Speaking of Singhing, or singhing of singing, or whatever
, I almost typed Savage Garden instead of Savage Curtain. Had I done that, it would have been a contretemps. 
Khan Noonien-Singh in The Savage Curtain?
- Thread starter Laura Cynthia Chambers
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, I almost typed Savage Garden instead of Savage Curtain. Had I done that, it would have been a contretemps. 
The amount of energy required to exceed the gravitational binding energy of an Earth-mass planet and blow the body into pieces that fly apart is literally astronomical; we’re talking 200 nonillion joules. That’s 200 followed by thirty zeroes, folks…as much energy as the Sun emits in an entire week (source). That's an unthinkable number of cargo containers.
Or one really big one! ;p
They could have then brought both Khans back in a follow-up episode and introduced the true instigator of the Eugenics Wars, Two Khan Sam.
it would collapse into a sphere under the force of its own gravity and become a dwarf planet.
Brent Spiner didn't force himself on anyone. During ENT S4 they knew they needed to have high ratings for any further chance of renewal; and TNG was the highest rated Brrman era show, so it's a no Brainer to approach a former popular cast member and if he says 'yes' write him in.
It's also why they tried to get William Shatner for the ENT S4 MU episodes.
He originally did Picard S1 as a personal favor to Patrick Stewart, and continued in S2 at the producers request and only if he never had to do the Data makeup.
For S3 they had the entire TNG cast (sans Wil Wheaton and Denise Crosby and Wheaton did appear as a Traveller in Picard S2) - and even then Lore was normal Caucasian color, and Spiner's time in the White/Gold Data makeup was minimized as much as possible.
Some have suggested internal forces might be enough:
Do planets burst? - Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves
It is assumed that in the interior of planets, nuclear energy is liberated not only in natural radioactive decay but also in nuclear chain reactions. A critical layer of fissionable material can form during settling of uranium-dioxide particles in the liquid layer of the core of a planet...
link.springer.com
Natural Neutron‐Fission Wave - Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves
The dynamics of Feoktistov's neutron‐fission wave is considered. The possibility of this process under natural conditions, namely in the interior of planets, is assessed.
link.springer.com
In a Ceti Alpha thread I mentioned another science article but I can’t remember it now.
Chances are, planets cannot burst on their own…but there may be an actual mechanism that can allow for that.
And of course we saw explosive rocks on TOS and TAS both. Not including naquadah…
Nature is rather more free with energy in trek.
Remember, Reliant was looking for places to deposit instant biology.
Look at a star chart…one seems missing…must be on the far side of the star….screw it—that looks lifeless enough.
I can see that.
But for storytelling’s sake…Section 31 knows bloody well what happened as it was a test of a planet cracker….Khan would be a good asset, so let us give him a new world…or finish him off and re-terraform the planet atop his ashes.
“Chekov on the Enterprise with Kirk?”
“He wasn’t bridge crew then…when I told him Reliant’s destination, he didn’t seem bothered.”
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I grabbed this from Chapter 2 of Vonda N. McIntyre’s ‘Wrath of Khan’ novelization.
The computer search Chekov had done on the Alpha Ceti system turned up no official records except the ancient survey of an automated probe. He had been mildly surprised to find so little data, then mildly surprised again to have thought he had heard of the system. Alpha Ceti VI had come up on the list of genesis candidates for exactly the same reason no one had bothered to visit it after the probe report of sixty years before; it was monumentally uninteresting.
Terrell displayed the probe data as a corner overlay on the viewscreen and added a companion block of the information they had collected on the way in.
“I see what you mean about the discrepancies, Pavel,” he said. He considered the screen and stroked the short black hair of his curly beard.
The probe data showed twenty planets: fourteen small, rocky inner ones; three gas giants; three outer eccentrics. But what Reliant saw on approach was nineteen planets, only thirteen of them inner ones.
“I’ve been working on that, Captain,” Chekov said, “and there are two possibilities. Alpha Ceti was surveyed by one of the earliest probes: their data wasn’t always reliable, and some of the archival preservation has been pretty sloppy. It’s also possible that the system’s gone through some alteration since the probe’s visit.”
“Doesn’t seem likely.”
