Voyager S5 E26 Equinox
Voyager can’t talk shit because it runs on lab-grown living brain tissue
Hey! Bioneural gel packs make the Voyager smart and not at all silently screaming in existential terror!
I have no mouth and I must scream
The cheese cometh…
That’s what they made us think
Both can be true.
returns to fluidic space to complain online about trek physical accuracy
“Replicator, give me a slice of mushroom pizza.”
“Hot or cold.”
“Hot.”
“Space-warping travel mushrooms or the ones that grow on old logs.”
“Uh, the log ones I guess.”
“Coward.”
Majel Barrett’s sassy replicator was some of her finest work.
Hey, they are extra dimensional ghost corpses. There’s a difference.
Spirits of good fortune, not ghosts.
Took me a second to figure out ransomware. Bravo.
To be fair, magic mushrooms actually exist.
I watched this one when I was a kid and it fucked me up. I couldn’t believe starfleet officers could do that.
The equinos looked cool though
Endurium
I too am still waiting for Starflight 3
My minecraft modding ass immediately thought of enderium (thermal foundation material)
Starship running on mushrooms? Yeah, why not
The mushrooms are some omnipresent thing connecting all space and time together and giving some special super powers somehow? The force stolen you have. Integration of science fantasy into science fiction unasked for was.Counterpoint:
Q
Countercounterpoint:
The Q know about the mycelial network, likely because they created it for their own purposes. That’s how they can seem to transport anywhere in the universe. Quinn essentially admitted as much when he said that their “magic” is simply very advanced technology. A mycelial network permeating subspace would be right up their alley.
Q to Stamets: “Who do you think put mushrooms on your planet?”
The mushrooms are some omnipresent thing connecting all space and time together and giving some special super powers somehow?
Complete and utter nonsense that is an outright fabrication. What you’re describing does not exist in Discovery. You’re collapsing 3-4 different things into one while misunderstanding every single one of them.
The mushrooms are some omnipresent thing
No they’re not. Nothing in Discovery is omnipresent. The closest thing is Carl which that can be argued.I misread this as omniscient. The Network is slightly omnipresent but it’s not sentient and makes no decision. It’s merely a root system/highway. It also doesn’t exist in ALL places. It only exists where life exists. The network does not have root structures in intergalactic space, as an example.
thing connecting all space and time together
That’s accurate. The Mycelial Network (the fungal root structure that permeates an extra layer of space, similar to subspace and transwarp) does connect all of time and space.
special super powers somehow?
No one has super special powers. The closest is Stamets but that’s because of genetic engineering. DNA from a unique species of tardigrade was taken and incorporated into Stamets’ own DNA. Now he has the ability to see time a little differently due to that DNA and he has the ability to navigate the Mycelial Network. End of ‘special super powers’.
From what I can tell, you took the Mycelial Network, the Tardigrade, Stamets Ability, and the jahSepp (which are a sentient race of fungus that live within the mycelial network and breakdown organic material the same way that fungus does on Earth) and then collapsed them into all one giant mess.
That’s not the force and it’s nowhere even close to it.
I’m sorry my guy but Stamets literally has a throwaway line in S1 saying that if the mycelial network is destroyed it will “kill all life in the multiverse”
It doesn’t just connect space and time it connects different universes. Why do you think Lorca was so interested in Discovery, it was the tech that was able to get him back to his original universe.
There’s nothing to be sorry for as the only thing of mine that you’re negating is the ‘omnipresent’ thing and that’s only because I misread it as omniscient. Even then you’re not negating it fully as Season 4 specifically shows that the mycelial network doesn’t exist outside of the galactic boundaries. It only exists where life exists.
Everything else stands.
Love ya Stamets, you big shroomhead
Mushrooms are cool. They defy reality here on earth. Makes sense they’d do it in space.
I’m confused how something could connect all of time and space together without being omnipresent. It seems to me that the network is omnipresent by definition, because it exists everywhere.
I misread it as omniscient. My bad there.
The root system isn’t omnipresent though. It only exists where life exists. The root system doesn’t permeate in regions of dead space or intergalactic space. If there’s nothing for life to grow on then the network doesn’t exist there.
That’s true, it spans the entire multiverse but only within one galaxy. It’s odd, but it’s cool that the network is so deeply tied to the Milky Way, just in every reality.
