# Incredible powers discovered/revealed on Star Trek that are used once and dismissed forever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [April 7, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963 "2024-04-07T01:17:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/141 "2024-04-15T14:52:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The transporter in Star Trek was a writing catastrophe; I am pretty sure they inserted it to save money on sets, but it has required a thousand workarounds and excuses in the franchise to explain why it cannot be used to solve a zillion problems. Well, maybe in the books or whatever, but on the show they were pretty free to just give the transporter a magic power and then forget about it next week; hence this thread. Anyway, let’s face it; the very premise of the transporter causes huge problems. It’s either a suicide + perfect clone box, or “merely” a perfect clone box. If it kills you, no-one would want to use it. If it doesn’t, everyone would keep backups of themselves in case they die. What kind of responsible parent wouldn’t make regular backups of their kids’ pattern buffer? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/142 "2024-04-15T14:54:16Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > It’s either a suicide + perfect clone box, or “merely” a perfect clone box. If it kills you, no-one would want to use it, and if it doesn’t, everyone would keep backups of themselves in case they die. I am convinced it kills you. But since it makes a clone of you, people always have the perception they weren’t killed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/143 "2024-04-15T14:55:42Z")
The Tholians appeared in _Enterprise_. I don’t recall if they spun a web, but I definitely remember audience tension that we knew they spin webs but the Enterprise crew didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/144 "2024-04-15T14:58:29Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > and then Gordan says something like “Seeing this makes me realize my family’s trash”. And of course, shortly after that, he uses the high gravity to crush an aluminum beer bottle, because it was cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/145 "2024-04-15T14:59:36Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I am convinced it kills you. But since it makes a clone of you, people always have the perception they weren’t killed. It’s actually a pretty contentious topic in philosophy. One I am always happy to go into, but for sure would be a hijack here. There have been past threads, I can’t seem to find a good one though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/146 "2024-04-15T15:03:21Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > There have been past threads, I can’t seem to find a good one though. Perhaps they were destroyed, and now exist somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/147 "2024-04-15T15:16:35Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > It looks like they appeared in two episodes of _Enterprise_, though they’ve been mentioned in several other instances. > > But did they utilize their unique power and weave their web? They did. > **[In a Mirror, Darkly (episode)](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/In_a_Mirror,_Darkly_(episode))** > > In the mirror universe, Commander Archer mutinies against Captain Forrest in order to capture a future Earth ship found in Tholian space. (Part 1 of 2) April 5, 2063 – From beyond Earth's atmosphere, a Vulcan ship descends and lands in Bozeman,... ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/148 "2024-04-15T16:33:11Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > It looks like they appeared in two episodes of _Enterprise_, though they’ve been mentioned in several other instances. > > But did they utilize their unique power and weave their web? Yes, they did, and yes, it was hard to deal with. 🙂 FTR though, it was part of the (short) Enterprise Mirror Universe segment - which did NOT include any prime universe characters interacting, just the Mirror Universe Enterprise crew interacting with elements from the prime universe. And it does tie back to the TOS event. And, extra credit, the Enterprise design team worked really hard to make the tholians look like the TOS (given very different productions values!) The tholians are apparently very interested in any tech related to time dispersal. The second time they show up on Enterprise was part of a free-for-all gathering of various alien species trying to get ahold of a 31st century time-ship currently in the possession of the Enterprise. Memory alpha mentions them being referenced in DS9, but that was not one of the shows I followed, so someone else can speak up about it. Oh, ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/149 "2024-04-15T16:55:24Z")
ISTR a Gorn appearing on _Enterprise_, as well as some Romulans and, I think, a few other species that were first encountered on _TOS_. Remember in _Balance of Terror_, when they communicated with the Romulan ship, saw Romulans apparently for the first time and were surprised that they had Vulcanesque features, yet I am almost certain there was an encounter with Romulans, face to face in _Enterprise_. For all its flaws, _Enterprise_ had a nice gritty feel to it. All the other series just felt too sanitary. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/150 "2024-04-15T17:06:55Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > ISTR a Gorn appearing on _Enterprise_ The Gorn was in the same mirror universe episodes as the Tholians. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/151 "2024-04-15T17:06:56Z")
The Gorn appeared in the Mirror universe multi-parter I mentioned, rather than the prime timeline, but yes. The Enterprise runs into a Romulan mine-field, and is only communicated with via non-visual information - pretty much an ultimatum to get the hell out of their area. In the later seasons, there is a covert Romulan effort to influence Vulcan, but I’ll stop there due to spoilers. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/152 "2024-04-15T17:58:25Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I am convinced it kills you. But since it makes a clone of you, people always have the perception they weren’t killed. That does NOT explain the Next Generation “Realm of Fear” which implies a person remains fully conscious through the entire transporter process. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/153 "2024-04-15T18:39:59Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > That does NOT explain the Next Generation “Realm of Fear” which implies a person remains fully conscious through the entire transporter process. Okay, now they’ve made transporter technology unbelievable. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/154 "2024-04-15T20:14:33Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > In the original series, there was an episode entitled, “The Tholian Web”, in which the Tholian space force was able to literally weave a power grid that, once finished, would entrap the Enterprise until in either ran out of energy or they destroyed it. The issue with that is that it only worked if the foe was becalmed and couldn’t move. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/155 "2024-04-16T02:36:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t know if it’s yet been mentioned but there was a TNG episode where they used the transporter to literally remove a disease from someone. This genuinely astonishing ability isn’t mentioned again. If it were a thing, logically every sick bay and hospital should have a transporter to just beam a person from one bed to another whenever you want to remove a pathogen. > > The transporter in Star Trek was a writing catastrophe; I am pretty sure they inserted it to save money on sets, but it has required a thousand workarounds and excuses in the franchise to explain why it cannot be used to solve a zillion problems. In Picard season 3 the transporter was used to change people with the big twist and later to fix them. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/156 "2024-04-16T11:17:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The issue with that is that it only worked if the foe was becalmed and couldn’t move. Ha! You mean that you wouldn’t even have enough manners to wait until they were finished? LOL If I remember the episode correctly, the Enterprise disabled one Tholian ship with a single phaser burst, so I’m thinking it was markedly superior. Imprisoning it and waiting for it to run out of energy would then be the correct strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/157 "2024-04-17T02:17:51Z")
There’s that interphase cloaking device the USS Pegasus had. Memory Alpha suggests it was followed up with a couple of times, but it was mostly ignored. You can handwave it away a bit since it was a treaty violation… but it would be the ultimate in dual-use technology and have immense industrial applications, like creating ultra-high-density materials, exotic multi-crystalline alloys, or stuffing an infinite amount of useless shit in your closet. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/158 "2024-04-17T20:24:43Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > or stuffing an infinite amount of useless shit in your closet. Oh, I can do that right now. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/159 "2024-04-17T20:30:56Z")
More than once I’ve cleaned out a closet’s worth of shit from my closet, only to find that there’s still a closet’s worth of shit remaining. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963/160 "2024-04-17T22:55:23Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > or stuffing an infinite amount of useless shit in your closet. Needs a catchy name. Something like “[Bag of Holding.](https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4581-bag-of-holding)” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredible-powers-discovered-revealed-on-star-trek-that-are-used-once-and-dismissed-forever/999963.md?page=9)