Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episode 5 Review: SAM Navigates Organics, Sisko Legacy & Her Makers
- Barbara
- 4 hours ago
- 9 min read
A Story About Me
SAM/Series Acclimation Mil begins with her crazy story all about her. She is a sentient individual and only one of Her. She was created 217 Days ago on a HomeWorld Podcast, as the only photonic cadet at Starfleet Academy. Her body is holographic. That is beyond Amazing! She can interact with just about any being anywhere. She’s been at Starfleet Academy for 97 days and has been greeted with all kinds of variations of her name, 684 to be exact. All of which she eagerly responds to equally, but her fave is “Queen Sam Samillina of Samonita”. She is Kasq’s future emissary to the Federation. A big job involving maintaining peace, diplomatic relations, and resolving conflicts. She also has to explain organics to her makers, which doesn’t go very well. Organics=Physical Body. This is not an easy task. Her makers are photonics like her, but haven’t left the world of Kasq. SAM interprets everything in her world of the academy and explains it to her makers.
SAM observes her cadet friends tasking one of their own with a Priority One Mission, P1 Mission: Weird Hash, composed of chicken, banana and yeel pudding. She says starfleet cadets never refuse one of those even when they should. They chant encouragement to Darem and watch him eat the hash. His species, Khionian, hates bananas. They overproduce polyphenol oxidase causing high-potassium foods to rot immediately after being ingested. Darem knows this but never checks to see if the hash is banana-free. Darem begins to belch and vomits up his hash as colorful glitter! WOW! He’s got everyone laughing over something disgusting shown in sparkling fascination!
SAM goes off and explains that her makers need her to explain Everything about organics. The only problem is there is no identifiable pattern to the organic chaos. They are unpredictable, so it keeps her busy. Suddenly, SAM is returned to her makers. They contacted her for a report. She has to provide a weekly report on all she learns about the organics. SAM’s makers look like pure energy streams, like on OG Star Trek and Deep Space 9.
Life Changing
Her makers were curious about her music elective this week. SAM’s makers were actually created by organics, but they left them. The makers evolved and became sentient beings. Now they want to connect with other species, and that's where SAM comes in. She’s like a photonic interface. The makers are afraid organics might try to use them again, and don’t trust them. That’s why SAM is there to find out. SAM’s choice of the theremin is questioned by her instructor. She gives a scientific explanation of why she likes it. So, the instructor asks her once again, why. She asks her what she feels. This immediately causes the makers to transport her back home and dictate that her feelings are irrelevant to the mission. SAM contradicts them. They say music won’t help them. She asks the makers for help understanding some of the intangible behaviors. She gives them an example from what she recently experienced.
Darem tries to enforce a separation of the atrium keeping the War College students away from the Starfleet cadets with a light beam. It almost worked if Professor Reno hadn’t stumbled over it and taken it away. SAM gives another example and it involves ‘desire’. It’s exhibited by Caleb and Tarima. They can’t explain it, so how can SAM figure it out? Her makers tell her to enroll in the “Confronting the Unexplainable” Course, even when it’s almost over. They don’t take “no” for an answer, and teleport her to the course. SAM says it started her on the path that changed her life. She meets another emissary, Benjamin Sisko, Emissary of the Prophets.
Where’s the Emissary of the Prophets Now
Professor Illa interrupts SAM, and SAM asks to enroll in her class. Professor Illa explains to SAM about Benjamin Sisko. SAM wants to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Benjamin Sisko. Professor Illa says if she solves this mystery, she can teach the class.
SAM enlists her friends in the search. She explains about Benjamin Sisko's history. She says he may be in the Celestial Temple. Nobody has a legitimate answer. Darem asks why find him. Caleb says it’s all fantasy, and not worth the search, He says it will just end up as a disappointment. Ocam suggests SAM join the Bajor Club and she does.
