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Spoilers List of novelverse continuity discrepancies - errors, different authorial directions, and more

Enterprise1701

Enterprise1701

Commodore
Commodore
I thought I would try to compile a list of differences, unintentional and intentional, in Avatar-Destiny-Coda continuity. To be honest, for a few hundred novels, novellas, and short stories, this list will probably balloon out of control. I am also arguably embarking on an extremely long subquest by including the Strange New Worlds short story anthologies out of respect for our board members who participated and ascended to standalone publications. Not to mention debating how much or how little a story fits into First Splinter continuity. Ultimately, I may have to condense this post in favour of a link to a Google doc or even multiple docs, and that's assuming I will remain focused on this project for a long time. But, we all love nitpicking our details in this forum. Let's try to collectively collate things!

Please bear in mind I have started this thread as a Doylist endeavour, though obviously I cannot stop Watsonian discussion of how any discrepancy can in fact fit together. And I will not list novel discrepancies with later TV episodes here as that subject merits an entire thread of its own.

Did Roberta Lincoln interact with the events of "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"?
TOS - Assignment: Eternity - from 19 July to 20 July 1969, Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln venture to meet the Enterprise crew in 2269, with it being Roberta's first temporal incursion and second meeting with the Enterprise crew
SNW 3 - "The Aliens Are Coming!" - on 10 July 1969, Roberta Lincoln interrupts James Wainwright interrogating John Christopher, and on 16 July she laments not being able to recently meet the Enterprise crew
TOS - From History's Shadow - on 10 July 1969, Roberta Lincoln learns about the Enterprise's recent incursion, travels to the Enterprise in 2268, and interrupts James Wainwright interrogating John Christopher

Did John Christopher remember the events of "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"?
SNW 3 - "The Aliens Are Coming!" - on 10 July 1969, John Christopher has no memories of his encounter with the Enterprise crew
SNW 7 - "Project Blue Book" - in 2003, John Christopher has both his sets of memories, and the officers interrogating him necessitate intervention from the Temporal Integrity Commission of 2892
TOS - From History's Shadow - on 10 July 1969, John Christopher remembers the Enterprise crew and has to have his memories fixed by Roberta Lincoln

How did Isis die?
TOS - The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2 - in 1996, Isis died saving Robeta Lincoln from a knife attack by Joaquin Weiss
SNW 8 - "Assignment: One" - some years before 2001, Isis died saving Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln from an Ebola-wielding terrorist in Tokyo

The name of Shaun Geoffrey Christopher's wife
SNW 8 - "Assignment: One" - in 2001, Shaun Geoffrey Christopher's wife is named Debbie
TOS - The Rings of Time - circa 2019, Shaun Geoffrey Christopher is divorced from Debbie Lauderdale
Myriad Universes - Seeds of Dissent - in 2010, Shaun Geoffrey Christopher's wife is named Dorothy

The name of the Aegis next Earth branch computer after Beta 5
SNW 8 - "Assignment: One" - Gamma-3 is the Aegis computer stationed in New York City in 2001
TOS - The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2 and TNG - Hearts & Minds - Beta 6 is the Aegis computer stationed on the Isle of Arran in 1996, and then Beta 7 in the same location by 2032

Who destroyed the Tkon home star?
VAN - What Judgments Come - the Shedai destroyed the Tkon home star
TNG - Q-Zone - 0 destroyed the Tkon home star

when Archer and T'Rama first met
SNW 5 - "A Girl for Every Star" - A young Jonathan Archer meets T'Rama on Earth in 2123
ENT - Rise of the Federation: Tower of Babel - Admiral Jonathan Archer meets T'Rama on Babel in 2164

Is Krios from the two TNG episodes the same location?
TOS - Cast No Shadow - the empathic spotted Kriosians from TNG - "The Perfect Mate" come from the same planet as the Klingon-controlled world in TNG - "The Mind's Eye"
VOY - Unworthy et al. the empathic spotted Kriosians have no connections to the Klingons

