Logic is the beginning of wisdom:  Commander Ismanto Saputro (left) in discussions with other members during a Starfleet Academy panel.

From Starfleet Academy to the Starship Bridge Simulator, how Indo Star Trek goes for the final frontier of fandom.

As one of the longest running and most influential media franchises of all time, the Star Trek series is a cultural phenomenon in and out of itself.

With the wealth of material from five live-action television series, an animated television series, 12 live-action movies — with more to come from the upcoming movie, Star Trek Beyond, and the recently announced television series — it’s no surprise that the franchise gave birth to the concept of fandom.

Star Trek fans, or “Trekkies” as they are known, are believed to be the first fans to devote themselves to their beloved series — producing fanzines, fan-fiction, holding conventions and much more — breaking ground for other fandoms to follow suit.

Here in Indonesia, Trekkies are united under the common banner of the Indo Star Trek community, dedicated to celebrate the Star Trek franchise in all its forms.

Formed in 2003 as a mailing list on Yahoo by commander Ismanto Saputro, the community took off following an initial gathering in 2006.

Prior to Indo Star Trek, there had been a few separate Star Trek communities that had become inactive, with most of their members ending up in the still-growing Indo Star Trek.

“When we come together we always try to make events with activities themed around Star Trek in real life, while most of the old communities only communicate online,” Ismanto explained during a recent meeting between senior members.

Ismanto, who had become a Trekkie when he started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation series, believes that the activities they hold are instrumental for the growth of the community.

Captain Hadi Djuhartono, a senior member who came into the fandom upon watching the original series that premiered in 1966, adds that what sets their community apart from others are the community’s activities, which are “useful” and “engaging”.

These activities are frequent gathering points for community members, capable of lasting the whole day. The community has receives support from the US embassy’s cultural center, @america, in Pacific Place, South Jakarta, where the community has permission to host events.

At the core of the community is the willingness to go beyond normal fandom and to completely immerse oneself in the adored fictional universe.

In the Indo Star Trek community, elements of the Star Trek universe are assimilated as much as possible, creating a mini-culture with idiosyncrasies that have become characteristic of the community.

Instead of referring to one another using the usual Indonesian honorifics like Mas or Mbak, members refer to one another using a rank such as commander or admiral, with their rank increasing as they age.

The three-pronged Vulcan salute, a rather popular gesture, has become an almost subconsciously instant pose for photographs, greetings, and goodbyes.

These characteristics still persist even when meeting with another Trekkie outside of community events.

Events are also not just gatherings, but attempts to eliminate the barrier between the universe of Star Trek and reality for an immersive experience.

The bimonthly Starship Bridge Simulator event utilizes a computer game called Artemis to simulate the experience of operating a starship, such as the Enterprise from the franchise.

The game requires six computers, and each player fills the role of a member of the ship’s crew as they deal with the type of situations one would encounter in the Star Trek universe.

Starfleet Academy is another example, where members of the community present academic findings and knowledge to other members.

The Starfleet Academy is all about “sharing knowledge about all things related to Star Trek”, captain Hadi states.

He adds that it all stems from the question “if this is the futuristic version, then what does the modern version look like?”

The question of “what if” is something that another senior member, Captain Hilmy Hasanuddin, agrees is the origin and center of the franchise’s appeal.

To Captain Hilmy, no other science-fiction had ever inspired him as much, “Gene Roddenberry [series creator] was what you would call a visionary, a Plato of the modern age. What he put in the series were things he hoped for.”

Captain Hilmy says that among the many technologies the series have predicted or may have inspired were the cellphone, the iPad, and 3D printing – with more in development.

For he and perhaps many other fans of the series, what the series achieved was a consistent breaking of boundaries, a constant challenge to the status quo.

In addition to putting the science in science-fiction, the series consistently uses its science-fiction setting to present issues allegorically, which for fans in the Indo Star Trek community made it the best possible representation of life on screen.

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The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post

— photo are courtesy of Indo Star Trek

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