‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Force of Nature’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One particular aspect of the human condition that is supremely fascinating, is the sheer fact that we… do a poor job of planning for the future. A reality that could be attributed to the fact that we are taught from a very early age to live in the moment since tomorrow is never promised, and we certainly follow that mantra to a tee, only to be surprised when something we knew we should have prepared for down the line… is front and center in our lives. But more than likely, it is related to the fact… that the future is hard for us to visualize and conceptualize. Because a lot of what we need to plan for isn’t tangible nor is it, real in the moment, and we only seem to react to it, when it becomes just that. Which of course can lead to disaster and regret, since this type of life twist, usually has warnings that precede it and is followed by a bevy of cleanup work to get us back on track.
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But since this is such a norm and something that we struggle with, it does leave one wondering… exactly what it might take to get us to plan ahead at last as a species so we don’t suffer with embarrassing surprise and epic clean up and well… there may not be an easy answer to that question. For a show that tends to offer us great answers on life’s great mysteries… struggled to find a way to solve a conundrum that has plagued us for as long as we’ve been on this tiny blue ball we call home, and that made the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, ‘Force of Nature’, quite the powerful affair. One that oddly enough… felt akin to a day in the life episode of the series, courtesy of its focus on Lieutenant Commander Data and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, and what appeared to be a hum-drum mission for the crew of the Enterprise.

Because Data was trying to train Spot to be a better and more obedient cat and was having minimal luck. Mainly because Spot clearly had Data trained instead. Plus, Geordi was working hard to be the top Engineer in the fleet through some creative work on the ship’s systems to keep him ahead of his chief rival. And while that was going on, the senior staff was searching for a lost vessel, one that disappeared in a very precarious region of space for warp travel. Which brought forth a grand mystery that didn’t seem to have any weight. That is until a surprise encounter with scientists from the only habitable planet, revealed they had been disabling ships left and right to get Starfleet’s attention. For they learned that warp drive was causing damage to this region of space and to prove the point, one of the scientists detonated their warp core and created the end result rift they were worried warp drive was quietly laying the groundwork for. Which led to a daring rescue of the lost ship in question and a real problem for Starfleet. One that perfectly encapsulated the theme of this tale, and it also reflected our everyday world.

Courtesy of the fact… that the best scientific minds in the galaxy, didn’t think to research the long-term impact of warp drive. They just rolled with it and saw it as safe and effective and endless in use. Only to discover that it harbors a risk and much like we would… they acted accordingly, with egg on their faces as they worked to just mitigate the damage during the fallout. Which really is the perfect way to explore what the core theme looks like and of course, one can easily compare this problem… to climate change in our world. And how we too didn’t bother to do the advance research on fossil fuels until we recognized a problem and even then… our response to such matters hasn’t been ideal since so many aren’t seeing the problem in the tangible manner they want to. Making this a sobering tale, one that is filled to the brim with stunning commentary on our world and our species and it offers no easy answers on this question. 

Because this episode goes to show, that it is stunningly difficult for us to find a flaw or a problem with most of what we do. Because we cannot predict the future, nor can we fully comprehend the consequences of our actions at times. Which is an observation that doesn’t satisfy, nor does it offer up a happy ending either since this episode feels too real, and it definitely offers zero guidance. But perhaps… that is the point. In that, it isn’t up to a television show to solve all of our problems. Sometimes… we just need to see it and start working on solutions on our own. Such as say, training ourselves to really weigh the pros and cons of decisions and actions that will have far reaching implications for our future and our lives. Which may sound excessive and counterintuitive to the human experience, but that might be what it is needed and one person doing it can influence others and perhaps enact change. Or perhaps something deeper is needed, but either way… this episode deserves a round of applause for offering such biting commentary regarding humanity, for being prophetic in nature… and for offering zero answers to the problem. Because that’s a rarity in science fiction and a bold direction to take this story in and well… that kind of move deserves our respect, and action on our part, since this one does take us to task. Until next time. 

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