When/If Trek Lit reaches 2387

[Gotham Central]

I just noticed that the new DTI book is set in 2383. That means that Treklit is just 4 in universe years away from the destruction of Romulus and Spock's departure from the prime universe.

I'm just wondering if there has been any discussion about when and how to address the arrival of this pivotal moment in Trek history? Will the novels be forced to take the events depicted in Countdown into consideration? (As it is, we're 4 years out with no sign of Red Matter, Data's still dead and Picard is still in command of the Enterprise).

Given the impact of the Typhon Pact series on the politics of the novel verse, it would seem that that the fall of Romulus and what was bound to be devastation to the Romulan Star Empire would be good fodder for that series. Especially if any of the surviving Romulans take Nero's position that the Vulcans could have done something if they'd wanted to.

One wonders what latitude the books will have to address this since this is the last major canonical event in Trek and is one the intersects with the movies (and the Trek Online timeline).

 

[WarsTrek1993]

Good question. Hopefully they won't skip over the supernova, as it's quite important.

Maybe (without breaking BBS rules): authors could do to "Countdown" what "The Good That Men Do" did for These Are The Voyages...

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Good question. Hopefully they won't skip over the supernova, as it's quite important.

Maybe (without breaking BBS rules): authors could do to "Countdown" what "The Good That Men Do" did for These Are The Voyages...

Or they can ignore it and do their own version of what happened.

 

[ryan123450]

Small tweak to that...

Or they can ignore it and do a better version of what happened.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I think the only things from Countdown I'd remotely like to see integrated into the books would be the holographic control panels. Everything else, skip. The only thing crucial about 2387 was the Hobus supernova, the destruction of Romulus, and the apparent death of Ambassador Spock.

I have no problems with Data still dead and Picard still in command of the Enterprise in 2387.

 

[JD]

I'm pretty sure the authors have said they are not required to stay consistent with Countdown, but they could if they choose to. I'm one of the few people who actually liked Countdown, but at this point things have diverged so drastically from where they were at the end of Nemesis that I'd rather see the Novelverse do it's own version that takes all of that into account. Let's leave Countdown in the STO AU.

 

[F. King Daniel]

It's more about whether they will be allowed to feature events from Star Trek XI or not. Whatever the dispute between Bad Robot and Pocket Books is, it's thus far kept the novels away from anything relating to the movie (YA Academy novels aside, which aren't handled by Pocket, but another S&S imprint), beyond a few throwaway lines here and there.

 

[Mage]

with no sign of Red Matter

I believe there was some hinting towards a substance that could be Red Matter in DTI Watching The Clock. Damn if I remember where exactly though....

 

[F. King Daniel]

^Some science expo Dulmur and Lucsly visited. It was an invention of T'Pan (from Next Gen's "Suspicions")
IIRC, they decided that nothing shown had any potential as a means of time travel

 

[Gotham Central]

It's more about whether they will be allowed to feature events from Star Trek XI or not. Whatever the dispute between Bad Robot and Pocket Books is, it's thus far kept the novels away from anything relating to the movie (YA Academy novels aside, which aren't handled by Pocket, but another S&S imprint), beyond a few throwaway lines here and there.

This is kind of what I'm wondering as well. There are very few references to events in the 24th century in the movie...but what is there is fairly significant.

Relatedly, I did notice that Christopher had both Scotty and Spock comment on the potential of transporting objects/people at interstellar distances. That, at the very least, lays the groundwork for Scott's invention of "transwarp beaming."

 

[The Wormhole]

Novel continuity doesn't exactly speed through the years. The current novel continuity essentially began in 2001 in the Trek year 2376. It's now 2012 and novel continuity has only got to 2383, and that's with a gap period of four or five years which haven't been chronicled. I'd say we still have a good many years before we reach 2387 and have to deal with the destruction of Romulus. Besides, the presence of the Imperial Romulan State pretty much guarantees that Romulans will remain and active player even after Romulus is destroyed.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Ummm.... well....

Spoiler: Rough Beasts of Empire

The Imperial Romulan State ceased to exist in Rough Beasts of Empire, after Donatra's capture and suicide. All their territory was absorbed back into the Romulan Star Empire.

 

[Christopher]

Relatedly, I did notice that Christopher had both Scotty and Spock comment on the potential of transporting objects/people at interstellar distances. That, at the very least, lays the groundwork for Scott's invention of "transwarp beaming."

As I've remarked before, the technology to transport across light-years already existed in the 2370s: the subspace transporter in TNG: "Bloodlines." There's no reason that can't be the same technology as "transwarp beaming." But it's a difficult, dangerous, and impractical technology to use.

Novel continuity doesn't exactly speed through the years. The current novel continuity essentially began in 2001 in the Trek year 2376. It's now 2012 and novel continuity has only got to 2383, and that's with a gap period of four or five years which haven't been chronicled. I'd say we still have a good many years before we reach 2387 and have to deal with the destruction of Romulus.

That presupposes that the continuity progresses at a steady rate, which it doesn't. The books in recent years have jumped forward in time far more rapidly than they have in the past, or at least some of them have. Destiny was 2381, the first five Typhon Pact installments were in 2382, and some of this year's books are in 2383. If that pattern were to continue, the novels could catch up with 2387 within the next five years, give or take.

 

[Lost-In-The-DQ]

I agree with Christopher. For all we know we could spend the next decade wrapped up in the mid 2380's. I do think we will hit the Hobus Supernova event time eventually, but nothing says that the level of forward movement we've been experiencing of late will continue unchanged.

I don't really think it would be too earthshattering to nod to the supernova in the bookverse really... this massive supernova, the destruction of Romulus and the disappearance of Spock could be provide major story arcs for the ongoing future, especially considering how the destruction of Romulus would affect the Typhon Pact of 2387.

 

[Sci]

Well, one way or the other, they'll have to acknowledge the destruction of Romulus and the disappearance of Spock. Those are canonical events, and the novels have to be consistent with the canon.

 

[Ronald Held]

I wonder if that Supernova caused or hastened the dissolving of the Typoon Pact?

 

[Christopher]

I agree with Christopher. For all we know we could spend the next decade wrapped up in the mid 2380's. I do think we will hit the Hobus Supernova event time eventually, but nothing says that the level of forward movement we've been experiencing of late will continue unchanged.

Actually I don't think you're agreeing with me. What I'm saying is that the forward pace of the novels already has accelerated considerably in recent years, and if that pace continues, then the books could reach 2387 relatively soon.

 

[JD]

I wonder if that Supernova caused or hastened the dissolving of the Typoon Pact?

You mean the Typhon Pact? And I don't think we know that it will dissolve, so far we've only gotten up to 2383, and the TP still seems to be building up quite a bit of power. At this point I don't see them disappearing any time soon.

 

[The Wormhole]

Ummm.... well....

Spoiler: Rough Beasts of Empire

The Imperial Romulan State ceased to exist in Rough Beasts of Empire, after Donatra's capture and suicide. All their territory was absorbed back into the Romulan Star Empire.

Clearly, I still have a lot of catching up to do.

 

[RandyS]

I just noticed that the new DTI book is set in 2383. That means that Treklit is just 4 in universe years away from the destruction of Romulus and Spock's departure from the prime universe.

I'm just wondering if there has been any discussion about when and how to address the arrival of this pivotal moment in Trek history? Will the novels be forced to take the events depicted in Countdown into consideration? (As it is, we're 4 years out with no sign of Red Matter, Data's still dead and Picard is still in command of the Enterprise).

Interesting that Picard and Data are singled out. Are these two plot points no longer the case by the time Spock and Nero get thrown into the past?