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The timing of Cochrane's speech made me wonder. In 2063, as Riker says, "most of the major cities are gone, very few governments are left," and a year later he's making a commencement address at Princeton (2153 - 89 = 2064)? What sort of courses was the place offering, Fire Making 101?
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Yeah, but we all know the records from this time are spotty and fragmented at best.
So said Spock.
quote:Originally posted by Woodside Kid: The timing of Cochrane's speech made me wonder. In 2063, as Riker says, "most of the major cities are gone, very few governments are left," and a year later he's making a commencement address at Princeton (2153 - 89 = 2064)? What sort of courses was the place offering, Fire Making 101?
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Very spotty, since I don't recall our favorite Vulcan ever mentioning the 2150s .
Seriously, though, when the balloon went up in 2053, the students in the Princeton class of 2064 would have been around 11 years old. Unless the US had totally dropped out of world affairs and no one was lobbing warheads at it at all (unlikely, given the condition of the people around Cochrane's launch site), the kids would have had a lot more important things to worry about at the time than finishing the 5th grade. I think it highly unlikely that the school system would still be functioning at a necessary level to prepare someone to get into Princeton under those circumstances.
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Very spotty, since I don't recall our favorite Vulcan ever mentioning the 2150s .
Seriously, though, when the balloon went up in 2053, the students in the Princeton class of 2064 would have been around 11 years old. Unless the US had totally dropped out of world affairs and no one was lobbing warheads at it at all (unlikely, given the condition of the people around Cochrane's launch site), the kids would have had a lot more important things to worry about at the time than finishing the 5th grade. I think it highly unlikely that the school system would still be functioning at a necessary level to prepare someone to get into Princeton under those circumstances.
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posted
After the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Center, and similar destruction after California Earthquakes, I think that even after a limited nuclear exchange (compaired to nuclear winter time) the 'ground zero' areas would be slag, but other areas (San Fransisco apperently) where only lightly effected. It wouldn't suprise me if Princeton was untouched and only missed a year of classes, then had a 'hard time' for a couple years, after the infrastructure was back up and running.
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Well, I could see where he might have said in during his say "drunken years", early on following his success, and, of course, refuted it once he became less of a drunk and more of a "enlightened man" which seems to be the person Riker quoted him to be later on.
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On Princeton graduating a class already in 2064... assuming they have some similarity to the Fall-to-Spring school year that the US uses today (and apparently used by Starfleet Academy as well), that suggests that Princeton got its act together and rustled up a class within months after First Contact. I find that unlikely.
Also, I find it relatively unlikely that Princeton itself could have survived. Even if it was a limited nuclear exchange with "only" 600 million dead, Princeton itself is smack in the middle of the Northeast Corridor, the most densely populated part of the United States. IIRC it's about halfway from New York to Philadelphia. I'm not familiar with any of the projections for a Soviet-era nuclear war, but I'd be very surprised if Princeton was able to survive and keep running.
Alternatively, Cochrane had to have a lab of some kind to be able to manufacture warp coils, plasma transfer conduits, and so forth, even if it was primitive stuff.
As for the credibility of Cochrane's story... I figure he'd already cleaned up his act, but since it was relatively soon after the First Contact, they probably figured it was still some kind of delusion. Heck, remember how Cochrane yelled "to hell with the Phoenix!" during the Borg attack? Maybe it was something like that, they figured. Maybe Lily decided to tell a story like that, her being the "brains" of that duo , to try to cover up.
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quote:Originally posted by Woodside Kid: I think it highly unlikely that the school system would still be functioning at a necessary level to prepare someone to get into Princeton under those circumstances.
Well we know that money is still around in Cochrane's time so mabye some parents just made a big donation.
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quote:Originally posted by MinutiaeMan: On Princeton graduating a class already in 2064... assuming they have some similarity to the Fall-to-Spring school year that the US uses today (and apparently used by Starfleet Academy as well), that suggests that Princeton got its act together and rustled up a class within months after First Contact. I find that unlikely.
Well, the facts are, we dont know the extent of the Vulcans 'assistance' following 'first contact'. One of their first 'gestures' may have been to help Earth rebuild or restore its educational and medical and living facilities. Until we get there, or until Star Trek goes to that time and place, we will never know the true extent of the WWIII aftermath....
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quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: -The three scientists we see have two very distinct patches on their parka sleeves. Anyone make any of that out?
Isn't someone here in touch with Geoffrey Mandel? He might know something about these patches.
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Here are some screenshots, including the two patches on the Arctic team, their uniforms, what looks like a Starfleet Command patch and flag, and the blue shuttle. Oh, and the warpship.
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But no plasma rifles, firing beams or otherwise. Pleh. B(
In the first coupla shots of that guy's shoulder-patch, it looked like that yellow horizontal area might have been meant to represent an NX's saucer front-on, but not in the third picture. Might be a nice design for a patch nevertheless, anyone feeling inventive?
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Geoff left the Enterprise Art Department for other projects at the end of last season. Okuda might be worth a shot, or Drexler might be able to get us in touch with some of the current scenic artists (Frederickson, Kobayashi or Van Over).
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, to try to cover up.
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