The Starfleet Academy Experience

I have a confession and an apology to make, all.

For years, I turned up my nose at "Star Trek", believing myself too good for something so "nerdy", even as I regularly nerded out over the Viking age and  the American Revolution. (Hypocritical, I know.)

I didn't feel, at the time, like I was being judgmental. I could respect what a historically diverse show it was without watching it, and I never once looked down on Sarah for being a fan of the show. I just didn't think it was for me. After all, many years ago another good friend had tried for years to get me to watch "Star Wars", and when I finally sat down and did it, I was bored and underwhelmed. And "Star Trek", as a TV series, was much longer - I wasn't about to sit through hours of being bored and underwhelmed.

Turns out I was being unfairly judgmental and I am sorry. Because I finally sat down and started watching "Star Trek: The Original Series" and I am completely and utterly in love with it. Obsessed, even! How could I have let myself miss out on this joy for so many years? And why, because I was afraid it was too nerdy for me? How blind I was!

Even though it came into my life later than it should have, I'm grateful for it now. My confession to you all? I was an asshole, I am sorry for it, and I am now, one week later, a thoroughly devoted Trekkie.

Live long and prosper, bitches

Go ahead and roast me for it. I deserve it for what a jerk I was about it.

But the point is I love it now. I am learning (slower than most adults) to like the things I like without caring so much about what other people might think of me for it.

And this past Sunday, to thank Sarah for introducing me to it, I decided to treat her to a certain Trek-themed museum exhibit before it closes next month. We journeyed back into New Jersey to head to the Liberty Science Centre's Starfleet Academy Experience. Basically this exhibit, in between props and costumes from all the Star Trek series, uses interactive tests and games (including the infamous Kobayashi Maru test) and at the end of it all, you're placed into a different section of Starfleet. Kinda like a sci-fi version of being sorted into your Hogwarts house.


The hardest part of the whole experience was not telling Sarah about it beforehand. I was adamant that I wanted it to be a surprise when she walked into the museum, and the only information I allowed myself to give her was "just trust me".

It completely paid off when we were able to "beam up" into the 4th floor of the museum by way of the elevator lmao and begin our journey. It's a well designed exhibit, made to appeal to both long-time Trek fans like Sarah and new fans like myself. I can't speak for Sarah, but as for me, I forgot we were in New Jersey instead of 23rd century San Francisco (where Starfleet Academy apparently is in the series)

The exhibit is divided by categories - Navigation (domain of Chekhov and Sulu), Medical (domain of Dr. McCoy), Engineering (domain of Scotty), Communications (domain of my beloved Uhura), Science (domain of my favourite character Spock), Tactical, and, of course, Command (domain of Captain James T. Kirk himself).

Each exhibit has an interactive game and an aptitude test. For example, medical had a simulated medical exam on a dummy of a Klingon. Navigation had you plot a course through a dangerous part of the galaxy and try to minimalise ship damage. Tactical had a phaser target exercise.

Command had, of course, the Kobayashi Maru test, which I was phenomenally bad at. (I didn't manage to even save 100 people...) Sarah kept trying it over and over, determined not to fail. We still aren't sure if there was a way to pass, or if the exhibit wanted to make it impossible so that only Captain Kirk will have ever passed the test.

So at the end of it all, how did I do in my time at Starfleet Academy? Well, first of all, I wish my real college experience had been that fun and flashy. (Though my real college experience did involve significantly more corpses, so I guess that's kinda fun.)

(Every now and then, it occurs to me that my college experience wasn't exactly normal.)

Second of all, I present my records from the Academy below - with my name awkwardly censored out in light blue:

(Click to make them bigger if you need to)

I was genuinely surprised to have gotten placed in medical (even though it is the field I currently work in irl), but it makes sense. And at least it means that I get to wear blue like Spock. Also, laughing at what a close second communications ended up being - even in the 23rd century I'm such a fucking anthropologist!

As for Sarah, her determination must have paid off, because do you know where she got placed?

Command! As in Sarah would be a Starfleet Captain for the Federation!

And I would follow her to the end of the galaxy and beyond

Was the whole experience ridiculous and fun? Yes. Absolutely yes. And I don't even care if anyone thinks I'm uncool for it.

Because "Star Trek" is a lot of fun. It's a very special show. It's optimistic in a way that I feel like I really need right now, especially in the modern era's tense political climate. I need to laugh at 60s special effects, then be emotionally punched in the gut by Mr. Spock trying to push down his feelings with varying degrees of success, and then I need to see a future where humans have finally worked past all their weird racial hang-ups and learned to work together and change the universe for the better - in a peaceful way, a way that takes care of all of its citizens and not just the rich warmongers.

"Trek" can be cheesy, yes. (It was the 1960s, of course it's gonna have cheesy moments.) But more than that, I think it's a vision of the future that really resonates with me.

And I'm not at all ashamed of that.

The Liberty Science Centre will be hosting this exhibit until the last weekend in May, and if you too are a "Star Trek" fan in the area, I encourage you to check it out. Let me know where Starfleet academy places you if you do!

Live long and prosper, my friends.
-Nym