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The coolest and most ridiculous things that shape Star Trek as we know it.
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00:00Star Trek lore is so expansive that it's easy to get confused or surprised at times,
00:05even for hardcore fans. From weird Federation lores that you may not know of, to mind-bending
00:10scientific discoveries that are widely ignored, to cool details of Starfleet life that most people
00:15don't think of, this list will be looking at all of Trek history and counting down 10 of the most
00:20important aspects of Star Trek lore that people barely ever talk about. And so with that in mind
00:25then, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture here with 10 important Star Trek details that are almost
00:30never mentioned. Number 10. The Genetic Manipulation Ban
00:34Anyone who isn't familiar with the history of Star Trek may be confused by the lack of any
00:39advancements in genetic manipulation, considering the fact that we're actually very close to making
00:44it a reality in present day. However, if you look into the lore, especially the backstory of Khan,
00:49the stunted development of this technology actually makes a lot of sense. Khan, along with many other
00:54individuals, were genetically enhanced at the end of the 20th century and turned into genius
00:59super soldiers. This started the Eugenics War, one of the most brutal conflicts of Earth's history,
01:05during which augmented troops took control of huge parts of the planet and nearly plunged humanity
01:10into another dark age. After this war, humanity decided that the risks of genetic engineering far
01:15outweighed the benefits and subsequently banned all DNA manipulation except to correct life-altering
01:21ailments. Genetic engineering is still practiced through a black market, which is how Dr. Bashir
01:26was able to get his enhancements as a child, but it is highly illegal, frowned upon, and hard to come by.
01:32Number 9. Earth's Planetary Government
01:34You may have noticed that when visiting Earth, characters are able to travel anywhere on the
01:40planet instantly, using public transporters as we saw in Star Trek Picard, without the need for any
01:44passports or hassle at all. Additionally, all of Earth in Star Trek seems to have the same or
01:49similar laws regarding freedom of speech, anti-discrimination, and a universal standard
01:54of living. The reason for this is that Earth was actually united under a one-world government
01:59sometime during the 22nd century, largely as a result of the cultural shift towards cooperation
02:05following first contact. As we've seen from the Mirror Universe, a one-world government can be
02:10dangerous because, if not properly democratic, it concentrates power in the hands of very few and
02:15can quickly turn authoritarian. But in the prime universe, the world government, known most
02:20commonly as United Earth, serves only to enforce basic human rights and protect the planet.
02:25Individual countries like Canada, China, and France are all allowed to keep their names and
02:29cultural identities, but all countries simply committed to working towards mutual prosperity.
02:34The change was due to many factors, such as the invention of limitless energy in food, the near
02:39extinction of humanity due to war in the past, and the good example given by the Vulcans of a
02:44successful one-world government. Number 8. Starfleet Microscopic Identification Codes
02:50The Voyager episode Distant Origin showed us something very interesting about Starfleet's
02:56uniforms during the time period. Two Voth scientists found one of Voyager's uniforms along with the
03:01skeleton of a member of the crew, and used these findings to locate Voyager in an effort to prove
03:07that the Voth and humans shared a common ancestor and came from the same planet Earth. Later in the
03:12episode, we learn that this theory is actually true. The Voth were descended from dinosaurs who
03:16escaped the extinction event millions of years ago, who went on to evolve and become one of the most
03:21powerful empires in the galaxy. What's interesting is that, when examining the uniform, the Voth
03:27scientists located what he called a microscopic identification code. It's likely that this is a
03:32form of military dog tag for Starfleet officers, as a way to identify them in the event of their death.
03:37The ID shows the name of their ship, the USS Voyager, and some numbers that are likely a custom
03:43identification number assigned to everyone in the crew. It's interesting that Starfleet still uses
03:47something similar to dog tags, but apparently on a microscopic level, probably to hide the information
03:52from enemies.
03:54Number 7. The Disappearance of Movies and Television
03:58TV shows and movies remained on top of the entertainment market into the 21st century, and even during Star Trek
04:04Enterprise movies were popular. The crew had a movie night, but at some point after Enterprise and before
04:10the next generation, TV and film fell out of fashion. The most likely explanation for this is
04:15the invention of the holodeck. With holodeck technology, you don't merely watch the story
04:20unfold, you are actually part of it, playing a character that you usually have to research beforehand.
04:25This was a logical evolution of entertainment, comparable to when television replaced books as
04:30the most common media format. We saw in Voyager that some history buffs like Tom Paris liked to
04:35make or collect vintage TV sets to watch old movies on, but at this point it was mainly a novelty reserved
04:41for people with a passion for historical storytelling, much like modern people who like to collect vinyl records.
04:47Number 6. Longer human lifespans
04:51It comes as no surprise that due to centuries of medical advances, the human lifespan has drastically
04:56increased by the 22nd century and beyond. This came in large part due to the eradication of common
05:02causes of death like cancer and starvation. During the time of Star Trek Enterprise, the 22nd century,
05:07humans could expect to live around 100 years on average, compared to around 73 years in modern times,
05:13according to the United Nations. In the next generation, the 24th century, this expectancy rose to around
05:19120 years, with some individuals even reaching beyond 130, such as Leonard McCoy, who visited the
05:26Enterprise-D in Encounter at Farpoint at 137 years old. Some humans were able to live much longer through
05:33the use of illegal genetic manipulation, cryostasis, or other methods, but apart from these exceptions,
05:39McCoy is the oldest person we've seen on screen so far.
