well, eveyone knows humans and others live a long time, but not that long. I think the record is 139 years. 151? Forget it. No, this is just what Doctor Harkos was talking about, this constant perpetuation of fantasy. The idea that Gabrielle Burnham, the first Red Angel, is still around after this long, living in secusion in Terralysium so, of course, no one can see her, very convenient. The Federation is continuing the illusion that she's still alive for their own purposes. Frankly, i don't think she would've approved.
DR. HARKOS
Apparently, they feel like they need to maintain this fiction in order to keep their members in line. But if the Federation and Starfleet are as powerful as they say, they don't need this security blanket of lies and myth.
DR. LAMINES
Looking back, has the Federation been a force for good?
DR. CONNOR
Well, for the most part, yes, although good things can grow in questionable ground. It's clear that the motives of those in the early half of the Federation's history were not as pure as their biographers and allies would say they were.
DR. HARKOS
The force of history is what moves us forward, our common shared destiny. The individual does not move society forward, to give them undue credit is immodest and impertinent. These people were megalomaniacs, and to allow history to feed those megalomaniacs, even posthumously, simply compounds the error. We have an obligation, as academics, to uphold certain standards--
Suddenly an alarm sounds and Dr. Lamines hurriedly checks his control panel.
DR. LAMINES
I'm just hearing we have a security breach in the building. We're going to interrupt the broadcast--
Suddenly, an elderly woman - Michael's mother - appears escorted by two men in red robes bearing the Red Angel's symbol, ringing a pair of bells. Everyone else looks in awe. She stops near the table.
DR. LAMINES
Miss Burnham?
G.BURNHAM
My daughter... and the captains that came before her... were good... kind... decent people.
She then moves to leave, but them:
DR. LAMINES
Miss Burnham, wait. You came all this way, just to say that?
G.BURNHAM
You came... the same way... to say less.
DR. HARKOS
But this is extraordinary. There's so much more we'd like to ask you. So much more we'd like to know!
G.BURNHAM
You do not want to know... anything. You wish... only to speak. That which you know... you ignore... because it's inconvenient. That which you don't know... you invent. But none of that matters... except... that they were... good people. Kind people... who cared... about the galaxy... even when the galaxy... cared nothing for them. My daughter... included.
As she turned to leave again...
DR. CONNOR
Of course, we'd expect you to say that, we...
G.BURNHAM
Goodbye.
As everyone has their heads down, she leaves. And we're back to the futuristc UI.
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
End of file. Auto play active, two files remaining. Loading next archive. 460 years after temporal archive one. Stand by.
To be continued...
BURNHAM
DSC-01 to headquarters. We are coming in.
TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
HQ acknowledges, DSC-01. Proceed to shuttlebay.
Arriving at the station, Admiral Michael Burnham and her husband, Booker, walk into a starbase decorated for the newly-weds, with paper string and balloons lining the walls, and confetti in the air. Everyone gathered there is cheering and clapping at the couple, with one person holding a sign that says "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi". After the applause stops, Tilly speaks up:
TILLY
Welcome home!
BURNHAM
This was your idea, wasn't it?
SARU
Well, i've figured you might want to come back from the... directive with as little fanfare as possible. Your usual, low-key approach.
TILLY
But there is a time and a place for everything, and this is certainly the time and this is definitely the place for a big party!
Then everyone applauds.
TILLY
Admiral, we have a lot to celebrate. Up to and including your wedding. ..and you two just can't avoid it.
BURNHAM
If i can find a way to get payback for this, i will.
Everyone laughs.
BURNHAM
Thank you!
Everyone cheers again and throws confetti and rice. Burnham and Booker make their way through the crowd and out of the shuttlebay, with Admiral Vance and a Ferengi following them. The latter two stop and the Ferengi asks:
FERENGI
Saru, who died?
SARU
[after a bref confusion] Excuse me?
FERENGI
Well, in Ferenginar, this is how we celebrate a hero's funeral. Our marriage ceremonies are solemn, sober. They're moments of reflection, and also of regret, disagreement, argument, mutual blaming. Once you know your marriage can't get any worse, you and your wife can relax and enjoy the rest of the marriage. But to start with something like this... Well, it's a very bad sign for the future.