It makes me wonder what the network is actually feeding off of. Life? Some sort of nebulous “energy”?
Not something that they need to (or should) answer, but it’s just so cool to think about the mystery of it. I love fungi, and I love the mycelial network as this truly cosmic-scale organism living in subspace, holding the multiverse together. It’s beautiful.
The network doesn’t seem to feed off of anything but is instead symbiotic in a way, the way that mushrooms are on earth. They’re just a part of the life/death/rebirth cycle.
They’ve never conclusively stated that the network only works in milky way though. Intergalactic space was a no go but they’ve never tried jumping to another galaxy yet. Be crazy if they did in season 5…
Well, the question still remains of “symbiotizing what”? Fungi on earth range from saprophages, which decompose dead matter into nutrients, to mycorrhizae, which form symbiotic relationships with plants which produce nutrients. In either case, they’re feeding off of things, it’s just the source that varies. All living things need to gain energy somehow.
The mycelial network is spooky and probably feeds off something more abstract, since sci-fi and all that. That said, maybe it’s in some sort of symbiotic relationship with the multiverse itself? There’s so much energy in a galaxy, let alone a multiverse worth of galaxies, that it’s not hard to imagine a fungal network feeding off just a tiny fraction of that energy. And interstellar space has relatively low energy, so it makes sense the network wouldn’t build hyphae there.
You’re right that they never said it only works in the Milky Way, I had just assumed that since it peters out at the border of the galaxy that it ends there. And if it resumes in another galaxy, it seems like it would be discontinuous and thus a separate organism. But I suppose if you imagine it as a wholly separate subspace realm, with hyphae that connect out wherever there is sufficient “energy” of whatever sort it feeds off of, it makes sense. And jumping to another galaxy could be a cool twist indeed!
I would give anything to be an astromycologistWell, the question still remains of “symbiotizing what”?
Life as a whole or the multiverse itself as you mentioned. The show made that pretty clear in saying that wherever the network goes, life goes, and if the network dies then life itself dies.
I had just assumed that since it peters out at the border of the galaxy that it ends there. And if it resumes in another galaxy, it seems like it would be discontinuous and thus a separate organism.
Well, in Season 1 we saw a bunch of the calculations and analyzing that was done of the network while they were jumping. The hyphae do seem to connect in a non-linear fashion if they’re able to connect with an alternate dimension. Lorca also did point out that the calculations were showing multiple universes. So I wouldn’t be surprised if it just sort of… bypasses intergalactic space somehow by folding in a way that’s not intuitive to us.
Also nah, don’t need to strike that out buddy. I’d give anything to be one too <3
Like I tell my kid who is constantly asking “how” whenever we watch Star Trek^1, it’s best not to think too hard about all that lol. I mean, I don’t love the Tuvix episode for the science…
1 Somehow this never happens when watching anime 🤔
Now he has the ability to see time a little differently due to that DNA
Which is kind of weird given that DNA is carbon, hydrogen, etc, moving and forming bonds based on physics. It’s why folding at home can simulate proteins.
So anything DNA does can be simulated on a computer.
But it couldn’t. The network requires a living link. Computers were used for the first couple episodes and they were beyong unreliable.
“Living” is a chemical process. Since Stamets was able to transfer the DNA into himself, he had identified the segments that coded the particular proteins.
Proteins that could not be adequately replicated by a computer while also being accepted by the network. Again. Literally in the first few episodes.
A computer simply couldn’t properly interface with the network.
Proteins that could not be adequately replicated by a computer
Yeah, but that requires a strange alternate future where computers are simultaneously both faster than today’s computers and also not any faster.
And yes the simulation needs a compatible physical interface.
I’m not sure why you’re ignoring what I’m saying.
The speed of the computers is irrelevant. The network required a living organic link. Simulations, while being fast enough, were rejected by the network.
Simulations did not work. I have no idea why you’re so hung up on this when they did it and it failed repeatedly.
I feel like this place has gotten super mean-spirited lately. Maybe I’m just dropping in at the wrong times but I feel like 80% of the posts and comments I see are backhanded references or jabs at some part of the community and most of the rest is TOS stuff I don’t understand that for all I know is also being nasty to somebody.
