Section 31: Luther Sloan
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- Section 31 is the clandestine agency outside of Starfleet that acts in the best interest of the United Federation of Planets outside of the confines of morals and UFP law.
It was introduced to us through a mysterious character, that of Director Luther Sloan, but what do we know about him? Let's have a look.
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This Video is for critical purposes with commentary.
"I guess I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to fun." I truly need this on a t-shirt.
drink a beer & play a video game ? hope some fun comes your way
Per
I'm gonna bust out my Cricut and make that a bumper sticker!
Being anti-condom has its price.
I'll wear it when I get a motorcycle again.
Luther Sloan is one of William Sadler's best roles, imho.
no
@@xBINARYGODx then which one?
Totally agree
I've always loved the fan theory that Section 31 was created by Lily Slone after her ordeal at the hands of the Borg and First Contact because she knew the future, she knew that one day the people in charge would need someone doing things behind the scenes doing the thinks no one would admit, knowing that humanity would never change that much at the core and because of that all the higher operatives are given the last name Slone in her honour
That's a great theory! I mean I love how star trek is battle of ideas but you also need to realise not everyone is going to play fair
His name was Ensign Lynch
When it comes to keeping records, I could imagine that they could submit very low level or high level star fleet reports (no designation) and that for the average person looking at reports they are of the most boring of topics. But if run through a program or written with code phrases, an agent could pull the same report and read completely different section 31 things.
"Why are there details of Klingon blood feuds in this report on safety in Sector 7G? Find me this... 'Homer Simpson' fellow."
I'm sure you're right. Even today we know how to use steganography to hide messages within messages or inside of images. By the time Section 31 comes around, I'm sure they can do that even better, and hide far, _far_ more information in seemingly innocuous documents/reports.
I believe that.
Sloan is definitely among one of the most intriguing characters in Star Trek. He was not a paragon of compassion, but he was not ruthless monster either. Sloan is a pragmatic man who is just doing what is necessary so that others who can't/won't don't have to.
Still by his actions in DS9, there were signs that he had principles both personal and of the Federation that he would not cross. It is just that those principles are fewer in number & a lot more flexible than that of most.
@Occultatum Quaestio Very well put and I agree. I certainly remember watching those episodes and really wanting to know more. Personally I think Section 31 always merited it’s own show, but then again perhaps that intrigue would have been diminished.
Think in a conversation between him and Garak..
Section 31 was such a great tag along at the end of DS9
Luther Sloan is one of the unsung heroes of DS9, and the fact that Sisko would greenlight Julian Mengele's abominable experiments, which predictably ended up helping a mortal enemy and existential threat, is another reason he was a villain. A complicated villain yes, but still a villain.
Te most telling fact about Section 31 for me is that the Federation has never made any serious effort to eliminate it. It's clear that the Fed leadership realizes its necessity but can't bring itself to give it formal backing.
Deniability is something governments have practiced throughout history and it will never go out of style.
I can't even imagine the fallout if section 31 was uncovered and made known.
@@googleuser7454 There's a Star Trek novel about that..."Control".
When Section 31 is the 31 st section of the Federation Constitution, it's rather difficult to totally disband...
@@googleuser7454yeh secthion 31 into Starfleet wht hydra is to shield prty much th enemy within
My personal opinion, on how Sloan kept all that info in his head? I bet Sloan was genetically enhanced, just like Bashir. Like Sloan said, perfect memory is important in an operative. Sloan has perfect memory because it was given to him.
And/or also had advanced mental training from Vulcan masters/mistresses!
Slaon is such a tragic character. When you consider that the scene where he apologizes to his family, connects with them again and is then killed all taking place within his dying mind, its quite sad. In reality, he will have died a man who I'm sure was hell to live with, with a broken family who will likely only recieve some false story about a shuttle accident killing their father. None of his apology would have mattered. All the intelligence he developed, such as being able to quote old earth poetry in another episode, he was a man of passion as well. Unfortunately he existed within his own trapped life, never able to truly experience its depth, serving only to the idea of preserving it.
I like the idea that Bashir took over. ...Hell, that would be an amazing cameo for Picard. Bashir has to debrief Picard.
I mean, I don't think that's the direction CBS wants to go. But maybe...
