What did Cochrane invent???
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
The Companion was responsible for pulling Cochrane off course to the planetoid, much the way the Enterprise shuttle was brought there. "Warp drive" and "faster than light" are pretty much synonymous in the Star Trek world.
1) Discoverer and Developer are two totally different things. Discoverer implies to me that the discovery of the space-warp was an accident, and that later he was honored for laying the groundwork others have built upon.
2) Shuttlecraft are no doubt FTL, but I don't think they've got warp drives.
2) Shuttlecraft are no doubt FTL, but I don't think they've got warp drives.
Interestingly, the Cochrane in FC seems rather Earth bound, not "of Alpha Centauri".
On another note, does Spock refer to "Cochrane Decelaration" at some point (possibly in Whom Gods Destroy or The Deadly Years) or is it that just in the Blish books?
Yes I know, on both counts. But there are other types of FTL drives in trek, even impulse engines have been shown to be FTL (like the shuttlecraft in this ep. for instance) and they're not the same as warp drive.
The implication from "Metamorphosis" and the Enterprise crew's reaction to him makes it clear Cochrane's space warp drive was the first developed in the stellar neighborhood which became the core worlds of the UFP. The Vulcans, Tellarites, Anodrians, at the most, none of them had a practical FTL drive, more likely they had no FTL drives at all. Cochrane's invention opened the galaxy to them all. TNG, FC, and ENT cast Cochrane and Earth as late-comers to the FTL party, in opposition to ST's implications (the reverence of Cochrane, human dominance of Star Fleet, etc.).
I'd say they have warp drive. Shuttles have nacelles like the Enterprise. In the visual language of the show, nacelles mean warp drive.
Back in TOS the idea was that the Federation was actually the "Earth Federation", a benign Terran Empire ruled by Humans and that they allowed other alien species to be their weaker partners instead of outright conquering them the way the Klingons and Romulans did. To this end the humans were supposed to be the first ones to invent Warp Drive FTL.
This was changed when it was decided that the Federation was a true multi-species alliance of true equals.
This was changed when it was decided that the Federation was a true multi-species alliance of true equals.
That change happened during TOS. While we saw a fair amount of humans in positions of authority Journey to Babel shows it wasn't a "benign Terran Empire ruled by Humans".
I think the original idea was that Cochrane was the discoverer of warp drive. As in, it didn't exist anywhere before he discovered it. That idea, though, obviously didn't work too well, because how would any two species have ever run into each other if there weren't some form of warp drive out there somewhere? So First Contact retconned it that he was the inventor of warp drive on Earth, and retconned him into being human for that same reason.
It says Cochrane discovered the space warp, not warp drive. It's possible that after he discovered the space warp he collaborated with others to engineer a working warp drive. And I don't see why he couldn't have done this as someone with an engineering and/or aeronautical background if he also had some background in space physics.
To say Cochrane is of Alpha Centauri then he is either originally from there or he is significantly associated with it.
If he is accredited with being the discoverer of the space warp then I think it's fair to assume it is in regards to humanity's efforts to get into interstellar space and not that he was the very first before anyone of any other species. It also strongly suggests that humans developed FTL starflight before they began encountering other races rather than the way FC and later ENT retconned it. And this applies even if a race like the Vulcan's may already have known about the existence of intelligent life on Earth. Strikes me it would be smarter and less threatening for you to contact a race on neutral ground in interstellar space rather than just dropping in unannounced right on their front yard.
To say Cochrane is of Alpha Centauri then he is either originally from there or he is significantly associated with it.
If he is accredited with being the discoverer of the space warp then I think it's fair to assume it is in regards to humanity's efforts to get into interstellar space and not that he was the very first before anyone of any other species. It also strongly suggests that humans developed FTL starflight before they began encountering other races rather than the way FC and later ENT retconned it. And this applies even if a race like the Vulcan's may already have known about the existence of intelligent life on Earth. Strikes me it would be smarter and less threatening for you to contact a race on neutral ground in interstellar space rather than just dropping in unannounced right on their front yard.
Let's remember that Kirk is the one who credited Cochrane as "the discoverer of the space warp", not Spock. So, just as Neil Armstrong is credited as the first human in recorded Earth history to set foot on the Moon, excluding extraterrestrials from Earth history of course, so Cochrane was credited with being the Terran discoverer of the space-warp.
Yet Spock is the guy who states that Cochrane is revered throughout the galaxy. If Cochrane only invented warp for Earthlings, naturally Earthlings throughout the galaxy would be worshipping him, naming cities and planets for him, etc. But would Spock the half-Vulcan be the one explaining this to poor Zep?
The idea that humans would be the oldest species to travel through space at warp is a pretty ridiculous one, and TOS never suggested such a thing. Nor is it a plausible TOS concept that Klingons would have gained the ability to challenge Earth by stealing the secret of warp from Earth. "The space warp" must have preceded Cochrane's invention, and the warp drive must have been in relatively widespread use before Earth began to use it.
However, the fact that Spock makes the statement suggests that Cochrane's invention did have consequences outside Earth. Perhaps many of Earth's allies (i.e. the UFP members) are in debt to Cochrane, too?
