khaosworks

The seeming misspelling in the title is deliberate and the why will be apparent later in the episode.

The opening flashes back to SFA: “Kids These Days”, when Anisha Mir was sent to prison in 3176 by Nahla. Jett’s “wall of death” is the series of Omega-47 mines encircling Federation space seen in the last moments of SFA: “300th Night”.

“niteb Qob had jup ‘e’ chaw’ve SuvwI’” translates to, “A warrior does not let a friend face danger alone.” It was first heard from Worf to Riker in English in TNG: “The Outcast”. Jay-Den said it in “Kids These Days” when Caleb stopped Darem from bullying him.

Lazarus refers to Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus raised from the dead (John 11), and not Lazarus from TOS: “The Alternative Factor”. It is not certain which Pledge of Allegiance Braka is referring to.

Braca discussed trauma loops with Nahla in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. Nahla tricked him a simulated warp core breach with in “Kids These Days”, explaining his current reaction.

Nahla paraphrases the legendary Hermes Trismegistus’ Corpus Hermeticum: “Leap clear of all that is corporeal, and make yourself grown to a like expanse with that greatness which is beyond all measure; rise above all time and become eternal; then you will apprehend God.” Basically, if you can’t transcend yourself, you will never understand the transcendent. It is a coded message to run training program Hermes 19.

The Doctor hands Reno his mobile emitter, appropriated from the 29th century Federation timeship Aeon (VOY: “Future’s End”) in 2373, so he's had it nearly 820 years.

Reno talks about a “Level-10” diagnostic. In the TNG era, diagnostic levels ranged from 5 to 1, with 1 being the most intensive (TNG Tech Manual). The levels have seemingly been revised for the 32nd century.

Caleb talks about Starfleet not leaving any man behind, a oft-quoted military slogan dating to Greek and Roman times. In DIS: “Saints of Imperfection”, Pike says, “Starfleet is a promise. I give my life for you, you give your life for me. And nobody gets left behind.”

If 1/8th impulse is less than 1000 km/s, then full impulse is only less than 8000 km/s, which can’t be right, considering that full impulse in the TNG era is 0.25c, which is nearly 75,000 km/s. 1/8th impulse in those terms would be more like 9,300 km/s. Darem should have said, “That’s less than 10,000 km/s,” but then it wouldn’t sound as slow. Scale is hard.

Reno says she’s not a captain. Technically, the person in command of a vessel should be correctly addressed as “captain”, regardless of rank (DS9: “Behind the Lines”).

Braka says, “Today the revolution will be televised!” The origin of that is a 1971 spoken-word jazz poem by Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. It was recently used in the movie One Battle After Another as a code for the revolutionary group French 75. Between 2012 and 2015 there was also a satirical BBC series titled, “The Revolution Will Be Televised”.

Graffiti’d on the wall in the Atrium are the words “Break. Burn. Build.” Other visible graffiti include “Liberation”, “Take Change”, “Never Again” and "Veni, Vidi, Vinci, Venari", the last being Latin for "I came, I saw, I conquered, I hunted."

The VNN chyron says: “Breaking News. The Federation is compromised. Leaders and civilians are trying to flee Federation space, signalling Federation weakness. Federation oppressors mass their fleet near our border at Betazed - will they seal their own cage?”

As Braka continues, the chyron changes: “Vernari Rai Leader Nus Braka hailed as “hero” as he hold the Federation on trial for crimes against the galaxy. Terrorist or freedom fighter? Learn the true Nus Braka story - more at 2100”.

The moving chyron now says, “New Qo’noS signals willingness to discuss non-aggression pact with Venari Ral Free State.”

It next changes to “The Federation is on trial! Nus Braka hosts the trial of the century aboard the Athena, a gaudy treasure of the pompous Federation. ‘I know him well - he’s pure evil’ claims former Vance aide in shocking exposé”.

Next is “Federation Oppression has been cut off from the rest of the Quadrant as Venari Ral heroes block Starfleet Occupation". It reverts to “Nus Braka hailed as ‘hero’” while the moving chyron says, “Tyrant-in-chief Vance threatens military junta if Federation President Rillak fails to approve his naval aggression”. Laira Rillak was Federation President in DIS Seasons 4 and 5, who had Human, Cardassian and Bajoran ancestry.

Gravitational eddies are found with wormholes (VOY: “Eye of the Needle”, “False Profits”) or singularities (VOY: “Hunters”). Turning into a shockwave was Sulu’s manoeuvre with Excelsior at the beginning of ST VI when Praxis exploded.

Tarima was given a newer, less invasive neuroinhibitor when she came out of her coma (SFA: “The Life of the Stars”). The original was implanted into her neck - this one can be removed without surgery.

