Kobayashi Maru

I am a child of the late 70's and early 80's. I was raised on Star Trek reruns, and saw all the Star Trek movies in theaters, even the one with the whales. They were alternately awful, and amazing, without redeeming value, and invaluable in teaching me lessons about the triumph of the human, and Vulcan, and sometimes even Klingon spirit over evil. One of the indelible marks left on my psyche by this series of films was the idea of Kobayashi Maru.

In my extensive research online- two minutes with Wikipedia (and yes, there is more than one page dedicated to Kobayashi Maru as it relates to Star Trek! ) I learned that the direct translation of the word "Kobayashi" means small grove and "Maru" is a common family name and a common suffix for ship names. (For my Japanese speaking readers, if there are any, please forgive me if Wiki has steered me wrong). However, in the vernacular of Star Trek, Kobayashi Maru refers a training mission that actually has no solution. The mission required the Captain and his crew to leave behind a shuttle of personnel in order to accomplish the mission objective, even though the people on the shuttle would most certainly die. It's an impossible situation. The guiding principle is of course, that the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. In the lore of the Trekkies, the only one to ever beat it, of course, was the hero, Captain James T. Kirk. He reprogrammed the simulation computer so he could save the shuttle and complete the mission. He was a smart one that Kirk. and was legend in his own time as a result. A firebrand, a maverick. But the the legend of the Kobayashi Maru would yet come home to roost for Kirk. We'll get to that in a bit.

So you're probably wondering why I'm writing about a fictional training mission from a fictional tv/movie franchise and what the hell it has to do with me. Ok. I'll tell you, since you asked. I've been watching the coverage of what is happening in Japan, and with much less interest, in the middle east and find myself sitting in front of my computer or the television and wondering why my face is wet with tears. I sit here my beautiful office, or my comfortable home in one of the prettiest towns in America, and I wonder how it is I came to be here, and not somewhere else. Fate? Luck? I don't know.

I wonder why in stories the heroes get the girl or boy, the treasure, and the happily ever after, but in reality, they get to fight for freedom and die doing it, or try to keep a nuclear reactor from melting down, and their bounty is radiation sickness and certain painful death. We are told as children that we can all be heroes, we can all slay the dragon, take the castle, marry the prince or princess, bring peace to the kingdom and look hot doing it-we are never, ever told, about the compromises, the choices that feel and sometimes are near impossible that you absolutely have to make along the way, and the gift they leave you with, that keeps on giving. Guilt.

My family is Jewish. Before World War II my Mother's family lived in Poland. On the eve of the Nazi invasion, my Grandmother, decided that she would take my mother who was then 9 months old and flee, head east towards Russia. Her mother, my Great Grandmother said, "leave the baby". If my Grandmother "left the baby", I would never have been born. My Grandmother's entire family (with the exception of a few uncles who had escaped to America before the war) died in Treblinka. My Grandma made the decision to do what she felt was best for her baby and for herself. Turned out pretty good for me too. Sadly, the price tag has been pretty high for my Mom, but that is her story to tell.

We have, I imagine, all had to deal with many small Kobayashi Maru moments in our lives, and their aftermaths. None of my decision have been as grave or as serious as my grandmother's decision in 1939. I read about the 50 who stayed at the Fukushima plant, those who are fighting for freedom in Libya ,and I know they have made their decision based on that needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few principle. I wonder if I could? I hope I could. If I had to.

You should know, by the way, in the end, Captain Kirk, lost his best friend, Spock, when Spock made the decision to sacrifice himself, and put the needs of the many, before his own life. You see, in real life, there is no way to reprogram the simulator. There are no easy ways around these situations. You have to know yourself, stand your ground, take a deep breath and just move forward. Please God, when its my turn, let me be able to do what must be done. That's all I ask.