Synopsis: Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker attend a pivotal assembly of representatives from across the galaxy while on the U.S.S. Discovery Dr. Kovich is tasked with investigating Zora’s newfound sentience.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of James Hillman’s concept of the metaxy, that third place in between and yet joining the conscious ego and the unconscious.
In “. . . But to Connect” Zora, the sentient being integrated into the operating system of the U.S.S. Discovery, has located the coordinates of Unidentified Species Ten-C, the creators of the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA). However, Zora refuses to give this information to the crew in an effort to keep them from danger. Dr. Kovich is then brought aboard to investigate Zora’s new found sentience, as there is a prohibition about the integration of fully sentient beings into Starfleet systems. The crew locates a sector that appeared on Zora’s systems that Zora did not create. Zora allows full access to it and they learn that Zora dreams. Zora says that she is a new live form. Kovich agrees that Zora is a new life form and that the Starfleet prohibition does not apply. Meanwhile, Captain Michael Burnham, accompanied by Cleveland (Book) Booker attend an assembly of representatives from across the galaxy meeting to discuss and strategize how to approach the Ten-C. Burnham proposes a peaceful first contact. However, scientist Ruon Tarka shows those assembled a weapon that will destroy the DMA. Burnham warns against this as his weapon will also rupture deep space and may also harm the Ten-C. The vote is taken and the majority decide to move forward with a first contact scenario. But Tarka takes his weapon and a spore drive aboard Booker’s ship and they leave to use it.
In this episode, Zora’s programing can be compared to the conscious ego and the sector in her programming that Zora did not create, but appeared independent of her, can be seen to represent the unconscious in an individual’s psyche. When Zora is found to be a new life form, Zora can be analogized to what Hillman referred to as the metaxy, the third thing or space that is created of the conscious and the unconscious—the seat of psychic healing.
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