Spoilers Star Trek Discovery - Starships and Technology Season Five Discussion

[Deks]

In the episode "Contagion", LaForge said that approximately 90% of the Enterprise-D's functions were done automatically by the computer.

Which Is all well and good. But for some reason people and writers seem to ignore this. And automation apparently isn't extended to some other areas like research and development to accelerate development of various technologies and get them to work even though it was occasionally used in such a manner.

I get the appeal of working on the research yourself but there's nothing wrong about automating a portion of it that would be literally impossible for a biological organism to do in a timely manner for finding solutions that actually work much faster.

Trek was never too good on following through small things like that.
Though disco and snw and also Picard showed us that sf does in fact use drones and other automation for everyday work, repair, maintenance and likely upgrades.

Plus it would still be credited as your own work even if you did use the computer for help.

 

[137th Gebirg]

In the episode "Contagion", LaForge said that approximately 90% of the Enterprise-D's functions were done automatically by the computer.

Hmm... "Analog", indeed...

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

5x04 Notes:

- The opening sequence shows Discovery's command chair has wires in it. It's been the SNW Enterprise chair for the previous three seasons, so it's a new construct for this season, post-refit. Just sayin'.

- The tricoms' transporters are conveniently nonfunctional for this episode, suggesting it's looped into the ship's transporter systems?

- When the Reds find the bridge crew out cold, Detmer’s artificial eye is eerily left open, leading me to think she was dead for an instant. One wonders then if her prosthetic at the time included muscles that don’t naturally close when she’s unconscious.

- Discovery was indeed built Earthside in San Francisco, which jives with the dedication plaque. It's not at today's Hunter's Point Naval Shipyards though, which are on the opposite side of a hill from the bridge.

- When pre-refit Disco is seen warping, the shuttlebay doors are actually closed!

- Krenim time tech is a thing here, suggesting that whatever Arronax did or didn't do in his timeline had some repercussions in other ways. Or, Arronax wasn't the sole originator of temporal weaponry from his home planet.

- Also, the first suggestion in a while that Delta Quadrant tech is known here. As it's a leftover of the temporal wars.

- As the Burnhams solve nothing with their perfectly symmetrical violence, it highlights just how empty some corridors are on this ship, whereas others are abuzz with activity, including people doing project-related work on consoles in other episodes.

Mark

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

- The tricoms' transporters are conveniently nonfunctional for this episode, suggesting it's looped into the ship's transporter systems?

That makes the most logical sense, it needs to be tied to a StarShips / StarBase / Shuttle's local transporter unit.

A local Holographic 2D GUI would let you set the coordinates and push the "Energize" button.

Remember the tiny "Emergency Transporter Unit" that Data pinned on Captain Picard in ST:NEM at the end?
That had only enough energy for a "1-way" transport a distance measured in the hundreds of meters from one ship to another.
During that emergency at the end, the Enterprise's main Transporters were down. For whatever reason, they weren't able to access the Shuttle's Transporters.

Assuming the base energy cost for using a Transporter is "fixed" for a given volume / mass of person, there must be a "Base Minimum" that you can't go under. Something as tiny as the ETU doesn't contain enough energy to transport you far enough to be practical for all the beaming that a 32nd century StarFleet Officer is used to.

It makes the most logical sense to tie the "Tricom Badge's" internal Transporter functionality to a larger vessel like a StarShip or a Shuttle, this way you have access to the vast amount of energy that those vessels would have.

Story-wise, it also gives you a easy way to shut down the built in intenal Transporter function.

 

[Ronald Held]

Still cannot see the tricom transporter as more than a control device.

 

[Markonian]

For a brief instant, we see Federation HQ/the USS Federation directly, then the camera moves back through the view screen. Did anyone catch a glimpse of identifiable wreckage, or of the Breen ship Captain Burnham pointed out?

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Still cannot see the tricom transporter as more than a control device.

I can, if hesitantly. Some people in the TNG era have been known to beam stuff without any apparent assistance beyond what they're carrying around with them (the Borg, TR-116 rifles, those poop emoji aliens looking for the Tox Utat...). While discomforting, I can believe that 800+ years post "Nemesis" that everything needed for a transporter can be housed, powered AND interfaced by something smaller than the combadges of yore. I just want them to have a reasonable explanation for its use, because IMO it's in the same category as the sonic screwdriver right now.

