Ships Traveling the Galaxy in the ST universe.

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by Tribble puncher, Aug 5, 2014.

  1. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    People apparently don't really turn into salamanders from using the "Threshold" transwarp drive. People turn into salamanders from using that drive and getting stuck on a planet where the salamander shape is advantageous, such as the swamp Paris and Janeway were found on. Had the shuttle popped out of transwarp somewhere else, something else would have happened to the two...

    That Tom was able to bring the shuttle out of transwarp that close to the mothership means he had mastered the drive. That wouldn't be a problem, then: the shuttle could successfully be aimed to the general region around Earth. All they would need, then, would be some means for the shuttle to alert nearby UFP assets to deal with the arrivals. But there's no telling what the passengers would turn into, in this reputed process of "hastened evolution", as they supposedly would evolve to match local conditions. Not all of the evolutions might be so easily reversible.

    Timo Saloniemi
     
  2. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    It didn't say that in the actual episode, but it did say that the mutation was a result of exposure to infinite velocity accelerating the natural Human evolution process by millions of years. If anything, it was more a result of what happened prior to arriving on the planet.
    Really all that Paris did was cut off the salamander drive and end up more or less where he started from.
     
  3. Tarek71

    Tarek71 Commodore Commodore

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    Aside from the absurdity of the Salamanders, it looks like three different FTL ideas are established. First is conventional Warp Drive, then the "transwarp" drive the Borg and others use, and finally, the "Warp 10" drive that allows near instantaneous Warp "jumps" to anywhere in the universe. This seems like three entirely different methods. The Borg, while they can cross the Galaxy very rapidly, are not travelling anywhere near "infinite" speed. Despite being called "trans" warp it obviously does not involve passing or exceeding any Warp 10 "threshold".

    So we can say, even with the nutty "Warp 10" name, that this is research into Warp Jump propulsion quite different from conventional warp or the hyperspace like "transwarp" used by various species.
     
  4. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    "Transwarp" is just a catch-all term for anything faster than conventional warp drive. Even slipstream drive can be looked at as a form of transwarp, although it has a specific name.

    Even though Tom Paris was regarded by the Voyager crew as the first person to break the transwarp barrier, the Hansen family aboard the ill-fated Raven traveled through a Borg transwarp conduit to reach the Delta Quadrant a couple of decades earlier.
     
  5. Richard Baker

    Richard Baker Commodore Commodore

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    I think in the novelization of 'The Search for Spock' it was mentioned that Transwarp used a transporter-type beam to project the warp field further ahead of the ship than the normal field coils would do. essentially beaming the warp field to get greater speeds.
     
  6. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    That novelization also featured 23rd-Century Galaxy-class ships reaching the Andromeda Galaxy...
    :)
     
  7. Tim Walker

    Tim Walker Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Given that ships move at the speed of plot, just how long can a mission be in terms of time?

    Star Trek has been compared to the Age of Sail. Which brings up a comment I came across on a Transhumanist/wormhole web site-historically, in terms of trade, a period of a few years is the maximum length of time tolerated, between departure and return.

    While it is possible to have expeditions that exceed this period (think of Marco Polo), a round trip of a few years is likely the longest that will occur routinely.
     
  8. Tim Walker

    Tim Walker Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    What about communications? According to wikipedia, the galaxy M33 is three million light years away. If the signal from the Enterprise D takes about 50 years to reach home (as commented by Data) then the signal must be traveling at about 60,000 light years per year. So Voyager could have transmitted a signal that should have taken around a year to reach Earth (though apparently this could be speeded up using the Hirogen network). Presumably, you would start to notice time delays at a small fraction of this distance, comparable to the time it takes for a radio signal to reach planets within our solar system.
     
  9. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    Communication also travels at the speed of plot.
     
  10. Shat Happens

    Shat Happens Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    And better its performance on the Kessel Run.
     
  11. Tim Walker

    Tim Walker Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Good point. I wouldn't be surprised if you could find inconsistencies. Forget my last post.

    I am trying to be too literal minded with a piece of fiction. Something that isn't really intended to be hard science fiction, but, rather, a popular space opera.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2014
  12. Tarek71

    Tarek71 Commodore Commodore

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    No you are just expecting some consistency. That really isn't asking too much. It's not like you cant have plots unless you are inconsistent from episode to episode.
     
  13. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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  14. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    I know. I read the novelization (it was first mentioned in "The Wrath of Khan" novelization though as being launched on the day of Admiral Kirk's inspection of the Enterprise).
    It made the voyage in the time it took the Enterprise to depart Earth on its "training cruise" in The Wrath of Khan and return battered to Spacedock in The Search For Spock.
     
  15. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    Wow! I would love to had someone draw her idea and come up with the look of that ship.
     
  16. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I don't know for sure if it's what Vonda had in mind, but DC Comics, whose ongoing series was loosely in continuity with the novels at the time, assumed "Galaxy class" meant what we now call "Miranda class" (although elsewhere they also used FASA's "Reliant class" designation for that ship type)

    Rather than an amazing new ship type, I think the assumption was that the Kelvan superwarp formula was being used.
     
  17. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    I remember the idea that the Galaxy-class was that design.
     
  18. Captain_Amasov

    Captain_Amasov Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    There's also the transwarp drive that the Voth use, which look somewhat like the Voyager warp 10. Maybe that's the real reason the Voth look like dinosaurs. :p
     
  19. Ithekro

    Ithekro Vice Admiral Admiral

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    That would be interesting. A cross-canon engine design that is specifically for very long range travel.

    Either Starfleet stopped making these in the 24th century, or perhaps they intended to send one to rescue USS Voyager....once one got home from another galaxy.
     
  20. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    With the core of the galaxy in the way?



    :)