Friday, May 25, 2018

The collaborative commons in Star Trek

The Star Trek: Voyager episode Unity, which I saw again last night, reminded me a lot of the collaborative commons. These ex-Borg have broken with the collective and regained their individuality. And yet they still retained a psychic link to each other and formed a co-operative. Chakotay, injured after being attacked and injured by invaders on their planet, is healed by linking with the co-operative. Afterward he rejoices in his ability to link directly with the others in the co-operative, even making love to one of its members. The episode, likely unintentionally, depicts the operating system of the collaborative commons: The ability to retain individual autonomy yet link with others in a greater cooperative effort that transcends the individual.

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