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Star Bible: Trek Trough the Future

Star Trek tells the story of Earth in the coming centuries among a universe of star-faring races.

Star Trek's most recent entries are Nemesis (Star Trek X) and the Star Trek ENTERPRISE T.V. series. The story has continued to develop more in internet stories and computer games showing events after Nemesis.

In ENTERPRISE, the earliest part of Earth's future history unfolds. ENTERPRISE was cancelled, as was the Original Series itself.

Kirk's "Five Year Mission" was cut short due to network cancellation.

The first Star Trek movies thus cover a good deal of developmental material. The most recent series, ENTERPRISE, was inhibited by similar truncation of the plot and limitations placed on the action that could take place. Both the Original Series of Star Trek and the most recent series, ENTERPRISE were ground breaking television and probably too far beyond their time for safekeeping.

The TOS episodes deal with many concepts that become themes of later plots; they are not however anywhere near the intricacy and refinement of ST-The NEXT GENERATION or its spinoffs, DEEP SPACE NINE and VOYAGER. ENTERPRISE has more sophistication than the Original Series as well although it tries successfully to illustrate that the early crew was not as sophisticated as later generations. Also as time has gone by actual understanding of astrophysics and science in general has grown and some ideas in science fiction have become more plausible to allow deeper discussion in the modern Trek shows. Cloning, discovery of planets in distant star systems, even rudimentary teleportation have become facts of our world. The complexity of human life has grown as well in recent times, making the scenerios of Star Trek increasingly relevant.

The star-faring races of Star Trek undergo all manner of friction and fluctuation in throughout their evolution. There are though some continually present races in the story that follow certain self-precepts.

These consist of different species within the United Federation of Planets of which humans are a founding world.

The galaxy, which we know as the Milky Way, is divided into four quadrants surrounding the galactic core. (The Galactic core is visited in one Star Trek movie). Stories involving other galaxies, and the outer rim, occur in the NEXT GENERATION, and Voyager centers around the Delta Quadrant, while DS9 takes place at a wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. In DS9, the entire Alpha Quadrant is in jeopardy from a vengeful enemy called the Dominion, comprised of the Founders who are a changeling race who rule subsidiaries called the Vorta and Jem Hadar, bred warriors with a fatal propensity for a pharmaceutical called Tetricil White. This war redefines the galaxy and DS9 represents the fruition of the future in Star Trek's canon.

The Federation exerts stability on the galactic region, the Alpha Quadrant. The Alpha Quadrant contains Earth ("Sol") as well as "Vulcan", "Andoria (and a subspecies called Einar)" the "Tellerites" (who are at war before the final events of ENTERPRISE), the "Denoblians" and in the vicinity are the hostile "Orions", the "Klingons" and the pivotal race known as the "Romulans". The Federation borders the "Ferengi" and the "Kardassia" as well. Other races are peripheral and include the Gorn and the spider people—Tholians.

The Romulans have a subspecies called the Remans. The Remans are basically enslaved to the Romulans and live on the dark side of their world. The Romulans form a Star Empire which competes with the Federation in controlling worlds as colonies. The Romulan Empire attempted to kill the Federation, which would grow into a power resisting the conquest of the Alpha Quadrant.

This is the conflict at the beginning of the Federation. A compromise is made which creates a "Neutral zone" which is a band of star systems buffering Romulan and Feration space.

Earth made "First Contact" with the Vulcans, in Bozeman Montana. The starship USS Bozeman (Ship of the Line) appears in TNG and is catapulted ahead in time to meet the 24^th Century Enterprise-D, the result of which is that its captain Morgan Bateson (Kelsey Grammar) becomes the highest ranking Captain in Starfleet.

In First Contact the movie, Bozeman is the site of the assembly and launch of the Phoenix, the first warp drive starship. Zephraim Cochrane (the name of the originator of the Warp concept is a tribute to the real life theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson) is an often inebriated dreamer who fashions the Phoenix out of an old nuclear missile. Earth had just recovered from the Third World war and on a decimated Earth, humans existed in factions. Earth is fortunate in meeting the Vulcans first who represent a peaceful first contact.

