The Motion Picture

[Publius]

This thread is intended to be a repository for technically interesting quotes from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a novel by Star Trek's creator, Mr Gene Roddenberry. It is based upon the screenplay by Mr Harold Livingston, and the story by Mr Alan Dean Foster. All excerpts are quoted from the December 1979 edition, published by Pocket Books New York (a Simon & Schuster division of Gulf & Western Corporation), and copyright 1979 by Paramount Pictures Corporation and Mr Roddenberry.

These excerpts are provided in order to allow those who do not have access to the novel a clearer picture of Star Trek as it was envisioned by Mr Roddenberry. From time to time, some cursory analysis of the excerpts will be made, but certainly nothing definitive. The purpose of these quotes is to allow others to make their own analyses and draw their own conclusions.

The subject of whether or not the novel is canonical has been discussed at some length here and here. If one feels inclined to discuss the matter further, either of those threads -- or perhaps a new thread entirely -- would be more appropriate.

From Admiral Kirk's Preface:

My name is James Tiberius Kirk. Kirk because my father and his male forbears followed the old custom of passing along a family identity name. I received James because it was both the name of my father's beloved brother as well as that of my mother's first love instructor. Tiberius, as I am forever tired of explaining, was the Roman emperor whose life for some unfathomable reason fascinated my grandfather Samuel.

This is not trivial information. For example, the fact that I use an old-fashioned male surname says a lot about both me and the service to which I belong. Although the male-surname custom has become rare among humans elsewhere, it remains a fairly common thing among those of us in Starfleet. We are a highly conservative and strongly individualistic group. The old customs die hard with us. We submit ourselves to starship discipline because we know it is made necessary by the realities of deep-space exploration. We are proud that each of us has accepted this discipline voluntarily -- and doubly proud when neither temptation nor jeopardy is able to shake our obedience ot the oath we have taken.

Admiral Kirk's comments indicate that the common nomenclature in use today -- given name, middle name, and surname -- has fallen into disuse by humans outside of Starfleet by his time, which is generally accepted as being the XXIII century. Given that most humans outside Starfleet do not use this style of nomenclature, it can be assumed that humans in Star Trek who do use this style are either current or former members of Starfleet, or have some sort of connexion therewith.

Also interesting is the reference to Admiral Kirk's mother's "love instructor", James, without explanation of what exactly the position entails. What is a "love instructor"? Is sexual education a more "hands on" experience in the XXIII century?

We are not part of those increasingly large numbers of humans who seem willing to submerge their own identities into the groups to which they belong. I am prepared to accept the possibility that these so-called new humans represent a more highly evolved breed, capable of finding rewards in group consciousness that we more primitive individuals will never know. For the present, however, this new breed of human makes a poor space traveler, and Starfleet must depend on us "primitives" for deep space exploration.

It seems an almost absurd claim that we "primitives" make better space travelers than the highly evolved, superbly intelligent and adaptable new humans. The reason for this paradox is best explained in a Vulcan study of Starfleet's early years during which vessel disappearances, crew defections, and mutinies had brought deep space exploration to a near halt.* This once controversial report diagnosed those mysterious losses as being caused directly by the fact that Starfleet's recruitment standards were dangerously high. That is, Starfleet Academy cadets were then being selected from applicants having the highest possible test scores on all categories of intelligence and adaptability. Understandably, it was believed that such qualities would be helpful in dealing with the unusually varied life patterns which starship crews encounter during deep space exploration.

Something of the opposite turned out to be true. The problem was that sooner or later starship crew members must inevitably deal with life forms more evolved and advanced than their own. The result was that these superbly intelligent and flexible minds being sent out by Starfleet could not help but be seduced eventually by the higher philosophies, aspirations, and consciousness levels being encountered.

------
* See STF 7997B.

An interesting perspective on human society and development outside Starfleet, no? It appears that humanity is divided into two basic parts, the collectivist new humans (whom Admiral Kirk defines as being "highly evolved, superbly intelligent and adaptable") who claim to be evolutionarily more advanced, and the individualist "primitive" humans (whom Admiral Kirk describes earlier as being "conservative").

Curiously, Admiral Kirk, who should be a scientist, accepts the idea that the new humans are evolutionarily more advanced than the "primitives". How does willingness to submerge one's consciousness into that of a group make one more highly evolved? Genetically, the new humans must be identical to the "primitives".

Admiral Kirk also seems to be quite charitable toward those new humans who violated their oaths, disobeyed regulations, mutinied, and deserted, shunning Starfleet in favour of more personally interesting pursuits. A curious perspective, to say the least, given his earlier remarks about wilfully accepting the discipline of Starfleet, and pride in fidelity to oaths of service.

I have always found it amusing that my Academy class was the first group selected by Starfleet on the basis of somewhat more limited intellectual agility.* It is made doubly amusing, of course, by the fact that our five-year mission was so well documented, due to an ill-conceived notion by Starfleet that the return of the U.S.S. Enterprise merited public notice. Unfortunately, Starfleet's enthusiasm affected even those who chronicled our adventures, and we were all painted somewhat larger than life, especially myself.

Eventually, I found that I had been fictionalized into some sort of "modern Ulysses" and it has been painful to see my command decisions of those years so widely applauded, whereas the plain facts are that ninety-four of our crew met violent deaths during those years -- and many of them would still be alive if I had acted either more quickly or more wisely. Nor have I been so foolishly courageous as depicted. I have never happily invited injury; I have disliked in the extreme every duty circumstance which has required me to risk my life. But there appears something in the nature of depicters of popular events which leads them into the habit of exaggeration. As a result, I became determined that if I ever again found myself involved in an affair attracting public attention, I would insist that some way be found to tell the story more accurately.

As some of you will know, I did become involved in such an affair -- in fact, an event which threatened the very existence of Earth. Unfortunately, this has again brought me to the attention of those who record such happenings. Accordingly, although there may be many other ways in which this story is told or depicted, I have insisted that it also be set down in a written manuscript which would be subject to my correction and my final approval. This is that manuscript, presented to you here as an old-style printed book. While I cannot control other depictions of these events that you may see, hear, and fel, I can promise that every description, idea, and word on these pages is the exact and true story of Vejur and Earth as it was seen, heard, and felt by...

James T Kirk

------
* Editor's note: We doubt that "limited intellectual agility" will stand up in the face of the fact that Kirk commanded the U.S.S. Enterprise on its historic five-year voyage and became the first starship captain in history to bring back both his vessel and his crew relatively intact after such a mission.

This somewhat lengthy passage includes several ideas of note.

First, it introduces the concept that either the original series or some other, internal depiction of the five-year mission of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) is an exaggerated and inaccurate reflection of the actual missions. This concept will be remarked upon later in the Author's Preface, and the implications of which have been argued elsewhere.

The second point of interest is that Admiral Kirk explicitly states that 94 officers and enlisted persons of the crew of the Enterprise were killed during the five-year mission. This gives a clear impression of what Starfleet considers to be a crew "relatively intact": Captain Kirk established the crew complement of the Enterprise as 428 commissioned officers and enlisted personnel in the episode "Charlie X" (Stardate 1533.6). Thus, Starfleet considers the loss of 23 per cent. of a crew (adjusted for significant figures) to be acceptable.

Thirdly, after criticising the accuracy of portrayals of the five-year mission, Admiral Kirk personally vouches for the accuracy of the novelisation insofar as it relates to him.

Fourthly, it is established that "Vejur" is the correct anglicised spelling of the entity's name, not "V'Ger", as the name is generally rendered.

From the Author's Preface:

Considering Admiral James Kirk's comments in his own preface, it may seem strange that he chose me as the one to write this book. I was, after all, somewhat a key figure among those who chronicled his original five-year mission in a way which the admiral has criticized as inaccurately "larger than life."

I suspect that the thing which finally recommended me to the admiral was the fact that I have always cherished books as much as he does. Or perhaps he thought I would be more trustworthy when working with words rather than with images. Either way, it is clear he knew he could guarantee the accuracy of this by insisting that the manuscript be read, and, where necessary, corrected by everyone involved in the events being described. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Admiral Nogura, Commander Scott, the Enterprise bridge crew, and almost everyone else listed on these pages have been given the opportunity to review every word describing the events in which they took part. These final printed pages reflect their comments as well as Admiral Kirk's determination that this be the whole and full truth of what actually happened in the events described here.

Finally, on a more personal note, why am I concerning myself with the Enterprise and its crew once again? Having depicted them already with at least some popular success, could I have not given this same effort to new and freshly challenging subjects? Of course. Any civilized individual, whether author or not (one is hardly a prerequisite to the other), has no end of events and subjects clamoring for and doubtlessly deserving attention.

Mr Roddenberry establishes that he is the "depicter" referred to by Admiral Kirk, and Admiral Kirk was referring to his portrayals of the Enterprise's five-year mission as being inaccurate. Mr Wong notes that, as this preface does maintain suspension of disbelief, Mr Roddenberry is not necessarily referring to the original series. As mentioned previously, this subject has been discussed elsewhere.

From Chapter One:

He felt a strange tingling coming from somewhere inside his head. It was as if some intricate mechanical pattern had started to form there. Then the pattern became a memory, and he realized that he was receiving a Starfleet command alert signal. He did not like the feeling of it -- and knowing that it came from a device implanted inside his brain made it even more annoying. As was the custom in Starfleet -- indeed, it was a requirement -- he had been implanted with a senceiver on receiving his first command. It was the ultimate signal device, reserved for use in only the gravest of emergencies -- and this was only the second time that Starfleet Command had ever intruded into his mind in this fashion.*

"Is something wrong, Admiral Kirk?"

The question had come from one of the Libyan scholars who traditionally operate the Egyptisraeli Museum at Alexandria. Kirk was on a vacation leave tour of Africa's lovely old cities and had been drawn to the extraordinary history exhibits here in this most famous of all Earth museums. It was, to say the least, an unusual place to receive a Starfleet emergency signal -- the surprise of it had brought him halfway to his feet with what he knew must be a somewhat alarmed look on his face. He managed to shake his head at the Libyan, and then sat down again at the research console he had been using.

[...]

Then, as the message began to form in Kirk's mind, it started as a powerful kind of daydream. At first a confusion of images, many of them vestiges of his most recent conscious thoughts of this vacation trip, the history studied, the museum here, the Libyan scholar. These arranged themselves into patterns which became symbols, faintly familiar alien symbols -- then Kirk realized that these symbols were affixed to war vessels.

Klingons!

Kirk found himself seeing three Klingon cruisers which appeared to be moving at warp velocity and in battle formation. The images became more detailed, increasingly real -- he could begin thinking about them consciously. The Klingon vessels were big, dangerous looking --undoubtedly their new K't'inga-class heavy cruisers which some Admiralty tacticians feared might prove faster and more powerful than Starfleet's First Line Constitution-Class starships.

Could that be the point of this alert? Information about an old enemy's new weapon? Kirk immediately discarded that possibility. The existence of a new enemy starship could hardly be classed as an immediately urgent crisis. Nor could this formation of only three Klingon vessels pose any serious threat to Earth or the Federation. This alert must concern something else, something more.

