THE FEDERATION FORMULA | ABOUT PICARD | MY DISCOVERY | STARSHIP SMACKDOWN ABOUT THE COVER ARTIST: UFP member, teacher and digital artist Kevin Hopkins (pictured on next page in red plaid) has had designs on the Challenger space shuttle and has worked for Warner Brothers on such titles as The Matrix, The first fourHarry Potter films, Batman Begins, and many more. OUR 45TH YEAR | ISSUE 4 | MARCH / APRIL 2020 CAPTAIN Kim Smith EDITOR/DESIGNER David Matteson We aim to highlight the interests FIRST OFFICER Annette Sexton-Ruiz UFP CONTACT Dave Williams of our diverse membership. REC OFFICER Walt Bartlow EMAIL [email protected] Make suggestions or contribute to COMM OFFICER Kevin McAlonan WEBSITE www.u-f-p.org Subspace Chatter. Email us today! THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PHOENIX I N THIS ISSUE The United Federation of Phoenix (UFP) is the Southwest’s oldest Star 03 Captain’s Log by Dr. Kimberly Smith Trek and science fiction fan organization, continuously operating since 04 The Federation Formula by G.D. Hurn 1975. The club meets bi-weekly at various locations around the Phoenix 06 Starship Smackdown by David Stipes metropolitan area. As a group we have picnics, go hiking, watch movies, 08 About Picard by Dr. Dave Williams play games, take trips, and are active in the volunteer community. 09 My Discovery by Lisa Fischer You are about to read “Subspace Chatter,” our official publication, which highlights science fiction and fandom events, spotlights our members, 10 Incoming Transmissions and provides a resource for all things UFP. If you are in the area and 11 Official UFP Briefing would like to attend one of our meetings, email us at [email protected] 11 Winter / Spring UFP Calendar 2 | SubSpace chatter captain'S log HIkes and HuzzaH BY KIM SMITH, UFP CLUB CAPTAIN Captain’s Log, stardate 202003.1. mermaids, jugglers, fire eaters, In the past few weeks the UFP has and plenty of mead. There were enjoyed hiking North Mountain, bagpipes and kilts, Catholic nuns drinking Château Picard while singing, and costumes a plenty! watching Star Trek: Picard, and We had a really fun day. Coming up more! Five UFP members went ten people show up to watch two soon we will enjoy another hike at hiking North Mountain along with a episodes of Picard and try the two Lookout Mountain, some gaming four legged fur friend. Afterwards Star Trek wines. Most agreed the and pot lucking, then calendar lunch, and then most went to new series has a strong beginning planning and a bat walk at dusk. Walt’s home where a few more and can’t wait for more episodes to I hope you can join us soon! members joined up for gaming. come. Finally, seven UFP members We played a new Star Trek game went on an away mission to the called Five Year Mission which is a Arizona Renaissance Festival (one cooperative game that is really fun. dressed the part) while the rest of At the next meeting we had over us just tried to fit in. There were Dr. Kimberly Smith - UFP Captain. SubSpace chatter | 3 WH ICH REAL-WORLD ORGANIZATIONS INSPIRED GENE RODDENBERRY’S FICTIONAL UFP? By G.D. Hurn, UFP Member, M.S. in Military History. By reading these two mission statements alone, one can surmise that the UFP is more analogous here are arguments in fandom as to whether to the UN than any other real-world government T The United Federation of Planets (abbreviated organization. However, while they sound similar, as UFP and commonly referred to as the they are not identical. So let’s see how this Federation) is modeled after the real-world UN or statement would read if combined with that of NATO, or something completely different. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). In the real world, the United Nations (abbreviated as the UN) is “an international union of nations that agree to exist autonomously and promote the principles of liberty, human rights, justice, sovereignty, and equality, and to share their culture in peaceful coexistence.” “The Parties (of NATO) undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that peace and security are not endangered, and to refrain in their relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the [principals] of the United Nations.” Now we’re getting somewhere. I’ve always believed the UFP was akin to the UN, but with its own In the fictional world of Star Trek, The Federation military force. Now the UN does have a military, but is “an interstellar union of planetary governments this military is made up of neutral nations that do that agree to exist semi-autonomously under a not have a vested interest in the outcome of certain single central government based on the principles conflicts or resolutions of wars between member and of universal