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So, what do we see now from the Star Trek franchise owners? Did this summer's Series Reboot mean a shutdown on all other timelines? From one perspective (the one that feels that Enterprise the series and Nemesis the movie sucked royally), that would probably be a good thing. From another, that would abandon some pretty awesome potential storylines that have only been lightly touched by the franchise so far.

But one concept, above all others, cries out for a kick-ass trek series: the Borg War. Not the half-assed, one-cube-versus-entire-Federation kind of attempt, but more along the lines of the last episode of Voyager, where the Federation has much better weapons and protection, and can more than hold their own against the Borg as long as they have the right equipment. And there is actual strategy, deception, development!

Read qntm.org's thoughts on the matter. I'm not so much a fan of the Mirror Borg thingy, but the "things we'd like to see" bullet list is dead on.

Particularly these:

• A refreshing absence of time travel
• The rescindment of the Prime Directive, and a heck of a lot of hand-wringing over it
• Cyborg Starfleet guys, who narrow the line between human and Borg
• An end to that Borg Queen rubbish
• A group of Starfleet cadets in a canteen, discussing who was better, Kirk or Picard

Not all sci-fi is mind candy, even though it may be clothed as such. An essay on perhaps the coolest, most widely-read science fiction novel written in these latter days points out this serious moral challenge: Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality. Mind candy because the book showcases some of the coolest concepts in science fiction ever: the battle school, the ansible, the little doctor, hive intelligence; yet decidedly not mind candy because of the moral questions it raises: deliberate cruelty as shaper of character, intent versus action, guilt as redemption.

The author of this essay points out that Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, has been criticized by some as an apologia for Adolf Hitler; but he is quick to also assert that he does not, in fact, believe this. But have a look. Rather thought-provoking discussion.