Reno knows first hand about being lost on a broken ship. She was on the USS Hiawatha, damaged and crashed during the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-57. The survivors were trapped on an asteroid for 10 months (DIS: “Brother”) before Discovery found and rescued them.

“One emergency at a time,” is akin to an aphorism that Raffi Musiker is fond of in the PIC novel The Last Best Hope: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

The moving chyron says “Aldebaran and Halka join Vernari Ral Free State as dozens of former Federation worlds rally around leadership of visionary Nus Braka”. Aldebaran has been mentioned several times though never seen in lore. Aldebaran whiskey is green (TOS: “By Any Other Name”, TNG: “Relics”). Halka first appeared in TOS: “Mirror, Mirror”.

Nahla says they were trying to create a new power source with Omega-47. That is not as reassuring as it sounds, since the previous disasters with Omega were usually due to trying to synthesise it for use as a power source (VOY: “The Omega Directive”).

Strontium is an element usually used in fireworks and to treat osteoporosis, mined from celestite and strontianite, burning with a crimson flame. Its isotope, Strontium-90, a byproduct of nuclear fission, can cause leukaemia and bone cancer.

“Come on down!” is a catchphrase from the game show The Price is Right.

The main chyron: “Federation oppression has been cut off from the rest of the quadrant as Venari Ral heroes block Starfleet occupation.”

As per “Kids These Days”, Nahla is 422.

Tamza is a dead language both Sam and Lythe know. Sam greeted people in Tamza on her first day at the Academy (“Kids These Days”) and Genesis responded, beginning their friendship.

The Rubicon is a river in northwest Italy, associated with Julius Caesar’s crossing in 49 BC which set off a civil war. The phrase “crossing the Rubicon” now means to commit to an irrevocable course of action - the point of no return Genesis mentions. The Doctor is actually saying “Rubin-con”, setting off the solution to disarming the mines. One wonders if the Doctor remembered Seven managing to stabilise Omega for 3.2 seconds in VOY: "The Omega Directive".

“Science is the captain, and practice the soldiers,” is from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, XIX: Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.

Tamira narrows Braca’s location to star system Alpha-20-56341255238693-0131.

The fact that Nahla says that Akamu Lee stayed with the Federation “after Earth left” provides an interesting chronological puzzle which I may nerd out about later.

Nahla says there is no Starfleet Anthem. There is, however, an Anthem of the United Federation of Planets (DS9: “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”).

Cadet Krebs’ Talaxian furfly ends the season by leaving the replicator and mating with itself. There was a theory floating around about maybe the saga would pay off by having the furfly replicate, tribble-like, to gum up Braca’s plans, but guess not.

Anisha told the young Caleb that they would visit Earth someday in “Kids These Days”. Caleb notes it’s almost summer, which brings us to June of 3192 as the academic year ends.

The Dean refers to Betazed weddings and not forgetting sunscreen, a subtle reference to the fact that traditional Betazoid weddings are held in the nude. Wearing sunscreen may also refer to a hypothetical commencement speech by Mary Schmirch, often misattributed to author Kurt Vonnegut.

We see in the background a Lurian (Morn’s race from DS9) talking to someone in an operations-coloured hijab. We saw a hijab-wearing crewmember on the USS Cerritos in LD: “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”. We get a glimpse of Discovery through a window.

Caleb gives the stardate as 869631.7, which actually places it in August 3192, but I’ve kind of given up trying to calibrate the later digits of stardates anyway. Best guess still places this in June, unless Caleb is recording it later.

The episode closes with “Beautiful Child” by Rufus Wainright. The closing credits say the cadets are from the graduating class of 3196. If the 1st academic year is 3191-92, then that means Starfleet Academy now has a 5-year course - which is actually consistent with TOS: “Bread and Circuses”, where Merik was said to have been dropped in his fifth year after failing a psych test.

While real-world military academies have a 4-year term, there is scattered evidence in production art that suggests the Academy has a 4-year course (notably in PIC: “The Star Gazer”). The old FASA Star Trek RPG split the difference by making it 4-years with a 5th year “cadet cruise”. But then again, the credits also put Lura, Nahla, Vance (nickname “Vancypants”), Athena’s computer and Braka in the class of 3196, so I’m not sure how literally we’re supposed to take this. Adding to the confusion is Caleb saying he’s a “Cadet Second Class”, which actually refers in real life to a cadet’s third year, rather than second.

The title reflects the 300th day since the start of Fall Semester and as the first caption states, the end of the cadets’ first academic year. That places it around mid- or late June 3192, which is when the academic year in the US usually ends. This also places it approximately 87 days, or just under 3 months, after the previous episode.

