I always took his five years boast as contrasting his experience with that of the inexperienced Decker.
The Passage of Time in the Movies
- Thread starter Komack
- Start date
But that would still leave open the question of why there were no other Captains with similar experience to Kirk's, so that Starfleet wouldn't have to send out an Admiral to do a Captain's job.
If Kirk was able to wrestle Decker out by saying "I did five years", then Nogura should have been able to wrestle Kirk out by saying "So did Captain Stiles, and he's not busy with a desk job like you; Captain Loxutsf did it too, and she's prettier; and do I have to mention that Captain Orlov has more medals for bravery?".
Sure, Kirk could have used his "five years" only as a minor detail in his broadside of a resume, rather than as the main selling point. But we're still better off if we choose to think that five-year missions of deep space exploration are relatively rare and that skippers with such achievements don't remain at Captain rank for long - that people of that sort aren't exactly waiting at the lobby to be assigned for their next sortie.
Timo Saloniemi
If Kirk was able to wrestle Decker out by saying "I did five years", then Nogura should have been able to wrestle Kirk out by saying "So did Captain Stiles, and he's not busy with a desk job like you; Captain Loxutsf did it too, and she's prettier; and do I have to mention that Captain Orlov has more medals for bravery?".
Sure, Kirk could have used his "five years" only as a minor detail in his broadside of a resume, rather than as the main selling point. But we're still better off if we choose to think that five-year missions of deep space exploration are relatively rare and that skippers with such achievements don't remain at Captain rank for long - that people of that sort aren't exactly waiting at the lobby to be assigned for their next sortie.
Timo Saloniemi
ltcmmanderdata
Lieutenant Commander
good question i know 15 years has passed between space seed and twok
One would certainly assume that Khan would be speaking of his years, not anybody else's. Thus, if Ceti Alpha V had identifiable seasons, fifteen cycles of those would be what Khan considers 15 years - the timekeeping systems of the rest of the galaxy would not concern this egomaniac.
The same would apply to the 1990s being 200 years in his past. Between 1996 and 2266, he probably only slept through two centuries, not closer to three, what with traveling in a relativistic-speed spacecraft and all that.
Kirk in turn would be likely to round the true figure down, not up - no matter what the official story, he'd feel guilty about neglecting his former buddy Khan for so long, and even 18 years of neglect would then be rounded to 15 rather than 20.
Timo Saloniemi
The same would apply to the 1990s being 200 years in his past. Between 1996 and 2266, he probably only slept through two centuries, not closer to three, what with traveling in a relativistic-speed spacecraft and all that.
Kirk in turn would be likely to round the true figure down, not up - no matter what the official story, he'd feel guilty about neglecting his former buddy Khan for so long, and even 18 years of neglect would then be rounded to 15 rather than 20.
Timo Saloniemi
