What was "The Burn" and what caused it?

[137th Gebirg]

If it was the Q that did this (or some other ascended life form with a bone to pic with the denizens of the galaxy), the reason for simultaneous galaxy-wide technological destruction would A) likely transcend humanoid science and B) likely occur to different kinds of FTL propulsion because of C) Q magic that picked the causal sweet-spot for each kind of technology. In the case of the Federation, all the dilithium went foom. Maybe the Romulan ships all made tiny little black holes everywhere.

However, this was a one time “Noah’s flood” deal, not permanently wiping out the tech, but just enough to push everyone back into a more 22nd century-level of interstellar travel capability. Limited, but not completely dead. There are still dilithium crystals around, capable of being artificially grown, but all made after the Burn.

 

[Unimatrix Q]

Something caused dilithium across the galaxy to all explode at roughly the same time (not going to go into how scientifically wrong that likely is), but what happened to Romulans and their Singularity drives?

Shortages of dilithium would likely cause setbacks, but there are other ways to FTL.

They might have been Federation members for a long time and used UFP tech like everyone else.

Maybe the singularity tech was forgotten or it also needed dilithium to work.

Remember they mined for dilithium on Remus, according to Nemesis

 

[BillJ]

If it was the Q that did this (or some other ascended life form with a bone to pic with the denizens of the galaxy), the reason for simultaneous galaxy-wide technological destruction would A) likely transcend humanoid science and B) likely occur to different kinds of FTL propulsion because of C) Q magic.

I'll be incredibly disappointed if they fall back on "magic" to solve their plot.

 

[BillJ]

They might have been Federation members for a long time and used UFP tech like everyone else.

Maybe the singularity tech was forgotten or it also needed dilithium to work.

Remember they mined for dilithium on Remus, according to Nemesis

I still find it hardly believable to have only one way to FTL, in the entire galaxy. If your working with a singularity vs. matter/anti-matter annihilation then dilithium shouldn't be needed to control the reaction. The mines on Remus may simply serve as a commodity that gives the Romulans something to sell other powers that do use the traditional warp drive.

 

[IMC Headquarters]

I'd love to see a continuation of the theme that passing through the Great Barrier gives you godlike powers, and that an entire crew of thousands became afflicted. They were only defeated after they deemed themselves invulnerable to dilithium explosions which they themselves initiated.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I'll be incredibly disappointed if they fall back on "magic" to solve their plot.

Well. I mean Q magic, which is an established trope in Trek lore with a long pedigree.

Remember Book said that time travel was banned because of the Temporal Wars. We only ever saw a small part of it in Enterprise and there could have been many different front in many different time periods. The Q knew that people (humans mostly) had the potential to understand the mysteries of the universe. Perhaps this actually happened, but with understanding, does not always come with responsibility and discipline. We see that in our world all the time today. What if the abuse of temporal tech (despite the best efforts of the Temporal Police or whoever they were) got SO BAD that it threatened to start tearing up the fabric of the universe in our galaxy. The Q said, “enough” and decided to spank us back until we learned a little more discipline and restraint. They were originally going to wipe us all out, but perhaps Picard’s Q spoke on our behalf to spare our collective lives but still impose restrictions on our capabilities.

Perhaps that was the deal - we ban time travel until such time as we are ready to use it responsibly and, in exchange, the Q don’t wipe us all out?

I could totally see all of that happening. It would explain the simultaneous explosions of the dilithium perfectly. If the Q had the ability to “change the gravitational constant of the universe”, they could easily blow up a few million crystals without breaking a sweat!

 

[BillJ]

I could totally see all of that happening. It would explain the simultaneous explosions of the dilithium perfectly. If the Q had the ability to “change the gravitational constant of the universe”, they could blow up a few million crystals without breaking a sweat!

Like I said, I'll be disappointed if they go with such an easy out. It smacks of a lack of imagination.

 

[BillJ]

Another thought... even with small amounts of dilithium, have they forgotten how to re-crystalize what they do have? Scott was able to figure out how to do it on 20th century Earth, I can't imagine those practices weren't shared with pretty much everyone in the galaxy by the 32nd century.

They definitely shouldn't go any deeper into what the "Burn" was.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Perhaps that was the deal - we ban time travel until such time as we are ready to use it responsibly and, in exchange, the Q don’t wipe us all out?

If you're suggesting a deal could be struck with the Q...I'm not sure about that. The Q could wipe out humanity on a whim, no matter what. There's literally nothing that humans could offer them, and therefore, no reason why the Q would honor any deal. Whatever humans did regarding time travel, the Q could still put a stop to it anytime they wanted.