05:43Number 5. Borg Assimilation of Starfleet Secrets
05:47As most fans know, the Borg can never invent or learn. They only evolve by stealing information
05:53and technology from other cultures through assimilation. When someone becomes a Borg drone,
05:57their entire mind and all their memories get shared with the Collective.
06:01It should come as no surprise, then, that after all of the Starfleet officers and starships assimilated
06:05by the Borg, the Collective has access to a lot of Starfleet's greatest secrets. For example,
06:11the Borg assimilated Captain Picard in the Next Generation episode The Best of Both Worlds. This means that
06:16they would know all of his security codes, every top-secret mission he has ever been part of,
06:21and basically every secret shared with Starfleet captains, such as the Federation's policy on Omega
06:26Molecules. In the Star Trek Picard episode Penance, we learned that the Borg, or at least the Borg from
06:31the Altered Timeline, are aware of Q. It's not confirmed, but they could have learned about the
06:36Continuum from Picard, as he was assimilated long after first encountering Q.
06:41Number 4. Starfleet's Death Penalty
06:44Starfleet and the Federation have reputations for being very human to the powers of the Talosians
06:49too powerful to be public knowledge, and classified them under General Order VII, which simply stated,
06:55no vessel under any condition, emergency, or otherwise is to visit Talos IV. The punishment was
07:01death. Starfleet feared what people would do to the Talosians to harness their ability to make dreams
07:06reality, and also what the Talosians would do to them in return. Because of this, they thought a
07:11highly severe penalty of death would be a good deterrent. However, the only time Starfleet
07:16found someone to be in violation of General Order VII, Spock, in the episode The Menagerie,
07:21they decided to let him off. Presumably, this law was done away with after The Menagerie,
07:25as Picard stated in the Next Generation episode Justice that Starfleet has no death penalty.
07:31Number 3. Exceptions to the Prime Directive
07:34The Prime Directive, also known as General Order I, was created by Starfleet some time before
07:39the original series. It simply states that Starfleet personnel must do everything they can,
07:44even sacrificing their own lives, to prevent unnecessary interference in the development
07:49of alien societies, even if their interference could greatly help these people.
07:53This directive is perhaps the most important rule in Starfleet, especially when applied to
07:58pre-warp civilizations who Starfleet are banned from revealing themselves to.
08:03If a less technologically advanced species suddenly gained access to all of the science
08:07and advanced weapons of the Federation, the results could be catastrophic.
08:11There were exceptions to the Prime Directive, however. Starfleet ships were allowed to save
08:15pre-warp societies from certain destruction by asteroids or alien invaders, but never interfered
08:21with their development or made their presence known, only prevented apocalyptic events. Another
08:26example is the beginning of Star Trek Into Darkness, when the crew prevents a massive
08:29volcano from going off and killing a pre-warp society.
08:33Number 2. Human Extrasensory Perception
08:37Star Trek is known for its realism, but there is often a fair amount of pseudo-science mixed
08:41in to keep things interesting. In the original series episode Where No Man Has Gone Before,
08:46we learned that Extrasensory Perception is real, and that Starfleet even had tests to determine
08:53someone's level of ESP power. Extrasensory Perception basically describes someone's ability
08:58to sense things beyond the standard five human senses — touch, sight, sound, taste, and smell.
09:03These abilities can include telekinesis, telepathy, and precognition. ESP is almost always very weak
09:09in humans, though there were ways to unlock the power. In Where No Man Has Gone Before,
09:14when the Enterprise traveled beyond the edge of the galaxy, an energy field activated the mental powers of
09:19Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Denner, who slowly began turning into godlike beings, using their ESP
09:25powers to bend reality to their whims before eventually being defeated by Kirk. So, while human
09:31ESP is typically nothing than impressive, much less powerful than a Vulcan or Betazoid, it is
09:36interesting to know that these powers are present, and that Starfleet actively screens all officers to
09:41determine their ESP levels. Denner even claimed that some humans were able to sense future events,
09:47accurately guess the backs of playing cards, and even see through walls on occasion.
09:52Number 1. The Warp 10 Barrier
09:55In the 24th century, warp speed was segmented into different warp factors from 1 to 10.
10:00Warp factor 1 is light speed, and 10 is infinite velocity, meaning that the vessel would be traveling
10:05so fast that it would occupy every point in space simultaneously. Warp factor 10 was only achieved
10:11once in the Voyager episode Threshold. The technology was deemed too dangerous to use because it had
10:16interesting effects on human evolution and turned Tom Paris into a horrifying lizard,
10:21but most fans like to pretend that Threshold never happened. The speeds of warp factors increase
10:25exponentially, meaning that Warp 2 is vastly faster than Warp 1, and so on. Starfleet ships in the 24th
10:32century can reach above Warp 9.9, and Voyager can even get up to 9.975, which may seem close to 10,
10:39but it is actually incomprehensibly slower. In the 23rd century, during the original series,
10:45Starfleet used a different scale for calculating warp speed, which is why, in many episodes,
10:50the Changeling, for example, the Enterprise traveled at Warp 10, 11, or higher.
10:54And that concludes our list. If you can think of anything that we missed,
10:58then do let us know in the comments below, and while you're there, don't forget to like,
11:01and subscribe, and tap that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
11:05at TrekCulture, and I can be found across various social medias just by searching
11:10Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with TrekCulture. I hope you have a wonderful day,
11:14and remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.
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