Time spans

[MAGolding]

Part One:

If someone wants to look up the time span between two events in the Star Trek fictional universe they can look up their dates in Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future (1993, 1996).

Unfortunately the official chronology of Star Trek is not accurate. The writers made too many assumptions and so came up with dates which contradict information in various productions. If someone wants to work out their own chronolgy of Star Trek they should be aware of the time spans between various eras of Star Trek.
So I will list the time spans between different eras as a reference for people thinking of making their own chronologies. About one example per post.

I should point out that I believe that all of Star Trek happens in an alternate universe which diverged from ours before the first productions were made, due to writers making historical statements which are not accurate in our history and the staff not correcting enough of those errors.

I also believe that each of the hundreds of episodes and movies happens in a separate alternate universe of its own, separate from the alternate universes of other episodes and movies. Except in the cases of productions which are clearly sequels to other producitons.

I also believe that different characters do not necessarily always state time differences in years of the same type, so that it is possible two different characters using different year lengths, might say that the same two events were a different number of years apart.

In the TOS episode "Requiem for Methusaleh" Kirk is suspicious that Mr. Flint might not be who he claims to be.

KIRK: Spock, at your earliest opportunity, take a full tricorder reading of our host. See if he's human. Kirk to Enterprise. Mister Scott?

Later:

SPOCK: We have still a greater mystery, Captain. I was able to run a tricorder scan on Mister Flint. He is human, but there are certain biophysical peculiarities. Some body function readings are disproportionate. For one thing, extreme age is indicated on the order of six thousand years.

So Spock says Flint is abut 6,000 yeas old. Possibly Flint was from 5,090 to 6,010 years old, possibly between 5,950 and 6,050 years old, possibly between 5,900 and 6,100 years old, possibly between 5,000 and 7,000 years old. But certainly not less than 5,000 or more than 7,000 years old. And spock didn't say whether he used Earth yeas, Vulcan years, Starfleet standard years, Federation standard years, Galactic standard years, or whatever, but he would used years that unambigious accoring to Starfleet protocols.

Later Flint admits to being Brahms and Leonardo Da Vinci, and Solomon, Alexander, Lazarus, Methusaleh, Merlin, and a hundred others.

SPOCK: You were born?
FLINT: In that region of earth later called Mesopotamia, in the year 3834 BC, as the millennia are reckoned. I was Akharin, a soldier, a bully and a fool. I fell in battle, pierced to the heart and did not die.

As far as I know this the only date specified to be BC or BCE in all productions up to the last episode of ENT. The Holocene Era calendar counts the years from the calendar era of 10,000 BC. Conversion from BC dates is Holocene era dates is by subtracting the BC number from from 10001. So Flint was born about 6167 HE (if he did the date calculations accurately) and would turn 6,000 in 12,167 HE, which is AD 2167. So depending on how precise Spock was with "on the order of six thousand years" (and what type of years Spock used), "Requiem for Methusaleh" might in the period of 2157-2177, or 2117 to 2217, or 2067 to 2267, or 1167 to 3167.

 

[XCV330]

Spock gave a vague number which is in line with Roddenberry not wanting to really pinpoint when TOS was taking place. There wasn't any kind of concrete idea about what century things were happening in until TWOK, and so none of those dates are possibly correct, especially with later information coming to life.

The TOS five year mission took place between 2265-2270 and had already been going on awhile when the events of the series occurred. If we put it towards the end, for convenience, say 2268 (12268 HE). Subtracting 6000 from that, if we're going to take that literally, and he was born in 6167 HE than he's probably 6100 to 6101 years old during that episode depending on the month and minor calendar adjustments..

 

[MAGolding]

Part Two.

In "Plato's Stepchildren" the Platonians are a group very long lived Human lookng aliens who visited Athens on Earth in the time of Plato. At least some of the older Platonians would have met Plato in person.

KIRK: Who are the inhabitants of this planet?
ALEXANDER: Oh, Platonians. I'm sure you've never heard of us. Our native star is Sahndara. Millennia ago, just before it went nova, we managed to escape. Our leader liked Plato's ideas Plato, Platonius. See? In fact, our present philosopher-king, Parmen, sometimes calls us Plato's children, although we sometimes think of ourselves more as Plato's stepchildren. Excuse me. Someone's waiting for you.

