Writerfella here -- Since writerfella wrote a 'sequel' to Margaret Armen's STAR TREK teleplay, "The Paradise Syndrome," called "Brothers Of The Blood" for STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, it may be said that writerfella had a particularly broad understanding of the original story. And it is this: as in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, an older and more advanced alien culture passed by and surveyed Earth system, seeing that threat was posed to many groups of humans who originally inhabited what now are known as North and South America. Because they were conservationists, they elected to 'conserve' several examples of the threatened humans, removed them from their home world, and installed them on their own world elsewhere in space so that they would continue to exist. The story thrust of "The Paradise Syndome" is that in its explorations, the STARSHIP ENTERPRISE and its crew finds that particular world where these Earth humans have been conserved. These Natives were not 'aliens' but rather were Native Earth humans put elsewhere so they would not become extinct. In today's world, so many animal species are under threat that 'conservators' are saving any and all that they can so that the species will not go extinct. This movement is doomed to failure, as once removed from its original habitat, the species no longer is the identifiable creature that it once was. But in the case of this particular story, Native humans are given their own world, which more or less duplicates the environment from which they came. Thus, they remain the societies from which they came. Where the story fails is that the Natives in the story are given the same stereotypical existences they have in American Westerns. In writerfella's sequel, however, contact with Kirk's advanced version of Earth humans influences the Natives to aspire to the same level of technology, and so they take apart the asteroid repeller that sits in their midst, and they develop a starship drive for spaceships made of stone, and they go looking for the others of Earth humans who are 'the people who came from beyond the sky.' And they find Capt. Jean-Luc Picard's ENTERPRISE and approach to announce their wish to make peace with those from their original world. The fly in the ointment is that a Kiowa member of that future Starfleet military tries to maneuver himself aboard the ship because he has seen the fateful meeting in deep space between the ENTERPRISE and The People of Miramanee when he went on his 'vision quest.' He wants them to continue to be protected against both the Federation and the Starfleet enemies, the Maquis. Needless to say, the stereotypes and cliche inclusions of the original story either are replaced by real culture or they are explained in the light of Federation culture eighty years past. Sad to say, the story and teleplay was purchased but not performed at the last minute because the enveloping story involved war between two former Federation colonies (a la what happened in Somalia), and the producers elected not to do stories involving war. Since STAR TREK properties never die, writerfella now is negotiating to have the teleplay published and thus everyone soon may have their chance to read the entire story in teleplay script form. The same thing was done with writerfella's other STAR TREK tale, "The Patient Parasites," and that has wound up as an internet comic book and a live-action story for the internet TV series, STAR TREK: EXCALIBUR. Bad stories sometimes can be vindicated and sometimes unproduced stories still can find their venue... All Best Russ Bates 'writerfella'
Sounds like a fitting sequel to "The Paradise Syndrome." But I'm still wondering how the Indians could go from little or no technology to spaceships in less than a century.
I'm not going to knock this story idea for that (getting into space in 100 years). 100 years to get into space from figuring out an asteroid repeller is quite generous, say, compared to the "Planet of the Apes" series, in which, between two films, 3 1800's-era-technology chimpanzees get a water-filled broken starship off the bottom of a lake, repair it, and get it safely into space in a matter of just a few days.
I'd love to see this as an actual full-blown Trek novel. Several others have been done as sequels to old show episodes. Has Writerfella considered this/
Writerfella here -- Actually, writerfella hadn't even thought of such a thing, fleshing out the teleplay into a full-fledged novel. Problem is, only Pocket Books still is putting out such novels and David What's-his-face is not prone to what he considers 'sequels.' "Brothers" is not so much a sequel as it is an attempt to rectify a less than well thought out storyline and make it sing. The thought is in the hopper, though. Thanks much, Nada! As for whether Natives could go from hunter-gatherers to spacegoing technology, one only has to look at the time frames in which the Aztecs and Mayas developed their civilizations and also the brief period it took the Anasazi to adapt those same technologies into their many cities and citadels. The Maya even had solar and stellar observatories, not mere henges or equinoctial benchmarks. The Mayan maps of the observable heavens even show the constellation of Ursa Major as a wheeled wagon! Look how quickly horse technology spread among Natives of the Plains and the western regions. In "Brothers" the People of Miramanee still have Kirk's phaser and his communicator, which were lost in the asteroid-repelling obelisk and not recovered. The obelisk was alien technology left in place to protect the world of Miramanee from asteroid strikes. One has only to read Howard Waldrop's "Custer's Last Jump," to understand the inspiration writerfella fielded. All Best Russ Bates 'writerfella'
As I think I told Russ before, this idea definitely should be a Star Trek novel.
