Daystrom Institute

I think the Vau N'Akat seen in Prodigy have a lot of "biological and technological distinctiveness" to be added to the collective's own. My question is whether or not the Borg could take advantage of the Vau N'Akat's abilities, and whether they'd be all that helpful.

For instance, could assimilated Vau N'Akat use their heirloom powers to manipulate materials in order to pump out at least the shells of Borg Cubes like nobody's business?

I think this depends on how heirloom material actually works and is made. Its utility to the Borg probably depends on whether or not it's a limited resource or actually some sort of alloy that could be constructed anywhere in the galaxy.

In truth, we can't know that, as in the current state of canon Vau N'Akat lore, it's basically just space magic to us. If I had to take a wild guess, I have two theories:

1. Maybe Vau N'Akat have detachable nanobot-esque cells that communicate with the brain over an electromagnatic signal, allowing the quick assembly of structures at a relatively precise level, especially with the one specific material. (Perhaps all that blue dust stuff that happens at death are these cells freaking out as communication ceases and, for lack of orders, devouring the body.)
2. The Vau N'Akat have organs that essentially very precisely accelerate exchange particles. (This theory makes the above one seem comparatively more plausible.)

Another question is whether or not Vau N'Akat drones could use all that "your will is mine" stuff to aid the assimilation of other Vau N'Akat and/or create one super drone.

Going with theory 1, maybe the "Your will is mine" stuff is actually a weak ability to lend extra cells to the desired person that builds up when a lot of people are doing it, strengthening healing and immune responses as well as any use of that person's detached cells, thus explaining that whole scene.

If this is the mechanic by which it works (and assimilation doesn't somehow bork the mental facilities for this), this could be a very powerful ability for the Borg. It almost sounds too powerful, as those cells could be used as essentially an assimilation virus or a bioweapon, which I think would break the balance of power in the ST universe in a way that I think writers really wouldn't want to.

Overall, as I have said before, just as I find it very fun to try to theorize how the Vau N'Akat work, I also find it very difficult due to both its status as a very new species and their general uniqueness (almost un-Trekiness, not to insult them) as a species. I do think Prodigy does some good things with the Vau N'Akat, and it's nice to have a species that's a bit more than just forehead ridges and a fatal flaw (if they even bother with the forehead ridges - looking at you, Betazoids). However, similar to some of the complaints with Prodigy in general, I can't deny that the space magic aspect feels more Star Wars than I can say I like in Star Trek.

So, what are your thoughts?

I guess the only case we can examine is The Doctor. Whenever The Doctor uses a transporter, what traveling: the lights or the mobile emitter?

There have been many cases which The Doctor has become solid so other solid objects can no longer pass through them. If the object we are seeing being beamed is the mobile emitter, then is it necessary for them to be on a separate pad? I imagine the person accompanying The Doctor could just hold the emitter instead.

As anyone who watched Prodigy knows, the main characters + Chakotay end up on the ISS Voyager A during some accidental multiverse hopping due to time shenanigans.

It could be argued that the mirror universe is just a random variant of it in the multiverse where the Terran Empire is still prominent.

However, I noticed two things: Terran Admiral Janeway refers to the fleet as "The New Terran Fleet", maybe suggesting a success for the Terran rebellion.

This is further supported by the fact that her combadge is the same as (and her uniform plausibly an evolution of) the ones seen in the various IDW mirror universe comics, the earliest of which is from 2017.~1~

The plot of these comics tries to fit in with the info from DS9, revealing (in its own continuity, at least) that the Terran Empire still existed during DS9 but had been reduced to the Sol System, with most people outside it not even realizing it still existed. The comics chronicle the resurgence of the empire and the rise and fall of Picard.

Is it possible that the timeline we see in Prodigy is actually the same mirror universe in DS9 and that the IDW mirror universe comics have been semi-canonized?

1: Coincidentally but not relevant to the question, the ISS Cerritos shown in the holodeck in LD:I, Excretus also uses these badges, but not the typical mirror universe uniforms, although it could be those are just the mirror Cali Class uniforms.

While responding to a comment in a crappost I made on Risa, my mind developed a few thoughts on how Seven was impacted overall.

First of all, here are the facts:

• Seven was assimilated at 6 years old.
• She was in a maturation chamber for 5 years (2350-2355).
• She was in the collective until 2374, when she was 30.

Now, my questions:

• What is 7's biological age? In other words, how far does a Borg drone need to be matured to function in the collective? Equivalent of a 16? 20? 25? How much do Borg age while they are assimilated?
• What are the psychological impacts on Seven's mind, and to what extent are they permanent? To what extent is she emotionally equivalent to a child? Having such a level of isolation from humans would obviously (and clearly did) have a major impact on Seven's mind. However, Seven improves a lot in some senses by Picard. Is it possible that Borg nanoprobes somehow maintain neuroplasticity in a way that allows Seven to be able to adapt in a way a human who have become a ferile child at 6 might not be able to?

Because of his original purpose, it makes sense that the Doctor wouldn’t have held a Starfleet rank during Voyager.

However, in Prodigy, he still doesn’t have pips. This leads to my questions:

• Can a self-aware hologram hold rank or a non-com position in Starfleet?
• If so, how would the Doctor attaib it?

According to the STO wiki, he doesn’t wear them by choice but does have a rank. That might be a reasonable explanation; I can’t imagine Janeway not at least trying to field commission him.

Darwin Station was an explicitly Federation genetic research facility which was creating human children with telepathic and telekinetic powers, rapid physical maturation, and immensely powerful active immune systems (the last of which unwittingly killed the crew of a transport ship). This seems like precisely the sort of genetic engineering which has been banned in the Federation since it's conception, in regulations which are repeatedly referenced in TNG, DS9, and VOY. And yet, nobody even hints at there being an ethical, legal, or regulatory issue with what these researchers are doing. Dr. Pulaski even says of one augment child, without any apparent concern, "We could be looking at the future of humanity."

One would think that if one has a broad reaching policy against genetic augmentation principally motivated by the genetic wars, and by subsequent reinforcement of the idea that arbitrarily enhanced people are likely to be dangerously unstable, this sort of genetic program is exactly what that policy exists to prevent. And yet, there is it.

So, what happened here? Was this the product of a brief lull in Federation policy regarding genetic augmentation? A Federation research team going way off the rails, meeting an Enterprise crew feeling unusually liassez-faire about Federation law? Or something else?

Here’s a bigger bugbear (than the Vulcan question): how does it all work in Ferengi society?

I’ll split order my post by my pre-Rom and post-Rom thoughts.

Pre-Rom:

• Gay (not Lesbian) Ferengi are probably a normal thing.
• Based on DS9 “Profits and Lace” and Nilva’s reaction to the transitioned Quark, it might be possible that male to female transition, while considered very weird, would be considered fine if you make a sufficiently good female by Ferengi standards, if you know what I mean.
• Conversely, female to male transition probably wouldn’t be accepted, based on the reaction to Pel, although Pel didn’t necessarily actually change her gender identity or get her lobes surgically enlarged. It may be possible that some trans Ferengi existed and simply hid that they weren’t cis, although it’d be more difficult considering the mobility limitations on females. There were probably surgeons on the planet who were like “If you’ve got the Latinum, I’ll totally do it.”
• Overall, I think the sentiment would be, “If you’ve got the lobes and you’ve got the Latinum, I don’t care what you do.”
• For instance, if a non-binary Ferengi made lots of profit, they might not be totally respected, but at least not bothered as much.

