September 8
marked the fiftieth anniversary of the first episode of Star Trek on network television. I appreciate BBC America’s
marathon of the first two seasons of what we now call TOS, the Original Series.
We call it TOS to distinguish it from all its offspring: the
Next Generation (TNG), Deep Space
Nine (DS9), Voyager, and the
hopeful, but failed, attempt at a prequel, Enterprise.
(Star Trek before Kirk and Spock and Shatner and Nimoy is just nonsense.)
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| My first and only Vulcan and my first captain. |
Few stories
have been part of me for as long as this collection. The Star Trek universe
shares top billing with the Wizard of Oz
and all its sequels, which I read as a child before 1966, and Lord of the Rings, which I first read as a
young adult in college.
I
remembered as I went to bed late Thursday night (after coming home from Back to
School Night and watching on Netflix a Season 7 episode of DS9) that I had once written a Star Trek prayer. Now where did I put that thing? I sure wasn't looking that late Thursday night.
I found it on this newest laptop, which means it was transferred from computer to computer since 1998 when I created it.
I found it on this newest laptop, which means it was transferred from computer to computer since 1998 when I created it.
I offer it
as my contribution to the Jubilee. If you’re a Trekker, it will make sense to
you. If you’re not, it’s never too late to jump on the bandwagon, I mean, shuttle-craft. After all, the whole franchise has been relaunched with great
casting choices and obvious homage to TOS.
Trekker’s
Prayer
Dear God and Father,
Creator of all the lifeforms in this vast universe,
Grant me today the courage of a Klingon,
The wisdom of a Vulcan,
And the empathy of a Betazoid.
May I have the vision of a Bajoran vedic,
The cheerfulness of a Talaxian,
And the savvy of a Ferengi.
Creator of all the lifeforms in this vast universe,
Grant me today the courage of a Klingon,
The wisdom of a Vulcan,
And the empathy of a Betazoid.
May I have the vision of a Bajoran vedic,
The cheerfulness of a Talaxian,
And the savvy of a Ferengi.
As I navigate the uncharted
quadrants of my life’s voyage
May I be aware of Your presence
As a Trill is of her symbiant.
Grant me safe passage through the nebulae of change
And the wormholes of sorrow.
When I encounter those who with relentless evil
Seek to dominate or destroy
May I never believe that resistance is futile.
May I be aware of Your presence
As a Trill is of her symbiant.
Grant me safe passage through the nebulae of change
And the wormholes of sorrow.
When I encounter those who with relentless evil
Seek to dominate or destroy
May I never believe that resistance is futile.
May I live long and
prosper.
And on that stardate when You beam me up
Beyond the final frontier,
May I shout with glorious conviction,
“Today is a good day to die!”
And on that stardate when You beam me up
Beyond the final frontier,
May I shout with glorious conviction,
“Today is a good day to die!”
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| Beam me up beyond the final frontier. |
BONUS QUIZ!
Match the photos to the sentient lifeforms mentioned in the prayer.
You could win a strip of gold-pressed latinum!
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