Once again reality has caught up and will pass science fiction at the time of this post, in this case with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Fans of the TV show know all too well that this date marks the time of the infamous Bell Riots.

In the two-part episode, “Past Tense” Commander Ben Sisko, Dr. Julian Bashir and Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax accidentally time traveled to San Francisco on August 30, 2024, and were pivotal figures in the Bell Riots on September 1, one of the most violent periods in American history.

For anyone who has not seen these episodes, the Bell Riots were an important event in American history that influenced the country to seriously tackle its social problems. During this time period of the 2020s, the homeless and jobless were forcibly housed in so-called Sanctuary Districts, which were essentially walled-off, overcrowded internment camps were the residents were poorly treated and lived under harsh conditions. Things came to a head on August 31, 2024, when Bashir was attacked by a gang of thugs. One man, Gabriel Bell, tried to help Bashir but was stabbed and killed for his action. Bell’s death created a ripple effect in history were the United States deteriorated and ultimately the United Federation of Planets was never formed.

It turned out that Gabriel Bell would have become a key figure in an uprising in the San Francisco Sanctuary District that took place on September 1, 2024. Bell became the face of the riots and his actions by protecting District employees who were taken hostage and giving a sympathetic face to the homeless residents. Unfortunately, Bell was killed by national guardsmen who took back the District, but his actions were publicized and turned public opinion against the Districts and swayed the United States to find long-term solutions to its social problems.

Bell was killed near the conclusion of the first episode and Sisko quickly realized the devastating effect Bell’s death would have on history. Thus, when “Past Tense, Part I” concluded, Sisko and Bashir took part in a takeover of the District’s processing center where the hostages were held and announced that he was Gabriel Bell. The dilemma was that in order to carry out Bell’s life to its conclusion, Sisko had to die. But how was this resolved in “Past Tense, Part II”? Well, this is Star Trek. 😀

“Past Tense, Part I and II” was one of the better time travel episodes in the Star Trek franchise because of its unique nature that it took place during a then-future period in our history (the episodes aired in January 1995, which was a risk. After all, it was very likely at the time of filming that the future portrayed in “Past Tense” would not come to be and fortunately the Districts do not exist in our reality. Obviously, the now-contemporary Earth depicted in those episodes are set in an alternate timeline. Yet, the social issues are still with us.

Homelessness is a major social issue affecting many communities in the United States and is getting worse partly because of the affordable housing crisis. San Francisco has been demonized by many who decry it as the epicenter for urban decay as it faces homelessness. Thankfully, no one has advocated for rounding up the homeless population and dumping them into so-called sanctuaries. Then again if things get worse, this can happen in our future.

At least unemployment is low and not a major issue as depicted in those Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes. It should also be pointed out that the episodes did not and could not have predicted that the world was recovering from a pandemic or that a woman was running for president of the United States. But the episodes did hint that democracy was at risk based on the authoritative actions of the California governor in the episodes (who was not Gavin Newsom). Sure it was inevitable that predictions would turn out to be incorrect, but at least it did get correct that housing and homelessness would still be issues and as a bonus the episodes did get correct that the internet would be prevalent in our culture.  

While these episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine may have been a bit heavy handed when it tackled the issue of homelessness and social and economic inequality, it carried out the noble Star Trek tradition of examining current issues facing our society in a sci-fi setting. The backdrop of the social messaging capably added to the tense drama of Sisko and his companions trying to survive a savage period of time. More importantly the issues it brings up were not easily solved and still provide food for thought to this day.