What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It is mentioned at the beginning of the short before the Tribbles were known of.

Yeah, the USS Cabot was brought to Pragine 63 on "the edge of Klingon space".
The planet was stated to be "on the brink of Starvation".

I also wonder why the previous captain and XO are receiving no blowback when Larkin was operating under their noses...

The blame & problem falls under the Captain who's suppose to be watching / monitoring their crew.

 

[BillJ]

The blame & problem falls under the Captain who's suppose to be watching / monitoring their crew.

I'm struggling to make sense of this. The Cabot had a captain before Lucerno showed up, who left for whatever reason and Larkin didn't just start his experiments when she showed up.

Someone had to be in command of the ship, to get it to the edge of Federation space...

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I'm struggling to make sense of this. The Cabot had a captain before Lucerno showed up, who left for whatever reason and Larkin didn't just start his experiments when she showed up.

StarFleet tasked the USS Cabot to discreetly solve the Calation people's "Brink of Starvation" issue on the planet of Pragine 63 that happens to be located near the edge of Klingon space.

Think about what Larkin was experimenting on, creating a fast breeding mamalian creature that can solve the food crisis.

Many of us humans do eat meat, we have for quite a while.

What Larkin was experimenting on wasn't considered a "Crazy Idea".

 

[BillJ]

What Larkin was experimenting on wasn't considered a "Crazy Idea".

Uh... I would think the faces of the Cabot crew tells a different story. Which is why he was the only one working on it. Besides, in a universe of replicators, seems like the short-term food crisis could be solved rather easily. Don't think there is a Prime Directive issue because they are there working on a solution.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Uh... I would think the faces of the Cabot crew tells a different story.

Looks like the faces that Vegans feel about us Omnivores.

Which is why he was the only one working on it.

Maybe he's thinking of old school food supply chain instead of modern 24th century replicated stuff.

Besides, in a universe of replicators, seems like the short-term food crisis could be solved rather easily.

23rd century didn't have Replicators yet. You're a century too early.

Don't think there is a Prime Directive issue because they are there working on a solution.

I doubt it.

 

[BillJ]

23rd century didn't have Replicators yet. You're a century too early.

Although previous sci-fi writers had speculated about the development of "replicating" or "duplicating" technology,[1] the term "replicator" was not itself used until Star Trek: The Next Generation. In simple terms, it was described as a 24th century advancement from the 23rd century "food synthesizer" seen in Star Trek: The Original Series. In Star Trek: The Original Series, food was created in various colored cubes. In Star Trek: The Animated Series (1974), various types of realistic-looking food could be requested, as in the episode entitled "The Practical Joker". The mechanics of these devices were never clearly explained on that show. The subsequent prequel series, Star Trek: Enterprise, set in the 22nd century, featured a "protein resequencer" that could only replicate certain foods, so an actual chef served on board who used a hydroponic greenhouse where fruits and vegetables were grown. Additionally, that ship had a "bio-matter resequencer" which was used to recycle waste product into usable material.[2]

Replicator (Star Trek) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So, I would imagine protein resequencers (22nd century) and replicators (23rd century, Star Trek: Discovery) would both do in a pinch to get nourishment to the planet population, until more long-term solutions could be implemented that didn't involve eating potentially intelligent creatures.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

So, I would imagine protein resequencers (22nd century) and replicators (23rd century, Star Trek: Discovery) would both do in a pinch to get nourishment to the planet population, until more long-term solutions could be implemented that didn't involve eating potentially intelligent creatures.

Are you saying our mass industrial farming practices of the 20th - 21st century isn't "Good Enough" to feed a population?

 

[cooleddie74]

Because the first course of action when dealing with someone is to just lock them away?

Fictional Starfleet is serious business.

 

[BillJ]

Are you saying our mass industrial farming practices of the 20th - 21st century isn't "Good Enough" to feed a population?

In an immediate crisis where they are studying the climate of said world? Sounds like it might be a bit more complicated than the inhabitants were too lazy to grow their own food.