Does it really have to be like this? I’ll leave that to you lot to figure out. Maybe a split is in order, or part of the commagazine will just vanish and never make another Trek joke again.
Also somecritter lemme know if the Disco-Risa/NonDisco-Risa split happens 'cause I kinda still wanna be in one of them. Or maybe both, as long as the fighting quits.
I think you’re taking this a bit too seriously. Risa is a community for shit posting and jokes. We are allowed to make fun of ourselves here.
I agree with MrPoopyButthole. We’re unserious here but we tend to not put up with actual maliciousness.
Is only joke. Why you heff to be mad?
I have often found humans require the ability “make fun of themselves” in order to derive pleasure. For their species this is normal and you should not find it disconcerting.
Their entire species is disconcerting and I wish I could get away from it.
Good luck with that.
Jack Black is everywhere.
You need to broaden your perspective like when Riker commanded a Klingon ship.
Fighting is fun. Embrace your inner Klingon and tell those Disco lover/haters how horribly wrong they are!
I haven’t watched Star Trek since DS9 and refuse to watch anything made after Enterprise. Can someone please elaborate what in heavens name is going on this meme is talking about?
I haven’t watched Star Trek since DS9 and refuse to watch anything made after Enterprise.
Can someone please elaborate what in heavens name is going on this meme is talking about?
In Voyager there was a two parter episode that involved another Starfleet ship stranded in the Delta Quadrant. They were capturing extra-dimensional beings and using their corpses to power their starship so they could get home faster.
In Discovery, the ship uses a unique propulsion method that utilizes spores and fungal properties.
The meme is mocking people who say that travel via mushrooms is stupid while having no issue with the usage of alien ghost corpses to power their ship.
They were capturing extra-dimensional beings and using their corpses to power their starship so they could get home faster.
Just say “Body Thetans,” it’s okay to admit that some Starfleeters are secretly Scientologists.
So it sounds like Voyager is set in the Warhammer 40k universe then, since the Warp in that lore is a roiling storm of madness and joy of all the thrashing souls of everything sentient that ever lived (and sometimes not sentient, such as literal concepts of thought like hatred, and even forgotten gods of long dead ancient religions) since the beginning of time.
… not even close and I have literally no idea how you managed to get to Gelar shields from that but okay.
I’m going to check out of this conversation. Nothing seems to be gained from this.
Thats… That’s not how many of this works
Got a question for ye. What weighs more: an isogram of dilithium, or an isogram of mycelium? Take your time.
Depends on what isogram we’re talking about. The measurement system in Trek? Then neither weighs more as they’re both one isogram.
If you’re talking about the phrase measurement then neither as neither ‘isogram of mycelium’ or ‘isogram of dilithium’ share an equal amount of letters
I can say that voyager was a lot of fun but I had a hard time with thing after that until lower decks. I tried enterprise, Picard and disco but I didn’t like either. I haven’t tried brave new worlds so I can’t say anything about that one.
I think it’s worth trying the new shows and seeing if any of them appeal to you. Lower decks is definitely a goofy cartoon but it has a ton of heart and feels like enterprise in a way most other shows don’t. Plus it does fan service well in a fun way.
You owe it to yourself to try Strange New Worlds. It’s just really good. It avoids most of the problems that Disco had (though it got better after season 1) and goes back to the episodic feel of past series, but without the ridiculous reset button that some series suffered from.
Familiarity with TOS will provide you with extra enjoyment, but it’s not a requirement, in my opinion.
I’m trying Enterprise but I’m not loving it. I don’t really connect with the characters except Porthos.
But DS9 took a while to get into, so maybe it gets better.
Enterprise finally starts getting good on season 4.
Brave New Worlds is just great.
It’s going to be a long road then… But I’ve got faith of the heart and I’ve got strength of the soul
That song tho…
Enterprise was great after they killed off Trip. TNG holodeck episodes are my favorite.
You should get back into it, though. It’s all pretty solid, except maybe some of Picard.
I did bounce off on DS9, too. That was a rough time for the franchise. Glad people enjoy it retroactively, though.
This is a double episode from Voyager where they come across another federation starship, the Equinox.
Since they don’t break causality, they actually are.
causality
Not sure you’re using this correctly here as the spore drive doesn’t break the link between cause and effect either.
Wait, no they both do. Normal warp does. FTL as a concept does.