Then with the images firmly established in his mind, Kirk's senceiver implant began to filter the command alert message into his thoughts. As he had guessed, Starfleet had received these images from one of its deep space outposts along the border of the Klingon Empire. This outpost station, Epsilon Nine, had detected the Klingon cruisers in time to get sensor drones launched in time to infiltrate the cruiser formation. Kirk was pleased to see that the Klingons were unaware that they were being shadowed and examined.

The purpose of the drone had been to gather intelligence on the new Klingon cruiser design. But once there, the drones had learned something far more important. Something had violated Klingon borders and was passing through their territory and the Klingons were responding in typical fashion. This was heavy cruiser attack formation.

Then the Klingons swept into a wide turn and Kirk could begin to make out an object ahead in that direction. For an instant, he doubted the accuracy of this image he was receiving -- it seemed to be merely a cloud. True it was strangely luminescent, unlike anything Kirk had ever seen in space before, but why would the Klingons be attacking a cloud? Then, as the cruisers swept closer to it, Kirk began to become aware that he cloud was incredibly large. Then the signal being received by his implant confirmed that it was billions of kliometers in diameter. More, he was made aware that it had passed through Klingon territory so rapidly that this particular cruiser formation was had been the only Klingon warships in position to intercept it.

------
* Editor's note: At the time of these events, Starfleet Command's senceiver implants were still being kept secret. Undoubtedly, the Admiralty was concerned that the public might mistakenly believe them to be some sort of mind-control device. Clearly, public respect for Starfleet would have been seriously imperiled by anything reminiscent of the horrors that grew out of the politicalizing of behavior-control implants and which led to the bloody Mind Control Revolts of 2043-47.

The Editor is quick to explain that the senceiver -- which is required by Starfleet to be implanted in commanding officers of starships -- is not a mind-control device. Nevertheless, the device is clearly capable of creating clear visual images in Admiral Kirk's mind and directing the course of his thoughts. The senceiver is clearly a mind-control device, the Editor's (and Starfleet Command's) suggestions to the contrary notwithstanding. Note that Starfleet Command understandably kept the existence of its senceiver implants secret.

It appears that in the early-to-mid XXI century, behaviour-control implants were "politicalised" (i.e., most probably used by totalitarian leaders for political and ideological ends) in some parts of the world, and this led to violent revolts beginning in 2043 and ending four years later, just before the outbreak of World War III.

Other events mentioned as taking place in this general time period in the Paramount Pictures canon include: Launch of the Nomad probe, 2002 ("The Changeling"); advances in sublight propulsion rendered sleeper ships obsolescent, 2018 ("Space Seed"); the first successful Earth/Saturn space probe mission ("Tomorrow Is Yesterday"); Sanctuary Districts were established in most major cities in the United States to provide shelter for unemployed and homeless persons, 2020s (Deep Space Nine: "Past Tense"); student unrest in France made it an undesirable tourist destination, 2024 (Deep Space Nine: "Past Tense"); Gabriel Bell peacefully ended a riot in San Francisco (Deep Space Nine: "Past Tense"); Ireland was reunited as the result of an ongoing campaign of violence (The Next Generation: "The High Ground"); Zefram Cochrane was born, 2030 ("Metamorphosis"); the ISA spacecraft Ares IV vanished in orbit over Mars, 2032 (Voyager: "One Small Step"); a fifty-second State was admitted to the Union (The Next Generation: "The Royale"); the New United Nations ruled that citizens may not be held responsible for crimes committed by their ancestors (The Next Generation: "Encounter at Farpoint"); the NASA launched the spacecraft Charybdis as the third attempt to explore beyond Earth's solar system, 23 July 2037 (The Next Generation: "The Royale"); television lost its importance as a medium of entertainment, ca 2040 (The Next Generation: "The Neutral Zone"); the final World Series was attended by 300 spectators, 2042 (Deep Space Nine: "If Wishes Were Horses"); and, finally, as mentioned previously, World War III devastated the Earth, including the destruction of many major cities, governments and legal systems, with a death toll variously estimated as thirty-seven millions and as six hundred millions, ca 2050 ("Bread and Circuses," The Next Generation: "Encounter at Farpoint," "A Matter of Time," First Contact).

The ancient city of Alexandria, founded in AC 322 by Alexander III, still exists in 2271 (the accepted date for these events), and is the site of the Egyptisraeli Museum, which is traditionally staffed by Libyan scholars and appears to be preëminent amongst Earth museums. As of the current day, Alexandria is the chief port and second-largest city in Egypt; this is at least one "major city" which escaped the nuclear holocaust of World War III.

Admiral Kirk uses the term "Admiralty", which cannot possibly be correct in the technical sense of the word. Suffice it to say that the United Federation of Planets almost certainly lacks an office of lord high admiral, and, lacking that, the office of lord high admiral cannot for obvious reasons be put into commission.

Also interesting are the Admiral's reflections on the Klingon K't'inga-class heavy cruisers; for whatever reason, he is completely certain that three such vessels -- although quite possibly superior warships to the Starfleet's own Constitution-class starships, ostensibly able to execute a General Order 24 operation ("A Taste of Armageddon") -- are not a credible threat to Earth or to the United Federation. Also, he immediately recognises the three heavy cruisers as being in "attack formation", which tends to reïnforce perceptions that starship combat in Star Trek is Nelsonian in nature.

Eventually, further excerpts will be added.



Edit: Minor corrections to the text, Monday, 20 January 2003.


I'm sticking this. Always a pleasure to read your posts Publius.


Spam this thread at your own peril ~ David

[Kuja]

Also interesting is the reference to Admiral Kirk's mother's "love instructor," James, without explanation of what exactly the position entails. What is a "love instructor"? Is sexual education a more "hands on" experience in the XXIII century?

Note that he says "FIRST love instructor". Knowing Kirk's sense of humor, he is possibly referring to an earlier marrige, which may have ended in his mother's first husband's death.

[Kuja]

An interesting perspective on human society and development outside Starfleet, no? It appears that humanity is divided into two basic parts, the collectivist new humans (whom Admiral Kirk defines as being "highly evolved, superbly intelligent and adaptable") who claim to be evolutionarily more advanced, and the individualist "primitive" humans (whom Admiral Kirk describes earlier as being "conservative").

I disagree. Listen to his tone. It is clear that he is mocking the idea of two 'classes'

Curiously, Admiral Kirk, who should be a scientist, accepts the idea that the new humans are evolutionarily more advanced than the "primitives." How does willingness to submerge one's consciousness into that of a group make one more highly evolved? Genetically, the new humans must be identical to the "primitives."

He is mocking what seems to be a new system of thought being put into practice by the Feddies. He does not adhere to this school of thinking, and yet is considered a hero and great captain. He is therefore thumbing his nose and saying "See? My way works!"

Admiral Kirk also seems to be quite charitable toward those new humans who violated their oaths, disobeyed regulations, mutinied, and deserted, shunning Starfleet in favour of more personally interesting pursuits. A curious perspective, to say the least, given his earlier remarks about wilfully accepting the discipline of Starfleet, and pride in fidelity to oaths of service.

I disagree yet again. His tone is disparaging. Notice the use of the word 'roblem' in the third paragraph. And listen to his mocking tone. He is quite clearly insulting SF Command's way of thinking.

[Kuja]

The second point of interest is that Admiral Kirk explicitly states that 94 officers and enlisted persons of the crew of the Enterprise were killed during the five-year mission. This gives a clear impression of what Starfleet considers to be a crew "relatively intact": Captain Kirk established the crew complement of the Enterprise as 428 commissioned officers and enlisted personnel in the episode "Charlie X" (Stardate 1533.6). Thus, Starfleet considers the loss of 23 per cent. of a crew (adjusted for significant figures) to be acceptable.

Kirk's generation of officers is oftern referred to as those who rEALLY went out into new frontiers. Off on their own, with little/no help from SF Command, it is not surprising to suffer heavy losses in the name of exploation. Take the historical example of Africa.

[Uraniun235]

Curiously, Admiral Kirk, who should be a scientist

Kirk never seemed much of a scientist to me... that was Spock and McCoy. Kirk commanded the ship and the landing parties... as it should be.

Nevertheless, the device is clearly capable of creating clear visual images in Admiral Kirk's mind and directing the course of his thoughts. The senceiver is clearly a mind-control device

I don't think it "directed the course" so much as it did suggest concepts. While one *might* define mind-control as being able to do even so little as display images and suggest concepts, I think what Roddenberry was trying to get at was that the devices could not be used to assert control over a person and make them do things they might not otherwise do; they were merely devices for recieving messages from Starfleet Command. And if it's all mental, there wouldn't be a need for text to appear in the "image"... you could simply communicate directly to the brain conceptually.

It seemed to me like the senciever needed a certain amount of cooperation on Kirk's part for it to really work effectively... I doubt it could really 'control' a person.

Also interesting are the Admiral's reflections on the Klingon K't'inga-class heavy cruisers; for whatever reason, he is completely certain that three such vessels – although quite possibly superior warships to the Starfleet's own Constitution-class starships, ostensibly able to execute a General Order 24 ("A Taste of Armageddon") – are not a credible threat to Earth or to the United Federation.

Later in the novel, Vejur somehow disables all of Earth's defenses... forcefields losing power, computers shutting themselves down... and the writer notes that

Until now, there had been the hope that the sheer weight of Earth and lunar firepower and powerful forcefield protection might give [Admiral] Nogura bargaining power or at least some delay in which a better understanding could be worked out.

This indicates that Earth is heavily defended, as opposed to it's 24th century counterpart. Sensor networks and intelligence operations would probably give Starfleet enough advance warning to be able to redeploy the fleet in anticipation of a major Klingon attack.

This also suggests that Starfleet has much more than the dozen or so Constitution class cruisers, and/or that nearly all outposts, colonies, and major worlds are very well protected.

[Publius]

From Chapter Two:

Spock's long robe bore the same patterns as those carved in the ancient stone. The meanings of these symbols were known only to the Vulcan Masters whose abode was here on the high plateau of Gol. Spock had come here not long after the starship Enterprise had completed its historic five-year mission.

[...]

Spock gave the traditional and expected response. But he was troubled. Had his answer been the whole truth? As late as this very morning, he had felt fully prepared to be examined by the Vulcan Masters. During the past nine Vulcan seasons,* he had not only survived the disciplines of Kolinahr, but also the harsh trials had taken him to those consciousness levels levels which are beyond the reach of confusion, fatigue, and pain.

------
*In Earth time, 2.8 years.

The events of this story are set a little over 2.8 years after the termination of the Enterprise's five-year mission.

Jim! Good-bye my... my t'hy'la.* This is the last time I will permit myself to think of you or even your name again.

------
*Editor's note: The human concept of friend is most nearly duplicated in Vulcan thought by the term t'hy'la, which can also mean brother and lover. Spock's recollection (from which this chapter has drawn) is that it was a most difficult moment for him since he did indeed consider Kirk to have become his brother. However, because t'hy'la can be used to mean lover, and since Kirk's and Spock's friendship was unusually close, this has led to some speculation over whether they had actually indeed become lovers. At our request, Admiral Kirk supplied the following comment on this subject:

"I was never aware of this lovers rumor, although I have been told that Spock encountered it several times. Apparently he had always dismissed it with his characteristic lifting of his right eyebrow which usually connoted some combination of surprise, disbelief, and/or annoyance. As for myself, although I have no moral or other objections to physical love in any of its many Earthly, alien, and mixed forms, I have always found my best gratification in that creature woman. Also, I would dislike being thought of as so foolish that I would select a love partner who came into sexual heat only once every seven years."

