So I heard that there were dolphin crew members on the Enterprise D.

[Admiral Archer]

The "Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual" lists two Takaya's Whales (Orcinus orca takayai) as being navigators on the Enterprise-D. I looked up the species: it doesn't exist in real life. So I have two theories: first, they could be Orcas from another planet, such as Risa, Pacifica, or some other ocean world (my personal pick is Deneb Kaitos V) or second, they could be an evolutionary offshoot of the orcas we have on Earth today, further evolved into a subspecies that just doesn't exist yet.

 

[Orphalesion]

Since three Latin names designate a subspecies, I figure they are a future subspecies of Orcas, maybe from a population that was seeded on a colony world, or a freshly terraformed one.

Of course with Star Trek's tendency to present parallel evolution on planets to the point that many of the different humanoid species can interbreed without problems and the explanation offered in the Chase, we might only guess how similarly shaped species on different planets are designated... If, let's say a species similar to Orcas evolved on Andoria, would they get the "Orcinus" designation? (Orcinus Andoris?)
And what's the scientific designation of humanoid species like Vulcans, Betazoids, Bajorans, Klingons etc? Homo Vulcanis/Beazoidis/etc?

 

[NCC-73515]

I guess the orcas were the leaders of the dolphins? The dolphins were all ensigns and crew...whales, and the orcas were lieutenants? XD

 

[Timo]

I trust Sternbach and Okuda had read their Brin: Startide Rising came out in 1983, and painted it all out in colors that were both pretty and eminently reprintable...

Yes, there'd be a pecking order there all right. And no doubt genetic manipulation (it's wrong on people in Trek, but all right on barley, so cetaceans might be fair game, too).

But filming Startide would have been beyond the means of Paramount in the 1980s-90s. It would still be quite a feat today, although certainly doable. I wonder who owns the rights.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Ghel]

Now I'm picturing a Terran (is in, Mirror Universe) Dolphin

It's just like a prime dolphin but it wears a half-shirt and has a dagger strapped to its fin.

 

[Orphalesion]

It's just like a prime dolphin but it wears a half-shirt and has a dagger strapped to its fin.

Considering the behaviour that has been observed in some dolphins, they might fit right in the Terran Empire.

 

[publiusr]

Now I'm picturing a Terran (is in, Mirror Universe) Dolphin

That is an Orca, or a charcodon from Clone Wars

 

[Maurice]

 

[Arpy]

They might not all be Earth lifeforms either. There might be Federation members in those waters too, or dolphin/whale-like intelligent animals from other planets too.

 

[Timo]

...Named in the best tradition of "Antarean Moon-bat", so for all we know the Takaya whale is also an alien species.

Or then cetaceans are cosmopolitan, and the exact same genus or family is found on many other planets besides Earth.

What to make of the fact that TOS and TNG never could afford to show lots of nonhumans aboard starships? TOS is the easy one, as we basically only ever saw two starships from the inside to any significant extent, the Enterprise and the Defiant; could be those and their all-human crews were exceptions to a more DSC-like norm. Or then DSC is the exception, and only a flying lab for cackling mad scientists harbors any diversity, whereas military vessels are organized on a segregated basis.

The movies and the TNG era shows expose us to more of this all-human Fleet, but DS9 at least uses dialogue to suggest what makeup can't. Although again, DS9 could be the perverse exception to the racially pure norm, what with being home to the outcasts of the galaxy to begin with.

Should we approach this from the other end, though? It's clear why we don't see dolphins in-universe: there's no water on the bridge. There could be plenty of water under the bridge, though. Perhaps starships are merely sectioned off into diverse environments, and it's a coincidence that NCC-1701-D and -E happen to have air on the bridge section instead of water or methane or fluoride. That is, we observe airbridged ships solely because we follow Picard.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JRoss]

I think that it would be cool if Starfleet ships on the scale of the Enterprise had cetaceans onboard for both navigation and diplomatic purposes. Like a large frontier explorer never knows when they'll run into an aquatic species that is not capable of easy communication or interaction with land-based species.

I trust Sternbach and Okuda had read their Brin: Startide Rising came out in 1983, and painted it all out in colors that were both pretty and eminently reprintable...

