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Transporters / replicators / Holodeck make no sense

posted 3 years ago by avortac4 (3752)
17 replies | jump to latest

This is a problem even in the original series, but even more so in TNG, because this show takes place much further into the future.

First, let's think about baldness. THIS MUCH INTO THE FUTURE, and still no cure for baldness?

This opens a Pandora's box full of worms.

We know that transporters work by disintegrating your physical body on a molecular or possibly atomic level, and then magically reassembles it remotely with some kind of invisible energy beam or something, while ALSO transporting your soul and making sure the silver cord does NOT get detached and..

Yeah, when you look at it at almost any level, it makes no sense.

However, let's ASSUME it all makes sense and it just somehow works and dis-, and reassembles your body every time and your soul is also perfectly transported into the NEWLY-assembled body.

Now, WHY would the computers reassemble the body WITH ailments, diseases, baldness, aging, etc.? Why would it ever do that? Wouldn't it assemble the "optimal body" instead of the "old, fat, bald, wrinkled, ailment-riddled one"? There's NO REASON to assemble a bad, pain-filled, disease-ridden, old, aging, wrinkled, fat, bald, etc. body, if you can ATOMIZE or disassemble or disintegrate it EVEN in just molecular level!

Why would they create the EXACT body you had before, when they obviously control either every molecule or every atom! (Where does the energy come from to assemble the body, where are those 'extra atoms' taken from, or are they the SAME atoms (or molecules) the body originally had? What creates the intelligence to reassemble it, does it scan the body into a 'pattern' that could easily then be modified to become the optimal version of a body?)

In any case, when you think about it this way - your every single molecule is detached, there's no WAY anything even COULD reassemble it 'exactly' to what it used to be, but why would anyone want it to, and why would the computers do that? Isn't health important anymore? Wouldn't everyone just be 'optimally healthy' all the time if they had the choice?

Why wouldn't they have that choice with a completely NEW body each time you transport somewhere?

Furthermore, they could IMPROVE the body and they could toy around with different bodies, and when we think about it a bit more, every single transporter would have a huge wall menu of all KINDS of bodies and shapes, abilities and such - heck, there could even be shapeshifter-type bodies that can change into any shape at will! Sky isn't even the limit, since we're in SPACE, way beyond any skies!

No one should EVER be able to transport ANYTHING dangerous onboard, no one should ever be able to transport with a gun, explosive, disease, drug, unregistered entity and so on and so forth. No one should be able to 'hide' anything in their clothes or inside their body - the computer would know everything, since it controls EVERY ATOM (or molecule)! It would by default simply refuse to re-create a gun or an explosive. It could create fluffy bunny slippers for all I care, but it would definitely not create a knife, gun, etc. It would be 100% foolproof.

Someone really didn't think this through when they decided to go the 'teleporting' route for 'transporters'.

Why would anyone ever travel any other way, or die from old age? Also, if someone dies or gets sick, especially 'lethally sick' - there is a cure for _every_ disease. Simply assemble a new body for them - problem solved.

In any case, we should see people switch their body from 'normal' to all kinds of wild things and creatures every single time they use the transporter, because why shouldn't computers reassemble their atoms or molecules in ANY pattern they wish? WHY NOT!?

Where's the imagination?

In any case, even if the transporters can be made to 'make sense' somehow (HOW?), then nothing else makes sense, like dying, disease, aging and so on and so forth.

As far as Holodeck - it would always be occupied 100% of the time, without a second to spare, and there would be SO MUCH demand for it, they would have holodecks everywhere, and eventually EVERY single visitable area would be a holodeck, unless the functionality of the ship would require otherwise.

I mean, why not? It's handy, it's interesting, and you can live much better life that way with interesting, exceptional people and amazing sceneries than with the dullards that are your crewmates or whatnot, on a dull ship.

By the way, this WHOLE series could be just a 'Q having a nightmare' or whatnot; that entity was a mistake, because it's so powerful, it could easily just negate ANY problem in the show, and with a snap of his fingers, he could even remove 'The Borg' from existence. So what's the point of anything, when ALL OF IT could be just Q's prank on Picard..?

So the future is a place with no money and everyone having everything they want all the time, and yet people still sign in and train to be in the academy for some reason.. Holodeck + free food = no space travel.

[–] wearsalan (5554) 3 years ago

I think the Fly might be a good explanation as to why you can't re-assemble the body to its' optimum state. Not where he merges with the Fly, but the fact that the machine doing the job scans the life form (warts and all) and re-assembles it in the same form it dis-assembled it. Now I'm not saying it couldn't be tweaked somehow to do what you suggest, but perhaps in the Star Trek universe this has been tried without success.

As for the holo deck, there are 16 on the Enterprise or other galaxy class starships and are for recreation time. Guess looking at space most of the time, people would yearn for some nice scenery. Maybe time is limited for using them and outside of space faring vehicles what amount of power would be needed to generate the hard light holograms?

