# Warp speed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2004, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638 "2004-03-05T03:39:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638/21 "2004-03-06T16:54:04Z")
> [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > I thought Starfleet’s communication equipment was based on wormhole technology, allowing instantaneous travel of the waves containing Enterprise communication. > > There was something about how they hadn’t yet figured out how to transport matter through these stable wormholes, which was why the Ent. still had to use warp and so on. > > Don’t ask me where I read/heard/saw that. Probably a novel. It’s not canon, I can tell you that. There have been about 3 or 4 episodes dealing with wormhole communications (in VOY, DS9, and TNG), but in each of them, they made a big deal about how it was experimental or unreliable or some other techbabble problem. If they put that bit in as canon, though, it would really help to explain all the real time conversation we saw between homebase and far flung oputposts/ships. Funny thing is, though, Trek canon hasn’t even been consistant about subspace communications. It’ll take a while to find the refs, but there have been mentions of communications delays (outside of VOY and _A Piece of the Action_. ) Welcome to fascinating world of Trek Doping, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638/22 "2004-03-06T19:16:53Z")
> [@I\_wish\_I\_knew](#): > > The warp limit is warp 9.9 Sort of but not really. The upper limit is something like Warp 9.99999. Voyager has an upper warp speed limit of Warp 9.976, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638/23 "2004-03-07T00:17:16Z")
Warp 10 is supposed to be infinite speed. Which means the ship travelling at this speed occupies all points in the universe at once. Which is impossible. Which is why Voyager did it. Which is why Voyager is crap. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638/24 "2004-03-07T00:24:57Z")
Bistromatics. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638/25 "2004-03-07T08:04:45Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Probably a novel. It’s not canon, I can tell you that. There have been about 3 or 4 episodes dealing with wormhole communications (in VOY, DS9, and TNG), but in each of them, they made a big deal about how it was experimental or unreliable or some other techbabble problem. > > If they put that bit in as canon, though, it would really help to explain all the real time conversation we saw between homebase and far flung oputposts/ships. Funny thing is, though, Trek canon hasn’t even been consistant about subspace communications. It’ll take a while to find the refs, but there have been mentions of communications delays (outside of VOY and _A Piece of the Action_. ) > > Welcome to fascinating world of Trek Doping, btw. Not a novel. I’ve never read _Trek_ literature. Thanks for the welcome; I’m not really a fan, per se, though. I hate the original series (although I liked it when I was seven or so), and I’ve never gotten into _DS9, Enterprise, Voyager_, etc. I loved (and continue to love) _TNG_, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638/26 "2004-03-07T08:09:25Z")
As NCB said, it’s definitely not canon, which means you possibly couldn’t have seen it on one of the television series. And Trek fans come in all shapes, sizes, and series preferences. I myself am a DS9/ENT fan first and foremost. I also like TNG and, to a much lesser extent, VOY but, like you, hate TOS. If you like even one of the series, you’re a Trekkie. No sense in trying to deny it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638/27 "2004-03-07T21:36:45Z")
That is, unless you’re one of those die-hards that insists on being called a Trekk **er** instead. In which case, you’re a dweeby Trekkie. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warp-speed/232638.md?page=1)