Unjoined (Worlds of DS9, Vol. 2) Spoiler

Warning: I read book 3 first. Some comments are referring to "Olympus
Descending"

S P O I L E R

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UNJOINED

The story left me with very mixed feelings. There is a lot in "Unjoined"
I found very interesting and there is a lot I liked. But unfortunately
there is one element in the story that pretty much spoiled it for me:
The characterizations of Ezri Dax and Julian Bashir which results in
their decision at the end of the story to be no longer a couple.

When I read this spoiler before I got the book, my interest in reading
"Unjoined" suffered considerably. When I got it, I read the last chapter
first in order to have at least some idea what is going on and didn`t
like it at all. At that time I already wrote a comment and Andy Mangels
afterwards added his. He said that I only read the wrap-up, that there
is more to it than the end scene. He also said that he suspects that I
don`t want to accept the ending when I get there but I will have a
clearer idea what`s gone into it and what has "irrevocably changed in
Ezri, Dax, and Bashir that brings them to the ending".

I have finished the story now, and, no - I still don`t get it and that
has nothing to do with a lack of acceptance. Knowing what it is about
and accepting it are two different things. If I would accept it even if
the break up would make sense to me is a different question I will
address later.

That means, a lot of what I say now is identical with what I have
written before: I really don`t understand what Ezri was so upset about.

At the beginning, Julian`s relationship with Jadzia was that he had a
boyish crush on her, something Jadzia found charming. They were friends
but hardly lovers. Their relationship started with mainly sexual
attraction and the rest came later, in time.

With Ezri, it was very different. Yes, their beginning of the
relationship didn`t start with sexual attraction. It indeed started
because Ezri inherited Dax. But the more they interacted with each
other, the more a friendship developed which became more.

Well, my personal opinion is, a relationship that started by being
friends on a rational level in which the sexual aspect is not that
important has a much better chance to be stable than one that started
with a crush. Also, contrary to Julian and Jadzia, both experienced a
lot together. By now they really should know each other very well indeed
and this was never more visible than in "Abyss".

Even if Ezri is right, that Julian might never have fallen in love with
her if Jadzia hadn`t died and she is now carrying Dax - it shouldn`t
matter, not any more. Life is full of "what if"s. I would have thought
that after everything they went through together before Worlds of DS9 ,
this really would no longer be an issue.

I was very disappointed that after the relationship between Ezri and
Julian matured so nicely, it was suddenly put back to the same level as
the silly problems they had at the beginning in the novels ("Avatar")
and DS9 comic. I was already very unhappy then and I said (excerpt from
my review of "Divided we Fall"):

****

This brings me to the really strange problems Ezri and Bashir have in
this story. I don`t understand the tensions and the reasons for jealousy
here either. Julian loves Ezri and she loves him. I had no reason to
doubt that. Of course the past lives Dax had matter. Of course Ezri Dax
still feels a bond to Lenara Khan - which doesn`t mean that she doesn`t
love Julian. It is so silly. When I watched DS9 I had the feeling that
Ezri evolved beyond the confused girl who had trouble with her identity.
This setback is regrettable. And Bashir never seemed so immature to me.

****

No, Ezri and Julian had been through a lot together since. Not only did
they overcome the crisis I mentioned above, I could see that they formed
a strong bond. It was especially visible in "Abyss". To me, that is love
and commitment.

"Unjoined" continuously moved back and forth concerning the Ezri/Julian
relationship until it reaches its last chapter. I noticed that whenever
both of them are separated from each other, they continue to act how I
remember them from the TV series and post-"Avatar" novels. As soon as
they are together, they tend to suddenly lose a lot of their maturity
and I found that extremely annoying. At times they support each other
and show a strong bond. At others I rolled my eyes and wondered, where
is THAT suddenly coming from? Some of the sudden arguments between them
felt extremely forced and childish to me. These are not the Julian and
Ezri I remember, especially post-"Avatar"!

The question I have is, what is it that I supposedly overlooked? Why
have they decided to separate? What happened on Trill and what Ezri
learned is a lot to digest and it certainly will have a big impact on
Trill. But Julian supported her all the way, he helped to save a LOT of
Trill lives. My logical conclusion would be the other way round, this
crisis should have brought them closer together! Ezri helped and
supported Julian during his personal crisis in "Abyss". Julian did the
same and helped her.

My personal opinion is, if it was decided that it is a good idea to
split Julian Bashir and Ezri Dax up, then there should be a real reason
for it. I hate saying this, especially because I am usually a big fan of
DS9 Relaunch, but to me that is bad writing. (I am ducking now ) I am
very disappointed that this happened and I am hoping the next book will
already show that they come to their senses.

