11.2 Future Speculations: Speculations

Introduction

The purpose of this Chronology is to give a concise history of spaceflight so that our present capabilities and resources may be better understood. However, this knowledge has little cogency until it’s applied to the future, and it is the future of spaceflight that this section examines.

Star Fleet Command recently commissioned a blue-ribbon panel of experts to ponder the future, and offer their speculations on the future of spaceflight as it relates to their specific discipline. Now, an expert’s opinion is just as likely as not to be too conservative, too grandiose, or just plain wrong (see Chapter 5: 2100 Conference). But these speculations should provide a framework for personal future-thinking. Who knows, perhaps there is an Einstein out there who will read this book and forever alter our lives by some revolutionary breakthrough sparked in whatever small way, by the Chronology.

Stellar Engineering: If You Don't Like a Planet's Climate, Move It!

The energy-boosting properties of dilithium have been incorporated into starship construction, but these revolutionary crystals haven’t yet filtered down to the industrial level. When they do, we will have the most powerful tool at hand in history. What’s more, intensive research is discovering more efficient configurations of dilithium faceting, coupled with the synergistic advantages of multiple engine coordination, will mean man can soon move mountains and more.

Preliminary calculations indicate that we will soon be able to provide enough thrust to move a planet the size of the Earth’s moon out of its orbit and to another location as far away as we wish. The possibilities of terraforming new worlds to accomodate all intelligent lifeforms will be greatly expanded, and the occasional disasters caused by worlds colliding will now be prevented. There is speculation that a warp-generated field may some stardate be strong enough to deflect a whole star from its position; we may be able to move whole stars around the galaxy. We are nowhere near the capability yet, but there is nothing theoretically impossible in the scheme. And possibly, it will be a reality in our lifetimes.

Psionics: Do You Know What I'm Thinking? You Probably Do.

The United Federation of Planets contains lifeforms of extremely advanced intelligence, capable of exploring the galaxy and other modern marvels. However, in the course of these explorations, Federation starships have again and again encountered lifeforms unimaginably superior to our own. And this superiority almost invariably takes the form of psionic abilities. Whether it is the Platonian ability to move objects or the awesome power of Organians, psionic aptitude seems to be the evolutionary path all we lifeforms are pursuing.

Perhaps this speculation has no place among the other practical suggestions in this chapter, but neurophysiologists tell us there are no inherent limitations in our brain structure prohibiting the development of advanced psionic abilities in humans. In fact, all the equipment seems already to be in place; we only lack the knowledge or wisdom to be able to tap this amazing potential within ourselves.

So this is perhaps where the real face of the future will be determined. If mankind evolves sufficiently to be able to harness his psionic potential, then all the technological wonders in the galaxy will be as children’s tiny steps to this gigantic leap in progress. As sages have told us throughout recorded history, the future is within ourselves.

Superwarp: Next Stop, the Next Galaxy.

There have been numerous experiences in recent Federation history with alternative universes, different dimension of space-time. Ships have been lost to parallel universes, and the forward momentum of time does not appear to be irreversible. Clearly, our present laws of physics and chemistry are incomplete. Until we can arrive at a new theory that can account for these “impossible” events, we must make the best with our admittedly inadequate universe-view.

However, there has been some mathematical speculation done into this question of different dimensions. There is no mathematical barrier to conceptualizing higher dimensions, and in fact the mathematical computations have already been worked out for the next dimension of space-time after warp. This dimension, called superwarp, operated on what the mathematicians inform us is the integrated metrical tangent to the warp curve.

Simply put, this means that instead of cubing the speed of light (warp 3 ~3³c, or 27 times the speed of light) superwarp will produce phenomena at the fourth power. Therefore superwarp 3 will be eighty-one times the speed of light; warp 7 will be 2401 times c., etc. No one yet knows how to achieve this superwarp effect, but the mathematics are in place. It will no doubt only be a matter of time before the technology catches up, and then spaceflight will undergo a quantum leap comparable or perhaps even greater (extra-galactic travel?) than that which accompanied warp drive.