Yes, there'd be a pecking order there all right. And no doubt genetic manipulation (it's wrong on people in Trek, but all right on barley, so cetaceans might be fair game, too).

But filming Startide would have been beyond the means of Paramount in the 1980s-90s. It would still be quite a feat today, although certainly doable. I wonder who owns the rights.

Timo Saloniemi

Off-topic, but does the Uplift series get good? I could not finish Sundiver. Like I read all but the last 20 pages and decided that I would not give the book the dignity of finishing it.

 

[Imaus]

One good thing about ENT is they showed the Xindi-Aquatics and somewhat how their ships work.

 

[NCC-73515]

I had to get the Eaglemoss aquatic cruiser even though they made it low-quality, cause it's a whale ship and looks great!

 

[Arpy]

^ it’s vaguely reminiscent of the Seaquest submarine, yeah?

 

[Maurice]

IOff-topic, but does the Uplift series get good? I could not finish Sundiver. Like I read all but the last 20 pages and decided that I would not give the book the dignity of finishing it.

I never read any of Brin's books, but he was hired to write the story of the game Ecco the Dolphin, Defender of the Future.

What Brin provided was a very sketchy outline of a plot that, frankly, reminded me too much of Star Trek: First Contact. His work was merely a plotline, onto which I had to graft meat for the story. For example, the outline specified three different dolphin tribes for one game level ("Shrine of Controversy"), but there was effectively no detail on what those tribes would be. Working backwards from the game environment, character designs and puzzles I developed the entire backstory for the three tribes, their behaviors, rituals and dialogs. I did this kind of thing throughout the product. I also wrote most of the dialogs. In the end Tom Baker was the narrator so I had a Doctor reading what I wrote.

 

[JRoss]

I never read any of Brin's books, but he was hired to write the story of the game Ecco the Dolphin, Defender of the Future.

What Brin provided was a very sketchy outline of a plot that, frankly, reminded me too much of Star Trek: First Contact. His work was merely a plotline, onto which I had to graft meat for the story. For example, the outline specified three different dolphin tribes for one game level ("Shrine of Controversy"), but there was effectively no detail on what those tribes would be. Working backwards from the game environment, character designs and puzzles I developed the entire backstory for the three tribes, their behaviors, rituals and dialogs. I did this kind of thing throughout the product. I also wrote most of the dialogs. In the end Tom Baker was the narrator so I had a Doctor reading what I wrote.

Oh, cool. I only ever got to play that game once. I really liked it, though. What an awesome thing to have been able to make.

 

[NCC-73515]

^ it’s vaguely reminiscent of the Seaquest submarine, yeah?

With fins

 

[Timo]

Off-topic, but does the Uplift series get good? I could not finish Sundiver. Like I read all but the last 20 pages and decided that I would not give the book the dignity of finishing it.

Sundiver is just a prelude, from a time when Brin couldn't yet write. But Startide is the crown jewel, and The Uplift War is really humdrum in comparison, although not bad.

I never got past Brightness Reef, which had potential but not brilliance. Yet I keep on watching Star Trek. Go figure.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[dupersuper]

I never read any of Brin's books, but he was hired to write the story of the game Ecco the Dolphin, Defender of the Future.

What Brin provided was a very sketchy outline of a plot that, frankly, reminded me too much of Star Trek: First Contact.

Not Voyage Home?

 

[Admiral Archer]

I never read any of Brin's books, but he was hired to write the story of the game Ecco the Dolphin, Defender of the Future.

What Brin provided was a very sketchy outline of a plot that, frankly, reminded me too much of Star Trek: First Contact. His work was merely a plotline, onto which I had to graft meat for the story. For example, the outline specified three different dolphin tribes for one game level ("Shrine of Controversy"), but there was effectively no detail on what those tribes would be. Working backwards from the game environment, character designs and puzzles I developed the entire backstory for the three tribes, their behaviors, rituals and dialogs. I did this kind of thing throughout the product. I also wrote most of the dialogs. In the end Tom Baker was the narrator so I had a Doctor reading what I wrote.

Duuuude....I had no idea you worked on video games at one point! That's so cool!

Plus, I'm low key jealous that you had Tom Baker involved in your work. I'm barely a casual fan of Doctor Who, but Tom Baker is my favorite Doctor.