 

[BillJ]

I have to give props to "The Trouble with Edward", it drives some interesting questions. Which is a sign of good Star Trek.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

In an immediate crisis where they are studying the climate of said world? Sounds like it might be a bit more complicated than the inhabitants were too lazy to grow their own food.

The Trouble with Edward (episode)

Newly-minted Captain Lynne Lucero is excited to take command of the USS Cabot. That is, until she meets Edward Larkin, an ornery scientist who believes he has found a revolutionary new use for tribbles. "Captain's log, stardate 1421.9. It's not often that losing a crewmember is cause for...

memory-alpha.fandom.com

StarFleet tasked Captain Lucero to solve the Food Problem, not study the climate.

Captain Lucero trying to shove Larkin into the Climatology department was meant as a way to shut him up from doing his research into tribbles to solve the problem at hand.

 

[BillJ]

StarFleet tasked her to solve the Food Problem, not study the climate.

Uh... you know what... never mind.

 

[Finn]

 

[CorporalClegg]

But StarFleet isn't Pure Military, it's a Hybrid service.

Not to bring this age-old stupid, pointless debate into the middle of another stupid, pointless debate, but Starfleet is the officially sanctioned defense force of a sovereign government. It's a military, by definition. It's not a paramilitary. It's not a "hybrid service" (whatever TF that is). It's a military. Hard stop.

And thus @BillJ argument is correct.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Genetically modified Tribbles are kind of secretly the ultimate Bio-Weapon.

It was able to devastate entire planets food sources / ecology.

We saw it in Prodigy how dangerous Tribbles can become.

You can breed them incredibly quickly, yet some how Tribbles violates the conservation of Energy by being able to output more matter than what you put in.

Literally a ultimate weapon.

 

[BillJ]

Genetically modified Tribbles are kind of secretly the ultimate Bio-Weapon.

It was able to devastate entire planets food sources / ecology.

We saw it in Prodigy how dangerous Tribbles can become.

You can breed them incredibly quickly, yet some how Tribbles violates the conservation of Energy by being able to output more matter than what you put in.

Literally a ultimate weapon.

Not really what we were discussing...

I'm just interested in how climate wouldn't play a role in food production?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Not to bring this age-old stupid, pointless debate into the middle of another stupid, pointless debate, but Starfleet is the officially sanctioned defense force of a sovereign government. It's a military, by definition. It's not a paramilitary. It's not a "hybrid service" (whatever TF that is). It's a military. Hard stop.

And thus @BillJ argument is correct.

Picard and crew sure doesn't treat it like a military in the Golden Age of the 24th century.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard famously said on Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Peak Performance' "StarFleet is not a military organization, its purpose is exploration".

So if Picard, who is very high up in rank, comands the FlagShip of the Federation says it isn't a "Military Organization"?

Then what is it?

 

[Farscape One]

They were on a "Science Mission", not a "Combat Patrol".
They weren't even in combat at all, no where near close.

It's as close to a "Office Environment" in outter space as you can get.

And a science mission can easily turn into a combat mission.

Not only that, but anomalies, accidents, and any number of other things that can happen at any time.

You don't get to choose which orders to follow. When a captain orders you to do something, or NOT do something, you follow that order.

Also, it doesn't matter if Starfleet is a military or not. It's space... and it's dangerous. Any crewmember should be professional enough to understand to simply follow what a captain says because that person is responsible for everyone's lives.

 

[BillJ]

Picard and crew sure doesn't treat it like a military in the Golden Age of the 24th century.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard famously said on Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Starfleet is not a military organization,"

"I'm a soldier, not a diplomat." - James T. Kirk, "Errand of Mercy".

Since the Short Trek takes place in the 23rd century...

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Not really what we were discussing...

But the usefulness of Tribbles can't be under estimated.

"I'm a soldier, not a diplomat." - James T. Kirk, "Errand of Mercy".

Since the Short Trek takes place in the 23rd century...

So which one is it?

I offer you the Middle Road, a Hybrid Service.