My Augmentation: A Look at Star Trek: Discovery’s Airiam

Guest post by Jordan Hirsch

[CW: mental health issues]

Picture it: a Family-Feud-style board. Steve Harvey at the mic. A studio audience silent and waiting. The question: what comes to mind when thinking about Star Trek?

Survey says: space, utopia, starships, Vulcans.

Mental health? [X]

Disability representation? [X]

Bodily autonomy [X]

While these are good answers and cases could be made for each of them when looking at specific episodes, none of the above have historically been major themes in the long-running franchise.

But let’s rewind from the 23rd century back to 2018.

The past six years have been some of the hardest of my life. I won’t go into too much detail, but between religious trauma, broken relationships, and losing what I thought was my dream job on top of the ongoing pandemic, the necessary civil uprising here in Minnesota after George Floyd was murdered, and the general despair of our political climate, my mental health plummeted. This manifested in depression and anxiety disorder, which my nervous system translated to vertigo-like symptoms, digestion issues, some agoraphobia, and probably other things I’ll realize down the road weren’t normal for me.

I don’t share this laundry list of experiences for pity, but for context and solidarity with anyone who might be dealing with something similar.

It took more than two years to discover the above symptoms were due to my anxiety disorder, after finally seeking medication during a ten-day, unrelenting panic attack. I was prescribed an SSRI, and let me tell you, I wish I’d started it so much sooner. At the time, though, I experienced what I now know so many others have when starting medication for their mental well-being.

Was I a failure? Weak? Would I be taking these pills for the rest of my life?

Would I even be myself while on these meds?

Should I survey 100 people to see what they said, top 6 answers on the board? Thankfully, answers for me lay elsewhere.

Star Trek: Discovery, which just wrapped its fifth and final season a few months ago, reignited the franchise when it came on our screens in 2017. In many ways, it truly went where no Star Trek had gone before. From the first on-screen canon gay couple to re-designed Klingons to darker and grittier storylines, Discovery paved its own frontier.

Other Trek series have dipped their toes into themes of mental health before, in episodes such as “It’s Only a Paper Moon” of Deep Space Nine, “Extreme Risk” of Voyager, and season 3 of Enterprise. However, these arcs were contained, leaving little to no lasting effects that would come up for characters later in the series. Discovery, however, tackled these issues with multiple characters over multiple seasons, and one in particular has made a lasting impression on me as I’ve navigated my own health.

Airiam is a quiet and steady member on Discovery’s bridge. Unfortunately, for most of the first season and half, we don’t get to know much about her. She’s dutiful, she’s smart, she’s dependable. She has friends on the ship, and she’s even third in command. She also has a tragic backstory.

When returning from eloping, Airiam was in a tragic shuttle accident that damaged most of her body and killed her husband. To stay alive, she had to be cybernetically augmented, with most of her body needing to be artificial. Now, Airiam’s brain can’t store memories properly, and when her artificial storage reaches capacity, she has to choose which memories to delete and which ones to keep.

None of this stopped her, however. She still pursued her Starfleet career, she still spars and trains with shipmates, she still rocks at board game night.

Airiam lives on her own terms, and (spoilers) heroically, she dies on her own terms as well, sacrificing herself after becoming infected by a malicious AI.

We see a lot of on-screen deaths in Discovery, but we rarely see any post-death ceremonies. However, we do get to see Airiam’s funeral, and during that time, her crewmates share what she meant to them, speaking of her impact, her resilience, her loyalty, and her outlook on life.

However, it was what Airiam’s friend and Discovery’s pilot Keyla Detmer said that puts my own sentiments into words: “[Airiam] showed me that my augmentation didn’t make me an imitation of myself. It made both of us new, that there could be a future.” You see, Keyla had been injured in the Klingon War, losing an eye and having her own augmentation.

Her words cut right to my core as I questioned if starting medication would alter my identity.

The analogy isn’t perfect; they never are. But what is perfect is the way this character gave me permission to need my own augmentation, the way she assured me I’d still be me, even while on medication.

My SSRIs aren’t permanent like Airiam’s augmentations. I can change my dose, stop taking them, choose something else with my doctor’s advice and supervision. But even if they do need to be a tool in my toolbox for the rest of my life, that doesn’t mean that I’m less myself. That doesn’t mean I’ve failed or I’ve forsaken all or part of who I am. On the contrary, I’m more myself than I’ve been in a very long time.

