The Buried Age

[Christopher]

I always thought the prefix code was invented for the very purpose Kirk used it for in WoK.

I think it was basically just meant to be the equivalent of a password. Not specifically meant for taking over another ship, just for getting into a ship's computer system in general. After all, the name "prefix code" suggests it's just a code you enter before doing something else, e.g. an initial code string you put into a computer instruction to verify that you're an authorized user. So it wouldn't be something that was invented for a specific purpose, just a general, routine part of Starfleet computer security, which Kirk was able to take advantage of because he was going up against another Starfleet ship in the hands of people who didn't know routine Starfleet security protocols and didn't think to close that backdoor.

 

[Scout101]

How disappointing to see this thread bumped and then see why. When I saw this one move, thought it might be more speculation about the new Picard series, and whether this (excellent) book may be an influence in where they decide to go with that series.

Personally, i'd think this one works almost as well as an Old Picard story as it does a 'lost years' story. Pretty perfect fit for an older, post-Starfleet, and perhaps jaded Picard...

 

[thribs]

That’s a interesting idea. Maybe Ariel will make an appearance in the new show.

 

[Lexx Shrapnel]

That’s a interesting idea. Maybe Ariel will make an appearance in the new show.

I heard the Discovery team was somewhat Treklit friendly. Don't ask for source, i don't remeber where or from whom.

 

[Christopher]

I heard the Discovery team was somewhat Treklit friendly. Don't ask for source, i don't remeber where or from whom.

Well, Voyager novelist Kirsten Beyer is actually on the Discovery writing staff and is a co-creator of the upcoming Picard series. She works closely with the Discovery tie-in authors to keep their books and comics consistent with the show, and is a credited co-author of the tie-in comics miniseries.

However, that doesn't mean anyone should expect the new shows to directly adapt anything from the novels.

 

[thribs]

Was rather funny that their big plan was to destroy the Galaxy Class ships with a virus which will take 10 years to work when most of them were destroyed long before that. The Yamoto after a year by a Iconian probe, the Odyssey by the Dominion (rather easily I thought) and the Enterprise by some Klingons. That just left the Galaxy.

 

[Scout101]

It was less about trying to immediately destroy them, and more about trying to scare them out of committing to exploration and going home (similar to Q's initial idea, I guess). They explicitly wanted it to be failure through being overly ambition rather than sabotage. Flying too close to the sun and whatnot.

Also, there were more than 4, so not sure naming 3 of them constitutes 'most'. We saw more in random shots during the Dominion War together.

 

[Christopher]

Actually, I think I meant to imply that just possibly the loss of all those Galaxy-class ships in short order was because of the virus, that maybe it wasn't purged as successfully as the characters thought.

Man, I really need to reread this book. It took me a moment to remember that there was any sort of virus plot in it at all.

 

[mastadge]

After bouncing off (or slogging through) a few Trek novels, I finally purchased this one (I'd gotten it from the library before and returned it unread for some reason), and after the weekend I'm a little more than halfway through. This is one of the best types of Trek novels, I think: reveling in exploration and discovery, not just war and cool battles, and reminding us that flying a starship is work, not just pushing buttons to direct the computer to do work, and that research is work, not just charting what you can pick up on sensors as you fly by. Grand scope, intimate focus, cameos and "guest stars" that make sense in context instead of popping up just because they're names we know. It ties threads together without making the universe feel small; it enriches our understanding of these characters we already know so well. This is what I want to see more often when I'm reading Trek novels. This is what I want to see more of in the post-Litverse era of TrekLit: novels that really flesh out the characters and fill in the gaps in and between the shows in thoughtful ways.

And darn it, it's too bad Christopher Bennett wasn't hired to write or at least consult on the Picard show.

 

[Christopher]

Thanks so much!