Spaceflight Exploration: Where Do We Go Next?

Up till now, the United Federation of Planets has, understandably, directed the thrust of its exploration program to new worlds in neighboring sectors of space. This has yielded invaluable contacts and knowledge and will be continued. But there are two other directions that future spaceflights will explore.

The first is inward, toward the galactic center. Approaching the middle of the Milky Way, the number of stars and their proximity grows ever greater, until all space is lit by the fires of a billion close suns, and the gravitational forces are stronger than any we can imagine, stronger at least than a million black holes. All the known laws of physics will be distorted in unknown ways, and explorations in this direction should generate some startling new insights into the scientific picture of reality.

The other direction, of course, is outward, to neighboring galaxies. At 48 kiloparsecs, the Large Magellanic Cloud is our nearest neighbor, and this distance seems unreachably distant. However, if the speculation about the superwarp speeds produces a new quantum leap in spaceflight range, then a speed of superwarp 10 would reach the LMC in approximately fifteen years. Some stardate, travel to galaxies will take only as long as travel among stars now consumes.

Educational Time Travel: How to Visit the Good Old Days.

It’s well known that the most popular educational program of modern times has been the “Worlds in Evolution” course that permits students to travel to planets in different stages of development in order to experience firsthand the drama and mystery of lifeform evolution.

The next, probably inevitable step is to visit, not other worlds, but other times. The capacity to travel back through time is nearly within our control. Numerous starships have slipped through time gates into previous eras, and a concerted research program could locate those areas in space where the space/time fabric opens in a threshold to the past.

The educational benefits would be incalculable. What better demonstration of starships tactics could there be than to witness the Battle of Cheron being fought? Or imagine the excitement of watching the legendary Wright brothers make the first-manned flight at Kitty Hawk? Time travel will no doubt be the most important step forward education has ever taken.

Educational Time Travel—Minority Opinion: “I Live For Today.”

A very optimistic picture can be painted about the benefits and excitement of educational time travel, to really be at the scene of history in the making. But this glowing vision neglects one vital and probably unsolvable problem. How do we twenty-third-century time tourists keep from interfering with the course of events? How do we prevent ourselves from altering the course of history, with incalculable consequences?

The answer is quite simply we can’t. Our presence is almost guaranteed to enter into the flow of events. A man we might talk to on the street might be so distracted by our foreignness that he steps in front of an automobile five minutes later, and, his son who will now never be born was to have been the person to discover a new vaccine that would have saved millions of lives, among whom are the forebearers of billions of galactic citizens, etc.

And this scenario is not only plausible, it is inevitable. I cannot believe that adequate safeguards separating time travelers from the times they visit can be designed, much less perfectly implemented. Time travel, for educational or any other reason, represents a terrible menace and should by all means be forever prohibited.

Medical Speculations: Maybe It's Time for a Better You.

The most promising field in medicine right now is the reexamination of a concept that had been proposed as early as the twentieth century, but had lost popularity. This is the idea of the cyborg, the adaptation of the human body to exist naturally in environments otherwise inimical to mankind. This may take several forms. The first is the introduction of exogenous compounds, chemical and electrochemical devices, into the body and connected with the regulating homeostatic system humans already use to keep themselves functioning. This could include artificial lungs, which could extract usable oxygen from an atmosphere otherwise deadly, or perhaps artificial digestion organs can be implanted to use available but presently indigestible indigenous foods. Another plan calls for a metallic exoskeleton, connected to the central nervous system for control, which would multiply man’s strength enormously. Other cyborgnetic concepts can be easily imagined.

The number of new worlds we are finding has created unlimited potential for human settlement, if only humans could adapt to the particular ecological characteristics of each planet. The cyborg concept will permit just such a useful adaptation.

Medical Speculations—Minority Opinion: “I like the way I am!”