In Vulcan, the word connoting the concepts "friend," "brother" and "lover" is the same. Also, it was rumoured that Admiral Kirk and Commander Spock, Ret., had been sexually intimate. Neither Admiral Kirk nor Mr Spock confirms or denies the rumour, so make of it what you will. Mr Wong has noted that the original series certainly portrays Captain Kirk as being quite fond of women.

From Chapter Three:

Kirk had shuttled immediately across the Med basin to the massive old hydroelectric complex at Gibraltar. Here, Starfleet maintained one of its communications branches from which he could contact headquarters and confirm the senceiver alert.

It was also the fastest way in which he could get another answer. Troubling Kirk almost as much as the mysterious "cloud intruder" had been the fact that the senceiver message carried no intimation that he was being summoned back to Starfleet Headquarters. [...] It was unthinkable that Starfleet, facing an emergency like this, would ignore his years of deep-space experience, not to mention his staff responsibilities in areas of fleet deployment.

A troubled Jim Kirk paused outside the Gib signal installation, wanting to compose himself against the Admiralty. He was standing near the top of the massive ramparts which towered high above Gibraltar. Well over twenty kilometers away he could see identical ramparts at the Africa side, and between them the mighty wall separating the Atlantic Ocean from what had once been the Mediterranean Sea. This spectacular panorama, combining as it did with his love of history, began to work on his imagination. Putting all his weight on one foot, Kirk could just barely feel the hum of the huge old hydroelectric turbines which still operated deep down at the bedrock level where great streams of cold Atlantic Ocean water plunged sixty meters down to the Mediterranean Sea level. He knew this installation to be hopelessly bulky and inefficient by today's standards, and yet it was still operating – certainly a tribute to the skill of those early twenty-first-century engineers whose creation here had served the energy needs of Southern Europe and most of North Africa for almost two centuries.

Below him past the sea-locks, Kirk could make out Gibraltar Rock itself, looking so tiny from here that it was hard to believe it had once been an important military bastion in the power struggles which had divided humanity. The fabled Mediterranean Sea was now hardly more than a long, slender lake which trailed off into the hazy blue distance in the direction from which he had just come. He wondered if the Mediterranean Alliance had done the right thing in so drastically altering the character of this old sea and the region surrounding it. The Mediterranean had played a significant role in humanity's climb to civilization – did humanity really have the right to meddle to this extent with their past and with the nature of planet Earth? As always, Kirk was forced to admit that the answer was, of course, yes. The inescapable fact was that human ingenuity had saved more of the past here than it had lost – the museum cities and the library at Alexandria were only two examples of that. On what had been the sea-bottom, pre-Minoan ruins had yielded priceless new information on the human past. And the skillfully engineered climate alterations had not only made the entire Med Basin into a virtual garden, it had profoundly improved the climate and character of the entire northern half of Africa – and this had contributed greatly to that continent's having become an island of human progress and tranquility during the savagery which had racked much of the rest of the world during the twenty-first century.

Some interesting historical details regarding the course of human events in the XXI century. A group known as the "Mediterranean Alliance" (almost certainly including Spain and Morocco) dammed the Strait of Gibraltar nearly 200 years prior to the events of The Motion Picture, which predictably had a profound impact on the region, including a drastic reduction in the volume of the Mediterranean Sea itself, revealing pre-Minoan ruins (a reference to Atlantis, perhaps?).

Furthermore, it seems to suggest that Africa was largely unaffected by World War III; in the very least, the Gibraltar Hydroelectric Dam survived, self-evidently, else it would be a quite curious place for the Starfleet to maintain a communications centre. One wonders if the Mediterranean Alliance survived the war (dialogue in First Contact suggested that one other faction, the Eastern Coalition, or ECON, did not survive).

In addition to the Egyptisraeli Museum and library in Alexandria, there are also a number of "museum cities" on Earth.

Also of interest is the remark that Admiral Kirk bears staff responsibility for the deployment of the fleet. This tends to suggest that Starfleet has a general staff, as did the Kriegsmarine or the Royal Navy, rather than an administrative staff separate from the operational chain of command, as does the United States Navy. In the film, Admiral Kirk later remarks to Commander Scott that he has spent three years as "Chief of Starfleet Operations."

As Kirk seated himself at the transceiver console, the viewer came on to reveal a comcon operator who smiled pleasantly at Kirk from nearly half a world away at San Francisco.

"Admiral Kirk, Operator. Request verification..."

"Yes, sir, I understand." The operator had interrupted Kirk quickly but courteously. "Please stand by for a moment."

The operator's image faded from the viewer, and in the same instant the console readouts informed Kirk he was to remain silent until further notice. Clearly, Starfleet wanted no unnecessary conversations about this alert. He heard the hum of an I.D. sensor and realized he was being scanned and his identity verified a second time. [...]

[...]

Until now, Kirk had not permitted himself to admit how desperately unhappy he had been during the last couple of years. It was his pride; it was hard to accept the painful truth that his acceptance of admiral's stars had been a foolish blunder, even a ridiculous one considering that his friend and mission comrade, ship's doctor McCoy, had tried so desperately to warn him against accepting flag rank. Bones McCoy had even invaded staff country at the Admiralty, angrily insisting that James Kirk was one of the "quarterdeck breed" whose symbiotic man-vessel relationship had intrigued and puzzled psychiatrists (and before them, poets) since the days of sailing vessels. [...]

What Kirk did not realize was that the decision to accept Admiral's stars had already been made for him by Starfleet's commanding Admiral. On bringing the Enterprise back safely from its historic mission, Kirk had become simply too valuable to be allowed to accept another deep space command. He had not been told that McCoy's arguments had been supported by many medical colleagues who believed that a ground asignment at this juncture might destroy Kirk, or at least his Starlfeet career. Starfleet's commanding Admiral had had to make a difficult choice betwen what was good for Kirk, and what was good for Starfleet – and the organization had won. Kirk was never eve aware that he had been cleverly manipulated from the beginning in ways that had made McCoy's arguments seem trivial and made flag rank appear to be new growth and new adventure. [...]

By the time Kirk had recovered from the physical and emotional exhaustion of his five-year mission, he was already an Admiral, a member of the Commanding Admiral's staff, and was convinced that he had simply followed the path of responsibility and duty.

[...]

"Gib comcon, I have an Admiralty staff officer requesting holocom contact with you. Stand by, please."

Admiral Kirk's reflections upon the course of his career since having completed the five-year mission with 77 per cent. of his crew intact; oddly, it is repeated several times that he accepted "Admiral's stars." Was he promoted directly to admiral, bypassing the grades of vice-admiral, rear admiral, and commodore? Or is Mr Roddenberry simply referring to the fact that the junior most admiral – a rear admiral – wears two stars, and the junior most flag officer – a commodore – is not an admiral, and wears one star?

Note that the staff officer responsible for the deployment of the fleet (i.e., the Chief of Starfleet Operations) is not the senior most officer in Starfleet; the head of the "Admiralty staff" is the Commanding Admiral of Starfleet (in this case, Admiral Heihachiro Nogura), and is Admiral Kirk's superior.

(Incidentally, the badly inaccurate reference to the Commanding Admiral's staff as "the Admiralty" continues. One should note that the members of the Admiralty were in fact civilians, and never commissioned officers. The senior most officer was the First Sea Lord, also called the Chief of Naval Staff. The members of the Board of Admiralty were the Lords Commissioners for the Execution of the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom (the president of the board was known as the First Lord of the Admiralty), and they were always Members of Parliament – the First Lord of the Admiralty was of Cabinet rank.)

Notice the use of the word "holocom." More details of what "holocom contact" is will be given shortly.

Also, it is of some interest to note that San Francisco also survived World War III to some extent.

Vice Admiral Lori Ciani arrived. It as, of course, only her holocom image, but it was a surprise, nevertheless. It was a perfect transmission signal connecting the Gib station with Starfleet, and Lori looked so completely real and radiant that Kirk could suddenly hear his heart pounding as it always did whenever she came near him during that year they had spent together. [...] She was also a remarkably brilliant and able officer, as attested to by the fact that she was a member of the commanding admiral's inner staff. She was the zeno-psychologist in charge of Starfleet Command's relationships with non-human species, and also Nogura's personal representative to the new human groups here at home.

[...]

[...]She had been perfection – lover, friend, wife, mother, and in every other role and joy she supplied as he slowly recovered from the fatigue and emotional wounds of those five long years out there. They had lived the basic and simple one-year arrangement together – but those months had been memorable ones. He had not been aware, at least not consciously, that during that time she had been something of a surrogate Enterprise to him.

[...]

Kirk remembered how he had once wondered if the commanding admiral had had any hidden motives in bringing Lori and himself together. But he had dismissed the notion as ridiculous. True, living with Lori had helped make a promotion to flag rank seem attractive, even sensible....

Lori interrupted his thoughts: "How well did the implant signal come through?"

"If a huge 'could' thing just ripped three Klingon heavies apart, I received it fine. Someone did a good job of infiltrating our drones into that formation."

Lori nodded. "Commander Branch at Epsilon Nine. I have his entire signal ready if you'd like a direct look at it."

[...]

Lori's holocom image frowned slightly at the play of expression on Kirk's features. Actually, of course, the real Lori Ciana was sitting at a console at Starfleet Headquarters where she herself watching a holocom image of Kirk which appeared to be sitting next to her there. The holocom image of him was obviously revealing to her that something was troubling him. "If you're wondering why fleet deployment hasn't been discussed with you, Jim, it's because the Intruder is headed this way at over warp seven...."

"Warp seven?" Nothing in the implant alert had suggested this incredible speed – even the deep-space Klingon Empire was only days away at these velocities! Kirk was aghast. Unless fleet deployment had been radically changed recently, Starlfeet probably had nothing within interception range of an object moving toward Earth at that velocity.

Lori read his expression, too, and nodded. "Which is why you haven't been ordered to report here, Jim. We haven't even a light cruiser within interception range."

Further details of "holocom contact" – it is apparently the exchange of photorealistic holograms, rather like Praetor Shinzon's discussion with Captain Picard aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) in Nemesis. At least part of the technology used in holodecks in the XXIV century must exist at this point.

Brief reference to a "one-year arrangement," which appears to be something like a one-year marriage contract. Are permanent marriages like that of Chief and Mrs O'Brien very much less uncommon outside the operating forces of Starfleet? This might be another illustration of Admiral Kirk's earlier remarks about Starfleet being socially conservative, as opposed to the much more liberal attitudes taken by the new humans and others.

Sociologically, this is an extremely interesting concept, although Mr Roddenberry sadly devotes no more than a few words to it. It does certainly bear a resemblance to a concept advocated by a certain XIX century philosopher, a concept he called Weibergemeinschaft, or "communal wives."

Incidentally, Admiral Kirk's thoughts on Admiral Ciani (also spelt "Ciana") gives some indication as to how "skilfully" the Commanding Admiral had manipulated him.

