The Romulan Supernova: The final, canon word

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Picard' started by F. King Daniel, Jan 24, 2020.

  1. MFB

    MFB Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I think what was mentioned in the first Episode of 'Picard' does not eliminate the possibility of the supernova being another star than the one Romulus circled around. Of course they say 'the Romulan Star' in the Interview but that can mean any star within the Romulan Empire. Yes, they said 'the Romulan Star' instead of 'a Romulan Star' but in the Interview they already mentioned the Supernova twice. So it is already clear which star they mean.

    As creating a Black Hole near Romulus as a replacement for a sun makes no sense I still would prefer the variant with another star. (As a Supernova is just any 'star explosion' and we do not know all possible types of stars and their live cycles nothing speaks against some kind of warp fast 'subspace nova' - especially as we know that subspace energy can resemble a star as seen in VOY 'One small step'.)

    But just implying it was Romulus' star that went nova makes sense for the new series. It simplifies the story as the event was 10 years ago the series is not about the details, not about Spock or Red Matter or Black Holes. These things are not essential for 'Picard' so no need top mention them.
     
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  2. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The Picard Countdown comic says the Romulans knew for years before they reached out for help, as in typical Romulan fashion they didn't want anyone else to know their business.
     
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  3. DaveyNY

    DaveyNY Admiral Admiral

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    They soon™ may have that as well...

    [​IMG]
    :techman:
     
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  4. DaveyNY

    DaveyNY Admiral Admiral

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    I thought the way Spock planned to use the Red Matter it would have canceled itself out upon interacting with the supernova and not left a blackhole behind.
     
  5. MFB

    MFB Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    After Vulcan was consumed by the Black Hole I think you can still see a black Region where the Center of the Planet was. The temporal 'Storm in space effect' stops but the Black Hole seems to be permanent.

    But even if the Hole vanished after it canceled the Supernova there would be empty space at the center of Romulus' star system. So the Romulans would have died just by another disaster.
     
  6. urbandk

    urbandk Commodore Commodore

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    Just jumping in to this thread to say retconning that supernova to be the Romulan star was a brilliant move and really cleared the air on a ten-year old wonky conundrum. No weird subspace supernova. No alien plot. Just a huge natural disaster.

    Now I'm hoping they work in some throwaway line fixing Delta Vega.
     
  7. DaveyNY

    DaveyNY Admiral Admiral

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    I don't know for sure, but I figured the plan was that the strange qualities of Red Matter would have stabilized the Romulan sun and avoided it going nova to being with.

    'Bad Timing' was everybody's foil in that movie.
    :shrug:
     
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  8. Jedman67

    Jedman67 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    "A star went Nova and threatened the entire galaxy"
    Lets see now; one of the biggest political entities in the Galaxy, which alternated between hostile, aggressive and passive aggressive; and at one time, allied for a time with the other larger Star Nations, is suddenly destroyed, leaving a huge refugee crisis.
    The evacuation fleet, sabotaged; the last-ditch rescue effort failed; the Federation has withdrawn into an isolationist regime, and the balance of powers between the remaining powers has shifted considerably as the less altruistic empires have attempted to grab off territory and jockey for more power among themselves.
    Free trade would have gone to hell, piracy and privateer raiding shot up...Yup, the Galaxy has definitely fallen to pieces.

    "Romulus or Hobus"
    Who cares?
     
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  9. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, if it's a retcon, I can live with it.

    Although that whole Countdown comic is now pretty dubious, because it has Data as Captain of the Enterprise.
     
  10. Longinus

    Longinus Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    For the red matter plan to make even tiniest bit of sense, it needs to compress the star into a black hole. This way the Romulus (had it survived) can continue to orbit that black hole. Now, without the light of the star, it will be a dead planet anyway, but not immediately, especially given Trek's tech level. It would give more time to evacuate the planet safely and of course prevent the blast reaching other colonies. So instead of an instant destruction of Romulus and destruction of all nearby colonies withing couple of years, we would be looking at abandoning Romulus and nearby colonies surviving so the people from Romulus can relocate to those.
     
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  11. urbandk

    urbandk Commodore Commodore

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    Yeah, whether Spock was being fanciful or figurative, there's plenty of interpretive space to make sense out of his comments retroactively.
     
  12. Push The Button

    Push The Button Commodore Commodore

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    Once upon a time, people that wrote science fiction used to actually know something about science, or consulted with others that did.
     
  13. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Is Rios a Synth? He has those screens up in a manner reminiscent of Dahj in the first episode.
     
  14. Yistaan

    Yistaan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Well, the new Picard Countdown Prequel comic book still shows the Romulan supernova as affecting colonies not in the Romulan system, so the new tie-in material is still treating the supernova as a magical one with faster than light speed effects...
     
  15. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Nope.
    Sounds about right.
    Spock admits to being emotionally compromised in the film. I wouldn't take everything literally. I didn't then-I don't now.
     
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  16. Crewman6

    Crewman6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    "Hobus" is not a term used in the actual movie, so it doesn't matter.
     
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  17. Longinus

    Longinus Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It is not. Those colonies would be affected. Sure, it might only happen couple of years after Romulus is toast, but they need to be evacuated all the same.
     
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  18. Yistaan

    Yistaan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I think the STO devs are going to change the game to fit Picard. Probably say Hobus was another name for the Romulan star or something.
     
  19. Crewman6

    Crewman6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    But comics have never been canon, no matter who wrote them.
     
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  20. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I don't think it makes it fan fiction either. It's in some weird nebulous place reserved for TAS and first drafts...

    :D
     
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