Post-Rom:

• Lesbian Ferengi are probably legal but still frowned upon.
• Transitioning either way is probably easier, considering the shift in gender roles as seen by 2381 in Lower Decks.
• Generally, with the Federation membership bid, probably a lot more open but still rife with social issues.

Questions:

• Do Ferengi experience dysphoria when their ears are the wrong size? (Very possibly yes, considering the dysphoria humans can experience from other secondary sex characteristics.)

I've often pondered about how Vulcans view gender and sexuality.

I think pre-Surak/logic, they may have demonstrated homophobia and transphobia, but modern Vulcan Society would probably be chill with it under the reasoning that discrimination would reduce a person's efficacy as a functional member of Vulcan Society. For instance, given a choice between allowing a person to contribute verses driving them to the brink of suicide, Vulcans would probably tend to lean towards the first option.

There could very well still be stigma (Vulcans are far from a perfect society; some may have views that it is illogical to have a romantic relationship without a child), but it's dampened by the logic from the previous paragraph.

There's also the Pon Farr to keep in mind. Not only would it be hard to fight a person in the Ponn Farr, but also you'd literally be killing them by trying to prevent expression of their orientation.

I can’t think of a single VOY episode with mind-melds that didn’t have a character treating it as a super taboo or dangerous telepathic ability.

Is there a reason The Alamo was a heavily discussed historical event during Deep Space Nine’s seventh season? Was there an anniversary of the event? Did it come into popular consciousness in the 90s? Was someone on the writing staff related to Davy Crockett?

I am aware that ENT retcons the change in Klingon physiology as augments Klingons. Is there an accepted theory as to why legacy characters who return after TOS, are shown to have changes? Do people simply retroactively apply the events of “The Augments”?

As said in LD 2x07 Where Pleasant Fountains Lie, Billups is from Hysperia and there is still the technicality that can force him on the throne.

This kind of condition makes me wonder what Hysperia's political status with the Federation is. What stops Billups from e.g claiming asylum with the Federation, especially considering the Hysperians are not a powerful force?

I have three theories:

• Hysperia is a Federation colony, so they are able to apply their throne law on Billups and Billups is unable to claim asylum with a political entity he was already born into.
• Hysperia is not a Federation member, but has a scare resource (like dilithium) that makes Starfleet want to maintain good relations with Hysperia.
• Alternatively, it could be some sort of weird prime directive thing.

In LD 1x08 Veritas, Rutherford is rotating some "EPS Capacitors" (These seem to have little mention outside this episode) to prevent them from overheating.

Before I ask my questions, I first want to establish what makes sense to me here. Although not previously mentioned, like electrical capacitors, EPS Capacitors probably help to "smooth out" plasma flow. As these are high-power systems, I am sure there is risk of overheating in these capacitors that is not as present in current electrical capacitors, which usually don't have a rotating mechanism.

Now, for the questions:

• Why do the capacitors rotate, and what does this do to prevent overheating?
• Why do they have to do this in the 24th century in a post-scarcity society?

For the first: My first theory is these are variable capacitors. Assuming the mechanics work similarly to electrical capacitors, Rutherford could be changing the capacitance of each capacitor to rotate the load. This doesn't feel completely right, though (for instance, how to keep the array within specification).

A better theory is that although its function is analogous to an electrical capacitor, the physical mechanics used behind it are different, and somehow wear in the internal materials is uneven unless rotated, somewhat like tires.

For the second: We practically mastered rotating crap with electricity in THE 20TH CENTURY and have only gotten better since. I don't understand why Starfleet couldn't just give each capacitor a servo motor running off an EPS tap that does the randomization automatically, or at the very least mount them all on a belt. Heck, if heat is the problem, why not a liquid cooling loop? The worst that can happen is an ensign has to go get a mop.

It could be possible that maybe it was kept there as a task to bully ensigns/make officers feel useful, but I feel that kind of thinking wouldn't necessarily exist at the Cali class drawing board. It could be possible that somehow the magnets in the motor interfere with the EPS containment field, but I feel like that would mean a lot more crap would have to be banned on board if the EPS conduits were that vulnerable.

Ultimately, I really can't make full sense of this second point, and would love insights on this and my first question.

In LD 4x06 Parth Ferengi’s Heart Place, Ransom mentions that there are no married officers on board. However, way back in LD 1x02 Envoys, when trying command in the simulation, Rutherford accidentally kills all the ship’s children via destruction of the pre-K and Kindergarten decks. I am thus wondering, are there actually any children on the Cerritos? I do have several theories (some of which could co-exist together), none of which I am certain of:

For No:

• Due to their longer-term mission, Starfleet legally requires schools on the California class in case officers with kids transfer on. These sit empty on the Cerritos.
• Perhaps during Envoys there were some kids, but they transferred off the ship before the Ferenginar visit.
• Alternatively, the training simulation (which seems to represent the Cerritos due to the bridge, LCARS colors, and addition of officers like Ensign Casey) drew upon a generic ops division Cali class configuration for the rest of the ship, thus falsely assuming there were children.

For Yes:

• Birth out of wedlock is common in some Federation cultures, including United Earth.
• It could be possible there are married officers that serve on different ships, with the kid(s) of that couple living on the Cerritos.
• There could be married couples on the Cerritos, but only ONE is an officer (a la O’Brien and Keiko); for instance, Lt. Holly has a husband who is a botanist. The Cerritos cannot allow her husband to do travel guide duty and must assign someone else.
• Similarly, maybe non-commissioned couples exist on the Cerritos, but an officer is required to do the duty.
• Maybe Ransom wasn’t totally literal. Officer couples may just be very rare aboard the Cerritos, and the only ones that are aboard include officers doing a duty so vital they can’t do travel guide duty. Ransom didn’t feel the need to fully explain this and went with the simple version when giving the job to the Beta shifters.

Update (8/23/2024): I was rewatching Lower Decks 2x10 First Contact and the mentions of Captain Freeman probably thinking the Captain Freeman Day decorations were for children implies that at least during season 2, there were children on the ship. I feel that the Archimedes incidents could be impetus for the ship being declared too uncomfortable for a family. I'll see in my rewatch if I come across any other implied children on the Cerritos in later seasons.

During LD 3x10, as much as I enjoy the comaraderie (and Boimler voice-cracking through the ship names), I was little confused as to how the entire class could have made it to the Cerritos so fast. Wouldn't they be relatively evenly spread across the safer part of Federation space, with some in the middle of missions?

After some thought, my theory is that the class decommissioning was more immediate than I first thought; Starfleet had ordered every ship of the class to a central location for crew reassignment not too far from Douglass station, so they were already gathered nearby (having travelled from whatever corners of Federation space the class may have operated in) and been waiting a few days or so when Mariner informed them of the situation.

I've often wondered how with the advanced medical science of the Federation how they can, for instance, revive practically dead people, but not create a communication device for Pike (or any of a number of people in the background of Lower Decks) more advanced than a blinking light.

One theory I had recently is that somehow, Pike (and people with similar conditions) received most of the brain damage in Broca's Area, leaving them able to understand speach through Wernicke's Area but unable to produce speech. The chair thus might be a replacement for Broca's Area, but primitive in comparison to the original, biological one. (And further, perhaps the Talosians are able to simulate a human Broca's Area when Pike is left in the illusion on Talos.)

