[+] Star Trek Discovery (Fan) Thread

[Mallus]

The decision to make Osyraa less Pirate Queen and more Space Neoliberal was a good one. The negotiation was the tensest part of the episode. Kudos, too for making Osyraa's armistice offer sincere and writing Vance as the best non-former-captain admiral to represent Starfleet onscreen.

Of course, since she's unwilling to submit herself for trial, on to her Plan B, which assuredly involves season-ender levels of CGI space violence!

 

[Umbran]

And it's actually pretty amazing fantasy tech . . . being able to recycle waste into edible food.

@Truth Seeker, part of the whole point of this season is that the future Federation is severely weakened from it's zenith. Not just in member worlds, but in resources and tech. Making replicated food out of poop reflects that.

I don't see how - you figure recycling is a step backwards? What is it a step backwards from? What, in the time just before the Burn, did they do that was even better than recycling?

And, it gave Vance the best line of the season, and Ossyra the best reaction!

That is true.

And, It was good to see Vance's dedication to the ideals stated in the way he did.

 

[Dire Bare]

I don't see how - you figure recycling is a step backwards? What is it a step backwards from? What, in the time just before the Burn, did they do that was even better than recycling?

I'm not sure where replicated matter comes from canonically, pre-Burn . . . . it's possible that starships have always recycled their poop.

The "step back" isn't one of tech or ingenuity (regarding replicated food) . . . but simply the idea that you are eating poop. Ossyra's reaction said it all.

 

[MarkB]

I'm not sure where replicated matter comes from canonically, pre-Burn . . . . it's possible that starships have always recycled their poop.

The "step back" isn't one of tech or ingenuity (regarding replicated food) . . . but simply the idea that you are eating poop. Ossyra's reaction said it all.

In DS9 we specifically had things like used crockery and food leftovers being put back into the replicator to be recycled into the matter banks. In a closed system such as a starship that's on an extended deep-space mission you have to recycle your waste products somehow, and I don't see there being any cleaner and easier way to do it than breaking them down to their constituent atoms to feed the replicators.

To me, the surprise is Ossyra's reaction. Do they not use replicators and recycling systems on Emerald Chain starships, or is replicated food something for only the lower ranks to eat, while the officers dine upon fresh produce pillaged from their subject worlds?

 

[Dire Bare]

In DS9 we specifically had things like used crockery and food leftovers being put back into the replicator to be recycled into the matter banks. In a closed system such as a starship that's on an extended deep-space mission you have to recycle your waste products somehow, and I don't see there being any cleaner and easier way to do it than breaking them down to their constituent atoms to feed the replicators.

To me, the surprise is Ossyra's reaction. Do they not use replicators and recycling systems on Emerald Chain starships, or is replicated food something for only the lower ranks to eat, while the officers dine upon fresh produce pillaged from their subject worlds?

In more than a few episodes in different series, our Federation heroes were just fine with eating replicated food, but eating "real" food was considered a rare treat, and it was often remarked the taste was better.

I always assumed it was like eating organic food IRL . . . some folks claim the taste is superior, but it's all in their heads.

 

[Umbran]

I'm not sure where replicated matter comes from canonically, pre-Burn . . . . it's possible that starships have always recycled their poop.

I mean, what else would they do with it? Save it in huge tanks¹? Throw it out an airlock? Of course they've always recycled it. We already recycle water on the ISS...

The "step back" isn't one of tech or ingenuity (regarding replicated food) . . . but simply the idea that you are eating poop. Ossyra's reaction said it all.

It's an interesting, "We are willing to do what is necessary, are you?" kind of moment.



1) if they had been doing that, wouldn't transporting the contents of your ship's septic tank to inconvenient places be a standard battle tactic? "Oh, yeah! The Klingons are in the bleep now!"

 

[Dire Bare]

I mean, what else would they do with it? Save it in huge tanks¹? Throw it out an airlock? Of course they've always recycled it. We already recycle water on the ISS...

Modern day (and ancient day) sailing ships often just dump it overboard. That's illegal in most waters, but it's common practice anyway. There's rumors that jetliners soaring through the atmosphere sometimes do the same thing. It wouldn't surprise me to learn if some of our real-life spacecraft also jettisoned their waste. We certainly have a problem with "space junk" in our upper atmosphere, although I don't know if any of it is poop.

The Federation probably has environmental laws against dumping poop out into space. But I bet the Klingons do it all the time!!!

 

[Umbran]

It wouldn't surprise me to learn if some of our real-life spacecraft also jettisoned their waste. We certainly have a problem with "space junk" in our upper atmosphere, although I don't know if any of it is poop.

The ISS can jettison waste, if necessary, but they typically don't. Liquids are recycled, solids go back with the cargo modules back to Earth. Solid wastes... are of research interest. Same for the SpaceShuttle in the past.

 

[Hussar]

I was under the impression that replicators used something similar to holodeck technology. They converted energy into matter. So, no, Federation starships did not "recycle" anything. Anything unused would be turned back into energy by the replicators.

That's why replicators could create anything from organics to non-organics, including fairly complex technologies and whatnot. Voyager used replicators to replace their runabouts, for example.

Now, "we are eating our own waste" isn't exactly untrue for anyone who's spent any time on a farm. What do people think fertilizers are?

 

[MarkB]

I was under the impression that replicators used something similar to holodeck technology. They converted energy into matter. So, no, Federation starships did not "recycle" anything. Anything unused would be turned back into energy by the replicators.

Nope - replicators break down matter to the atomic level and reassemble it into new forms. If they could convert matter to energy, starships wouldn't need antimatter.

Technically, transporters don't convert matter to energy either - they turn it into a "matter stream" which can be transmitted like energy, but throughout the process the composition of that matter is maintained, to the extent that creatures remain conscious and aware throughout the process.