The status of the Guardian of Forever
SNW 7 - "Guardians" - the Guardian of Forever is active on its planet in 52267
SNW 9 - "Orphans" - in 2374 at the approval of Roga Danar, the Guardian of Forever departed its planet
DTI - Watching the Clock - some years before 2381, the spacetime turbulence surrounding the Guardian's planet precluded outsiders from visiting the Guardian of Forever

Does Beverly Crusher know about Marta Batanides?
TNG - Section 31: Rogue - in 2373, Beverly Crusher recalls to Jean-Luc Picard that he is old friends with Admiral Marta Batanides
TNG - Q&A - in 2380, Beverly Crusher does not recognise when Q briefly transforms into Marta Batanides and questions Jean-Luc Picard who the woman is

The status of Alyssa Ogawa's family
TNG - The Genesis Wave, Book 3 - circa 2376, Alyssa Ogawa has a daughter named Suzi and her husband Noah Powell is alive
Titan - Taking Wing et al. - in 2379, Alyssa Ogawa has a son named Noah and her husband Noah Powell died during the Dominion War

Sariel Rager's next assignment after Nemesis
TNG - Death in Winter - in 2379, Lieutenant Commander Sariel Rager transfers from the Enterprise-E to the Hedderjin under the command of Captain Gilaad ben Zoma
Titan - Taking Wing - in 2379, Lieutenant Sariel Rager transfers from the Enterprise-E to the Titan under the command of Captain William T. Riker

The head of Starfleet Intelligence in 2385
The Fall - A Ceremony of Losses et al. - in September 2385, Admiral Marta Batanides is the Chief of Starfleet Intelligence
Prometheus - Fire With Fire - Admiral Markus Rohde is the head of Starfleet Intelligence

Riker and Troi's child
Titan - Over a Torrent Sea et al. William T. Riker and Deanna Troi's only daughter born in 2379 is named Natasha Miana Riker-Troi
SNW 7 - "Guardians" - Fleet Admiral Ian Kyle Riker is an old man in 2462
 
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Boreth is a frozen wasteland with no native life in The Left Hand of Destiny but does have native life in The Farther Shore and Enemy Territory.

The Kaferian diet consists almost entirely of fruit sugar in Second Nature but they are described as predatory arthropods in Fear Itself.

Kor's House is called the House of Ngoj in Excelsior: Forged in Fire, but it's called the House of Mur'Eq in The Unhappy Ones as well as the Rise of the Federation novels.

Kang's battlecruiser from The Day of the Dove is called the Klolode in Excelsior: Forged in Fire, but it's the Voh'tahk in The Unhappy Ones and all subsequent novels.

Lieutenant Torres from Encounter at Farpoint is called Rene Torres in The Buried Age and Ricardo Torres in Q&A.

Lieutenant Commander MacDougal's first name is Sarah in A Time for War, A Time for Peace and Heather in The Buried Age.

Pitcairn's first name is Glenn in The Children of Kings and Nils in The Enterprise War.

Admiral Leyton's first name is James in Hollow Men and Available Light, but he is called Robert Leyton in The Poisoned Chalice.

Martok's full name is Martok, son of Krigar in Doors into Chaos, but it's Martok, son of Urthog in Honor Bound and every subsequent novel.

Lieutenant Stiles' first name is John in Vectors and A Less Perfect Union, but it's Andrew in The Higher Frontier (and also the script).

Lieutenant Rahda's first name is Manjula in A Choice of Catastrophes, That Which Divides and The Face of the Unknown, but she is named Naomi in Allegiance in Exile, Purgatory's Key and Agents of Influence.

Lieutenant Washburn's first name is Donovan in That Which Divides, but it's Rick in Section 31: Cloak.

Lieutenant Commander Giotto's first name is Barry in Wagon Train to the Stars, From History's Shadow and Purgatory's Key. However, he is named Antonio in Past Prologue and Salvatore in A Choice of Catastrophes.

