Iconian gateways questions

[Maltz]

It's been a while since I last saw any episodes or read any books dealing with the gateways of the Iconians. Can anyone remind me, can a gateway only open to another location where there's another gateway present, or can they open up to just about anywhere? How long do they remain open once activated?

 

[DS9forever]

Anywhere, as Picard stepped onto the Romulan bridge in "Contagion" through a Gateway.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

How long do they remain open once activated?

They rotate among different destinations, a few seconds at most is the longest they spend on any given one. Although they can probably be programmed to lock onto one permanently.

 

[Timo]

And all that sort of implies that the Gateway system can also grab people from any arbitrary location, because one-way trips would be of little or no use for the Iconians...

The user interface remains a bit fuzzy. Probably it's mostly psychic: when Picard wanted to get away from the doomed control center and to his orbiting starship, two orbiting starships were added to the list of options, without anybody pressing buttons or giving verbal commands or gesturing in any specific way. The rotating does not appear to be an efficient mode for any imaginable purpose, and may be something of a test sequence for a unit that has been recently reactivated after a long dormancy.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[EmperorTiberius]

^Good speculation in the posts above. Contagion is one of my favorite episodes. It's so mysterious.

 

[Maltz]

How are they portrayed in the Gateways novel series?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Can anyone remind me, can a gateway only open to another location where there's another gateway present, or can they open up to just about anywhere? How long do they remain open once activated?

Memory Alpha:
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Iconian_gateway

How are they portrayed in the Gateways novel series?

Memory Beta:
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Iconian_gateway