It's not really way Star Trek in general wants to go, which is why Bashir tends to just stick to being a doctor. A very Capable doctor, but a doctor.
Section 31 was always an interesting dept. in Star Trek to me. I'm glad to learn more about it. Thanks for this video. I look forward to more on this topic and other topics you cover.
A serious idea for _Picard,_ if they don't want to have Sloan as a major part of the story, is just have him be in the background as a passing character, perhaps using a false identity - but he gives a look that lets _us_ know *it's him.*
Basically a Easter egg.
Sloan is pretty dead.
He's dead Jim.
He's dead
I wanted to publish a Star Trek novel on Section 31, delving into it's secrets and expanding on it's lore... but they rejected my manuscript.
They said, "The pages are all *blank!* We can't publish this!"
I said, "Of course, Section 31 has no paper trail."
oh ho ho :) give that man a sandwich!
Blew my mind to learn that he was death in Bill and Ted’s bogus journey
Blow anything ELSE?
L0L!
I forget where, exactly, but I'd read that Section 31 was basically the FBI, CIA, NSA, the military, and god-knows-what-else all rolled into one agency.
yeah they're basically the glowies of the federation.
No those will be analogous to Starfleet intelligence. Section 31 is more akin to the "god-knows-what-else" you mentioned. No one but a small few know they exist
Except the IRS since the Federation does not use money 💰
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Sloan was one of my favorite characters and I really liked his storyline on DS9. I especially loved the part where he interrogated Bashir, made him look like a fool, and so easily manipulated him...Bashir deserved it. I did think, however, that the Obrien/Bashir episode where they trick Sloan, then enter his mind or whatever was a little bit of a letdown to a great character. I mean, he was able to always stay a step ahead of Bashir because he understood how he thought, but then he is suddenly too stupid to see the easy "we have the cure" ruse Bashir created for him. Character deserved better IMO.
Hell yes. Sloan was so good and William Sadler is fantastic.
L0L!
What a fantastic look at such a mysterious and conflicted character. Well done!
Are you rewatching with me somehow? I finished next gen and voyager again and I'm going through DS9 and I just finished the Sloan trying to break Bashir episode. This is so perfect, bless you and your craft
You know I was hoping that Dr. Bashir with his enhanced intelligence would eventually see the necessity of Section 31 and decide to join them possibly becoming a director himself making them even more effective.
He did in the books.
@@kaitlyn__L Which Title please
@@MackeyDeez there’s a few of them, Memory Beta has them listed under Section 31 in reading order IIRC
@@kaitlyn__L Alexander Siddig and Andrew Robinson did a series of Zoom call "radio dramas" last year during the height of the pandemic. In it, Garak resurrects the Obsidian Order, big surprise, and Dr. Bashir is still a doctor on Deep Space 9. Oh, and that is his cover for his Section 31 duties monitoring threats near the Bajoran sector. It's an interesting set of videos and has Cirroc Lofton and Nina Visitor reprising their roles.
@@lovehawks2814 also true, I thoroughly enjoyed those when they were new
I doubt Sloan is really dead. Afterall, he survived vaporization in a plot to put a mole in the tal shiar. So, it is likely that he is still alive, but distanced himself from Bashir after realizing that Bashir tried to kill him.
Very well done! Looking forward to an all-encompassing 31 presentation from ENT to DSC and beyond. Especially hypothesizing the organizations activities in TOS TNG era. Romulan-Earth war? Khitomer? At extreme odds with Temporal Investigations!
Dude was the best character in DS9 with the BEST LINES in DS9
When it comes to a lack of 'paper trail I'd always imagined telepathic conduits between the Section 31 agents for the reasons you mentioned. Personal bias and the degradation of information through time, which couldn't happen if each lump of information was inserted and mental blocks were placed in specifically trained people to access it. Section 31 would be very incompetent to overlook such a massively secure mental network were they not to utilize it.
Having announced he was going to investigate Section 31, that was the last we ever heard from Rick.
Great stuff as always. I'd say I'm looking forward to more from you on Section 31 and other topics... But since you obviously know too much, not holding my breath. Good luck Agent Ric! 😎🖖
I always wondered if the Tal' Shiar killed Fujisaki for 31 and then 31 helped implicate Cretak for Koval. Some sort of one hand washes the other arrangement.
