# Really stupid Star Trek question. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727 "2004-08-13T18:44:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727/41 "2004-08-16T02:18:23Z")
> [@SPOOFE](#): > > Maybe in 400 years they change “kilometer” to mean “millimeter”. Like how parsec was once a measure of time a long time ago, in a galaxy far away but now measures distance? Your pedantry aside, Trek ships are not slow but they aren’t impossibly fast like Star Wars ships are either. 0.25c is a bit faster than a terrestial battlecruiser can manage and 6069c is fast enough to traverse the galaxy in about twenty years’ time. By the way, **Loopus** , “The Neutral Zone” was the season finale for Season One of TNG. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727/42 "2004-08-16T06:37:39Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > In the _Voyager_ episode “Unity,” they discovered a colony of ex-Borg that included a Romulan. It’s probably fairly unlikely that that particular Romulan had the necessary knowledge to build a cloaking device, however. > > I seem to remember that in the 2nd-season TNG episode “Neutral Zone” the Romulans were investigating the disappearance of several of their colonlies, and that this was later attributed (in “Q Who”) to the Borg. That would imply at least that the Borg have assimilated large numbers of Romulans. It was simply an observation. I figured if they had then perhaps there was the chance they had assimilated some that DID have the knowledge. Another missed opportunity by the writers. No biggie 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727/43 "2004-08-16T09:50:31Z")
Isn’t cloaking interfering with weapons (and shields interfering with weapons/transporters, for that matter) simply an instance of a well-nown dramatic necessity? _Powerful gadgets (in SF) and magic (in fantasy) must have onerous preconditions for use or significant adverse side effects or high cost, so that the protagonists cannot simply solve all their problems with it, which would make for short and boring stories._ ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727/44 "2004-08-16T12:48:14Z")
Of course it’s a dramatic necessity. The problem I have with it is that usually writers make at least some minimal effort to explain the advantage/cost equation, which isn’t the case here. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727/45 "2004-08-16T16:25:02Z")
Starfleet didn’t have the technology in TOS’ era and were forbidden by treaty to have it during TNG, DS9, and VOY’s. Why would Picard, Data, et al. be talking about the benefits and drawbacks of a technology they don’t use? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727/46 "2004-08-16T19:27:28Z")
> [@t-keela](#): > > Who else has this technology? > Besides the dreaded and feared _Montoyans_ of course. You know **Inigo** now that you have told everyone this classified information what you’re gonna have to do next. :eek: Relax, it’s 10 year-old old technology that we don’t use these days anyway. Once we satisfied our vendetta we have become a peaceful & fun-loving people. [HIJACK] OK, I was foolin.’ I don’t really have 1st hand experience with cloaking devices–I’m just an average dude. But apart from \*Buckaroo Bonzai \* & _AD&D_, has phase-shifting been described in SciFi as a mechanism for cloaking? And if so, to what degree? Seems like a pretty good mechanism to me. [/HIJACK] ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727/47 "2004-08-17T01:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Like how parsec was once a measure of time a long time ago, in a galaxy far away but now measures distance? Don’t be silly, dude, you know it’s distance. Black holes, an’ all that? 😉 > [@](#): > > Your pedantry aside, Trek ships are not slow but they aren’t impossibly fast like Star Wars ships are either. 0.25c is a bit faster than a terrestial battlecruiser can manage and 6069c is fast enough to traverse the galaxy in about twenty years’ time. Buddy, you’re cute when you’re rushing to defense. A: SF ships don’t travel at .25c. Not ‘til they start jumpin’ to warp, anyway. Don’t kid yourself. B: 6069c sure left _Voyager_ shit outta luck, didn’t it? 'At’s all I meant. C: The original point (POP QUIZ! Do you still remember the original point?) is meaningless, anyway, as relative velocity is all that matters. Now, go smoke a joint and calm down, man. Do some Vulcan mindmelds or whatever ya need. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727/48 "2004-08-17T02:23:47Z")
**A)** Full impulse is 0.25c and can be sustained indefinitely as is explicitly stated in the Star Trek encyclopedia, which is canon. **B)** 6069c (Warp 9.975) is the maximum \*\*rated \*\*speed of the Intrepid Class starship. It can only travel that speed for approximately twelve hours before it overstresses the engines to the point where irreparable damage may occur. Its maximum **cruising** speed is significantly lower at Warp 8, or 1024c. This speed can be held indefinitely so long as the crew has provisions, spare parts, and does not get distracted every other week by something bright and shiny. At 1024c, it would only take a century to traverse the Milky Way. That still isn’t what I would define as “slow”. Again, this is in the Encyclopedia. **C)** The point is that you believe Starfleet ships to be slow when they are not. **D)** I’m not the least bit worked up. I am an admitted fanboy and apologist but am not so devoted to the franchise that I’m going to get into a heated argument over it. People can disagree without succumbing to histrionics. **E)** I do not smoke nor do I have the slightest interest in starting. **F)** Your expertise in one science-fiction franchise does not make you an expert on another one by default. **G)** Condescension != knowledge. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-stupid-star-trek-question/259727.md?page=2)