The new Timeline
Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 11:21 pm
Okay, so this thread is here to summarise and explain how the timeline changed as a result of Nero. Basically to come up with plausible reasons why things panned out the way they did.
First, and most obviously, the ships seem much more advanced looking in XI than they did in TOS. Sleeker, much closer to the TMP ideal but decades before that time. They are also apparently much larger - if the nEnt really is 3,000 feet then it's almost 30 times the volume of the original ship, and something like three times the size of a Galaxy class. They also seem to be far, far faster, though I am a little dubious on this point given just how damn fast they seem to be.
So I would suggest that the loss of the Kelvin was something of a watershed moment for Starfleet. They seem to know - or assume - that the mystery ship was Romulan. So they must have presumed that the Romulans had gained some massive technological and industrial edge, and responded by massively ramping up the size and capability of their own ships. The 2250s fleet is therefore the result of over twenty years of what is essentially a massive arms race that didn't previously happen.
Starfleet also seems to be rather less choosy than before. This is hard to judge because it's based more on what we saw in TNG than TOS, but in TNG you had to be the very best of the best to even get into the academy - remember Wesley going through extensive testing for that, and only one of four or so finalists got in? Or look to TOS, where Commodore Stone said "Not one man in a million could do what you and I have done - command a starship." Contrast that with XI where getting into the academy is a matter of turning up and getting on the shuttle, where he practically guarantees Kirk a command of his own within four years of graduating. Admittedly Kirk had "off the chart" scores on his aptitude tests, but still! There's also the fact that you can and Kirk did graduate a year early, something we have never heard of before.
And indeed we see that not only are they willing to graduate Kirk a year early, but they are also willing to plant him directly into the Big Chair of the fleet flagship.
I'd suggest part of Starfleet's buildup was to expand recruitment greatly. The huge new ships must have required huge crews - the nEnt is certainly far busier than the TOS one was - and filling the officer and enlisted posts alike must have been a nightmare. So they seem to be rather more accepting of recruits; I'm not suggesting they let literally anybody in, but pretty much any reasonably qualified person. What certainly seems true is that if you are good at the job you are fast tracked to an almost incredible degree.
Any other thoughts?
First, and most obviously, the ships seem much more advanced looking in XI than they did in TOS. Sleeker, much closer to the TMP ideal but decades before that time. They are also apparently much larger - if the nEnt really is 3,000 feet then it's almost 30 times the volume of the original ship, and something like three times the size of a Galaxy class. They also seem to be far, far faster, though I am a little dubious on this point given just how damn fast they seem to be.
So I would suggest that the loss of the Kelvin was something of a watershed moment for Starfleet. They seem to know - or assume - that the mystery ship was Romulan. So they must have presumed that the Romulans had gained some massive technological and industrial edge, and responded by massively ramping up the size and capability of their own ships. The 2250s fleet is therefore the result of over twenty years of what is essentially a massive arms race that didn't previously happen.
Starfleet also seems to be rather less choosy than before. This is hard to judge because it's based more on what we saw in TNG than TOS, but in TNG you had to be the very best of the best to even get into the academy - remember Wesley going through extensive testing for that, and only one of four or so finalists got in? Or look to TOS, where Commodore Stone said "Not one man in a million could do what you and I have done - command a starship." Contrast that with XI where getting into the academy is a matter of turning up and getting on the shuttle, where he practically guarantees Kirk a command of his own within four years of graduating. Admittedly Kirk had "off the chart" scores on his aptitude tests, but still! There's also the fact that you can and Kirk did graduate a year early, something we have never heard of before.
And indeed we see that not only are they willing to graduate Kirk a year early, but they are also willing to plant him directly into the Big Chair of the fleet flagship.
I'd suggest part of Starfleet's buildup was to expand recruitment greatly. The huge new ships must have required huge crews - the nEnt is certainly far busier than the TOS one was - and filling the officer and enlisted posts alike must have been a nightmare. So they seem to be rather more accepting of recruits; I'm not suggesting they let literally anybody in, but pretty much any reasonably qualified person. What certainly seems true is that if you are good at the job you are fast tracked to an almost incredible degree.
Any other thoughts?
I forgot about that 25 year wait.