Admiral Komack's first name is Byron in Where Time Stands Still, Franklin in Open Secrets, James in What Judgments Come and Wes in A Less Perfect Union.

Harry Morrow's full name is Harold Morrow in The Chimes at Midnight and Harrison Morrow in Elusive Salvation.

Lieutenant DeSalle's full name is Anton "Tony" DeSalle in Wagon Train to the Stars and Vincent M. DeSalle in Forgotten History.

In Immortal Coil, there's a conversation that starts in Picard's ready room and finishes in Data's quarters even though the characters don't go anywhere.

In Homecoming, Tom Paris mentions meeting his Klingon father-in-law, even though B'Elanna's father is human, and indeed, John Torres does appear later in the novel.

I don't know why you're counting Strange New Worlds stories as part of the Novelverse, but since you are, Infinite Bureacracy describes Tzenkethi as feliform bipeds and in The Dreamer and the Dream, Sisko and Kasidy's child is a son named Jonathan. Joe Carey's wife and two sons have different names in the Distant Shores anthology than they do in the Strange New Worlds anthologies.
 
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Extrocomp said:
I don't know why you're counting Strange New Worlds stories as part of the Novelverse
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It is perhaps an unmanageable mass of lore to the task at hand, but consider how many SNW authors also wrote outside of SNW for Pocket Books. In fact, Dayton Ward's "The Aliens Are Coming!" received a standalone eBook re-release in addition to being redone as a chapter of From History's Shadow.

SNW 1 has stories by Phaedra M. Weldon, Dayton Ward, Peg Robinson, Kathy Oltion, John J. Ordover, and Paula M. Block
SNW 2 has stories by Kathy Oltion, Peg Robinson, Christina F. York, William Leisner, Ilsa J. Bick, Kim Sheard, and Dayton Ward
SNW 3 has stories Dayton Ward, Robert T. Jeschonek, Kim Sheard, Mary Scott-Wiecek, and Lawrence Schoen
SNW 4 has stories by Kevin G. Summers, William Leisner, Kevin Killiany, and Ilsa J. Bick
SNW 5 has stories by Mary Scott-Wiecek, William Leisner, Robert T. Jeschonek, Kevin Killiany, Phaedra M. Weldon, Louissa M. Swann
SNW 6 has stories by Geoffrey Thorne, Louisa M. Swann, Mary Scott-Wiecek, and Robert T. Jeschonek
SNW 7 has stories by Kevin Lauderdale, Kevin Killiany, Scott Pearson, Jim Johnson, Louisa M. Swann, and Amy Sisson
SNW 8 has stories by Kevin Lauderdale, Kevin G. Summers, Amy Sisson, and Geoffrey Thorne
SNW 9 has stories by Jim Johnson, Scott Pearson, and Kevin Lauderdale
SNW 10 has a story by Jim Johnson
 
Enterprise1701 said:
It is perhaps an unmanageable mass of lore to the task at hand, but consider how many SNW authors also wrote outside of SNW for Pocket Books. In fact, Dayton Ward's "The Aliens Are Coming!" received a standalone eBook re-release in addition to being redone as a chapter of From History's Shadow.
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But those are very much the exceptions. Hardly any SNW stories have any connection to the novelverse or to each other. It's one thing to point out inconsistencies within a shared continuity, instances where they fell short of the intended goal, but it seems utterly pointless, and a cheap shot, to list discontinuities between stories that never tried to share continuity in the first place.
 
The Federation President during the TNG Gateways novel is referred to with feminine pronouns, but is established as the male Min Zife in the A Time To... series, who is also established as having held the position through the Dominion War to the Tezwa Affair.
 
When I read Cast No Shadow, I loved how elegantly it resolved the two Krioses into one.
The lack of Klingon references when dealing with modern Krios makes sense if Krios gained independence. Using a real life example, a lot of stories can be set in the Republic of Ireland without having to reference the centuries-long occupation by the UK.
 
