Stear Trek: A taste of armegeddon

Work Title: Stear Trek: A taste of armegeddon
Medium: TV Episode
Episode Title: A taste of armegeddon
Year: 1967
Writer(s): Gene Roddenberry
"Original" Writer: Yes Writer(s): Robert Hamner
"Original" Writer: Yes Writer(s): Gene L. Coon
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

from imdb.com Kirk and Spock must save their ship's crew when they are declared all killed in action in a bizarre computer simulated war where the actual deaths must occur to continue.

  • Self-Written?:
  • Source Name: IMDB
  • Source URL:
Era/Year of Portrayal: distant_future
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

Space travel is normal. People are 'beamed up'.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: computers
  • Description of the technology: Computers from 2 planets are engaged in a 500 year long war. The war is founded upon mathmatical principles and is entirely theorectical except for deaths, which are real. One planet's computers are huge - they take up about half a room. There is a matching computer on the other planet. They are the 1967 versions of what a computer will look like. The computers act totally on thier own - there is no human input, or way to stop the war. They act with disregard for human life, having no desire to stop the war.
  • Nature of task or activity: Everyday life - which in this case, is life for a planet at war. People often die, 3 million a year.
  • Performance of the Technology: functions very well, never stops.
  • Description of creator(s): unknown.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): to engage in a perfect war - theorectical, with no mesiness of actual fighting. people just die when they are told to.
  • Description of users of technology: all people on the planet - white men and women, varying ages. They are docile followers, obeying the computers command - when to kill themselves by walking into a disintegration machine.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: the experience is terrible. there is constant uncertainty about when you will die - persumably soon. people you know die frequently. The planet is at war and has been for the past 500 years.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: yes.
  • Valence of experience: unpleasant. people are dying and you never know when you will be asked to die.
  • Specific responses: psychological desensitization, a willingness to die, blind following of commands, mindless obeyance, acceptance of status quo.
Long-term consequences:

Kirk rescues the planet from a computer driven war by destroying the computers. now the planets will be forced to fight without the computers- a human, messy war.

Other:

Coder name: Amanda Scheiner
Coder email: amandags@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University