The Bajor Club
SAM tells the club leader why she’s joining their club to learn more about Sisko. She asks the other members about Sisko, but is instantly transported to the Chancellor’s Office, Someone reported her for pulling one of the Bajorans' ears. Chancellor Ake shares her Bajor experience with SAM. They think of Sisko as a god and prophet. They don’t display his picture anywhere on the planet because they believe he transcended. The Chancellor tells SAM to continue asking the questions, because she might learn more about herself. SAM tells her why she’s trying to solve the mystery. The Chancellor tells her to visit the Sisko Museum.
The Alpherati
They are interrupted by Chancellor Kelrec from the War College. Chancellor Ake goes to find out what he’s up to. She immediately notices the SFA power grid is down. He won’t answer. Ake can tell from the graphics and sees that he is heating the ocean with unauthorized alien tech. He’s boiling the Pacific Ocean. Kelrec is frustrated and tells Ake he doesn’t answer to her, but finally tells her why he’s doing all this. He’s hosting a visitor, Chancellor Amal, from the planet Alpherat. The Alpherati are brilliant military strategists with a brilliant academy. The Alpherati reached out to him, expressing a wish to collaborate between their two institutions. She needs the heated ocean for her fleet of fire eels. They are sensitive creatures that work as Alpherati security. Chancellor Ake confuses Kelrec by asking what they would do if the Alpherati Chancellor needed protection on land. Ake offers to help Kelrec. She teases him a little, and invites him to a dress rehearsal in her office for the Alpherati soup ritual.
Sisko Museum and Emissary History
SAM tours the Sisko Museum in New Orleans. She is fascinated by all the facts she’s discovering. He was also known as “The Chosen One”. She reads about the history of Sisko's Mother, Sarah, who was both human and prophet. His path was predetermined before he was the emissary. SAM is confused, and asks if the emissary is supposed to do what they're told no matter what?
SAM opens one of the Bajor Prophets Orb given to the people of Bajor. She sends Sisko a message, explaining that she is also an emissary. It's like an interdimensional comms badge that lets you talk to the Prophets. SAM says she’s failing at being an emissary. She asks for guidance on being what her makers need her to be. SAM moves on to a genealogy display and finds his son. She presses a button asking what made his father a great emissary and Sisko’s son, Jake, appears as a hologram. He didn’t know his father as a great emissary, only as a great man. He imagined all he knew about him probably made him a great emissary.
Challenges and Disappointments
SAM goes to ask Professor Illa more questions. She informs her she processed all the data she could find on Benjamin Sisko, but it wasn’t enough to solve the mystery. SAM wonders why Jake only wanted to talk about his Dad as a great man and great at cooking gumbo, not as the emissary. Professor Illa told SAM about Sisko’s Fathers restaurant, Sisko’s Creole Kitchen. She told her about the foods that Sisko loved to eat. SAM made them and gave it all to her friends, because she can’t eat any food. She asked them to describe how it tasted. They provided all the research feedback. Caleb asked for access to SAM’s primary system, and he figured out how she could taste stuff. He’s in love with her system. Caleb tries changes to SAM’s hair and music. He needs time to figure it out. Jay-Den researched some history on Sisko’s son, Jake. He is an author. He was writing a book about his father, but never finished it. Darem knows of a cadet bar where Sisko used to hang out. Darem reveals there’s a cadet bar in the old launching pad area named “The Academy”. They have a new Priority 1 Challenge: Go to the Cadet Bar. SAM agrees to go since she is trying to walk in Sisko’s footsteps.
Something freezes everyone in motion. It’s SAM’s makers. They recall her and tell her she’s not enrolled in the seminar they requested. They tell her if she fails her mission, she will cease being useful and they will return her to Kasq, and all communications with organics will cease. The makers give her one more week to perform her duties as emissary, before they remove her from Starfleet Academy permanently. SAM is returned to the present, and asks her friends to take her to the bar so she can experience it.
Chancellor Ake, The Doctor and Professor Jett Reno introduce Chancellor Kelrec to the Alpherati customs. In her office. Everyone is given their roles. This is really some kind of strange. Kelrec has to play music and he does his best. They toast to the collaboration of the two academies. They all laugh at Kelrec when the fish makes a noise when he sits back down. Kelrec is upset. He lashes out at Nahla about her abandoning Starfleet fifteen years ago. Nahla asks him if he really thinks she abandoned Starfleet, but he walks off.
