By Any Other Name and the Barrier

[Tiberius]

I think that radio waves could pass through without violating what was said. After all, radio is completely useless as a communications tool in space. It just travels too slowly. So I can't believe that he was including radio in the term "communications".

 

[C.E. Evans]

Personally, I think it's absurd to think that we have a "fence" around our Galaxy.

I think they took the idea of stellar material left over after the creation of a star or planetary system and ratched it up to the nth degree for the entire Galaxy.

Yep... that's why we have no idea what's happening with the Pioneer and Voyager probes. Pioneer is as close to outside our Solar System as makes not a whole lot of difference, and the Voyager probes aren't that far behind. Of course they're going to encounter some mysterious Do Not Pass Go barrier out there...

Um, you do know that one isn't nowhere near as powerful (or as far away) as the other, right?

 

[Warped9]

Here's something to consider: the Kelvans are arrogant as well as hypocrites.

They believe they're destined to rule. They believe they're superior in every way and no one can beat them in any way whatsoever.

But...

Their own ship is destroyed crossing the barrier...yet the Enterprise sails through without much difficulty. And the inferior humans (and Vulcan) outwit them handily.

Seems to me what the Kelvans believe what is or isn't possible is highly in question.


As to the energy barrier we know it exists, at least in that one region, during the Enterprise's five year mission, but before and after that we know nothing. In one of the early novels (yeah, I know it's not "official") a scientist theorized the barrier was a cyclical or periodic phenomena, something that would be there for a time, fade out or lessen in intensity and then return on a cyclical basis. It's as good an explanation as any. It could also be something a very powerful race put into place for unknown reasons.

Fascinating.

What early novel was this?

I'm not 100% certain because it's been a long time since I read it, but I think it's The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane.

And note this novel was later adapted into the first season TNG episode "Where No One Has Gone Before."

 

[Timo]

It appears the Kelvan ship was destroyed at the barrier because the phenomenon took them by surprise. Either they didn't know it was there, or they misunderstood its properties. It stands to reason, then, to doubt their ideas on what the barrier can or cannot do, regardless of their level of arrogance or psychological makeup.

More generally, communication between galaxies is flat out impossible - that is, unless means currently unknown to us can be devised for the purpose. It shouldn't take any convincing to accept that any reference to intergalactic communications has to be a reference to such currently unknown technologies, and that transparency to the full EM band would not help any in establishing intergalactic communications.

On the other hand, I wouldn't wonder a bit if the Trek solar systems had EM filters of some sort, preventing cultures from observing each others' EM leakage until warp drive and subspace communications are discovered, or (and this is probably unlikely, considering how easy it is to discover warp) until subligth expeditions penetrate this filtering barrier. Heck, perhaps the prevalence of colorful nebulae in the Trek galaxy and their absence from ours (without the help of hours- or days-long exposure times) is due to all the pretty colors being filtered out by the subspace bubble around Sol?

A comparable bubble around galaxies might stem from similar physical sources - say, all mass might create subspace distortions. But since intellect in our galaxy is old news, it makes as much sense to assume that the Galactic Barrier is an artificial defensive fence, intended to keep certain types of intellect out, or in.

What I find interesting about the Kelvans is that, in order to use the Enterprise, they not only “assume” human form (with no explanation of how they accomplish this), but their females take on the shape of gorgeous women in revealing outfits.

Do we have a reason to believe the gorgeous human women used to be Kelvan females? If the physiological makeup of the species had changed radically due to their assuming human form, then all this procreation they are talking about could be from the human point of view, and sexual reproduction might be alien to Kelvans, or conducted differently and perhaps with the seeming human males as the procreating pair.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[MacLeod]

It could be that the barrier allows radio frequencies in but not out.

 

[T'Girl]

It appears the Kelvan ship was destroyed at the barrier because the phenomenon took them by surprise.

This implies that a similar barrier doesn't exist around the Andromeda galaxy.

 

[Tribble Herder]

I always figured the barrier was just around the edge, so any blind spot would just be along the line of sight that it lies on, and it just so happens that Andromeda lies along that line of sight (and you know how subspace radio signals hate to make turns).

 

[scotpens]

Do we have a reason to believe the gorgeous human women used to be Kelvan females? If the physiological makeup of the species had changed radically due to their assuming human form, then all this procreation they are talking about could be from the human point of view, and sexual reproduction might be alien to Kelvans, or conducted differently and perhaps with the seeming human males as the procreating pair.

Considering Kelinda’s interest in Kirk and Rojan’s increasing jealousy as the Kelvans begin to acquire human emotions, it’s a safe bet that their human bodies correspond to the Kelvan equivalents as far as sex is concerned. And one of the duties of every space captain is to teach beautiful alien females about kissing.

 

[Timo]

Considering Kelinda’s interest in Kirk and Rojan’s increasing jealousy as the Kelvans begin to acquire human emotions, it’s a safe bet that their human bodies correspond to the Kelvan equivalents as far as sex is concerned.

I don't quite get this. Kelinda is becoming female and Rojan is becoming male when they accumulate human emotions (on their already "humanized" bodies), but how should this tell us anything about what Kelinda was before it became a human female?

Apparently, Rojan hates the "heightened senses" of their bodies, but specifically in the context of having to live through those senses on the planet where they crashed. Getting back to a confined environment floating in space is like coming home for him, even though he's still in the human body. So for all we know, he may have worn that body from birth, however long ago that was. Or at least for some time. Given how quickly he succumbs to Kirk's manipulations in the episode, he could well have acquired full maleness during the preceding time spent in the body.

...Logically, one would think that intruders ignorant of the Galactic Barrier and convinced that they can't talk or see through it would not have known how to assume human shape until after getting through the barrier - that is, after crashing because of it. Unless they encountered humans outside the barrier, that is. Possible, I guess, but supposedly unlikely. And Kirk responded "quickly" to the post-crash call for help, by Kelvan standards at least. Another indication that Kelvans get "humanized" very, very fast.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tribble Herder]

It's just a plot contrivance to get the story rolling.

 

[Knight Templar]

Or it could have been as Peter David said in his novel (sorry, forget which one): The barrier is actually Q, hiding out for a brief time and it *was* a coincidence that Kirk happened to be the one to tangle with him.

Personally, I think it's absurd to think that we have a "fence" around our Galaxy.

In one of the behind the scenes books about Star Trek it was pointed out that Gene Roddenberry did not like the idea of a "galactic barrier" himself but the writer of the episode (Pebbles IIRC) was very insistent on the possibility and had actually forced Isaac Asimov himself to back down on this point.

Apparently, the writer suggested a "halo" of energy surrounding the visible portion of the Milky Way long before the concepts like "dark matter" or "dark energy" ever came into being.

 

[scotpens]

In one of the behind the scenes books about Star Trek it was pointed out that Gene Roddenberry did not like the idea of a "galactic barrier" himself but the writer of the episode (Pebbles IIRC) was very insistent on the possibility . . .

Well, THAT explains a lot!

(I assume you mean Sam Peeples.)

 

[Tribble Herder]

The group I used to hang with came up with a fairly workable theory, depending on how well our understanding of solar dynamics was at the time. Basically, it's formed by all the stars in the galactic arm, with the barrier itself being the bow shock along the leading edge of the arm as the galaxy rotates.