Erratica Reduex

My wife Sandy, through incredibly well read, doesn't have much exposure to classic science fiction. Partially in light of recent controversies, I'm exposing Sandy to classic SF, including Star Trek.

I started off with one of my favorite episodes, "The Trouble With Tribbles". In addition to being funny, it put the"rabbits in Australia"problem in a SF context. I followed it up with "Journey to Babble" and "Amock Time".

This week was "The Devil in the Dark", a brilliant look at the whole "murderous alien" cliche. Someone looked at the whole idea of why an alien with a radically different physiology would attack humans, and came up with a logical reason. In found so, the reversed the whole concept- who are the monsters here?

Honestly, this is one of the best purely Science Fictional Star Trek episodes; it takes a concept and sites logical extrapolation from the premise. And in so doing, it turns a critical eye on things we take for granted.

Today i've decided to take a page out of our administration's playbook, and congratulate the American soccer team for their brilliant victory over Chad in the World Cup.

I admit that there were a few in the liberal media who were parroting the line that Chad, not America won the latest match, but they just hate America. There were even a number of people who were sympathetic to Chad's first entry in the World Cup, and the obvious enthusiasm and love of the sport they showed. But those people have the superior diction of BBC commentators. You can't trust people like that. Anyway, like the administration is undoubtedly doing right now, I'm cheering our team and its unstoppable progress toward the prize. we have the endorsements, and the highly paid trainers, and and Fox News on our side.

We're not going to let a nasty little thing like reality stand in our way.

...
So, since I'm going in tomorrow for an MRI of my sinuses (to see what terminal nose warts I may have), it's a good idea to review what I can expect when I go into the clinic.

1) There is a 75% chance that when put into the MRI, I will start convulsing violently. Lord knows what it is about the MRI that causes convulsions- why do they even still have those things?

2) Fortunately, there will be a highly-trained staff of neurologists just standing by ready to find out what is wrong with me.

3) Unfortunately, their first two guesses as to what's wrong with me, will be wrong. And at least one of the treatments they give me will send me into convulsions or a coma.

4) The final treatment for me will be something cheap and easy to do, so I will be out f the hospital in no time. Unless of course I have rabies, in which case I'm toast.

5) There is a fair chance that the oh-so-severe-but-hot hospital administrator will stop by my room. Unfortunately, I will be too sick to appreciate that event.

6) There's a better chance that the crusty yet straight-shooting lead neurologist will stop by to talk to me. I will not find this comforting, for some reason.

7) Oh yeah- for some reason, I will lie. Don't ask me why- evidently something about the hospital will just cause me to lie whether I want to or not.

And there- I'm all ready to find out what's going on in my sinuses. I should be back in a month or two.