It's not as if we don't have real-world examples of elements of intelligence agencies of countries antagonistic to each other, even at outright war with each other, co-operating in similar plots for whatever motives. Most often each side thinks they have or will have an advantage over the other that the other doesn't know about, and that sounds exactly like both Section 31 and the Tal' Shiar.
@@markfergerson2145 The motive being that all sides are so entrenched in their prejudices that they do not want the antagonism & conflict to end. To do so would put an end to the justification for their jobs' continued existence.
🌌🔭🖖🏻👽
@@scottmcintosh4397 Agreed, but such agencies tend to turn inward when there are no particular external threats. Remember that one of the Tal' Shiar's main functions is to monitor Romulan citizens for breaches of loyalty to the State. Don't think for a moment that Section 31 would ignore what it perceived to be internal threats to Federation security- that's one reason they tried to recruit Bashir, remember?
"WILD BILL OVERBECK!! I feel like a paleontologist who's been hunting dinosaurs his whole life and finally got to meet one!"
Director could also just mean he was the one in charge of that specific operation, the one directing it. Like how the person in command of a ship is usually referred to as Captain regardless of what their actual rank is. Also do we ever see those two lackeys that are with him outside of the holodeck? How do we know those two were not just simulated by the holodeck? It's been years since I've seen that episode.
Director Sloan, the needs of many outweighs the needs of the few, or the One,( himself) ,a true believer
31 couldn't have been very big if the Director himself traveled across the galaxy just to recruit Dr. Bashir.
I have my doubts as to whether Sloan was even interested in medicine or had a family to disappoint.
I also have a pet theory that Sloan is augmented himself and decided to recruit Bashir after that came to Starfleet’s attention. Sloan gets to keep his genetic augmentations in exchange for his S31 work, just as Bashir was allowed to be an amazing doctor.
IMO, you can read between the lines of his initial interrogations of Bashir to learn some things about his true motives, and he’s so singularly focused on Bashir’s augmentations you have to wonder why; when he could have done anything to stress Bashir and test his Dominion loyalty (if you believe his stated intent at the end of the episode).
Anyway yeah, enjoyed this one :)
Are you? Are you really Rick or just someone from section 31 ?
It could be possible that Humans in Section 31 learnt Vulcan mental discipline techniques that allowed a Human to possess edetic memory. Vulcans had been a part of Human society since before Starfleet formed, who's to say that that a variation of some extreme Vulcan disciplines and philosophies didn't influence early Section 31.
_The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few_ and ruthless interpretation of Vulcan logic could be could be part of Section 31's DNA.
Speaking of DNA, it's surprising that _apparently_ Section 31 didn't go in for genetic upgrading of its personnel - it _may_ be possible for adults to get enhancements with Starfleet medical abilities.
And doesn't that open a can of worms.
Very interesting. I didn't even think of the possible Vulcan connection
I think section 31 would make a good Star Trek Style Show. Maybe they could uncover the origin of the Borg and the Q continuum.
I love chracters like this, where the level of sacrifice in losing himself is justified to himself
He's such a great moral cautionary tale
It's freaky thinking about Space Al Qaeda running around inside Star Fleet
Solid video my dude!!
He was the hero we needed but not the one we deserved.
“Oh man I’ve only just started, and it’s already getting so messy” - that’s what _she_ said!
to be honest i wouldnt be surprised if it turned out that he isnt actually dead, i can quite easily see him cloning himself and the clone been willing to game end himself just to trick Bashir.
8:02 what makes you think 31 only included Humans? Consider the likelihood 31 made use of Vulcan assets or agents to structure their mental training
IIRC, S31 was given some backstory in ENT that shows that it was actually formed pre-Starfleet. I still haven't watched it past episode 4, so...
@@CoronaMobius Federation Founders = Tellarites, Andorians, Vulcans, and Humans; so even if 31 was conceived, instituted, and operating before Starfleet, it’s still likely it included non-humans
The effectiveness of a secret service is inversly proportional to its aparent effect, wich means Section 31 is more capable than the Obsidian Order or the Tal'shiar, but the Klingon Intellegence service is still the best.
