Editing Newsletter/Fall 2007 (section)

==Writing Star Trek Tech==
By Daniel Greene [[Image:warpcore 1.jpg|150px|thumb|right|A warp core]]
Faster-than–light travel. Matter-energy conversion. Artificial Gravity. Semi-sentient computers. Matter/Antimatter power plants. Technology in the Star Trek Universe is a wonder to behold. Exceptionally advanced technologies affect almost every aspect of life for the federation’s citizens. No Star Trek story would be complete with out the appearance of some aspect of this incredible technology. The use of this technology is one of the factors that makes Star Trek anything but just another science Fiction story. Whether it is a transporter, hand phaser, communicator badge or the Warp Core of a starship, it may be something that at some point we might need to describe in technical terms.

Writing about the technology found in the Star Trek universe isn’t always an easy task. 

Now I am certainly not a Star Trek engineer who can talk about Soliton waves or ODN network components with a complete understanding of what I am talking about. So how do I write for my Engineering characters or for any other characters that may have to answer technical questions?

Simply put, I make it up. But I don’t just arbitrarily design new pieces of technology. Instead there is a method to the madness that develops as I write the posts involving technology. Here are a few suggestions that will help you write better Trek Tech. 

'''Basic Guidelines'''

''The following comments provide an idea of what I believe technology should and should not be in the Star Trek universe.''

[[Image:StarTrekTNGPanel1.jpg|225px|thumb|left|An Engineering Panel]]

•Federation technology is super science. It can accomplish amazing, almost magical things. However while it provides characters with great power, it does not grant perfection or invulnerability.

•Technology is character enabled. It expands the powers of mind and body without replacing them. There is very little drama left in a story if every problem can be solved by technology. Machines should never be more intuitive or clever than a character.

•Technology is convenient. By the 24th century small badges can transmit messages from a planet’s surface to ship’s in distant orbit, and a hand held device has more computing power then the 21st Centuries fastest super-computers.

''While Star Trek technology is all of these things, there are many things it is not.''

•Technology is not easily explicable. After all, it is super science. If we could all understand how it worked, we’d possess it by now.

•Technology is not incomprehensible. While we may not understand why it works, we can always explain that it does. Given that, there is always a way to describe why something will not work.

•Technology is never the answer. It should give the crew great resources with which to solve problems, but it should never solve them.

•Technology is not infallible. Nothing adds a little spice to a crisis like an equipment malfunction. If  the characters are relying too much on their technology and not enough on their cognitive skills, it’s a good time to break something.

•Technology does not break the laws of thermodynamics, although it may stretch them. That is to say there are no perpetual motion machines. Everything needs power, and you never get something for nothing. Fusion and Antimatter provide cheap and readily available power, but raw materials for conversion must still be provided.

•Federation technology is not the most advanced technology there is. There are hundreds of races out there more advanced than the Federation, with technology that may defy one or more of the guidelines above.

'''Consistency''' [[Image:tricorder.jpg|225px|thumb|right|Tricorders]]

Technology should always be a storytelling consideration. If a particularly clever application of technology works well in one situation that does not mean it should always work. By the same note, just because we see it in a movie does not mean we should always try to use that particular solution to solve other problems. Each application should be unique to the situation. Always using a command prefix code to disable an enemy vessel would make things boring after a while. The key to utilizing technology is creative use in different situations.  This should be a consistent approach, especially when dealing with similar situations or circumstances.

Now that some guidelines have been provided, let’s talk about how to write Trek Tech.

'''The Process'''

''First, do some basic research.'' If you are going to write about the Warp Core or Warp Engines, take a look at a couple of online resources. I recommend Memory Alpha [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Main_Page]. This site has a good searchable technology section, which will help anyone with their technical writing. Additionally there are a lot of images, which can help in describing what your character may be seeing as they conduct repairs.

''Second, use technobabble.'' Technobabble is the art form of taking random words and stringing them together in an attempt to create an authentic sounding piece of equipment.  I have a chart that I use to help me.

I have three lists that I use on a fairly regular basis. The basic premise is to mix and match words from 2 or three lists in an attempt to create an authentic trek sounding name for a particular Trek-like component. Rarely would I use more than one word from any single list.[[Image:Combadge.jpg|225px|thumb|left|commbadge]]

Here are the lists I most commonly use.

'''List #1''' quantum, positronic, gauss, osmotic, neutrino, molecular, resonating, thermal, photon, ionic, phased, multiphase.

'''List #2''' flux, reaction, field, particle, gradient, induction, conversion, polarizing, displacement, feed, imaging.

'''List #3''' inhibitor, equalizer, dampener, chamber, catalyst, coil, unit, bus, translator, grid, conduit, regulator, sustainer.

Thus using this list you could create a quantum particle coil or a neutrino polarizing unit. [[Image:star-trek-phasers.jpg|225px|thumb|right|Phasers]]

''Finally consider the effect of what you are writing.''

Whenever you are writing technology, especially the repair of technology, keep in mind the absolute complexity of the technology that you are working with. Create a reasonable period of time to repair it. Don’t just assume that a warp core can be repaired in a matter of minutes or even hours. 

This factor is especially important when your repair projections impact the plot. If you want the warp drives to fail, it should take a while to get them back on line. If the piece of equipment is critical or central, you should always ask your captain before taking it out of the picture for long periods of time. 

Conversely, taking an hour to repair a minor component of a much larger system may be an alternative.

Adding in a piece of super cool tech may spoil the entire plot. Always limit powerful tech in some manner. There should ALWAYS be a drawback to powerful technology.

Additionally you should always be prepared for those few people out there that will voice their opinions on the tech you’ve written. They are out there and they WILL tell you if you’ve written something completely wrong from canon. That’s alright. Just be prepared for it to happen and take it all with a grain of salt.

Have fun! I hope to see you all writing in the Star Trek Freedom Universe.