Cochrane's Outward Explosion.

[T'Girl]

Zephram Cochrane's first warp flight as on April 5, 2063

1) The SS Valiant left Earth only some two years later, eventual they reached the galactic barrier, in the year 2265 the ship had been missing over 200 years.

2) In 2067 the warp drive probe Friendship One leaves Earth.

3) The Human colony Terra Nova was founded on June 23, 2078, after a nine-year warp flight. So they left Earth in 2069. By the year 2151 the colony had been silent for over seventy years.

4) The Terratin colony also left Earth around this time, they originally named their colony Terra Ten. Suggest a number of colony efforts before their departure.

5) By the year 2102 Humans were building J-class freighters (where Travis was born), J is the tenth letter in the alphabet, suggesting nine earlier classes.

It sounds like Humans began to use the brand new warp drive engine just a soon as Cochrane made his first flight. To me that sound like people were ready for it ahead of time, like various nations and private groups had already began to build their colony and exploration ships (and unmanned probes) prior to Cochrane making his first flight.

Possibilities.

Cochrane (or the people backing him) had pre-sold the warp engine to a number of investors (who were building ships), the event in First Contact was a proof of concept flight. If Cochrane didn't make the warp engine work, he wouldn't get paid.

Or, there was a "warp race," going on. The warp drive concept had been bandied about for years in the aeronautical communities, several different organizations were competing to see who could achieve the first warp flight with their particular design. Not every warp driven ship that left Earth in the early years were equipped with Cochrane's design, which might be the reason some were "lost."

Or, the Vulcans gave these early Human ships Vulcan style engines and let them do anything with them that they wanted. This seem very unlikely.

2151 (Terra Nova) TRAVIS: "I always thought lost colonies affected boomers."
2269 (Terratin)SPOCK: "Descendants of an early lost colony ... These Earth colonists named and numbered this planet Terra Ten."

Travis's use of the plural would indicate that by 2151 there were more than one lost Human colony (maybe a lot more). Spock's comment might indicate that some Human colonies are still missing by the 23rd century. And that there are both early and not-early "lost colonies."

What do you think?

 

[Frontier]

I think it's a fictional time-line from a tv show spanning 45 years and some 700 individual stories that's bound to have a lot of major bumps in the road... hehe...

That said, if you want an "in-universe" explanation?

Earth was only a decade out of World War 3. 650 Million Dead, I think, they said in FC? The planet was divided, in ruins, you name it. The court Q used in TNG was said from 2079, nearly 2 decades post FC, and it was still an atomic horror freak-show after FC and Vulcan's and such.

Who in their right mind wouldn't sign up for a chance at a good life out among the stars back then? Who wouldn't leap at building ships to colonize such? Earth was a nuclear-ravaged horror waste-land, in total social chaos. There are thousands of people today who'd give their limbs to have the chance, even 1 in a billion, of living on a new planet. I can only imagine what people post WW3 would be thinking.

Troi said knowledge that we where not alone in the verse "united humanity in a way never thought possible" and within "50 years" poverty, disease and war where all gone.

Perhaps the unity was a combination of A) realizing mankind was at it's brink of death on Earth if they all stayed and B) realizing if aliens where out there, it meant other habbitable worlds existed, and heading out to them was a hell of a good idea for the survival of the individual as well as the species.

Much as Cochrane wanted money, naked women, and such, I can't imagine him out blabbing his idea and selling it and getting investors.

I *can* imagine him selling his expertise *right* after and thus enabling colony ships that likely where being built for stasis trips (Botany Bay?) to be retrofit for warp ability. Said ships having begun construction right after WW3 ended, 10 years prior to FC, and requiring only 2 years to retrofit for warp ability.

 

[Timo]

I'd agree with the latter sentiment. Earth by the mid-21st century would already have impressive spacecraft, fully capable of flying to other stars once somebody bolted a warp engine onto them. Hell, for all we know, some of the ships had already flown to other stars without warp engines (this is never disproven, even though we have no evidence of successful interstellar flight, either - even Khan missed any stellar targets he might possibly have had).

Many of these spacecraft might well survive WWIII. Others might be lost but their manufacturing methods and machinery could still survive.

Now we get ST:FC where Cochrane cobbles together a warp engine in austere conditions. This rather heavily suggests that warp engines aren't "high" tech as such - they just require a bit of imagination and the full set of 21st century household technology. Cochrane would provide the former (at a price), after which everybody and his odorous cousin could build their own interstellar yacht out of the latter.