I have always felt that the ending of the Dominion War was weak.
The ‘female’ shapeshifter was the epitome of ‘her’ race. She distrusted solids - she said the Wayoun clone was “the only solid I have ever trusted”. She tolerated Odo’s association with the solids, but always thought he would come around - and perhaps it was only because he had experienced coming to maturity with solids that he felt he understood them better than the Great Link, even if in many cases he did not like them.
So, for the ‘female’ to suddenly go through a 180 degree shift in opinion having linked with and been cured by, Odo seems rather too sudden and convenient, a sort of deus ex machina ending.
I rather think she could have said “Odo, this changes nothing; you admit that these solids infected us, through you, which is reason enough for us to continue this war. Solids never change - can never be trusted. What you control cannot hurt you.”
And Section 31 seemed to get a bad press. Odo was not surprised at the revelation, comparing it to the Tal Shiar and the Obsidian Order. Dr. Bashir - who often seemed a bit of a prig - was horrified at the existence of S31, yet Sloan was correct. Dr. Bashir’s principles would have led to the end of the Federation - he advocated surrender to the Dominion to ‘save lives’ something which might well have allowed the Founders to do what they planned to do - obliterate ALL life on Earth.
And the episode set on Risa certainly showed that Federation citizens could not cope with bad weather upsetting their ideal lives. Did they have the backbone to fight - as Quark maintained that if you took away their comfortable lives they would revert to savagery? If the Federation was made up of sheep - who would order the evacuation of colonists from their own planet - in effect turfing them out of their own homes - to get ‘peace’ with the Cardassians, then they DID need S31 as guard dogs.
And when push came to shove Sisko, was not above condoning fraud, trade in illegal substances, and murder, to drag the Romulans into the war. In that case the ends did justify the means.
I have pondered the outline of a novel whereby that great moralist Pickard, persuades the Federation President to allow a mission back in time to eliminate S31 before it is formed, to make the Federation pure. However when they return to the ‘present’ they find that there is NO Federation. The Klingons and the Romulans have been at war for centuries, Vulcan was occupied, along with the Earth with most humans exterminated, Andorians are slaves, and many former worlds are just smoking piles of radioactive rubble. So they have to go back in time and re-create S31 which was critical to the existence of the Federation.
Well said. You cant create a paradise without a guardians, especially in a cruel and turbulent universe. Sadly, Roddenberry dint understood this, and his legacy, or more so his utopian sickness is continuing to this day.... Also, Picard is hard headed purist wich Q summed up; "your wisdom is great, sadly, your pride and hubris is even greater" or something like that.
Sounds like lame secret police porn.
Seriously, it's amazing how many of yall really want to sounder on the boots of the organization that is just " woah evil feddie officers woaaah" once again
Sloan: you have sunk my battleship 😂😂😂
Looking forward to the video on section 31!
William Sadler has a video on his own TH-cam channel about Slone. He really got into the meat of the character. Probably why he did such a damn good job of portraying the character.
I love these videos about real startrek. Could you keep the fake stuff after enterprise separate? To me it is fanfiction that contradicts real startrek so it destroys the value of startrek.
@Joshua Sharwood you like startrek2 and maybe also startrek1.
I only enjoy startrek1. So it is a waste of time for me when the video is about startrek2. To me startrek1 is the real startrek.
When you change the meaning of words you make communication difficult and sometimes impossible.
When you tell me you like startrek I have no clue what you are talking about. Do you like the positive vision of the future where scientists and diplomats are like superheroes? Or do you like a bleak future with constant wars, racism, violence, filthy language, oppressive civilizations and sexism?
Imagine a concurrent series running along side DS9, made up entirely of the reports Bashir would give back to Sisko.
Tie ins and winks are usually fun-to-annoying, but imagine knowing something from the tie in! It would be like your Sisko, and you only know because you READ THE REPORT!
Could have watched 20 seasons of that, minimum. God, what a cast, story, writing...*chef kisss*
Great video
What do people think of a Star Trek spy movie or tv show about section 31. I think it would be fun.
But no sequels I just don’t think that would work
Ok this is Sloane we are talking about here. He's already shown he can and did fake his death once before. If we take that Ben Sisko isn't part of Section 31. Then his death at DS9 could be that of a clone with the knowledge of Sloane to give the info to Bashir. This way cementing the fact that the Federation saved the Founders in the end .