That said, while there's of course no reason why the Q wouldn't wipe out humanity, there's also no reason why they would, either. There's nothing humans can do which could possibly pose the Q a threat, so why would the Q react?

As for The Burn: Am I correct in assuming that it's not the actual Burn itself which laid waste to the Federation, but rather, the political fallout from it? If so, that's unfortunate.

 

[fireproof78]

Another thought... even with small amounts of dilithium, have they forgotten how to re-crystalize what they do have? Scott was able to figure out how to do it on 20th century Earth, I can't imagine those practices weren't shared with pretty much everyone in the galaxy by the 32nd century.

They definitely shouldn't go any deeper into what the "Burn" was.

Part of that process was waste material for nuclear reactors, which may or may not have been accessible when they returned. Even Scotty was perplexed by the idea and Spock was able to come to a workable theory. However, we have no idea if it was a long term solution or if it was enough to get them home.

I think going in to the Burn is exactly what they should do. As others have noted there are other FLT methods so exploring how the Burn limited travel would be a natural part of the story. I mean, if they don't know what it is then Discovery's own dilithium could be at risk.

 

[BillJ]

Part of that process was waste material for nuclear reactors, which may or may not have been accessible when they returned. Even Scotty was perplexed by the idea and Spock was able to come to a workable theory. However, we have no idea if it was a long term solution or if it was enough to get them home.

This is what I gleaned from Memory Alpha (and my own memory)...

In or around 2257, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po, a member of the Xahean royal family, built an incubator to recrystallize dilithium. (ST: "Runaway") However, Starfleet did not have this ability until at least the 2280s. During a time travel mission from 2286 to 1986, Spock and Montgomery Scott developed a method of recrystallizing dilithium through exposure high-energy photons from the toxic nuclear fission reactors of that era. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

By the 2360s, Starfleet had the ability to re-crystallize dilithium while it was still enclosed in the warp core's dilithium articulation frame using a theta-matrix compositor. This was done by recompositing fractured crystals. (TNG: "Time Squared", "Relics"; VOY: "Innocence")

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Dilithium

So it was definitely a known thing by the 2360's, at the latest.

And "The Burn" sounded like a one time event, so the Discovery should be fine.

 

[Unimatrix Q]

Not that i wouldn't enjoy Q appearing in the show, in fact i would love it, but why do you find it more likely than the Pah Wraiths?

 

[Nerys Myk]

I still find it hardly believable to have only one way to FTL, in the entire galaxy. If your working with a singularity vs. matter/anti-matter annihilation then dilithium shouldn't be needed to control the reaction. The mines on Remus may simply serve as a commodity that gives the Romulans something to sell other powers that do use the traditional warp drive.

Book mentions other forms FTL travel when talking to Burnham, including Quantum Slipstream. So it's not like they aren't around and available.

Another thought... even with small amounts of dilithium, have they forgotten how to re-crystalize what they do have? Scott was able to figure out how to do it on 20th century Earth, I can't imagine those practices weren't shared with pretty much everyone in the galaxy by the 32nd century.

They definitely shouldn't go any deeper into what the "Burn" was.

Book mentions that re-crystalization is possible but he doesn't have the tech for it on board.

 

[BillJ]

Book mentions other forms FTL travel when talking to Burnham, including Quantum Slipstream. So it's not like they aren't around and available.

Then it kinda boggles my mind why the Federation would come apart. The Burn would really seem to have very little to do with it if everyone still has FTL.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Then it kinda boggles my mind why the Federation would come apart. The Burn would really seem to have very little to do with it if everyone still has FTL.

We shall see.

 

[Tuskin38]

Then it kinda boggles my mind why the Federation would come apart. The Burn would really seem to have very little to do with it if everyone still has FTL.

Book implies that the Benanite crystals for Quantum Slipstream are rare.

Though, Voyager's crew were able to synthesize their own (but it took several years)

have they forgotten how to re-crystalize what they do have?

Book brings up recrystalization in the episode, rhetorically asking Burnham if she has a recrystalization device.

 

[BillJ]

We shall see.

Which is the great part of this and why I'm giving the show another chance. It is an unwritten story, they are playing in their own corner of the Trek universe now and will maybe give us something memorable.

 

[BillJ]

Dilithium is a supposedly rare crystal, only located on a few planets. How did first time warp capable worlds control the M/AM reactions before learning of it?

 

[fireproof78]

And "The Burn" sounded like a one time event, so the Discovery should be fine.

We know that. The crew doesn't.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Dilithium is a supposedly rare crystal, only located on a few planets. How did first time warp capable worlds control the M/AM reactions before learning of it?

ZefC would know.