Could any of the main characters of Prodigy have been affected by the Borg assimilation in Picard S3?

Season 1 of Prodigy takes place in 2383. This means the main characters would be about 18 years older at the time of Season 3 of Picard.

When the Borg assimilate the younger members of Starfleet, using "recievers" added to their genetic code through the transporter system, it's said to only affect individuals prior to a certain point in their brain development - around 25 for humans.

The characters' ages in 2383 are:

• Dal: 17
• Gwyn: 17
• Jankom: 16
• Rok: 8

No age is listed on Memory Alpha for Zero, but they're also Medusan, have already broken free from the Borg once, and I don't know if Medusans even have genetic material that the transporter could detect. (Also, Murf's age is explicitly said to be unknown.)

In 2401, Rok would be about 26 (not including the time spent in the slowdown in "Time Amok"). For her to be affected by the Borg assimilation, I think we'd have to make a few assumptions:

1. She's still in Starfleet
2. Either her brain development takes slightly longer than in humans, or the estimates are off and she's a bit younger than 26
3. The algorithms in Starfleet transporters that recognize common species DNA (which is what the Borg code hijacked to install the receiver) specifically recognizes Brikar like it does for other, more commonly seen species

Number 1 seems likely. Number 3 seems plausible - Rok wore an appropriately-sized environmental suit in (I believe) "Crossroads", although that was likely created by a replicator - perhaps the vehicle replicator, if the ordinary ones weren't large enough.

To me, number 2 seems the most unlikely; Prodigy a show aimed (in part) at teenagers, and - in the absence of any reference to these species differences in the show - it seems logical to me to assume these characters are intended to be at similar state in development as humans of the same age. And the estimate for Rok's age seems to put her just over the age where she would be affected. Part of me wonders if the writers for "Võx" were thinking about this.

Anything I missed (at least prior to Prodigy season 2)? Or any other characters we've seen who might be young enough to be assimilated in 2401?

@daystrominstitute@startrek.website

I was rewatching LD 4x07 “A Few Badgeys More” when Badgey’s ramble about seeing past, present, and future as he ascended gave me a question: if Badgey has become a non-linear, omnipotent being, what is the impact on the timeline? My thought is that delta insignia seen in Starfleet and past human organizations may actually be part of a bootstrap paradox; the delta insignia inspires Badgey, and then eventually, Badgey, after becoming non-linear and being part of all time and space, causes the the delta insignia that inspired his form in the first place.

The title was first used in the context of the Progenitors in TNG: “The Chase” when Picard remarked, “[The puzzle] is 4 billion years old. A computer program from a highly advanced civilisation, and it's hidden in the very fabric of life itself.“ In DIS: “Red Directive” the phrase was used in conjunction with saying the Progenitor technology was “used to design life itself.”

Burnham activates her holographic tricorder function from her tricom badge, first introduced in DIS: “Scavengers” as the 32nd Century combination tricorder, communicator and personal transporter. She also materializes a 32nd Century phaser pistol, which can be summoned at will thanks to it being composed of programmable matter.

Window-like gateways allowing instantaneous travel to other worlds was a hallmark of another ancient civilization, the Iconians (TNG: “Contagion”), who used them to control a vast empire which was destroyed over 200,000 years prior, although there were still survivors existing into the 32nd Century (DIS: “The Examples”). Their gateways also survived, with one being the focus of conflict in DS9: “To the Death”.

Tahal’s fleet will arrive in 60 minutes. Primarch Tahal is one of the five remaining Primarchs of the Bree Imperium, and in the past conquered Kellerun, Rayner’s planet. Rayner was the only survivor of his family.

Burnham has indeed seen the future - in DIS: “Face the Strange” she and Rayner were jumped 30 years ahead to see a lifeless Discovery and a Federation HQ devastated by the Breen thanks to them using Progenitor tech.

Rayner refers to the avalanche caused by Moll and L’ak on Q’Mau in order to facilitate their escape (DIS: “Red Directive”).

Culber gives Book a shot to counter radiation sickness. In TOS: “The Deadly Years”, the drug of choice to do that was hyronalin, was which also used during the TNG era in several episodes. Culber has had an existential crisis ever since he became host to the memories and personality of Jinaal on Trill (DIS: “Jinaal”).

Moll put L’ak in her personal pattern buffer in DIS: “Lagrange Point” to keep him safe.

Using plasma to take out multiple hostiles was a tactic used by Worf’s brother Kurn, who went to warp near the surface of a star, setting off a flare which destroyed his pursuers (TNG: “Redemption II”). In TNG: “Descent, Part II”, the Enterprise-D under Beverly Crusher’s command fired a particle beam into a star to make it erupt and destroy a Borg ship.

Culber tells Book to adjust the tractor beam to subspace resonance frequency 5.1732, then uses the classic “I’m a doctor, not a…” trope associated most with McCoy from TOS (my personal favorite is from TOS: “The Devil in the Dark”, where he complains about treating the silicon-based Horta with, “I’m a doctor, not a bricklayer!”).

Ferengi rummy is presumably a card game. Rummy is the name given to a group of Earth card games, with the most common variant being Gin Rummy. It is claimed that the name comes from using rum as betting stakes.

The Progenitor that greets Burnham is in an updated version of the original Progenitor makeup from TNG: “The Chase” (played then by Salome Jens, who went on to play the female Founder in DS9).

The Galactic Barrier is an energy field that surrounds the Milky Way, penetrated by the USS Enterprise in TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and then again in TOS: “By Any Other Name”. The Barrier also featured in DIS Season 4, with Species 10-C living beyond it in extragalactic space. The origins of the Barrier have never been explained on screen, although beta canon has offered some possibilities, one of which was the Progenitors (William Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens’ Captain’s Glory).

The Progenitors were not the creators of the technology but think that it was made by their creators. So, basically, it’s Progenitors all the way down. And while they effectively could recreate a live body from a dead one, it would basically be a clone without any of the previous body’s memories or personality.

The Betazoid scientist Dr Marina Derex was one of those that discovered the Progenitor tech 800 years prior. Her clue was in the manuscript of her book, Labyrinths of the Mind (DIS: “Labyrinths”).

This is the first time Discovery has shown the ability to separate its saucer from its secondary hull. Saucer separation was mentioned as being possible in TOS behind the scenes documents but it was not until TNG: “Encounter at Farpoint” that separation (and rejoining) became a fact on screen.

“Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations” is a tenet of Vulcan philosophy, first mentioned in TOS: “Is There in Truth No Beauty?”, also known as IDIC. In-universe, it dates back to at least Surak’s time, c.300 CE (ENT: “The Forge”).

When Kovich tells her that all information regarding the Progenitor tech will be classified, Burnham quips she knows how those things work. When Discovery jumped to the 32nd Century at the end of Season 2 to prevent misuse of the Sphere Data, all knowledge of the spore drive was classified and scrubbed from 23rd century records, and even as far as the 32nd century was concerned the original Discovery was destroyed back then.

The device Burnham holds gives her access to the Infinity Room, a highly secure conference space, first seen in DIS: “Red Directive”.

Kovich cryptically says he’s “lived many years and many lives”. Given the scope of the Star Trek universe, this could very well be more than metaphorical. On the shelf behind him we see a bottle of Château Picard, Geordi LaForge’s VISOR and Benjamin Sisko’s baseball.

Agent Daniels first appeared in ENT: “Cold Front” as Crewman Daniels of the NX-01 Enterprise (which technically didn’t have a USS prefix until its refit). He was revealed to be a Time Agent, a temporal operative from the 31st Century fighting in the Temporal Cold War. He last appeared in ENT: “Storm Front, Part II”, informing Archer that due to his actions, the Temporal War was coming to an end.

Talaxians, of course, are Neelix’s race (VOY), last referenced in a reading list that included A Comprehensive Guide to Talaxian Hair Styles. The Eternal Archive also gave Book a cutting from the World Root, a tree system that extended across his now-destroyed planet Kwejian (DIS: “Labyrinths”). He planted it on Sanctuary Four, a planet used as a wildlife sanctuary for trance worms, one of which, nicknamed Molly was delivered there by Book in DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 1”.

The box on the table across from Admiral Burnham’s bed is the one made of Tulí wood, that contained the World Root cuttings, given to Book by the Eternal Archive. The color of the vegetation outside the window identifies the planet as Sanctuary Four.

Crepuscula was the very first planet we saw in the series, back in the first scene of DIS: “The Vulcan Hello”. Burnham and Philippa Georgiou performed a covert mission to restore the Crepusulans’ water supply, as the species was subject to General Order 1.

The age of Burnham’s son (and his Captain’s rank) implies that at least thirty-odd years have passed since Saru’s wedding.

Technically speaking, one “aye” means “I understand,” in response to information while “aye aye” means “I understand and will comply,” in response to an order.

Burnham’s shuttle bears the designation “UFP 47”, with 47 being a number which appears frequently in Star Trek, an in-joke started by TNG writer Joe Menosky, who was part of the 47 Society at California’s Pomona College. In the lake we see trance worms swimming. The warp streaks as the shuttle travels are consistent with what we saw of the pathway drive.

Burnham and Book’s son is named Leto, after Book’s nephew who died when Kwejian was destroyed (DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”).

The ending finally brings continuity in line with ST: “Calypso”, where Craft came across a deserted Discovery, empty save for Zora, adrift for a thousand years in deep space. For the longest time we were wondering how it would work since the starship was shown without its “A” suffix, which she obtained when refitted in the 32nd Century to hide her origins in the 23rd Century. The removal of the “A” by DOTs as Burnham’s shuttle flies in, the reattchment of the ship's nacelles and Burnham's use of the term “Red Directive” implies that this is due to Kovich/Daniels’ instructions, and the restoration of the original ship is to bring it in line with history due to timey-wimey reasons.

The title refers to points of gravitational equilibrium in space between two gravitationally massive objects, named Lagrange points after Italian scientist Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813). Five Lagrange points can be defined for two bodies. Lagrange points are well known in science fiction as locations where orbital colonies like O’Neill cylinders can be anchored with minimal need for thrusters to keep them from drifting.

Tahal was the Breen Primarch that made Kellerun into a forward base in the past, as stated by Rayner in DIS: “Erigah”.

Rillak is informed that Moll’s dreadnought has exited a transwarp tunnel. Transwarp conduits were first seen being used by the Borg to achieve speeds at least twenty times more than a Galaxy-class ship’s maximum warp (TNG: “Descent”). After the Borg were decimated in VOY: “Endgame”, the conduits remained and were utilized by others (PIC: “Broken Pieces”). In the 32nd Century, Osyraa used a transwarp tunnel to chase down Discovery (DIS: “Su’Kal”.). The use of transwarp networks might explain how the Breen dealt with the deactivation of dilithium during the Burn.

Discovery has a cloaking device, fitted when it was installed with 32nd Century technology (DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 2”). As per last week’s annotations, the 24th Century prohibition against the Federation using cloaking technology due to the Treaty of Algeron no longer appears to apply.

Primordial black holes are black holes that are believed to have formed very soon after the Big Bang. In Season 4, it was hypothesized that the Dark Matter Anomaly might have been a primordial wormhole, but this turned out to be incorrect (DIS: “Anomaly”).

From the viewscreen, the Progenitor technology is anchored at Lagrange Point 1, or L1, between the two bodies where their gravitational forces and centrifugal force balance out. The problem, however, is that L1, L2 and L3 are not great positions because they are still dynamically unstable, meaning objects there will still fall out of orbit without regular course and attitude corrections (every three weeks or so). Also, L4 and L5 are stable but only if the mass ratio between the two masses exceeds 24.96, which means the second black hole has to be much smaller than the first one for that to work. Not that real-world physics ever got in the way of the Rule of Cool in Star Trek, but still, if you're going to call an episode "Lagrange Point"…

Duranium alloys are commonly used in starship and starbase hulls across the galaxy. According to the Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, duranium occurs naturally in planetary crusts.

The EDF refers to the Earth Defence Force, which was the primary military arm of Earth prior to them rejoining the Federation (DIS: “People of Earth”). Despite being host to a Trill symbiont, Adira is human and was a member of the EDF at the time they took on the symbiont.

An unshielded exhaust port is, of course, the critical vulnerability of the first Death Star from Star Wars. As stated in DIS: “Labyrinths”, Breen code is in base-20, or duodeca.

Kira and Dukat also took advantage of Breen full-body suits, using them as a disguise in DS9: “Indiscretion” when they infiltrated a Breen labor camp.

The use of a transporter pattern buffer to preserve bodies was first seen in TNG: “Relics”, and subsequently used in DS9: “Our Man Bashir” and VOY: “Counterpoint”. We’ve also seen it used for medical reasons in SNW Season 1 (M’Benga’s daughter and during the Klingon War in SNW: “Under the Cloak of War”) and in DIS: “Stormy Weather”. As a security precaution, enemies can also be held in mid-transport as seen in TOS: “Day of the Dove”.

Primarch Ruhn also called the Federation “spineless, insignificant achworms” in DIS: “Erigah”.

The Pathway drive is a prototype stardrive of which little has been revealed. The prototype was installed on the Voyager-J for testing (DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”) the previous year. This is the first time that it’s been stated that the Mitchell also has one, perhaps indicating that it is out of the testing phase.

We are reminded again that Burnham’s primary training is in xenoanthropology (DIS: “The Vulcan Hello”).

“A grum of osikod” is a quotation from the Kellerun Ballad of Krul (DIS: “Mirrors”). From context it seems to mean the equivalent of “a pinch of salt”. But referencing Kellerun gives Rayner the cue to pay attention when Burnham says “flying out there all alone, out in space… I always knew my crew would come for me.”

“Failure is not an option,” is a saying famously associated with NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz during the Apollo 13 rescue mission, although he never actually said it. It was coined for the 1995 movie and became the tagline for it.

The title refers to Labyrinths of the Mind, a book written by Dr Marina Derex, a Betazoid and one of the group that hid the Progenitor technology 800 years prior. A labyrinth is also a term for a maze, the original designed by the inventor Daedelus of Greek myth to house the Minotaur.

As mentioned in DIS: “Erigah”, L’ak was the Scion, a direct descendant of the Breen emperor, and held the genetic code of the Yod-Thot, “they who rule”, without whom his uncle, Primarch Ruhn, could not claim the throne. In DIS: “Jinaal”, Stamets discovered the the Progenitor techonlogy could potentially bring someone back to life.

Discovery jumps to just outside the Badlands, first appearing in DS9: “The Maquis” as an area of violent plasma storms in proximity to Bajor and Cardassia.

The shape of Hy’Rell’s head bumps resemble those of Xindi-Primates, first appearing in ENT: “The Xindi”, one of six intelligent Xindi species that were native to Xindus. The other possibility, taking into account her long white hair and blue eyes, is that she’s an Efrosian (ST VI).

Cerenkov radiation is created when particles exceed the speed of light in a given medium, creating a shockwave with a characteristic blue glow. In real life, it is most often seen around nuclear reactors submerged in water (the speed of light in water is 75% of that in vacuum, allowing emissions from the reactor to exceed that).

Discovery was given the ability to cloak when it was refitted (DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 2”). During the 24th Century, the Treaty of Algeron forbade the Federation from using or developing cloaking devices (TNG: "The Pegasus"), with a notable exception being the Defiant during the Dominion War (DS9: “The Search”). Apparently that prohibition no longer applies in the 32nd Century. Cerenkovn, Book’s world, was destroyed in DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”, making him one of the last of his species.

The scenes in the Eternal Archive were filmed at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, Canada.

An oubliette is a specific type of dungeon, of which the only access is a trap door installed in the ceiling of the dungeon, and usually extremely narrow, such that the prisoner was unable to sit down.

The Tuli tree was native to Kwejian and had a distinctive smell to its sap. The decor of Book’s ship was made to simulate Tuli wood (DIS: “Stormy Weather”). Inside the box are cuttings from the World Root, a tree root system that reached all the way around the planet (DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”) and was sacred to the Kwejian.

Culber identifies the device affecting Burnham as a nucleonic emitter. Nucleonic particles appear in a number of places in Star Trek lore, but most appropriately in TNG: “The Inner Light”, where a nucleonic beam from a Kataan probe was responsible for sending Picard into a mindscape where he lived out a simulated lifetime in a similar manner to what Burnham is experiencing. In that episode, an attempt to disrupt the beam nearly killed Picard, which is the risk Culber is alluding to.

The old school card index drawers Burnham looks at makes me nostalgic for the days when I was a student librarian (yes, I’m old). The mindscape Archives’ category number for history is 002818/5 - in our Dewey Decimal System, history (and geography) is 900.

Book says “Those who learn history aren’t doomed to repeat it.” The usual phrasing of that adage is “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The philosopher George Satayana is credited with the original “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Burnham refers to the itronok, a predatory species they encounted on Trill while searching for the clue there (DIS: “Jinaal”).

Trémaux’s algorithm is a maze-solving method devised by Charles Pierre Trémaux, which involves drawing lines on the floor marking a path. A version of it - called a depth first search - is used to search tree or graph data structures.

Derex’s reading list references Talaxians, Neelix’s species from VOY and Hupyrians, the species of the Ferengi Grand Nagus’ servants (DS9: “The Nagus”, et al.). Euclid was a Greek mathematician who devised an axiomatic system for geometry.

Rhys intends to use the plasma storms for cover, which is exactly what made the Badlands effective as a hiding place for the Bajoran Resistance and the Maquis back in their day.

Matching weapons to shield frequencies to get past them is a tried and true method, demonstrated most dramatically when the Enterprise-D was destroyed in ST: Generations. Duodeca is a base-20 system.

Hysperia is a planet where the inhabitants have a culture based on a medieval fantasy motif (LD: “Where Pleasant Fountains Lie”). In the 24th Century, Chief Engineer Billups of the USS Cerritos was a native of Hysperia and the ostensible Crown Prince, although he abdicated that position.

Commander Jemison shares a last name with former astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, who appeared in TNG: “Second Chances” as LT jg Palmer.

A tergun is a sacred Breen oath. Ruhn’s remark that the Federation to save the few would risk the many is reminiscent of Kirk’s inversion in ST III of Spock’s adage about the needs of the many and the few from ST II: “The needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many.”

“Never turn your back on a Breen” is a Romulan saying (DS9: “By Inferno’s Light”), cited by Rayner in DIS: “Erigah”.

As stated in DIS: “Mirrors”, an erigah is a Breen blood bounty.

The ship holding Moll and L’ak’s shuttle in a tractor beam is the USS Locherer (NCC-325062), a Merian-class starship first seen in DIS: “Jinaal” and named after the late J.P. Locherer, who was a cinematographer on the show.

Burnham identifies subspace frequency Epsilon 19 as a courier channel and that “special offer” is a courier distress code. With her is Commander Nhan, a Barzan who journeyed with Discovery from the 23rd Century but subsequently transferred to Federation Security in the 32nd. She was last seen in DIS: “Rubicon”.

Nhan refers to what happened between her and Book at their last encounter, when she argued for destroying his ship to prevent him using the isolytic weapon she mentioned. So there’s a bit of awkward history there.

A sa-te kru cat is a Vulcan species, a large predator similar to the le-matya. It was mentioned in the novel Vulcan’s Forge, but this is its first on-screen mention.

Given the Breen first appeared in DS9, there are plenty of back references to the series.

Culber says that there’s some evidence Breen are capable of “somatic cell” regeneration in extreme cold. This tracks with reports that the Breen homeworld had a freezing climate (DS9: “Til Death Do Us Part”) and that they wore refrigeration suits (DS9: “The Changing Face of Evil”). I’m not sure why Culber needs to distinguish “somatic cell”, since that is really any other cell in the body aside from sperm and egg cells, but I guess it sounds medically cool.

Breen Dreadnoughts (Rezeth Destroyers) are ships from Star Trek Online. As we see later, the 32nd Century version is much bigger.

The Breen used to be a Confederacy in the 24th Century (DS9: “Strange Bedfellows”) but somewhere along the way it’s become an Imperium. There are six primarchs vying for the throne in the wake of the emperor’s death.

Rayner talks about the last time the Breen entered Federation space. With Vance saying that Starfleet was caught flat-footed, this is probably referring to the Breen sneak attack on Earth during the Dominion War which heavily damaged Starfleet Headquarters and San Francisco (“The Changing Face of Evil”). Tilly’s later remark about the Breen “destroying an entire city” may also refer to this.

Using thoron emitters and duranium shadows to fool enemy sensors is a reference to DS9: “Emissary”, when the station used such a tactic to block sensors and make themselves appear better armed than they were. In DS9: “The Way of the Warrior”, the Changeling Martok believed the station was pulling the same trick, but that time he proved to be wrong. The Romulan saying “Never turn your back on a Breen” is from DS9: “By Inferno’s Light”.

The yellow alert symbols are the same design as the “Alert: Condition Red” indicators dating back to ST II, albeit in yellow. The USS Mitchell (NCC-325027), another Merian-class starship, is named after the late Kenneth Mitchell, who played Kol, Kol-sha and Aurellio in DIS. She was last mentioned in DIS: “Coming Home”.

L’ak is Primarch Ruhn’s nephew and carries within him the genetic code of the Yod-Thot, “they who rule”. He is also a direct descendant of the emperor and Ruhn cannot claim the throne without him.

One of Reno’s former jobs was as a bartender - the closed captioning says “Ashalon IV”, but it might be a misspelling of “ Aschelan IV”. Aschelan V was a planet which housed a Cardassian fuel depot (DS9: “Dreadnought”). She refers to a cocktail named “Seven of Limes”, which is an obvious pun on Seven of Nine, although Reno may not know the name’s provenance given that she left for the future about a century before Annika Hansen was assimilated.

A “Code One Alpha” is probably related to or the same as the 23rd-24th Century “Code One Alpha Zero” which is an emergency condition ordered when there is an attack (ST 2009) or a distress call (TNG: “Relics”).

Kellerun was, for a time, used as a Breen forward base by Primarch Tahal. Since Rayner was there, it must have been relatively recent, although to be fair we don’t know how long Kellerun live.

Reno remarks that the hunt “sounds like something out of a holodeck adventure for the littles.” She may be referring to The Littles, a series of children’s adventure novels featuring a family of tiny humanoids with mice-like faces and tails that were written between 1967 and 2003 by John Peterson. There was also an animated series that ran for 3 seasons between 1983 and 1985. Or I’m overthinking and she’s just talking about kids in general.

Rayner says Tahal named her ship the Tau Ceti after a lethal viper with a slow acting venom. Tau Ceti, is of course, the name of a star 12 light years away from Earth and has been mentioned many times in Star Trek.

Bopak III was an uninhabited planet (at least in 2372) in the Gamma Quadrant and the location for the events of DS9: “Hippocratic Oath”.

Tricordrazine is a stimulant apparently derived from cordrazine (TOS: “The City on the Edge of Forever”) and appeared in several TNG episodes, including TNG: “Ethics” and “Shades of Grey”.

The Badlands is an area of space in proximity to Cardassia and Bajor (and DS9), known for its violent plasma storms (DS9: “The Maquis”). Both the Bajoran Resistance and the Maquis used it as a staging area to hide from enemy patrols during their respective conflicts. In 2371, while pursuing a Maquis ship there, the USS Voyager was hurled across the galaxy to the Delta Quadrant by an alien force (VOY: “Caretaker”).

The USS Locherer, a Merian-class starship, was first seen in DIS: “Jinaal”. It is named after the late JP Locherer, who was a cinematographer on DIS before he passed in 2022.

Kovich says he likes the feel of paper. A similar preference for “old-fashioned” books over electronic versions was exhibited by attorney Samuel T. Cogley in TOS: “Court Martial”. Fanon has often held that it was Cogley who passed on his love of physical books to Kirk, who from then on, as Spock noted in ST II, had a fondness for antiques.

Culber’s abuela is of course a simulation, since the real one would have died nearly a millennium before. The use of holograms as grief alleviation therapy was also in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, invented by Tony Stark as seen in Captain America: Civil War. Reflecting current events, people have been trying to AI to recreate the personalities of deceased loved ones.

The list of names are: Jinaal Bix (Trill, “Jinaal”), Carmen Cho (Terran, “Mirrors”), Vellek (Romulan, “Red Directive”), and the two not yet encountered Marina Derex (Betazoid) and Hitoroshi Kreel (Denobulan).

Silver iodide is indeed used in cloud seeding in order to encourage precipitation. Atmospheric extraction is also a very old method of getting water dating back as far back as the Incas. In science fiction, it’s probably best represented by the moisture farms on Tattooine in the Star Wars movies.

Halem’no has a pre-warp and pre-industrial civilization, so the Prime Directive applies. A discussion about whether or not Kreel already violated the PD by putting up the towers in the first place is beyond the scope of these annotations, but I’m looking forward to reading the discussions.

Whistled languages are rare, but exist on Earth, in various cultures. Michael’s enthusiasm for it speaks of her primary training as a xenoanthropologist (DIS: “The Vulcan Hello”).

Subcutaneous transponders date all the way back to the 22nd Century, first appearing in TOS: “Patterns of Force”. Subdermal communicators/transponders also appeared in ENT: “Stratagem”, TNG: “Who Watches the Watchers” and VOY: “Workforce”. This the first appearance of retinal tricorders.

The Halem’nite “sound cure” may look mystical and exotic, but they’re actually just using Tibetan singing bowls, albeit with a more intense effect.

Tilly is using a simplified Newton’s First Law (or the principle of inertia) as a mantra: a body in motion remains in motion in straight line, a body at rest remains at rest - unless acted on by an external force.

Tritanium is a super-hard metal first mentioned in TOS: “Obsession”, being 21.4 times as hard as diamond. In TNG: “The Arsenal of Freedom” Riker claimed that melting tritanium was beyond 24th Century technology. The metal routinely shows up in hulls, walls, tools, ammunition, etc. so while it may not be able to melt, it can certainly be fabricated with.

Culber uses the “they” pronoun to refer to Ravah.

Culber introduces Book to his abuela’s mofongo con pollo al ajillo. Mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish made from plantains mashed with fat. This variation is served with chicken (pollo) with an oil infused with garlic and guajillo chile (al ajillo).

The title of the episode, of course, pretty much telegraphs which parallel universe we’re likely to have elements of this week. The Mirror Universe was a major part of Season 1 of DIS, and the Mirror Philippa Georgiou was a supporting character through the first 3 seasons.

The Stardate is 866282.9. I’ve said this a lot, but the new Stardate system baffles me. By TNG reckoning the 866000s should be 3189, but they confirmed it was 3191 in DIS: “Jinaal”, so how it’s calculated now is anyone’s guess.

Book browses through Moll’s records - the first one is from the Federation, the third from Andor. I don’t recognize the logo or alien script from the second one, although it vaguely reminds me of Alienese from Futurama.

Burnham quotes from a Kellerun (Rayner’s species) classic, The Ballad of Krul, “Serve it without a grum of osikod.” From context it probably means not to sugarcoat whatever is said next, with “grum” as a quantity and “osikod” either as a flavoring ingredient, or a word meaning deception, i.e. “without an ounce of bullshit.”

Book makes reference to charging impulse capacitant cells and then releasing the energy into the drive coils. Impulse engines, although limited to sublight operations, have had warp driver coils as part of their design in various eras. In the 22nd Century, according to the USS Enterprise Haynes Manual, the NX-01 used the inertial mass-altering capabilities of a warp field to increase the apparent mass of ejected propellant to achieve greater thrust. In SNW: “Memento Mori”, there is a reference to only half impulse speed being achievable with one warp nacelle damaged. The TNG Technical Manual says that as of the mid-24th Century and the designing of the Ambassador-class, driver coils were built into impulse engines to lower the inertial mass of the ship so that even at sublight the ship would be easier to push.

Book is aware of the Mirror Universe, since he recognizes the ISS prefix (as opposed to USS) for Empire ships. And we see it is the ISS Enterprise, last seen in TOS: “Mirror, Mirror”.

Michael says that crossing between universes has been “impossible for centuries”. This is a stronger statement from from what Kovich said in DIS: “Die Trying”, when he stated that the MU and the Prime Universe had been drifting apart ever since Georgiou crossed over (back in the 23rd Century), and there hadn’t been a crossover between the two for 500 years. While it’s debated, I’m of the school of thought that Georgiou did cross universes (and time) during DIS: “Terra Firma” thanks to the Guardian of Forever. And in that same episode, Kovich related the tale of Yor, a Time Soldier, from the 2379 of the Kelvin Timeline to the 30th Century of the Prime Timeline.