The Romulans (and in a different sense, the Remans) are offshoots of the Vulcans. The split occurs before either are encountered by Earth and the question of Re-Unification is one that recurs both in various contexts (Romulans attempt this on their own terms and a Vulcan initiative is sponsored by Spock)

Vulcan has a "High Command" in the ENTERPRISE time period which is a reactionary overseer of its diplomatic contact. Vulcan undergoes a shift in their racial precepts which is central to understanding their role and the power they exert. The Vulcans are famed throughout the galaxy as the Race of Logic. This is an ideal which Vuulcans strive to achieve (one thing that is as elusive in our time as it is in Star Trek is a "perfect world"). Vulcan, though, was a barbaric and fierce desert world which nearly destroyed itself by all accounts (accounts which are not regularly volunteered by Vulcans) in savage warfare. They have latent telepathic capability as well and a relic of their warfare was a telephathic weapon, defeated in TNG by Picard and his crew. In the midst of this savagery a sort of prophet of logic came to rescue them. This figure was known as "Surok" and he re-oriented Vulcans' mental intentionality toward logic as a discipline. Vulcans suppress their emotions through a sort of inner ecology, and this entails different ramifications. Vulcans have greater physical strength due to the conservation of nervous power. Vulcans have generally twice the longevity of average humans. Also they are susceptible to losing control of their emotions, which manifests in a severe senility (called Benar's syndrome—not a myth) and utter madness such as what is caused by residues found in the Delphic Expanse. T'Pol, the lone Vulcan aboard Enterprise is infected in the expanse and loses her emotional buffers. She is able to be aided by a mind meld (which is considered a dangerous and scorned practice outside of Vulcan mainstream after the Kir Shara artifact is discovered—the Kir Shara is a recptical of holographic information from Surok's time—also deemed a myth). Mind Melding becomes an accepted and utilized means of telepathic communication in later times. There is also the Fascinating concentrated sexual maturity in Vulcans called Pan Thar.

The Vulcans are cautious in their dealings with humanity. They are responsible for retarding the acquisition of technological knowledge after First Contact as Earth makes its entrance into space. It is debatable also if they intentionally refrained from interfering in Earth's internal conflicts. In one episode, T'Pol gives a surprise account of Vulcan presence on Earth before the Bozeman first Contact, at a place called Carbon Creek during the Cold War (Sputnik et al).

It is discovered that the Vulcan's attitude toward Earth is tempered by their latent fear of reversion back to the pre-Surian mindset. The Heavy- handed Vulcan ambassador to Earth, Soval, affirms this to Admiral Forrest, unfortunately just before the embassy is bombed and Forrest is killed saving him.

The Vulcans land on Earth after a passing ship observes the warp signature of Zephraim Cochrane's warp ship, the Phoenix. They alter course to investigate what they had registered as a primitive world and culture. This begins a Renaissance on Earth in which poverty and war with it disappear. This transformation is so overwhelming that humans progress to a point of civilization which affords them high technology and unity in a relative historical instance. This alarms the Vulcans as well but proves to be the means by which Humanity enables the Federation between other worlds.

The Organization which moderates space exploration and coordinates operations on Earth and among Earth's allies is known as Star Fleet. The technology of Cochrane is developed by Star Fleet and influenced (both positively and negatively in the case of the Vulcans) by the first exchanges with the greater galaxy.

Earth was not on a war- footing when the first Warp-5 capable starship was launched. ENTERPRISE indicates that a series of calamities ensued at the beginning of Earth's entry into space. Early missions expose a lack of preparation for both unforeseen logistical problems and defensive shortcomings. The Prime Directive was developed as Star Fleet general Order number one after encountering the ramifications of interference in problems of alien parties despite intentionality. Policy is only an indication and not always the correct course of action none the less, and even the Prime Directive has to be questioned in certain instances. In ENTERPRISE the actual machinations of many of the fantastic technologies is discussed in more detail and the way warp engines, phasers, cloaking devices, force fields and transporters work is fleshed out in greater detail instead of these facts of life in the future being glossed and simply implied. Part of that is due to the lesser insulation from the people from their technology in the early starships. The engine that the first Enterprise uses is developed by Captain Archer's father. We also meet the inventor of the matter/energy converter transport beam and watch Lt. Reed develop armory technology on the fly. The Chief Engineer, Trip Tucker is named after a pioneering automobile engineer. The brash Commander Tucker is always trying to make things simple in solving myriad problems, and a glimpse is given into the function of the anti-matter reactors, subspace communication and transporter technologies that are new to the Enterprise crew as they are mysterious to us.

