The title is taken from the lotus-eaters of Homer’s Odyssey, people who lived on an island filled with “lotus trees”, whose fruit had narcotic properties. Whoever ate it would fall into a state of apathy, content just to sit and eat the plant, forgetting their past and loved ones, never to return. In modern use, the term is applied to a state of hedonism. In the episode’s context it refers to the effects of Rigel VII’s radiation on the brain.
The Stardate is 1630.1. The USS Cayuga was first mentioned in SNW: “A Quality of Mercy”, which shares a title with a 1961 Twilight Zone episode that starred Leonard Nimoy, and made by Rod Serling’s production company Cayuga Productions.
Batel found the Operlian Mariner’s Keystone on Galt. It’s possible that the closed captioning got it wrong and it should be spelled “Gault”, which was the name of the colony where the Rozhenkos first raised Worf (TNG: “Heart of Glory”). Galt was also the name of the Master Thrall of Triskelion (TOS: “The Gamers of Triskelion”).
Batel was in line to be promoted to Commodore, but was passed over in favor of William Geary because of Judge Advocate Pasalk, in relation to her conduct during Una’s trial (SNW: “Ad Astra Per Aspera”).
Commodore is traditionally the most junior flag rank and is given to an officer which commands more than one ship. In Star Trek, commodores are most often seen in charge of starbases or relaying orders from Starfleet Command. In one case, Commodore Bob Wesley commanded a war games fleet from the USS Lexington that engaged with the Enterprise (TOS: “The Ultimate Computer”). Commodore Matt Decker commanded the USS Constellation (TOS: “The Doomsday Machine”). Geordi La Forge was a Commodore when he was in charge of the Fleet Museum (PIC: “The Bounty”).
Rigel VII first enters Star Trek lore as the planet where a disastrous mission took place weeks prior to the events of TOS: “The Cage” (2254), which left Pike’s yeoman and two others dead, with seven injured.
PIKE: My own yeoman and two others dead, seven injured… Oh, I should have smelled trouble when I saw the swords and the armor. Instead of that, I let myself get trapped in that deserted fortress and attacked by one of their warriors.
The incident left Pike in a state of soul-searching as to whether he still wanted to be a starship captain. The Talosians read this desire, leading to several illusions tempting him to retire, including one where he was forced to defend Vina against a Kalar, a brutish humanoid in Mongol-like furs and melee weapons.
Una says that Rigel VII happened 5 years prior, which makes the episode set in 2259. There’s a bit of a debate in my mind as to whether SNW Season 1 (and 2, since they are very close in time) takes place in 2259 or 2260, but I haven’t come to any definite conclusion.
Una says the Kalar were a Bronze Age society, organized in a caste system with a warrior caste and a secretive ruling caste. The mission only lasted 4 hours and ended with an emergency evacuation. The landing party was ambushed, with the three dead named as Yeoman Z. Nguyen, Ensign C. Plummer and Science Specialist M. Aberth. Spock was also severely injured and had to receive treatment on Vega colony. The visible parts of the report are as follows:
SECTION I - SUMMARY
During a routine survey mission on Rigel VII, on Stardate 2498.4, the landing party from the U.S.S. Enterprise was attacked by a force of unknown size. This force was comprised of multiple pre-warp native warriors. There were three deaths reported among the landing party.
There were seven (7) injured crew members, some critically.
The result of the deaths/injuries required an immediate evacuation and transfer to the medical facilities at the colony of Vega.
…
SECTION III - DISCUSSION
The lack of communications, in addition to the sparse nature of the population perceived before the attack on the landing party 1-B was the cause of the initial action.
An even greater amount of distance and time on approach should be taken as the Kalar appear to be particularly violent culture. Attack without warning or quarter given should be expected.
B. PERFORMANCE
- It is to be noted that performance to duties went as planned. However, several members of landing party 1, both Teams A and B, reportedly were unable to specify the actions of the Kalar, leading to the assumption there was in some form of pre-entrapment set. This is probably in part due to the unknown nature of the Kalar social…
C. CASUALTIES
- There have been confirmed casualties. As accounting of the number of injured Kalar are inconclusive as the ‘fog of action’ contributed to the loss of information and analysis, consistent with similar actions and must be attributed to the intensity of the attack, Enterprise sections subsequently concluded the numbers of ship’s casualties as seven (7) injuries and three (3) K.I.A., based upon investigation and final assessment.
