Engrossing, profound, and visceral, “Far Beyond The Stars” is an example of what Trek — heck what science fiction — can become when writers dare to take chances — when they dare to dream remarkable dreams. It’s an episode that is both painfully obviously and brilliantly subtle. And if you can allow yourself to be lost within the narrative, which is very easy to do thanks to the design and direction of the episode, then this is an installment which transcends not just Deep Space Nine but the science fiction genre itself.

The episode is structured around the crisis of confidence and strength Sisko begins to feel as the casualties and rigors of war with the Dominion continue to mount. He receives bad news about an old acquaintance and it proves to very nearly be the final straw. As he tells his father, who is visiting the station, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” Sisko, who carries the titles of Captain and Emissary, is beginning to buckle under the pressures of expectations. And he wonders whether or not to simply step down from his post. His father counsels him, saying, “You’ve got some thinking to do.”

The episode, then, is a journey for Sisko, showing him how important it is to “fight the good fight.” Along the way, it brilliantly confronts some very important social issues, as well as the deeply personal ones Sisko is facing. Soon questioning himself, Sisko begins having strange visions. Is the stress getting to him? Is it something else? Before long, he slowly succumbs to these visions (we later learn that they are from the Prophets) which place him within the life of Benny Russell, an African-American science fiction writer from 1953. The transition, which can easily be a barrier for the episode as a whole, is remarkably well-executed. More importantly, the 1953 world created for this episode is entirely engrossing.

Not only does Sisko inhabit the body of Benny, but many of our familiar DS9 characters are present, inhabiting several different human archetypes from the times. As a result, the episode gets an initial boost simply from seeing familiar actors (for characters like Quark, Odo, Martok and Dukat) without their makeup. It’s thoroughly fascinating to see Armin Shimmerman (Quark) suddenly playing a human writer by the name of Herbert Rossoff. Rene Auberjonois plays a cowardly editor named Douglas Pabst. And we see others, too. Familiar characters from Nog to Kira to Dax to Bashir to Worf and Kasidy and Jake also make their presence felt.

And of course, the setting, within a science-fiction magazine office, during an era of segregation and McCarthyism is ripe with story potential. In many respects, the office becomes a kind of crucible in which these issues distilled into their basic elements. In that sense, the episode confronts, in shockingly frank detail, the issues of race, gender and ideology, primarily through the character of Benny. The biggest risk that the episode takes is that, for the first time, Deep Space Nine makes an issue out of Sisko’s race. Up until now, Sisko was never the “black commander” in charge of DS9, he was, simply, *the* commander … a captain who exhibited extraordinary talents of charisma, toughness, intellect and, oh by the way, is a “chosen one” of the Bajoran Prophets.

By thrusting “Benny” into the 1950s, though, the episode (and the series) puts race front-and-center. After Benny receives a picture of DS9, he begins writing of a fictional captain, by the name of Benjamin Sisko. Benny, with the help of “Prophetic” words by a Father (portrayed by the same actor as Sisko’s father) feels compelled to tell “our story” — the story of African Americans struggling to find their voice and place in the world. It’s a theme reinforced by other characters such as Willie (Worf), a star baseball player who still cannot live anywhere other than a “black neighborhood”; Jimmy (Jake Sisko), a ne’er-do-well young con man who meets an untimely end; and Cassie (Kasidy) who wants her boyfriend, Benny, to live in the present and make the best of the life they have in front of them.

The discussions among these characters confront the issue of race in ways that are both subtle and obvious. Cassie’s urgency to settle down reflects the kind of optimism that people inherently feel, regardless of the limits society places on them. Benny has an idealized vision of the future that he wants to fight for. Jimmy is more pragmatic and wants to game the system to his advantage, though he ends up being killed for it. Willie manages to transcend the color of his skin … but only temporarily. The dynamic alone works to give audiences a subtle glimpse into what life must have been like. It’s important because issues of intolerance are still present. And seeing the perspective of those who are, literally, oppressed by their society ought to serve as a continued warning against prejudice of any kind.

Back in the office, Benny faces rejection for his stories, simply because his main character, the hero of his story, is “a Negro.” The magazine editor, Douglas (Odo), plays a spineless bigot who couches his own prejudices in social conventions. Douglas flatly rejects Benny’s original story and justifies it by saying that he’s not out to change the world, merely publish a magazine. There’s certainly an element of sympathy for his character — a man who just wants to do his job then go home — but at the end of the day, his character is complicit in the prejudice of society. As if to confirm Douglas’s prejudice, Benny’s closest ally in the office, Herbert (Quark), is dismissed as being a communist sympathizer.

It’s within the final exchanges in the publishing office that the episode’s best drama takes place. More important than the fiery, impassioned final plea of Benny (“I am a human being!) are the rationalizations of the various characters, demonstrating how prejudice can be created, continued and fought by excuses, arguments and actions. There are very few actual “villains” in the episode. But the moral standing of each character is on clear display.

And that, really, is what makes the exploration into Benny’s life so compelling and powerful. More than simply saying, “Benny good – Douglas bad,” the episode shows us characters who struggle with or hide from important social issues, issues which have a very real affect on the lives of people.

And, of course, all of this is designed to show our hero, Ben Sisko, that his fight against the Dominion is worth fighting. That stepping down would be tantamount to accepting Dominion rule, to enabling the oppressors. It’s another layer of the story that works very, very well.

And then there is the final layer of “Far Beyond The Stars.” As the episode draws to its conclusion, and just before Sisko’s consciousness returns to the station, he asks the Prophetic Father, “Who am I? Tell me?” The Father replies, “You are the dreamer. And the dream.” Back on the station, Sisko ruminates on the possibility that he and everyone around him is just a dream, perhaps of someone named Benny Russell. Interesting that the character gets so close to breaking through that “fourth wall” and acknowledging his status as a fictional character — one that, like Benny Russell, is just as alive as the rest of us.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine