Star Trek Weaponry - The
sci-fi series STAR TREK/NBC/1966-69 and its spin-off series
created a unique mythology of alien races and
pseudo-scientific technology and weaponry which helped carry
out their weekly plots. When the crew had to fight off aliens
they used phasers which emitted an energy beam similar to a
laser. It came in four models: a small clip on uniform type, a
hand held pistol, rifle style and the larger ship mounted
Phaser controlled from the main bridge of the starship
through a series of huge Phaser banks. The pulsating nature
of the Phaser let the gun fire steadily, or intermittently.
The energy from the Phaser could dematerialize an object, heat
an object, stun a victim, or could be set on overload to make
an implosion time bomb. The Phaser energy was focused through
dilithium crystals. Klingons were armed with Sonic Disrupters Pistols. Other
weaponry included the photon torpedoes which were anti-matter
suspended in a magnetic field. The Phaser ray gun for the series was
invented by the Westheimer Company, a special effects studio.
The primary
means of moving crew and cargo to/from the planet surfaces was
the Transporter machine. It was a matter/energy scrambler that
broke down the objects into energy and then reassembled the
molecular structure of an object or person at point of
destination. During transport cycle, objects appeared as a
cloud of sparkling dust. The transporter had a range of 16,000
miles. Overriding the safety buffers, the transporter could be
used as a deadly weapon transporting persons at will and
disintegrating them.
Warp Factor - The term used
to indicate the speed of the 23rd century starship USS
Enterprise on the sci-fi series STAR TREK/NBC/1966-69.
Scientist Zefram Cochrane (Glenn Corbett) discovered the space
warp in A.D. 2016. It enabled starships to travel
faster-than-light through outer space. The warp drive systems
achieved their tremendous speeds by the controlled
annihilation of matter and antimatter. The warp drive
continued to be used in the subsequent theatrical movie
spin-offs and the TV sequel series STAR TREK: THE NEXT
GENERATION; STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE; and STAR TREK:
VOYAGER. In the 1990s, the character Zefram Cochrane (played
by James Cromwell) reappeared in the Star Trek motion picture
First Contact (1996). On April 4, 2063, Zefram
activated a spacecraft called the Phoenix (a reconverted
nuclear missile) which sent a warp signature into space that
alerted a passing Vulcan survey craft of Earth's new found
ability to travel through the stars at light speed. Upon
arrival on Earth, the Vulcans greeted our planet with "Live
Long and Prosper."
TRIVIA
NOTE: According to original series'
projections (found in The Making of Star Trek
Ballantine Books, 1968) warp factor levels and accompanying
speeds included Warp Factor 1 = Speed of Light; Warp Factor 3
= 24 times the speed of light; Warp Factor 6 = 216 times the
speed of light; Warp Factor 8 = 512 times the speed of light.
Warp Factor 6 was the safest cruising speed of the Enterprise.
A revised chart of the warp drive system speeds can be found
on page 372 in The Star Trek Encyclopedia (Pocket
Books, 1994).
When Zefram
Cochrane was 87-years-old, he went into space with the wish to
die there. His ship was intercepted by a sparkling cloud of
living energy ("The Companion") and transported to a small
asteroid where he was rejuvenated and given all the creature
comforts of home. 150 years later, the same cloud hijacked a
shuttle craft filled with Federation personnel to the same
asteroid. when the Cloud sensed Zefram's need for human
companionship. Eventually, the Companion (discovered to be
female and in love with him) realized that the only way she
could ever get to know Zefram on his level, was to merge its
life force with that of a dying woman (Elinor Donahue).
Recognizing his own love for the creature, now living in the
shell of a human female body, Zefram decided to remain and
share a new life and age gracefully together with his new
mate. He asked Captain Kirk (William Shatner) not to tell
anyone that he was alive. Kirk honored his wish and the former
captives returned via shuttlecraft to the USS Enterprise.
