Gammicus

To the Editor, Proceedings of the Flint Foundation: I respect the right of the author of Pax Galacta to defend his work in your publication. In the pages of a peer-reviewed journal, however, such defense should be more than a repeating of unchallenged assertions and unsourced claims. It should be devoid of ad hominem attacks, especially those simply maligning the use of a pseudonym. In short, it actually ought to defend something. The author, instead of addressing the merits of the objections raised, has simply repeated his conclusions with claims that no serious argument can be entertained. To repeat an untruth with conviction does not make it any less a lie. Quite the contrary. Since the author seems unable to recognize a serious argument, I offer some examples: -- In referencing the "ever-enduring" Klingon alliance, the author conveniently forgets that fifty tenuous years lapsed between Praxis and Narendra III before an alliance existed. The author further ignores how it was cast aside during the short, but full-scale war over the Archanis sector only a decade ago, only to be hastily restored in the face of a greater threat. Perhaps the author doesn't actually know the meaning of the word enduring. Or ever. -- In envisioning the "ultimate democratization" of Romulus, the author ignores the weight of history that suggests the frailty of such movements. While elective representation and the tolerance of dissent are significant, laudable changes, societies have often found the refining heat too blistering to proceed. Romulan politics tends to make its advances and retreats in dramatic fits and starts. A democratic government is hardly a foregone conclusion. -- The author may be excused for his erroneous belief, shared by many Federation citizens, in the conquest of Cardassia, but imagining that "pacification" of that world has been accomplished is to ignore debates that have raged since the conclusion of war with the Dominion. If pacified, why have the Cardassians been given such cautious oversight in the decade since? Why, until recently, were they denied true autonomy? Three assertions, three counterpoints. One assumes the author can follow this pattern if his conclusions have merit. It may, however, be rightly argued that a technical journal is an unsuitable platform for such a debate. I hope this will not dissuade the discussion. I remain open to an appropriate forum, if one exists. GAMMICUS, A Concerned Reader

To the Editor, Proceedings of the Flint Foundation: While the Flint Foundation journal has been the source of thought-provoking and innovative articles during my readership, I feel compelled to respond to gross inaccuracies and baseless suppositions advanced by the author of the recent commentary Pax Galacta in your publication. In this reference, the author proposed that galactic history has now achieved a period of peace and stability, representing a de facto status quo that ought to be sustained by diplomatic means. The author further justifies this by citing superficial examples of peace such as an "ever-enduring" Klingon alliance, the ultimate "democratization" of Romulus, and the "pacification" of Cardassia. These erroneous geeralizations are of such breadth that it seems unnecessary to refute them, suffice to say the Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians would probably tend to disagree with the summation. I recognize the intent of this publication is, as its motto states, to improve the human condition through a discourse in science, philosophy, and reason. However, such uninformed observations as those expressed in Pax Galacta, when given voice in your forum, essentially turn their back on facts unfriendly to their premises. History demonstrates that stability for the Federation often requires its citizens to ignore distasteful things that might challenge that peace. We've seen many examples where the cause of the next war was simply ignored in the guise of maintaining the status quo. The absence of war is not peace. The author regales the expected reduction of Starfleet and the dividend that can be directed to other sources, noting the growth and exploration of the early 23rd Century. That vaunted period, while seeing increased peace with the Klingon Empire, also saw the Romulans withdraw into total isolation and the Cardassian military expand unchecked. The Federation Council saw fit to overlook the annexation of Bajor as an "internal matter", tacitly permitting a fifty-year occupation and indirectly, the cause of the next war. What's good for the Federation, it seems, is less than ideal for its neighbors and sometimes its next generation. As one acquainted with worlds ravaged by the Dominion War - Betazed, Benzar, and Cardassia - one can no longer imagine that the next war will tidily confine itself to regions outside Federation space. Pax Galacta is not mere naivete, but willful, dangerous ignorance. Its inclusion has diminished the quality of a superior peer-reviewed publication. GAMMICUS, A Concerned Reader