Also, confirmation of Admiral Kirk's staff responsibility for fleet deployment, and that the "Admiralty staff" mentioned earlier is synonymous with the "Commanding Admiral's staff" (which means that one may also conclude that Admiral Kirk himself is an "Admiralty staff officer," even if the term is misused).

Furthermore, a few brief remarks about fleet deployment illustrate that Starfleet apparently relies on advance warning and on the hostile force not being significantly faster than its own ships. This strategy – most probably necessitated by warp speeds and the sheer volume of United Federation territory – was later again seen in "The Best of Both Worlds."

Admiral Kirk reflects that, at warp seven, the Klingon Empire is "days" away; this allows one to make a rough calculation of the distances involved.

It is generally accepted that, in the original series, warp speed is equal to the cube of the warp factor multiplied by the speed of light in a vacuum (W = w/f^3 * c); thus, assuming this formula is correct (and using 299,792,458 metres per second for c), warp seven is equal to 343 c, or approximately 102,828,813,094 metres per second. At this velocity, the Klingon Empire would be somewhere between 1.9 light years and 5.6 light years from Earth (values calculated for two days' journey and six days' journey, respectively).

Lori touched a console control in San Francisco. The images picked up by the outpost's drones and relayed to Earth were clean and nearly perfect. They were also frightening. Kirk's holocom console now seemed to be hurtling through space in the midst of the Klingon cruiser formation. Unlike the senceiver alert, command level holocom images have no "daydream" quality – they appear in full dimension which a reality which seems actually to surround whoever sits at the receiving holocom console.

More description of holocom technology.

Definitely, these were of the new K't'inga class – Kirk could clearly see the larger engine nacelles, the new clusters of deflector screen pods and the heavier torpedo tubes. In the past, Starfleet's best had proved only marginally superior to earlier Klingon designs and these K't'inga class heavies could signal new problems for Starfleet's present starships.

Admiral Kirk's evaluation of the Klingons' K't'inga-class heavy cruisers. What is a "deflector screen pod"?

Then the mysterious "cloud" thing appeared, driving all thoughts of Klingons from Kirk's mind. The senceiver "daydream" images had made it seem ominous enough, but this perfect holocom image let Kirk's space-experienced eyes appreciate its true size. Its strange, colorful translucence could have contained and hidden a hundred planets like Earth... perhaps a thousand.

"Our science staff's theory..." - this was Lori talking – "is that the cloud itself may be a powerfield generated by something inside at the heart of it."

"Shit!" It was an expression that a very young Jim Kirk had learned from Grandfather Samuel. It seemed to fit this moment exactly. Kirk's mind reeled at the incredible power that would be needed to generate a powerfield that size. He wondered if even the sun generated power on that scale.

It would appear that there is a "science staff" in addition to the Commanding Admiral's staff. Also some rough indication of how energy intensive a very large "powerfield" may theoretically be.

Then the holocom images faded and he no longer seemed to be hurtling through space. The signal station's walls reappeared – Lori's image remained – and apparently his own image was still seated next to her in San Francisco since she seemed still to be watching him. Was she awaiting his response to what they had just seen? Or to what had been left unsaid?

Come on, Lori, image or not, I can see that you've got something troubling to say. But you've always had a way of making troubling things seem sensible, haven't you? Is this the first time Nogura has sent you to me this way?

"Jim, there is one starship that might be... positioned in time to pull of an interception."

Kirk understood completely. But he kept his expression blank. Your next words could brand you a whore, Lori. Nogura's staff whore. I hope I'm wrong.

"The Enterprise, Jim. There's a chance they can get her out of orbital dockyards in time."

"And?" Whatever Nogura had sent here to say, he wasn't going to help her with it.

"The commanding admiral..."

"Meaning Nogura, of course..."

"Of course. He's ordered everyone available from your old crew aboard. That will give Captain Decker the best..."

"Captain Decker?"

"Yes. You recommended they give the Enterprise to him, didn't you? He'll have the top crew in Starfleet, people already accustomed to working together..."

"And Nogura was worried that I might want to take her out myself?"

"Well... no. Certainly, you'll agree that the Enterprise has been so completely rebuilt and refitted that she's not the same ship you were so familiar with. Your protégé..."

"Decker."

"Yes. He's been aboard eighteen months now; he's intimately familiar with every change..."

"He knows the design changes, her new systems, like no one in the Fleet could possibly know them."

"That's right, Jim."

"Thank you, Lori. Mind if I close down this console now? I've an appointment and I'm already running late on it."

A few more details of holocom technology.

Admiral Ciani remarks that Captain Willard Decker has been Commanding Officer of the Enterprise for eighteen months at this point; in general, she appears to have rather clumsily handled Admiral Kirk in this affair. Given that there is no possible way in which fleet deployment could become pertinent to the handling of the crisis, why even bother alerting Admiral Kirk at all – especially given that the Admiral Nogura clearly doesn't intend for him to do anything?

Also, note that the Commanding Admiral appears to have the authority to transfer officers from one command to another ad libido.

On another note, how can Captain Decker be Admiral Kirk's protégé? It has only been three years or so since the latter has returned from the Enterprise's five year mission, and the former has been the Enterprise's CO for half that time. Was Captain Decker aboard the Enterprise during her five-year mission? If so, surely he must have been a division officer or department head, else why would he be promoted so swiftly to captain and CO, Commander Spock's resignation notwithstanding?

[Publius]

I don't think it "directed the course" so much as it did suggest concepts. While one *might* define mind-control as being able to do even so little as display images and suggest concepts, I think what Roddenberry was trying to get at was that the devices could not be used to assert control over a person and make them do things they might not otherwise do; they were merely devices for recieving messages from Starfleet Command. And if it's all mental, there wouldn't be a need for text to appear in the "image"... you could simply communicate directly to the brain conceptually.

It seemed to me like the senciever needed a certain amount of cooperation on Kirk's part for it to really work effectively... I doubt it could really 'control' a person.

The ability to introduce an entirely new course of thought into a person's mind from halfway across the planet, including the transmission of clear (if "daydream"-like) images, is indeed a form of mind control, even if it does not fall under the ordinary field of compelling one to act against one's will, à la Count Dracula.

Certainly, even the ability to direct the course of another's thoughts by suggestion would qualify as a form of mind control, the fact that Starfleet does so sparingly notwithstanding.

The senceiver could very easily become a dangerous tool in the hands of an unscrupulous person. What would George Orwell's Ingsoc Party do with such a thing?

This indicates that Earth is heavily defended, as opposed to it's 24th century counterpart. Sensor networks and intelligence operations would probably give Starfleet enough advance warning to be able to redeploy the fleet in anticipation of a major Klingon attack.

This also suggests that Starfleet has much more than the dozen or so Constitution class cruisers, and/or that nearly all outposts, colonies, and major worlds are very well protected.

Starfleet's early-warning system appears to be quite good, when dealing with conventional enemies – notice how effective Epsilon Nine was at detecting the Klingon heavy cruiser attack formation, even trailing them with automated sensor drones.

However, it does not seem that the fleet was deployed in such a way as to be able to respond rapidly to emergencies; as Admiral Ciani notes to Admiral Kirk, they really have no need for his staff functions, as they haven't even got so much as a light cruiser in position to intercept Vejur.

On something of a side note, one wonders what a Starfleet light cruiser looks like? Would it look like the now non-canonical Hermes-class and Saladin-class vessels from the Starfleet Technical Manual? What class of vessel is the Miranda?

[Uraniun235]

I don't think it "directed the course" so much as it did suggest concepts. While one *might* define mind-control as being able to do even so little as display images and suggest concepts, I think what Roddenberry was trying to get at was that the devices could not be used to assert control over a person and make them do things they might not otherwise do; they were merely devices for recieving messages from Starfleet Command. And if it's all mental, there wouldn't be a need for text to appear in the "image"... you could simply communicate directly to the brain conceptually.

It seemed to me like the senciever needed a certain amount of cooperation on Kirk's part for it to really work effectively... I doubt it could really 'control' a person.

The ability to introduce an entirely new course of thought into a person's mind from halfway across the planet, including the transmission of clear (if "daydream"-like) images, is indeed a form of mind control, even if it does not fall under the ordinary field of compelling one to act against one's will, à la Count Dracula.

Certainly, even the ability to direct the course of another's thoughts by suggestion would qualify as a form of mind control, the fact that Starfleet does so sparingly notwithstanding.

The senceiver could very easily become a dangerous tool in the hands of an unscrupulous person. What would George Orwell's Ingsoc Party do with such a thing?

So any form of communicating directly into another person's brain would count as mind control?

EDIT: Also, notice that Kirk is very much aware that this is a senciever transmission. It'd be hard to control people's minds when they knew an attempt was being made to control them.

[Publius]

So any form of communicating directly into another person's brain would count as mind control?

EDIT: Also, notice that Kirk is very much aware that this is a senciever transmission. It'd be hard to control people's minds when they knew an attempt was being made to control them.

The senceiver does not merely communicate with Admiral Kirk, it forcibly interrupted his train of thought and introduced a new series of thoughts and images into his mind, so clearly that he could actually "see" the Klingon heavy cruiser attack formation and its engagement with Vejur.

In the strictest sense, this qualifies as one form of controlling Admiral Kirk's mind, even if it does not compel him to behave in a given manner. Admiral Kirk does not have a choice in receiving the senceiver alert; he merely calms himself so as to ease the experience, which he clearly dislikes.

Admiral Kirk is aware of the senceiver transmission, certainly. And yes, this does limit its effectiveness as a coercive mind control device. But it is no less a mind control device for its relatively benign function: It does manipulate and direct at least some part of his consciousness, in a manner seemingly beyond his control.

Still, it is made clear that Admiral Kirk knows the senceiver has been implanted in his brain, and that it was a requirement (presumably for commanding officers), so it is not as though the senceiver has been forced upon an unsuspecting citizen -- it is assumed that Admiral Kirk must have agreed to the implant when he accepted his first command.

However, the essential fact is that the senceiver is a mind control device, Mr Roddenberry's and Starfleet Command's hemming-and-hawing to the contrary notwithstanding.

Publius

[Crayz9000]

What class of vessel is the Miranda?

The Miranda is its own class. ST2's Reliant was a Miranda. The Miranda was also used extensively through the Dominion War.

[Kuja]

What class of vessel is the Miranda?

The Miranda is its own class. ST2's Reliant was a Miranda. The Miranda was also used extensively through the Dominion War.

I believe he's asking the type. IIRC, the Miranda is a cruiser.

[Stormbringer]

What class of vessel is the Miranda?

The Miranda is its own class. ST2's Reliant was a Miranda. The Miranda was also used extensively through the Dominion War.

I believe he's asking the type. IIRC, the Miranda is a cruiser.

Actually she'd be a light cruiser to the Constitution heavy cruiser.

