DS9 5x22 Children of Time

[hansioux]

This is one of my favourite episodes.

I recently rewatched the episode and had some weird thoughts.

1. Is it really more ethical to deliberately crash the ship? Just because they haven’t went back to DS9 do that mean the time line for that doesn’t exist? Is it right to deliberately abandon their original son, wife, family just because there’s another one that wouldn’t exist if they leave?

If they don’t return, Sisko wouldn’t be there to beg the prophets to destroy the Dominion fleet, and Alpha Quadrant would have been lost. Causing far more lives than just 8,000. Had they know that, how which decision would be more moral/ethical?

2. Now that they know about the crash and the pairings that would come of the original crash, would it even be the same time line? Wouldn’t these extra knowledge change the dynamics of social interaction, and resulting in completely different outcomes, wiping out the time line they were trying to save anyway? Making the sacrifice moot?

3. At some point the crew were talking about leaving supplies for the colony before they deliberately crash the Defiant to 200 years in the past. Doesn’t that change the time line? And wouldn’t the crew need those supplies as well when they try to start their colony?

4. Was it ethical to let Kira die, knowing there is a way to save her life had they just not deliberately crash the Defiant?

5. With all those transporter accidents, wouldn’t they modify the transporter and just duplicate the entire crew, have that crew travel back to the past, while the original crew wait for help to arrive from DS9? The Duplicate crew can even first fly past the barrier or send a probe out of the barrier to send distress signals to DS9, then return to fly through the temporal anomaly. Yes, that would mean the loss of the Defiant, but for the original crash, they lost the Defiant and the crew.

6. If Yedrin Dax and Jadzia Dax hooked up, would that be incest? masturbation? or…

[Uchiha_Daisuke]

This is one of my favourite episodes.

I recently rewatched the episode and had some weird thoughts.

1. Is it really more ethical to deliberately crash the ship? Just because they haven’t went back to DS9 do that mean the time line for that doesn’t exist? Is it right to deliberately abandon their original son, wife, family just because there’s another one that wouldn’t exist if they leave?

If they don’t return, Sisko wouldn’t be there to beg the prophets to destroy the Dominion fleet, and Alpha Quadrant would have been lost. Causing far more lives than just 8,000. Had they know that, how which decision would be more moral/ethical?

Yes, the Just decision is to go back to the station. It would be more selfless and empathetic to stay but in the end it was an accident.

2. Now that they know about the crash and the pairings that would come of the original crash, would it even be the same time line? Wouldn’t these extra knowledge change the dynamics of social interaction, and resulting in completely different outcomes, wiping out the time line they were trying to save anyway? Making the sacrifice moot?

The fact that they meet at all means they are in a different timeline (whatever that really means in this story). I’m sure things would be different if they had made it back again. Perhaps +/- a few hundered people.

3. At some point the crew were talking about leaving supplies for the colony before they deliberately crash the Defiant to 200 years in the past. Doesn’t that change the time line? And wouldn’t the crew need those supplies as well when they try to start their colony?

Interesting point. Worf was surveying the settlement for needed supplies because at the time they believed they were going back to the station and could afford to go without them. They probably didn’t realize that if the ship had been duplicated without those supplies, they wouldn’t have them to build the settlement and they would still be gone in the present.

4. Was it ethical to let Kira die, knowing there is a way to save her life had they just not deliberately crash the Defiant?

Same as the first question. It would be Just if she lives and a sacrifice if she stays. I wouldn’t call either morally wrong, suicide would be, but I don’t believe that’s the case here.

5. With all those transporter accidents, wouldn’t they modify the transporter and just duplicate the entire crew, have that crew travel back to the past, while the original crew wait for help to arrive from DS9? The Duplicate crew can even first fly past the barrier or send a probe out of the barrier to send distress signals to DS9, then return to fly through the temporal anomaly. Yes, that would mean the loss of the Defiant, but for the original crash, they lost the Defiant and the crew.

That would be even crazier then the idea that they would encounter the settlement before they went back to build it. The scenario was crafted in a certain way to serve the story. Both the logic of it or what could have been done about it are unimportant to what makes this a great episode. I think you ethics questions are exacTly what they want us to ask and at the same time they can forward the Odo/Kira relationship and strengthen the Worf/Dax.

6. If Yedrin Dax and Jadzia Dax hooked up, would that be incest? masturbation? or…

Since the Dax host has to be Trill then I think we can deduce it would be both. Since they could only exist together in this crazy scenario and we see their interactions through it, I think it’s safe to say it never happened.

[hansioux]

The fact that they meet at all means they are in a different timeline (whatever that really means in this story). I’m sure things would be different if they had made it back again. Perhaps +/- a few hundered people.

if a star fleet personnel becomes stranded in the past, and tries to survive/ integrate in the past society, would he/she already be violating the temporal prime directive?

so to avoid violating the temporal prime directive, does he/she needs to commit suicide when they realized the only way to continue to wait for rescue is to integrate in the past?

Does that apply to a world with no other sentient beings on it? Even though they didn’t change the time line at the time, if they were discovered by the Dominion before the wormhole was discovered, that would also change the time line. Perhaps even lead to the Dominion discovering the wormhole first the second time around.

so such a stranded crew violate temporal prime directive by allowing themselves to be stranded and survived?

[Uchiha_Daisuke]

if a star fleet personnel becomes stranded in the past, and tries to survive/ integrate in the past society, would he/she already be violating the temporal prime directive?

so to avoid violating the temporal prime directive, does he/she needs to commit suicide when they realized the only way to continue to wait for rescue is to integrate in the past?

Does that apply to a world with no other sentient beings on it? Even though they didn’t change the time line at the time, if they were discovered by the Dominion before the wormhole was discovered, that would also change the time line. Perhaps even lead to the Dominion discovering the wormhole first the second time around.

so such a stranded crew violate temporal prime directive by allowing themselves to be stranded and survived?

It’s hard to make a definite statement because of all the different styles and theories of Time Travel. Star Trek doesn’t even stay consistent with the way they handle it.

I would say that if there was no way back, unless they knew something horrible would happen due to their presence, their first and duty would be to survive. A Star Fleet crew would have a relatively simple time surviving and blending in. I can’t see any type of sacrificing going on unless it was the absolute last resort and for a cause they thought was worthy.