Remember in this organization, there are plans within plans. So all of this is not only possible but probable.
Except as I recall he never showed up again...anywhere.
Dude's dead, and good riddance I say.
That's what I've always thought
@@Rammstein0963. "he never showed up again"... that we know off.
Remember, cosmetic surgery in the federation is as convenient and easy as going to a Starbucks is now
@@Rammstein0963. What? If it weren't for Sloan smug, righteous Bashir would have brought down the Federation next time his "feeling/morals" warranted it. Sloan was a great character that pointed out just how insane and arrogant Bashir was, then manipulated him as he deserved. Yeah, billions of people should give up their freedoms because Julian Bashir feels he is morally right. Please....
There are enough crazy conspiracy theories already in the world...we dont need them infecting Star Trek as well...
Who? I'm sorry we don't have a Luther Sloane on record. Perhaps you made an error.
I guess maybe Uhura first found her calling as a black-ops honeypot during that fan dance on Nimbus III…
Sloan is a character who i wish to see more times...
Section 31 was smuggled into the UFP charter exactly like legalized slavery was smuggled into U.S.'s 13th Amendment.
I like the idea of Sec 31, but it has been overplayed.
Cheers.
First ! can we know anything for sure about Section 31!
Earliest I've been for a video for a long time too 😉
Right._.
Sloan is the type of human that gives pause to far more ruthless aliens like cardassians or romulans.
Section31 is so amazing and intresting.
i love the character "Sloan"
I know people give Picard flack for being to Mass Effect in its plot but there are plenty of things in Trek that Mass Effect creators clearly took inspiration from or at least thought along the same lines. Section 31 and Cerberus are just one example of this.
For me the descent into storylines involving plans within plans and secret organizations behind everything was one of the worst tropes for Star Trek writers to embrace. I liked the Sloan storyline but I hate the fact that recent Star Trek series have been dominated by this.
I would love to see a Star Trek series that puts handcuffs on the secret organization stuff, limits time travel stories, and for that matter Holodeck related malfunction stories. I'm not saying these things have their place I'm saying that writers have used them as a crutch for way too long.
When was the last holodeck malfunction story?
The DSC episode with the old failing holograms doesn't really count, that was setting not the focus of the episode.
Badgie from Lower Decks was a parody, that doesn't seem like it should count either.
So its been over twenty years since the last story that was actually about a holodeck malfunction right?
I don't think they displayed section 31 effectively post DS9 at all. It turned from a Jason Bourne style group to a more campy James Bond trope.
@@DrewLSsix Fair enough. In my rant I fell into the 'and another thing!' trope. I guess I bore of photonic life.
5:26 “Oh also we can enter peoples minds now by the way. It probably won’t come up a lot though.”
A morally grey character.... who is actually believable when he says he's working for the greater good.
He does! Thank 'god' for section 31 in Star Trek!
Although in say the Canadian government a "director" would be probably equivalent to the Starfleet rank of Captain
Executive Director=Rear Admiral?...
SFDebris' A Look at Garak intro could work with Sloan a swell
Why did we never get to see Sloan and Garak have a conversation? Oh my the subtext would be sublime.
Probably because Sloan didn’t think Garak would cooperate/ knew Garak was trained and experienced enough to not be played like Bashir so it would be a waste of time to approach him.
That being said, Bashir should have gone to Garak at some point looking for aid on how to get proof of Section 31, perhaps replacing O’Brien in the episode where they trick and capture Sloan.
@@Mankorra_Gomorrah I just wished to see the war of words of master spies verbally dueling. i know the actors could pull it off with good writing
@@lordomacron3719 Their conversations would have consisted of obfuscations, double entendre & innuendos. They'll say much, but their words mean nothing.
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Sloan is the real Hero.
I'm not saying Luther Sloane was evil, but generally the only people covered in black leather in media are on motorcycles, in The Matrix, or at least evil adjacent.
This video has been flagged by the Starfleet Security. As there is no such thing as Section 31. You have been warned and Security Team is in route.
I'm sorry, claiming there is no Section 31 violates our community guidelines.