Maybe during Gateways, Zife was having a medical procedure or personal crisis that required him to temporarily turn over the presidency to his second in command (whoever that might be - AFAIK, the Federation doesn't have a vice president)?

Like on West Wing when Zoey Bartlet was kidnapped and Glenallen Walken became president for the duration of that crisis.
 
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Ríu ríu chíu said:
Maybe during Gateways, Zife was having a medical procedure or personal crisis that required him to temporarily turn over the presidency to his second in command (whoever that might be - AFAIK, the Federation doesn't have a vice president)?

Like on West Wing when Zoey Bartlet was kidnapped and Glenallen Walken became president for the duration of that crisis.
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Or even just the recent occasion of Vice President Harris being sworn in because President Biden was having a medical procedure. Though, under the circumstances of the Gateways crisis, one would imagine the Federation President would aim to reschedule any procedures that would take them out of office.

Either way, it's a discrepancy, since it never gets addressed.
 
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Who DOES take over if the President of the Federation is temporarily incapacitated? :confused:

I mean, if it's a permanent situation (such as death or criminal conviction) I assume they'd hold a special election. But what if it's just a temp thing? Like what @DGCatAniSiri just mentioned with Biden.

As I said, there is no Vice President of the Federation, so I'm wondering who's normally next in line for succession.
 
In the leadup to a special election following a president’s death or resignation, the Federation Council selects one of its members to act as President Pro Tempore. I assume the same would happen if a president was temporarily incapacitated.
 
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Data is depicted as alive in the novels when he clearly dies onscreen in Star Trek: Nemesis.

But no one saw that movie so you'd be forgiven for not knowing that tidbit.
 
  • Some novels (e.g., Seize the Fire) seem to think Christine Vale served on the Enterprise-D, but she came aboard the E-E post-Dominion War.
  • Ogawa was a doctor and CMO in Indistiguishable from Magic, a thing not set up in earlier novels, nor referenced in later ones.
  • I forget the details, but I noted that Allegiance in Exile and Forgotten History don't line up re: Kirk's promotion to admiral.
  • In Fallen Gods, Andorians are recalled from sensitive posts, which is not reflected in other novels.
  • Later TNG novels, like Cold Equations, ignore Geordi's time on the Challenger.
  • In Q Are Cordially Uninvited..., Crusher and Picard don't know Q's wife even though they met her in The Q Continuum trilogy.
  • Greater than the Sum says Guinan officiated Picard and Crusher's wedding, but she's not there in Q Are Cordially Uninvited...
  • The Sky's the Limit's Ialona Daret is just Ilona Daret when he reappears in Peaceable Kingdoms.
  • There are a lot of inconsistencies as regards presidential terms of office. (Bacco must serve a six-year one!)
 
Stevil2001 said:
I forget the details, but I noted that Allegiance in Exile and Forgotten History don't line up re: Kirk's promotion to admiral.
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The TOS novels have never really been expected to share continuity to the same degree as the 24th-century novels. I think my books and AoE both independently tied into elements of the novelverse, but overall there's never been a formal 23rd-century shared continuity. It's sort of like how the '80s novels worked, with some authors choosing to reference each other's works and others only staying consistent within their own works. So the continuity references could be haphazard.
 
thribs said:
Doesn't matter now. Just see all of the discrepancies as another branching timeline.
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That was always possible. ;)

Brendan Moody said:
In the leadup to a special election following a president’s death or resignation, the Federation Council selects one of its members to act as President Pro Tempore. I assume the same would happen if a president was temporarily incapacitated.
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So there is no actual presidential line of succession, like in the US government? They always have to hold an election, they don't just have the next person in line take over?
 
The one I always notice is novels and novellas mentioning that Vale was on the Enterprise (but apparently off-screen) during the events of Nemesis, when in ATT..., she was on leave (I have to reread that to see if it makes it less odd to go on vacation specifically so you don't have to go to your boss's weddings), but every time I've caught it and mentioned it here, the reference has mysteriously vanished from my eBook copy the next time I go to check.
 
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