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My sister remarked that she finally understood why geeks liked Star Trek so much. I replied, "It's because of Spock isn't it?" She replied "Yes, he's so geeky he's cool". (It is a widely acknowledged fact that geeks and nerds love Star Trek...and er,Tolkien [gulps, moves on quickly...]. For more information on this sub specie, watch The Big Bang Theory. I myself maintain that there is a distinction between geek and nerd)

A light bulb lit up. I knew I wanted to pick on someone so I immediately called the person who apparently exemplified this sub specie, the person I had shamelessly stereotyped in the past, and was about to stereotype again (he had already watched Star Trek twice, called me to say he was disappointed that it didn't blow his mind away, but instead blew his entire being away, and called to say he was watching it yet again...obviously a Trekkie and the epitome of geek)and made an accusation, "You like Spock don't you?! Admit to me that you think Spock is The Geek Ambition".

(What was I thinking?? Truly, I had only wanted to victimize. It was some irresistible force that compelled me to pick up the phone...)

His response was negative. Star Trek is The Geek Fantasy. Chuck or maybe The Librarian was The Geek Ambition, I was informed (He happily conceded a point). For whatever reason, the conversion centered around a detailed analysis of different geek archetypes in these movies. I commented, "But geeks are incessant talkers. Spock isn't like that". He paused, then said tentatively, with some level of self awareness, "I wouldn't say incessant..." (Nerd scores again). Feeling magnanimous,I corrected myself "I mean, geeks like to talk". He readily agreed.

I was smug. I had clearly made a point: you geek, me not geek. It made me happy. But Tolkien somehow got dragged into it. I was appalled, and then it happened. Nerd rage took over:

"You CANNOT say that Star Trek is the Fellowship in space!And NO you cannot equate Frodo with Spock. Is nothing sacred???"

There, I lost. I was accused of being a Tolkien purist to boot.

But really, me? nerd? How can I when I wasn't the classmate who called up to tell me the entire history of Middle Earth...;p

Anyway, so that's what happens when you bait a geek. I'll be better off playing rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock. (as If I could ever remember the rules: scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disapproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, rock crushes scissors?)