Saru and Tilly look at each other, then leave the room.
FERENGI
Was it something i said?
VANCE
Maybe it was everything you say.
Vance then leaves the room. Elsewhere, Burnham and Booker walk into an intersection leading into a corridor with honor guards lining the walls. She stops and retreats to the corridor they just went through.
BOOKER
I knew we should've gone to Earth or Ni'Var first.
BURNHAM
Well, i suppose i can't blame them. I mean, the Chain is gone, we found a new source of Dilithium, the Breen are a non-threat, the Federation is reborn... They want to celebrate. I guess they see us and Discovery as a symbol of that.
BOOKER
I think they should be celebrating themselves, not us. Everyone did it. There is something wrong about taking credit for this.
BURNHAM
Oh, i wouldn't worry about it. What matters is that we're here together. In 100 years, their grandchildren probably won't know who we are.
BOOKER
That's true.
As Saru and Tilly approach from behind them, they and the others enter the corridor with the guards. The perpective then shifts to that of a newsfeed.
FNN ANCHOR
And here is the first shot of the couple who brought the Federation back: Admiral Michael Burnham and her husband, Cleveland Booker, live on the Federation News Network. Their return to Federation Headquarters after the decommisisoning of the time-displaced USS Discovery has brought good- -messages from the Council- -worlds in the former Emerald Chain. I- -live coverage--
The feed then disappears with a message saying "TEMPORAL DISRUPTION DETECTED", before an alien-looking interface with English emerges and a computer voice says:
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Temporal archive retrieval interrupted due to hawking radiation firewall. Compensating now. Resetting to snapshot. Would you like to continue?
HUMAN
Yes.
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Reloading file sequence. Keywords: Discovery, Burnham, Starfleet Captain. 4 files available. Please select a file or select "Auto Play" to view all files in chronological order.
HUMAN
Computer, run auto play.
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Loading 4 temporal archives covering the period 3201 to 4201. Please, stand by.
[Intro]
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Accessing temporal archive one. Date of record: Reference Stardate 12/0102.15. Please, stand by.
It's a news show. We are shown the intro, with a voiceover:
VOICEOVER
FNN Center Chair: a no-holds-barred look at the events of today that will shape the galaxy of tomorrow. And now, here is your host: Scott Hossenfelder.
We then cut to the newsroom.
FNN HOST
Good evening. By any measure, the last few years have been the most memorable in recent memory. The end of the Emerald Chain, the discovery of usable Dilithium, the stopping of a dark matter anomaly which threatened the galaxy, the struggle with the Breen Confederacy, and the rebirth of the United Federation of Planets. It can be more than a little overwhelming.
He turns towards another camera.
FNN HOST
However, there is a word in the pages of the old testament, used to call for silence between passages. Selah. It means pause and consider. So tonight, starting with a report from special correspondent Steve McCoy, and a word or more from our usual panel of experts, we've set aside a few moments to reflect, discuss, pause, and consider. Selah.
We then cut to Federation HQ, where Steve is.
STEVE
Greatness is a quality that is often sought by those who want it most, but are the least worthy. Correspondingly, greatness is sometimes thrust upon by those who want it least, but are the most deserving. These words would seem to best describe Admiral Michael Burnham, both in the way she served aboard Discovery, and in the position she currently occupies as Deputy Chief of Staff for Starfleet.
Then we cut to photos of Michael as she grew up.
STEVE
The only daughter of a career scientist and a foster sibling of Spock, Michael Burnham was an average but enthusiastic learner, drifting in and out of several hobbies, including a brief but obsessive interest in the works of the Dalai Lama before joining Starfleet in the early to mid 23rd century. She served with distinction during the First Klingon War and the Control AI Crisis. Quite a change from those early, unremarkable years, and the woman who traveled almost a millenium and brought the Federation back form the brink of ruin.
Back to FHQ...
STEVE
But now, an even greater challenge stands before her: Can she and the others hold together this reborn Federation? Back to you, Scott.
Cut back to the newsroom.
FNN HOST
Thank you, Steve. We now turn to our panel of experts for their thoughts.
As he announces them, holograms appear one by one.
