Synopsis: The Protostar crew learns about how Rok-Tahk, Fugitive Zero, and Jankom Pog came to arrive on Tars Lamora.
This episode can be seen as illustrating the concept of masking, how a neurodiverse individual, or anyone else for that matter, tries to fit into a society that has “othered” them.
In “Preludes,” while on the U.S.S. Dauntless Vice-Admiral Kathryn Janeway learns that the crew of the Protostar are a group of young individuals called “The Unwanted,” the Protostar crew learns how Rok-Tahk, Fugitive Zero, and Jankom Pog came to arrive on Tars Lamora. Rok-Tahk was sold to Kazons after she refused to continue to pretend to lose to a hero in a rigged fight; Fugitive Zero were captured by Kazons after being separated from their fellow exploring Medusans; and Jankom Pog, was aboard a sleeper ship that he repaired and then needed to leave in order for the rest of the crew to survive, and he was also captured by Kazons. Meanwhile, aboard the Dauntless, when Vice-Admiral Janeway sees Ensign Asencia no longer masked as a Trill, The Diviner knocks Janeway unconscious.
In this episode, there are several illustrations of masking to fit in. Rok-Tahk played the role of “The Monster,” in a rigged fighting show until she could no longer bear pretending to be weak. Fugitive Zero were taken captive, and now must continue to be masked to protect the sanity of the crew. Asencia masked herself as another species from another time in order to fulfill her mission. But to revive the Diviner’s memory she must reveal herself to him. These situations can be analogized to how it feels for neurodivergent individuals who feel they must try to fit into a neurotypical world. A practice so ingrained that often it is difficult to stop and be one’s true self. Hopefully, one day we won’t have to.
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