One important touchstone of Star Trek's story is the fallible nature of Star Fleet and the imperfections in the admiralty. There is a bureaucratic nature to the Federation that always crops up. Dr. McCoy observes "Bureaucracy is the only constant in the universe". There is often derision toward crew captains in the field toward admirals behind desks, and this dichotomy is a backdrop for the cavalier actions of some of the main characters such as Kirk and Spock. The problem of bureaucracy in space administration was one thing expounded upon by Freeman Dyson, who foresaw the inevitable presence of disingenuity along with governance as an unavoidable factor in the upcoming space age.

The Captain of the Enterprise figures more into the fate of humanity than either the normal human or the Admiral at StarFleet Command. Nevertheless Star Fleet admirals and the officers in their chain of command are a high standard of excellence and respected by other organizations.

The events of Star Trek consist of Mega- events and sidebar events (The evolution of people as they live through the first step into outer space; interpersonal events—there is character development on a mass scale—mental development and skills in new technology—but also a delineation of truly mundane events. For instance the upshot one ENTERPRISE episode is that the "Red Alert" is a derivation of the name of the first Security chief named Lt. Reed. There is a great detail to the portrait provided of people through time.

This is ultimately why the series failed. There is always a commitment in Star Trek canon to telling the whole story… eventually. Thus, all plot threads are continuous and are re-examined in separate stories.

The absolute worst single examples of the Star Trek series in sum, as well as the worst examples of episodic T.V. itself can be found among the beginning seasons of the ENTERPRISE installment.

At the End of the series, the stage was set enough to chronicle the main action. People lost patience and were confused in droves, making inevitable its cancellation. The writing tried to appeal to a wide audience in the wrong fashion in some cases, producing more trivial story elements. There was an atrocious episode re-introducing the Ferengi where their familiar behavior was showcased for no reason but to add them to the time period in which they are defeated in the most predictable way and served mainly to show a Starfleet officer with no uniform on. Other ratings stunts of this nature were to be had, including a similar digression to Hoshi's friendly telepathic stalker which had some merit. There was also the inexplicable all-Phlox episode with him alone on the ship of a sedated crew (to a sedated audience) with a predictable ending…

The writing did not deviate from the scrupulous detail, which is a credit, but resulted in a trade-off in that the remaining story was condensed.

Someone got the memo in the last season, and the pace was picked up and the show redeemed as a Star Trek representative. The story was meshed with upcoming events and continuity was preserved. The retelling of the whole story proved too taxing overall.

The main events of the Star Trek story were filled out however and at this point for the first time an overall view of the story can now be made available. Here for your edification and benefit, are these main events:

The High Command on Vulcan is dissolved and the Kir Shara artifact is returned to them. The Earth Consulate on Vulcan is bombed and destroyed as it turns out by Vulcan agents in an act of mock terrorism, and they try to frame the Andorians.

The Romulans are sponsoring the predominant Vulcan faction—The Romulan Empire uses a remote controlled marauder to terrorize and destabilize the region. Humans through the actions of Enterprise and its crew under Captain Johnathan Archer, accomplish a union between Vulcans and Andorians and Tellerites. The neutral zone between Romulan and Federation space becomes delineated.

The planet Earth is attacked and targeted for eradication by a species (consisting of five subspecies, Aquatics, Avian, Insectazoid, Reptilian and humanoid). This species is called the Xindi, and had not appeared in Star Trek up to that point. 7 million people are killed on Earth in the sneak attack. Archer takes the Enterprise into the Delphic Expanse to locate the origin of the weapon, identifying the Xindi with quantum dating of the debris. They find the Xindi homeworld has already been destroyed, arriving at a meteor field.

The Expanse is an artificial entity put in place by "sphere builders" a time traveling race that ministers to the Xindi, and directs them that Earth has targeted them for destruction. The reason being, the Xindi and Federation in the future (The Enterprise J is briefly shown) join to oppose the sphere builders. The Expanse is collapsed into normal space at the conclusion and the Xindi weapon of annihilation (Star Trek is the One with the Death Star) is destroyed as the Enterprise forms an alliance with some of the Xindi subspecies)

A Temporal Cold War is taking place. Archer is visited and brought to visit a time traveling human from the future, who poses as a crewman aboard Enterprise named Daniels. Archer's integral role in the formation of the future Federation motivates Daniels to alter historical events. There is a Temporal "Accord" which other factions oppose. The Suliban form one faction. The Suliban are a race that communicate through time and alter their OWN genetic structure. They have bases inside nebulae which are giant helixes and fly cloaked "cell" ships.

