A unified Discovery-Picard theory

At this point (post Picard episode 7, "Nepenthe"), I find the theory in this article (click and read; I’ll wait) to be pretty convincing: Discovery and Picard are part of a unified canon dealing with Control, a malevolent AI that evolves from a Section 31 system. Now that we’ve seen the vision Commodore Oh shares with Jurati in a mind-meld, which resembles Spock’s apocalyptic visions, that’s not very farfetched. But I think the theory as presented in this piece might be wrong about at least one thing.

In considering how the Romulans of the past might have developed the mythology of a future AI apocalypse, the author theorizes that it has something to do with the supernova that destroys the Romulan homeworld and, in the first Abrams movie, throws Spock and Nero into the past. But if we're looking to explain information being transmitted through time, why look any further than the method established in Discovery: the Red Angel? We know that Michael Burnham acts as the Red Angel, jumping through time to guide Discovery and make sure events develop in a way that will ultimately defeat Control.

In Discovery, Control is after data from an ancient sphere that is now stored in the ship's computer -- data Control will somehow use to become fully sentient, or all-powerful, or something. At the end of S2, Discovery jumps into the distant future in order to keep that data from Control. But there’s a gaping logic hole in that resolution that's been bothering me ever since S2 ended: Control is immortal and doesn’t care how much time passes. (I keep thinking of Marvin waiting a billion years at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe). Control will eventually catch up to Discovery and go after the sphere data again. How does jumping to the future solve the problem? All they’ve really done is buy some time.

But for what?

My theory is that Picard is beginning to answer that question. Maybe the Red Angel spreads a vision through time of a future synthpocalypse in the hope that, with multiple civilizations working on the problem over millennia, a solution might evolve organically, a way of defeating Control that Discovery’s crew couldn’t hope to devise and achieve in the limited time available to them. The universe is a quantum computer, and the Red Angel feeds it a problem that it works on in the background for millennia.

How better to defeat an AI than with another AI? Maybe there’s something about the work AI developers have been doing for centuries – something in the work of the Daystroms, Soongs, and Maddoxes, which they may not even have been consciously aware of – that addresses the problem of Control. Maybe the impulse to create an AI with empathy for sentient organic life, an AI that actually emulates sentient organic life, is sentient organic life's inevitable response to the threat of an AI bent on its total annihilation. That kind of AI would serve as our defender. What if Ramdha’s reaction to Soji, calling her the Destroyer, isn’t referring to the destruction of the Romulans, but to the destruction of Control? If Control created the Borg (which Discovery hints at with the subtlety of a falling anvil), that might very well be what Ramdha, an ex-Borg, means.

So that’s my theory of the day: Soji is the anti-Control, or at least, a step toward the development of one. With my track record, though, I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

Such Sweet Reset?

Ten things about Such Sweet Sorrow. Spoilers ahead.

1. If this is a setup to fling Discovery into the future long-term (after getting Spock off the ship -- maybe he’s on that unexploded photon torpedo that’s going to hit the Enterprise?), will this be some kind of time-travel reset button that wipes Discovery out of the past, fixing all continuity problems regarding the spore drive, knowledge of the mirror universe, and Michael herself? OK, I think I like this. Also I think I've had enough of falling in love with single-season characters, and stranding Discovery in the future could be a way to stop doing that. (Oh, who'm I kidding?)

2. Why does bringing the sphere knowledge into the future make it safe from Control? Presumably an AI that can inhabit anything/anyone is immortal. Can’t it just wait until it catches up with Discovery in the future?

3. It feels like Disco does a hurry-up-and-wait thing a lot, where there’s a giant danger -- no time to lose, Leland is right behind us! -- but somehow plenty of time for touching character scenes.

4. I love that eyes-up thing they did. Twice.

5. The Michael/Sarek/Amanda scene: I cried. I’m not ashamed.

6. If this is it for Ash/Michael, they're going out with a whimper, not a bang. That spark hasn't been burning very bright all season.

7. Where did the Enterprise come from, anyway? And how did it get there with this giant Section 31 fleet in the way?

8. If you need to distract from a dodgy plot framework on which you've hung some gloriously shmaltzy character scenes, you could do a lot worse than have Sonequa Martin-Green and Anson Mount doing the distracting.