liberty, rights, and equality, and to non-member states. The UN military is very limited share their knowledge and resources in peaceful in so far as to be able to perform peacekeeping cooperation, scientific development, space missions and nothing else. The UN does not have exploration, and mutual defense.” any means of power projection across the world. If 4 | SubSpace chatter the UN needs to “knock some heads,” they usually call the United States for we have demonstrated considerable skill in “knocking heads.” When Gene Roddenberry pitched the idea of Star Trek to the executives of CBS television in 1965, what was happening in the world? The Cold War, Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement, etc. When NATO was created, the 800-pound gorilla Most if not all the writers and producers of the in the room was the United States. When the UFP program served in the Second World War, and was formed, Starfleet was the principal military witnessed the growing tensions between the US arm of the fledgling Federation, but only so strong and the USSR. And while Roddenberry envisioned because of the combined might of the Earth, a future where “the barriers that divide society Andorian, Tellarite, and Vulcan space fleets. melted away in favor of a truly united peoples that look to the future with hope, not fear,” he did so acknowledging that there was a real threat of intractable foes in the universe. Those foes would be given the names of the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire, which have been viewed by fandom as analogous to the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China. Over time, Starfleet would evolve to become the (almost) perfect reflection of the United Federation of Planets: an amalgamation of various races across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, serving in a fleet that does not consider it to be purely military but quasi military in nature whose principal mission is the “peaceful exploration of space and mutual defense.” Only in war, when all avenues of diplomacy and peaceful efforts have been exhausted, does the UFP, only after the deepest of thought and consideration, and with great reluctance, unleash Starfleet. In my humble opinion, The UFP is a futuristic _____________________________________________________ blend of NATO and the UN, and yet remains a unique creation unto itself. The military arm of the About the Author: G. D. Hurn is a U.S. Coast UFP is obviously Starfleet. But Starfleet is much Guard veteran with a M.S. in Military History - Cold more than a deterrent force. Starfleet embodies War, and a United Federation of Phoenix member the very words of the UFP charter: “…in peaceful since 1981. He contributes to Subspace Chatter cooperation, scientific development, space with his insightful articles that juxtapose science exploration, and mutual defense.” fiction with real-world military history and strategy. SubSpace chatter | 5 estroying spaceships was one of the more Dinteresting challenges on the Star Trek TV shows. The default approach was to superimpose some gasoline fireballs over the spaceship miniature and then dissolve the model out and call it a day. Early on after I arrived at Star Trek I did experiment with what were supposed to be thermonuclear explosions with bright flashes and shock waves. It was effective in the scenes but a bit unsatisfying. CREATING When the story allowed I would try to make the shot a bit more fun with what I called “visual A DRAMATIC shorthand.” I was looking for what quickly communicated visually that a starship was in trouble. As I originally pondered this I wondered what was a real-world visual correlate to spaceships being destroyed. To me, the best comparison was a huge military ship in combat. I most often thought of the Bismarck sinking in 1941. After a massive battle, the Bismarck rolled STARSHIP over onto its side and sank. This is an example of how an artist’s life experiences can affect their work. My awareness of the Bismarck capsizing is a direct result of building a model for a middle school history class. I proudly showed my model of the Bismarck to my instructor. Being a typical young teenager I had not SMACK done my research and had constructed the model sinking by the bow like the Titanic. My instructor complimented my model and then informed me that the Bismarck actually sank by rolling over or capsizing. My embarrassment etched the experience into my memory for me to draw upon many years later for Star Trek. NDBY VISUAL OWFX ARTIST AND UFP MEMBER DAVID STIPES Previously I wrote about the glass tabletop approach to spaceship shots on Star Trek where the ships were filmed predominantly level for maximum readability and recognition.