[–] aavfreak (3366) 3 years ago

Yes, you would think that there would be some sort of "restore point" for everyone's physical body that you could go back to should you get sick, injured, or just old. Just transport through with your current mind and reassemble with a previous version of your body.

You also bring up an interesting point with the holodeck and remote learning/training. No one would have to physically go to the Academy. Just fire up the holodeck and network in with your class and instructors. Problem solved.

[–] avortac4 (3752) 3 years ago

I just thought of something..

..since this society toys around with 'energy transporting' so much, why do they even need spaceships? Aren't those REALLY CLUMSY physical objects that are completely unnecessary in a 'world' (well, more like gillion worlds) that can even convert PEOPLE to energy and transport them safely in a blink of an eye?

I mean, from a planet to an orbit is pretty big a leap. They can do this in a few seconds. What are the limitations, and why do those exist for basically pure energy? Let's say there IS some 'reasonable limitation' so they can't just planet-hop using transporters alone. However, couldn't this limit be surpassed more easily than move SUPER HEAVY HUGE SHIPS very fast in space?

Couldn't they ALSO implement a system, where a tiny probe moves as fast as possible, and keeps the 'energy flow' alive, so they could basically SHOOT some photon torpedo as fast as it can go (and if it's a 'photon' torpedo, it should be able to move at least the speed of light), or at least have some kind of 'cosmic telephone pole' system, that keeps sending the pattern/human/energy/molecule bunch forward, so that you CAN basically planethop in a few seconds using this transporter technology? After all, you don't have MASS, when you are in the 'energy form', before you materialise, right? So without mass, how _FAST_ could you travel? With a little help of the transporter devices along the way, you should be able to move RIDICULOUSLY fast.

I think they invented the whole 'warp speed' stuff just to circumvent this problem..

[–] avortac4 (3752) 3 years ago

Also, couldn't they just ask Q to erase every problem they have ever had, bring back to life everyone that has dead, and do it retroactively, so none of the bad stuff ever happens?

Q makes the whole show useless anyway, because you can NEVER know, if all or any of it was Q's doing or real.

Also also, the whole Borg thing is so stupid, why would they know WHERE they disappeared to when Q snaps them back, why can't Q erase Borg's memory.. there's NO REASON for Borg to know about Earth or any of the people, there's no reason for Borg to be able to hunt them down, there's no reason for Borg to even start that hunt EVEN if Q does nothing, because there must be gadillions of things and worlds to assimilate way way before they reach anywhere near Earth.

Why does Q (or Q continuum) even allow something as purely stupid, soulless, horrific, square and destructive as the Borg to even exist? They could make the whole Universe perfect with a snap of their finger(s). So we can have a stupid TV show?

[–] mikethemartian (6883) 2 years ago

I think the transporter was introduced in the original series because it was a cheaper FX than filming shuttle scenes with miniatures.

[–] kwestmo (4385) 2 years ago

How does replicated food have nutritional value?

[–] strntz (12694) a year ago

Simple. Atoms are reconfigured to clone foods.

[–] MCguy (1280) a year ago

Is that canon? Or did you make it up? Good answer.

[–] strntz (12694) a year ago

Don't know if it's canon, I just assumed a pattern replicator would replicate a pattern of something that already exists - sort of like 3D printing only infinitely more complex. This of course is all predicated on whether the tech will ever exist to transport a human being, the transporter of course is canon. I thought (assumed?) the pattern replicator is based on the transporter tech.

[–] MCguy (1280) a year ago

Makes sense. thanks.

[–] liscarkat (18983) 2 years ago

OP makes some good points. Picard could beam himself with a lush pompadour. Riker could drop those last sixty pounds. Troi could reduce her fat ass and look so much better in that stupid unitard (why the hell doesn't she have to wear a regular uniform like everybody else, anyway?). Geordi could fix his vision.

[–] MillerJones (541) 2 years ago

You can't be serious with any of these points.

1. people do not care about baldness that is the point do you not understand the show humans have moved beyond caring about these types of things (If bald person wanted hair he could have it and look at Sisko DS9 had hair chose to have none)

2. Makes no sense to you because it's in the far future beyond what we are capable off yet (If you look back throughout history it would have been the same the likes of Einstein was classed as mad)

You keep going on about soul no evidence of such a thing.

The transport could change some of those have you even watched the show clearly not or this is all over your head and do not have a brain which can engage maybe stick with dumb action films.

Our species is not suppose to be immortal again you have no understanding of this show Picard talks alot of these types of subjects.

Q is not immortal and has limits and yes he could do or not do many things again you have missed the point of the show how about maybe watching it and switching on your brain.

The future does have money again clearly not watched the show and it is explained many times.

[–] liscarkat (18983) a year ago

"...or this is all over your head and do not have a brain which can engage maybe stick with dumb action films."

It's funny when someone acts like "Star Trek" is some kind of elite intellectual marker, especially when he can't even write a sentence.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

When you just don't get it. Let it go.