“My dear doctor. It’s all true.”
“Even the lies?”
“Especially the lies.”
— Garak and Bashir
Warning: Full Spoilers Ahead!
Jolan Tru, Trekkies. After a brief hiatus to focus on an immersive writing project, I am back to reading, watching, and writing about Star Trek. And what better welcome back to the franchise than a new novel by my favourite Trek novelist and beloved writing mentor, Una McCormack?
Complicated Relationships
Second Self is exactly the sequel that my heart needed to The Last Best Hope. No one but Una McCormack could have better depicted the close and loving, but complicated, relationship between Raffi Musiker and Jean-Luc Picard. While some readers have struggled with the less-than-idealized depiction of Captain Picard in this book, I found it deeply meaningful and reflective of my own loving but complicated relationship with Star Trek.
Like the rest of us, Picard is far from perfect. But he is a force for good in the galaxy; he is able to confront his own flaws and make an honest attempt to improve. We can all learn from this. For me, it is a perfect metaphor for the Trek franchise itself: although deeply flawed, as anything created by human beings is bound to be, it is a force for good in the world. As a writer, I aspire to do this.
A Beacon of Hope for Recovering Addicts
Of all the characters in Trek, Raffi is the one I find most relatable. She is not a perfect Starfleet officer. She has made mistakes as a Mum. She has made some poor choices with regard to substance use. But she has the integrity to stand with those who have lost everything and to get them to safety, no matter what the cost to herself.
And she gets second chances. She has the opportunity to build a relationship with Elnor that does not replace her relationship with her son Gabe, but helps to fill that aching void. When her relationships with her coworkers are strained because of her past actions in the service, she has a chance to form a sisterhood with Laris. Her relationship with Picard was destroyed; they have a chance to rebuild it.
In a world that often dehumanizes addicts, Raffi shines as a beacon of hope for those addicts. It is possible, Raffi demonstrates, to forgo the temporary relief and forgetfulness of the blood poppies, and find healing in making amends, reconciling, and beginning anew.
For Cardassia!
I actually shrieked when I read the name of A Certain Person in Second Self. Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper Una McCormack novel without A Certain Person. But we have been missing them in the Picard universe, and are unsure as to their fate.
Of all the flawed characters whose journeys Una invites us to join, perhaps no one needs to make amends for the blood on their hands quite as desperately as A Certain Person.
Although A Certain Person’s life path is markedly different in the Prime timeline than it was in the lit verse, Una still finds a way to bring closure to their journey in a way that made me laugh, cry, and cheer. This is a precious gift. No one is beyond redemption; everyone, even A Certain Person, gets a second chance to correct past mistakes.
Bajor, Cardassia, Romulus, and the Federation
Yet it is not only individual beings who need to reconcile and restore their relationships one to another; Second Self delves deeply into the tangled web of interplanetary relations and the need for reconciliation and restorative justice for entire worlds. Like each individual, each world is capable of being a net force for good in the galaxy, and each world has harmed another world.
Cardassia has occupied Bajor; Bajor has defended itself against Cardassia; the Romulans have occupied Ordeve, refuge to Cardassian war refugees; and the Federation has failed each world in different ways. Healing and reconciliation must take place on an individual level, by conducting an archaeological dig through layers upon layers of history and trauma, and this is one of the themes of Second Self.
Walking With the Prophets
It was disappointing at the time that the publication of Second Self was delayed for so many months. I, for one, could not wait to get my hands on a novel about Raffi. But in the end, perhaps it was the will of the Prophets that the release coincided with the passing of Louise Fletcher, who so unforgettably played one of Trek’s most complex villains, Kai Winn.
A book about the Bajorans’ healing journey and a war criminal who sought and found the Prophets seems the perfect tribute to the character we all loved to hate. As Raffi and Elnor were comforted by their visions, so we are comforted by envisioning Kai Winn finally walking with the Prophets.
Arthurian Legends and Star Trek
Much as I loved Second Self, I confess to frequent pangs of homesickness for Una’s previous Cardassia novels, such as The Crimson Shadow, Enigma Tales, The Never-Ending Sacrifice, and The Lotus Flower. Like many Trekkies, I have experienced grief for the ending of the so-called “lit verse” and disappointment with some of the choices made in Picard. But I have been studying the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table for university, and I have found some striking similarities between the two bodies of work.
There are many versions of the King Arthur legend, and each writer portrays the stories from different angles, yet common themes unify the stories. In the same way, the many iterations of Star Trek reflect the times in which they were written. Every story has something to teach us about human nobility, human frailty, and human striving to do better.
Final Thoughts and Ratings
Second Self is like a hug for my Niner’s heart. The second season of Star Trek: Picard broke my heart in profound ways I have not quite found the words to express.
As a result, I have had a lover’s quarrel with the franchise. Second Self, which Una describes in a Twitter post as “a book about truth and reconciliation, restorative justice, and breaking the cycles of history,” put my Trek-loving heart back together again. I give this book five out of five bottles of the best Kanar, (or five out of five cups of red-leaf tea for those in recovery).