Lolololol to both of those comments
Whenever he says I've been Rick I wonder who else hes been
Ah Section 31.
I honestly hate how much they've been used since DS9 overall, but I can live with it so long as we don't include the insanity of the novels. Seriously, what is it with the novels and going completely off the walls? They tried to make S31 responsible for everything like a poorly written spy thriller talking about the CIA, KGB, MI6, etc when that isn't actually supported by their original appearance.
Since most of what we know about them is most likely a lie as our one source on the 24th century version is Sloan, whom never actually reveals anything and is actively incentivized to lie.
And given what happens in ENT and Disco, the most likely solution is that the 24th century version is a rogue group that has no support from anything but operates like a foreign spy organization and co-opts bits of legitimate organizations to do it's work without knowing.
So by his actions he's the 24th century descendant of Col Stuart. Also death isn't final with him also being the grim reaper.
Sloan was yet another of the many, many outstanding characters on DS9 series.
DS9 is the best star trek series ever.
I guess one could say Section 31 played 4D chess while everyone else played checkers.
I loved that one where they were crawling around in the ruins of Sloan's mind and his entire life and sum total of all his efforts were utter and absolute failure, poetic justice it was a great comeuppance to the bad guy.
@@Noms_Chompsky Or that is what he wants you to believe .o.!
@@Florian0799 Lolz, he was a joined Trill the whole time; Sloan will never ever die and even if you get him you'll never see him coming when he returns for his revenge
@@Noms_Chompsky Is he really or does he just wants you to believe that but whqt if he wants you to think that you think that...
I believe that Sloan had genetic alterations. This would also explain his facination to Bashir. Genetic Alteration of mental capacity would also explain how Sloan was able to resist the Romulan mind probes and only give the information needed to complete the plan. If Sloan were a normal person, it is possible the mind probes would have revealed more than he wanted. As such, I propose that Sloan did have additional augmentations to his mental ability to probably resist mind probe, telepathic attacks, and enhanced memory/cognitive in order to not need electronic records.
You are Ric and you are here... But the real question "is Kurland Here?"
Wonder what Sloan must've been like to the Changelings during Project Proteus.
Sloan: You might be a king or a little street sweeper but sooner or later you dance with the reaper.
Changeling: F***ing Solids!
Unpopular Opinion here but... Luther Sloan was a hero. Yes, what he did was terrible, but in the end it turned out to be the thing that won us the war and stopped the bloodshed. Perhaps not in the way he intended, but it worked nonetheless.
Bashir’s misguided compassion led to the changlings allying themselves with the Borg Queen 26 years later. Which led to many deaths and assimilations in S3 Star Trek Picard. Temporal should have stepped in and kept Sloan’s from visiting DS9. Bashir would have never gotten the cure.
Poor Odo, but the needs of the many…
If I ever have to base my own character in the Star Trek universe it would be based on Sloan's brute pragmatism and big picture view point.
Spies will tell you anything you want to hear to get what they want …. Much like many (all) of my ex’s
Real Trek!
The related concept of Section 31... they tried to hint at the idea that what if Section 31 was just the invention of one man, Sloan.. there is no larger clandestine organization serving the interests behind the scenes to keep Starfleet and the Federation intact through any means necessary... Sloan used it to cover the asses of Starfleet to avenge the death of his former Mentor and Friend. But of course the myth of Section 31 grew because of Enterprise, Into Darkness, and worst of all through Discovery.
"Don't overlook *my* butt, I work out all the time. And reaping burns a lot of calories."
I love Section 31 and I hope Star Trek makes a show about them???
Yeah that would be awesome.
I'm looking forward to that show with the Section 31 Space Al Qaeda, Empress Georgio is so badass
@@Noms_Chompsky, plus Ash Tyler the Klingon guy who look human.
@@tonyah.960 I dunno, I was always kinda meh on Ash/ Voq; but the idea of Terran Empire ruthless right at the heart of the yellow bellies who are all 'gotta be reprehensible because there are bad things that could happen someday' is just my streak of absurd delight.
me too :) Love them. I hsve their uniform (from DS9) and I got a licence plate for my car in Austria ( SEC31 )
The retconing section 31 into part of Star fleet always bugged me. Originally this was a rogue federation entity established by section 31 of the federation charter, NOT Star Fleet. This was always more interesting to me. I mean, in the USA, the CIA is not part of the US Navy, nor are other intelligence agencies part of their respective military counterparts.
