United Earth in the Star Trek universe

[Nyotarules]

We never saw much of life on 22nd, 23rd or 24th century Earth in the franchise apart from the two episodes in DS9 and 'Terra Prime' episodes. So let's speculate what changes (major or minor) we come up that would make life very different from how it is today. Can be fun or serious suggestions. Limited to three per response

1. Shorter international travel; flights from London to Sydney in 12 hours instead of 24
2. No more television, according to Kirk in Bread and Circuses
3. Mandarin is the secondary language of Earth and is compulsory from Kindergaten/Primary school

 

[F. King Daniel]

Flying cars. Transporter stations. Mega skyscrapers.

I wonder if they have phones. The recent-ish novels do, calling them "personal comms", but I don't recall seeing any of the extras in Star Trek Into Darkness' San Francisco or London scenes with one.

 

[Tracy Trek]

No more television, according to Kirk in Bread and Circuses

They will still have some kind of mass media.

What I would hope to see, is something that can produce unlimited energy from what we consider waste today.

Medical tech. that can regrow internal organs that are failing.

 

[dswynne1]

We never saw much of life on 22nd, 23rd or 24th century Earth in the franchise part from the two episodes in DS9 and 'Terra Prime' episodes. So let's speculate what changes (major or minor) we come up that would make life very different from how it is today. Can be fun or serious suggestions. Limited to three per response

1. Shorter international travel; flights from London to Sydney in 12 hours instead of 24
2. No more television, according to Kirk in Bread and Circuses
3. Mandarin is the secondary language of Earth and is compulsory from Kindergaten/Primary school

1. More like 24 seconds, thanks to the transporter; 24 minutes thanks to the shuttle.
2. We're moving away from traditional television viewing NOW. I got rid of my cable in favor of user-content stuff on social media sites like YouTube, and I stream only movies. I expect more interactive content (like virtual reality) to just continue to evolve from what is going on today. Certainly, the holodeck will be the television of the 24th century.
3. Doubtful, unless you're hardcore connesseur of old Earth languages. Otherwise, the Universal Translator will be the thing.

Cheers.

 

[Tenacity]

Civilian transporters (something the last movie actually got right), but in addition to single person, there with be "cattle car" large platforms too.

While it makes sense for people in Starfleet to have a common language, don't see the necessity with civilians and there won't be a main or primary language. Everyone will have a UT in their phone. And there will be some kind of phone.

With voice commands being able to control all devices, I wonder if the average person will be able to read and write? By the 24th century there may be little need .

 

[Sci]

I'm interested in what advances in artificial intelligence, sensors, and teleportation technology mean for personal privacy and security. Do law enforcement agencies have the right to beam into somebody's home? To active sensors and scan a house? Is there a central repository recording everybody's computer activity? Financial records? Etc.?

ETA:

For whatever it's worth, the recent ENT novels have established a general outline of United Earth's constitutional structure: It's a federal parliamentary republic, with an elected Parliament; a cabinet whose members mostly receive the title of "Minister" (as established in ENT's "Demons/Terra Prime"); a President who exercises seemingly ceremonial authority as the head of state; and a Prime Minister who is the head of government and the real leader. Ministerial posts include United Earth Interior Minister, United Earth Foreign Minister, and United Earth Defense Secretary.

 

[MacLeod]

Well it wasn't a stretch to think the UE governement was Parliamentary in nature given what little information we got from ENT.

 

[Gary 11's]

The global metric system
One currency
Lots of transporter crime
No Olympic games

 

[Tenacity]

an elected Parliament; a cabinet whose members mostly receive the title of "Minister" (as established in ENT's "Demons/Terra Prime")

My thought is that the minister we saw in Demons/Terra Prime was some kind of diplomat, and not the member of a parliament.

Based on what he was doing.

Lots of transporter crime

Are you thinking of hacking, or transporters being use for illegal entry?

No Olympic games

I personally wouldn't miss them, however the near disappearance of baseball a quarter century from now I would find troubling.

 

[The Wormhole]

My thought is that the minister we saw in Demons/Terra Prime was some kind of diplomat, and not the member of a parliament.

The novels actually do refer to him as Earth's Prime Minister. Which would make some amount of sense, it would explain why he had the authority he did over Archer, including the ability to assign another captain to the NX-01.

 

[Tracy Trek]

I guess this would be a minor thing, but I think it's important to people who have to drive on ice or snow covered roads. I seem to recall in one of the original series novels, something about the pavement having something underneath which let the ice and snow melt on contact. I'd like to see something like that. Of course if you had transporters you wouldn't have to drive anywhere.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

No Olympic games

Unless modern sport is abolished/replaced completely, I'd say that the amateur-centric nature of the Olympic Games would put it in better stead than most sports.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

No Olympic games

The Olympics still exist in Trek's time. One of the Dax hosts was an Olympic gymnast.

 

[Tenacity]

Of course if you had transporters you wouldn't have to drive anywhere.

Would depend on how expensive civilian transporter use was. The Abrams-universe showed significant ground and air vehicle traffic on Earth.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Would depend on how expensive civilian transporter use was. The Abrams-universe showed significant ground and air vehicle traffic on Earth.

Beyond showed transporter booths on the ultra-advanced Yorktown base and 24th century DS9 talks of transporter stations on Earth, so I figure Earth was about to go through something of a shift at the time of ID

 

[Tracy Trek]

Does anyonone recall in Voyager's Non Sequiter, when Harry leaves his apartment and meets his co-worker there is what looks like an entrance to a subway? There is a sign that says Trans Francisco. I've wondered if this is meant to be an underground transporter terminal.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Does anyonone recall in Voyager's Non Sequiter, when Harry leaves his apartment and meats his co-worker there is what looks like an entrance to a subway? There is a sign that says Trans Francisco. I've wondered if this is meant to be an underground transporter terminal.

Seems like a reasonable notion.

 

[Nyotarules]

Since I am part of the 'Earth still has money/credits' camp I think civilian transporter travel will be like first class travel, pretty expensive for at least the 22nd and 23rd century

 

[Tenacity]

There is a sign that says Trans Francisco

Not sure why a transporter station would have to be underground, but it's possible that the city goes down as far as it goes up. I did take the sign Trans Francisco to be a version of our subways system.

 

[Tracy Trek]

I suppose it could be a subway system as well. But I thought with the "Trans" on the sign, it might have something to do with transporters. Since trans could mean something that takes you across. A subway could do that.

I went back and edited a mis-spelled word in an earlier post, but it's still mis-spelled where someone quoted it.