[Currald]

Guenther's Ship's of the Star Fleet (IMO the best Treknical book out there) defines the Avenger-class (as it was then known) as a heavy frigate. I believe that the Miranda-class (mentioned in a TNG episode) is a different class of ship in the same hull configuration; it has a very small crew and seems to be used for research missions, as opposed to the Reliant's mission of kicking James Kirk's ass with a horrendous array of weapons. Anyway...
The only picture I can find from Mastercom (Guenther's company) of a light cruiser is this Ranger-class schematic: http://www.shipschematics.net/startrek/ ... ranger.jpg. Other examples are few and far between, and canon ones are completely lacking. The old Star Fleet Battles game (set in a rather alternate Trek universe) has a few, and people on the internet have designed some.

-

The Saladin/Hermes appears briefly on a screen in Star Trek II. Screencaps are here: http://www.geocities.com/abotkals/remem ... ttwok.html

-

My ST:TMP blueprints (which have Gene Roddenberry's signature on them) identify most of the angular cosmetic-looking design elements etched into the hull of the head, throat and wings of the Klingon ship as "Deflector Plates." There is no mention of "deflector pods."

[Crayz9000]

http://www.shipschematics.net/startrek/ ... ranger.jpg

Ugh. Ugh. UGH! That thing has KITBASH written all over it in bold print. And it's damned ugly to boot.

The Miranda fits into the slot of Light Cruiser much better than... that... monstrosity. It's also canon; the Miranda-class was used extensively in combat during the Dominion War. Being an older ship, though, they're used more for research purposes.

I don't know how canon the name Miranda is, but it's the most widespread class name for ships of the Reliant's design.

EDIT: I just remembered. Shipschematics.net is about the WORST source for possible ship classes. Their categories are exclusively kitbashes, and all waaaaay off the canon chart.

[Currald]

EDIT: I just remembered. Shipschematics.net is about the WORST source for possible ship classes. Their categories are exclusively kitbashes, and all waaaaay off the canon chart.

It is just a collection of schematics, canon and non-canon, from various sources, with bibliographical information included. Many Trekkies (myself included) prefer the better fan-created stuff to the latest episode of Enterprise when it comes to forming our "Trek world-view." Note that this isn't an endorsement of the Ranger-class on my part. I was merely citing what appeared to be the most reputable source available (Mastercom) from a very meager list of light cruisers.

[Publius]

The Saladin/Hermes appears briefly on a screen in Star Trek II. Screencaps are here: http://www.geocities.com/abotkals/remem ... ttwok.html

That has the happy effect of making at least part of Mr Joseph's Starfleet Technical Manual canonical (again). Allegedly, the triple-nacelled Federation-class dreadnought was mentioned in Epsilon IX radio chatter in The Motion Picture.

Of course, it does seem odd that images of a Saladin/Hermes-class vessel were in the training ship's displays; might this be an indicator that the simulator scenario actually used a Hermes-class destroyer as the cadets' ship, and not a Constitution-class heavy cruiser?

Perhaps not. According to this article, the hatch leading to the simulator is labelled "MARK IV SIMULATOR - ENTERPRISE CLASS," although the last two words are not clearly legible.

On another note, the presence of the Ptolemy-class transport might have been meant to suggest that the Kobayashi Maru is in fact a variant upon that basic design.

My ST:TMP blueprints (which have Gene Roddenberry's signature on them) identify most of the angular cosmetic-looking design elements etched into the hull of the head, throat and wings of the Klingon ship as "Deflector Plates." There is no mention of "deflector pods."

Are there any features that are unlabelled which could be deflector pods? Or shall we assume that "deflector pod" and "deflector plate" are synonymous?

[Uraniun235]

So any form of communicating directly into another person's brain would count as mind control?

EDIT: Also, notice that Kirk is very much aware that this is a senciever transmission. It'd be hard to control people's minds when they knew an attempt was being made to control them.

The senceiver does not merely communicate with Admiral Kirk, it forcibly interrupted his train of thought and introduced a new series of thoughts and images into his mind, so clearly that he could actually "see" the Klingon heavy cruiser attack formation and its engagement with Vejur.

In the strictest sense, this qualifies as one form of controlling Admiral Kirk's mind, even if it does not compel him to behave in a given manner. Admiral Kirk does not have a choice in receiving the senceiver alert; he merely calms himself so as to ease the experience, which he clearly dislikes.

I don't see how a direct communication to the mind could be done any other way.

Think about it. Someone comes up to you and starts yammering in your ear about something. Now, you could try and ignore it; but the input would still be there, and if the person is annoying/persistant/interesting enough, they *gasp* just might break your train of thought.

You can't just turn your ears off. You can learn to just ignore people, but that takes effort, unless you're *really* preoccupied with something else. There's also the issue of probably not wanting officers to ignore such communications.

[Currald]

Of course, it does seem odd that images of a Saladin/Hermes-class vessel were in the training ship's displays; words are not clearly legible.

On another note, the presence of the Ptolemy-class transport might have been meant to suggest that the Kobayashi Maru is in fact a variant upon that basic design.

Or they could both represent nearby traffic. The Kobayashi Maru is a Class III Neutronic Fuel Carrier, while the Ptolemy is a Class I Starship.

My ST:TMP blueprints (which have Gene Roddenberry's signature on them) identify most of the angular cosmetic-looking design elements etched into the hull of the head, throat and wings of the Klingon ship as "Deflector Plates." There is no mention of "deflector pods."

Are there any features that are unlabelled which could be deflector pods? Or shall we assume that "deflector pod" and "deflector plate" are synonymous?

There are no unidentified podlike features, nor could the deflector plates be interpreted as pods by any stretch of the imagination. The blueprints do not specifically identify the Klingon ship as K'tinga-class, however. There may be two similar ships, the K'tinga with pods, and another battlecruiser variant with plates. Or Kirk may be (gasp!) wrong about something.

[Publius]

Of course, it does seem odd that images of a Saladin/Hermes-class vessel were in the training ship's displays; words are not clearly legible.

On another note, the presence of the Ptolemy-class transport might have been meant to suggest that the Kobayashi Maru is in fact a variant upon that basic design.

Or they could both represent nearby traffic. The Kobayashi Maru is a Class III Neutronic Fuel Carrier, while the Ptolemy is a Class I Starship.

Also possible, certainly. In any event, there is no real way to know, as the only information on the Kobayashi Maru is that it is, as you say, a Class III neutronic fuel carrier, whatever that is.

My ST:TMP blueprints (which have Gene Roddenberry's signature on them) identify most of the angular cosmetic-looking design elements etched into the hull of the head, throat and wings of the Klingon ship as "Deflector Plates." There is no mention of "deflector pods."

Are there any features that are unlabelled which could be deflector pods? Or shall we assume that "deflector pod" and "deflector plate" are synonymous?

There are no unidentified podlike features, nor could the deflector plates be interpreted as pods by any stretch of the imagination. The blueprints do not specifically identify the Klingon ship as K'tinga-class, however. There may be two similar ships, the K'tinga with pods, and another battlecruiser variant with plates. Or Kirk may be (gasp!) wrong about something.

The two separate K't'inga models is certainly a good explanation.

One might also consider the development of language. Starfleet may at one time have used "deflector pods," and officers may still refer to analogous equipment as such, out of habit, even if it no longer actually qualifies. Admiral Kirk may have been looking at "deflector plates," and simply used the term "deflector pod," because the plates replace the pods, and he still habitually thinks of them in terms of the latter.

In a somewhat similar sense, it is still quite common to refer to the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) as "MI6," even though SIS does not qualify as MI6 anymore. It was originally a military intelligence apparatus (hence, "MI") based in Room 6. Since SIS is no longer in Room 6 or even associated with the military (SIS is within the authority of the Commonwealth and Foreign Office), it is technically no longer accurate to call it MI6 -- but it is still done, anyway, even by people who ought to know better.

Publius

[Publius]

From Chapter Four:

Whatever one prefers to call it – Starfleet Command, Fleet Headquarters, or the Admiralty – it is centered in a structure which thrusts itself magnificently spaceward out of the redwood forest of San Francisco's old city peninsula. Although some museum cities have taller buildings preserved from the industrial past, Starfleet's headquarters are still a distinctive landmark in this world where so much of the clutter of our lives has been placed underground.

Just under two hours ago, Kirk had taken the tube from Gibraltar to Los Angeles Island, where he had caught the first northbound airtram. Now, fifteen minutes later, the clear blue waters of San Francisco Bay were in full view. As always, the sight of Starfleet's headquarters seemed to make Kirk's heart beat a bit faster. Since his midshipman days, he had always admired the clean symmetry of the design and its dramatic combination of space and Earth materials. There was an almost storybook castle suggestion in the way its tritanium-blue superstructure rose up out of its gray-granite base. It had always been to Kirk a statement in architectural poetry about a very necessary relationship between the mud below and the stars above.

Starfleet Command in San Francisco, Earth. The superstructure is constructed in symmetrical fashion of tritanium, on a base of granite, and is unusually tall for modern buildings, although taller buildings from previous eras of history do exist in certain museum cities.

As of 2271, at least a large part of the Earthbound population lives in subterranean areas. Also, there is a tube connecting Gibraltar to Los Angeles (which is an island at this time), and an airtram service connecting Los Angeles Island to San Francisco. Starfleet Command is on a peninsula near a redwood forest in San Francisco.

In only a few minutes, he would begin a confrontation that would decide whether he remained in Starfleet, or lived, or died, or even gave a damn which of these happened. The key was Commanding Admiral Heihachiro Nogura. Kirk had no doubts left about why Nogura had ordered Lori Ciana to make her holocom visit to Gibraltar. Faced with all the pressures of the Intruder emergency, the commanding admiral had hurriedly assigned Lori to placate a potentially troublesome James Kirk. Nogura must have assumed that since she had managed Kirk so well once, she would find a way to do it again. But this time Kirk had finally felt himself being manipulated.

[...]

[...] From the day he had brought his battered starship and crew back from their long mission, Kirk had become uniquely valuable to Nogura. Not to Nogura the man, kindly, a great-great grandfather a dozen times over, and a helpful friend since Kirk's junior lieutenant days. Kirk's value was to Heihachiro Nogura, Commanding Admiral, whose oath it was to make any sacrifice or pay any cost necessary to fulfilling his responsibilities to his beloved Starfleet.

The new humans among Earth's population had become increasingly critical of Starfleet's cost, of Starfleet's aims, and of its value. Admiral Nogura could not avoid seeing immediately the value of a living symbol, a carefully designed hero figure who could awe the impressionable and confront the critics with arguments taken from actual experiences out there. And Starfleet would have needed that hero symbol here, not out of sight somewhere on another long starship mission.

Alcatraz Children's Park had hardly slipped past view on the left when Kirk felt the tram's inertia-dampeners hum into life – there was no motion sensation at all as the tram dipped sharply to the right, decelerating fast. He caught a quick glimpse of the mirror-blue of the Admiralty towering high above them, and then suddenly the tram was through the Telegraph Hill entry and was settling to a stop at the terminal beneath Starfleet Headquarters.

Kirk was the first out, hurrying through the high domed interior, oblivious to the striking view of San Francisco Bay through the broad tram entry opening.[...]

Further descriptions of the San Francisco area around Starfleet Command (and yet another name for it, "Starfleet Headquarters", along with "Fleet Headquarters" and "the Admiralty"). Alcatraz Island has become a children's park, demonstrating that someone in the XXIII century has a twisted sense of humour.

