Myriad Universes

As with all issues of this kind, we begin with a couple of pages of recap from Captain Picard. The Enterprise then sends down three teams to assist the three gestalts in retrieving the missing bodies as per Deanna Troi’s request, each containing a doctor and an engineer (needed to disable the shield generators surrounding the holy sites). While on the ship, Captain Picard asks Reg Barclay to try and track down the base where the crewmembers were captured initially, just in case Deanna’s plan runs into trouble.

Each team has to navigate some kind of harsh environment to reach the holy sites in question. Needless to say, they all make it and everyone gets their body back in one piece. The first team, led by Deanna (in Alexander’s body) also includes Commander Riker and Robin Lefler. As they hop across a series of ice floes in an arctic environment, Will regales his team with tales of an old friend who fell through the ice and couldn’t look at ice cream sundaes for months right before Deanna promptly does that. She’s fine (as is Alexander) though, and no sooner do they fish her out then they come across what they were looking for. Deanna comments on a very literal out-of-body experience.

Doctor Selar’s team (comprised of her, Alyssa Ogawa and Jenna D’Sora), has to navigate through a desert in the middle of a howling sandstorm. Thankfully Selar has figured out how to use Geordi’s VISOR and can lead everyone through the sand no problem, except for Alyssa who stupidly wanders off and gets lost. Thanks to the VISOR though, it’s no time at all before she’s found again. And just as before, the team finds the missing person, the engineer disables shit (while Jenna stands guard) and they beam out. And finally, Ro Laren leads Lwaxana Troi and Doctor Crusher through a dense thicket of tropical jungle. The three most kickass ladies in the crew use their phasers as machetes and fry their way through the undergrowth to reach the temple where Worf is being held (to which Laren kicks the door in to get inside, because you’d better fucking believe she does). On each team, someone comments on how strange it is that none of these places seem to be guarded.

On the Enterprise, Captain Picard is about to contact the Sakerionites to let them know the missing crewmembers have been retrieved safely and to take them up on their offer to put everyone’s consciousnesses back where they belong. But before he does, Reg comes in and tells him he might not want to do that until he hears what he discovered. What follows is one of the worst dumps of exposition in the history of mankind: For the duration of an entire two-page spread, a bunch of Sakerion randos explain in extremely loud and exacting detail about how it was in fact they who orchestrated the whole body-swapping fiasco and framed the Ergeans in order to sabotage their application for Federation membership and cover up the fact the Sakerionites have been exploiting Ergeus’ natural resources and have been effectively using its inhabitants as slave labourers.…

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So the Ergeans are really annoyed that Alexander/Deanna, Lwaxana/Worf and Geordi/Selar are up and about, so they order them back to their cells. Worf (as Lwaxana) isn’t having any of that though and, in a single, beautiful moment I *really, really* wish Majel Barrett had gotten to act out, throws his/her head back, yells out a battle cry, body slams the Ergeans and powerbombs all three of them to the mat while bellowing “Cowards! This time you have bitten off a great deal more than you can chew!”.

Frankly if you’re not already sold on this book by the concept of Majel Barrett powerbombing aliens and immediately convinced this series is one of the greatest things in the history of Star Trek, there’s nothing more I can do for you, so you might as well pack it all in now.

Back on the Enterprise, the Sakerions exposit that while outsiders have long believed that the Ergeans were governed by a succession of triumvirates, this is actually not the case. In truth, there was only ever one triumvirate, but they gave themselves functional immortality through a machine that allowed consciousnesses to be transplanted from one body to the next. And due to the Ergeans’ strong regard for life, the donor body’s original consciousness was transplanted as well, so nobody would ever have to die. But over time, the triumvirate grew authoritarian as Ergean society went through hardship, and one day the people refused to transplant their consciousnesses, instead sealing them away in mind receptacles until the time where it was felt they would be needed again. The Sakerions think the Ergeans might feel that time has come, and they’ve chosen the bodies of Worf, Selar and Deanna as the latest “volunteers”. Captain Picard asks if the process is reversable, and the Sakerions say yes (luckily for us they managed to…acquire…the necessary technology from the Ergeans) but they will have to hurry, as the bonds between consciousnesses and their original bodies break down if they are separated for too long.

