Subspace weapons

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

In Insurrection, we learned that subspace weapons were banned by the Khitomer Accords due, in part, to their unpredictability. I wonder if we will see them in Discovery? There is no on-screen evidence that I am aware of that would preclude them being in existence in the Discovery time period.

 

[Kemaiku]

They were banned by the Second Khitomer Accords.

The first were the ones seen in 2293 (TUC) and it looks like it caught on as a neutral site for the 3 major powers to settle differences until the Khitomer Massacre in 2346.

That puts the second Accords somewhere between those two dates. If subspace weapons were something new that nations were experimenting with, they were likely only developing in the late 2200's, and the ban was a pre-emptive measure after early tests showed how "unpredictable" they were when fired.

The Praxis incident is taken by a lot of fans to actually have been a weapons test deep inside the moon that went disastersouly wrong, so they might well have been new in the 2280's and 90's at all.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

Well, first I think the line in Insurection was just "weren't those banned by the Khitomer Accords?" Were they mentioned in a later episode? Second, even if they might have been banned later on, they may have existed for decades or longer, and the diplomats just couldn't agree on a ban.

 

[Jesse1066]

The Praxis explosion created a subspace shockwave, so a connection between that event and the banning of subspace weapons seems plausible to me.

 

[Timo]

A treaty clause stating that you can't blow up your own moon in a manner that spreads untold destruction across lightyears sounds a bit redundant...

One wonders whether subspace weapons are super duper high tech, or rather the poor man's choice for a WMD. When our heroes in ST:INS blew up their warp core to stop the Son'a subspace weapon effect, was that fighting fire with fire (establishing said fire cheap and simple as such) or fighting fire with water (and leaving fire potentially high-tech and beyond most cavemen)?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Kemaiku]

They do say in the film that the signatories of the Accords all agreed to ban them exactly because they're so unpredictable and uncontrolable.

It's the sort of weapon that has no way to limit it's destruction, it just blows up really good and devastates a huge area, making everything a hassle even for the people who fired it. I bet you they lost nearly every ship that tested them, the tear just expands so rapidly.

Everyone decided it was a bad idea, and only the Son'a have ever been seen to use them. They were not the sanest of people by a country mile...

 

[publiusr]

Also makes you wonder about the Hobus star. Maybe a test made it go hypernovae Shades of the superweapn we saw in The Force awakens--only as a sphere, not a series of beams

 

[Kemaiku]

Makes the Praxis test failure look like a firecracker in that case. And just reinforces why they decided no one should have them.

 

[Spot261]

A treaty clause stating that you can't blow up your own moon in a manner that spreads untold destruction across lightyears sounds a bit redundant...

One wonders whether subspace weapons are super duper high tech, or rather the poor man's choice for a WMD. When our heroes in ST:INS blew up their warp core to stop the Son'a subspace weapon effect, was that fighting fire with fire (establishing said fire cheap and simple as such) or fighting fire with water (and leaving fire potentially high-tech and beyond most cavemen)?

Timo Saloniemi

I'd have to suspect that "subspace weapons" sounds like a category rather than a speific designation, much as "ballistic weapons" or "explosives" can cover a great many bases. There may well be some pretty low tech versions, equivalent to throwing a rock or a molotov cocktail in the respective cases ranging up to bleeding edge modern tech weaponry (military grade sniper gear/smart bombs, whatever) and from there the currently unattainable sci fi concepts.

One may resonably speculate that various subspace weapons may well be subcategorised, given the seemingly rather broad and varied manners in which subspace can be interacted with. One "subspace weapon" may in fact operate according to completely different principles to another based on the type of interaction involved, this of course is speculation of course but its interesting to imagine possibilities

They might warp subspace and thus reality, another cause an explosion within it which subsequently influences normal reality, others may submerge a target deep into subspace rendering it unable to interact with normal reality, another disrupt it in ways that only affect targets currently interacting with it, such as to prevent warp travel, whatever....

 

[Kemaiku]

The Son'a used an "Isolytic" subspace weapon, whatever that may mean.

 

[Spot261]

well obviously it means....er...it's lytics are isolitically isolated on a subspace isotope and operates on a quantum iso cats lick level

plus it makes a big bang

 

[ATimson]

The Son'a used an "Isolytic" subspace weapon, whatever that may mean.

One that involves the breaking down of similar cells. (In other words, absolutely nothing, unless there was some sort of biological component to their weapons.)

 

[Anduril]

In Insurrection, we learned that subspace weapons were banned by the Khitomer Accords due, in part, to their unpredictability. I wonder if we will see them in Discovery? There is no on-screen evidence that I am aware of that would preclude them being in existence in the Discovery time period.

Sure. Why not. Do you think we'll see coffee in Discovery?

 

[Spot261]

Subspace coffee?

 

[Anduril]

Subspace coffee?

Yea. Do you think they use cups in the Discovery era?

 

[Tenacity]

They beam the coffee directly into your bloodstream, much more efficient.

 

[Spot261]

What about all those poor deluded fools who drink decaf instead of real coffee just for the taste?

 

[hammerhead]

Maybe subspace weapons have a similar effect to the Omega particle from Voyager? I.e. Destroy space so warp capability is not available like destroying subspace? And they were highly secretive in that episode