Seventh Order Contest!

It's time for the next Seventh Order contest!!!  It's time for "NAME THAT CARDASSIAN!"

Ker Plunk.    Gul Omydreams.    Ker Fetachini (first name Alf'redo).

Put on your thinking cap and come up with your best/worst names.  Make liberal use of the ranks.  Don't forget lesser known ones like Ker, Vadel and Legate.    A Seventh Order mousepad to the winner!

Contest closes June 30, 1998.   Winners will be decided by a vote of the GMs.  In the case of multiple instances of a submission, the one timestamped the earliest will be accepted.   Please email all responses to our contest division at contest@7thorder.org

Cardassian Auction!

The combined DS9 fan clubs are holding a charity auction to benefit Pediatric Aids.  The auction is a silent one, being held across the Internet.  There's lots of great items to bid on, so take a look at:

http://members.aol.com/primeview/auction.html

Some of the items up for bid include signed scripts from Waltz, A Time to Stand, and Sons and Daughters; Cardassian artwork in the form of a signed drawing of Gul Dukat (taking his shirt off) and Cardassian ceramic masks; signed photo of Marc Alaimo (Dukat) and Casey Biggs (Damar); signed poster magazine, and lots more.

Check it out for the chance to bid on some wonderful items and help out a good cause.
 
 

Cardassian Education
by Yelbrin Relsek Marko

It is a well known fact that Cardassians have superior mental abilities.  These skills are honed from an early age.   Our children begin school earlier than many other races and are trained much more intensively.  An interesting comparison can be made in the primary school years.  Federation children are taught their alphabet with the use of a simple chant that relating each letter to an object  (A is for apple, B is for ball, etc.)  or via a musical progression of the letters only.   Yelbrin Relsek Marko of the Deklar recently submitted to us the Cardassian version for comparison.  As you can see, our alphabet is much more that just a mechanism for remembering letters.  It teaches the children about ourselves, our enemies, and the current political situation.

A's Animosity (we've seen that already)
B is Berating (keeps subordinates steady)
C is Cardassian, the subject of this verse
D is Dominion, whom we all may curse
E is for Everyone that we will conquer
F's Federation- they're toothless, why bother?
G is for Gul, the respected CO
H can be Homicide of the PO
I's Insubordination (you won't find that here)
J's Jem'Hadar that Cardassians don't fear
K is Kanar, dark and quite thick
L is Lakat, run by Maalik
M was Maquis, but not any longer
N is for Neck, and ours are much stronger
O was Occupation of the planet Bajor
P is their Prophets, whom we abhor
Q stands for Quadrants (the Alpha, we'll have it)
R's Red leaf tea, and for us it's a habit
S is for Setlek, we bore many wounds
T's Trinulla, if her father approves
U is Ukel, bulky and trite
V is for Voles that we like to fight
W is the Wormhole that bridges the void
X- Xenophobia (we are paranoid)
Y stands for Yamok (does it contain fat?)
And Z is Ziyal - enough about that!

Playmates - 1998 Figures!

Playmates has come out with a couple of exciting additions to their line for 1998.  There are deluxe figures of Gul Dukat and of a Jem'Hadar soldier.  These are better than your average action figure, standing nine inches tall and having real clothes rather than molded ones.  There has been great attention to detail in them especially in areas like Gul Dukat's facial features.   Check it out at http://www.playmatestoys.com/startrek/9figs.htm  -- link no longer active.
 

I know what I want for Christmas!!!!!

Haute Cuisine of the Galaxy - Cardassian Dishes!
Courtesy of Yelbrin Elim Masad

Cardassian dishes reflect Cardassian lifestyle very well. They are without bits and pieces and reduced to their fundamental structure with their ingredients often confusing varied, the Cardassian cuisine uses both ingredients extremely spicy and extremely sweet in one dish. As a result of this manner, only Cardassians are able to distinguish the important elements of a dish. The most extreme example is the yamok sauce, which is almost an insult to Terran gustatory nerves, while the Cardassians consider it as THE ideal dish.

Tuspakh Eggs

Tuspakh eggs are, as are all other things Cardassians appreciate, functional and of a strange aesthetic. The egg of the Tuspakh is so well balanced that it can be put on a table and remains in this position without rolling away. The outer side of the shell is of a grid like nature which gives the egg the special ability: it can be deformed without breaking off. For the aesthetic fanatic Cardassians, the Tuspakh egg is not only an object of special beauty but it also represents the ideals of functionalism which Cardassians are highly devoted to.

The number of possibilities to prepare a Tuspakh egg is nearly endless. Please mind that in Cardassian culture, even the consumption of a Tuspakh egg during a special ceremony is considered an own recipe. The cookbook series "Tuspakh eggs" consist of over seventy volumes with each one of them containing more than 500 pages. Here we can only print some of the most famous recipes.