There is a Reman faction in the Temporal Cold War. These Remans had allied themselves with the Nazis and appear along with the German military commanders in WWII. The War takes on a much different look, as Germany succeeds in invading America and Russia. There is an interesting commentary on holocausts, as the SS is diverted away from their mission in Europe and the German generals realize they have expanded too far to maintain power—at a different juncture of conquest.

Thus after saving Earth from the Xindi, Enterprise arrived back to Earth—to silence. Captain Archer, presumed dead, materializes in a German wounded camp. The Nazis can't recognize the unconscious American's uniform… but the Remans can. The United States government had abandoned Washington, it is revealed, after the occupation of the continent.

T'Pol orders Commander Tucker and Ensign Mayweather to take a shuttle to San Francisco to see what is going on. They are met with spitfire from a hostile air force. Archer teams up with the displaced mafia in occupied New York city and Daniels directs the crew from the future to target the Remans' time portals.

Anyway, the Xindi attack engenders a new adversary for StarFleet… Xenophobia has remanifested on Earth while Enterprise was away in the Delphic Expanse on a seemingly hopeless mission to avert a destruction of Earth. This arose in the form of the "Terra Prime" movement endorsing "Earth for Humans" only and its leader, Paxton (a moon miner's son, played by Peter Weller of RoboCop) takes over the Verteron Array on Mars, re-aiming the array at Star Fleet Command in San Francisco. The reason SF is in SF is covered in DS9- Pastense/ STNG- Time's Arrow. Paxton kidnaps the cloned daughter of T'Pol and Tucker and issues an ultimatum for all aliens to leave Earth. The brimming alliance that would become the Federation is thrown into disarray as humans appear not to have resolved their "Demons".

The Augment phenomenon plays out in ST ENT. Dr. Soong (whose grandson builds Data/Lor/B-4) creates a competing Race to Humans—"the Augments." These are genetically enhanced clones who have greater strength and intelligence due to all defects being removed from their genome. The Augments are the subject of a bitter war alluded to in various instances, the Eugenics War—where a Colonel Greene tries to cleanse humanity… This is where Noonian Khan comes from in the movie, Kirk's adversary. The Augments are banished from Earth and kept in Cold storage. Soong is imprisoned. After the events of ST-ENT/ Augments , Soong reconsiders improving humanity to begin his cybernetic research and create the positronic brain. Soong leaves nothing to chance this time, giving Data and his brother his own face. The fraternal woes of the Augments preface Lor who becomes a bitter rival in THE NEXT GENERATION

In Divergence, ST-ENT, the Klingons try to make their own Augments. They kidnap Dr. Phlox with the aid of StarFleet operatives after attempting to capture Soong (under too heavy guard). Their attempt results in a plague which threatens the whole Klingon species. A definitive explanation is herein offered for why the Klingons have cranial ridges, and lack them in Kirk's era; and regain their appearance later—after the generation of plague exposed Klingons is repopulated. Its not because they couldn't do the special make- up for Klingons in the sixties, it turns out.

The Klingons exist in an Empire, and are a marauding warrior- driven presence in the Alpha quadrant. The Klingons have castes, not all of whom are warriors. In ST-ENT's time frame, Klingons have an actual Emperor; in the 24^th century, the empire is in the form of a high council/ chancellor. Worf Sees Khaless become the figurative emperor of the Klingons—as a clone. The domination of the warrior caste in Klingon society took place prior to the ENTERPRISE time period. In Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country a diplomatic understanding is reached between Earth and the Klingon Empire following a Chernobyl-like disaster within the Klingon's core territory. In the 24^th Century a new level of cooperation and intermittent alliance is brought about between the Federation and the Klingons. They are able to combine their strength to keep the Romulans in check—and there are elements among the Klingons who try to undo this arrangement.

The First incident in ST_ENT is a Klingon fleeing 2 Suliban, called Klang, who is shot by an Oklahoma farmer (Broken Bow-pilot) He carries DNA encoding of information on the manipulation of the Klingon Civil War (a recurring event) The Duras House sponsors a faction which collaborates with the Romulans in EACH generation.