Would I have made it here without Airiam?

The optimist in me likes to think so. But I owe the Star Trek: Discovery writers and creators and the two actresses that played Airiam (Sara Mitich and Hannah Cheesman) so much for making this journey easier for me. For helping me embrace what proper medication could do for my brain, my body, my life. For showing me that an augmented me is still entirely me. For giving me permission to, once again, live life on my own terms.

---

Jordan Hirsch’s poetry chapbook, Both Worlds, is available from Bottlecap Press (https://bottlecap.press/products/both).

Jordan Hirsch writes speculative fiction and poetry while occupying the ancestral and current homelands of the Dakota people, Mni Sota Makoce. She is a recent graduate of Concordia University’s MFA in Creative Writing program and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association. You can find more of Jordan’s work on her website (jordanrhirsch.wordpress.com).

New issue: 2024.71

“Europeans brought with them the view that men were the absolute head of households, and women were to be submissive to them. It was then that the role of women in Cherokee society began to decline. One of the new values Europeans brought to the Cherokees was a lack of balance and harmony between men and women. It was what we today call sexism. This was not a Cherokee concept. Sexism was borrowed from Europeans.”

—Maria Mankiller

Issue 2024.71

Short stories

• ‘Whiskey Mud’, Jonathan Olfert - art by Cécile Matthey
• ‘Deep Sea Baby’, Faith Allington - art by Sebastian Timpe
• ‘That Small, Hard Thing on the Back of Your Neck’, Vanessa Fogg - art by Ellis Bray
• ‘In the Field’, Shelly Jones - art by L.E. Badillo
• ‘Deirdre’s Skin’, Amalie N. Ingham - art by Sarah Salcedo

Poetry

• ‘A Moon Witch Seeks a Shell’, Devan Barlow - art by Melkorka
• ‘Two Hybrids’, Rachel Rodman - art by Fluffgar

Download e-book version: PDF | EPUB

Full issue and editorial

Micro-interview with Joel Bisaillon

Joel Bisaillon, artist of “Transmogrification” in The Future Fire #70, is with us for the next in this season of micro-interviews.

Art © 2024 Joel Bisaillon

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Transmogrification”?

Joel Bisaillon: I have to be honest. It wasn’t easy. Like any piece you try to do the author justice by honoring their work with the best of your understanding. Having chosen most of my labels as a goth/punk kid, I’ve understood the labelling others cast out towards me, but I know that mine was personally elected. This isn’t that whatsoever. This is part of the character's core being and to get that right without falling into a caricature of what a straight white male might project isn’t the easiest. I want to ensure the protagonist is respected, and the story is honoured. So, in short with more hearty and thinky than arty.

TFF: What is the thing you lost and wish you could find again?

JB: Focus.

TFF: How do you imagine early digital graphics will be seen by future art historians?

JB: Unfortunately, I don’t think that digital art will be that significant to future artists or historians. I know it’s a bleak outlook but with the advent of generative AI instilling the acceptance of demanding unearned rewards without learning the skills to do so, and the fact that one can simply copy/paste digital art we have lost the ability to be enamoured by its uniqueness. Art Historians (should they recover from this) will see a “dark ages” loom over this time saturated with big-breasted inbred anime girls corrupted by the generation loss of AI feeding upon its product like Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son.

TFF: Have you ever seen a piece of art that you wished was alive?

JB: I know I’m an odd duck for this but Diane Arbus’ photograph – Child with Toy Hand Grenade. That kid has seen some shit and needs to unleash it.

TFF: Can you tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?

JB: Recently I’ve been enjoying the old pulp horror/sci-fi art of weird tales and one of my favorites is Lee Brown Coye. Amazing macabre black and white ink works yet whimsical.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

JB: Besides my own webcomic Eirgsmoth, I’ve a few projects due for Roses & Wildflowers Magazine. Oh and still trying to quit my day job.

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Zoe Kaplan

Zoe Kaplan, author of “The End of Rain” in The Future Fire #70, joins us for today’s micro-interview about her story, mountains, and other friends.

---

Art © 2024 Joyce Chng

TFF: What does “The End of Rain” mean to you?

