Sci-Fi: Hive Minds, Telepaths, Terminators and Demons

There are aspects of science fiction which border on the esoteric. Some might even be considered the dark side of mystical. Others are extrapolations based on observations of nature. Demons are an occult phenomena, plain and simple. Hive minds exist on our world in the communities of the beehive and the ant colony. Let us take a brief look at them from a sci-fi perspective.


Hive Mind

The Borg of Star Trek share something with the Bugs of Starship Troopers and the monsters of Alien. They are controlled by a higher level of intelligence. In effect, this is a Hive Mind. It works similarly to the unseen intelligence that coordinates an ant colony and bee hive. The hive mind of Starship Troopers was embodied in a class of Bug known as a “brain.” The Borg collective seemed to have a hive mind centered on its ship. In fact, the top of the hive mind was killed off in the first Next Generation movie. Skynet served like a hive mind for all the mechanical weapons and robots in the Terminator franchise.

Member of a hive mind have little or no volition. They are 100% obedient to the Mind that controls them. They can only make choices insofar as fulfilling their assigned work. Even then, it is pretty much reactive. A bee can choose the flowers it visits, but these choices are governed by instinct rather than reason. The bee follows its programming, so to speak, in fulfilling the command of its hive mind.

The A.I.s of Space Above and Beyond are coordinated through a “modem” each has, allowing it to transmit and receive to other A.I.s. However, they are independent units and not part of a hive.

As most hive minds go, the over-mind gives the individual units their orders and dispatches them to where it wants them. The individuals take it from there when they get to the place to do their job. In most cases, these units will do everything in their power to do that job. How far they go is a matter of the degree of volition and intelligence they have. For instance, suppose a large fissure were opened up in the ground between the unit and its objective. Some types might be stopped in their tracks, unable to move.  Others may be stalled until they get new orders. There are some, like ants, who would use members with special capabilities. The rank and file workers might be stalled, but pathfinder units would be alerted and look for a route around or through the obstacle. Once found, they would lead the workers through the new route. A more intelligent type might begin its own efforts to bypass the fissure. It would be driven to fulfill its mission and be possessed of enough intelligence to deal with most unforeseen circumstances. No matter how they stack up, however, the hive creatures would be stalled for a time when confronted with an unexpected obstacle or problem. The amount of time it takes depends on the species. Ants would remain confused until the pathfinders were alerted and went into action. A Terminator had enough programming and artificial intelligence to solve problems on its own. It seems that when one member of the Borg collective solved a problem, others in his hive also gained that ability.

The hive mind provides command and coordination. Destroy the hive mind or block it from communicating to its units, and they would normally hesitate for a turn. Some types would resume their mission and some would hold in place or return from whence they came. Terminators would not hesitate, as they are not reliant on Skynet to direct them through their mission. Skynet never solved the problem of transmitting and receiving signals through time.

Hive minds have their limits. They take time to make changes in their plans and the directions given their units.  Hive minds are predictable because they each have their distinct ways of doing things. They are ponderous, and that makes them slow and predictable.

 ***

The Borg leader of the first “Next Generation” movie reminded me of Terminator in having living flesh over metal parts. Her attempt to implant living tissue on the android Data is much like the living flesh developed to cover a Terminator robot. Star Trek’s Borg and the Skynet of the Terminator movies both have aspects of a hive mind. The individual Borg and the Terminators both follow the will dictated by their respective controlling minds. They are programmed to obedience and act at the behest of their hive minds. What makes Terminator different is that he cannot transmit his info back to the future, whereas Borg can relay info back to their hive ship.


Telepaths and empaths

Science fiction has had its share pf psychic types, despite the claim that such practices are un-scientific. Despite all the science, sci-fi has had various characters with telepathic abilities.  They may be mind-readers or persons with the ability to communicate mentally, or both.

Telepathy is one of the psychic powers acknowledged by New Agers, parapsychologists and occultists. Others include clairvoyance, divination, psychokinesis, telekenisis and astral projection. With my background in esoteric spirituality, I know the theory and reality. These are not great powers that make people wise and all-knowing. One thing I will warn you is to avoid those psychic parlors that advertise themselves. The other is to take anyone’s claims of being psychic with a grain of salt the size of a medicine ball.  I have known a very rare few people who had some kind of psychic talent, and even then, it was not 100% and was not all the time.

A telepath or any other psychic is easy to jam by a person who is focused. He can also be jammed by noise, confusion, and anything that interrupts his concentration. They have very limited power to influence others, if at all.


Terminators

The Terminator franchise centers on a type of robot that is programmed to find and eliminate a target. It is provided with flesh over its metal frame to pass as a living being. A later type is “liquid metal”. There was a comic series from DC in the 1960s called “Metal men” which were a team of robots made of various metals. The one made of Mercury was a liquid robot.

The Terminator is based on a primal fear that shows up in dreams: the implacable pursuer that will not be stopped.

