What's the big deal about the destructive power of Genesis?

[Redfern]

For his "Nightmare Fuel" idea, above, I nominate Redfern for next ST villain..

Second?...

Thanks for the nomination, but is media sci-fi ready for a super villain who resembles a middle aged Ernie Douglas from "My Three Sons"?

(I'm brutally honest. When I was the actor's equivalent age, I was a dead ringer for the adopted and youngest son of the Douglas clan.)

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[YARN]

...While OTOH there are free worlds for the taking, a seemingly unlimited supply of them. In "Sanctuary", finding a completely empty world for the Skreeans to settle on was a matter of a couple of days of searching. And nobody seems truly interested in ousting the scores of teeny weeny farmer settlements, one per planet, that qualify for colonies in both TOS and DS9 eras.

People fight because people love fighting. It's not about a shortage of real estate, or even a shortage of real estate with perks such as rare minerals.

Real estate mattered mightily in terms of location (too close to a border? too convenient a staging point for an attack? too ideally located in a trade route) and also in terms of natural resources. Entire episodes are dedicated to difficult negotiations for rare minerals and other resources. This was, for example, the source of controversy in Journey to Babel.

And you mischaracterize Starfleet as being more interested in holding on to turf than with finding reasonable accommodations (which would always be readily available if there were an indefinite number of choice worlds to inhabit).

.Now that is something where Genesis would be of great help. In achieving that, I mean.

Timo Saloniemi

If the Genesis device can convert a nebula into a planet, there probably isn't much you can do to a planet to make it impossible to reconfigure into a new matrix for it.

Star Trek weapons can devastate the surface of a planet, but completely blasting a planet to rubble is something that only a nova can do, according to Kirk in Doomsday Machine.

The Praxis explosion shattered that world, but that was a uniquely powerful explosion and... ...gravity would simply pull those bits back together and reform the planet. To truly destroy a planet you would need to the ridiculous energy levels of a Doomsday Machine or Death Star. In NuTrek, Red Matter will do the trick, but Red Matter tech does not appear until decades after the events of TWoK (i.e., we're talking far future post-TNG stuff). At the time of TWoK known Alpha Quadrant powers, were really at the level of extinguishing life on planets, but not really at the level of planet killers (i.e., obliterating all that mass).

 

[HIjol]

For his "Nightmare Fuel" idea, above, I nominate Redfern for next ST villain..

Second?...

Thanks for the nomination, but is media sci-fi ready for a super villain who resembles a middle aged Ernie Douglas from "My Three Sons"?

(I'm brutally honest. When I was the actor's equivalent age, I was a dead ringer for the adopted and youngest son of the Douglas clan.)

Sincerely,

Bill

...you might notice a resemblance on my part to a paunchy "Chip"!!!!

...no, Redfern! it would be PERFECT!...no one would EVER suspect, and you could be the visiting dignitary/ whatever who is really the rouge villain...and at the same time, let the rest of us "non-villain" types live vicariously through your dastardly deeds...oh, man...it would write itself...


...you would not be in the market for an earnest, yet rotund, henchman, would you?...

 

[Timo]

Real estate mattered mightily in terms of location (too close to a border? too convenient a staging point for an attack? too ideally located in a trade route) and also in terms of natural resources. Entire episodes are dedicated to difficult negotiations for rare minerals and other resources. This was, for example, the source of controversy in Journey to Babel.

Redoing planets with Genesis would seem to play a different role there than the one suggested. The location of a world doesn't change with Genesis bombardment - but Genesis can create new locations to compete with the existing ones. And if you want resources and have Genesis, there's no reason to bombard a planet with resources when you'd be much better of bombarding one without, somewhere in your own back yard, and turning it into one that has the resources you need.

And you mischaracterize Starfleet as being more interested in holding on to turf than with finding reasonable accommodations (which would always be readily available if there were an indefinite number of choice worlds to inhabit).

