1984

I've been reading 1984 lately. I downloaded an application on my iphone that allows me to read public domain books for free on my phone. This has come in handy recently. Andrew was in a wedding on the 8th of August, and because I don't have a car, I got to tag along for all the long hours of "moral support" required for the wedding and preparation. Which really just means not treading on anybody's toes, therefore staying longer than I want, listening to several odious groomsmen talk about sex organs and alcohol, and reading 1984 on my phone, trying to be inconspicuous. Anyway, it seems all I have to do is mention that I'm reading 1984, which will either shut odious groomsmen up or offend soon-to-be mothers-in-law. But my thoughts on the American wedding are thoughts best left to another blog.
I've also been reading Einstein, His Life and Universe. I find it interesting to note how a relative view of reality could almost be logical in Winston's world. Which is of course what Orwell wanted us to worry about. Although Einstein's theory of relativity was frequently misunderstood for relativism, which Einstein himself denounced, it is interesting to note a trend of the two phenomenons, perhaps the one encouraging the latter.
The thing that bothers Winston the most is he is that he can't prove (or even believe) that the memories he has--specific memories of a past different from that claimed by Big Brother--are in fact true. He isn't worried that he is mistaken. He's worried that if everyone says and believes something that didn't happen, does it change the nature of truth itself? Just as Einstein's critics found it hard to swallow that a rigid measuring rod could be a different length to two separate observers under certain circumstances *note to self: learn to articulate this thought experiment*, even when his thought experiment indicated this was the inevitable consequence of assuming a constant speed of light, we find it hard to understand Winston's nebulous idea of truth. But in Winston's world, that's the only reference he has. And to Einstein, the facts, such as they are, don't lie.

Movement

Moving is both a beginning and an end. Right now all I can see is the
beginning of an enormous mess.

Prelude to the First Blog

I feel like I was working hard all my life to achieve some wondrous accomplishment that I couldn't even articulate or understand. Now I'm past the pre-defined waiting period, and I'm not anywhere. Now I'm doing nothing. I don't want to work hard anymore, on anything. I'm waiting for my life to begin, but doing nothing to get it started. All my life has simply been a prelude to this nothingness. It's all a perpetual prelude.

Hunters

Seven of Nine continues to forgo regeneration in order to work on downloading a message from Starfleet. The doctor tells her she could be harming herself, and reminds her that she is no longer a borg drone, to which she replies acidly that she doesn't need reminding. When the letters turn out to contain letters from home, Janeway asks Seven what she intends to do when they reach the alpha quadrant. Even though she says their return to the alpha quadrant is irrelevant to her, she looks horrified when Janeway suggests she might have family on earth.

Seven requests to take a shuttle closer to the network in order to more quickly download the message. The captain orders her to go with Tuvok. Seven worries that the captain doesn't trust her. When Seven and Tuvok have been captured by the Hirogen, she seems fiercely proud of the Captain and Voyager's tenacity and formidableness. Even though she continues to have trouble integrating socially with the crew, she appears to feel some connection with them.

Message in a Bottle

This episode begins with B'elanna complaining to Chakotay about Seven's behavior. She is angry that Seven took something from engineering to astrometrics and then locked herself inside. She says Seven is treating astrometrics like her own private domain. I don't really blame her. It's the only space on the ship that she has any connection with, and probably a lot more comfortable than the cargo bay where her alcove is.

While B'elanna is talking to Chakotay, Seven summons him and the captain to the astrometrics lab to tell them about a Starfleet ship in the alpha quadrant that can be contacted through an alien sensor network. She clearly realizes that the captain would risk a lot to contact Starfleet and is willing to spend all her free time working toward getting Voyager home as soon as possible. She stays locked in astrometrics working on finding a way to send messages through the relay for most of the episode, forgoing regeneration for days.

B'elanna encounters Seven in astrometrics and accuses her of being rude. Seven has settled into the somewhat abrasive, low voice she uses for most of the rest of the series. She doesn't seem to agree with B'elanna's assessment. Later, when the Hirogen are jamming the link, she sends a mild shock through the relay to incapacitate him and stop him. Janeway seems less than pleased, but B'elanna approves. The tension between B'elanna and Seven seems dissipated--for now.

Side note: At the end of the episode, the doctor gives the crew the good news that he was able to contact Starfleet and that they have begun looking for a way to get Voyager home. This is a turning point in the series--they finally have contact with home and are no longer alone. Janeway then declares that 60,000 light years seems closer today than it did yesterday, but this, as I have previously pointed out, is probably not how far away from home they should be. I'm not sure how much space they should have travelled without Kes, but I think it's more than 1,000 light years.