rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (09/20/83)
The Enterprise was orbiting the Genesis planet when Spock's "coffin" (an empty photon torpedo casing) was discharged through one of the torpedo tubes. (Quick, trivia fans, was it the port [left] or starboard [right] tube?) It was planned to land on the planet, apparently. The problem I had back when the movie first came out was the fact that the torpedo traveled all through the atmosphere of that planet (remember all the vegetation?) relatively untouched (the red lettering - the content of which is another favorite trivia question of mine - was just as clear as when the casing was in the torpedo bay). And it made such a perfect, soft landing without becoming damaged that way, either! Not a single bush looked disturbed. What durable material they make throwaway photon torpedo casings of, to withstand the searing heat of atmospheric reentry and impact with the ground (no crater!). One could argue that this would be necessary of the casings, when they carry torpedoes. As for torpedoes themselves, you bet they travel at warp speeds! They would have to move much faster than any starship in order to be of any practical use. A Star Trek game I once played had them moving at warp 12 (the maximum emergency speed of the uprated Enterprise is warp 10). -- Roger Noe ...ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
okie@ihuxs.UUCP (09/23/83)
It was the starboard tube. The port tube was damaged by the *Reliant's* phaser fire. B.K. Cobb
crc@clyde.UUCP (C. R. Colbert) (09/26/83)
Its obvious how Spock's coffin made a perfect three-point landing... Spock used the Force! (It even works when you're dead.) Not afraid to live long and make stupid follow-ups. floyd!clyde!crc
rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (10/31/83)
If they were going to use a tractor beam to lower it to the Genesis planet's surface, I don't think they'd bother to shoot it out of a photon torpedo tube. Why not transport it down? No, I think they were just disposing of the body, although in something of a dramatic way. -- Roger Noe ...ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
jack@hp-dcde.UUCP (11/29/83)
#N:hp-dcde:26100001:000:153 hp-dcde!jack Sep 23 17:18:00 1983 Maybe they shot out the coffin and gently lowered it with a tractor beam? -Jack Applin & Betsy Marie Proven-Furlette-Applin (hplabs!hp-dcd!jack)
rene@umcp-cs.UUCP (12/04/83)
According to Vonda McIntyre's book, the coffin was intended to burn during
reentry, but Saavik secretly changed the trajectory to allow it to land
safely on the planet.
- rene
--
"Peoles have feeelings, too"
Arpa: rene.umcp-cs@CSNet-relay
Uucp:...{allegra,seismo}!umcp-cs!renerjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (Roger Noe) (12/06/83)
Which Vonda McIntyre book--The Wrath of Khan? Can someone give a citation
from that book which unequivocally indicates that Spock's "coffin" was
intended to burn up but that Saavik secretly changed the trajectory so that
it would make a soft landing (even if it were possible)?
--
I don't have a silly closing line,
Roger Noe UUCP: ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoejudd@umcp-cs.UUCP (12/07/83)
...........
The coffin was definetaly shot out. I remeber seeing a red streak leave the
ship and impact planet (yust as sun rounded limb of planet).
The coffin is a MK 4? photon torpedo!!! Said so on the front in red.
--
Spoken: Judd Rogers
Arpa: judd.umcp-cs@CSNet-relay
Uucp:...{allegra,seismo}!umcp-cs!juddlouie@cvl.UUCP (Louis A. Mamakos) (12/07/83)
From "The Wrath Of Khan", by Vonda N. McIntyre (without permission).
Page 215:
"Saavik armed the torpedo guidence control with the
course she had so carefully worked out, and moved
forward."
I would interpet this to mean the she re-programmed to guidence system. There
is also a previous passage on Page 214:
"... She bid a final farewell to her teacher and to her
student, then left the statis room. She had man duties
to take care of, duties to the ship and to Mr. Spock."
-----------------
which may indicate the she altered the guidence system.
The book is very good; I recommend that you read it if you've seen the movie
because you'll get a more complete understanding of what's going on.
Louis A. Mamakos
Internet: louie@cvl.arpa
CSNet: louie.cvl@umcp-cs
uucp: ..!{seismo,we13,mcnc}!rlgvax!cvl!louie
phone: (301) 454-2946
Snail Mail:
Computer Science Center - Systems Staff
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742pyle@ut-ngp.UUCP (Keith Pyle) (12/12/83)
In response to Roger Noe's (rjnoe!ihlts) question, I cannot find an unequivocal statement that Saavik changed the tragectory of Spock's coffin to allow a soft landing. There are, however, several statements that would strongly suggest that this was the case in the book. On page 210 (Pocket Books paperback, first printing July 1982), Saavik is keeping watch over "Spock's coffin" in the stasis room: "In the morning, James Kirk had decreed, Spock's body would be consigned to space and to a fast-decaying orbit around the Genesis world, where it would burn in the atmosphere to ashes, to nothing." On page 214, "When morning came, Saavik rose smoothly . . . She had many duties to take care of, duties to the ship and to Mr. Spock." On page 215, "Saavik armed the torpedo guidance control with the course she had so carefully worked out . . ." Given that Saavik was supposedly of sufficient experience to pilot the ship, I would think that she had intentionally disregarded Kirk's decree since "she had so carefully worked out" the course. Of course, it could have been an error in programming the coordinates but it would be quite amazing to cause an inadvertant SOFT landing. Keith Pyle . . .!ihnp4!ut-ngp!pyle