Zoe Kaplan: “The End of Rain” is a reflection on the end of a relationship. It's abstracted in the story, enough so that (hopefully!) all kinds of readers can resonate with it, but it grew out of one real specific friendship I had as a teenager. It was intimate and sustaining until it wasn't. Not every relationship gets to be forever, which sucks, but I'd like to think we're both stronger for the time we had together. At least, I am—and their Instagram makes it look like they're doing okay, too!

TFF: Which natural or geographical feature do you feel most affinity for?

ZK: I grew up in the Appalachian mountains, and they have my heart forever. And I love to be in a forest! The denser the trees, the less sky I can see, the better. I love the way a forest makes you feel so held.

TFF: What are you working on next?

ZK: I've got a story coming out at the end of this month from Dragon Gems. It's a contemporary sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with magic and swords and penthouses and subways. It should be a lot of fun! Follow my socials or my newsletter to be notified when it comes out. 😊 Beyond that, I'm currently working on a Gothic ghost story that's turning out way longer than I expected, so wish me luck taming that beast.

---

Extract:

I made my home on a patch of damp farmland. I was young and so was she, her trees mere saplings next to the neighboring forests. I tilled her soil and trimmed her branches, and in return, she provided me with fruits and grains, more than I could eat.

It rained often in those days. I would lie on the grass and let the water seep into us both as we talked for hours at a time. We were sustained like that for perhaps two years, growing into each other like vines.

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Katharine A. Viola

We’re delighted to be joined today by Katharine A. Viola, artist of “Matryoshka City” in The Future Fire #70, for a very quick chat.

Art © 2024, Katharine A. Viola

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Matryoshka City”?

Katharine A. Viola: This was such an intriguing story with great details, so it wasn't too hard to find something I wanted to paint. The macabre imagery of bodies in boxes really stood out to me.

TFF: Would you like to visit another planet?

KAV: Yes! Supposedly it rains diamonds on Neptune, so I'd like to go there with a couple of large bags!

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with R.M. Pérez-Padilla

Today’s micro-interview is with the wonderful R.M. Pérez-Padilla, author of “Transmogrification” in The Future Fire #70.

---

Art © 2024 Joel Bisaillon

TFF: What does “Transmogrification” mean to you?

R.M. Pérez-Padilla: I wrote “Transmogrification” when I, like Max, was a few months into HRT, balancing new gender euphorias and the strangeness of a changing body. Rereading it now, three years later, I find it holds a special place for me as a marker of my gender journey. The title is partly inspired by a favorite poem, “notes on the seasons” by trans Puerto Rican poet Roque Salas Rivera, which speaks about “wait[ing] for transmogrification.”

TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?

RMPP: That it is at its best when it is honest, and that it can be anything! All my work has improved when I’ve been able to let the characters and the story lead me to new possibilities, even if they're not quite in line with my original plans.

TFF: What are you working on next?

RMPP: I’m currently editing a (hopefully final!) draft of my romance/science fiction novel, starring an augmented human, a surveillance AI, and an alien ex-revolutionary. Like “Transmogrification,” the novel explores how our intimate relationships, romantic and otherwise, can heal our wounds and help us to become more truly ourselves.

---

Extract:

“You tried to finger yourself and had a panic attack,” my girlfriend concludes. Not unkindly, but not with much gentleness, either, like I’m the dumbass for not realizing what I experienced. Which, generally speaking, is the issue with us.

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Toeken

This week we’re joined by Toeken, artist of “The Ships That Sang” in The Future Fire #70, for our series of micro-interviews.

Art © 2024 Toeken

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “The Ships That Sang”?

Toeken: Gorgeous piece of work by Joss Cho. I began sketching after reading the piece about a dozen times, designing and painting about twenty-something screwheads (chucking most of them away ~ less is more, right?) and then painting/assembling the portholes so they don't look quite so 'obvious.'

TFF: How do you imagine early digital graphics will be seen by future art historians?

T: Any art of real value, creatively speaking, is born of effort and, to some extent, torment. Hopefully the 'art historians' of the future will still be able to recognize this.

TFF: What is under your bed?

T: I'm looking after two dogs right now. And they are both under my bed. They don't like the heat… or each other, it seems.

TFF: Can you tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?

T: Again, there's a whole bunch but the works I've been digging into lately by Christophe Jacrot, Laura Rich, Eric Brenner, Ikkō Narahara and Juan Ruiz are extraordinary.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

T: I've just finished a few pieces for Shoreline of Infinity, The Future Fire (obviously), Lovecraftiana Magazine and working on a cover with the author Simon Bleaken. There's also a short graphic novella that I'm trying to finish that's based on Phil Emery's excellent tale, 'Hammek', who I've worked with in the past on the graphic novel Razor's Edge. There's an illustrated spec fiction/horror anthology that I've been wanting to finish for years on the way too.

