day 3 - i finally finished Star Trek The Next Generation: Buried Age. i've had the fortune of reading some outstanding books, selected almost at random. highlights include The End of Eternity by Asimov and Cutting for Stone. there were some Star Wars books, but so far they failed to impress because it was all action that was generally corny, limited character development, no science or fiction concepts that were original or otherwise inspiring.

Buried Age spanned a long, long period of time both in the lifetime of Picard and in the scope of the reference time for the Manraloth, which Picard discovered when on an archaeological dig. more important, though, was the exporlation of humanity, the hope that humans can transcend their predatory violent instincts and maybe use some of the brain for benevolence. for me, though, what resonated was the idea of atonement for mistakes. the obsession of fixing what i didn't get right, and that only i could do it (and how that stemmed from ego, really) and how beating one's self up could actually get to a point of being counter to a lot of things.

end of eternity - this quote sums it up: "any system like Eternity, which allows men to choose their own future, will end by choosing safety and mediocrity, and in such a Reality the stars are out of reach."
Asimov saw it all coming, well before "safety" was the buzzword in industry, or even in toyota commercials. safety is a good thing, but this drive to mediocrity troubles me.

Cutting for Stone - well, we shall see if my future is to be anything as interesting as those doctors. i hope so.