Down on the planet, the issue’s requisite fight scene is still going on. Selar (as Geordi) is busting some sick action moves until one of the Ergeans grabs Deanna who, as Alexander, is not in much of a position to fight back. It looks like Selar will be forced to surrender too until Worf (again as Lwaxana) unloads a phaser rifle round into his chest from across the room. Lwaxana herself re-enters the picture shortly thereafter, and is decidedly not amused by the alleged indignity of being forced to become a warrior. This is no throwaway joke either, because it’s promptly followed by a truly great scene where Alexander returns to the surface and expresses shock and horror at being able to feel the emotions of his attackers the same way Deanna Troi can, because it makes it difficult to be a warrior. To which Selar responds, “this is why Vulcans prefer peace”.

Geordi comes back and explains that he’s found a way out in the form of a sealed off room with a large energy flow.…

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This is far and away among the weirder story arcs in the DC Star Trek: The Next Generation series. And given this is a comic book line that had the Enterprise literally meet Santa Claus in 1987, that goes a way towards saying something. And yet Divided Light is *just* audacious and weird enough to work: Michael Jan Friedman’s signature deft hand at writing the crew and his knack for having his stories’ main themes and motifs reoccur on multiple levels makes this one memorable for all the right reasons instead of all the wrong ones. Perhaps most importantly for our purposes, it marks the beginning of a critical and formative time when the spin-off media, particularly the comic books, steered the course of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

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The cover for this month’s issue is definitely one of the most memorable and distinctive in the series for me. It’s a striking print featuring the busts of Data, Captain Riker, Commander Shelby and Ro Laren looking at a central image of the two Enterprises taking on a Borg Cube while Locutus looks on. This was the cover art DC chose to represent The Worst of Both Worlds for the trade paperback reprint, or at least it’s the one I remember seeing in that catalog of assorted Star Trek merchandise I had back then. As a result, this may be the single image that I most associate with the comic book line, and one of my most singular memories of it. Incidentally, it’s also likely at least partially responsible for subconsciously elevating Laren’s stature as a regular for me. Not so much Shelby: I knew who she was and that this was a sequel to “The Best of Both Worlds”, but wishful thinking and low resolution magazine scans kept me pretending she was Tasha Yar long after the awareness of my own self-delusion began to set in.

The issue itself is a bit more of a workmanlike affair. It’s a perfectly satisfying conclusion to The Worst of Both Worlds and, together with its immediate prequel, comprises a joint two-hander that’s a serious contender for the single most kickass title in the show’s history. For real, “The Armies of the Night” followed by “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” is right up there with Original Series and Phase II levels of delightfully cheesy and bombastic episode names. The story, however, merely does what it needs to do and not a whole lot more than that: It’s essentially one big protracted action scene followed by some rather unfortunately obvious stalling for time, which is always a fun thing for me to have to summarise for you.

Following up on last month’s cliffhanger, the strike force is aghast at the death of one of the Worfs (at this point it’s still meant to be unclear which one it is, but we all know it’s the alternate one), and some convenient transporter interference buys the characters enough time to express their shock and disbelief in tandem. Once Alternate Geordi is able to retrieve the team, with Locutus in tow, it’s finally *officially* revealed that the Alternate Worf perished while protecting Locutus from a stray Borg energy beam. Captain Riker is angry at his fallen comrade’s bravado, but our Worf cautions him not to grieve, for his counterpart died a warrior’s death and, in his own eyes, finally redeemed himself. Commander Shelby reports that the Borg cube she was sparring with has broken off and is speeding to Earth. Commander Riker notes that this is a discrepancy between the sequence of events in the two universes, as when they captured Locutus the Borg didn’t seem to care. Captain Riker figures this Locutus is more valuable to this collective, and while Data, Doctor Crusher, Captain Picard and the Geordis start work on freeing Locutus with Ro Laren, Deanna Troi and our Miles O’Brien, he asks Commander Riker to stay with him on the battle bridge as the Alternate Enterprise moves to meet up with Commander Shelby to fight off the Cube.…

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Well, the cover art pretty much gives away the end of the issue. And also the whole cliffhanger, because you know damn well which one of the Worfs is going to eat it.