Probably there would have been thousands if not millions of colonization attempts. And the limiting factor would have been the availability of Class M planets, the only sort that could successfully be tamed by those garage-standard ships and their tiny teams of hopefuls. Any colonization attempt launched might count as "lost colony" unless one got direct evidence that the ship was lost before reaching the target - and such evidence would be very difficult to come by, at least before the 2150s.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[captcalhoun]

you missed the Ficus colony trip - the SS Mariposa with the backward Irish folk and the high-tech peeps on. tehy left around that time as well. and lost contact.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I think all these trips need to be bumped further into the future, just like "Earth's last world war" was bumped from the 1990's in TOS to the 2050's in First Contact, and the Eugenics War was bumped up in DS9 and was absent from Voyager.

Trek really should have kept it vague - but noooo, someone decided there was money to be made in timeline books (which were then trampled on by Enterprise, leading to fan outrage )

 

[JarodRussell]

I think all these trips need to be bumped further into the future, just like "Earth's last world war" was bumped from the 1990's in TOS to the 2050's in First Contact, and the Eugenics War was bumped up in DS9 and was absent from Voyager.

Trek really should have kept it vague - but noooo, someone decided there was money to be made in timeline books (which were then trampled on by Enterprise, leading to fan outrage )

Eh, just wait when they catapult Khan from the 1990s into the 2090s in the next movie.

 

[T'Girl]

This rather heavily suggests that warp engines aren't "high" tech as such - they just require a bit of imagination and the full set of 21st century household technology.

One idea I've liked for some time is that you only need big, expensive and over-powered engines if you want to go warp six (or warp nine point nine), but if warp three or four is acceptable then you can have a reasonable sized starship for the price of a modern day used freighter, about ten million dollars. Where my parent live, that the cost of forty house. So put together a colony association/group of two hundred people (plus kids) and that's fifty grand each just for the ship. Supplies would likely be more that the ship itself.

Probably there would have been thousands if not millions of colonization attempts.

Given the conditions on Earth, sure. And not everyone would have gone to a virgin world and started from scratch. Many of these ship would have journeyed to established alien planets carrying not settlers but immigrants. Not wagon train to the stars, but a ship to Ellis island and a alien New York City situation.

Think about the movie Men In Black. But without the disguises.

.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

I have to admit, this is the first time I've ever considered writing Star Trek fan fiction. I read the first couple of posts and immediately my mind wandered. I began thinking about how cool it might be to read a story set not long after the first Warp flight, about a group of people from separate walks of life deciding they've had it with Earth and its dark times, and they're ready to see what's out there... in a pathetic little colony ship.

Too bad I've never spent enough time acquainting myself with the finite details of Trek lore. I'd trample all over it and get screamed-at.

 

[Destructor]

Too bad I've never spent enough time acquainting myself with the finite details of Trek lore. I'd trample all over it and get screamed-at.

Memory Alpha is your friend.

 

[George]

It's just a stupid inconsistency, which is exactly why I disregard TOS and ENT

 

[Shatnertage]

The OP has convinced me that a) humans are lousy at keeping track of their colonies or b) the colonists were just annoying everyone else anyway, and were conveniently "lost"

Do you think there are more omnipotent beings or lost colonies out there? I recall a lot of both.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Too bad I've never spent enough time acquainting myself with the finite details of Trek lore. I'd trample all over it and get screamed-at.

Memory Alpha is your friend.

This is true.

 

[Timo]

The OP has convinced me that a) humans are lousy at keeping track of their colonies or b) the colonists were just annoying everyone else anyway, and were conveniently "lost"

When did we meet a colony that didn't want to be lost?

For these people to leave Earth in the first place, they must harbor quite a resentment towards the motherworld. The leading reason for founding a colony seems to be a desire to perpetuate a specific eccentric lifestyle; either Earth actively frowns on most of those, or then the lifestyles simply can't thrive when cramped by the multiculturalism on the crowded homeworld.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Finn]

^Or individuals who are really curious about a new world, naming unnamed mountains, lakes, oceans and the landmasses.

 

[Capt_Pickirk]

b) the colonists were just annoying everyone else anyway, and were conveniently "lost"

It's lucky Earth still had a couple of telephone sanitisers. Or they would've been in real trouble

 

[mtblillie]

I think it went a little too fast for realism, but I think they were trying to include a lot of history into only a hundred years or so, so I guess they did ok. I actually had worked out some ideas for some of these issues, if it helps at all here are my ideas:

1. The Valiant-There is a model around that I guess was an early idea for a prewarp rocket type ship, that eventually became the valient, basically by adding UESPA logos and warp nacelles. It is possible that the Valiant was an existing pre-warp ship that was converted into a warp spacecraft, making the building process much faster. Also, a concept is being created now that says there might be gravitational eddys that a ship could follow to move faster throught the solar system, is it possible that there could be subspace eddys that cause faster than light travel? They did it DS9 (although, with a special sail), which could explain why the Valient was lost.

2. As for Friendship one, it is reasonable to assume that the Vulcans were just as pushy about holding back humanities manned space program back then as they did in 2151. If the Valient, the first and only Deep Space Earth ship at the time, is immediately lost it would give the Vulcans an excuse to convince the still early Earth Government to stop the program. Probes are safer way of exploring space while still keeping a space program alive.

