It is weirdly uncomfortable to watch the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine two-parter "Past Tense" today. Honestly, it’s terrifying. Back in 1995, when it first aired, the idea of a "Sanctuary District" in San Francisco seemed like a dark, dystopian stretch of the imagination—a "what if" scenario designed to make Sisko look heroic. Now? It feels like the writers had a crystal ball. Or a really depressing news feed from the future.
The episodes take place in early September 2024. Yeah, you read that right. We’ve officially passed the "future" date where Commander Sisko, Bashir, and Dax get stranded in a fractured America.
What Actually Happened in Star Trek Past Tense
If you need a refresher, the premise is classic Trek. A transporter accident sends our leads back in time. Sisko and Bashir end up in a fenced-off ghetto for the "unemployables" and the mentally ill, while Dax—being lucky and looking the part of high society—gets found by a tech tycoon. It’s a literal upstairs-downstairs split.
The core of Star Trek Past Tense revolves around the Bell Riots. In the show’s lore, these riots were a turning point in human history. They were the moment society finally stopped looking away from the people it had discarded. Gabriel Bell, a real man in the original timeline, dies protecting hostages, and Sisko has to take his place to ensure the timeline remains intact. It’s gritty. It’s gray. It’s notably lacking the shiny, hopeful veneer of The Next Generation.
The writers—Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe—weren't just guessing. They were looking at the "quality of life" laws being debated in the mid-90s. They saw where the needle was pointing.
The Bell Riots and the 2024 Connection
It’s impossible to talk about this without mentioning how close the show got to the visual reality of modern urban crises. In the episode, the Sanctuary Districts are justified by the government as a "necessary" way to provide services while keeping the "undesirables" off the streets. They weren't prisons, technically. But you couldn't leave. There were no jobs. There was just waiting.
Sound familiar?
✨ Don't miss: Adam Scott in Step Brothers: Why Derek is Still the Funniest Part of the Movie
The production team actually scouted locations in Los Angeles that looked distressed enough to pass for a 21st-century slum. They didn't have to try that hard. What’s wild is that during filming, the Los Angeles Times ran a story about the city considering "homeless zones." The cast and crew were reading the news on set and realizing their sci-fi script was basically a local news report.
Sisko’s performance is what anchors this. Avery Brooks plays Sisko with this simmering, righteous fury. He’s a man from a utopia who is forced to look at his own ancestors' failures. He reminds Bashir—and the audience—that these people aren't just statistics. They are the leftovers of a society that decided it was too expensive to be human.
Why the Tech Narrative Matters
While Sisko is fighting for his life in the slums, Dax is hanging out with Chris Brynner. Brynner is a "Net" mogul. In the world of 2024 Star Trek, the internet is basically a walled garden controlled by a few massive entities.
This is where Star Trek Past Tense gets really smart.
The show predicts that the digital divide would be the ultimate gatekeeper. If you don't have an ID, or a connection, or a "Net" presence, you effectively cease to exist in the eyes of the law. Dax uses her privilege to get Sisko’s message out. She realizes that the only way to spark change is to bypass the filters and show the "normals" what is actually happening inside the walls.
It’s the first real depiction of "citizen journalism" in Trek.
🔗 Read more: Actor Most Academy Awards: The Record Nobody Is Breaking Anytime Soon
We see this now. Every time a viral video changes a policy or sparks a protest, we’re living in the ghost of the Bell Riots. The episode posits that the tragedy wasn't that people were suffering—it was that everyone else had the ability to ignore it until it was broadcast into their living rooms.
The Problem with the "Great Man" Theory
One of the more nuanced things about these episodes is the character of B.C., the "Ghost" who starts the violence. He’s not a hero. He’s angry, he’s volatile, and he’s tired of being hungry.
Trek usually likes its revolutionaries to be eloquent and noble. B.C. isn’t. He’s a product of his environment. By forcing Sisko to step into Gabriel Bell’s shoes, the show acknowledges that history is often made by people who didn't want the job.
Sisko doesn't want to be a martyr. He just wants to get back to the Defiant. But he realizes that if Gabriel Bell doesn't die "correctly," the Federation—the world of peace and exploration—will never exist. The stakes are everything. It’s a heavy burden for a TV show that also featured an episode about a self-replicating space station.
The Social Legacy of the Sanctuary Districts
When we look back at Star Trek Past Tense, we have to acknowledge the flaws. The "gimmies" (the people with mental health struggles) are portrayed a bit stereotypically by 90s standards. The pacing of the second half is a bit rushed.
But the social commentary? That holds up like steel.
💡 You might also like: Ace of Base All That She Wants: Why This Dark Reggae-Pop Hit Still Haunts Us
Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir) has talked in interviews about how these episodes changed his perspective on the show's mission. It wasn't just about phasers. It was about the fact that we are currently the "past" that Trek looks back on with sadness.
The episode ends on a bittersweet note. The timeline is restored, but the cost was high. Sisko’s face is now the face of Gabriel Bell in the history books. He has to live with the fact that he was the catalyst for a massacre that eventually saved the world.
It’s a paradox. To get to the "Star Trek" future, we have to go through the "Past Tense" present.
Actionable Takeaways for Trek Fans and Futurists
If you are looking to dive deeper into the themes of these episodes or understand their place in the 2026 media landscape, there are a few things you should do:
- Watch the 4K Upscale: If you can find the remastered versions (often fan-driven or on specific streaming platforms), the grit of the Sanctuary Districts is much more visceral than the original fuzzy broadcast.
- Compare to "The High Ground": Watch the TNG episode "The High Ground" alongside "Past Tense." It offers a different, more detached look at terrorism and civil unrest that provides a great counterpoint to DS9's boots-on-the-ground approach.
- Read the DS9 Companion: The Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry J. Erdmann provides the best behind-the-scenes look at how the writers reacted to the real-world events happening during the 1994 production.
- Look up "The Bell Riots" in Real News: Do a search for how news outlets covered the "September 2024" milestone. It’s a fascinating look at how fiction and reality merged for a brief window.
- Host a Themed Discussion: If you’re part of a fan group, focus on the "Brynner Information Systems" aspect. Discussing how the "Net" in the show compares to our current AI-integrated web is a goldmine for debate.
The most important thing to remember is that Star Trek isn't a prediction. It’s a warning. The Bell Riots didn't happen in our 2024, but the conditions that created them are still very much in play. We haven't reached the post-scarcity world of the 24th century yet. We’re still in the messy middle, trying to decide if we’re going to look away or finally tear down the walls.