Mesoamerican history goes back to at least 2500 BC. Pre-Classic Maya history began in 500 BC. The Maya civilization died out around 1200 AD, when the Aztecs moved into central Mexico. Building on previous cultures, the Aztecs achieved their pinnacle around 1500 AD.
So the Maya achievements took 3,700 or 1,700 years to accomplish, depending on which starting point you pick. The Aztec achievements took 4,000, 2,000, or 300 years, again depending on the starting point. No Mesoamerican civilization accomplished anything like spaceflight in under a century.
I'd consider this a fatal flaw in your premise. But if you posit that the obelisk used its mental instructional powers to educate the Natives, then I'd buy it. If you don't want to make it too "deus ex machina," you could say the obelisk heightened the Natives' natural proclivity for inventiveness.
Let me know if you have trouble with the link. They have guidelines on the page, and it looks like yours (Writerfella's) idea fits them fine. The rules also imply leniency for "those who have established a track record in Star Trek" (which I'd say Writerfella has done)
I'm not sure who Writerfella meant by "David what's his name". Is that the editor at Pocket?
If "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" is mixed in, Dawson WalkingBear could even make an appearance as a very old man.
Writerfella here -- Yes, Native cultures never developed spaceflight but MesoAmerican cultures attained an understanding and depth of knowledge of the cosmos that is called superbly rich and that it possibly outstrips that of today's cultures. However, as demonstrated in "How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth", Kukulkan's advanced knowledge seeded human accomplishments from prehistory to now. In "Brothers Of The Blood", the process for the People of Miramanee more or less is begun all over again by their contact with the advanced knowledge of StarFleet humans. My own father, John Bates, who was Kiowa-Wichita, was born only a couple of years after the first airplane flights. By the time he was 50, the first spaceflights were underway. Before he was 60, Americans had landed on the moon. In his lifetime, therefore, he saw man's knowledge and technology grow from simple flight in the air into flight into space. Ironically, he had become an aerospace inventor and many of his inventions and devices and processes were used to advance the science of flight. For example, while he worked at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach during WWII, he developed a system that allowed anti-freeze evenly to be fed onto propellor blades to prevent their icing up. Among his final designs were shock-wave prevention systems for high-speed aircraft control surfaces that ended sonic booms and seriously lessened aerodynamic drag. Thus, he not only witnessed the rise of aerospace technology, he contributed to that evolution. So, that the People of Miramanee develop space-going technology in less than a century is not a stretch at all, given the Kukulkan Principle and the violation of the Prime Directive by James T. Kirk. All Best Russ Bates 'writerfella'
Going from plane flight to space flight in less than a century is one thing. Going from pre-wheel technology (not even animal-driven carts) to space flight in less than a century is another.
When I see the finished story that integrates the three Indian Trek "chapters," then I'll give you your bonus points. Think of it as an incentive. ;-)
Writerfella here -- Fortunately for writerfella, he does not write for incentives, no matter what Oscar Wilde said to the contrary. writerfella basically writes for himself and then allows the material to fall or fly on its own merits. If it should work out that essential elements from all six of writerfella's STAR TREK sagas find inclusion in a novelization of 'Brothers Of The Blood', all the better. But at this time, that is not the plan... All Best Russ Bates 'writerfella'
Oh Yes! Please Please do this! The Paradise Syndrome, has always been one of my favorite episodes of the original Star Trek. And it begs something more. Each and every time I see it, I 'need' to see more. I need to know what happens next. Wouldnt it have been just grand if they had went ahead and used this sequel in TNG! Raven Dove~
12 comments:
Writerfella here --
Since writerfella wrote a 'sequel' to Margaret Armen's STAR TREK teleplay, "The Paradise Syndrome," called "Brothers Of The Blood" for STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, it may be said that writerfella had a particularly broad understanding of the original story. And it is this: as in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, an older and more advanced alien culture passed by and surveyed Earth system, seeing that threat was posed to many groups of humans who originally inhabited what now are known as North and South America. Because they were conservationists, they elected to 'conserve' several examples of the threatened humans, removed them from their home world, and installed them on their own world elsewhere in space so that they would continue to exist. The story thrust of "The Paradise Syndome" is that in its explorations, the STARSHIP ENTERPRISE and its crew finds that particular world where these Earth humans have been conserved. These Natives were not 'aliens' but rather were Native Earth humans put elsewhere so they would not become extinct.