Robots are machines that can be programmed for various tasks. Some can be programmed and then set out on their own to complete their assigned tasks.  Others need to be guided from a control center, much the way drones are controlled. They are implacable because a robot can only follow its programming. It has no alternative choice. Artificial intelligence would give a robot the means to solve problems encountered while fulfilling its mission. A.I, would not give it volition.

For science fiction stories and skirmish games ,a robot could be programmed to attack a specific person or place. It would be a modern-day Assassin, much like the Assassins of the medieval Islamic Ismaili sect in the Middle East. Both are often sent on suicide missions. While the Ismaili would do it for a better place in his afterlife, the robot does it because of programming. The human assassin may feel fear and a host of other emotions that may make him hesitate or change his mind. A robot has neither emotions nor fear of harm to deter it.

Other human versions are the modern suicide bomber and the Japanese kamikaze.

A robot could be programmed to kill by a direct attack on an individual, such as battering, stabbing or shooting. The robot might also carry an explosive which detonates when it reaches its target. During World War II, German combat engineers had a small tracked vehicle called ‘Goliath.” it was packed with explosives and sent on tasks ranging from blowing up anything from barbed wire obstacles to tanks. This was controlled through a long wire and was an early form of attack drone and robot.


Demons

Most of the so-called demons are actually breakdown forces happening in realms other than the physical. They are intelligent, and are psychologically programmed to find places to fulfill their purpose. In their rightful place, they are fine. It is when they are taken out of that place that there is trouble.

Think of wood decay. Like it or not, but it has its uses. Without wood decay, our forests would be choked with the remains of dead trees. Take wood decay and place it in a new place, like a house, and it is destructive.

Wood decay’s nature is to seek and find places to do its thing. Offer it a new place, like a porch and it will go to work with the same mechanical efficiency in which it tackles dead logs.  It will stop when it is stopped and returned to its natural place. So it is with demons. Those who invoke them invite them to a place where they can do their thing. If they get out of control, they remain a while and wreak havoc. The reason for problems is this is not their natural place. However, as it is not their place, they eventually go back where they belong, much as a fish that gets beached tries to return to water. There is nothing to keep them here.

In a sci-fi context, a demon would do what it could to prolong its stay, providing their were enough opportunities to do its thing. It would leave only if forced to fo so, or if it no longer found enough opportunities to sustain itself here. Like a robot, it is “programmed” to fulfill its specific mission.

****************

SciFi: Space, Mystics and Magick

Though science fiction, fantasy and horror are often lumped together, they are three very distinct genre. Science fiction deals with speculative fiction based on science, be it the science of the present, future, or an alternate world. Fantasy deals with non-scientific realms based on folklore, myth and magick. Horror involves both criminal acts and the work of monsters. While the premises behind some characters may seem occult, Horror’s essential nature is to entertain via the terrible and ghastly.

We expect the mystical in fantasy. Wizards, sorcerers, and magickal entities are part and parcel of the genre. Books like The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, the Conan series by Robert E Howard and Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson typify the fantasy genre. In the aforementioned examples, the protagonists encounter strange mythic beasts and magick-wielding adversaries.

Fantasy was separate from science fiction for one simple reason: plausible deniability. Many felt that science and spirit were separate matters. For many sci-fi buffs, things had to have a scientific explanation, even if it were based on fictional science or things not yet developed.  A science fiction writer who incorporated any mystical or magickal elements had to tread lightly. It was too easy to slip past the thin line of plausible deniability.

The original Star Trek series had a few episodes that touched mystical subjects. For example, one involved a “Roman planet” and worshipers of the Sun / Son. Another had the crew encounter the Greek God Apollo. Even then, there was an attempt at a scientific explanation. More often than not, those that dealt with unusual phenomena found a rational explanation for it. Apparently, in the Star Trek universe, telepathy and empaths were within the realm of science, but sorcery was not.

The Star Wars franchise introduced its own mystic element known as The Force. According to its lore, the Force was a power that could be used for good and evil. Certain knightly mystics known as Jedi and Sith learned to use the Force. These characters were like the Japanese Yamabushi warrior monks. Unlike the Yamabushi (lit. “mountain warriors”), the knights could use the Force to influence others and move objects. For instance, near the first movie’s end, the hero drops into a Zen-like state to let the Force guide him to launch his missile accurately.

What is this Force? It is like bits of the Astral, Ki / Chi, Prana,  Megin / Magna / Macht, Wyrd and synchronicity all rolled into one. Of course, the power is fictional and any connection to actual mystical or occult phenomena is tenuous at best.

Star Trek Deep-Space Nine had its own mystical aspect involving the Bajorans and their religious connection to the Prophets, which were actually “wormhole aliens.” On the bad side were something like demons, one of which was called Kosst Amojan. Prophets and the demons could possess people. Of all the Star Trek series, this one was most connected to a mystical and religious trend.
Farscape. and the other Star Trek franchises had their own occasional contacts with mystical events and beings. Farscape’s search for the wormhole itself was bizarre and at times esoteric. The character Q on Star Trek’s The Next Generation and Farscape’s Zahn and Stark each had mystical attributes.

Too much of the mystical in a science fiction story can dislodge fans who insists on science.