9. I really, really need more Number One. And more Pike. Basically, I need a whole series on the pre-Kirk Enterprise.

10. I’m not getting that ENT tie-in I’ve been dreaming of, am I?

ADDING: Bonus 11. On second thought, Discovery isn't staying in the future. Or at least, its crew isn't. I can believe that one person -- Spock -- somehow gets off the train just as it's pulling out of the station, or gets returned through the wormhole, or whatever. But this can't possibly be the end for Hugh and Paul...can it? That it's Michael and Ash's last goodbye I can believe. That relationship had "ill-fated" stamped all over it right from the start. But Hugh and Paul? Not bloody likely. While their relationship is peripheral to the main story, it's central to Disco's vision of IDIC. I can't believe they'd just let it fizzle. Unless Discovery's trip to Tomorrowland is not permanent, but not brief, either -- like, a season or two? The writers wouldn't make us wait that long for a Hugh/Paul reconciliation...would they?

Vaulting Ambition, Vanishing Optimism

Before I get into the Lorca stuff: I keep meaning to write something long and profound about how Disco has lulled us into identifying with the Federation and its values of justice and equality, and then pulled a gigantic switcharoo, forcing us to wonder if we are in fact more Terran than Federation, which also forces us to wonder whether our enemy is more Prime Universe Klingon or Mirror Universe rebels. Insert all the appropriate parallels (America/Western democracy/multiculturalism or imperialism/Trumpism/fascism? Radical Islamic fundamentalism/brutal warmongers/xenophobes or spiritually motivated anti-colonial freedom fighters?) So I'll just leave that there and move on.

Me being Team Lorca ‘n all, there’s a lot about his story that looks like it’s not going my way, unless there’s a further big reveal about how he’s not as bad as all that (and I do hold out some hope on that score, given that the bad report comes from Emperor Evil herself. Though that whole Ava thing didn’t sound good at all...sigh...).  As I said elsewhere:

I hate it when they pull the “We made you love this character just to freak you out when we reveal he’s evil” trick. I mean yes, obviously there were lots of warnings. But I figured there were too many for the truth to be quite so simple. Of course, at this point we only have Mirror Georgiou’s word for it, and she’s hardly an entirely reliable reporter. (This is suddenly and weirdly taking on a Woody Allen/Mia Farrow vibe, a situation I try never to think about because everyone is so fucked up.) Further twists are possible, and I’m hoping for one that shades Lorca with more complex motives. But it seems more likely that, if we’re to get anything positive about Lorca at this point, it’ll be the rescue of Prime Universe Lorca, which I’m pretty meh about. I’m feeling…deflated.

But at least there's this: I called the MU Lorca/Burnham connection -- specifically, that he, not Sarek, was her father figure in the MU -- way back in October, after Lethe (which was when the evidence for MU Lorca became too compelling to dismiss -- especially when he chose not to rescue Cornwell). That one was all mine. I didn’t see it anywhere else. So yay me. Here’s what I said then:

“And then I saw this interview in which Jason Isaacs says: 

‘The relationships get richer and deeper, and there are surprises, there are turns, there are secret agendas and reveals, and that’s my roundabout way of saying, I can’t tell you about my relationship with Michael, other than she seems to mean quite a lot to me, maybe more than is apparent when we first come across her.’ 

“So…. 

“We know that Lorca has gone to great lengths to waylay Burnham, bring her to Discovery, and get her on his crew. The only explanation for this so far has been that he sees her as potentially useful. But if Lorca is from the mirror universe, then it would make a whole lot of sense that he already knows Burnham, and she is already very important to him. Or at least, mirror Burnham is. That’s why he found her and brought her to Discovery, and that’s why he indulged her desire to find Sarek. We know from Enterprise that, in the mirror universe, humans have subjugated Vulcans, so maybe there, it’s not Sarek who is her adoptive father – it’s Lorca, and he would do anything for her. If he plans on staying here, maybe he hopes he can cultivate Burnham as an ally – one to whom he might eventually reveal his true history, even?”

Given the nature of the relationship we’ve seen between Lorca and Burnham up until now, I wonder if MU Georgiou’s claim about him “grooming” Michael and having a sexual relationship with her is overstated, the product of Georgiou’s jealousy? Maybe it was really paternal? Of course, this could be me clutching at straws, because the whole hero-turns-out-to-be-secret-villain thing is a bulletproof squick of mine, especially if you throw sexual predator into the mix, and I will not concede this point until there are no more outs.

