Cetacean Navigation Expert

[M.Robison]

I recently acquired a replacement set of USS Enterprise D blueprints from Half Price Books. As me and my fiancee were looking over them she noticed that on the internal views there were labs and quarters for a number of cetacean crew members that the Star Trek TNG tech manual describes as navigation consultation experts, consisting of dolphins and the like.

I have not found any reference so far to any books, novels or otherwise that have been written on this subject. And, I have only been able to find reference to this group of experts only on board the Enterprise D so far.

Anyone else have any insights?

(I think I may have posted this in the wrong section, sorry..)

 

[Timo]

There's a dolphin crew member aboard a Mirror Universe Enterprise-D in Diane Duane's TNG Mirror romp Dark Mirror. I don't know if the newer books have expanded on the subject, though.

Duane's book proposes that the dolphin had humanlike sapience, but the Tech Manual and the Blueprints don't establish this: the dolphins there might be dumb animals and nevertheless serve as navigation specialists. Canon mention is made of dolphins aboard the ship in the TNG episode "Perfect Mate", where LaForge tries to distract the Ferengi by telling them that they absolutely must come and see these beasts, but again nothing is mentioned of their sapience or status as crew. One wonders if the ship has other animals or creatures with a sapience level different from the human one (below or above, if such a simplistic scale can be used)...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mysterion]

^^^


there is also on-screen reference in Yesterday's Enterprise (TNG3) where we here a PA announcement for someone to report to "Cetacean Ops".

 

[Unicron]

Interestingly enough, the deck plans for the Galaxy class FASA did for their TNG supplement included interfaces in certain parts of the ship for the Medusans from TOS.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Duane's book proposes that the dolphin had humanlike sapience, but the Tech Manual and the Blueprints don't establish this: the dolphins there might be dumb animals and nevertheless serve as navigation specialists.

IIRC, the Star Trek Office (ie Richard Arnold on behalf of Roddenberry), requested a change - that the crewmember be specified as a dolphin-like, alien cetacean. Just in case canonical ST established dolphins to be a different level of intelligence.

 

[milo bloom]

Duane's book proposes that the dolphin had humanlike sapience, but the Tech Manual and the Blueprints don't establish this: the dolphins there might be dumb animals and nevertheless serve as navigation specialists.

IIRC, the Star Trek Office (ie Richard Arnold on behalf of Roddenberry), requested a change - that the crewmember be specified as a dolphin-like, alien cetacean. Just in case canonical ST established dolphins to be a different level of intelligence.

I read a Trek novel not too long ago that dealt with a TOS movie era cetacean like alien, believe it was 'Ex Machina'?

I, too, have always been intrigued by that listing on the blueprints. So many interesting little things on that set that never even got a passing mention on the series.

 

[Myasishchev]

Only letting your cetaceans navigate is pretty racist. Where are our cetacean doctors, lawyers, baseball players?

 

[Timo]

Well, we have canine minehunters, paramedics and spies, but no canine lawyers. The cetaceans might suffer from similar inherent limitations.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mysterion]

Only letting your cetaceans navigate is pretty racist. Where are our cetacean doctors, lawyers, baseball players?

I would like to believe the dolphins are just too inherently decent to be lawyers.

 

[milo bloom]

Only letting your cetaceans navigate is pretty racist. Where are our cetacean doctors, lawyers, baseball players?

I would like to believe the dolphins are just too inherently decent to be lawyers.

Channeling Douglas Adams? Perfect

 

[Myasishchev]

Well, as long as mama dolphins don't let their babies grow up to be cowboys, I think we're still okay.