Hmh? I don't recall characterizing Starfleet at all. But certainly "holding on to turf" and grabbing more is what they do for a living, apparently for obscure "strategic" reasons or simple prestige, as no other reasons are explicated. Again, Genesis wouldn't be much help there, and might indeed reduce the prestige of turf acquisition as it would be considered cheating.

If the Genesis device can convert a nebula into a planet, there probably isn't much you can do to a planet to make it impossible to reconfigure into a new matrix for it.

Granted. But I don't really believe Genesis is that potent, considering it's not supposed to be very clever, either; the alternative explanation of it only doing what it was programmed to do and creating life on a pre-existing lifeless planet sounds more appealing.

If, OTOH, Genesis can do that much, then it's completely wasted as a weapon of war. Parties engaging in bombarding planets with it and then conquering those would be viewed with pity by parties that simply make their own planets, their own cubes of dilithium fifty AUs per side, their own lightyear-long ski slopes and whatnot.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Redfern]

For his "Nightmare Fuel" idea, above, I nominate Redfern for next ST villain..

Second?...

Thanks for the nomination, but is media sci-fi ready for a super villain who resembles a middle aged Ernie Douglas from "My Three Sons"?

(I'm brutally honest. When I was the actor's equivalent age, I was a dead ringer for the adopted and youngest son of the Douglas clan.)

Sincerely,

Bill

...you might notice a resemblance on my part to a paunchy "Chip"!!!!

...no, Redfern! it would be PERFECT!...no one would EVER suspect, and you could be the visiting dignitary/ whatever who is really the rouge villain...and at the same time, let the rest of us "non-villain" types live vicariously through your dastardly deeds...oh, man...it would write itself...


...you would not be in the market for an earnest, yet rotund, henchman, would you?...

Hmm, you provide an interesting case..."Mr. Chip". If I accept this mantle, like Ernst Stavro Blofeld, I must have a feline companion. Yes, I think an albino Caitian wearing naught but a diamond studded collar and curled provocatively upon my lap will do nicely! Of course, if I acquire her, it might prove rather self defeating. I'll pretty much have what I want. There'd be little incentive to dominate the universe. Unless it is she who desires the universe, then I'll gladly press the shiny red, candy-like button of doom!

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[HIjol]

Thanks for the nomination, but is media sci-fi ready for a super villain who resembles a middle aged Ernie Douglas from "My Three Sons"?

(I'm brutally honest. When I was the actor's equivalent age, I was a dead ringer for the adopted and youngest son of the Douglas clan.)

Sincerely,

Bill

...you might notice a resemblance on my part to a paunchy "Chip"!!!!

...no, Redfern! it would be PERFECT!...no one would EVER suspect, and you could be the visiting dignitary/ whatever who is really the rouge villain...and at the same time, let the rest of us "non-villain" types live vicariously through your dastardly deeds...oh, man...it would write itself...


...you would not be in the market for an earnest, yet rotund, henchman, would you?...

Hmm, you provide an interesting case..."Mr. Chip". If I accept this mantle, like Ernst Stavro Blofeld, I must have a feline companion. Yes, I think an albino Caitian wearing naught but a diamond studded collar and curled provocatively upon my lap will do nicely! Of course, if I acquire her, it might prove rather self defeating. I'll pretty much have what I want. There'd be little incentive to dominate the universe. Unless it is she who desires the universe, then I'll gladly press the shiny red, candy-like button of doom!

Sincerely,

Bill

Now THAT is the spirit!!!!...and thanks for the gut-laugh and Excellent mind picture! for me that would truly be Life from Lifelessness...!

And you already have your finger on the trigger about having your potential finger on the potential trigger...that would be one of the story arcs...she would indeed want the Universe!...

"Earnstie, my Lion?"...
"Yes, My Pet?"
"I want to see how that Genesis thingy works."
"Ok, My Little Meow Mix, bring me the remote..."

Roll credits...