While I missed the deadline for this year's Prometheus nominations, I would like to take this opportunity to nominate an entry for next year. It is a Star Trek novel titled Dreadnought by Diane Carey. The story concerns a Starfleet cadet on board the Enterprise who uncovers a conspiracy involving a Starfleet vice-admiral and his attempt to "unify" the galaxy for its own good. He has placed several of his people in key positions in Starfleet and has created a pet project involving construction and deployment of a prototype dreadnought class starship, which is then stolen by a gang of "terrorists" whose only demand is to rendezvous with the Enterprise. The terrorists are of course also onto the Vice-admiral and the only member of Starfleet they can trust is the independent-minded Captain Kirk.

I have been hesitant in the past to nominate Star Trek fiction for the Prometheus because of the politico-military aspects of Starfleet and the federation. Even though individual characters measured up well to my admittedly anarchistic yardstick they were still part of Starfleet, and that was a sticking point. I still haven't dropped that attitude, but Diane Carey's book espouses some obvious libertarian ideals which I felt were too strong to pass up. The main character, Lieutenant Piper, is a prime example: "...freedom isn't something people just give up one day. It trickles away, bit by bit, without anyone really noticing soon enough," "It started with the most basic of rights—property. The right of the individual to the fruits of his own labor went under in the face of the needs of his society," or "The only way government control works is to turn everything into a law or a regulation, which means you have to bring in a military order to keep people in line, which means anybody who disagrees is automatically a criminal." Another good example is a Vulcan character named Sarda. "There is no such thing as 'common good.' The only good is in what the individual finds best for himself. If he does no harm in his practice, why would others seek to control him?"

Be forewarned, this is no tale of the North American Confederacy. While Carey may not be as explicitly libertarian as L. Neil Smith, I do think the philosophy in her book is stronger than in some of the recent nominees and it is good Star Trek. Ultimately it will be up to the membership to decide on the appropriateness. I just wanted to pass along my opinion.

Chris Szumigala
Erie, Pennsylvania