The Morals of Cardinal

Star Trek: Cardinal
In a Crumbling Galaxy, a Shining Light

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The Morality of Cardinal

The Concept of Choice

Cardinal is a complex web of metaphor and allegory - Layer upon layer of philosophical, sociological, psychological and theological sound and fury that speaks to us about the very heart of the human condition.

At the heart of this web is the concept of choice, and the power we have to choose between what is moral and what is practical - What is right and what is right for us. Life is, after all, about making choices, and whether we decide to make the right choice or not is at the heart of our character and our evolution as humans. The choices are entirely dependent on our motivations. Do we let our enlightened and civilized views win out? Or do we succumb to the traps of apathy, ignorance and faithlessness? Unlike a simple choice between right and wrong, this choice is often far more complex and difficult, since it is not always easy to tell whether it is the angel on your shoulder or the devil on the other shoulder who is right.

The series begins with Captain Winters; A man who has let apathy, ignorance and faithlessness turn him from the selfless hero that helped him rescue his future helmsmen several years ago, into the apathetic paper-pusher he has become. With a beat up ship and thoughts of retirement looming over him, his life is suddenly changed when he meets The Guide, a mysterious and unexplainable life form who shows him the results of a life spent in apathy, ignorance and faithlessness. If the galaxy is to be saved, Winters must find his moral compass.

That moral compass is his chief of operations, Naomi Wildman, someone to whom morality is not a choice, but a way of life. She becomes the angel on his shoulder to fight back the demons that had overcome our lost captain, and the light he needs to show him the way. But on the other shoulder sits his engineer's mate, Tellus. Tellus is selfish, arrogant and crude, someone who cannot see beyond himself and his own life. It is the captain who must decide between the two viewpoints - Who must chose to do what is right or what is practical.

The concept of giving the devil equal time is central to the premise of Cardinal. It is not enough to simply tell people what is right and what is wrong, because sometimes the devil makes just as fine an argument. The debate is more important than the answer.

Debating versus Preaching

It is one thing to be told what is right and wrong and an entirely different thing to be shown.

Cardinal's policy of giving the devil equal time is very important to its message, and shows a clear difference between Cardinal and many other works of science fiction. Rather than telling you what is right or what is wrong, Cardinal shows you the debate, the pros and cons, the good and the bad, the moral and the practical, the emotion and the logic. It is about showing the effects of both, making it clear where such attitudes lead and finding ourselves agreeing or disagreeing with the captain in the end.

This is especially important because there isn't always an easy way out. Sometimes there is a price to be paid for doing the right thing, and what if that price is so high that is almost an evil unto itself? Such debates fuel Star Trek message boards and websites, and Cardinal will certainly add its fair share of moral dilemmas to the pile.

The Three Pillars of Failure

Cardinal often deals with the three pillars of failure as outlined in the series pilot; Apathy, Ignorance and Faithlessness.

Apathy, as the name implies, is the lack of effort, attention or motivation applied, regardless of how important the implications. This is certainly a problem in our society today, as special causes only receive attention if they are in the latest blockbuster movie, and citizens are almost begged to vote. In Cardinal this is no different. Any society that has all of its needs taken care of will inevitably become apathetic about what is to come. This is the first, and most important step in Captain Winters' rebirth - Overcoming the feeling that no one man can make a difference.

Ignorance is as important for people as it is for government. For the citizenry, ignorance of a problem is a sign it no longer exists. If it's not in my back yard, there's no need to know it is there. For a government, it is more of the same; Not knowing how a citizen is suffering makes that citizen's problem less important. This is similar to what we spoke of in our mission statement - That the studio lost track of the fans. This willful ignorance is what has led to small problems growing until they can no longer be ignored, and by then it is often too late.

Faithlessness is the last and most complex. When I speak of faith, I don't mean religion, though that is certainly a fine example of faith. Faith is believing in something or someone. To trust another is to have faith in that person. To lead is to inspire faith. All too often today governments have far too little faith in their constituents. Courts over-rule elected officials because they believe the public cannot decide a matter for themselves, or laws are designed to limit freedoms a person may take advantage of. Faithlessness is the hardest of the three pillars to see, but is also the most destructive, because unlike the first two, it cannot be overturned quickly. Trust is a hard thing to gain and also to give, and it will be Winters' most difficult and important step towards reform.