23rd century
From EF Infobase
Contents |
Politics and Society
The most notable political shift in the early decades of the 23rd century was the rise of the Federation, which was being transformed from an ad hoc coalition forged in war into a stable and growing interstellar government. Following its founding in 2161, the Federation has gone through a time of explosive growth. New worlds were being discovered and colonized at a record pace. By the early decades of the twenty third century, the rate of expansion was proving unsustainable, creating a classic "bubble" of new colonies. Around this time, as Starfleet expanded its reach, the Galactic Barrier began to be charted for the first time. It's during the early part of this century that Starfleet's policy of non-interference is finally formalized into the Prime Directive, or General Order 1.
Life for the average citizen had changed as well. Humanity was evolving, becoming less conflict oriented and self-destructive. But as the Babel conference revealed, this evolution produced its own side effect, those throwbacks who did not fit in in this brave new world, who found themselves restless and stir crazy. Since the birth of the human species, every generation has felt the need to test themselves, to find a way to make their mark on the world. Starfleet would prove the perfect vehicle for the Awakening Generation to do so. In the 2220's hostilities would rekindle with the Klingon Empire when an expanding Federation border would clash with their own expansionary ambitions. Tensions would wax and wane over the next decades, before reaching a fever pitch in the 2250s with the outbreak of total war.
Science and Technology
The fallout from the Narada incident proved a boon for the scientific progress, as reverse engineering spawned new physics breakthroughs that would allow the warp six "time warp barrier" to be broken by the 2250s. Previously many had believed warp six to be an absolute barrier, as a result of the upper bound of the space-time metric expansion based on the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali minimum radius of extra dimensions. It was thought that any higher velocities would create a closed-timelike curve, causing a back-flow of energy in time that would destroy a starship as soon as it activated its warp drive. However new theories developed for transwarp matter transportation by Montgomery Scott would imply that this was only partially true. Riverside Shipyards was established to implement many of these new developments in the construction of future starships. The first vessels to benefit directly would be the Constitution and Venture Star classes.
No survey of the history of the 23rd century would be complete without acknowledging the advances in weaponry. Phase pistols were eventually seen to be too complicated, requiring too much maintenance and prone to failure for field use, and are gradually taken out of service. They were replaced by the older, more reliable laser pistols, a centuries old proven technology with a longer battery life. Another reason for the retirement of phase pistols was that in the harsh and paranoid time following the Romulan War and periodic skirmishes with the Klingon Empire, stun settings were seen as unnecessary. However, this would change as the spirit of the Great Awakening turned public opinion against militarism. New breakthroughs in transtator circuits allow aspects of phase pistol technology to be reintroduced in phase modulated lasers or "phasers"
After a prolonged period of bottle-necking, computer technology begins accelerating again with the advent of duotronics. Moore's Law resumes.
The Future
The remaining second half of the 23rd century will no doubt have as many surprises as the first. It is too early to predict what the ramifications will be for the second encounter with the Narada, and its destruction of Vulcan and the near destruction of earth. Currently many of the "old guard" militaristic and isolationist elements in Starfleet and the Federation are gaining momentum. While the Federation grapples with its future direction, it isn't the only power with an identity crisis. After the Klingon Empire lost 47 of its ships to Nero's attacks, the drums of war have begun to beat on Q'onoS as well. While the success of the Enterprise in defeating the Narada initially gave credence to Christopher Pike's efforts to renew the fleet's commitment to peaceful exploration, recent scrutiny on the Fourth Expedition Fleet have now called those efforts into question.
The future, as always, is under construction...