Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Star Trek Burial Torpedo

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Posted by Saboc on :

When an officer dies, do they just stuff him/her into a torpedo's case and shoot him/her into space just like that? Where will that torpedo end up? I mean what a horrible way to spend eternity right?

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Spend all your time waiting for a second chance, a break that would make it ok...

[This message has been edited by Saboc (edited November 19, 1999).]

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

People are buried however they choose to be, apparently. Unless you've never written your will, in which case your body is shipped to Meltakron V and reanimated to serve as a ro-bot in their yttrium mines.

But seriously, what does it matter? How is drifting in space worse than turning into a greenish mass of worm food?

The tradition of being buried at sea, or in this case space, has a long history.

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"And if we weren't good to you, Dave, you shouldn't take it all the way to your grave."
--
Will Rigby

Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :

Exactly Sol. Starfleet seems steeped in Naval history. The burial in space is simply an extension of that tradition. Not too many burial plots available in deep space. Plus as big as space is, the odds of that tube ever encountering anything are actually pretty low.

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"Resolve and thou art free."

Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :

Does anyone remember the Voyager episode "Latent Image?" The crew places Ensign Jetal in a torpedo casket and aims it at a sun. I guess that the modified torpedo can be aimed anywhere. This also reminds me of Star Trek II, where they send Spock's body to the Genesis planet.

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"All you people, can't you see, can't you see
How your love's affecting our reality
Everytime we're down
You can make it right
And that makes you larger than life"

-Backstreet Boys

Posted by Lt. Tom on :

Where the photorp casing will end up depends on the mass of the objects in the vicinity and the inverse square of the distance between it and the objects, as well as its initial velocity relative to those objects. It may take a while to get there if it isn't aimed in that direction, but in most cases it'll smack into the nearest star or planet.

Er--hey, wait a minute. What happens if said planet is home to a pre-spaceflight civilization? They see this thing come down from the sky, retrieve it, and find an alloy they've never used along with a lifeform they've never encountered. I mean, it's a slim chance, but...

[This message has been edited by Lt. Tom (edited November 21, 1999).]

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

Considering the circumstances, shouldn't that be deathform?

In any case, the religion (or modification to an exhisting one) that grew up around such an event would be interesting.

--Baloo

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It is less important that you agree with me than it is for you to to understand what I'm saying.

http://members.tripod.com/~Bob_Baloo/index.htm

Posted by Dax (Member # 191) on :

Imagine, just as you read this, a torpedo carrying a dead alien lands in your backyard.

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"Forgive me if I don't share your euphoria!" (Weyoun to Dukat, Tears of the Prophets)
Dax's Ships of STAR TREK

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Well, Spock's torpedo only landed because of the unique conditions of the Genesis planet at the time. Any other world and such an object would just burn up in the atmosphere.

Unless said world is "in a state of gravitational flux" after being created by a device of godlike power.

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"And if we weren't good to you, Dave, you shouldn't take it all the way to your grave."
--
Will Rigby

Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :

Uh-huh, it would probably burn up upon re-entry. That is, unless it becomes like a meteor and lands in a populated area, killing tons of people.

I read something in a novel version of STII that Saavik knew how to, and deliberately set the coordinates of the launch so that the torpedo would survive the descent. Otherwise, the torpedo would burn up on re-entry, unless the planet is actually a lifeless chunk of rock or something.

Another thing: Suppose the alien civilization has a space program similar to the one we have now. And suppose that we have telescopes which can detect asteroids coming from miles away. It is entirely possible that they could detect that torpedo floating in their system, or find it on one of their moons or something.

Hey, maybe NASA has something that we don't know about....... Whatever the case, now that I think about it, I believe that leaving a casket floating in space may be a Prime Directive violation. Think about it.

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I can resist anything.......
Except Temptation

[This message has been edited by Tahna Los (edited November 22, 1999).]

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Why would a torpedo burn up in the atmosphere? I'm sure the casing is made out of something strong enough to resist that heat. Otherwise, planetary bombardment from orbit would be out of the question. All your torpedoes would burn up before reaching the surface (and, naturally, their targets).

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"General Hammond: Request permission to beat the crap out of this man."
-Colonel O'Neill, Stargate: SG-1: "Bane"

Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :

Wait? Find a big rectangular black thing on a moon?

*here's Zarathustra play in the background as the planets and stars suddenly form in alignment*

And to think. This event actually happened in 1999, according to the story...

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"The things hollow--it goes on forever--and--oh my God!--it's full of stars!" -David Bowman's last transmission back to Earth, 2001: A Space Odyssey

Posted by Jim Phelps (Member # 102) on :

I always suspected that the date might be something of a Clarkian/Hyamsian revisionism. The online script gives the date as April, 2001, while one of the TMA photos in the actual movie shows the number 031201 in a corner. It might be a bit of a stretch, but I think that the number is supposed to be a date. The novel also mentions a Chinese Expedition back in '98, or a flu that had befallen them - it does seem as if some time had passed.

Boris

[This message has been edited by Boris (edited November 22, 1999).]

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

TSN, the circumstances between the two are pretty different. For one thing, burial ones don't glow.

For another, I sort of meant "burn up" to indicate that the torpedo wouldn't have a nice soft landing. Even if it did survive its descent, it's going to hit the ground with a very satisfying smack.

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"And if we weren't good to you, Dave, you shouldn't take it all the way to your grave."
--
Will Rigby

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Boris: Movie, schmovie. The book is infinitely better...

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"General Hammond: Request permission to beat the crap out of this man."
-Colonel O'Neill, Stargate: SG-1: "Bane"