Spoilers Star Trek II: Anyone else think it's odd that ...

[TrickyDickie]

Y'all don't understand. The security of the thing is more complicated than you realize. It's not just about the numbers in the code. They had to get the right font and the right distance between the digits. All that's what took so long. For example, this would not have worked:

 

[ParkerGlyn]

hmm the timing between sending each digit could play a factor, font color, font style (maybe that display isn't old school calculator display), brightness of the digits. It might have an automatic limited number of tries before being locked out to prevent brute force attacks.

 

[Timo]

Or then there's no security aspect to the inserting of the code whatsoever. The starship has excellent security built in overall: it can do voice analysis to identify authorized users, say, and has never accepted commands from unauthorized users who weren't Bele-and-Lokai-level superbeings. But here it doesn't even need to identify the user or verify his authority, as there's no need to doubt those things. We never see the computer challenge Kirk for his order to set course to Alpha Beta, or Spock for his attempt to study records on the Weird Phenomenon. Why challenge the user for trying to take over the Reliant?

It's not between Spock and the Reliant. It's between the Enterprise and the Reliant. And the security between those two will be sorted by means not accessible to the audience, at a cybernetic level.

That the flip-switch row would be dedicated to the entering of the prefix code sounds highly unlikely. They are at an absurdly prominent position for such an astronomically unlikely procedure. Far more probably, the switches are for something Spock routinely does as part of his science duties: perhaps a simple alphanumeric keyboard isn't fine for everything, and you need this no-number-can-be-entered-twice setup for a range of things, one of which happens to be the prefix code? Might be something mechanically straightforward, such as each switch triggering a specific subspace sub-transmitter, which have multiple uses, among them the takeover of a fellow starship. Now there's built-in security: only a signal identifiable as a combination of transmissions from Federation-manufactured transmitters of known make will be accepted as the trigger for the surrender-control subroutine.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Workbee]

That’s a good point Timo. Really there could be any number of things happening behind the scenes to authenticate that aren’t apparent to us. It makes sense that the Enterprise (and other federation starships) restrict the prefix overrride to ship captains and flag officers. Perhaps those switches are also reading Spock’s fingerprints and the console will only transmit a prefix code (using 1024 pterabit encryptionf) when is entered by the starship’s captain, the console could also be picking up Spock’s periscan badge in his uniform.

Before Spock entered the code, Admiral Kirk keyed something into the navigation console’s accordion buttons when they were calling up Reliant’s command chart. Kirk may have had to type in a personal code to enable prefix mode on the weapons console. Safeguards like these would prevent unauthorized use so if some Ensign Joe somehow managed to learn a prefix code land key it in, nothing would happen.

And we don’t know he switches wouldn’t allow repeated switches. The one scene we see them being used is not enough to completely see how they function. Maybe all one needs to do is flip a switch back to “neutral” then back up to use the digit again.

 

[STEPhon IT]

This was on a ship where the self-destruct code was 0-0-0-destruct-0.

Password security doesn't seem to be a huge priority

It's threads like these which boggles the mind, over thinking about a plot device to propel the story??? This is as bad as trying to figure out how the tricorder works or the properties of the transporter to beam humans to another location. I am convinced it's conversations like this thread was the birth of the annoying treknobabble which flooded the airwaves in TNG era by fans turning pro. Over thinking about things where the majority of the audience doesn't care about.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

^ Indeed. Had the screen been a list of ten numbers people would still find fault (there should be letters and symbols included!).

For all intents and purposes, this is a fantasy, sit back and enjoy the story, characters, action and drama, instead of nitpicking.

 

[Timo]

Why not enjoy the nitpicking, too? It's like saying one can't enjoy the costuming because it's a mere Hollywood conceit to carry the story, or the casting because that's going behind the scenes and detracting from the story the writers want told. Indeed, why should we pretend to enjoy the story if the whole point of the movie is that Tom Cruise is running in it?

Movies are intended to be fun, or scary, or cozy, or whatever. Usually they fail in that, to a lesser or greater degree. This doesn't make them bad movies or bad entertainment: generally, they manage to entertain at a level the creators never thought of. And if there's to be entertainment years after the premiere, that level isn't the one where we say "Wow, that was a cool story!" or "You know, I really like Brad Pitt". It's the one where something still remains to be talked about. And that's a game of going deeper into the thing, finding either new angles or greater detail. Or, just possibly, some sort of relevance to the present time.

Speaking of which, flip-switches make a glorious comeback in the DSC shuttles...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[ParkerGlyn]

It's threads like these which boggles the mind, over thinking about a plot device to propel the story??? This is as bad as trying to figure out how the tricorder works or the properties of the transporter to beam humans to another location. I am convinced it's conversations like this thread was the birth of the annoying treknobabble which flooded the airwaves in TNG era by fans turning pro. Over thinking about things where the majority of the audience doesn't care about.

I do it as a way of pretend the show is real and attempting to either justify why things are the way they are or figure out how other people can justify it. More of a study of human reasoning than anything for me

 

[Doc Mugatu]

It's threads like these which boggles the mind, over thinking about a plot device to propel the story??? This is as bad as trying to figure out how the tricorder works or the properties of the transporter to beam humans to another location. I am convinced it's conversations like this thread was the birth of the annoying treknobabble which flooded the airwaves in TNG era by fans turning pro. Over thinking about things where the majority of the audience doesn't care about.

That is a specious and disingenuous paragraph considering it is proffered on a forum solely dedicated to making somethings out of nothings where Star Trek is concerned. By your self professed ideology you really shouldn't even be here.

 

[Doc Mugatu]

Y'all don't understand. The security of the thing is more complicated than you realize. It's not just about the numbers in the code. They had to get the right font and the right distance between the digits. All that's what took so long. For example, this would not have worked:

Even better would have been if they had made the override code: N-C-C-1-8-6-4 pointing out they are written in giant letters on the saucer sections of the individual ships.