FNN HOST
From San Francisco, Councilor Martha Williams. From New Berlin, author and journalist Stewart McCarthy. And from New York, Walter Carlson, former speechwriter and political commentator. Gentlemen, councilor, welcome.
THE PANEL
Thank you, Scott.
FNN HOST
Well i don't know which one of you want to be the first out of the gate--
CARLSON
I'd like to jump in for a second here, Scott.
FNN HOST
Alright.
CARLSON
What amazes me is the way everyone is trying to turn Burnham into some kind of heroine. This is the woman who was jailed for mutiny, she did more bad than good.
MCCARTHY
Starfleet cleared her and her crewmates, Walt. And in this century, they called her the heroine of the hour.
CARLSON
Yes, that's what our President said, and she will have to answer for that in the next election. But that's besides the point. Obviously, there was some sort of deal made, which is how she got away with her hide in one piece. Call me old-fashioned, but that doesn't sound like the best qualification to be the second highest ranking person in Starfleet!
WILLIAMS
Sounds to me like most generals and politicians who made history in the last few hundred years.
CARLSON
Aw, c'mon! Let's look at the facts. The woman isn't qualified to be the Deputy Chief of Staff! She can barely be the captain of the Discovery without shooting at everything in sight!
Everyone talks over him.
MCCARTHY
Oh, that's an exagerration--
CARLSON
She can barely get along with her own crew! And now she's gonna be at the head of a post-burn Starfleet and make it work? No, this whole shebang is doomed from the get-go!
MCCARTHY
You're overreacting!
WILLIAMS
Please let her try to prove if she can do it or not, before you subject her to--
CARLSON
With what's at stake?!
MCCARTHY
I agree with the Councilor. Give Burnham a break! You write her off before she's even started! That's irrational, even for you, Walter!
CARLSON
Oh, hoh, hoh! She disobeys orders and you're calling me irrational?
MCCARTHY
That's, that's, that's not fair!
FNN HOST
Excuse me, are you saying the new Federation will work?
MCCARTHY
I don't know if it will work, i'm just saying Burnham deserves a chance to try and make it work!
WILLIAMS
What i think is missing, and being lost in this whole discussion, is that this is an election year, and Mr. Carlson is a speechwriter for the opposition party. I think that he, and members of his party, believe that Burnham and the Federation is a real threat to their chances in the ballot, so they're doing all that they can to discredit her in advance.
CARLSON
That is completely unfair!
WILLIAMS
It's not unfair, it's true, Walter.
FNN HOST
Gentlemen, sorry to interrupt, but we're coming up on a commercial break. So why don't you give me your calls on the following: Can the new Federation survive until the next decade?
MCCARTHY
Certainly.
FNN HOST
Do you think Burnham will make any difference whatsoever?
MCCARTHY
Mm-hmm.
FNN HOST
And what do you consider to be the number one problem waiting for her?
A cacophony of voices.
FNN HOST
Ah! ah! ah! Mr. McCarthy.
MCCARTHY
From where i'm sitting, they've already made a difference. People have been debating the Burn for years and they found nothing. It took Discovery and Burnham to push them into finding the cause of it, and to heal the wounds!
CARLSON
At gunpoint!
FNN HOST
Councilor?
WILLIAMS
Obviously, there is a degree of uncertainty in any new political situation. This next decade will prove critical for Burnham and the rest of the Federation. Look at what they're up against. She has to ride herd on dozens of prospective new members that want to join this Federation, and probably don't fully understand what's being required of them. There's still sporadic infighting between many of them. On top of that, she has supply problems, recruitment problems, raiding parties, not to mention, distrust from elements of her own government here at home! This woman has her work cut out for her, but i believe she can handle it.
FNN HOST
Mr. Carlson, last words?
CARLSON
Whatever Burnham and the others are saying about the Federation, she's going to have to apply military force to make it work!
The cacophony returns.
CARLSON
Don't interrupt me! I don't interrupt you when you're talking. Now, when this happens, it's all gonna fall apart. She's power-hungry, she's unprepared, and that is a dangerous combination.
MCCARTHY
Dangerous combination, that's what your--
FNN HOST
Thank you, thank you very much. We'll be back in just a moment to discuss the implications of this reborn Federation and recent calls for the formatiuon o- independent po- parties on New Mars--
And we're back to the futuristc UI.
