last byte

From the intersection of computational science and technological speculation, with boundaries limited only by our ability to imagine what could be.

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to save the Enterprise by repairing its
radioactive warp engine in the heart-
rending death scene in the movie Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. 13
The great project of artificial intelli-
gence, begun in earnest in the 20th centu-
ry, foundered in the world of the original
“Star Trek” series. If artificial humanoids
were encountered, they were threats or
fatally flawed. In one episode, Nomad,
a robotic space probe, returned from its
mission with newfound destructive in-
tent. 8 In another, the robot colony that
captured Harry Mudd, led by its chief,
Norman, 5 decided to seduce all human-
ity with offers of service and had to be
subdued with illogical assertions and
paradoxes. Afterward, the tamed robots
were left to themselves, as if for them to
serve any useful role would have been
a disturbance in the established order
of the Federation. Another episode fea-
tured a humanoid robot woman called
Rayna who was deceived by her maker
into believing she was human, 1 but Cap-
tain Kirk ruined that project by attract-
ing her to himself and forcing her to
confront her beloved creator. The stress
and awakening emotional conflict de-
stroyed her robot mind. In the universe
of 23rd-century “Star Trek,” that par-
ticular AI project seemed ill conceived.
Maybe the scriptwriters feared the ro-
bots would rebel and go into business for
themselves, as with the Nomad probe.
In the 24th-century environment of
the “Star Trek: The Next Generation”
TV series, robots would be even more
scarce than before, except for Enterprise
crew member Data, who seemed to be
an isolated experiment. NASA today
explores Mars
bioengineered alien could offer com-
panionship and amusing views in a fu-
ture universe of starships some human
viewers found sterile.
Early “Star Trek” scriptwriters did
not anticipate a network of comput-
ers, even though, in 1946, science fic-
tion writer Murray Leinster predicted
a worldwide Internet-like network in
his story “A Logic Named Joe.” 6 Social
networks are not a feature of computer
use in the “Star Trek” universe. The
writers stuck with isolated mainframes
like the ship’s computer, even though
such monolithic machines went awry,
as with the M5 multitronic unit, 3 or
were hacked by more computationally
advanced aliens, invaded and pwned. A
shipboard network of special-purpose
processors might be less vulnerable.
Telepresence robots today let us ex-
plore space and deep-ocean environ-
ments, perform remote surgery, visit
the insides of malfunctioning nuclear
power plants, and disarm bombs. Such
a device might have spared the life of
Mr. Spock when he sacrificed himself
THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY in 2016 of the iconic
franchise saw multiple checklists of
the speculative technologies that have
become real due in part to the inspir-
ing vision of “Star Trek,” and many
fans continue to cheer for even more
treknology. This is an amazing record
for a low-budget 1960s TV show (ap-
proximately $190,700 per episode)
that first struggled for ratings but then
spawned three subsequent “Star Trek”
TV series and 13 movies. 14 “Star Trek”
has inspired technological innovation
from smartphones to quantum phys-
ics, and the enduring popularity of the
original show in syndication continues
to make it a launchpad for future ideas
and advances “Star Trek” creators never
imagined. Here, I explore some of the
technologies, from simple to far-out,
that might yet find a place in the “Star
Trek” universe if the forthcoming series
gets the budget and ratings it deserves.
Many technologies would have
improved the “Star Trek” universe in
terms of realism and physical common
sense. Some, like seatbelts, are simple
and primitive, and would have kept
numerous crewmembers assigned to
the bridge from being shaken up when
the starship Enterprise took a hit from,
say, a Romulan plasma torpedo. 11 As
another example, when furry, prolific
Tribbles experienced a population ex-
plosion aboard the Enterprise, 4 they
could have become a nourishing re-
source for a remote Federation colony,
not sent to some horrific fate aboard a
Klingon battle cruiser. What if, instead
of consuming Tribbles, Federation sci-
entists had genetically enhanced them
for intellect? A talking Tribble or other
Future Tense