That said, I’m calling this now: Discovery is returning with Prime Lorca and some or all of the crew of the Buran.

Other miscellaneous things:

• I always thought it was "vaunting ambition," not "vaulting ambition." Apparently both are used, but the quote from Macbeth is "vaulting." 
• "Here, have my ganglia" is the new "REDRUM."
• So we know that Tyler is physically Voq transformed, but now his mind is all Tyler -- so he's going to have to live the rest of his life in a body that isn't his? That's disturbing.
• I can't imagine Culber isn't returning to the land of the living. Kudos to those who caught the name of MU Stamets' ship, Charon, the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron. I didn't.

Lorca, Lorca, in the booth, what you up to? Tell the truth.

After "Despite Yourself" (SPOILERS AHEAD), it's more obvious than ever that Lorca has brought Discovery to the mirror universe intentionally, and that he has an agenda there. We learn that mirror-Lorca (who may or may not be the Lorca we've been watching all along) has been on the run after mounting a coup against the mysterious emperor (who people seem to feel might be Philippa Georgiou, and I guess that makes a certain amount of sense). Obviously, he's known all along that he needs Burnham to accomplish whatever he's trying to accomplish, because he's gone out of his way to get her on his ship and make sure she doesn't get herself killed.  He needs something that only Burnham can get, that much is clear. Presumably, he knows that mirror Burnham is dead, so he has to bring this Michael back with him. (ETA: Come to think of it, there's no reason to assume this, only that he knows mirror Burnham wouldn't get him what he wants, but this one will.) What exactly he needs from her, I don't know.

And what is he trying to accomplish, exactly? Could he be an agent of the anti-Terran rebels planning to use Discovery to overthrow the empire? Was that the nature of mirror Lorca's coup, and he's out to finish the job? If so, he won't succeed, because we know the empire will still be there when Kirk & co. arrive a decade or so later. Or does he simply want to seize power for himself? Maybe, but I don't think so (I'll get to my reasons in a minute).

I think it's far more likely that he has a smaller, more specific agenda, and, as I've been saying for ages, it has to do with the Buran. As I pointed out previously, when Burnham brings up the mirror-Buran, Lorca jumps at the chance to ask if the crew is alive, and he seems genuinely not to know. Whether the Lorca we've been watching originated in the mirror universe or ours, it seems clear that whatever happened to the Buran is the driving force behind everything he does. It's the only thing we know about him, really.

From "Choose Your Pain," he says of the Buran crew's fate: "Degradation. Torture. Slow, public death. It's the Klingon way to spread terror. Not my crew. Not on my watch." (Was he really talking about the Klingons there? Or the Terran Empire? Noteworthy similarity.)  And there's this: "Tyler: Your eyes. That happened when you destroyed the Buran, didn't it? Lorca: We choose our own pain. Mine helps me remember." There's a sincerity and a depth to this part of Lorca's story that is missing from every other aspect of him. I feel it has to be the key.

Whether this is a rescue mission and the crew is not actually dead (my preferred theory), or this is simply an attempt to avenge them, or he's after something else related to his crew's fate, I feel sure this is about the Buran. That's why I don't think we're watching mirror-Lorca just making a power grab. Everything about this guy's motives feels personal; his loyalty to his crew feels utterly sincere. I have drunk that Kool Aid. I'm buying it. It's why, no matter how devious he is and how much he manipulates events, you can't quite despise him. Leastwise, I can't. I just can't shake the feeling that, whatever it is he wants, it's not for himself. And if I prove to be wrong -- well, boy howdy, will I be disappointed.

The burning question is, which Lorca is this? Have we been watching mirror Lorca all along, and if so, will Discovery return to its own universe with him, with his doppleganger, or with no Lorca at all?