For a brief instant, we see Federation HQ/the USS Federation directly, then the camera moves back through the view screen. Did anyone catch a glimpse of identifiable wreckage, or of the Breen ship Captain Burnham pointed out?

I took a quick look, but nothing particularly visible was seen. The Breen ship was all glowey green and in the distance so I thought "Borg" before anything else.

Additionally, it's been pointed out that Fed HQ has several satellite "buildings" which house, among things, living quarters for Ambassadors like Saru. They were there last season, but here we get an idea of their scale and purpose. Ditto with HQ, which when splayed open you can see the individual decks easily.

Mark

 

[Praetor]

I wonder if it's possible that the tricom transporter can work up to a certain extent independently, but has to be networked with the ship's computer for full effectiveness? Could be a combination of range and power issue limitations.

 

[Markonian]

Clearly a ship but not enough to visualize it in my head.

I think this might be the Breen ship Michael points out. it's very different from the rest of the debris.
@20:29

@20:48

Hopefully we get better looks later on this season.

Another candidate:

It might be one if not all three of what the arrows are pointing at in the picture. Probably the one on the left. The one Burnham is looking at.

 

[Tuskin38]

Another candidate:

Another? it's the same ship I posted lol

 

[Markonian]

Another? it's the same ship I posted lol

Oops, look like I grabbed the wrong quote.

 

[publiusr]

So touch could be a backup to mental commands for the tricom tricorder?

You don’t want to accidentally think “Sun” and burn up….

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

You don’t want to accidentally think “Sun” and burn up….

I'm sure somebody would program in basic safe guards to prevent stupid beaming your self into a bad situation.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

5x05:

- Do 32nd century phasers not have a wide-beam setting? Coulda been useful this week.

- Likewise, you'd think that the possibility to whip up a new phaser, when your previous one is knocked out of your hand in a melee battle, would be useful as well.

- Not like Stardates make any real sense in this era of production, but Mirror universe stardates don't match up either. At least we wouldn't expect them to for once.

- Discovery still has photon torpedoes, when we've seen other ships in this ere are all using quantums. Furthermore, the solution this week involves swapping their warheads out with... Antimatter? I'm guessing it's a specialized payload.

- Dialogue suggested that the two fugitives cobbled together their escape craft from a "warp pod", after it was established that all the shuttles and escape pods were gone. Without visible traces on the hull for escape pods, I might add.

- Sending Detmer and Owo on a mission to ferry the ISS-E back is a bit of a slap in the face to Rhys after building him up like that in the previous two episodes.

- Anyone wanna take bets that we'll get a 32nd Century refit of the SNW Connie after all this? 'Cuz if not, I'm positive that we'll get fan art of exactly that in 3... 2...

Mark

 

[Ithekro]

Would that be considered for the law of equivalent exchange? USS Defiant for ISS Enterprise?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

- Do 32nd century phasers not have a wide-beam setting? Coulda been useful this week.

It's probably buried in a sub menu, not easy to bring up to the fore front w/o alot of menu diving.
Ergo, in the heat of battle, you don't have time to go into the sub menus to find your optimal beam emission setting.

 

[UssGlenn]

It's probably buried in a sub menu, not easy to bring up to the fore front w/o alot of menu diving.
Ergo, in the heat of battle, you don't have time to go into the sub menus to find your optimal beam emission setting.

21st century car dashboards designers are still at it in the 32nd century.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

21st century car dashboards designers are still at it in the 32nd century.

Yup, if it's not the primary function, hide it in a sub menu.
Firing Bolts out of Hand Held DEW's (Directed Energy Weapons) should be the #1 Priority / Feature of any Small Arms.
Any other feature or mode is a bonus & nice to have.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

The only time we saw wide-beam in use, it certainly SEEMED like something Tuvok did within an instant of grabbing his phaser. Perhaps he had it on speed-dial, being the awesome officer he is.

Mark

 

[fireproof78]

Do 32nd century phasers not have a wide-beam setting? Coulda been useful this week.

Phasers rarely get used effectively. The TOS Enterprise once used it's ship's phasers on stun to knock out an entire town. Never seen that again! Kirk used wide angle one time, but I think that was a one off. Maybe it consumes too much energy?