Also, elaboration on why the Commanding Admiral saw to it that Captain Kirk accepted promotion and detail to the general staff. Was the new human criticism of Starfleet based on the fact that its defence functions were part of its primary rôle at that time? Would the new humans become more accepting of Starfleet after the science and exploration functions became more dominant following détente with the Klingon Empire (see The Undiscovered Country)?

On a vaguely related note, what would be the new humans' reaction to the Borg Collective? What are Captain Picard's views on the new humans, given his experience with having had his consciousness forcibly submerged into a collective?

"Commander Sonak!"

Sonak turned, startled to have his name called in public – on Vulcan it would have been a shameful breach of privacy. The Vulcan fleet scientist was still more startled to see that it was Kirk, who certainly knew and respected Vulcan tastes. He knew that some extraordinary urgency could be responsible for such discourtesy.

"Have you received your appointment as Enterprise Science Officer?"

The Vulcan nodded. "Based, I am told, on your recommendation, Admiral. Thank you."

The "thank you" was unnecessary, but Sonak added it, nevertheless. This human, Kirk, had many times demonstrated himself worthy of respect.

"Then why aren't you on board?"

Sonak closed his mind to this offensive directness. "Captain Decker requested I complete final science briefing here before..."

Kirk interrupted. "Here at Starfleet? The Enterprise is in final preparation to leave dock..."

"Which will require at least twenty more hours at minimum, Admiral."

"She'll leave in twelve hours," corrected Kirk. "Report to me aboard as soon as possible."

Vulcanian etiquette; if a Vulcan is offended at having his or her name called in public, how is a superior officer to address him or her? "Hey, you" is hardly appropriate, and circumlocution is equally clumsy and ill-suited to proper naval decorum. Furthermore, if Vulcans take such offence at direct interrogatives, how is a superior officer to ask for clarification?

Also note the timetable between the current time and the Enterprise's departure to intercept Vejur.

If Kirk had thought of the Enterprise before, it had been as an impossible dream. Starship command was a way of life that a flag officer could never again enjoy, at least so long as that officer stayed in Starfleet. Eventually, the thought of resignation from the service would have come to Kirk's mind – although he could never know the incredible freedom and independence of starship command again; there were at least other kinds of vessels out there.

Commodore Matthew Decker commanded the USS Constellation (NCC-1017) prior to its destruction and his death in 2267 (see "The Doomsday Machine"), and Commodore Robert Wesley commanded the USS Lexington (NCC-1709) during the M-5 test in 2268 (see "The Ultimate Computer").

(The idea of a flag officer commanding a ship is not completely unknown. The Royal Navy differentiated between a "Commodore of the first class", who had a subordinate captain who commanded the flagship, and a "Commodore of the second class", who commanded the flagship as well as the squadron. Commodores of the first class were permitted to wear the uniforms of rear admirals from 1783 until the two classes were consolidated in 1958. Still, it is somewhat unusual that neither Commodore Decker nor Commodore Wesley had a squadron under his command, only a single starship.)

Nevertheless, the fact that Admiral Kirk is convinced that he will not be able to command a starship suggests that, at this point in Starfleet history, it does not deploy forces sufficient in strength or number to have an admiral embarked as a commander. The largest force seen deployed at once was the group of five Constitution-class heavy cruisers during the testing of the M-5, whereat Commodore Wesley, the CO of the Lexington, was the senior officer present and afloat.

"The entire staff considered this at length, Jim," said Nogura. "I'm afraid that every point you've made has already been carefully considered."

"Admiral, these points were neither carefully nor properly considered since I was not present." Kirk knew that his only chance now was to challenge Nogura directly. "And now that I am present, I submit that it is your responsibility to inform me of whatever negative arguments were made against my selection."

As a flag officer and a member of Nogura's staff, Kirk had both a right and an obligation to know of anything in his professional performance which his peers considered to be substandard.

Professional courtesy and decorum amongst the general staff. Still, why should the entire general staff (sans the Chief of Starfleet Operations, who was in Alexandria) have considered the possibility of allowing Admiral Kirk to assume command of the Enterprise? Given that it is the Commanding Admiral's decision, and he had clearly already resolved to keep Admiral Kirk uninvolved, why should the general staff have been consulted?

Similarly, why even bother notifying Admiral Kirk of the emergency at all? Fleet deployment is self-evidently unaffected, and Admiral Nogura was obviously intent on not allowing him to interfere, in any event.

From Chapter Five:

Kirk strode through Starfleet Headquarters to the main orbital transporter, trying to keep elation off his face. He knew that he had taken shameless advantage of Heihachiro Nogura's decency. But he was satisfied that it was for good reason. He was not thinking of Nogura's final words: If you are convinced that you are the right man, Jim, then go! If you are not, then for God's sake don't!

[...]

Kirk stepped onto the transporter platform. "Navy yards. Centroplex, area seven. Energize."

The transporter deposited Kirk in an engineering arm of the enormous Centroplex which housed administration and most of the other central needs of the vast, sprawling orbital dockyard. It was Starfleet's largest ship construction and repair facility this side of Antares. It was here almost nine years ago that a younger Captain James Kirk had first taken command of the Enterprise.

Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott saw Kirk and with a look of pleased surprise he broke away from a group at an engineering computer. Scott's dark eyes and firm mouth behind the new moustache flashed a quick acknowledgement of past years together, but his expression still reflected worried concern.

"Admiral, these departure orders. Starfleet cannot be serious."

"Why aren't the Enterprise transporters operating, Mr. Scott?"

"A temporary problem, sir." Then quickly, getting his point in, "Admiral, we've just been through eighteen months of redesigning and refitting. We might have launched in twenty hours. But who the hell's idea was it to suddenly have her ready in twelve hours?"

Starfleet Command has a "main orbital transporter". Do its other "transporters" lack the range to teleport personnel into orbit, or is the emphasis on the fact that this particular one is the primary "transporter"?

The Centroplex is the administrative centre of what Admiral Kirk calls "the Navy yards", which is the largest shipyard and repair facility "this side of Antares", and presumably the United Federation as a whole. Given that this is where Captain Kirk first assumed command of the Enterprise, are these "Navy yards" synonymous with the San Francisco Shipyards, or are the latter simply a part of the former? And what of Earth Station McKinley? A later addition, perhaps, or a separate facility altogether?

Admiral Kirk's usage of the title of address "Mister" for Commander Scott is incorrect. Midshipmen, ensigns, and lieutenants are addressed as "Mister"; lieutenant-commanders and commanders are addressed as "Commander", captains and commodores as "Captain" and "Commodore", respectively, and all grades of admiral, as "Admiral". While a lieutenant-commander (such as Lieutenant-Commander Scott during the Enterprise's five-year mission) can be addressed as "Mister", to do so is to give offence (it implies that the lieutenant-commander is viewed as a junior officer). In any event, Commander Scott was a full commander during these events, and should have been addressed as such.

"There is no guaranteeing what the Enterprise will do," interrupted Scott. "No one's even sure what she's capable of doing. The engines, the deflectors, weapons and defense systems – it's all new. Not even a shakedown cruise, much less any battle tests! And the engines, Admiral, they're yet to be even tested at warp power. Add to that an inexperienced captain..."

Kirk interrupted. "Two and a half years in Starfleet operations may have made me a little stale, Mr. Scott, but I wouldn't exactly consider myself 'inexperienced.'"

It took Scott a moment to comprehend – then a long, sharp look at Kirk's expression to make doubly certain. Flag officers did not normally return to single-vessel command.

Commander Scott rightly notes that the Enterprise is far from being ready for service, and refers to the considerable testing required before she would be. Compare this to the later "scientific method" seen in The Next Generation, which moves from theory to fait accompli without any experimentation or testing beforehand. Unlike later examples of technology failing with disastrous results, the Enterprise is clearly unprepared, and the point is clearly made that the technological failures are the result of excessive haste and lack of preparedness.

Also, Commander Scott is surprised that Admiral Kirk intends to assume captaincy of the Enterprise. The fact that flag officers do not often command "single-vessel commands" suggests that flag officers do not often command in space, as Starfleet does not seem to have very much more than "single-vessel commands" at this stage in time (larger forces are probably assembled on an ad hoc basis, as was Vice-Admiral J. P. Hanson's force at Wolf 359).

From Chapter Six:

[...] Kirk had, of course, seen some of her new lines before, but only at a mid-point in the renovation. She was complete now, gracefully whole – Kirk searched for some phrase, some description that expressed what he was feeling. Was she like a lovely woman? No; at this moment she was more than that to him. A fable? A myth come alive? Yes, that was it! She was as Aphrodite must have been when Zeus first raised her up from the sea, naked and shockingly beautiful.

"Raised up who, sir?" It was Scott giving him a puzzled look. Kirk realized he must have said some part of it aloud.

Commander Scott, who has undoubtedly graduated either from the Starfleet Academy, else from the Reserve Officer Training Corps or an Officer Candidate School, is not especially well-educated in the humanities, and does not recognise Greek mythology.

Chapter Six to be completed at a later date.

Publius

[Currald]

He's not very up on Milton, either.

[Uraniun235]

Was the new human criticism of Starfleet based on the fact that its defence functions were part of its primary rôle at that time? Would the new humans become more accepting of Starfleet after the science and exploration functions became more dominant following détente with the Klingon Empire (see The Undiscovered Country)?

On a vaguely related note, what would be the new humans' reaction to the Borg Collective? What are Captain Picard's views on the new humans, given his experience with having had his consciousness forcibly submerged into a collective?

Hmm. I imagine the new humans would see the Borg as an entity to try to reason with, almost up to the point of advocating surrender and assimilation as opposed to the destruction and loss of lives a conflict with the Borg would bring.

It's possible that the new human movement, as it were, lost momentum between TMP and TNG, and that they are not present in TNG. Otherwise, I suspect Picard would regard the new humans with some level of contempt.

Starfleet Command has a "main orbital transporter". Do its other "transporters" lack the range to teleport personnel into orbit, or is the emphasis on the fact that this particular one is the primary "transporter"?

I think it's probably the "main transporter" for the Starfleet Command complex, emphasis on primary. I'm sure there are other transporters located around Earth.

It would also seem to make sense to channel most if not all transporter traffic through one station or cluster of stations (depending on the usual level of traffic) so that security could more easily monitor and restrict traffic into and out of the complex more easily.

[Publius]

He's not very up on Milton, either.

However, it is known that he is able to play "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes.

Still, it is an interesting detail that Commander Scott is not overly familiar with Greek mythology. His classes at the Starfleet Academy must have focussed on engineering and related studies (and well they should have); he is well-versed in the work of engineering and little else - he does not seem to have Captain Picard's knowledge of literature.

To be fair, of course, judging by his quotations, Captain Picard's knowledge of literature does not appear to extend beyond the plays of William Shakespeare, with the sole exception of Herman Melville's Moby Dick.

[Uraniun235]

But Wesley Crusher says that the literature/philosophy stuff won't be on the Academy exams, which indicates they don't teach that even at the TNG Academy. I think Picard is just Picard.

And what of Earth Station McKinley? A later addition, perhaps, or a separate facility altogether?

