AtDDtA(15): The Scientific Officer's Discretionary Clause

[Dave Monroe]

"'Professor, be informed that I am now invoking the Scientific
Officer's Discretionary, or. S.O.D., Clause, as provided for in our
charter.'
   "Again, Mr. Counterfly?  One assumes you have properly filled in
your Finding of Unsual Circumstances Questionaire?'" (AtD, Pt. II, p.
411)


"The Scientific Officer's Discretionary ... Clause"

Cf., e.g., ...

They realize something is wrong and Janice/Kirk is relieved of duty....

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/episode/68818.html

No, sir, I will not withdraw a single charge I have made. You are not
Captain Kirk. You have ruthlessly appropriated his body. But the life
entity within you is not that of Captain Kirk. You do not belong in
command of the Enterprise. And I will do everything in my power
against you."

    - Spock, to Kirk with Lester's life entity inside him

"You have heard the statement you put into the record. Do you
understand the nature of it?"
"I do, sir. And I stand by it."
"It is mutiny! Deliberate, vindictive, insane at its base! But mutiny
is charged... and encouragement to mutiny. Dr. McCoy, Mr. Scott, you
heard it! On the basis of these statements, I call for an immediate
vote... by the authority granted to me as captain of the Enterprise. A
recess... is declared... to be followed by a vote!"
"Yes. An immediate vote before our chief witness can be left to die on
some obscure planet with the truth locked inside of her."
"Silence! You will be silent! A recess has been declared. There'll be
no cross-discussion. When I return, we will vote on the charge of
mutiny. The evidence presented here is the only basis of your
decision."

    - Kirk and Spock, as Kirk throws a tantrum while Janice Lester's
life entity inhabits him

"Doctor, I've seen the captain feverish, sick, drunk, delirious,
terrified, overjoyed, boiling mad ... but up to now, I have never seen
him red-faced with hysteria."

    - Scott to McCoy outside the hearing room

"Suppose you voted with me in favor of Spock. That's two to one and
Spock is free. What do you think the Captain will do?"
"I don't know."
"You know, all right. The vote will stick in his craw. He'll never accept it."
"We don't know that."
"I tell you, he won't. Then, Doctor, that's the time we move against
him. We'll have to take over the ship."
"We're talking about a mutiny, Scotty."
"Aye. Are you ready for the vote?"
"I'm ready for the vote."

    - Scott and McCoy, preparing to back Spock against the Captain

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Turnabout_Intruder

And see as well, e.g., ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnabout_Intruder_(TOS_episode)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708485/


"S.O.D."

E.g., ...

Main Entry: sod
Function: noun
Etymology: short for sodomite
chiefly British : BUGGER <if I ever find the sod I'll kill him -- John
Le Carré> <he's not a bad little sod taken by and large -- Noel
Coward>

Main Entry: sod
Function: transitive verb
chiefly British : DAMN

Main Entry: sod off
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: 4sod
British : SCRAM -- usually used as a command

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

But see as well, e.g., ...

http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/sod

http://www.answers.com/topic/sod-disambiguation


"Finding of Unusual Circumstances Questionaire"

I think we ALL get this one.  Cf. "Candlebrow" ...

http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=C