The Kitomer outpost destroyed by Romulan fleet when its shields are powered down from within the base. (which is indeed dishonorable)

Worf survives this and is rescued by StarFleet officers. The USS Intrepid chief and his family raise him on Earth. Worf becomes the tactical officer aboard the 24^th Century Enterprise – D. Worf preserves the Klingon Empire by accepting discommendation and placing the blame on his own father. The two part TNG episode Redemption reconciles this wrong. Worf personally kills Duras, and spares his son who later costs him the sword of Khaless. In TNG- Redemption , and Unification, a mysterious figure known as Sela, who appears to be the deceased Tasha Yar, the original security chief of the Enterprise D, is the Romlulan commander. She is the result of Tasha's sacrifice in joining the Enterprise- C after it meets the Enterprise-D in a future alternate time line. In the alternate time line, Tasha is alive but the Federation is engaged in a losing war against the Klingons. The C goes back to its mission its own time, rescuing a Klingon outpost from assault by the Romulans. Tasha is captured and her daughter with a Romulan is Sela—who stops Tasha from escaping and results in her execution—a commentary on precocious youth in my opinion. History is restored and Sela is defeated twice by underestimating Commander Data.

Jean Luc Picard is the Captain of the Enterprise – D. The Ship is the earliest in the "Galaxy" class of ships. The Enterprise is built at Utopia Planetia shipyard on the Mars outpost.

StarFleet maintains a registry for ships utilizing "classes". The Classes indicate time of origin. The first Enterprise was NX -01. Enterprise A through E = NCC 1701 A, B, C, etc…

The Enterprise is the flagship StarFleet and, more figuratively, of the Federation. The various classes of ship that enumerate StarFleet frigates, Cruiser and Colony Carriers are the mainstay of the fleet. There are also Destroyer escorts, fighters Runabouts, Science vessels, Cargo Transports and variations on the designs. There are non-warp capable fleet such as shuttles, and Star Bases.

The Enterprise – A is a "Constitution" Class and is refitted in a later version. This ship is lost, as is the Enterprise D, C and other ships. The Enterprise B is severely damaged in an encounter with the "Nexus" entity, out of space dock. Captain Kirk is also lost and is buried by Picard in the Nexus sequence.

Captain Picard is assimilated by the Borg to become Locutus, a Borg drone and then restored. In Nemesis, Picard is cloned and his shadow self, Shinzon, becomes the Romulan Praetor—as a Reman. Captain Picard becomes the arbiter of succession in Klingon rulership. Captain Archer carries the Kutra of Surok for the Vulcans.

The actions and experiences of these main players and of many of the people in Star Trek serve to redefine humanity.

The events of Star Trek First Contact are Ellaborated in ST-ENT / Regeneration.

The Borg are resuscitated after being unearthed in the Arctic—this is one example of the naivety of humans in the early going. The disparity in development and evolution between Cochran's generation, the one of Archer and the crew of the 24^th Century Enterprise – E is demonstrated in the film.

By reviving the Borg, the events of the Borg War and of Voyager / Endgame are set in motion in the future. Thus the automatic ensuing of time-travel by the Borg Queen and her vessel to stop First Contact. by attacking Bozeman is understood. Also, the act of Q to accelerate the awareness of the Borg vis-a vis Earth is a re-balancing of the 'Continuum." It was not in such dispassionate terms when Q used the power of the continuum and flung the Enterprise D ahead in space to be carved up by a Borg Cube. Maybe Q deserved that Starfleet uniform after all.

Captain Archer is able to recollect a recanted speech of Zephraim Cochrane at Princeton, in which he described the real story of First Contact, the Crew of Humans From Earth's Future rescuing them from the Borg. Admiral Forrest is aware of something of the gravity of the yet manifested threat: At StarFleet headquarters, he orders a shuttle pod prepped for the arctic at the failure to report from the expedition. His team arrives to find the arctic expedition having been compromised. Dr. Phlox is infected by the Borg nanoprobes and is linked to the hive mind of the collective. He survives and reports coordinates of Pulsar Stars being broadcast delineating the location of Earth. Archer destroys the assimilated vessel. The war is thus postponed—but set in motion. The Borg are the most lethal enemy of the Federation, a gigantic hive- mind collective that assimilate other cultures and attain their biological and technological distinctiveness. They are hybrids of organic and cybernetic elements. They "regenerate in modules that allow them to metabolize energy and share their thoughts telepathically. They are able to adapt and repair their ship by thought. They are immune to standard weaponry and a single Borg Cube can challenge all of Star Fleet. The Borg originate as a result of losing their home world as a result of actions of Kirk and gain their cybernetic element in part through the original computer component assimilating an ancient Earth probe, Voyager. They imprint on Earth in a truncated way, and the original consciousness calls itself "Vger". The Borg collective is enhanced by adding a certain telepathic female element who becomes the Borg Queen. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the Starship Voyager uses the Borg Transwarp hub conduit to return to Earth. Admiral Janeway defeats the Borg Queen and destroys the conduit.