I'd go with later addition/seperate facility. Wasn't McKinley the station that came down in a big claw-grip around the Enterprise? I'd go so far as to say McKinley was custom-built for the Galaxy class, considering how closely it matches the shape of a GCS. I imagine it could also service Ambassador-class starships as well.

[Publius]

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...."

Chapter Six (cont'd.):

The cargo deck was a confusion of supplies and equipment, zero-g cargo carriers, and hurrying technicians. Kirk felt apprehensive when he saw how completely redesigned she was even here. Neither his study of the design prints nor his visits during construction had prepared him for the sheer multitude of changes which her final form carried now. But even in the confusion here he could begin to discern those patterns of activity which come only from careful design planning -- there was something comfortably sensible in the way these odd-shaped new cargo containers traveled along on zero-gravity sleds, almost as if ignoring the scattered, perspiring crewmen, each container like an intelligent jigsaw puzzle piece capable of finding its own planned storage place in the vessel.

An interesting description of activity in the Enterprise's cargo deck, especially the last line. Does Starfleet usually use automated, zero-gravity cargo sleds, or is this one of the new features of the upgraded Constitution-class? Does Starfleet still use such sleds in the 2360s and 2370s?

A perspiring young ensign was coming forward to greet them, suddenly nervous at the sight of an admiral having come aboard. Lord, how young they were making them these days!

"Permission to come aboard, sir," Kirk said.

"Granted, sir," the ensign said. "Welcome aboard, Admiral ... and Commander Scott, you're needed in engineering immediately."

At least part of the current traditions of the naval service are still in use (requesting permission to board from the Officer of the Deck or his representative), but two other traditions are conspicuous by their absence: Admiral Kirk's pod was not challenged as it came alongside, and the coxswain did not reply (presumably because there was no coxswain); and the boatswain's mate did not pipe and no side boys were on the quarterdeck when Admiral Kirk came aboard.

There have been instances wherein the boatswain's mate has been seen to pipe as high-ranking officers come aboard (notably in The Undiscovered Country and "All Good Things..."; the latter instance showed that side boys were detailed to the quarterdeck), so presumably Admiral Kirk's abbreviated arrival is due to the fact that the crew is rushing to get the Enterprise underway. Still, does Starfleet maintain the traditional challenging of all craft that come alongside the ship? Or do they dispense with this tradition on account of IF/F transponders?

"I think I can find my own way, Ensign." Kirk moved off, feeling the young officer's relief at his back. He moved across a catwalk and then crossed the open deck toward the nearest turbolift. He waited a few seconds and then began to wonder if the lifts featured some redesign that required he do more than stand within sensor range. He searched his mind rapidly for any memory of such redesign in Enterprise's turbolifts.

"Bridge," he ordered, savoring the moment.

The turbolift mechanisms responded; they engaged and began to move more quickly than he remembered. He could feel just the slightest residue of undampened inertia which told him of the cab's rapid acceleration upward, and then the slightest feeling of sliding sideways as the turbolift traveled horizontally to enter another shaft before continuing up again. On the wall of the cab there was a new-style turbolift position readout, but he gave it only a glance since his own trained senses told him all that he needed to know -– the lift had passed through the starship's great engineering section, and it was now streaking up inside the broad support pylon toward the saucer section. Yes, there was the faintest feeling of acceleration now as it shot up through the first eleven decks toward the bridge level.

Apparently, one need only stand near a turbolift shaft to summon a car. Presumably, then, the entire system must be controlled by a central computer. Also interestingly enough, one can seemingly travel from the cargo deck in the engineering section directly to the bridge in the saucer section aboard the same car.

Are there pressure-tight seals in the turbolift shafts? Perhaps more importantly, are the doors airtight? If not, mightn't the turbolift shafts pose a very real danger of exacerbating explosive decompression? This could very well explain the continuous rush of air through what was formerly the bridge viewscreen in Nemesis -– was air being vented from the entire ship, blown from the turbolift shafts through incompletely sealed doors and out the hull breach on the bridge?

They had begun to see him. The Asian romantic Sulu, lieutenant commander's stripes now, stood sweat-soaked at the helm where he had frozen in mid-motion on seeing Kirk. Uhura, also a lieutenant commander, the same classically lovely features, abruptly stopping in the midst of a flurry of hailing frequency checks. And Chekov, appearing almost too boyish to be a full lieutenant, at the complex new weapons-control station. Kirk remembered hearing that Chekov had recently returned form weapons-defense command school.

At least at this point in time, there is specific training school associated with controlling a starship's weapons. Presumably the Enterprise's fire control is more complicated than point-and-click.

From Chapter Seven:

Uhura nodded. This was exactly what she had just felt in Kirk, too. He had also had that look which comes into some men's eyes when they've just won a woman and she lies there ready to be taken. Uhura was not unacquainted with that look, but she was troubled at the amount of hunger she had seen there, too.

Apparently, Admiral Kirk is quite fond of the Enterprise.

[...] "Ensign, our chances of getting back from this mission may have just doubled!" Privately, she wondered if that would prove good enough. From what she was overhearing on communications, Uhura could piece together a fairly accurate picture of what they faced, and she was surprised to find herself wondering if today's Jim Kirk could handle that emergency as well as the captain she remembered. There was no denying that he had been three years Earthbound in a job he should never have accepted.

Length of Admiral Kirk's shore cruise on the Commanding Admiral's staff. Presumably, then, this includes his one-year arrangement with Admiral Ciani. Was his promotion to flag rank retroactive? How long is a term as Chief of Starfleet Operations?

Montgomery Scott stood in the midst of what to many would have seemed pandemonium. The engine's intermix chamber, extending three ship levels above him and four more below, did not yet show the blinding hellfire look it would have when delivering warp power, but even at this low setting, the flare of the wave-energy collectors gave everything an unearthly appearance. But Scott had long ago learned how to ignore all this. Any other way of working here would have been impossible, although not nearly as impossible as it would have been to him to work elsewhere.

The large, eight-deck-tall "warp core" is described as the "engine's intermix chamber", and Commander Scott considers the logical impossibility of a thing being "more" or "less" impossible than another impossible thing.

The last three years of redesigning and rebuilding her had been the happiest time in Scott's life –- and it was being marred now by the fact that they were improperly hurrying his vessel into service. The new-design engines had yet to be warp tested, and these engines were six times as powerful as anything ever carried into space before –- most emphatically, they were not things to be hurriedly or carelessly used.

The Enterprise's refit has taken place over three years, although Captain Decker has only been CO for one-and-a-half, according to Admiral Ciani. Also, the new engines are considerably more powerful than the old ones. Presumably, then, the upgraded Enterprise is appreciably superior in terms of speed, weapons, and defensive systems to its previous, pre-refit form.

"I'm taking the center seat," Kirk said. "I'm sorry, Will."

"You are what...?" Decker was certain that Kirk must have said something else.

"I'm replacing you as captain of the Enterprise."

Decker found himself staring at Kirk blankly. He saw Kirk reach tentatively, as if to clasp a hand on his shoulder, fatherly, brotherly... but then Kirk's expression seemed to harden and he drew back. "You'll stay aboard as executive officer... a temporary reduction to commander."

A somewhat unusual change of command, but again, this is presumably due to the circumstances at hand. The change of command in "Chains of Command" is evidence enough that the current tradition is at least partially still in use (Captain Picard and Captain Jellico utter the familiar formula, "I relieve you, sir" and "I stand relieved, sir").

Was Captain Decker demoted to commander in order to preserve the tradition that there is only one captain aboard a ship? In the Soviet Navy, it was possible to have the Commanding Officer, the Executive Officer, the Political Officer, and the Engineering Officer all commissioned in grade of Captain First Rank.

Through her protective shielding, [Transporter Chief Janice] Rand could see the two shapes that seemed to try to materialize, but the patterns were still fluttering – were they also becoming slightly distorted? [...]

"Starfleet!" She was snapping into the transceiver. "Override us! Override. Yank them back!"

"Unable to retrieve their patterns, Enterprise," Starfleet was answering.

[...]

Kirk found the pattern-booster control, pushing it to full emergency as he turned to the transceiver: "Starfleet, boost your matter gain down there; we need more signal!"

Starfleet's response was immediate; there was a flutter of greater solidity on the transporter platforms. The two figures almost fully patterned for an instant –- and Rand heard the sound of agony, a disbelieving moan from someone. On the platform? No, here! It was the captain!

Kirk fought to keep from screaming obscenities. It was Lori! Sonak, too -– but what was Lori doing up here? She was dying. And he was helpless to stop it.

"Oh, no! They're forming again!" Rand recognized this as her own voice. Shapes were materializing on the platform again – but frighteningly misshapen, writhing masses of chaotic flesh with skeletal shapes and pumping organs on the outsides of their "bodies." A twisted, claw-like hand tore at the air, a scream came from a bleeding mouth... and then they were gone. The chamber was empty.

"Oh, my God." Rand recognized the voice again as coming from Kirk. "Starfleet, do you have them?"

Starfleet came in. The voice was unsteady, but quiet. "Enterprise, what we got back... didn't live long. Fortunately."

Another moment of stunned silence. Then Kirk hit the button, fighting to control his voice. "Starfleet... Kirk. Please... express my condolences to Admiral Ciana's mother and father; say I'll visit them when... when circumstances permit. Commander Sonak's family can be reached through the Vulcan Embassy."

The charming results of a "transporter" mishap. The description of the process, while vague, may provide some idea of how a "transporter" operates; the pattern is transmitted, and increased signal strength may prevent a catastrophic accident such as this. Also, Chief Rand's instruction to Starfleet is fascinating: A transporter pattern can be retrieved if done in a timely fashion.

Still, it seems odd that Admiral Ciani and Commander Sonak would return to their point of origin when they failed to materialise aboard the Enterprise, especially given that their signal could not be retrieved.

In any event, an incident such as this would provide an example of why such persons as Dr McCoy, Dr Pulaski, and Mr Barclay have an aversion to teleporting via Starfleet "transporters".

Also, reference to the Vulcan Embassy. How is the United Federation of Planets organised, that member states have embassies at the seat of government? This rather suggests that it is in fact a loose confederation (à la the European Union) rather an an actual federation (à la the Dominion of Canada, or the United States of America, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).

After all, an embassy suggests diplomatic immunity, which poses some very interesting questions regarding the legal system of the United Federation. After all, would this not make rather more complicated the extradition of malefactors, and the showing of full faith and credit to the public acts of the other members of the United Federation?

From Chapter Eight:

Lori. She must have volunteered, last-minute. Had she discovered they needed an officer with her zeno-psychspecialty? [...]

Can a vice admiral serve as a member of the medical department aboard a ship of the line? Moreover, what is "zeno-psych"? The psychology of non-humans? If so, then presumably Admiral Ciani specialised in dealing with a specific species.

"We'll have to replace Commander Sonak," said Kirk. "But I'd still like a Vulcan there, if possible."

"None available, Captain." Did Decker know this for certain? Could he have checked on this already? "There's no one, in fact, who's fully rated on this design."

"You are, Mr. Decker," Kirk said. "I'm afraid you'll have to double as science officer

The current naval tradition of referring to the Commanding Officer as "Captain", regardless of rank, is still in place. Admiral Kirk again commits an error in naval etiquette, however, when he addresses Commander Decker as "Mister".