In today's world, so many animal species are under threat that 'conservators' are saving any and all that they can so that the species will not go extinct. This movement is doomed to failure, as once removed from its original habitat, the species no longer is the identifiable creature that it once was. But in the case of this particular story, Native humans are given their own world, which more or less duplicates the environment from which they came. Thus, they remain the societies from which they came. Where the story fails is that the Natives in the story are given the same stereotypical existences they have in American Westerns.
In writerfella's sequel, however, contact with Kirk's advanced version of Earth humans influences the Natives to aspire to the same level of technology, and so they take apart the asteroid repeller that sits in their midst, and they develop a starship drive for spaceships made of stone, and they go looking for the others of Earth humans who are 'the people who came from beyond the sky.' And they find Capt. Jean-Luc Picard's ENTERPRISE and approach to announce their wish to make peace with those from their original world.
The fly in the ointment is that a Kiowa member of that future Starfleet military tries to maneuver himself aboard the ship because he has seen the fateful meeting in deep space between the ENTERPRISE and The People of Miramanee when he went on his 'vision quest.' He wants them to continue to be protected against both the Federation and the Starfleet enemies, the Maquis.
Needless to say, the stereotypes and cliche inclusions of the original story either are replaced by real culture or they are explained in the light of Federation culture eighty years past. Sad to say, the story and teleplay was purchased but not performed at the last minute because the enveloping story involved war between two former Federation colonies (a la what happened in Somalia), and the producers elected not to do stories involving war.
Since STAR TREK properties never die, writerfella now is negotiating to have the teleplay published and thus everyone soon may have their chance to read the entire story in teleplay script form. The same thing was done with writerfella's other STAR TREK tale, "The Patient Parasites," and that has wound up as an internet comic book and a live-action story for the internet TV series, STAR TREK: EXCALIBUR.
Bad stories sometimes can be vindicated and sometimes unproduced stories still can find their venue...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Sounds like a fitting sequel to "The Paradise Syndrome." But I'm still wondering how the Indians could go from little or no technology to spaceships in less than a century.
I'm not going to knock this story idea for that (getting into space in 100 years). 100 years to get into space from figuring out an asteroid repeller is quite generous, say, compared to the "Planet of the Apes" series, in which, between two films, 3 1800's-era-technology chimpanzees get a water-filled broken starship off the bottom of a lake, repair it, and get it safely into space in a matter of just a few days.
I'd love to see this as an actual full-blown Trek novel. Several others have been done as sequels to old show episodes. Has Writerfella considered this/
Writerfella here --
Actually, writerfella hadn't even thought of such a thing, fleshing out the teleplay into a full-fledged novel. Problem is, only Pocket Books still is putting out such novels and David What's-his-face is not prone to what he considers 'sequels.' "Brothers" is not so much a sequel as it is an attempt to rectify a less than well thought out storyline and make it sing.
The thought is in the hopper, though. Thanks much, Nada!
As for whether Natives could go from hunter-gatherers to spacegoing technology, one only has to look at the time frames in which the Aztecs and Mayas developed their civilizations and also the brief period it took the Anasazi to adapt those same technologies into their many cities and citadels. The Maya even had solar and stellar observatories, not mere henges or equinoctial benchmarks. The Mayan maps of the observable heavens even show the constellation of Ursa Major as a wheeled wagon! Look how quickly horse technology spread among Natives of the Plains and the western regions.
