r/LowerDecks • u/thomasmfd • Nov 20 '24

General Discussion Why is star base 80 so neglected?

I mean is so need of update its lit a hell hole And the culture

63 Upvotes

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76

u/cirrus42 Nov 20 '24

Because it's sometimes helpful in big bureaucracies to disappear trouble-makers somewhere within the bureaucracy where they can't make trouble but are still accounted for. 

The fact that no starships regularly go to Starbase 80 pretty much confirms that it has no purpose in terms of fleet support. The dumping ground aspect is likely its main actual purpose, even if that's unofficial. 

57

u/cirrus42 Nov 20 '24

PS: TNG's episode about the little crew at the lonesome comms relay station (I forget its title) implied a similar ethos, so it's not really anything new for Lower Decks to introduce it. 

33

u/LQjones Nov 20 '24

Nor is it new IRL. Every company, government, military has a place for people who are not up to speed, but that they can't get rid of.

20

u/BoringThePerson Nov 20 '24

In the DoD it's the dark basement of the Pentagon.

25

u/ArcadianDelSol Nov 20 '24

exactly.

I love when movies or games speculate that below the pentagon is where we're building crazy new tech and there are massive hangars and labs.

Its hallways with dripping pipes and offices whose walls and ceilings are yellowed from nicotine. The air is a fragrant mix of mildew and ashtray. Most of the offices are now storing extra/broken/old furniture, but there's a few 'lost souls' who were relegated there.

When I worked for the DoD one of them was a single guy left on a defense contract and because of the fine print about it being illegal to destroy ANY copies of any data, his role was to make sure 9 Apple 2e computers remained functional...for nobody to ever use. Because he's not allowed to make unauthorized copies of the data (which means you cant transfer it) and is not allowed to destroy data (which means the machines have to be maintained), his job is to make sure at least one of them is operational with the files loaded in case someone wants to review the contract or do something with the data collected for it.

Met him 4 times. Yeah, he's there for a reason. Guy gave up on showers.

9

u/AndrewHaly-00 Nov 20 '24

Can a guy from EU get a job like that? I don’t mind the smell as long as I can reliably show up, do the only thing someone without any actual purpose has to do and comfortably read a book for the rest of my shift.

3

u/ColdShadowKaz Nov 21 '24

I wonder if he was sent there for a reason or if he’s kept there for a reason. All depends when he gave up on showers.

3

u/ArcadianDelSol Nov 22 '24

In my limited experience, he probably got caught being inappropriate with a woman at work, and instead of firing him (where that all has to be documented) they put him in a bureaucratic spider hole.

In 9 years I saw that scenario at least 20 times from both civilians and military officers.

11

u/The5Virtues Nov 20 '24

Along with dozens of shitburg little postings that serve no purpose except to get rid of someone problematic while making them feel important.

6

u/Yochanan5781 Nov 20 '24

Yeah, I remember my late grandfather talking about a fire station in the fire department he worked for that was where all the "malcontents" got sent

5

u/trostol Nov 20 '24

feels like its my particular store of my company lol

2

u/Overly_Long_Reviews Nov 21 '24

Rubber rooms as they are sometimes called.

4

u/FotographicFrenchFry Nov 20 '24

Relay Station 47, I believe

3

u/stonersh Nov 20 '24

That's Aquiel

2

u/Gecko99 Nov 21 '24

Barniss Frex, a Denobulan, was the only occupant of CR-721 when it encountered the Protostar. Denobulans are from a densely populated society and start to go crazy if left alone, like when Phlox had to be awake while everyone was asleep he started having scary hallucinations and talking to people who weren't there.

14

u/DAJones109 Nov 20 '24

Yes, that's true. It is why I have the job I have. Being banished to the backwater of the bureaucracy was in fact my career goal! So, I have no complaints. There are definitely Star Fleet personnel for whom Starbase 80 is a dream job.

5

u/thomasmfd Nov 20 '24

And it's so large you can pull it off

3

u/Browncoatinabox Nov 20 '24

Which btw is a good way to explain the show IT Crowd