Star Trek and History (34 page)

Holodeck simulations are built from the crewmembers' understanding of a historical context. For this reason, they tend to be romanticized representations of the past. They are primarily drawn from the characters' imagination or from popular fiction. This is sometimes made explicit when the historical context is drawn from a novel. The histories revisited in
Star Trek
are invariably caricatures that would be judged somewhat inaccurate by historians, but since their purpose is to entertain the crewmembers, this is hardly surprising. It is doubtful that the real Deadwood was quite like the one depicted in “A Fistful of Datas” or that detectives really had cases involving mysterious objects, like the one Picard encounters in “The Big Goodbye.”

Nevertheless,
The Next Generation
simulations of history do accomplish something extremely valuable: they immerse the crew in historical settings and give them some sense of what it would have felt like to live in other times. Even if the facts are somewhat distorted in the holodeck world, the experiences encourage a deeper understanding of the context than even the best historical texts can offer. This raises questions about the value of different ways of learning about the past. Is it more important to learn the facts and events of the past accurately from texts or to attempt to understand what daily life would have been like through experience?
Star Trek
seems to promote a relation to history that mixes the two but that places greater emphasis on experience. Each visit to the holodeck develops this theme, showing different dimensions of historical entertainment and illustrating the different kinds of lessons that can be learned from simulations of the past.

An analysis of the show's representation is especially relevant now, at a time when historical entertainment is more popular than ever. Documentaries and edutainment are becoming increasingly popular with their use in video games and virtual worlds, and the use of more sophisticated technology has created highly immersive forms of historical entertainment.
Star Trek
offers an intelligent way of relating to the past by showing the importance of immersion and the kinds of lessons that one can learn from simulations of the past. The simulations provide only a partial understanding of the past, yet through their entertaining puzzles, they lead the crewmembers to encounter the past on a personal level and to give them a glimpse into the past that no book can match.

In the holodeck simulation used in the
Next Generation
episode “The Big Goodbye,” Picard plays the detective Dixon Hill, who is very similar to classic fictional detectives like Dixon Steele and Sam Spade. Picard plays the simulation as a diversion to take a break from learning how to greet the Jarada in their native language. Despite his initial casual attitude, Picard takes great interest in the subtle differences between his time and the one he visits. Early in the episode he sees cars outside his office, and he seems enthralled by the strange sight. He shows so much interest in the story's setting that he uncharacteristically spends much of his briefing telling other crewmembers how real the holodeck world appears to be.

When Picard returns to the 1940s he invites the twentieth-century historian Mr. Whalen and Dr. Crusher to join him. Data also takes part in the adventure after thoroughly studying the Dixon Hill stories. Picard is so interested in the era and its people that he is excited about the chance of being interrogated by the police and enthusiastic about each plot twist, until he discovers that the holodeck's safety settings have been disabled. When a holographic hit man, Felix Leech, shoots Mr. Whalen, the crewmembers discover that the simulation has become a real threat. This makes the episode the first of many in which holodeck entertainment becomes a matter of life and death. As Richard Bartle observes of the holodecks, “They malfunction to the extent that they pose a greater threat to the health of crewmembers than a direct hit from a photon torpedo to the ship's hull with all shields down.”
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“The Big Goodbye” introduced many of the themes of
Star Trek
's treatment of holodeck history. First, the characters' primary motive for taking part in the simulation is entertainment. They are more interested in enjoying their time away from work than in learning facts about the past. In fact, the characters use the holodeck as though it were a television, with a range of programs that is similar to those one would find on TV.
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However, the simulations are not
only
used for entertainment. Entertainment and education overlap and are mutually reinforcing.

Each of the crewmembers who takes part in the simulation represents a different attitude toward historical entertainment and the different ways of learning from simulations. Captain Picard seems to know little about the 1940s except for what he has read in the Dixon Hill novels. This is especially clear when he seems confused by the newspaper headlines about World War II and baseball. Initially, he has a casual attitude toward the historical setting, but he is fascinated by it and becomes eager to learn more. Dr. Crusher seems to be less interested in the setting itself than in playing the simulation as a game. While Dr. Whalen and Data can entertain themselves by simply being in the 1940s, Dr. Crusher is eager for the challenges of being interrogated along with Captain Picard. Nevertheless, even with their casual attitudes, Picard and Crusher learn a great deal about the people and culture of the 1940s.

Dr. Whalen has a strong interest in the period before entering the simulation. He has made a career out of studying the twentieth century, and he is eager to explore the events he has read about. This allows him to appreciate the reproduction of the past on a more intellectual level and to learn about subtleties of social life in former periods that he did not learn about in books. Data has a similar interest in learning about the 1940s, but his interest is driven by his desire to immerse himself in the simulation. He attempts to learn everything about Dixon Hill and his world to become part of it, and he wants to be more than a scholarly observer. He seeks practical knowledge about the time, including the norms of social interaction, the ways of speaking, and the histories of popular baseball teams. Each of the characters seems to learn a great deal from the holodeck, although what they learn depends on their personal interests and their willingness to perform additional research. This shows that there is no single way of learning from edutainment. Rather, there are multiple strategies that provide different levels of knowledge.

The episode also introduces another of the prominent themes of holodeck entertainment: simulations allow characters to explore a part of themselves that they might never be able to express in the real world. Nevertheless, the crewmembers rarely take their entertainment to extreme levels. Most take part in simulations that resemble their real-world responsibilities. Picard and Data enjoy playing detectives, even though their work often requires them to solve mysteries. Worf becomes the sheriff of Deadwood, even though this role is similar to his own work as a security officer. Although their simulated activities are similar to their real-world jobs, they find entertainment in the programs because the historical settings allow them to explore different aspects of that role than they could in their own time. This theme is probably most clearly demonstrated in “A Fistful of Datas.”