Hey, props to them for embracing it immediately and doing time travel nonsense right away.
But it doesn’t. That’s the thing. Warp Drive might (but only when utilized in specific fashion, it doesn’t violate causality simply by existing) but the Spore Drive never has. The temporal shenanigans that happened with the Discovery wasn’t caused by the spore drive. It was caused by a time crystal/Red Angel suit.
Causality is things affecting other things. One event happens which triggers another and there is an outcome. That can continue on indefinitely, but causality is the inherent link between cause and effect. To break causality is to have an outcome that occurs before the event. At no point does the spore drive in Discovery do this. There’s no causality paradox or anything similar that happens in Discovery that is caused by that Spore Drive. The closest is when Disco travels forward in time by a couple of months in Season 1. The warp drive only breaks that as well when you start introducing time travel into it, using that warp drive to specifically cause temporal fuckery.
Don’t make me break out the spacetime diagram, young man. Because I WILL break out the spacetime diagram.
Anyway, doesn’t matter. Star Trek has messed with time travel since TOS season 1. And that was after they started introducing magic men with god powers, which they did in episode 3. It makes zero sense to get nerdy about it. That’s my point here.
Break it out. I have no issue admitting when I’m wrong. I just genuinely do not see what y’all are talking about in saying that faster than live travel, simply by existing, manages to violate the order of cause and effect.
I’ll help out. Here you go: https://www.askamathematician.com/2012/07/q-how-does-instantaneous-communication-violate-causality/
I love it when sci-fi teaches us about real stuff. The problem is that when you mix instant and classical (non-instant) communication channels, you get situations where information time-travels, and the receiver gets information from the future. This breaks causality (present based on future events), and so nature rightfully abhors it.
The closest we’ve come to instant communication is the use of entangled particles, but we can’t make practical use of the phenomenon. Touch one such particle, and it’s pair instantly changes to the opposite state. The catch is that you can’t know when to observe the particle, nor can you know what the original state was, via the same mechanism. So you still need to use normal photons moving at slow-ass light-speed to communicate that meta-information, thereby undoing any attempt to exploit it.
I’m falling apart right now because I’ve not been sleeping properly but I wll 100% look when I awake. Thank you <3
Ah… ok, wow, that’s a lot of relativity to explain from scratch for a non-physicist. There must be someone else…
Here, this one is a bit dense but it addresses Star Trek by name, so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTf4eqdQXpABonus points for starting with the point that forget warp, subspace communication breaks causality already, so you don’t even need to boldly go anywhere for any of it to be kinda busted.
If that’s a bit too dry you can search for a similar subject line, there are TONS of explanations like this one out there.
Anyway, none of it makes sense, it’s all for funsies anyway. Suspend disbelief, ye nerds, and enjoy your sci-fi.
I think MudMan is correctly pointing out that to travel any slower than light speed through space causes time dilation since space is actually space-time.
There is a trade-off between how fast you travel proportional to the speed of light and how much time a stationary observer percieves to have passed compared to you who is travelling.
When you travel faster than the speed of light, all time and causality breaks down. This is not the case with how the writers of Star Trek wrote warp drive mechanics, this is our best understanding of the actual universe. Einsteins theory of relativity.
Fun fact: Light itself (or its quantized unit: the photon) travels at the speed of light and therefore experiences no time. If a photon is emitted from a star across the universe and travels millions of light years before eventually being absorbed by your eye, from our stationary reference point, the light has been travelling for millions of years, but for the photon it was instantaneous. Zero time passed for the photon. This is the idea of time dilation.
I’m not awake enough yet to comprehend this but will respond soon. Sorry!
Hey now, that’s way too much actual science theory for a sci-fi franchise 😁
Yes, that’s what I’m referring to. And a least as far as I remember, it does. It’s not obvious and not addressed at all, but instantaneous travel between two points in space (if you don’t take a shorcut through an addtional dimension, e.g. something we could call w if the three space dimension we’re familiar with are x,y,z) is equivalent to time travel. The same is true for FTL travel, which Star Trek solves by warping space time, which also works.
Perhaps the mycelial network is basically an extra space-time dimension, but at least the way I remember it being explained that wasn’t really the case.
But that’s anyway a relatively technical points and Star Trek, as much as I love it, was never really about the technical things.
