10 No-Win Scenarios In Star Trek (And How They Were Resolved)

7. Sim's Right To Life

Star Trek Similitude
CBS

Scenario: Without Trip Tucker, the campaign to contact the Xindi will not reach completion before a devastating weapon destroys Earth, but the artificial clone created to save his life doesn't want to be killed either.

Resolution: Captain Archer is forced to make a devastating choice here, though he does it without hesitation. Trip has to live and for once, it has next to nothing to do with friendship or loyalty... he is the Chief Engineer of Enterprise, without whom the ship won't be able to run at the level it requires. Phlox's idea of cloning Trip and using the clone's 'spare parts' to heal the man is both brilliant and highly controversial.

The face-off at the close of the episode is inevitable. Archer begins the drama with one man almost sure to die. He finishes the drama with a man who is definitely going to die. The choice was never whether or not he would be able to escape without blood his hands it was simply over which death he could live with.

In this post: 
Star Trek
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"