“Well, no, sir.” Sixty years was an infinitesimal distance in the past, astronomically speaking; the chances of any noticeable change occurring since then were very small. “Probe error is a fairly common occurrence, Captain.”
Terrell glanced back and grinned. “You mean maybe we think we’re headed for a ball of rock, and we’ll find a garden spot instead?”
“Bozhe moi!” Chekov said. “My God, I hope not. No, sir, our new scans confirm the originals on the planet itself. Rock, sand, corrosive atmosphere.”
The computer search Chekov had done on the Alpha Ceti system turned up no official records except the ancient survey of an automated probe. He had been mildly surprised to find so little data, then mildly surprised again to have thought he had heard of the system. Alpha Ceti VI had come up on the list of genesis candidates for exactly the same reason no one had bothered to visit it after the probe report of sixty years before; it was monumentally uninteresting.
Terrell displayed the probe data as a corner overlay on the viewscreen and added a companion block of the information they had collected on the way in.
“I see what you mean about the discrepancies, Pavel,” he said. He considered the screen and stroked the short black hair of his curly beard.
The probe data showed twenty planets: fourteen small, rocky inner ones; three gas giants; three outer eccentrics. But what Reliant saw on approach was nineteen planets, only thirteen of them inner ones.
“I’ve been working on that, Captain,” Chekov said, “and there are two possibilities. Alpha Ceti was surveyed by one of the earliest probes: their data wasn’t always reliable, and some of the archival preservation has been pretty sloppy. It’s also possible that the system’s gone through some alteration since the probe’s visit.”
“Doesn’t seem likely.”
“Well, no, sir.” Sixty years was an infinitesimal distance in the past, astronomically speaking; the chances of any noticeable change occurring since then were very small. “Probe error is a fairly common occurrence, Captain.”
Terrell glanced back and grinned. “You mean maybe we think we’re headed for a ball of rock, and we’ll find a garden spot instead?”
“Bozhe moi!” Chekov said. “My God, I hope not. No, sir, our new scans confirm the originals on the planet itself. Rock, sand, corrosive atmosphere.”
Then later in the chapter
“You lie!” Chekov shouted. “I saw the world we left you on! It was beautiful; it was like a garden – flowers, fruit trees, streams . . . and its moon!” Chekov remembered the moon most clearly, an enormous silver globe hanging over the land, ten times the size of the moon of Earth, for Captain Kirk had left Khan and his followers on one pair of worlds, a twin system in which planet and satellite were of a size. But one was living, the other lifeless.
“Yes,” Khan said, in a rough whisper. “Alpha Ceti V was that, for a while.”
Chekov gasped. “Alpha Ceti V!” The name came back, and all the pieces fell into place; no official records, for fear Khan Singh would free himself again; the discrepancies between the probe records and the data Reliant collected. Now, too late, Chekov understood why he had lived the last few days under an increasing pall of dread.
“My child,” Khan said, his tone hurt, “did you forget? Did you forget where you left me? You did I see . . . ah, you ordinaries with your pitiful memories.”
If the twin worlds had still existed, Chekov would have seen them on approach and remembered and warned Terrell away.
“Why did you leave Alpha Ceti V for its twin?” Chekov asked. “What happened to it?”
“This is Alpha Ceti V!” Khan cried.
Chekov stared at him, confused.
Khan lowered his voice again, but his deep black eyes retained their dangerous glitter.
“Alpha Ceti VI, our beautiful moon – you did not survey that, did you, Mr. Chekov? You never bothered to note its tectonic instability. It exploded, Mr. Chekov. It exploded! It laid waste to our planet. I enabled us to survive, I, with nothing to work with but the trivial contents of these cargo holds.”
“You lie!” Chekov shouted. “I saw the world we left you on! It was beautiful; it was like a garden – flowers, fruit trees, streams . . . and its moon!” Chekov remembered the moon most clearly, an enormous silver globe hanging over the land, ten times the size of the moon of Earth, for Captain Kirk had left Khan and his followers on one pair of worlds, a twin system in which planet and satellite were of a size. But one was living, the other lifeless.
“Yes,” Khan said, in a rough whisper. “Alpha Ceti V was that, for a while.”