I want to add a few more thoughts, explaining in general why I am
especially fond of the Bashir/Ezri Dax relationship. I never agreed with
the view I read sometimes that they have not enough in common. The
contrary: Both of them are outsiders. The irony is, Ezri and Julian are
even more alike now in that regard than they were before: There are now
only very few Trill left who are joined and I am sure, to many they are
even more of an elite and even more distrusted than before. The
announcement of reforms won`t change that, at least not immediately.
Bashir is now an accepted "exception" (at least on DS9), which is not
unlike what Ezri will be - or hopefully be, depending how the situation
will develop on Trill. They are both somewhat childlike, which I mean in
a positive sense, curious, and highly intelligent. It is a very
interesting combination. Their relationship in Trek is not as important
to me as the Calhoun/Shelby one, but it is important to me in DS9
Relaunch.

I guess I will have to wait and see what the next book will bring. Some
said I should keep in mind, maybe they are just stepping back from their
relationship and will come back together again. I hope so...

Nevertheless, it is a very powerful story, not quite on the same level
as "Olympus Descending", but what happened on Trill was definitely very
moving to me. I expected that there will be a crisis on Trill sooner or
later, but the extent of it definitely took me by surprise. I also
expected it that the symbionts and parasites are related but I would
never have guessed this dark secret behind the birth of the parasites.
When I read the witness report, I felt extremely torn. What would I have
done? These are times when I am glad that I don`t have to make decisions
of this magnitude or be forced to execute them. If committing mass
murder in order to try to save even more lives is justified - I also
wonder about this now when thinking about Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I read
"Unjoined" when there were a lot of discussions about WWII in the news
because of recent anniversaries. It left an impact on me.

Nevertheless, there is an important difference and a message I
definitely agree with: IF or WHEN you make such extremely controversial
decisions, it is wrong to bury the truth or even that it happened in the
first place. People have to be able to learn from what happened, they
have to remember and honor the dead and the terrible sacrifices made.
And the victims have a right not to be forgotten. But first of all,
people have to keep in mind, what happened should never happen again.
Nobody can look into the future but also Trill has an obligation to
history.

What happened on Trill was despicable. What they did and continued to do
(I am speaking of the informed minority, of course) was not only
convenient, it was cowardly. Some acts are even nothing else but
criminal. If I would have been a Trill in "Unjoined", I would probably
more angry because the truth was hidden and used in order to manipulate
society, not because of the crisis that happened millennia ago that
triggered everything that came later. I remember especially one comment
I read where someone wondered if it would even be possible to hide the
truth. I had no problem with that part of the story. Compared to Trill,
our real life human civilization is VERY young but nevertheless, there
are ruins of fallen civilizations we know nothing to very little about.
All right, this is not the same, but I can imagine that even something
THAT big can get buried very deeply within many thousands of years
especially when there is a strong conspiracy of silence.

Trill society was built on a house of cards of lies and this
construction was also the foundation of the divisions in Trill society.
Already when I read a certain story in "Lives of Dax", I found the
attitude towards the dead - or was it dying - host after the removal of
the Dax symbiont very disturbing. I have a lot of respect for president
Durghan. Not only was her speech powerful but also, she showed by
deciding to be unjoined from now on, that she is willing not only to
talk but to act as well and to make sacrifices. At least the secret of
the drug is out now as well.

I am very disappointed that Starfleet didn`t seem to have seen what
happened on Trill as a warning, a lesson they should learn themselves. I
am thinking of the events in "A Time to..." of course. As I keep saying,
it is preferable to be open and honest about what happened, to say "so
far and no further" instead of hiding secrets below a growing house of
cards of lies and wrongdoings in order to keep it hidden. If Starfleet
continues with what it is doing now, this can only end very badly.

What I also found very interesting is to learn much more about the
symbionts, how they live and their culture. Reading that part of the
story immediately reminded me of what I had just learned about the
Founders and the giant dead changeling. I don`t know if it is intended
or not or just - what is the correct phrase? - a red herring. But
"Unjoined" seemed to confirm my theory that the giant changeling is
indeed a mother creature and the Founders are her children. That could
also confirm the theory that the Founders are not sterile after all but
simply too young yet in order to have reached puberty. Only, no parent
was around to actually tell them that.

As in "Olympus Descending", I often felt like I am exploring a new
world, a new civilization and it was quite fascinating. Unless I am very
mistaken "Unjoined" also revealed that both, Trill humanoids and
symbionts evolved naturally on the same planet and the same applies to
the symbiosis itself. I had wondered about that from the very beginning
when the Trill were introduced on TV. I like what I learned and some of
these very early witness reports were quite fascinating to read.

I think this story is also the first one in which symbionts directly
talk to Trill humanoids. Even when joined, I never read thoughts that
came from symbionts, always from the memories of past hosts. "Unjoined"
showed an interesting change.

Trill as a whole became much more complex with this story. I am looking
forward to find out how things will develop in future.

Before I finish I want to mention that I am happy that Gard is still
alive and I also welcomed it to meet Keru again. I already read that
there are plans for Keru in the future, which is great. I am hoping the
same applies to Gard. Already since "Lives of Dax" I am very fond of
that character - even if this is of course not the same host as in the
short story in question.

I am looking forward to return to "Fragments and Omens" tomorrow. It
seems that it is indeed a lighter story, a good contrast to "Unjoined"
and I like what I have read so far.

Baerbel Haddrell