3. Terra Nova was probably similar to the Valiant. Considering the plans in place to colonize Solar planets now, it is concievable that a ship designed to colonize mars for example to be converted into a warp craft and sent to colonize the first Exo Earth found (supposedly).

4. I imagine that the Terra 9 might be Terra Nova, and Terra 1-8 would be Colonies in the Solar System and Alpha Centauri System(s). It is possible considering there is the possibilty that several planetary bodies in our own system might be colonized, plus the 3 stars in the Alpha Centauri system. Remember, planets dont necessarily have to be class M to be colonized.

5. About the freighters, J doesn't mean that A-I were all successful warp capable freighters. The first few may have been pre-warp ships that were used as transports for the Solar Colonies, and then the first warp ones may have been transports for the early close by colonies. Also, givin human history, there might be several vessels that were developed but not put into service (YF-17, YF-23, for Ex).

I agree though about private contractors and ppl putting bids out for the Warp system. Also, before the war, there was the ISO (International Space Agency), which may have been very privately funded. So it would make sense that these types resurected the ISO as the UESPA. It is also possible that the survivors of the war would estabolish some kind of underground governments around the world, which could negotiate together to create the United Earth Gov. With warp drive, Vulcans, and the new space frontier it is concievable that ppl would suppor the new government.

Anyway just some ideas if it helps.

 

[Timo]

1. The Valiant-There is a model around that I guess was an early idea for a prewarp rocket type ship, that eventually became the valient, basically by adding UESPA logos and warp nacelles. It is possible that the Valiant was an existing pre-warp ship that was converted into a warp spacecraft, making the building process much faster.

The ship does look like she'd have been built around a huge centerline fuel or propellant tank, and apparently two side tanks as well. Probably a converted non-warp vessel, yes... Also by artist's intent.

Also, a concept is being created now that says there might be gravitational eddys that a ship could follow to move faster throught the solar system, is it possible that there could be subspace eddys that cause faster than light travel? They did it DS9 (although, with a special sail), which could explain why the Valient was lost.

Kirk did consider it "impossible" that this old ship could have spanned such a distance, and later Spock uncovered evidence that a magnetic storm had thrown the ship off course. Probably the magnetic storm (or whatever phenomenon was misinterpreted as a magnetic storm) propelled the ship across great distances, then.

FWIW, apparently, "magnetic" is used interchangeably with "gravitic" elsewhere in Trek...

2. As for Friendship one, it is reasonable to assume that the Vulcans were just as pushy about holding back humanities manned space program back then as they did in 2151. If the Valient, the first and only Deep Space Earth ship at the time, is immediately lost it would give the Vulcans an excuse to convince the still early Earth Government to stop the program. Probes are safer way of exploring space while still keeping a space program alive.

Friendship 1 was never said to have been "lost" or subjected to abnormal travel such as magnetic storms or wormholes, before it ended up in the Delta Quadrant. That would suggest the probe was much, much faster than the Valiant. Probably the most pressing reason for launching uncrewed probes would thus be that they could be built with much greater speed and range than crewed vessels. Possibly because they could use special powerplants or engines that would present a lethal hazard to live crew?

3. Terra Nova was probably similar to the Valiant. Considering the plans in place to colonize Solar planets now, it is concievable that a ship designed to colonize mars for example to be converted into a warp craft and sent to colonize the first Exo Earth found (supposedly).

We don't know much about Earth's spacecraft building capabilities in the 2060s. Possibly it would have been perfectly possible to design and build a large interplanetary ship within a few months or years - and not much more difficult to execute an interstellar ship.

5. About the freighters, J doesn't mean that A-I were all successful warp capable freighters.

I don't really believe in an alphabetic order of development, either... Y-500 class ("Strange New World") was considered outdated long before we saw our first J-class ("Fortunate Son"), and then we witnessed another Y variant in continuing action ("Horizon"). Assuming, of course, that Y-500 was related to Y class in the first place. But that's a connection I'd like to make, for aesthetic reasons if not for anything else.

Perhaps those letters were Starfleet military code names, chosen e.g. by taking the first letter of the civilian class name or the civilian manufacturer? That would result in the letters being assigned in more or less arbitrary order.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[mtblillie]

^^^I see, like MiG or AK in the Russian Military. Makes sense. I can also see it being possible that the probe may have been much easier to make higher warp speeds. My comment was mainly about why they went from using manned ships to unmanned probes, although, having it being much faster was a good point for their use anyway.

Also, it is entirely possible that they could fabricate a ship that quickly, my problem with it was that earth was still in turmoil at the time, and to me at least it seems unlikely that they could just put together a ship that quickly under these conditions, especial with other space programs underway and so many ppl apparently being against colonization so far away.