The simulation of the “ancient West” that appears in “A Fistful of Datas” seems to take many liberties with historical accuracy. The characters in the simulation play stereotypical Western roles and do so in the style of a Western melodrama. However, a close investigation reveals that even some of the comical elements of the story have a grain of truth.

The story is set in Deadwood, South Dakota, one of the most notorious towns of the American West. Deadwood earned its reputation in the 1870s and 1880s as one of the many lawless frontier towns whose economy was driven by the gold rush.
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The saloon where much of the story takes place is called the Gold Strike, a reference to the town's early history. When Worf and his son, Alexander, first enter the saloon, they find Eli Hollander playing cards and drinking with one of the members of his gang. Worf easily apprehends Eli during the first simulation, prompting Alexander to rerun the program on a more challenging setting that Deanna Troi assists them in completing.

Surprisingly, no one is prepared for the latest malfunction of the holodeck's safety protocols, and the crewmembers find themselves fighting for their lives against simulated enemies who resemble Data and who have Data's strength and speed. Frank Hollander captures Alexander and offers to make an exchange for his son, Eli, who is locked in the town jail. Troi and Worf realize that they can end the program by completing the story, and they set about developing a plan that will allow them to defeat Hollander and rescue Alexander. Using a force field for protection, Worf defeats Eli and Frank and drives them out of town, saving Alexander and ending the program.

Again, the crewmembers show different approaches to historical entertainment. Alexander only seems to want to have fun and to spend time with his father. Troi clearly has more interest in experiencing the story as a work of fiction than exploring the real history of the town. She explains that her motive is to play the mysterious stranger character that she remembers reading about in her father's stories. Her character, Durango, is the archetypal Western loner, ready to join a fight, provided the pay is high enough, and unwilling to become a permanent law enforcement ally. Worf is an unwilling participant in the simulation, but his reactions to the story provide some of the most interesting commentary on the historical American West.

When Eli is in jail, Worf asks Alexander, “What are his rights in this century? Is there a trial . . . or shall I execute him?” This is a perfect question, given the setting. In a town with such rampant corruption as Deadwood, even an actual resident might have asked the same question. It was extremely difficult to maintain respect for the law in frontier towns. Overworked sheriffs were often forced to improvise and even violate the law in pursuit of criminals. Even the famous sheriffs and marshals often engaged in questionable activities.
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Many settlements had little recourse but to form their own legal apparatus, often creating popular tribunals to elect temporary judges who often had little formal knowledge of the law.
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Worf and Troi also discover an important lesson about the isolation of the “ancient West” (as Alexander refers to it). There were relatively few law enforcement officials to cover the huge territories, and they were often unable to call on reinforcements when faced with gangs of outlaws. Troi represents the Western vigilante who seeks private justice in places that are beyond the reach of normal law enforcement. Vigilantes did not follow normal rules of conduct and often used violence, but they provided some semblance of order. Worf faces the challenge of how to respond to a gang that that is more numerous and better armed than he is. Like many real Western lawmen in that situation, he solves the problem by seeking help from anyone available, even though it means hiring shadowy figures like Durango.

Even some of the more fanciful events of the story have some basis in historical fact. For example, the final confrontation between Frank Hollander and Worf is a quick-draw gunfight. These are a fixture of Western stories, but only a few are on record as actually having taken place.
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However, this fictional scenario has an element of truth. When facing equally skilled opponents, gunfighters would usually attack their opponents when they were at a disadvantage, surprising them at the saloon or while they were drunk. They usually avoided quick-draw gunfights because of the danger of a fair fight. Worf decides to take confront Frank Hollander in this manner because he has a shield that will protect him from danger. He is willing to fight unfairly to win, just as many real gunfighters did.

One of Data's favorite programs is to play the title role in the simulation of Sherlock Holmes stories. Holmes is a character that perfectly fits Data's personality. Both are intelligent, rational, unemotional, and skilled at drawing inferences. Both can appear cold, but they are capable of acts of selflessness. In “Elementary, Dear Data” he introduces Geordi La Forge to the program and allows him to play the role of Watson, acting as the sidekick while Data replays the stories. Initially, the holodeck program follows Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, introducing no new mysteries for Data to solve. The initial view of late-nineteenth-century London on the holodeck is one completely reconstructed from the stories, and so “history” here is rooted in Doyle's writings.

It is only when Geordi tells the computer to create a villain capable of defeating Data that the program diverges significantly from the Sherlock Holmes stories and takes on a life of its own. The computer introduces Dr. Moriarty, Holmes's archenemy, who is self-aware and highly intelligent. He kidnaps Dr. Pulaski, uses her to learn about the
Enterprise
, gains access to the computers, and even manages to transfer some of the ship's controls to the holodeck. Eventually Captain Picard is able to reason with Moriarty; he explains that holograms cannot exist in the real world, and he offers to store Moriarty in the computer until researchers find a way to give him a physical existence.

As this episode makes clear, the stories that the crew have read form the basis for not only their virtual worlds but also supply the adventures they have on the holodeck. The crewmembers play as characters in stories that have a clear narrative structure, goals, and an ending. This encourages crewmembers to interact with the worlds as though they are attempting to solve a puzzle. Rather than simply exploring the settings, they confront challenges that remind viewers that holodeck immersion is usually based on having missions to accomplish, much as players do in video games.
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This leads the holodeck scenarios to be structured like fictional stories.
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Nevertheless, the kinds of problems that crewmembers face require them to develop a sense of the context, because the puzzles are inspired by real historical problems.