But there’s some other stuff that happens before we get to that point. Picking up from last month, Data and Captain Picard are trying to figure out why Locutus isn’t where he’s supposed to be, but with the Borg closing in on them they don’t have a ton of time to ponder that. They beat a retreat back to the shuttlecraft, but the collective is onto them and latches onto the shuttle with a tractor beam before they get very far. Thankfully, the Alternate Enterprise crew is able to beam them to safety before the Borg blast the shuttle to smithereens. Back in the observation lounge, Data reveals that Locutus is likely on Earth, the Borg having set up a command base at the location of the former Starfleet Command in San Francisco (and I love, by the way, how after assimilating the entire galaxy, the Borg choose Starfleet Command of all places to set up shop), which Data was luckily able to discern by doing something with a tricorder (Friedman will always get a pass from me for this sort of stuff: There’s also a continuity error involving the alternate Guinan, or rather the lack thereof, that crops up here, but the story is good enough I’m not bothered by it). Captain Picard once again volunteers to lead the strike force to extract Locutus, alongside Data, Commander Riker and both Worfs.

Commander Riker reminds his counterpart that his crew has no intention of sticking around to help win their war for them, and is assured that the Alternate Enterprise crew has ever intention of returning them when the mission is completed, citing once again the fact that the dimensional rift will be open for several days. Captain Riker promises that the strength of his word will be proven when the time comes, however, there is soon an implicit justification of these concerns when he orders the alternate Commander Shelby to use the Enterprise as a distraction while the strike force is on Earth looking for Locutus, because she has the “more expendable ship”. As they beam down, Commander Riker exchanges some terse, barbed words with the alternate Geordi for his “optimism”, which is really Will’s code for the dismissive, arrogant snarking tone of the entire Alternate Enterprise crew that the alternate Geordi seems to embody the strongest (I guess Will and Laren share a few things in common after all). Meanwhile on the Enterprise, Shelby begins to set her own mysterious plans in action, and so does the Alternate Miles O’Brien, who reveals he’s got a plan of his own up his sleeve to potentially betray Shelby the way she plans to betray Captain Riker.

The highlight of this issue, otherwise a bit of a setup for the big finale (and double-length 50th issue celebration!)…

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Although he sympathizes deeply with their plight, Captain Picard is reluctant to help Captain Riker and the crew of the Alternate Enterprise because he maintains his first duty is to his own crew. Captain Riker retorts that the dimensional portal will remain open for several days, which should give them plenty of time to strike a blow against the Borg collective while still being able to return to their home universe. As the senior staff weigh their options in private, Commander Shelby (who in this universe remained Captain Riker’s first officer) leads an away team consisting of the alternate Chief O’Brien and Wesley Crusher to commandeer our Enterprise. Apparently, they’re planning some sort of mutiny against Captain Riker, whom they feel is too weak and unwilling to take necessary risks.

But this team has other intentions too, as the alternate Miles and Wesley go to meet our Beverly Crusher (who in the alternate reality remained head of Starfleet medical and was likely assimilated by the Borg when they conquered Earth), Keiko O’Brien (who is dead in the alternate universe) and Molly (who doesn’t exist). Captain Riker wants Doctor Crusher to join the rest of the senior staff on the alternate Enterprise, feeling that she’s the only one who could break Locutus’ link to the Borg collective (of course, she’s already done that in our reality), and on the way over Alternate Wesley fills her in on some of the differences between her reality and his. Beverly notes that he’s much more mature then her own son, but also far colder and more distant.

Back on the Alternate Enterprise, Captain Picard and the crew have agreed to help Captain Riker and his crew to fight the Borg, supposing that even though they’ve been “Shanghaied”, it is their moral duty to help a fellow ship out. We learn that some of the Alternate Commander Shelby’s concerns may be warranted, as it’s revealed a major reason this crew wasn’t able to rescue their Captain Picard was because they didn’t use an antimatter field: In this universe, Captain Riker dismissed Shelby’s suggestion as being too dangerous, which meant that the shuttle he and this universe’s Data were piloting got targeted by the Borg Cube straight away. The two crews elect to try the scheme again, though, after some debate, this time our Captain Picard and Data will undertake the operation, Jean-Luc feeling it’s his responsibility to free his counterpart. Once they reach the Borg ship, Captain Picard reveals to us that being aboard a vessel so similar to the one he was imprisoned on three years ago with the Borg fills him with dread, but he feels he must steady his resolve and confront his guilt head on but calmly and steadily, seeing this as his opportunity to make peace with this trauma from his past. Annoyingly, however, once he and Data reach the core where the Captain remembers being stationed, the Alternate Locutus is nowhere to be found.…

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There must be something in the air people are sensing. Perhaps a half-remembered portent of a coming disaster. Either way, it would seem that the Borg are on everyone’s minds of late. As the comics obviously must be written some months in advance, there’s no way Michael Jan Friedman could have known Star Trek: The Next Generation would be ending its sixth/first season with a cliffhanger involving the Borg. But here in the following month (indeed, perhaps even that very same May, depending on how early you get your comic books), to kick off the summer hiatus season, we get nothing short of a four-part epic sequel to “The Best of Both Worlds” involving dark mirrors and alternate universes.