Alternately, Spock may simply be saying that the consequence of the invention was Earth's dominance "throughout the galaxy", dominance that would not have come to be had Cochrane not given Earth its very own warp drive. He may rather lament that consequence, but it's a fact he cannot ignore, and a fact relevant to Cochrane.
Timo Saloniemi
The idea that humans would be the oldest species to travel through space at warp is a pretty ridiculous one, and TOS never suggested such a thing. Nor is it a plausible TOS concept that Klingons would have gained the ability to challenge Earth by stealing the secret of warp from Earth. "The space warp" must have preceded Cochrane's invention, and the warp drive must have been in relatively widespread use before Earth began to use it.
However, the fact that Spock makes the statement suggests that Cochrane's invention did have consequences outside Earth. Perhaps many of Earth's allies (i.e. the UFP members) are in debt to Cochrane, too?
Alternately, Spock may simply be saying that the consequence of the invention was Earth's dominance "throughout the galaxy", dominance that would not have come to be had Cochrane not given Earth its very own warp drive. He may rather lament that consequence, but it's a fact he cannot ignore, and a fact relevant to Cochrane.
Timo Saloniemi
I always took it that Cochrane discovered the space warp but the version of warp drive we see in TOS is several generations of improvements. Although he is identified human, there are plenty of examples of humans that are not from Earth in TOS, so I have no problem that Cochrane is from Alpha Centauri (or was it Centuri?).
As to what the other races were using for FTL all this time prior to the space warp? Well, we know "ion drive" ("Menagerie") and "impulse drive" ("WNMHGB") were capable of FTL. And in "The Cage", the Enterprise's FTL engines was a "hyperdrive" that broke the "time barrier" which the previous versions did not. So Cochrane's ship could have had any of the earlier FTL drives to get him lost in space
TNG and "First Contact" simplifies the whole concept of warp drive and minimizes Cochrane's discovery and unfortunately makes it appear that FTL technology (or at least the fundamentals of it) remained unchanged the entire time (just make it go faster.)
As to what the other races were using for FTL all this time prior to the space warp? Well, we know "ion drive" ("Menagerie") and "impulse drive" ("WNMHGB") were capable of FTL. And in "The Cage", the Enterprise's FTL engines was a "hyperdrive" that broke the "time barrier" which the previous versions did not. So Cochrane's ship could have had any of the earlier FTL drives to get him lost in space
TNG and "First Contact" simplifies the whole concept of warp drive and minimizes Cochrane's discovery and unfortunately makes it appear that FTL technology (or at least the fundamentals of it) remained unchanged the entire time (just make it go faster.)
It's also possible that 'the space warp' is some other phenomenon, that Cochrane also discovered. He could well have developed warp drive (as seen in FC), travelled to and settled on Alpha Centauri (hence his stated home), and discovered the space warp as well.
What this space warp may be is a matter for conjecture. Given the limited description in this episode it appears to be related to FTL travel. Perhaps at the time there was a limit to how fast ships could go, not a limit of practical technology, but of the understanding of warp physics itself. Even a race like the Vulcans, with a long history of FTL travel, may have been limited in their maximum sustainable speed. Cochrane's space warp discovery may have revolutionized warp theory, allowing the development of faster, better engines.
I can't help but wonder if comments made in The Cage ("You won't believe how fast our new ships go...we've broken the time barrier", or words to that effect) are indications of a recent major improvement in technology, perhaps based on Cochrane's original work. Indeed, this 'time barrier' may have been a limiting factor to all ships, with the space warp a way of bypassing it.
Because there are human beings, descendants of Earth people, throughout the known galaxy.
I always thought it was funny that Our People were so quick to conclude that he was the Cochrane on the basis of his full name - I mean, if the guy's revered throughout the galaxy no one ever runs into someone named after him?
The heroes did spend most of an act chitchatting with a lone space adventurer named "Cochrane", without recognizing him. There was plenty of time for them to mull it over, so that when the first name "Zephram" was revealed to them, the connection was already almost made...
Not a quick connection at all IMHO.
Timo Saloniemi
Not a quick connection at all IMHO.
Timo Saloniemi
Well McCoy and Kirk do sense something familiar about him not long after they meet. I think it was done believably enough as things fell into place piece by piece.
"The known galaxy" can be considered perhaps a touch of license or exaggeration on the part of the Enterprise crew. In the '60s the term galaxy could be used rather loosely. It wasn't all that long ago that what we now know as a galaxy was once thought to be a form of stellar cluster situated within our own galaxy.
Astronomical terms are sometimes still used incorrectly. In the film version of Starship Troopers there is a reference to the enemy launching an attack upon Earth from the other side of the galaxy millions of light years away or something to that effect. The Milky Way is only about 100,000 light years across.
"The known galaxy" can be considered perhaps a touch of license or exaggeration on the part of the Enterprise crew. In the '60s the term galaxy could be used rather loosely. It wasn't all that long ago that what we now know as a galaxy was once thought to be a form of stellar cluster situated within our own galaxy.
Astronomical terms are sometimes still used incorrectly. In the film version of Starship Troopers there is a reference to the enemy launching an attack upon Earth from the other side of the galaxy millions of light years away or something to that effect. The Milky Way is only about 100,000 light years across.
