Spoilers Star Trek: Short Treks 1x02 - "Calypso"

The Producer said it was definitive.

They are the Federation

Which is quaint, but not canon.

 

Daniels is from the 31st century. So a mere 200 years before Craft's time.

 

Personally I'd go with Occam's Razor in this situation. If they call themselves the Federation I'll assume they actually are until proven otherwise.

 

Maybe they're the First Federation.

 

Perhaps the Federation are going through a dark era, like in the novel Crossroad where the Consilium took power. Current events in the United States show how easily these things happen.

 

Maybe, or it could just be that the Alcorians are like a future version of the Maquis. Maybe it's the Alcorians that don't like mixing with other species. Whatever it is, the Alcorians had been separated from the Federation for long enough that the word 'Federation' had evolved into something completely foreign. Unless of course the Federation also call themselves 'V'draysh' in the future.

Come to think of it, from what I've read about the short, Humans seem to be in decline in future, maybe an alien species has come to dominance within the federation hence why it's now known as 'The V'draysh'

 

If V'draysh is a mispronunciation... Then so is Zora?

He seemed to be able to say "Betty Boop" just fine, so it's not every word in English that Craft mangles.

 

Don't be so sure, they've got a holodeck and working transwarp drive.

 

Everything onscreen is translated for our benefit. Craft is speaking some local Alcorian dialect, possibly a distortion of English, whereas the AI Zora is "speaking" whatever but is utilizing the UT so Craft can understand her. Betty Boop may or may not have been translated for Craft, but Funny Face probably was.

Now onto V'draysh... this is an Alcorian word referring to the polity they are in conflict with. Like all words it has an etymology, but Craft wasn't describing any Federation, but a specific one (the UFP, presumably). He may not have a word for a federation, or the word for a federation may have evolved into something else.

The point is, due to Craft's definition of V'draysh, the translator or Zora did not pick up on the fact that it is referring to the United Federation of Planets (and it might not be, perhaps just one of several successor states). The ambiguity meant that it chose not to define or redefine Craft's use of the word V'draysh.

 

Scotty: "Sir, I just returned from the past where I invented a way to recrystallize dilithium. It will revolutionize space travel and is the biggest discovery in 200 years. It's all here in me report."

Admiral Tilly: "Thanks, Captain Scott, but I figured that out 30 years ago. It's classified."

 

I say mistake, just as Scotty thought Kirk came to save him the E-A.

 

Technically speaking, ST:GEN is the mistake, because "Relics" was written and aired first. Although Scotty wasn't even supposed to be in GEN; when Nimoy turned them down, Scotty got all of Spock's lines.

 

Ah, yes. That time when Scotty talked liked Spock who was really talking like Data B'Elanna.

 

To play devils advocate on this I don't think we can really speak for anyone but ourselves when we say things like "Star Trek is".

Some people do not care about anything other than a good story. Some people care about the construction of the universe and the things you deem as less important like ships and phasers. There is no need to feel sorry for someone because they don't see things as you do. They just find enjoyment in things that you do not and that's okay.

For me personally I'm in the middle. I liked the story of this short but I also disliked how disconnected it felt. For better or worse writers and guys in suits have turned Trek into a living universe that is interconnected and while the first thing I look for is a good episode or film right behind that for me is continuity (where does this particular thing fit into the pre-established universe).

 

Besides, I really don't see a better future in STD, rather a regression to a darker less pleasant future. With a S-31 series lead by a tyrant being one of the next main shows, I see it getting worse still.

 

I'm not seeing that at all, especially with the Season 2 trailers.

 

It's linguistic drift. Betty Boop and Zora don't count for that because he was told Zora's name and watched Betty Boop thousands of times.

 

So many questions, that I'm sure many have already asked, but I'll articulate:

1. Where'd the crew go?
2. What happened to the Federation?
3. Humanity really f'd up somewhere along the line huh?
4. Zora doesn't consider herself "alive" but she clearly is.
5. Why the name Zora?
6. How did Craft know Discovery was from the past? Couldn't have been outdated tech cuz his wasn't any better. I assume technology stunted because of war.

 

The Federation is still around. Craft's people are at war with it. He knew The Discovery was from the past because Zora knew who Betty Boop was. He says this directly. Maybe she liked the name Zora.

 

I'm betting ZORA is the Disco's version of LCARS or PCAPS, and they'll have it in tiny letters on graphics in seasons to come.