Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ut-sally.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!gatech!ut-sally!barnett From: barnett@ut-sally.UUCP (Lewis Barnett) Newsgroups: net.startrek Subject: Re: the controls Message-ID: <2258@ut-sally.UUCP> Date: Thu, 4-Jul-85 14:29:05 EDT Article-I.D.: ut-sally.2258 Posted: Thu Jul 4 14:29:05 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 8-Jul-85 01:24:29 EDT References: <344@ll1.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas Lines: 38 > Do you realize that > not a single control or indicator on the entire ship was labeled? > Okay, so the regular man at that post would know the controls, but > how about someone filling in during an emergency? Not even the > emergency type equipment was labeled! Everyone would have to know > every single control on the ship!!! > > ...ihnp4!mgnetp!ll1!cej Llewellyn Jones > ------------------------------------------------------------ I can think of one pretty good rationale for this situation, based on some things that go on in _Downbelow Station_ by C.J. Cherryh. In that book, a civilian space station is taken over by the military because an invasion is feared. The military commander's first order is that all section identifiers and "you are here" type maps and such be removed. This makes some sense; people who have never been on the station before (invaders) will have a lot tougher time getting around without all the helpful little clues the citizens were used to. Granted, the Enterprise is not so large and complex as an orbiting station, and has seldom been boarded, but I think the same reasoning applies. Remember the trouble Sulu and Chekov had with the controls of the Klingon ship in TSFS? (I don't remember if that was because none of them could read Klingonaase or what...) Sadly, there is some evidence against this point of view from the series. Nobody ever really seemed to have that hard a time figuring out what was what in spite of no labels...e.g. the Kelvans in "By Any Other Name," Dr. Sevrin's gang in "The Way to Eden," and Khan's bunch in TWOK. In most of these cases, the "boarders" were posessed of "superior" intellect, so I suppose that would explain their quick familiarization with the workings of the Enterprise. Lewis Barnett,CS Dept, Painter Hall 3.28, Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 -- barnett@ut-sally.ARPA, barnett@ut-sally.UUCP, {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!barnett