The Federation having agencies outside of Star Fleet that come into conflict with Star Fleet sounds like a much more interesting premise than "corrupt Star Fleet admiral" or "rogue Star Fleet organization"
M Y take on SECTION 31 is of a Star Trek version of the most mysterious committee ever formed
MAJORITY 12 or MAJESTIC 12.
Both are very similar to each other.
Sloan's real identity is the Grim Reaper.
I despise how Section 31 was treated in Nu Trek. Deep Space Nine and Enterprise portrayed an organization that took pains to have as light a footprint as possible, relying on Batman Gambits to keep the galactic powers in line. Nu Trek had them operating in the open to the point where everyone knows who they are, and they're so incompetent that they let the Klingorcs get to Earth's doorstep and fail to see obvious tricks and betrayals coming that anyone else would see lightyears off. They're just incompetent Bad Guys in Nu Trek, not the puppet masters they were originally portrayed (or at least implied) as.
It was a nice secret agency once
Who created Section 31? What is it's purpose and why is it not held accountable for its actions?
The Federation did in article 14 of the charter. It's purpose as Sloan put it "is to identify threats to the Federation and deal with them... quietly". So basically I highly secret organization that deals with any type of threat, outside the purview of the Federation council and Starfleet, like black ops or the CIA but even more secret. They aren't held accountable because of article 14 which allows drastic and or secret action to deal with security threats.
IMO, Section 31 is just the showrunners way of saying, "Uhm... Well, actually, the CIA are the necessary evil of being the good guys." I don't agree.
Never felt like they made section 31 look like the good guys. The most I could see is them poisoning the founders, but ultimately it was the federation giving them the cure which ended the war.
it took 100 years for the 31 badges to be used by star fleet
Hello ALL!
His real name was Jumma Lama Dingdong. :-)
Given the technology present in the series... it'd make perfect sense for Sloan - to be a clone.
Just think about it, the supposed teleported away at the same second the disruptor hit, does not add up with previous teleporter incidents. I believe a cloned Sloan, implanted with the cover story, who did genuinely believe that story in case anyone else probed his mind, was thrown into that mess and was expected to die to sell the story all the better.
In fact I doubt we ever really saw the real Sloan in the entire series, each time a disposable clone with character profiles and briefing data, but nothing more. It makes complete logical sense to me that S31 would absolutely jump at the opportunity to use cloning on their elite few and protect the federation until the end of time.
I also think the "secret plots" in the dream sequence were a little too convenient, to the extent that I think, even in death, Sloan was creating eye-catching titles full of nonsense and not actually pulling from a real source. "Spy in government" is such a simple story, ofc it's true but it's also very low impact, how are you going to prove it, yell at him? He only had the cure due to it being mission imperative information.
Sloan didn't die, his Section 31 personality invaded Bashir's mind when he looked at all those brain PADDs.
I though enlisted personnel didn't go to Starfleet Academy?
It's still a nagging feeling even after DS-9, but I still wonder how Dr. Julian Bashir was ever even considered material for Section 31? He's a phenomenal character and just one of the best doctors outside of Dr Leonard McCoy himself. But there is the nagging part. It was eventually revealed that Bashir was an augment. Being modified in direct violation of the Federation's mandates on augmentation and cloning, meant that even though Bashir was brilliant, thoughtful, inventive and clever, he would never really "truly" be trusted, as augments still left a terrible stain upon Earth and despite all the centuries after Khan and his "augments" could we really blame them?
I could understand why Sloane wanted Bashir. He was as good an agent, perhaps even better than Sloane. But then again, there's the "augment" question? Could a Federation enemy have captured Bashir, studied his augments, and perhaps come up with their own? Or drained him for every precious drop of information about the Federation via the dreaded "mind sifter" that the Klingons and Romulans (especially the Tal Shiar) enjoyed using? Was that the reason Starfleet wanted nothing to do with eugenics? Because of the tragedy that resulted? Or was it because Starfleet was highly advanced in that department and feared it could happen again?