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
End of file. Auto play active, three files remaining. Loading next archive. 50 years after temporal archive one. Stand by.
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FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
Accessing temporal archive two. Date of record: Reference Stardate 12/6107.21. 60 years after previous archive. Please, stand by.
We open with a shot of a building, presumably a university. A narrator opens:
NARRATOR
With another on our series of educational subspace programmes on the 1100th anniversary of the United Federation of Planets.
We then cut to a room the three people seated.
NARRATOR
Taking part in today's debate from Los Angeles, historian Dr. Jim Lamines from Harvard University, political scientist Dr. Maria Harkos from the University of Cambridge, and psychologist Dr. William Connor from UCSD.
DR. LAMINES
Good morning. We seem to have one million students and teachers connected today, with questions, which is a little more than what we expected. So if the portal lags a little, please bear with us.
He keys his control panel.
DR. LAMINES
Alright, first question. From Mr. Anatoly Fyodorov, Moscow State University... "What role do you feel the crew of the USS Discovery played in the restoration of the Federation?"
DR. CONNOR
Well, the crew, none at all, the ship is, or was, just a symbol for people to rally behind.
DR. HARKOS
I agree.
DR. LAMINES
A symbol how?
DR. HARKOS
Well, the first thing we need to do is separate fantasy from reality. The publicity machine of the Federation would have you believe that somehow, many key events in the Federation's history came about because of people like Kirk, or Picard, or Burnham. But large historical events are rarely the work of any one person. The individual at the center can give others permission to act, can inspire others, but the individual really cannot effect change as an act of will. They did not do, they allowed others to do.
DR. LAMINES
By "they", you mean Michael Burnham, Jean-Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway?
DR. CONNOR
We all have a profound psychological need to believe in heroes, a knight in shining armor. If they don't exist, we create them. The people you just mentioned are classic examples. If you look at their social dynamics, they didn't actually do anything. They were the open vessels which people in their respective times poured their hopes and dreams into, and this sets up sort of a gestalt where events take on a life of their own.
DR. LAMINES
So you think the record of their accomplishments is overrated?
DR. CONNOR
Absolutely. Good PR, as Harkos said. In a lot of ways, they blew it.
DR. HARKOS
It was only the force of history which saved the situation from collapsing under its own weight. After so many people died in a year of these people becoming Captains, and what happened concerning Burnham's son--
DR. LAMINES
I don't want to go off the rails and into discussions of other people, so let's move on to the next question. [keys his panel] "If your assumption is correct, where did Archer, Kirk, Burnham, and the others go wrong?"
DR. HARKOS
Where do you start? I was starting to say so many people died in the first few years of these people becoming captains.
DR. LAMINES
Well, you can't pin the blame for all of that on those people!
DR. CONNOR
Of course you can. Why, here's one example: Jean-Luc Picard had no business creating a fleet of synthetics! These androids, the behavioral matrices were unstable! They were fundamentally flawed, they had to go! Sooner or later, they were bound to turn on their masters, and that's what happened on Mars!
DR. HARKOS
I agree. In fact, this incident, and later accusations of Romulan involvement, may have done much to precipitate the Martian Colonial Remnant Crisis!
DR. LAMINES
You can't cherry-pick one incident and claim that was the cause--
DR. HARKOS
Not the sole cause, no! But it was a contributing factor!
DR. LAMINES
I'd like to turn our attention now to this historical record in the Federation database. It was recorded aboard the USS Enterprise, registry NCC-1701-G. Recorded about one year after the Frontier Day Attacks. I would like to get your comments on it.
Switch to archival footage aboard an unknown Starbase, with Raffi surrounded by unknown people. Things are burning.
RAFFI
Listen to me. It doesn't have to be this way. If you give yourselves up, we can go back, we can talk to the others! ...i can say you're doing it for revenge, what kind of sympathyh are you gonna get by killing innocent people in cold blood? You want payback, this ain't it. I can work with you, i can get you out of this mess, but you've gotta work with me. What do you say? [sigh] Yeah, that's what i thought youwere going to say.