I just can't shake the feeling that this is not mirror Lorca. I know there are lots of sign pointing to yes, but I have a gut feeling that it's intentional misdirection. As Spock said in "Mirror Mirror": "It was far easier for you as civilized men to behave like barbarians, than it was for them as barbarians to behave like civilized men." Could a mirror-universe barbarian pull this off in command of the most important ship of the fleet through an entire war? Doesn't seem likely. And there's something else. If there's one thing we learn in "Despite Yourself," it's that Terrans don't apologize. But what's the first thing Lorca says when startled awake by Cornwell in "Lethe?" "I'm sorry. I'm not used to having anyone in my bed." Maybe mirror Lorca is so good at playing the part that, even in an unguarded moment, he thinks to apologize, but again, doesn't seem likely. So much about Lorca just doesn't fit the Terran mold, especially if I'm right about the authenticity of his feelings about the Buran. Because another thing we know with certainty about mirror Terrans, other than that they don't apologize, is that they are treacherous, self-serving back-stabbers, and they don't make captain by being fiercely loyal and self-sacrificing. They're not the types to voluntarily step into an agony booth so that others may live. So either this Lorca is a freakishly deviant mirror-universe native -- or he isn't, and there's some other explanation for the scars, the deceit, and Cornwell's conviction that he's not himself.

One last point. Tyler and Lorca's stories of subterfuge are set up in parallel. One of them is such a nice, sensitive guy that he earns Michael Burnham's affection. The other is such a sneaky bastard that he alienates Kat Cornwell's. I'm guessing that, by the end, we'll be meant to see some irony there.

Welcome to my crystal ball

Five more episodes in the season, and now we have titles. Carefully considered predictions (i.e. wild guesses) we can all laugh about later:

10. Despite Yourself  Implies someone meets their double. We're in the mirror universe and we encounter alt-Stamets, who peeked out of the mirror so creepily at the end of "Choose Your Pain." Possibly other doppelgangers as well?  We learn that Lorca intentionally brought the Discovery there; tension is ratcheted up as the story feeds mistrust of Lorca. (I'm betting that, while this is the mirror universe and the crew does encounter some of the locals, the contact is very limited,  in order to preserve the TOS premise that Kirk et al arrive in the mirror universe with no knowledge of the place.)

11. The Wolf Inside  Resolution of the Voq/Tyler story line. I'm betting that Tyler is really human, not a surgically altered Voq, but Voq's mind has been implanted in him (resulting in the death of the real Voq, who has in fact sacrificed everything). Something activates the Voq inside; Voq/Tyler team up with L'Rell in an effort to steal the Discovery; they fail, and inner Voq is vanquished, leaving Tyler as himself again.

12. Vaulting Ambition  A Tilly episode, as the concept of ambition seems most closely associated with her and her very specific career goals. No idea what it's about, but hoping she saves the day and receives the recognition she deserves.

13. What's Past Is Prologue  This is where my pet theory about Lorca's motives being all about rescuing the crew of the Buran, trapped in the mirror universe, plays out. The past to which the title refers is the supposed destruction of the Buran at Lorca's own hand, which could be prologue to the destruction of the Discovery. But in fact, the past is Lorca never giving up on his crew, which is prologue to the successful rescue of both the Buran's crew and Discovery itself, which safely returns to its own universe.

14. The War Without, The War Within  The resolution of the war without (with the Klingons) and the war within (the conflicts on Discovery). Along the way, Burnham (yet again) renders a vital service at great personal risk and is pardoned.

15. Will You Take My Hand?  Couldn't begin to guess at the story, but it ends with a peacetime Discovery (the spore drive having been abandoned and its existence buried in never-to-be-opened top secret files, lest it open a gateway to dangerous universes), a unified crew, Burnham restored to her Starfleet rank, and a new mission of discovery.

The pointing and laughing begins January 7,  2018. I'll go first.

Interesting choice of words

I'm still nursing the theory that, when Disco returns, we're going to learn that the reason Captain Lorca has brought the Discovery to an alternate universe is that he's on a mission to rescue the crew of his previous ship, the Buran, which was somehow trapped there. So I was interested to note that, in this promo video, Jason Isaacs says, "We find out that he lost his entire crew, and I am sure in his mind he could have made different decisions to save them." Lorca lost his entire crew -- not that he saw them die. Hmm....

Going back to "Choose Your Pain," his exact words regarding the Buran are, "I didn't let my crew die. I blew them up." I could be dead wrong (pun intended), but both Lorca and Isaacs seem to be choosing their words carefully and avoiding saying that the Buran's crew is dead.