Captain's log, stardate 5784.3. Doctor McCoy is endeavouring to treat the leader of a strange group of people. When their planet novaed, millennia ago, they transported themselves to Earth in the time of Socrates and Plato. After the death of the Greek civilisation they idolised, they came to this planet and created for themselves a utopia patterned after it.

Greece was always civilized from the time of Plato to the present. The closest it came to civllization falling was during the invasion and settlement by Slavs who took over most of Greece, about the year 600, The Roman Empire reconquered the Slav-controlled parts of Greece a couple of centuries later.

It is possible that Star Trek happens in a set of alternate universes where the invasion of the Balkans by Gauls in the early part of the 3rd century was much more severe. Thus the Gaulish invasion of Greece in 279 BC might have been much more successful and Greek civilization might have fallen.

But Kirk probably said "Greek Civiiization" when he meant "Greek Culture". The Platonians might have left Earth sometime after Plato died in 348/347 BC (9653-9654 HE). Maybe they didn't like the culture in the Hellenstic Age from 323 BC to 30 BC.(9678 to 9971 HE). Maybe the Patonians considered the the Roman annexaton of Greece in 146 BC (9855 HE) to be the end of Greek Culture.

Maybe the Platonians didn't like the way the Greeks became more and more Romanized over the generations, considering themselves culturally Greek but politically Roman. If the Platonians had decent ethical standards, they migh thave been disgusted by the Greeks starting to have gladiatorial shows.. If the Platonians considered the Greek religion an important part of Greek culture, they might have been disgusted when Greeks converted to Christianity. Maybe sufficient Greeks became Christians that the Platonians decided to leave in AD 300, or 400, or 500, or 600.

At one point Parmen mentions how long they lived on Platonius:.

PARMEN: Fellow academicians. Twenty five hundred years ago, a band of hearty vagabonds arrived on this barren, rough-hewn planet. There was a desperate hardship of backbreaking toil. And then a divine providence graced our genius and our dedication with the power of powers. And through it, our every need instantly materialised. We thereupon determined to form a utopian brotherhood. This night is indeed a festive occasion, for tonight, we welcome into that brotherhood its first new member.

Assuming that Parmen would say "tewnty five hudnred years ago " if it was 2,400 to 2,600 years, they must have settled on Platonius at least tha tmany years after they left Greece and Earth.

Calculating from the death of Plato in 348/347 BC (9653-9654 HE) "Plato's Stepchildren" or PS would happen in AD 2053 to 2254, or later, depending on how long it took them to reach Platonius. Calculating from the Gaulish invasion in 279 BC (9722 HE) which could have destroyed Greek cultuure in an alternate universe, PS could happen in 2122 to 2322 or later.. Calculating from the Roman annexation in 146 BC (9855 HE) PS would be in AD 2255 to 2455.or even later. Calculating from Greece possilby becoming too Christian for the Platonians in AD 300 to 600, PS could happen in AD 2700 to 3000, or later.

So Parmen's statement would be more useful in counting back from a date for PS that was certain, to show when the Platonians reached Platonius, than to date TOS.

Earlier:

PHILANA: We haven't had any pressing need for the medical arts. You see, while still on Sahndara, we instituted a mass eugenics programme. We're the result. Pared down to a population of thirty eight, we're perfect for our utopia. We're bred for contemplation and self-reliance. And longevity. How old would you say I am? Don't be afraid. I'm not vain.
SPOCK: Thirty five.
PHILANA: That old? I stopped aging at thirty. Well, anyway, you're off by two thousand years. I'm two thousand three hundred years old. We were married very young. I was only a hundred and seventeen, and he was a hundred and twenty eight. So you see, we scarcely have to move anymore, let alone work.

So Philana is 2,300 years old and Parmen is 2,311 years old. But Parmen said their group had no new members join for 2,500 years. Possibly Parmen used shorter years than Philan did. They could choose between Sahndara years, Earth years, and Platonius years.