In "Brothers" the People of Miramanee still have Kirk's phaser and his communicator, which were lost in the asteroid-repelling obelisk and not recovered. The obelisk was alien technology left in place to protect the world of Miramanee from asteroid strikes.
One has only to read Howard Waldrop's "Custer's Last Jump," to understand the inspiration writerfella fielded.
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
As I think I told Russ before, this idea definitely should be a Star Trek novel.
Mesoamerican history goes back to at least 2500 BC. Pre-Classic Maya history began in 500 BC. The Maya civilization died out around 1200 AD, when the Aztecs moved into central Mexico. Building on previous cultures, the Aztecs achieved their pinnacle around 1500 AD.
So the Maya achievements took 3,700 or 1,700 years to accomplish, depending on which starting point you pick. The Aztec achievements took 4,000, 2,000, or 300 years, again depending on the starting point. No Mesoamerican civilization accomplished anything like spaceflight in under a century.
I'd consider this a fatal flaw in your premise. But if you posit that the obelisk used its mental instructional powers to educate the Natives, then I'd buy it. If you don't want to make it too "deus ex machina," you could say the obelisk heightened the Natives' natural proclivity for inventiveness.
Bonus points if you tie "The Paradise Syndrome," "Brothers of the Blood," and "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" into one overarching storyline.
Here's a link to Pocket's own page about submitting "Star Trek" manuscripts:
http://www.simonsays.com/content/feature.cfm?feature_id=439&tab=24
Let me know if you have trouble with the link. They have guidelines on the page, and it looks like yours (Writerfella's) idea fits them fine. The rules also imply leniency for "those who have established a track record in Star Trek" (which I'd say Writerfella has done)
I'm not sure who Writerfella meant by "David what's his name". Is that the editor at Pocket?
If "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" is mixed in, Dawson WalkingBear could even make an appearance as a very old man.
Writerfella here --
Yes, Native cultures never developed spaceflight but MesoAmerican cultures attained an understanding and depth of knowledge of the cosmos that is called superbly rich and that it possibly outstrips that of today's cultures. However, as demonstrated in "How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth", Kukulkan's advanced knowledge seeded human accomplishments from prehistory to now. In "Brothers Of The Blood", the process for the People of Miramanee more or less is begun all over again by their contact with the advanced knowledge of StarFleet humans.
My own father, John Bates, who was Kiowa-Wichita, was born only a couple of years after the first airplane flights. By the time he was 50, the first spaceflights were underway. Before he was 60, Americans had landed on the moon. In his lifetime, therefore, he saw man's knowledge and technology grow from simple flight in the air into flight into space. Ironically, he had become an aerospace inventor and many of his inventions and devices and processes were used to advance the science of flight. For example, while he worked at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach during WWII, he developed a system that allowed anti-freeze evenly to be fed onto propellor blades to prevent their icing up. Among his final designs were shock-wave prevention systems for high-speed aircraft control surfaces that ended sonic booms and seriously lessened aerodynamic drag. Thus, he not only witnessed the rise of aerospace technology, he contributed to that evolution.
So, that the People of Miramanee develop space-going technology in less than a century is not a stretch at all, given the Kukulkan Principle and the violation of the Prime Directive by James T. Kirk.
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Writerfella here --
POSTSCRIPTUM: By the bye, where are my extra points?
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Going from plane flight to space flight in less than a century is one thing. Going from pre-wheel technology (not even animal-driven carts) to space flight in less than a century is another.
When I see the finished story that integrates the three Indian Trek "chapters," then I'll give you your bonus points. Think of it as an incentive. ;-)
Writerfella here --
Fortunately for writerfella, he does not write for incentives, no matter what Oscar Wilde said to the contrary. writerfella basically writes for himself and then allows the material to fall or fly on its own merits. If it should work out that essential elements from all six of writerfella's STAR TREK sagas find inclusion in a novelization of 'Brothers Of The Blood', all the better. But at this time, that is not the plan...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Oh Yes! Please Please do this! The Paradise Syndrome, has always been one of my favorite episodes of the original Star Trek. And it begs something more. Each and every time I see it, I 'need' to see more. I need to know what happens next. Wouldnt it have been just grand if they had went ahead and used this sequel in TNG!
Raven Dove~
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