Lacking a destination

"Second star to the right... and straight on 'til morning."

So, for those of you readers (if I have any) who may not know, I'm a huge sci-fi nerd. Not like dress-up-as-Boba-Fett nerdy, or learn-conversational-Klingon nerdy, or even plaster-my-walls-with-Battlestar-Galactica-posters nerdy, but I would call myself a sci-fi nerd.

It also bears mentioning (if only because this is my blog and I bloody feel like mentioning it) that I have a minor pet peeve about truly excellent television shows that are cancelled after only a season or two. One such show was a little sci-fi gem called Stargate Universe.

Many of you probably know the movie "Stargate" starring James Spader and Kurt Russel. Some of you might also be familiar with the television series based on that movie, "Stargate SG-1". A few of you might even have heard of the spinoff series "Stargate Atlantis". I'm guessing, however, that only one or two people who might ever see this will be familiar with the final installment, "Stargate Universe", which follows the journey of a team of humans who have been irrevocably transported an ancient alien ship that is headed for the center of the universe... a course that launched from Earth millions of years ago. As they struggle with a lack of supplies, a lack of replacement parts, clashing personalities, and hostile aliens, they also struggle to deal with the time spent with little more to do than watch the endless void of space fly by at faster-than-light speeds and attempt to keep themselves occupied (read: sane). This was an incredibly well-crafted series that was cancelled after two seasons... and it is clear from the end of season two that a third season was expected.

The third episode of season two, titled "Awakening", is something of an emotional roller coaster for the crew of the Destiny. Still reeling from the events of the season-ending cliffhanger, and the recent death of several crewmembers, the crew finds a possible way to get home to Earth. Their attempt ends up not only failing, but causing the Destiny to lose more power. As the ship jumps back into FTL, in the process abandoning yet another member of the crew, the people on Destiny take a moment to cope in their own various ways to deal with everything that has happened. It is in this moment that the second verse is played of a song called "Sort of Revolution" by Fink. The section used is as follows:


In the dark it, feels so, real.
And all this time, we've been sleeping on it.
And who we are, and what we're going through.
All this time, spent saving for it.

umh, come so far.
umh, come so far yeah.

So just let me know when we get there, if we get there.
Let me know when we get there, if we get there.


It's the chorus of the song that really gets to me: "Let me know when we get there, if we get there." Why would this speak to me? My best guess is that it refers to a great journey (life) from the perspective of an observer along for the ride, rather than an active participant. Is that me? Am I an observer for my own life story? Have I surrendered control over the couse of my life to others? Or, perhaps, am I just too lazy to take the helm?

"Let me know when we get there, if we get there." Do I even care if we do get there? Am I at all invested in the outcome of my own journey?

"Let me know when we get there, if we get there."