One ship has a special significance through many incarnations: The Defiant. The Only pure war ship designed by the Federation, it is the main vessel of Deep Space Nine. The Defiant is also a part of the Mirror Universe story arc. The Defiant in Kirk's era is pulled back in time due to the Tholians. In the original Series episode, The Enterprise A witnesses the disappearance of the Defiant but they have no idea where—when it goes—The USS Defiant becomes the advanced warship used by Mirror Archer of the Terran Empire to take over his galaxy.

The Mirror Universe a very interesting recurring plot. There is a parallel Universe that exists in Star Trek along with the main universe. The same people exist in it but in an altered state of personality. The Federation is Replaced by a Terran Earth Empire. One ENTERPRISE episode deals with this subject, In a Mirror Darkly, and it has some of the most interesting action and implications in Trek, including its own intro music and altered intro scene which I think is much better than the normal one. In the Mirror sequence, First Contact takes a different form—Cochrane shoots the visiting Vulcans and the humans board their ship. The Mirror Earth develops its own hegemony, which is more technologically advanced because it steals all the Vulcan's technology. The other races are subordinate to humans, but in the episode, the Empire is at war with rebels—which are the other independent races on their own resisting the savage Empire. The ISS Enterprise of the Terran Universe is commanded by Forrest, with Archer as the first officer. Archer discovers the Defiant being held by the Tholians and sees the opportunity to take the advanced technology—from Kirk's era, which is relatively advanced.

Events transpire to allow Archer to capture the Defiant and the Tholians destroy Enterprise (with Forrest, who dies again). They obtain the database of the ship and learn of the Federation and their alternate selves—which Archer despises. He plans to take the place of the Terran Emperor, who he claims is corrupt. The bureaucracy inherent in the Federation is transmuted as a decadence in the Empire it seems. With the Defiant, Archer rescues StarFleet from the rebels and then turns on them. He assassinates the Admiral on the scene and heads for Earth. The Mirror T'Pol and Soval along with Phlox—who is the most demented transmuted figure in the episode—try to stop the Defiant and their ship is destroyed as well. Fate conspires against Archer though and when the Defiant reaches Earth, StarFleet is ordered to surrender by "Empress (Hoshi) Sato", who takes control of the advanced ship herself and disposes of Archer-- one of the many odes to woman and Real politic in Trek, and one which fuels the imagination, as do all the Mirror stories. The Terran Empire pays for its arrogance, as a doomed T'Pol predicts, in later centuries. The Mirror Spock takes over the Enterprise in TOS Mirror, Mirror, and his efforts to reform it lead to its loss of power. In DEEP SPACE NINE, the Terran fortunes are shown to have bottomed out, with humans as the gutter scum of the space station controlled by another unfamiliar alien conglomerate. The Mirror Terrans attempt to build their own Defiant. The Mirror Universe is the scene of one Star Trek game, Shattered Universe in which the Starship Excelsior with Captain Sulu and Tuvok becomes trapped in the Mirror universe and details the corruption of the Terran Empire and the differences in the other races.

I think the Physics of the Mirror Universe have interesting quantum implications, but it may be that the Romulans are the reason Mirror First Contact occurs to the detriment of Vulcan, although unseen, as replacement to the encouragement of Picard and his crew as well as the Borg. Which is the genuine universe and which is the shadow? In the regular version, the Borg and future humans change First Contact. Maybe the Romulans have their own Temporal Cold War faction on Earth, with a Mirror Shinzon. Maybe they are here right now or maybe they were the Romans. Maybe the whole main plot of Trek is an aberration and Humans left unaltered are in actuality the savage party that turns the tables on the Vulcan's visit by nature.