Cardassian voles are rapidly breeding pests that are attracted to energy fields. They are native to Cardassia Prime and first mentioned in DS9, but have made appearances in ENT and also DIS Season 1. DS9 once suffered an infestation of voles.

A graviton pulse was used to seal up a subspace rupture in TNG: “Schisms”. While the idea is to use it to stop the antimatter reactions making the aperture pulse, the 43.7% chance of implosion sealing it forever makes sense with what it was used for in “Schisms”.

The bridge of the ISS Enterprise uses the same set as SNW, but with the Empire logos and a ISS dedication plaque as part of the redress. Michael wants to use the sensors to track quantum signatures from “our universe”. It was established in TNG: “Parallels” that every possible universe has a unique quantum signature as does its inhabitants.

Michael mentions her mirror counterpart and how she must have died before ISS Enterprise was trapped. The exact disposition of Mirror Michael is unclear. in DIS Season 1 she was lost in a shuttle accident and Prime Michael posed as her. In the licensed comic book Succession, (co-written by novel and series writer Kirsten Beyer) it was revealed that Mirror Michael had survived and managed to ascend to the throne, but she was in turn killed by Mirror Airiam. In DIS: “Terra Firma”, Mirror Michael finally makes an on-screen appearance. Mirror Georgiou and her fight and kill each other before Georgiou is returned to the 32nd Century, so it depends on whether you believe Georgiou was actually traveling in time or not or whether she was in the actual MU or not. In any event, Prime Michael is unaware of the events of the comic or Mirror Georgiou’s time/space travel.

Michael looks at her adoptive brother Spock’s station - or at least where it would be on the Prime Enterprise. Despite Michael’s assumption, Mirror Spock was not exactly “as ruthless as the rest”. As Prime Kirk described him in TOS: “Mirror, Mirror”, he was a man of integrity “in both universes”. Sadly, it would be Mirror Spock’s reforms towards peace that would lead to the Empire being toppled by a Klingon-Cardassian alliance.

The intermix chamber is where the matter/antimatter reaction of the warp core takes place. In TNG times, the entire warp core assembly consists of the intermix chamber plus the matter and antimatter injectors and tubes which is what is jettisoned when they order the warp core to be ejected (VOY: “Day of Honor”, et al.).

The plaque in the transporter room indicates Tartarus Base on Stardate 32336.6 - by TNG reckoning that would correspond with 2355, but who knows how the Terrans measured stardates? In any case, since they’re using the SNW sets, the ship itself is apparently showcasing mid-23rd Century levels of technology. Oddly, for a plaque apparently put up by dissidents, it says "Long Live The Empire". Tartarus Prime was mentioned as a planet with high temperatures in the novel The Rings of Time.

The Terran High Chancellor making reforms might be referring to Spock, who was said to have risen to be Commander-in-Chief of the Empire (DS9: “Crossover”). Mirror Saru was a Kelpien slave in the MU experienced by Georgiou in DIS: “Terra Firma” but was saved by her and consequently went on to save a lot of lives. If the plaque was put up in 2355, then these events would have taken place about 97 years after Mirror Saru was saved by Georgiou and about 88 years after Mirror Spock met Prime Kirk. We don't really know how long Kelpiens naturally live, but Su'Kal (the one who caused the Burn) lived to be over 120 years old, so it's possible.

Interestingly, there are holoemitters in Sickbay, which seem to indicate later-24th Century technology (i.e. the EMH of VOY). Of course, this is all assuming tech levels are consistent across universes. I have many questions.

An Erigah is a Breen blood bounty, and we have a fan theory confirmed: L’ak is indeed a member of the mysterious Breen that have never been seen unmasked on screen. In the Litverse, the Breen are actually a society rather than a single race, consisting of six species, none of whom match L’ak’s description.

In the flashback, the Breen Moll meets wear similar uniforms (although the helmets don’t have the pronounced “beak”) and speak the same unintelligible language from their appearances in DS9. The Breen also carry what must be a 32nd Century version of the neural truncheons they had in DS9, which acted like cattle prods.

Moll identifies L’ak as the “Primarch’s nephew”. Coincidentally, in DS9: “The Adversary” the leader of the Tzenkethi Coalition in the 24th Century is known as the “Autarch”.

When L’ak first removes his helmet, his skin and skull are almost transparent, reminding me of how the Gallamites were described with transparent skulls and brains twice the size of humans (DS9: “The Maquis, Part 1”). It seems that Breen skulls and skin get more opaque with exposure.

Callor V was previously mentioned in DIS: “Jinaal”. Rubindium is used in communications tech, first mentioned in TOS: “Patterns of Force” and subsequently in DIS: “Far from Home”. There is also a similar-sounding element called rubidium (VOY: “Think Tank”).

The Emerald Chain, an organized crime concern, was the central antagonist in Season 3, but are shattered by the end of it, so that dates the start of Moll and L’ak’s relationship to 3189.

Booker’s planet Kwejian was destroyed by the DMA in Season 4, in case anyone forgot, leaving him the last of his species.

The Primarch says L’ak carries the genetic code of the Yod-Thot, “They who Rule”. In DS9, “Thot” denoted a high rank (the script for DS9: “Strange Bedfellows” describes Thot Gor as a Breen general). As a side note, the Klingon word yoD means “shield”.

So Breen have “two faces”, one transparent and one not. Hopefully we can get some backstory to explain why this is, and why the non-transparent face is viewed with disdain. The weapon the Primarch materializes is a sleeker version of the 24th Century Breen rifle.

We see L’ak apparently bleeding, although the fluid isn’t red. In DS9: “In Purgatory’s Shadow”, Bashir says Breen don’t have blood, although how he knows this for sure is not explained. While this could be misinformation, some Earth invertebrates have circulatory systems that contain, not blood, but hemolymph, a fluid that carries carbohydrates, lipds, amino acides, hormones, etc. through the body. The Breen could be similar.

Rhys’s suggestion seems odd at first blush - don’t photon torpedoes already have antimatter in them? Then you realize his idea is to replace the matter in the torpedoes with antimatter as well, adding more antimatter to the aperture reactions. I’m still trying to figure out why hexagonal.

Michael comments that “hit it,” sounds weird and sticks with her own “let’s fly.” Of course, “hit it” was Pike’s catchphrase to go to warp.

I’m going to leave the question of how Stamets is able to recognize that it’s the ISS Enterprise from this distance unanswered. The setting and ending of the episode was kind of spoiled if you had paid attention to the Season 5 trailers anyway.

The face off between the ISS Enterprise and the refit Discovery reminds me of a similar face off between the USS Enterprise and Discovery at the end of Season 1 (DIS: “Will You Take My Hand?”).

Michael used the tractor beam earlier to signal 3-4-1-4, a reference to The Ballad of Krul Section 4, Verse 7 where Krul calls to his war brother for rescue with a drumbeat using that pattern.

I’m still kind of bummed we didn’t see any Tzenkethi despite being in their space. Which kind of makes me wonder what their status is in the 32nd Century.

Culber refers to his death and resurrection in Season 1 (DIS: “Despite Yourself” and “Saints of Imperfection”, respectively).

We find out that the MU refugees did make it to the PU, and one of them, Dr Cho, became a Branch Admiral in Starfleet. Presumably the trauma of existing in a different universe wasn’t as severe because there was no time travel involved, unlike Yor or Mirror Georgiou, who crossed universes and had a centuries-long gap.