At the bar, Caleb adjusts SAM’s primary system which allows her to get drunk as well as taste food. He tells her one tap equals one drink. SAM gives 12 taps for science, Kasq and science. SAM is totally drunk. Caleb and Tarima exchange glances across the room. Drunken SAM tells Caleb to go talk to Tarima. Meanwhile, at the bar, Jay-Den talks to one of the War College students, while Darem listens. SAM appears out of nowhere on the bar and she shouts out “She loves Love”. Tarima and Caleb meet outside the bar and talk a little and Kiss a Lot. Tarima wants to be more hands on.
Inside the bar, SAM is enjoying being out with her friends. She says Sisko only wanted to just enjoy being out with his forms. SAM goes and starts dancing on the dance floor. Jay-Den and the War College student dancing is interrupted by Darem. He tells them it’s time to leave. A fight is about to start when SAM jumps in and starts yelling about emissaries. She strikes the Vulcan female leader and throws her outside. A fight ensues. Caleb and Tarima run inside. The cadets end up in the med bay. SAM is still drunk. The Doctor sends everyone except SAM back to their quarters. She tells him she wanted to follow in Captain Benjamin Sisko’s footsteps. The Doctor never met him, but his creator did. He’s still very disappointed with SAM. The Doctor did know Jake.
Chancellor Ake goes to see Chancellor Kelrec. Nahla tells him he’s not correct in his assumption about her abandoning Starfleet. They laugh over how bad his flute playing was as they go to meet Chancellor Amal.
The next morning, SAM goes to see Professor Illa and tells her she failed. Illa tells her failure is also learning. She asks SAM what she learned. SAM says it didn’t matter how Captain Sisko died. His existence was predetermined by some wormhole aliens. Emissaries who succeed lose everything they love, and those who fail do to. Professor Illa says SAM learned a lot, and shows her the Anslem book written by Jake. He never published, because he wanted to keep Benjamin close. SAM read it. Jake appeared and repeated an excerpt from his book. He shows her the life of an emissary is not predetermined. He tells her how his father did it. Benjamin Sisko did what the Prophets needed in his own way., and stayed true to himself. SAM doubts she can be Kasq’s emissary. Jake tells her that emissaries are important. They build bridges where the universe wants to destroy itself. Sam says they also sacrifice a lot. Jake says his Father saved billions of people. Sometimes lose-lose is actually a win-win. SAM is afraid she can’t be a good emissary.
Jake tells her she’s enough. She thanks him for writing all this down. He tells her his Father never left them. He can’t prove it, but knows it’s true.Professor Illa comes over to talk to SAM in the atrium. She asks if she found what she was looking for. SAM says she did. Illa was asked to keep the book safe for those who could understand how to use it. SAM was curious about how Illa knew that Sisko loved to eat tomatoes, because that fact is nowhere to be found. Illa smiled and revealed the Trill markings on the side of her cheek. SAM said Illa isn’t her surname. Illa tells her she’s a good detective and expects to see her in her class next year. Her full name is Illa Dax.Dax tells SAM Benjamin would have liked her. He loved people who got into trouble for the right reasons. SAM finally told her makers what she needed to tell them about the organics. She can trust the organics, but doesn’t know if the makers can. She says it will take time. She also knows why she loves playing the theremin. She tells the makers she will be the emissary on her terms. SAM sends a message to Benjamin Sisko and thanks him for having a wonderful son like Jake. She tells him she’s there if he ever wanted to talk.
The episode ends with Captain Benjamin Sisko’s message about divine laws and how only love can interpret it. What an inspirational episode. Wish we could have seen what an Alpherati and fire eels look like. This was well-written and loved how the two stories one from the past one from the present and future were joined as one. SAM’s journey was an experience.
I enjoyed this episode and gave it 4.8 Stars out of 5.
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