As long-time gamer and sci-fi fan, I’ve long thought about what entices me the most about this genre, and why I prefer some properties to others.
-Mike
My younger daughter, Julia has grown into quite a game master over the last few years. She makes me proud at the level of care she puts into crafting her stories, and she’ll often bounce new ideas off me to see what I think.
For my birthday this year, I asked for yet another supplement for Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition, “Behind the Claw”, the sourcebook for the Spinward Marches and Domain of Deneb. The area gaming store had a copy on hold for me, and Julia came with as we went to pick it up. Along the way, she asked me to explain Traveller, and what I liked about it. By the end of the drive she announced that she wanted to try to run a Traveller game for her friends, and asked if I would run one for her first, so she could see the game mechanics in action.
Anyway, we’re sitting in the car and I’m regaling her with all of the things I remember about Traveller, from the first time I saw it, to when I decided to buy it, then the progression of supplements I bought. Which ones I liked and why I liked them. And in the course of doing that, I was reminded of what I loved the most about the system, and as an extension, realized why I prefer certain brands of science fiction to others.
In a nutshell, my love of science fiction is tied to the ship the characters travel in. The starship NCC-1701 U.S.S. Enterprise and the Firefly class transport, Serenity are by far my favorites. They represent two very different types of ship, and yet my affection for each of them is strong, and by extension my desire to watch the adventures of those who call that ship home is enhanced by its presence – especially when each scene is prefaced by an establishing shot that reminds us that we’re on a space ship in the vast expanse of space, or orbiting an alien world. My heart always quickens a bit at a beautiful rendering of a ship in flight. And the sci-fi properties that go out of their way to grant us those fleeting moments of beauty are the ones I like the best.
Star Trek
To put this another way: love the ship, love the show. I mentioned the U.S.S. Enterprise above. To be fair, there are a lot of Enterprises, and to be equally fair, I don’t love them all the same. But I do have a sneaking suspicion of why I favor the one I do. In the original series of Star Trek, the ship was featured prominently. Not only was there nothing else like it on television, it was also a bit of a rarity in the Star Trek universe. Starships were few and far between – and special. More than once, the ship itself was presented as the object of the Captain’s ultimate desire. Sure, he had an eye for the ladies, but the ship, the Enterprise was his first love. A seed was planted, I think. Because more than a decade later, when Star Trek: The Motion Picture debuted with a revamped starship Enterprise (dubbed “the refit”) I was immediately smitten. And how could I not be? The lines of the updated model were beautiful. Sleek. The newer, slimmer nacelles perched atop back-swept pylons. The way the ship was lit, not by ambient light, but by shining spotlights at itself from various points on the hull. The scene where Scotty takes Kirk over to the Enterprise drydock, then proceeds to fly around her – up close, far away, revealing each new feature to anyone willing to notice. And then a short time later, as the ship is powered up for the first time, and begins its initial shakedown cruise. Jerry Goldsmith’s music swells, the visuals are stunning. She is a thing of beauty!
Even in the second theatrical outing, The Wrath of Khan, the camera lingers on the ship far longer than absolutely necessary, and I loved it. Later, as the Reliant’s phasers rip into her hull, I felt each blast deep in my chest. It was more than just a ship receiving damage. It was hurting her (and the people inside). Even the views of Reliant were beautiful in their own right. For me, the Star Trek universe was actually changed that day at the level of detail poured into each wound in Enterprise’s exquisitely aztec’d hull. Several years later in The Search for Spock, the opening shots of the still-damaged ship, limping home, only to be cast aside for a newer? better? ship? It was even worse when Kirk, Scotty and Chekov ordered Enterprise to self-destruct. I felt it deep in my soul. I still believe I stood up in the theatre and cried out in horror as the ship ripped herself apart.
Star Wars
Some of you are probably wondering about Star Wars, and where I land on the ships there. To be honest, with probably one single exception, I find the entire Star Wars galaxy of ships to be somewhat, Meh. How can that be, you ask? If I love ships, then I should love the heck out of Star Wars! The Star Wars galaxy is lousy with ships. They’re literally everywhere. And there-in lies the problem. The ships of Star Wars are so commonplace, that they don’t matter to anyone. They’re as common as the automobile is to us today. Ships are a means of transportation. Nothing more. Nothing special. We blow them up utterly, in clouds of sparks and flame. No residue. No survivors. No impact.
I mentioned there was one exception in Star Wars, and that exception is of course the Millennium Falcon. The Falcon matters to Han, Chewie and Lando. But in the universe of common ships, it’s important to Han the way an exceptional automobile is special to someone today. The Falcon is Han’s special street-rod. And for that reason alone, the ship matters. To the rest of the universe, the ship is a hunk of junk. Nobody covets the ship. Nobody wishes it was theirs. You can toss it on the sabacc table when you think you have a winning hand. Or not. It’s just a ship. Mostly.
Firefly
It’s one thing to love a ship of the line in Star Trek. But if I’m going to dismiss a tramp freighter in Star Wars, then how can I love a common, unarmed workhorse like the Serenity in Joss Whedon’s Firefly? The ships in Firefly seem pretty common, and the design of the ship is a little awkward, but you don’t have to watch the show for long to realize that Serenity is the tenth character in the show. She matters to Mal, Kaylee and Wash most of all. But it’s the way she matters. Watch Mal’s wistful expression as he looks at her from across the shipyard in the flashback of Out of Gas. He tells you right there what a ship means to him. Freedom. Of not being beholden to anyone or anything. To go where you will. To Kaylee, she is a living, breathing entity that the mechanic cares for. To Wash, she’s an extension of his arms – allowing him to soar on the wind … like … a leaf (*sniff* – too soon). Inara loves the ship, and the family it provides. Even River regards it as her home.
Wistful
I think we touched on something there. A commonality. An alignment of meaning that represents the distinction between some ships and others. At the end of almost every Star Trek movie, Kirk stares deep into the starfield and directs his helmsman to proceed … ‘out there‘. Whether it’s the first star to the right and straight on ’til morning, or simply ‘that-away‘, the impression is the same. The ship brings you to freedom. It takes you away from the mundane, and transports you to a new adventure. And the few ships I embrace, each embody that sentiment:
Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don’t care, I’m still free…
Full Circle
And that’s also why I love Traveller. For me Traveller has always been and will always be about a crew of adventurers on their ship, transported from where they were, to where they will be. I have spent many hours designing deck plans and the mechanics of ships in the Traveller universe. The ship is as much a character as the players. And that’s why when I run these games, the establishing shots of the ship – even if only vividly rendered in the imagination are vital to the story.
…You can’t take the sky from me.
Epilogue
This concept in captured in an episode of Adam Savage’s Tested, where he visited the restoration of the original filming model of the U.S.S. Enterprise at the Smithsonian. Watch this clip: (starting 18:55-20:25), and you might understand.