The Branch Admiral rank was detailed in the FASA Star Trek RPG’s TNG Officer’s Manual, and was a new rank to extend Admiral’s rank and privileges to non-Command division positions like the Starfleet Surgeon General, or other divisions like Security or Engineering, or the Inspector General’s Office. This was to give them the requisite authority to carry out their policies.

Since Cho was a part of Jinaal’s group, which existed during the Dominion War (2373-2375), that makes the Starfleet. Presumably the trauma of existing in a different universe wasn’t as severe because there was no time travel involved, unlike Yor or Mirror Georgiouears old, assuming she was commissioned at the same time as her Prime counterpart, in 2245. Which leaves the question of why the tech is the same despite nearly a century apart up in the air, since they apparently added holoemitters. Maybe the show should have used the Enterprise-D sets from PIC Season 3. The Enterprise-D was commissioned between 2362 and 2364 (sources vary), so that’s actually a closer date.

The dedication at the end is to Allan Roy “Red” Marceta, who was a lead set dresser on DIS. He passed away in 2022.

The title comes from the David Bowie song “Changes” from the 1971 album Hunky Dory. The song also has the lyric “Time may change me, but I can’t trace Time.” Given the theme of this episode, it seems appropriate.

The latinum bars are soaked in fop’yano poison (first mention). Latinum, a Ferengi currency, is a metallic liquid which is encased in gold (considered by Ferengi to be worthless), and persists as a currency in the 32nd Century (last seen in DIS: “All In”). The dead weapons dealer is Annari, a Delta Quadrant species which first appeared in VOY: “Nightingale”.

Deuterium manifolds were mentioned in dialogue in VOY: “Course: Oblivion” and VOY: “Renaissance Man”, with deuterium being the fuel used in fusion reactors on Federation starships. A manifold distributes fluids and gas from one pipe to many and vice versa. In internal combustion engines, an intake manifold distributes the fuel-air mixture to the cylinders and an exhaust manifold distributes exhaust from multiple sources to a single pipe for venting.

Polarons are particles that can be used in weaponry (DS9: “The Jem’Hadar”) or for scanning for vessels (VOY: “State of Flux”), among other things. Polaron radiation is fatal to humanoids (DS9: “Apocalypse Rising”).

The Red Angel is indeed Michael, forming a major part of the plot for DIS Season 2. Michael and Rayner appear to have been transported to the end of Season 2, when Michael pulled Discovery along with her to the 32nd Century (between DIS: “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2” and “Far From Home”).

Michael identifies the second jump as being in drydock in San Francisco when Discovery was first being built. The original dedication plaque for the NCC-1701 says “San Francisco, Calif.”, so that tracks. The dedication plaques for Discovery, Shenzhou and Franklin also indicate they were launched from the San Francisco Fleet Yards. That being said, the assumption was always that the fleet yards were in orbit, the scene in ST 2009 showing the Enterprise being constructed on Earth notwithstanding.

The next jump is to Stardate 1051.8, the climax of Season 2 of DIS (“Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2”), the Battle near Xahea with Control, just before the time of the first jump.

Rayner identifies the culprit: a Krenim chronophage or a “time bug”, left over from the Temporal War. The Krenim were Krenim were a Delta Quadrant species with the technology to manipulate time (VOY: “Year of Hell”). A chronophagey a “time eater”. The Temporal Cold War was a feature of ENT’s stories, which became a hot war around the time of the 31st Century (ENT: “Storm Front”), although the nature of a time war means that it was fought across different time periods. Eventually, as a result of the War, time travel was outlawed.

The time jumping into the past of the ship is very similar to the events of VOY: “Shattered”, as many have pointed out. In the VOY novel A Pocket Full of Lies by Kristen Beyer, it is revealed that the shattering of Voyager into 37 time frames was due to the detonation of a chroniton torpedo launched by the Krenim Beyer was hired as a staff writer for DIS and was an executive producer on PIC and SNW.

Stamets’ consciousness exists outside of the normal flow of time (DIS: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”) because of his tardigrade DNA, which he spliced into himself so he can function as the navigator required to use the Spore Drive (DIS: “Choose Your Pain”).

The fourth jump takes them to Osyraa’s hijack of Discovery in Season 3 (DIS: “Su’Kal”). The Black Alert was Tilly trying to jump away, but Stamets was interrupted before the jump could be executed by an Emerald Chain boarding party. Reno is dressed in Discovery’s 23rd Century uniforms, since this is before the crew changed to 32nd Century uniforms at the end of Season 3.

A Vesper martini is a cocktail invented by Ivar Bryce, a friend of writer Ian Fleming’s, who used it in Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel. It consists of gin, vodka and lillet.

The fifth jump takes them to 3218, 27 years in the future. Zora says that Michael and the crew died “decades ago” when the Progenitor tech fell into the wrong hands.

The Breen (DS9: “Strange Bedfellows”) are an antagonistic alien race usually hidden behind their masked suits. They were originally referred to as a Confederacy but in the 32nd Century are an Imperium. They have been mentioned previously as being in a state of infighting.

Michael refers to the first time she boarded Discovery while still serving her sentence for the mutiny she attempted on the Shenzhou in DIS: “The Vulcan Hello” that (debatably) set off the Klingon War.

The diagram that Zora flashes up is a light cone, used in physics as a way to visualize a path through spacetime, converging on the event where the past and future cones meet.

The tone of this future jump is similar to the Short Treks episode “Calypso”, where a future Discovery is seen devoid of life except for Zora, who has been alone for a thousand years. However, that version of the ship does not bear the NCC-1031-A number of the refit (as the episode was made before the Discovery’s time jump at the end of Season 2) and how “Calypso” can fit in with continuity as it stands now is a matter of debate.

Chronitons are Trek particles with temporal properties and associated with time travel. World lines are curves in spacetime describing the path an object takes through spacetime, and therefore its corresponding history. Scaravelli’s Constant is not a real thing as far as I can tell. Mark Rothko was an abstract painter known for his color field paintings.

Just as a note - the reason why Michael and Rayner are in their 32nd Century uniforms and Stamets is not is because the first two are physically jumping through time thanks to being in mid-transport when the jumps started. Stamets remembers only because his consciousness is the one that retains its memory despite the time jumps, as he did in “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Turn Mad”.

Book pronounces raktajino in its usual form, so Reno’s pronunciation of it as “raktachino” last episode must be idiosyncratic in nature.

The warp bubble does indeed insulate whatever’s within from the effects of Special Relativity - it has to, or else faster than light travel would be impossible. This is true whether or not you subscribe to the Alcubierre model for the warp drive (which I do not), the TNG Tech Manual version where the warp bubble lowers inertial mass (which I do), or some other method.

Rayner expresses concern that breaking the warp bubble would rip Discovery (and them) apart and Stamets says inertial dampeners will take care of that - which to me discounts Alcubierre once again because there are no inertial forces acting on the ship in such a model.

Airiam was Discovery’s cyborg spore drive ops officer who was taken over by Control and had to be killed (DIS: “Project Daedelus”).

Michael (and Michael) is presumably using Suus Mahna in the fight, a Vulcan martial art that T’Pol was also proficient in (ENT: “Marauders”). She finishes herself off with a Vulcan nerve pinch. Non-Vulcans have been known to use the nerve pinch, and Michael herself used it in “The Vulcan Hello” to disable Georgiou.