The aptly titled The Worst of Both Worlds is a preternaturally timed story, because it not only ties into the looming Borg zeitgeist of Summer, 1993 by serving as a sequel to “The Best of Both Worlds”, its plot also eerily anticipates some of the repercussions of “Parallels”, to come next year in the TV show’s second/seventh season. As has become the standard for Michael Jan Friedman’s event miniseries, issue 1, “The Bludgeonings of Chance”, serves as a low-key setup to an assuredly dramatic tale focusing on small vignettes and character monologues (mostly from Captain Picard) to introduce the arc’s major themes before the plot itself picks up starting with issue 2. This time around, the crew is talking about the different paths their lives could have taken: As Will and Deanna put it, “what could have been, and what is”. They’re having a private dinner together when Will brings up the subject of their terminated romance from years ago, asking Deanna if she ever thought about what would have happened had they stayed together. She replies she thinks about it all the time, but she doesn’t regret not choosing that path, because it was their breakup that allowed them to become best friends, and she wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Geordi and Beverly are playing racquetball together on the holodeck, and Beverly is winning handily. She tells Geordi not to sweat it as she’s had twenty years of practice on him, picking the game up not long after Wesley was born. When he asks how Wes is doing, she replies “better than ever”, saying he’s reminding her more and more of Jack all the time. The most obvious foreshadowing comes from Captain Picard on the bridge: The Enterprise is on a supply run to a planet very near the vicinity of Wolf 359 (so near, in fact, you can still see debris from the battle floating around in local space), and the captain can’t help but have flashbacks to what happened to him and the galaxy there three years prior. Jean-Luc then goes on to retell the events of “The Best of Both Worlds” for the benefit of newcomers or those who need a refresher, putting special emphasis on how close the Borg came to conquering Earth and what the galaxy might be like today if they had succeeded.…

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So I wasn’t originally going to do the 1992 annual. It’s good, but it doesn’t quite hold up to the likes of “Thin Ice” and “The Gift”, or even some of the most recent serials in the monthly series. But it turned out, quite frankly, that I needed an extra essay here and this was an easy pick.

But I’m going to do more than just kill time and fill space with this one, as there’s still a fair amount of interesting things to say about “The Broken Moon”. The first thing to note is that, like the two previous annuals, this story is predominantly about one specific character. This isn’t too surprising, as since “The Gift” was about Captain Picard (and Q) and “Thin Ice” was about Commander Riker (and Captain Lyrinda Halk), it’s to be expected “The Broken Moon” would follow suit and predominantly feature another main character. What’s interesting is who that character ended up being: Given his crippling overexposure in the TV series, we would naturally assume the next character to get a prominent spotlight in an extra-length Annual issue would be Data. But no, Data is actually barely in this story. In fact, it’s actually Geordi La Forge! Which is good, because there’s a good deal more for us to say about Geordi La Forge.

My reading of Geordi should be fairly obvious and clear by now. Because of LeVar Burton’s presence on both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow, and the comparative similarities of his performances on both shows (not to mention the fact D.C. Fontana essentially conceived of Geordi as being “LeVar Burton as himself” anyway), I see Geordi as filling the narrative role of a children’s educator or children’s television personality on a series that can be succinctly described as “children’s television for adults”. This is why he’s the chief engineer; the heart and soul of a starship. The problem is that, for whatever reason, very few writers who have jobbed for Star Trek: The Next Generation seem to have picked up that this is straightforwardly and self-evidently the correct way to conceptualize who Geordi is, what he does on the Enterprise and what his relationship with the rest of the crew is (especially Data, who is plainly a child analog).

I am reminded most of all of Ira Steven Behr’s assessment of Geordi while talking about his episode “Qpid” and the infamous mandolin scene in Star Trek: The Next Generation 365:

“Geordi was a very sweet character who was kind of underused. He didn’t have much of a dark side about him. He’s the kind of human that Klingons would have devoured. And Worf-you know, from a Klingon perspective-I was sure that Worf would lie in bed at night thinking, ‘Can’t they at least let me kill Geordi?’ So taking the mandolin and smashing it was the Klingon view of the Federation and the ‘perfect society’ the show portrayed.”

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