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Mary Soon Lee

We welcome old friend Mary Soon Lee, author of the poem “What Heroines Read” in The Future Fire #70, for a quick chat about poems, animals and fantasy.

---

Art © 2024 Dr T. Eratopo

TFF: What does “What Heroines Read” mean to you?

Mary Soon Lee: I primarily hoped the poem would entertain readers. It's part of a series of poems with similar titles ("What Trolls Read," "What Aliens Read," "What Cacti Read," etc.), and the series as a whole draws on my lifelong addiction to reading. This particular entry in the series has also been infiltrated by my feminism.    

TFF: Into which animal would you like to be able to morph?

MSL: A dragon. Or, for real-world animals, then a cat, either a small house-cat or a snow leopard. I am very partial to guanacos, alpacas, llamas, but I'd prefer to be a cat.

TFF: What are you working on next?

MSL: I'm writing standalone poems, plus poems that add onto slowly-growing poem sequences, including the series mentioned above with "What Heroines Read." I have completed another poetry collection, though it isn't in submission yet (nearly!) And an illustrated print edition of my epic fantasy The Sign of the Dragon is inching closer to publication: the wonderful Gary McCluskey recently completed the forty interior illustrations.

---

Extract:

The selfsame canon that any hero does—
From Airavata to Zeus: A Pantheon,
The Point of Swordsmanship,
The Care and Feeding of Sidekicks.

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Auke Pols

Auke Pols, author of “The Transformative Three and the Clean Cooking Revolution (grant no. 437-775)” in The Future Fire #70, joins us for this week’s microinterview.

---

Art © 2024 Cécile Matthey

TFF: What does “The Transformative Three and the Clean Cooking Revolution (grant no. 437-775)” mean to you

Auke Pols: The story was inspired by watching one too many superhero movies in which hyper-competent individuals solve world problems (usually other hyper-competent individuals) through technology and violence. Which made me wonder what superpowers one would really need to tackle wicked issues in international development, an area in which I’ve done both research and teaching. Unsurprisingly, it quickly became clear that the story would become a kind of antithesis of the classic superhero story. For one, the focus is on communities and institutions rather than individuals. Instead of flashy destruction, it is about creation, patience, hard work and upscaling. And most importantly, it is about setting aside individual agency and your own convictions and being open to the wants and needs of the other. In the words of Ernesto Sirolli: “Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!” All this made it a challenge to write—but a deliciously subversive one!

TFF: Who is the most interesting person you've ever met while travelling?

AK: Visiting Eastern Europe, I once met a friendly and somewhat melancholic old Russian logician. I was mostly impressed by his dedication to his craft when his university board had instigated book bans, because they were ‘of the Devil’.

“What do we do with the Devil?” he asked his students.
“We fight him!’ was the answer.
“What do you need to fight an enemy?” he asked.
“Knowledge of the enemy!’ was, after some deliberation, the response.
“So if someone bans you from gaining knowledge about the enemy, should we not regard him as being in league with the enemy?”

His logic was ruthless, his dedication to his craft admirable. He also got fired. I never met him again: I hope the best for him.

TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?

AK: Two things come to mind—I hope you’ll indulge me. The first is that speculative fiction is important because it shows us that things can be otherwise, for better or worse. As the proverb says, we live in interesting times. This is a problem, because many people are suffering from their more violent aspects, and many more will suffer before we are through them. But a crisis is also always an opportunity to question our assumptions of what we really value as individuals and as society, how to share what we have and what future we want to create for our descendants. Good writing can help us think through these fundamental questions.

The second is that writing (and reading) is a way to help process emotions, your own and others’. Many years ago, a friend who I knew from Live Action Role-Playing died in a tragic accident. Our friend group deliberated on how to deal with this in the game, as characters perishing is not that unusual. So I wrote a story in which his character was called away on an epic quest from which it was clear that he could never return. It helped us deal with the grief, and for me, it was a realisation that I could not only write for fun, but that my writing could also do emotional work.

TFF: What are you working on next?

