BAJOR — As Bajor enters national mourning for Heerma Eza, the FNS celebrates the life of the Occupation refugee with a look back at one of the most venerated holonovels of our time, Symbols of the Ships.
The Dominion War of 2375 left an unmistakable scar on the people of Bajor, none less so on Bajoran conflict veteran Heerma Eze. Surviving both her parents and children, Eze has never forgotten the deep grooves that came with the occupation, and funnelled those energies into a harrowing holonovel reverenced in literary circles.
While there are few unaware of the holonovels existence — Academies throughout the galaxy have widely recommended the novel as an addendum to curriculum concerning the Occupation of Bajor — at first glance, the novel seeks to plunge the reader into the status of a Bajoran refugee, fleeing the crisis, while the real premise of the story runs roots deeper than that.
“My determination to bring this story to the broader public was not out of hatred or anger at the Dominion, nor the Cardassians,” explained Eze, during an interview before her death. “I wanted to show the courage of the people, the grit of the resistance, show that hope is difficult to maintain when all looks lost, and sometimes, just sometimes, we win.”
Some have claimed the novel is a classic undertaking of judicious dread, beginning with the Occupation and ending with an uncertain fate for the reader.
Engaging in a thorough play-through is not for the fainthearted. The ambience of the program is especially significant — from the occasional tormented whistling of bombs to the touching Bajoran death chant — the reader does not expect entertainment, but a heartbreaking education. Because of the very nature of the realism incorporated into the novel, some survival holodeck programs have taken inspiration from the tale.
Symbols of the Ships remains as a belletristic standpoint in the Occupation’s retelling. A special remastered edition will be available for a short time.
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