The Second Amendment and Future of 3D Printing
The following dialogue below took place on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, on episode 10, season 7, titled “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” It was between Nog (Operations Officer of Deep Space Nine) and Vic Fontaine (a holographic singer and entertainer), of which they discuss the philosophical nature of life and what it means to truly be alive, whether biological or holographic.
Star Trek Episode Summary
Severely depressed at his serious war wound, Nog retreats into Vic Fontaine’s holosuite program while the singer tries to help him. [IMDb]
Directed by: Anson Williams
Vic Fontaine (hologram): “It’s time for you to go, kid.”
LTJG Nog: “Go where?”
Vic: “You know where. It’s time to end the program.”
Nog: “But we’ve got work to do. We have a casino to build.”
Vic: “No, we don’t. This is just a fantasy. It’s not real.”
Nog: “It’s real to me and it’s real to you, and don’t say it isn’t. I know better.”
Vic: “You’re right. It’s very real to me. But I’m a Hologram, Nog. I’m not a person. Until you came along, I’d never been on for more than six or seven hours straight.”
Nog: “I know. And now you’re running all the time. Isn’t it great?”
Vic: “It’s incredible. Since you’ve been here I’ve slept in a bed every night, gone to work every day, had time to read the paper, play cards with the boys. I’ve had a life, and I have to tell you it’s a precious thing. I had no idea how much it means to just live and now I’m going to return the favor and give you your life back.”
(Star Trek: DS9 s07e10 – “It’s Only a Paper Moon”)
Photo Credit: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
About the author
B.J. Murphy is the Editor and Social Media Manager of Serious Wonder. He is a futurist, philosopher, activist, author and poet. B.J. is an Affiliate Scholar for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) and an Ambassador for the robotics company Humai.
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