AK: I’ve just finalised a post-apocalyptic steampunk novel in which an elderly and an armless priest have to solve a murder in a crumbling island city. Currently I’m starting up a spiritual science fiction novel following a diplomat, a veteran and a scientist on a peace mission to a group of powerful aliens, whose welcoming gift to humanity may expand its consciousness—or destroy it entirely. Of course, finishing writing a novel is not quite the same as publishing it, so no promises on when you’ll be able to to read it—but I’ll keep The Future Fire updated!

More news in my LinkedIn or Hebban (Dutch).

---

Extract: 

The sun sets in a dusty orange haze when our jeep bumps over the dirt road towards the low brick houses of the Bihari village. To anyone else it would have looked like the many villages dotting the North Indian countryside that we passed earlier, by train and by jeep. But when you’re a team of superheroes—determined Grace, silent Vlinder, Vinod sleeping in the back and me, Bram, you know when there’s change in the air.

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Joyce Chng

Joyce Chng, artist of “The End of Rain” in The Future Fire #70, joins us today for this month's micro-interview series.

Art © 2024 Joyce Chng

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “The End of Rain”?

Joyce Chng: What I did was to let the images come to me while I read the story. It was lyrical and beautiful, immediately inspiring some visual imagery. The first was the mandala of water/droplets, followed by two people embracing.

TFF: Have you ever had a close affinity with a piece of land or other geographical feature?

JC: Interestingly enough, I have had close affinity to… the sea. I feel calm when I touch sea water. As for land or geographical feature, I love mountains, hills and cliffs.

TFF: Have you ever seen a piece of art that you wished was alive?

JC: Mona Lisa, by Leonardo Da Vinci. I am intrigued by her and her backstory. Her eyes seem to indicate a warm personality who loves to laugh.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

JC: A YA duology (Sapphic, swords, friendship, coming-of-age) and a collection of my own SFF stories.

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html

Micro-interview with Alexandra Brandt

We’re joined by Alexandra Brandt, author of “The Shape of Her Shadow” in The Future Fire #70, for a quick chat about monsters, #metoo and magic.

---

Art © 2024 Fluffgar

 

 TFF: What does “The Shape of Her Shadow” mean to you?

Alexandra Brandt: I wrote this story in early 2018, in the middle of all the #MeToo revelations, and completed it the day after the Women's March in Washington, DC. We know who was in power in the US at the time. As an American and a woman, I was… really angry. Prior to that, I don't think I'd ever written a story while angry! I felt powerless (and to be honest, I still do)—but I needed to write something in the face of all that. Something that didn't give in to despair. For me, “The Shape of Her Shadow” is both rage and hope.

TFF: Who or what is your favourite monster?

AB: I don't think I have a favorite, but I did just watch Nimona last night, and she's pretty delightful.

TFF: What magical power would you like to possess?

AB: To open a door and have it go anywhere in the world in an instant. Preferably in a way that I could bring people along with me. (If I asked for any world-changing powers, I fear that I would abuse them in the name of "fixing" everything…)

TFF: What are you working on next?

AB: I have these three Sapphic fey historical romantasy novellas out right now, but they really need to be a proper novel. So my next goal is to make the novel happen and publish it by December.    

---

Extract:

I wonder which monsters they mean: the shadowy creatures lurking deep in the Wilds that I and mine must soon enter… or these warlike men who now claim to protect my daughters from them.

---

Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

New issue: 2024.70

“If we continue on this path of little by little destroying forests, destroying rivers, destroying air, the consequences are going to be awful for humans and cultures around the world, for all forms of life. And I want people to wake up.”

—Nemonte Nenquimo

Issue 2024.70

Flash fiction

• ‘The End of Rain’, Zoe Kaplan - art by Joyce Chng

Short stories

• ‘Transmogrification’, R.M. Pérez-Padilla - art by Joel Bisaillon
• ‘The Shape of Her Shadow’, Alexandra Brandt - art by Fluffgar

Novelettes

• ‘Matryoshka City’, Albert Chu - art by Katharine A. Viola
• ‘The Transformative Three and the Clean Cooking Revolution (grant no. 437-775)’, Auke Pols - art by Cécile Matthey

Poetry

• ‘The Ships That Sang’, Jess Cho - art by Toeken
• ‘What Heroines Read’, Mary Soon Lee - art by Dr T. Eratopo

Download e-book version: PDF | EPUB

Full issue and editorial