A peculiar thing about science fiction is that many aliens are similar to the appearance and mannerism of mythic beings. Star Trek’s Klingons are like orcs or hostile imps. The Vulcans and Romulans have a similarity to the old Norse light and dark elves, respectively. The Scarrans of Farscape are a hominid dragon species. Scorpius is a wraith or ghoul. Star Trek’s Jawas are like dwarves who work with metal things. The Wookie could be Bigfoot or a wood troll.
Several members of the crews of various science fiction series correlate with mythic roles. One finds the Jupiterian leader, Mars warrior, Venus love interest, and so on. We find a similar thread in Captains Kirk, Picard and Archer, John Crichton, Adama and Han Solo. Scotty, Worff and Ka Dargo share more than a volatile temperament. Many a successful ensemble follows older patterns of storytelling.

Darth Vader is a mirror image of the heroic Captains and Commanders mentioned earlier. He is the same type but works for the opposition.

So why have we not seen these patterns before? We have! Prior to the rise of science fiction on television and movies, the Western genre was the popular milieu for storytelling. Instead of the crew of a star ship, the ensemble members were the townsfolk of Gunsmoke, the family of Bonanza and the various characters of Maverick. You may have noticed that Lorne Greene played a similar type character both as Ben Cartwright, family patriarch of Bonanza, and Adama, commander of a battle-star ship. It is all part of telling a good story

Science Fiction is the mythology of the present and future. In view of Dr. Carl Jung’s work on archetypes, it should be no surprise when an old magickal myth re-emerges in a modern scientific context.

Personally, I find that many attempts to include the mystical with science fiction fall short. Brief encounters such as those in the original series of Star Trek are fine, so long as they remain well within the limits of plausible deniability. With my background of esoteric spirituality, I find that many writers do not have enough knowledge of the mystical to include it in science fiction and remain plausible.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine overplayed the “wormhole aliens” and the Bajoran mysticism. The series went from science fiction to occult drama, complete with bizarre rites, demonic possession and evocation of evil spirits. That is the kind of thing you expect in a horror movie, not a science fiction series.

****
Gaming with mystical elements has been around since the 1970s. The Chainmail miniature game for Medieval Warfare added a fantasy supplement to accommodate entities from various popular books and myths. This later evolved into the pinnacle of nerdware, Dungeons and Dragons. The game blended magickal and other esoteric properties with Medieval weapons and combat techniques.  This was strictly within the fantasy genre, where science has little impact.

The Chainmail fantasy supplement included several magickal spells that could be used in miniature battles.

Science fiction is a very different genre. Mystical and magickal powers would have a much smaller place. As with nerdware like Dungeons and Dragons, it could be used in a role-playing game.  For sci-fi battle and skirmish games, the impact of magick and mystical powers would be limited. Things like the Vulcan Mind Meld and wormhole aliens would not find a place, as these are things that occur in non-combat situations. In fact, most of the mystical things added to science fiction stories tend to happen only outside of combat.

One mystical power that has combat application is the Force of Star Wars. The Force can improve a fighter’s ability to aim and to use a weapom. A person with enough Force can deflect projectiles and other weapons. An expert can use it to influence others, move objects and attack at a distance. The trick for gamer makers is balance. A character could become too powerful and offset the balance of the game. On the other hand, too little power lowers the value of such a character.

*********

I have been exploring the varieties of spirituality for decades. As was said, I’ve been “...from Alchemy to Zen and back again.”  This is not to say I am expert in the many systems that I researched. I spent more time with some than others. Several were studied and experienced in depth, others with less interest.

One thing that must be noted is that a religion may seem bizarre to outsiders, but it is perfectly normal to its adherents. Here is an example:

A fellow I knew was stationed in Thailand with the Air Force. He became romantically involved with a local woman and they decided to be married. The man was Catholic and wanted to have a Catholic wedding. He took his beloved to the nearest English-speaking Catholic church to make arrangements.

The results were not what he expected.

Behind the altar of the church was a large crucifix with a painted statue of Jesus mounted on it. There were other statues in the place, as well.  The Thai woman was mortified. She was terribly frightened by the large statue of a man being crucified with bloody wounds and thorny crown. The Buddhist woman left in terror and refused to go back.

Catholics and most folks from Western countries take a crucifix in stride. Whether Christian or not, they know the basic Jesus story and are familiar with the cross as a religious symbol. They also have seen the Catholic crucifix and know its context. People from other cultures may regard it as strange and  frightening. By the same token, Christians from the West may see Hindu and Shinto rites as weird. Even within Western culture, adherents of conventional religions may find Rosicrucian rites exotic and eerie. Those familiar with Western esotericism would see nothing unsettling about them.

Whether sci fi or not, unfamiliar religious and spiritual practices may look bizarre. Again, those involved in those beliefs consider them perfectly normal. For writers of sci-fi, it is a good distinction to understand when writing of alien rites and beliefs.

*************

Tomorrow's article will include suggested rules for adding special powers like The Force and telepathy to skirmish games.