Could someone give details on the Romulan telecapture device? How does it work? How long it takes to capture a ship etc? Also, why does Starfleet go to "retro" tech (ie Kirk's era technology) ? thank you
Basically to make it harder for the telecapture weapon to work. Really it was a way to explain why the ships in Enterprise looked different to the ones in TOS. Personally though I didnt think the stylistic differences of TOS from the sixties and Enterprise from the 2000s needed to be "explained" to begin with.
Beneath the Raptor's Wing explains that the telecapture device is based on a Trojan Horse computer virus. Normally a target ship will monitor comm traffic and pick up the bait signal. The virus infects the host computer and usurps control. It appears to work in about ten minutes or so. It is explained that Vulcan-derived tech is most vulnerable to the virus, as it is similar to Romulan designs. Similar culture, similar design assumptions, processes and implementations, etc. Human tech, being the most independent of Vulcan influence since we're the last to come on the galactic scene, is the most immune. Apparently once you know what to look for the virus can be contained with buffer controls on the comm system. Aside from the plot considerations, the weakness of Vulcan tech is meant to be a way to explain why apparently more advanced Vulcan tech disappears from the scene and Human technologies seem to dominate Federation designs.
The continuity freaks get to the authors. And apparently the editor, who directed Michael A. Martin to explain away the difference. More importantly, the ENT authors needed to set up the Romulans as a genuine threat without letting their connection to the Vulcans get broadcast generally, say to an entire ship's crew. Otherwise "Balance of Terror" would be blatantly contradicted, and that's just not on. Telecapture does that and its a bit more interesting than just wave-after-wave of fleet assaults. It was also central to both "Kobayashi Maru" and "Destiny: Gods of Night" in that it put ships in mortal distress without blowing them to bits with battle damage first.
^-- That also means that even if it is just the 'continuity freaks getting to the writers/editors,' it's at least presented in a fashion that makes for an interesting story - I don't know about anyone else, but the actual ship to ship combat isn't all that interesting in a text medium for me. Put it on a screen, sure, I love it. but if I'm just reading how the ships are exchanging fire, my eyes glaze over. So it creates a battle more interesting to read about.
I agree. I find ship to ship battles to be very boring in prose form. I get lost in exactly what's happening. It's usually the toughest part of a novel to read for me.
Nobody "gets to" us. If continuity freakishness gets into a novel, it comes from the authors and editors themselves. Many of us are already continuity freaks in our own right.
It's a judgment call. I didn't think that it was really necessary to explain the difference between shows 40 years apart, but I'm not the editor.
While I do agree with you TerraUnam, there are probably a lot of who don't, so I really think this was one of those situations where no matter what happened one group of fans wasn't going to like it. All I know is I certainly wouldn't want to be the one responsible for deciding when to ignore the fans and when to give them what some of them want.
Agreed, there are two camps, and they can't both be happy with the editorial choice, and the editors decided to go explain the screen change. I also think it was a fortunate, intentional coincidence. Kobayashi Maru was a bridge book to Destiny, as noted in the Acknowledgements in the back. The Columbia crew had all been sketched by David Mack. I believe (Chris Bennett may contradict me) that the telecapture weapon was also his idea as his way to disable Columbia and put it on course to Erigol. Martin & Mangels then ran with that and used it to finish off their own plot and we got a the retro-look explanation of Trek Tech in the process. No, it's not a conspiracy, just using all the tools laid before the authors.
^^ I thought it was said somewhere, by someone who would know, that the event that caused the Columbia to end up at Erigol, wasnt the event in Kobayshi Maru, it was a different one later?
That was my recollection as well. Can anyone whose read "Beneath the Raptor's Wing" comment? I haven't read it yet, and I'm assuming it clarifies the situation.
Columbia's disappearance isn't referenced in Kobayashi Maru. There is a *slight* disconnect between Destiny: Gods of Night and Beneath the Raptor's Wing, given thusly: Spoiler: Spoiler from BTRW It was originally intended that Columbia disappear after the end of Kobayashi Maru. David Mack wrote Gods of Night that way. However Michael A. Martin moved the disappearance to the end of Raptor's Wing. Raptor's Wing only acknowledges Columbia's disappearance in the prologue, set at the end of the first year of the war, and then at the end when she's late for a rendezvous. Between then Columbia is in the thick of the action. It actually improves the continuity and makes for a better story. It doesn't ruin Destiny in the slightest. Mike Martin wanted to give Erika Hernandez her final hurrah.
Doe folks who are primarily fans of the TNG era TV shows/books, read the ENT relaunch novels, but didn't watch the ENT TV show? The sky's the limit with ENT as it really can elaborate on events mentioned as historical in future series (TOS and TNG era). The last season of ENT on TV certainly showed us that. Also, please, can someone give a quick list of which are the first few ENT relaunch books, post TV finale, and their order?
I used to. Between S&S's ebook price hikes and the fact that I don't like Michael A. Martin's solo books nearly as much as his coauthored adventures with Andy Mangels, I don't think I'm going to continue (unless I can bum a copy from the library or a friend).
Beneath the Raptors Wing has been absolute torture to get through... much like Seize the Fire and The Needs of the Many.