The last time they went down they were in Starfleet uniforms, a mistake Pike acknowledges and does not want to repeat.
Ortegas’ personal log is dated 1630.3. The Stecora Debris Field surrounds Rigel VII, likely the result of a collision between two moons several centuries ago. Pike reminds Ortegas he was a test pilot (his first assignment in Starfleet, DIS: “Light and Shadows”) and will steer the shuttle through the radiation and choppy atmosphere of the planet. The surmise is that this was caused by an asteroid impact thousands of years prior.
Pike confirms he brought La’An and M’Benga along because he needed people who could handle themselves without a phaser (SNW: “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”). He also mentions subdermal universal translators. Starfleet UTs were handheld devices in the 22nd and 23rd centuries (ENT: “Precious Cargo”, TOS: “The Changeling”, DIS: “Into the Forest I Go”, et al.), and eventually became embedded in combadges (VOY: “The ‘37s”). Implanted Ferengi UTs were seen in DS9: “Little Green Men”, but this is the first time we’ve heard of Starfleet UTs being implanted - although subdermal transponders were used in TOS: “Patterns of Force”.
The Kalar guards are armed with phaser rifles, originally seen in TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. The modern redesign was seen in DIS: “The Vulcan Hello”. They are dressed in a more streamlined variant of that seen in “The Cage”.
Former Yeoman Zacarias “Zac” Nguyen has assumed the title High Lord Zacarias. The reason for the deltas in the encampment and the garden was because the Kalar adopted it as his symbol. He explains the radiation here affects the brain, causing the symptoms La’An has been experiencing, leading to time loss, fear and forgetting their past, to become Kalar.
Uhura submitted a situation report to the UFP relay. Subspace relays are a vital part of the FTL communication network in the Federation, receiving and passing signals on to the next relay and increasing the range of subspace transmissions. Ortegas jokes that Uhura stays up late translating Tellarite sonnets.
Una says she flew the Enterprise before Ortegas. In “The Cage”, Number One is seen seated at the helm station before they encounter Talos IV.
Chapel detects deterioration in Uhura’s frontal, parietal and temporal lobes. The frontal lobes manage higher executive function, the parietal deals with sensory input and the temporal lobes with memory. This would be consistent with loss of memory, ringing in the ears and cognitive impairment degrading into brute-like Kalar behavior. Uhura’s regular breakfast is oatmeal.
Kalar clothes are color-coded like Starfleet divisions. Blue means you work in a quarry, while green chops the wood. Those in the palace keep their memories while the ones in the field lose them every night - explaining the caste system.
As Chapel discovers, explicit memory is lost while implicit memory remains intact. Spock theorizes the debris field can protect them from the radiation. Sadly, that turns out not to be the case, even with the shields up. As it turns out it’s the debris field that’s causing the issues.
According to her personnel file, Ortegas was born 23 May 2233, in Barranquilla, Colombia, Earth to Mircha and Fidel Ortegas. Oddly, the record also says, somewhat unnecessarily, that she is a “23rd Century Federation Starfleet Officer”. Her serial number is SC945-0710ROC and her quarters are on Deck 6, Section G, Room 629.
M’Benga is grazed and injured but not vaporized and Pike uses a metal plate to fend off Zac’s phaser blasts, so the rifles, while still injurious, obviously aren’t set to disintegrate.
Among the equipment in the supply box is a case of vaccine supplies and a tricorder. Zac explains that the palace contains an ore (like the Kalar helmets) that protects from the radiation. Being inside long enough will restore their memories.
Someday hopefully we’ll get an explanation for the under-the-eye finger sweep gesture that La’An and M’Beng share, but obviously not today. Once the Enterprise cleared the debris field, the crew’s memories came back. Spock devises a shield harmonic to protect them from the radiation and they tractor the memory-destroying asteroid off Rigel VII back into the debris field where it belongs.