One should note, however, that, as captain, he also referred to Commander Spock as "Mister"; Captain Picard addresses Commander Worf, Commander Data, and Commander LaForge as "Mister". Did Starfleet revise etiquette to make all non-captains "Mister"? If so, then why does Captain Picard refer to Commander Riker as "Commander"? Or is it simply laziness or inattention to detail on the Captains' parts?

Kirk patched his intercom through to Scott. "I need a working transporter, Engineer! Total checkout and fail-safe back-up of any questionable part. Full safety trials before each beam up. Kirk, out."

Something conspicuous by its absence in later years.

Kirk switched his viewer to a look at the Rec Deck and saw that only a few of the crew were ready for the 0400 assembly which he had ordered. He made a random ship scan and his spirits were buoyed somewhat as he saw that most of the crew were staying at their launch preparation tasks until the last possible minute.

He could not recall that any starship captain had ever assembled a full crew as he planned to do. There would not have been adequate space for it in earlier design vessels, anyway. And there was usually no need for it –- a starship's "nerve system" of computer-regulated scanners and viewers permitted instant contact with anyone at any time. But this case was unique –- it needed the crew and captain face to face.[...]

The usual starship internal communications system.

It was 0404 hours when Kirk entered the great multilevel Rec Deck, the largest single interior ever designed into a starship. The four hundred-plus crew members had gathered in loose ranks across the vast deck area, spilling onto upper balconies and against the huge observation ports which looked out into the orbital dry dock, busy with last-minute launch preparation.

This Rec Deck interior was three, perhaps four, times the size of Enterprise's former recreation area, before the redesign –- and this was without including the exercise rooms and new sports areas adjoining it. There were many (none of them deep-space veterans) who thought this new design was wasteful preoccupation with games and sociability. But those whose space experience was numbered in years knew that the function served here was as necessary to a starship as its engines. Here the most vital of the ship's mechanisms were kept in peak operating efficiency through music, song, games, debate, exercise, competition, friendship, romance, sex –- the list was as endless as human ingenuity itself. Companionship and community were as basic to life support as oxygen and food. To those who might spend years of their life in this vessel, this place was their village square, their park, library, café, family table, their mall, meeting hall, and much more.

The Enterprise's new Rec Deck. Are the later holodecks a sort of substitute for this sort of large, multipurpose room? Or do later starships retain a large Rec Deck, in addition to their holodecks?

"Captain, we have an urgent subspace call from Epsilon Nine."

It was Uhura, referring to the outpost station whose sensor drones had gathered the Klingon destruction images which they had just seen.

"Put it on the viewer here," said Kirk. From now on, the crew deserved to have as much information on the Intruder as he could provide to them. He saw Uhura keying the viewer to pick up the incoming subspace message – the usual flutter of hyper-dimension static, then the huge viewer settled into an image of Lieutenant Commander Branch, who commanded this outpost station near the Klingon border. He was flanked by a sensor operator and a pretty, young female lieutenant on scanner duty.

Kirk got a nod from Uhura, then called, "Hello, Branch, this is Kirk, Enterprise. What do you have for us?"

As of this date, real-time communications are possible by subspace between a starship in orbit over Earth and an outpost station near the Klingon border. Implicitly, then, the distances involved are not so great as the distances involved in "Balance of Terror".

Coupled with the fact that the Klingon Empire is only "days" away from Earth at Warp Six, it seems clear that the Klingon Empire is significantly closer than the Romulan Star Empire, and could potentially be a grave, immediate danger to the security of the United Federation.

Branch checked console readings, spoke to the viewer: "Enterprise... what we're seeing there is definitely a powerfield of some kind. Measures... over eighty-two A.U.'s in diameter. Must be something incredible inside there generating it."

The A.U. is still in use as a measurement of distance.

"Deflectors, emergency full!" Branch hit an alarm button. The alarm Klaxon sounded. The viewer image distorted, wavered, cleared again, Branch reacting to it: "We're under attack!"

"External view," Kirk snapped. Uhura keyed a switch, getting an outside view of the outpost as a pinpoint of writhing green fury could be seen emerging from the cloud –- it was identical to the whiplash bolts which had destroyed the Klingons. Groans came from out among the crew assembled there. It was no recording they were seeing -– this was happening now and it was frighteningly real. Then someone screamed.

There was simply nothing anyone could do –- here or out at the distant outpost. The writhing fury struck outpost Epsilon Nine with cataclysmic force, and as the viewer image broke up, the Starfleet outpost had already become a maelstrom of flaring energy and shattered debris. Then there was nothing.

A vague description of the destruction of Epsilon Nine. Interestingly, the Enterprise had immediate access to an external view of Epsilon Nine, broadcasted by the station itself.

Also interesting is the fact that Commander Branch ordered the station's deflectors raised (although one could also interpret it as ordering an increase in their strength). Is this a subtle clue that the Klingons had not yet begun to use cloaking devices regularly?

From Chapter Nine:

[...] It seemed strange to see Chekov back at the newly designed weapons-defense console, but he was delighted that the young Russian held this important shipboard post, particularly now. [...]

Given that the weapons-defence console is a new addition to the bridge/CIC, did officers acting as fire control co-ordinators in the past attend the weapons-defence command school?

Kirk touched the strange newness of the center seat, looked approvingly at the new emergency motion restraints which were fitted there as well as at all other bridge positions. Sensor-controlled, they would hold him firmly in his seat despite any emergency which might override the ship's inertia dampening system.

This seems an overly complicated measure for keeping officers in their chairs. What happens when the sensors malfunction? In any event, the restraints do not actually appear to be especially effective. Officers were still thrown to the deck in The Wrath of Khan.

Decker made his verbal report. "Status report, Captain. Main systems can be counted on for only forty percent of rated capacity or less at this time. Auxilliary systems can deliver fifty to seventy percent. Weapons and warp drive have never been tested under operational conditions. Mr. Scott believes he can deliver up to eighty percent of impulse power."

"Warp engines?" asked Kirk.

"In my opinion they could be trouble, sir," said Decker. "They should have had weeks of simulator runs for proper balancing of anti-matter mix on this new design..."

"I'm aware of that, Mr. Decker. Thank you."

A brief summary of the Enterprise's operational readiness. Once again, the point is clearly made that this design is not properly ready for service, and that any accidents which may transpire (such as the "transporter" malfunction which killed Commander Sonak and Admiral Ciani) would not have normally taken place. That is, the occasional equipment failures in this case are not examples of overly temperamental "Treknology Gone Bad (TM)".

Also, note Mr Roddenberry's "creative" spelling of "auxiliary".

"Captain," Uhura continued, "transporter personnel report the navigator, Lieutenant Junior Grade Ilia, is already aboard and en route to the bridge."

Kirk happened to be looking at Decker and saw him react, startled.

"She's a Deltan," Uhura added, the faintest weighted emphasis in her tone.

"And there are no finer navigators in Starfleet, Commander." Kirk realized there was a suggestion of reproof in his voice, and he immediately regretted it. Uhura was the last one who needed instruction in diversity from him. She had probably been trying to warn him –- and the other males on the bridge, too –- that a Deltan female was about to enter their professional life. And Deltans being Deltans, a warning would be helpful to humans who knew what it meant.

[...]

[...] Kirk knew the compelling attraction which Deltans exercised on anyone of the opposite sex went further than mere physical appearance; it was, literally, chemistry. Subliminal scents called pheromones were released by both Deltan males and females, triggering hormonal responses in most humanoid life forms of the opposite sex. It was especially troubling to humans since the scents were outside their normal olfactory range -– just as a dog whistle is outside human hearing range. But the effects of those Deltan pheromones were still felt by them, and an unsuspecting human was likely to find himself in considerable sexual arousement without understanding why. It could be troublesome aboard a vessel, but it was usually worth it since Deltans were superb navigators.

Aside from this description of Deltans (and Mr Roddenberry's creative butchery of the English language –- just how does "arousement" differ from "arousal"?), this passage is interesting in another, more technical manner.

Why are Deltans predisposed to be "superb navigators"? What is it about starship astrogation that makes Deltans in general so proficient at it? Do the astrogators perform calculations in their heads?

"My oath of celibacy is on record, Captain," Ilia kept her tone respectful. "May I assume my duties now?"

"By all means." Kirk nodded. He was sorry her oath of celibacy had come up this way, but it was a Starfleet requirement wherever Deltans served with human crews.

Is sexual intercourse between Deltans and humans physiologically dangerous? Given the earlier remark about sex in the Rec Deck, and the generally liberal attitude toward sexuality implied throughout the book, why else would Deltans be required to take oaths of celibacy?

On the transporter platform, Dr. Leonard McCoy looked himself over carefully, showing considerable relief at finding himself in one piece. He was heavily bearded and wore workshirt and pants, heavy boots, all of which fitted Kirk's information that McCoy had become something of a recluse while he researched applications of Fabrini medicine among surface dwellers. [...]

"Well, for a man who swore he'd never return to Starfleet..." Kirk began, letting his grin surface.

McCoy interrupted. "What happened, Captain, sir, was that your revered Admiral Nogura invoked a little-known, seldom-used, reserve activation clause..."

[...]

"In simpler language, Captain, sir, they drafted me!"

"They didn't!" Kirk said it straight-faced, but McCoy was immediately suspicious.

McCoy flared back angrily. "This was your idea? It was your idea, wasn't it?!"

The time was long past when men could be forced to serve on naval vessels. Nogura's "drafting" of McCoy (at Kirk's request) had little more authority than moral persuasion. [...] Ship's Doctor was a deceptive title since it described what was actually the most powerful man aboard the starship next to the captain. Under given conditions and circumstances, a ship's doctor could relieve even a starship captain from duty. And professionals like McCoy were especially important on long missions where a captain's power and freedom of action were so absolute that it could feel almost godlike -– and delusions of godhood were not unknown in the center seat. Kirk had always been grateful for the system that put men like McCoy between himself and that kind of insanity.

What is Fabrini medicine?

McCoy turned to Rand. "Permission to come aboard?"

Rand grinned at him, elated. "Permission granted, sir!"

The tradition is still in place in "transporter" rooms. Evidently, the transporter chief acts as the OOD's representative for the purposes of the tradition.

McCoy was already moving toward the door, the grumbling beginning again as if needing to prepare himself for the worst. "I hear Chapel's an M.D. now. I need a top nurse, not a doctor who'll dispute every diagnosis. And..."

He moved on through the doors, his words trailing behind him.

"...they've probably redesigned sickbay, too. Engineers love to change things..."

But McCoy would probably have a field day with the new life-science equipment -– much of which had been built to his designs.

Physicians still hold the degree Medicinae Doctor in the XXIII century. Interestingly enough, Dr McCoy designed some of the equipment in use in sickbay.

Meanwhile, Rand had checked her listings and was calling to Kirk. "No one else listed as coming aboard, Captain."

Kirk gave her a nod and turned to the intercom. "All decks, this is the captain speaking. Prepare for immediate departure."

The general address system is accessible to the CO from the transporter room. Presumably, the system recognises voiceprints, else any individual could make an unauthorised address to the entire crew ad libido.