Chekov gasped. “Alpha Ceti V!” The name came back, and all the pieces fell into place; no official records, for fear Khan Singh would free himself again; the discrepancies between the probe records and the data Reliant collected. Now, too late, Chekov understood why he had lived the last few days under an increasing pall of dread.
“My child,” Khan said, his tone hurt, “did you forget? Did you forget where you left me? You did I see . . . ah, you ordinaries with your pitiful memories.”
If the twin worlds had still existed, Chekov would have seen them on approach and remembered and warned Terrell away.
“Why did you leave Alpha Ceti V for its twin?” Chekov asked. “What happened to it?”
“This is Alpha Ceti V!” Khan cried.
Chekov stared at him, confused.
Khan lowered his voice again, but his deep black eyes retained their dangerous glitter.
“Alpha Ceti VI, our beautiful moon – you did not survey that, did you, Mr. Chekov? You never bothered to note its tectonic instability. It exploded, Mr. Chekov. It exploded! It laid waste to our planet. I enabled us to survive, I, with nothing to work with but the trivial contents of these cargo holds.”
^^ And this is where I call bs on the rationalization. In “Space Seed” Kirk held an official hearing that would have become part of the official record. As such he did not hide his decision and action from Starfleet. Furthermore he was not ordering his officers and crew to keep this a secret, something likely difficult for 430 varied souls to do. The odds of a slip up would be too great.
Given that, Starfleet would hardly give Kirk much if any grief over his decision. Khan was contained and it was now up to Starfleet to decide on what to do next.
So this whole idea the writer’s of TWOK went with, that Kitk and the Enterprise crew buried this information and Kirk himself was negligent in not following up on Khan’s status is horseshit.
Given that, Starfleet would hardly give Kirk much if any grief over his decision. Khan was contained and it was now up to Starfleet to decide on what to do next.
So this whole idea the writer’s of TWOK went with, that Kitk and the Enterprise crew buried this information and Kirk himself was negligent in not following up on Khan’s status is horseshit.
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Having read books and listened to podcasts on the military's actions up and down the chain of command, on both sides during World War II, in light of what is still being uncovered even 80 years after the end of the war, I actually find it extremely credible now that the whole Khan incident was buried/covered up by people involved, including Kirk.
If we go with that scenario then Kirk doesn’t dare go back to look in on Khan and company.
As far as we know, Kirk never did.
It makes sense to me that Kirk did make an official record of the proceedings and that Starfleet then highly classified it. They might not want it on the public record that a decorated Starfleet officer had unfrozen a bunch of 20th century Augments who'd managed to seize control of a Constitution-class vessel.
While that shouldn't necessarily go hand in hand with omitting any of Enterprise's records of the CA system, it's not implausible.
I think we also have to consider that Vonda was writing based on the TWOK script (or a version of it at least). She knew that Chekov and Terrell had to somehow overlook the absence of a planet, and hence she needed to come up with some explanation for how they could have done something that sounds so dubious on the face of it. I don't think she did a terrible job of it.
Greg Cox had Spock offer a possible explanation in To Reign in Hell, while David Mack offered an alternate possibility in the Vanguard novels. I won't attempt to evaluate them in terms of relative plausibility.
Then was it the continued existence of the Augments or the ease with which their flagship could be taken over by sufficiently intelligent individuals (smarter, stronger enemies, not just Augments) that they wanted to hide? The latter would eventually come out when somebody visited that system.
Dod anyone check if the doomsday machine went through the Ceti Alpha system sometime before it ran into the Constellation and the Enterprise?
Based on timing, it isn’t a bad thought. But the odds would say no.
He didn’t have to order them, but Starfleet might have.
Not Kirk, he clearly reported plus he would have to account for the missing McGivers. If it was covered up, it was up the chain of command.
Why not both?
CA may have been far enough off the beaten path (indeed, it likely was, since Kirk wouldn't want to deposit them any place where people were likely to come across them) that there was no reason to think anybody would visit that system anytime before a Starfleet vessel visited to check up on the Augments.
It's also entirely possible that warning buoys were placed in the system, and whatever calamity led to CA6 'exploding' destroyed the buoys as well.
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