Tuspakh Eggs in Egg Creme

2 Liter of Moul milk
8 fresh Tuspakh eggs
1 part of a Yeleel root, approx. the size of a little finger

Heat up the milk until it boils up, then take it from the stove. Add the half quantity of the Yeleel root and let them cool down without stirring.

Open the eggs and separate the yolk from the rest. You don't need the white of the eggs for this recipe. But since it is very valuable, fill it into a bottle without leaving space for air, because oxygen decomposes important proteins. Beat the yolk to a froth, then fill it in a bowl. Mix the frothy yolk with the milk. Cook the mixture slowly, until the liquid becomes a creme. Grind the second half of the Yeleel root to a powder and add it to the creme.

For more recipes, please see the Cuisine section of the Seventh Order Database:
http://www.7thorder/7cuisine.htm

COMING UP SOON: Cardassian Cuisine Part II - How to Make Yamok Sauce.

Book Review
by Galt Elim Jasad

Wrath of the Prophets
by Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger.
274 pp., Pocket Books, 1997.

Haven't actually read many DS9 Pocket Book novels, but the book's gimmick-Kira Nirys meets Ro Laren!-for me was a grabber. Plus, most of the action-the back cover implied-centered on Bajor rather than DS9 or various other planets. So I plunked down my money, took the book and away I went.

And I'm happy to report that Wrath of The Prophets is a very good read. The plotline involves a plague on Bajor. How the plague came to be and was spread (as much as by Bajoran corruption as by natural means) is what the sometimes cooperative, usually contentious pair of Bajoran women discover. Along the way we meet a number of characters, some of which we know from DS9 episodes, including Kai Wynn, Varis Sul of the 1st season episode "The Storyteller"-remember that one? Two feuding villages?-1st minister Chakar
and the Orion Syndicate, more piratical here than in the recent DS9 episode.

The writers do a fine job of capturing the characters of both women-Kira's can-do spirit as well as Ro Laren's no-respect cynicism.. The book gives a taste of what Ro would have brought to DS9 as a character: a shame she will never make even a guest appearance; she's now on "Homicide: Life on the Street".

The story is solid and a page turner. But I did find the ending a bit too pat, in the tradition of these ST-Pocket Books. The sameness and simpleness of the writing style apparently mandated by Pockets Books is also a bit disappointing, although it does make for a fast read & the writers have a knack for a skillful turn of phrase when they need it. But I would have liked more expansive descriptions of Bajoran society than I got.

All in all, though, a satisfying book. Thumbs up! Bring Ro back for a sequel, guys!

Episode Review

Far Beyond the Stars
by Gord Parr

Far beyond the stars... a world where tyranny does not rule. Where there is not oppression. Where one race does not war against another.  Is this the 20th or  the 24th century?  Are there parallels?

There are similarities with the characters played in the 20th and 24th century.   Sisko the righteous.  Dukat the tyrant.  Odo policing the situation.  Quark striking deals, for donuts.  Worf  the team player who stands out like a ridged  forehead among flatheads.

The story is about overcoming obstacles, finding love and getting along at work. In either century.
With  nifty editing of places and people,  building  the level of  confusion in  Benny/Ben.  Racism glossed over would not have caused criticism.  Can a human love a Trill and their host?  This a story of characters in moral conflict.  Set in the recent past,  rather than in the near future.

Investigation of  the unknown, without prejudgement.  Different beings cooperating for the betterment of  all.  Good and Evil in all its forms and colors,  the weakness and strength of  Man.  This is Trek and it is also a reflection of the people and society producing it.  If at times they tackle unpleasant issues  and offend people by  waking them  from their TV opiate, this better than the silliness of a Borg in pumps!

Alternate time lines, alternate universes,  grist for the writers of Trek.  Is  this show any different than a Klingon holodeck simulation about two brothers fighting about justice?   About being tortured over four or five lights, forcing a man or society to think a certain way?  Our Man Bashir saving the world from the Evil?

Look how far we have come in the 24th century.  Look how far we have come in 4 decades.  Which perspective do you wish to look from?  Enjoy the jokes, the bubble gum, the music.  Guess the Sci-Fi
authors true identities.  See your favorite actor without latex on his face!

And ponder, is DS9 Benny's dream or a reality of  the future?

After all, as the evil Kirk said,  "Get a life, it's only a TV show!"

Classifieds:

Lakat Training Camp - Recruiting  Department
File 48309231

Position Available - (This position has been filled.)

Lakat Training Camp is looking for an individual to work with Gul Maalik.  Responsibilities will include dispensing information on the Seventh Order, receiving applications from new recruits, administering training holosimulations, providing a point of contact for questions, working with Gul Maalik to assign graduates to the appropriate ship and ensure the graduates embark for the ship.   The successful candidate will have good people skills, follow up skills and attention to detail.   This role provides the opportunity for future promotion within the Lakat Training Camp or within the Seventh Order.

Interested applicants may contact Gul Maalik directly at maalik@7thorder.org