Star Trek Anyone Think That It Was Stupid For

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Report this Feb. 02 2010, 4:58 pm

I am not sure if this has been discussed before but the Pegasus episode is on and does anyone agree with Admiral Pressman that it was stupid to give away the Federation's Cloaking technology? This could also have been another connection to Enterprise and that they backwards engineered the Suliban Cell ship that Archer and crew got their hands on.

Pooneil

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Report this Feb. 02 2010, 5:25 pm

I'll have to agree with the Federation on this one, simply because it would be really boring if the Enterprise had a cloaking device. Need to escape from the baddies? No problem -- just cloak and run away! Need to avoid detection by the primitive aliens on the planet? Just make the ship invisible and stay in contact with the away team below!

Then the writers would need to come up with a new reason the cloaking device doesn't work, which would entail more and more technobabble. They did this numerous times with the Defiant on DS9, e.g. "We can't cloak because the Klingons have damaged the cloaking device," etc.

And then, since they've got this neato cloaking shield, we'd probably get endless secret missions deep into enemy territory, and more spying and espionage and so on. Maybe it's a matter of taste, but that's not why I like Star Trek. A cloaking device would have very little application to scientific or exploratory missions.

Unregistered_Guest

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Report this Feb. 02 2010, 6:16 pm

On first consideration, I would say it was stupid. But on further thought, it was smart to give it up. What good did it ever do to the enemies who had it? It always failed and led to their doom due to the over-confidence it engendered in them. It was never a reliable tech. and made for bad strategy decisions.

ssmukhi

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Report this Feb. 03 2010, 6:17 am

Quote (TrekFan1701E @ Feb. 03 2010, 5:58 am)

They didn't "give away" the technology. They agreed not to develop it further to prevent an attack by The Romulans. Though I agree it's a strategic disadvantage to the Federation. More here:

Treaty of Algeron

Pooneil

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Report this Feb. 05 2010, 2:35 pm

Quote (ServalanFan @ Feb. 03 2010, 12:12 am)

Quote (Pooneil @ Feb. 02 2010, 5:25 pm)

You've got a point.
I also think they shouldn't of made the replicator so powerful as in Voyager. I mean there is no real need for any industry in the galaxy aside from producing bigger and better replicators.
I think transporters are too powerful too. Every battle could be won by beaming hundreds of bombs or deadly pathogens on unshielded ships.
And time travel should be a no-no too.

However I do think it was stupid for anyone to give away a powerful technology such as a cloaking device when multiple enemies have it. And it was stupid for the Federation to agree not to use it or try to develop the technology themselves. I suppose they did it to try to explain why the Federation didn't use the cloaking device they stole in TOS. But the explanation they gave in this episode seems rather lame to me. Why would the Federation worry about keeping on the Romulans' good side when there was continuous trecherous behaviour by the Romulans against the Federation in TNG and DS9.

At least the transporter, replicator, and time travel all come with rules to limit their power. You can't transport through shields, you can't replicate anything with its own power source, and time travel only seems to happen by accident.

What about the cloaking device? Maybe it would only work for ten minutes at a time, then need to be recharged. The original limitation was that you couldn't fire your weapons while the cloak was on, but they changed that one in The Undiscovered Country.

My basic objection to the cloaking device is that I think it would make the show less interesting. I honestly see no dramatic benefit to it. Any excuse they can come up with to prevent the Federation from using it is okay with me.

tribblenator999

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Report this Feb. 05 2010, 8:04 pm

sure it's stupid. the enemy have a easy ambush edge while the federation have no element of surprise tech on their side. It's like the new voyages episode blood and fire in the beginning where the enterprise is badly damaged. I think to myself how did the enterprise get so damaged from fighting one D7? ...cloaking device.

ViperMan2000

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Report this Feb. 06 2010, 12:44 am

In real life, it would be very stupid to give up that technology when enemies on every front have it. It was done to try to keep peace with the Romulans, who had cost the Federation at least one very costly war already. The only problem is that they were still on the brink of war with the Romulans all the time anyway. Even after the Federation's best efforts, the Romulans still pushed the treaties to the limits.

Well, with the destruction of Romulus in the Prime Timeline, it is very possible that the Federation could start adapting cloaking devices to their ships. We may never know, though.

BrotherofShran01

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Report this Feb. 07 2010, 3:45 pm

I think the Federation hampered Starfleet with the Treaty of Algeron. The Klingons and the Romulans have both had it for a long time, and they have always use it as an offensive device for a first strike.

I do respect the Federation ideal that Starfleet doesn't sneak around, but I feel all is fair game in a wartime situation. Admiral Pressman and the interphase cloaking device would have stopped the Klingons and Romulans in their tracks for a while, because for the first time, they did not have the advantage.