Suddenly, someone appears on the monitor behind her:
SEVEN
This is Seven of Nine. I have consulted with Admiral Picard and we have reached a decision regarding the current situation. It is not the policy of Starfleet or of the Federation to bargain with terrorists for the lives of hostages. We open that door even once, we'll be unable to close it again. You have two choices: Surrender, or we'll have to use lethal force to bring you down. You have 10 minutes. [disconnects]
Someone raises their gun.
RAFFI
Hey, please, i'm sure we can work soemthing out--
Cut back to the real world.
DR. LAMINES
Comments?
DR. CONNOR
Well, i don't know what more needs to be said. These videos speak for themselves. Captains like her were clearly pathological.
DR. LAMINES
Well, i heard that was the opposition's take.
DR. CONNOR
Well, i'm not debating that, but you can see it in her attitude, when she addresses the MCR soldiers. That coldness is emblemic of her personality. She was power-hungry, it's as simple as that, and she never let anything get in her way.
DR. LAMINES
Doctor Harkos?
DR. HARKOS
Truly pathological individuals could never have constructed mythos around themselves like these people did. It's a very sophisticated PR campaign, brilliantly done.
DR. CONNOR
And then there was the way Sisko's death was handled.
DR. HARKOS
Exactly. Everyone knows Captain Sisko died on Bajor after killing Winn and Dukat. The cover story they put out was clearly designed to perpetuate the myth of his status as Bajor's Emissary. And i guess it worked, because a lot of people still believe it, nearly 800 years later.
DR. LAMINES
So, where do the two of you fall on the Discovery question?
DR. CONNOR
Well, eveyone knows humans and others live a long time, but not that long. I think the record is 139 years. 151? Forget it. No, this is just what Doctor Harkos was talking about, this constant perpetuation of fantasy. The idea that Gabrielle Burnham, the first Red Angel, is still around after this long, living in secusion in Terralysium so, of course, no one can see her, very convenient. The Federation is continuing the illusion that she's still alive for their own purposes. Frankly, i don't think she would've approved.
DR. HARKOS
Apparently, they feel like they need to maintain this fiction in order to keep their members in line. But if the Federation and Starfleet are as powerful as they say, they don't need this security blanket of lies and myth.
DR. LAMINES
Looking back, has the Federation been a force for good?
DR. CONNOR
Well, for the most part, yes, although good things can grow in questionable ground. It's clear that the motives of those in the early half of the Federation's history were not as pure as their biographers and allies would say they were.
DR. HARKOS
The force of history is what moves us forward, our common shared destiny. The individual does not move society forward, to give them undue credit is immodest and impertinent. These people were megalomaniacs, and to allow history to feed those megalomaniacs, even posthumously, simply compounds the error. We have an obligation, as academics, to uphold certain standards--
Suddenly an alarm sounds and Dr. Lamines hurriedly checks his control panel.
DR. LAMINES
I'm just hearing we have a security breach in the building. We're going to interrupt the broadcast--
Suddenly, an elderly woman - Michael's mother - appears escorted by two men in red robes bearing the Red Angel's symbol, ringing a pair of bells. Everyone else looks in awe. She stops near the table.
DR. LAMINES
Miss Burnham?
G.BURNHAM
My daughter... and the captains that came before her... were good... kind... decent people.
She then moves to leave, but them:
DR. LAMINES
Miss Burnham, wait. You came all this way, just to say that?
G.BURNHAM
You came... the same way... to say less.
DR. HARKOS
But this is extraordinary. There's so much more we'd like to ask you. So much more we'd like to know!
G.BURNHAM
You do not want to know... anything. You wish... only to speak. That which you know... you ignore... because it's inconvenient. That which you don't know... you invent. But none of that matters... except... that they were... good people. Kind people... who cared... about the galaxy... even when the galaxy... cared nothing for them. My daughter... included.
As she turned to leave again...
DR. CONNOR
Of course, we'd expect you to say that, we...
G.BURNHAM
Goodbye.
As everyone has their heads down, she leaves. And we're back to the futuristc UI.
FAR-FUTURE COMPUTER
End of file. Auto play active, two files remaining. Loading next archive. 460 years after temporal archive one. Stand by.
To be continued...
