My partner is no Star Trek fan. She doesn't understand my fascination and she is rarely willing to sit down to watch with me.
At least, however, she tolerates my obsession and even takes part, at least so far as being willing to buy me Trek-related gifts. In fact, she's the one who bought be my Tribble.
The amazing thing to me is how angry she gets when she finds evidence that Trek has crept into even her own favourite elements of culture. Nothing pisses her off more than finding a Star Trek reference in the latest example of "real literature", philosophy or even hard news that she's picked up.
It makes me laugh, to be honest, how mad she gets. And I can tell when it's happened, even before she says a word.
She'll be reading happily away and then, all of a sudden, I'll hear her make this strange "hrmph" sound. I'll look over and I'll see that her entire body has stiffened in annoyance and her eyebrows have contracted into two dare I say "Spock-like" slashes.
Then she'll carefully place the book, magazine, newspaper (or even laptop) to the side, look at me and say, her voice as dry as the Sahara: "I hope you're happy."
And, without fail, I am indeed happy, delighted to find out that some high-brow author, doctor or journalist has seen fit to draw an analogy to my favourite show, to use a Trek expression or to cite an example from any iteration of the Star Trek Universe to illustrate a point.
She shakes her head and reads the offending section to me. I can only grin.
She treats the experience the way you might react to stepping in doggie doo in your favourite botanical garden. She's surprised, miffed and even quite a bit disappointed. Sometimes, the Trek reference is enough to turn her off the writer/journalist/doctor entirely.
I think it's hilarious... and clear evidence that the intelligence and quality of the ideas addressed in Star Trek and its progeny have ensured that the franchise has permeated our culture today.
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