(no subject)

[letspunchit]

When I challenge people to do better, this is not what I have in mind.

Comments

[letspunchit]

Or who I give the pep talk to.

[assimilate]

Yes. Perhaps that as well.

[letspunchit]

Though I suppose being here does call for a re-evaluation of goals. Did you have to do that as well?

[assimilate]

My preference was not asked. I was removed from my ship and brought here unwillingly without my consent.

[letspunchit]

I may face the same fate.

Which ship?

[assimilate]

The Federation Starship Voyager.

[letspunchit]

That's not one I'm familiar with; is she newly-commissioned?

[assimilate]

Voyager is not yet commissioned in your timeline. I fail to understand why humans insist upon personifying ships as female entities. They are not alive and do not possess gender-determinant qualities.

[letspunchit]

It's old Earth naval tradition; it started when we were just starting to explore our world via the oceans. Your ship sustains and protects you, is dear to you, and you rely on her for your well-being and your livelihood. Captains were overwhelmingly male and the relationship was seen as maternal or like a marriage. A ship, then, was referred to in feminine terms.

The beliefs are antiquated but the tradition still stands.

[assimilate]

Antiquated, indeed. I find that tradition is irrelevant, but on more than one occasion, traditions have proved to be important to the members of Voyager's crew in ways that cannot be ignored.

Her captain is female, so perhaps Voyager should be referred to as male.

[letspunchit]

A lot of people find comfort in tradition. I guess I'm one of them. I think the idea of imagining that a female's worth lies only in the comfort she can offer a man is ridiculous, and rightly a thing of the past. But there's something reassuring in continuing a centuries-old tradition of calling my ship "she", too. I can see how far we've come from those old days, but I also feel connected to them.

[assimilate]

[ belatedly, seven remembers the doctor's lessons on manners and common courtesy. ]

My des-- I am Seven of Nine.

[letspunchit]

[He smiles--look, he could've remembered his manners, too, but you drag him into an interesting discussion and he gets distracted.]

It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Seven of Nine. I'm Captain Christopher Pike.