To the Future

When was I young, a wee little Irish lass running wild in the fields (although let's be honest--I rarely ran wild. There were bugs and stuff out in the grass), my mother took me in hand and forced culture on me. Forced it on me so strongly that I have carried the burning passion for it strongly for my 23 years, it's flame only growing (probably since I can't stop feeding it). Have you guessed yet? Yep. Star Trek.

You all know of my deep and abiding love for Star Trek. I've seen it all (except for the last two seasons of Enterprise, but really? That one sucked) more than once. I love it. Now, I've recently discovered that some of my friends think that Star Trek is the exception and that I mostly shun Sci-Fi. To these friends, I say just because you have a post-it-thin imagination doesn't mean the rest of us do. Who can resist imagining the future? Or, I should say, The Future.

The future! Awesome! I love it. I love it all. I love the robot-ruled futures, the alien-invaded futures, the once-upon-a-time futures, the clone-riddled futures, the genetically enhanced futures, the Dystopian depression futures, the Utopian Star Trek futures and any other future you can imagine in the mix. I cannot get enough of it all.

Correction: I can't get enough of it all in theory. The Dystopian futures get a little depressing. Sometimes I feel like standing up in the theater and yelling, "Give me a future without human enslavement just this once!" But I can't get enough of the cynicism, so my rants quickly melt to fascination and I watch, read, and find more. (As I write this, I'm eying my phone down. It's a little TOO smart, if you know what I mean.)

But again, that is why I love Star Trek so much because Star Trek hopes. It hopes that we can overcome the petty aspects of our natures and love unequivocally. It hopes that our technological developments expand and make our lives better. It hopes that we can find in ourselves the thirst for excellence. It hopes that we can perfect democracy and be an example to whatever cultures we encounter, be they hostile or benign. It hopes it can make us hope--and they have succeeded with me.

And don't bother posting that I'm a nerd, geek, or awesome. I already know.

To infinity . . . and beyond!