The Minority Opinion takes vehement exception to the casual endorsement of the cyborg concept. It seems that its proponents have unfortunately short historical memories.

The last great conflict that divided mankind concerned eugenic engineering, the manipulation of genes to produce “superior” humans. Well, the superior humans turned out to be megalomaniac oppressors, and the subsequent genetic studies have shown that a diversified gene pool is absolutely vital to the successful evolution of the species. We don’t know what dangers await us in the future, and the versatility of genes to adapt may some stardate ensure the survival of the species.

The Minority Opinion can easily envision the same schism in the human race developing between regular people and cyborgs. Though their capabilities cannot be genetically transferred, the tendency to equate superiority with cybinetically increased strength or more adaptable breathing or eating is, we believe, considerable and even inevitable. Superior strength or superior genes; neither adds up to a superior human being. The Minority Opinion feels that research should be aimed not at adapting man to environment but environment to man. At any cost, let us try and avoid any discordant fragmentation of the species. Mankind is divided enough without this additional splitting.

Why Not Instant Communications?

Subspace radio is one of the crowning technical achievements of our time. Communication of warp 30 and higher speeds messages across the Federation at an incredibly swift rate. But not swift enough. The frontiers of exploration are expanding at a rate faster than subspace radio can keep up with, and communications can sometimes take weeks before reaching a Star Base.

There is a theory gaining currency that will clear up this time lag, will in fact, produce communications that will be practically simultaneous. Subspace radio now uses encoded particles that are sent down the warp curve and retrieved and decoded at their destination. If instead, an energized light wave can penetrate the warp curve into the warp dimension and then emerge back into our space, the time this process would take is negligible. Since it would bypass the time curve of warp, this superspace radio will be nigh on instantaneous.

Presently, there is no known technology that can energize a light wave transmission sufficiently to penetrate this theoretical warp curve interior. But that certainly doesn’t mean it won’t be found and that we won’t some stardate be able to call among star systems as quickly as we would call around the corner.

Weaponry: The Unbelievable Is Yet to Come.

On the graphic boards at Star Fleet Command is a new system of detention inspired by the confrontation with the Tholians. This consists of a self-spinning energy web of contracting tractor beams. An intruding ship is torpedoed by a web matrix that rapidly spins itself around the ship, completely immobilizing it. Deflector shields are useless against this human binder, since the shields themselves are also wrapped within the shrinking energy shell. So without violence, these webs can incapacitate an enemy, leaving surrender as the only alternative.

A more radical and destructive weapons systems is also being contemplated. Since we can send our own starships and our subspace radio into another dimension, theoreticians are working on a weapons system that, when fired at an enemy ship, will deform the space-time fabric around the vessel sufficiently to send it into another dimension. The ship would simply disappear forever from our universe. Whether this awesome final weapon can or will be built is a subject of intense debate currently within Star Fleet Command.

What Will They Think of Next? Starships That Change Their Shape!

As dilithium and future technological innovations become operational, starship design will naturally be adapted to accomodate the breakthroughs. A Ship Page in this chapter gives a picture of what coming starships might ressemble.

However, there is discussion and research going on that would produce an unlimited number of ship designs, for this idea concerns the exterior sheathing that defines starship lines. Because of warp stresses and galactic parameters, starship hulls are presently made of thick layers of trititanium, the hardest shipbuilding material known. But there is an equivalence between matter and energy, and there is no reason why hulls can’t be manufactured from energy fields of varied density and strength. A future ship’s computer can calculate the optimum contour for a particular mission, and a field-energizing generator (perhaps like the one discussed in the “Weaponry” speculation of this chapter that would produce a Tholian-like detention web) would simply create the field. It could be opaque or transparent, as large or small as needed, any shape, and exit ports located anywhere they’re programmed to be. With the breakthroughs happening every stardate in computer capacity and energy generation, this still visionary scheme may become a reality sooner than might be thought.