Shouldn't we watch the show to find out all the details?
What was "The Burn" and what caused it?
- Thread starter F. King Daniel
- Start date
What fun would that be? We have to overanalyze every spoiler available, and declare the writing is crap before it airs.
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It's what's powered the warp engines to go as fast as they do. Warp 1 is the speed of light. It would take five years to get to nearest star-system that way. So slow-warp is effectively no warp.
Very low warp might've worked in Archer's time in the 22nd Century, but that was never the case later on in any other Star Trek series, and it certainly wouldn't be the case immediately before The Burn.
You're barking up the wrong tree. The real tree you want to bark up is why the Federation didn't have other means to power their warp engines in case they wouldn't be able to depend on dilithium?
Very low warp might've worked in Archer's time in the 22nd Century, but that was never the case later on in any other Star Trek series, and it certainly wouldn't be the case immediately before The Burn.
You're barking up the wrong tree. The real tree you want to bark up is why the Federation didn't have other means to power their warp engines in case they wouldn't be able to depend on dilithium?
Oh, they definitely edited the article. I didn't add anything to the quote I cited above. So either they were not supposed to say that or they made a factual error.
It is necessary for the vast majority of warp-capable species who use matter-antimatter reactors. Every single available source plainly states that dilithium regulates the matter-antimatter reaction in the warp cores. It's not that different from the control rods of a nuclear reactor in principle. Which means that if all dilithium disappeared like the source suggested before they edited it, we'd probably have the whole galaxy going up in millions of interstellar-scale Chernobyl-type explosions from all the matter-antimatter reactors uncontrollably burning through their whole supply and releasing their entire energy output at once. That ought to cause some problems even for civilizations who aren't using antimatter reactors for FTL travel. I mean, we never learned what Praxis was, but it's not inconceivable that it was a huge antimatter power plant. Imagine that explosion but on a galactic scale.
Someone needs to edit a spoiler tag onto this thread, now that it's getting close to the Season Premiere.
I just realized this, but if whatever has caused all dilithium to disappear was a single-time occurrence, then Discovery's own supplies might last them even longer than we think... I mean, Po has not only discovered a way to recrystallize dilithium per Runaway, but they actually used her incubator to recharge Burnham's time crystal in Such Sweet Sorrow, so they definitely have at the very least some knowledge of the tech required. They might not be able to produce more, but they can at least keep their own supply going indefinitely, provided the conditions in subspace still allow for warp travel.
What fun would that be? We have to overanalyze every spoiler available, and declare the writing is crap before it airs.
Welcome to Star Trek fandom.
Spoken like a real Trekkie
I wonder if Po or Xahea will play a part in the series again?
Does it need to be fixable? We're in the 32nd century now, there are no rules.
And remember, the heroine of our story said "The Federation isn't just about ships. The Federation is it's people."
Yeah, I don't know what that means either.
It would be different though if it isn't fixable.
Its gotta be an issue with subspace and not just warp or dilithium. They'd still be able to communicate with other planets or use other types of subspace FTL otherwise.
There is also the question if large scale power generation still required dilithium in the late 31st century. Hell, a bunch of species in the 24th century don't even use it.
It was removed from the article for a reason, dilithium isn't the issue.
There is also the question if large scale power generation still required dilithium in the late 31st century. Hell, a bunch of species in the 24th century don't even use it.
It was removed from the article for a reason, dilithium isn't the issue.
Of course there is a point even if it isn't fixable.
Which makes them the most sought-after ship in the galaxy.
If it is all dilithium going boom and all warp reactors exploding at once, it's similar to the 2015 explanation why BTTF2 doesn't match our real timeline XD
If it is all dilithium going boom and all warp reactors exploding at once, it's similar to the 2015 explanation why BTTF2 doesn't match our real timeline XD
Yes, but it's not the only thing that can power warp engines.
The Romulans used Singularities, other species fusion, hell the Phoenix used Fission to drive the ship. And heck, why would they even need Dilithium in the 31st century? Do they really expect us to believe the Federation somehow never invented any better or comparable way to generate energy?
The Romulans used Singularities, other species fusion, hell the Phoenix used Fission to drive the ship. And heck, why would they even need Dilithium in the 31st century? Do they really expect us to believe the Federation somehow never invented any better or comparable way to generate energy?
They did, because it was there when I read it.
While you might argue that the Romulans and the Borg (if they could even rebound from the blow Janeway had dealt to them) could weather this, as they use alternative means of propulsion, but presumably even they wouldn't survive all matter-antimatter reactors in the whole galaxy blowing up at once.
As for never inventing a better way to produce energy... if you're asking why they didn't do it in the 1000 years between TOS and Discovery S3, you might as well ask why they didn't do it in the 200 years between Enterprise and TNG. I mean, that's basically like if our civilization didn't invent an alternative for coal power until the late 21st century. One would think that if dilithium is as scarce as TOS established, they would constantly search for alternatives. You might say that they invented or discovered alternatives for FTL travel if not energy production, like soliton waves, Bajoran solar sails or graviton catapults... but if TNG, DS9 and Voyager never revisited those novel technologies, why should Discovery be required so?
Societies stuck at basically the same stage of cultural and technological development for centuries if not millennia has been present in speculative fiction from the beginning. Is this a good thing? Of course not. But does it make Discovery somehow worse than other speculative fiction? It also doesn't. And we're talking about Star Trek, where technological progress usually means technologies performing the exact same function being given slightly different names and FX to begin with. We shouldn't hold Discovery to a different standard than the Trek before it.
As for never inventing a better way to produce energy... if you're asking why they didn't do it in the 1000 years between TOS and Discovery S3, you might as well ask why they didn't do it in the 200 years between Enterprise and TNG. I mean, that's basically like if our civilization didn't invent an alternative for coal power until the late 21st century. One would think that if dilithium is as scarce as TOS established, they would constantly search for alternatives. You might say that they invented or discovered alternatives for FTL travel if not energy production, like soliton waves, Bajoran solar sails or graviton catapults... but if TNG, DS9 and Voyager never revisited those novel technologies, why should Discovery be required so?
Societies stuck at basically the same stage of cultural and technological development for centuries if not millennia has been present in speculative fiction from the beginning. Is this a good thing? Of course not. But does it make Discovery somehow worse than other speculative fiction? It also doesn't. And we're talking about Star Trek, where technological progress usually means technologies performing the exact same function being given slightly different names and FX to begin with. We shouldn't hold Discovery to a different standard than the Trek before it.
The Federation is show to be slow or stagnant when it comes to tech development. So, yes, I do believe that if that happens to be the case and they don't present additional information in the show.
I doubt that the Romulans at the time of the distaster still used their singularity tech. They as well as the Klingons, the Cardies and the Ferengi most likely may have been Federation members for quite some time at this point
No the Romulan remnants, Klingons, Cardassians, and Ferengi are all Borg now. The Federation was lined up next for assimilation. However, once the Burn happened and the Federation became completely technologically backwards, the Borg lost all interest in assimilating the Federation.I doubt that the Romulans at the time of the distaster still used their singularity tech. They as well as the Klingons, the Cardies and the Ferengi most likely may have been Federation members for quite some time at this point