The r’uustai is a Klingon ritual where two people bond as brothers and enter each other’s Houses (TNG: “The Bonding”). Chech’tluth is a strong Klingon alcoholic drink that usually looks like it’s smoking (TNG: “Up the Long Ladder”). The word chech in Klingon means to be drunk or intoxicated.

“SoS jiH batlh SoH” translates as “Mother, I honour you.” In the context of TNG: “The Bonding” that made sense as Worf was bonding with Jeremy Aster, who had just lost his mother, so using “SoS” was to honour both their mothers as Jeremy became part of Worf’s House. A more generic word - and probably more appropriate for this r’uustai’s immediate context - for “family” would be qorDu’.

Nus Braka’s theft from J-19 Alpha took place in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. Omega molecules (VOY: “The Omega Directive”), when detonated, can destroy surrounding subspace and make warp travel impossible. “47” is an in-joke in Star Trek, dating back to TNG writer Joe Menosky, who went to Pomona College, which had a club called the 47 Society.

Krebs’ Talaxian furfly is now missing and has entered a replicator. This does not bode well.

Sam’s “old me” refers to her memories of attending the Academy prior to her program being reset and this time growing up from childhood on Kasq in SFA: “The Life of the Stars”.

Caleb’s not kidding when he talks about “old classics” like ECC, RSA and 10DES. These are all encryption standards developed in the 20th century, so well over a thousand years old.

Sam says Caleb is 20 years old, but I assume she’s not being precise, since he was separated from his mother nearly 16 years prior, which would make him nearly 22.

Most of the worlds Anisha mentions - Modavi, Elworth V, Ukeck, are first appearances, but the Typhon sector was mentioned as a staging area to confront the Borg cube at the beginning of the TNG movie First Contact. The Typhon Expanse, which may or may not be related, was the area where Enterprise-D was caught in a time loop (TNG: “Cause and Effect”). According to the file, Ukeck is a Class-M planet in the Alpha Quadrant.

40 Eridani A has long been supposed to be Vulcan’s (now Ni’Var) system in fandom. The choice was endorsed by Gene Roddenberry in a 1991 letter published in Sky & Telescope.

Sam’s technobabble somewhat makes sense if you imagine that the shuttle will not be capable of sustaining the same degree of speed as Athena. When the shuttle first exits the bay, even if it’s moving at warp Caleb will have to match its speed with Athena’s by synchronising the two warp bubbles. But once he exits Athena’s warp bubble, there will be a sudden deceleration since the shuttle will be traveling slower. It’s kind of like jumping off a speeding train.

Khionians lacking the enzyme (polyphenol oxidase to be exact) to break down bananas was established in SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil”.

Transwarp tunnels or conduits were used by the Borg, first appearing in TNG: “Descent”, allowing for speeds much faster than conventional warp drive. Abandoned conduits have been used before (PIC: “Broken Pieces”).

Sam’s dad is the Doctor, who on Kasq raised her for 17 years, relative time, in “The Life of the Stars”.

Darem says he thought ships had two nacelles so they don’t fly in circles. According to the TNG Tech Manual, nacelles, firing together or asymmetrically, shape the warp bubble, distorting space to steer the ship in various directions. After research, Starfleet determined that two nacelles were optimal for this. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t have more than two or even one nacelle to generate a warp field, but we don’t have time to nerd out about that now (LD: “The New Next Generation”). Khionian glitter vomit was also established in “Series Acclimation Mil”.

The starchart Ake examines shows the location of the mine near what would be in the 24th century the Tzenkethi Coalition. In fact, Tzenketh is still marked in grey (whatever that means) a little to the left and down from it. This is very much also consistent with Geoffrey Mandel’s Star Trek: Star Charts which have been used ever since DIS, but with some additions. From what I can estimate, the first detonation took place at least 50-60 light years away from the current mine. I’m hoping someone manages to release a high-res version I can get my nerdy little hands on.

This is the first time I’ve heard “maggs” as a unit of measurement. Someone has suggested it could be named after series writer/producer Jane Maggs.

Q’mau is another planet outside Fmaggstion space, first appearing in DIS: “Red Directive”. A desert environment, it had a settlement that couriers would go to trade and sell goods, stolen or otherwise. “Pulling a Q’mau” refers to what Discovery and Antares did in that episode, when the starships descended into the atmosphere, beaming up two civilians before combining their shields to block an avalanche. Enterprise-D pulls a similar rescue in PIC: “The Last Generation”.

Isolytic weapons (Insurrection) were banned weapons that could, like Omega, permanently damage subspace. The So’na used isolytic bursts to create subspace tears, and in the 32nd century, Ruon Tarka used an isolytic-type weapon against the 10-C (DIS: “Rubicon”). Given its effects on subspace, it makes sense that it could potentially tear a ship out of warp.

We saw Athena’s saucer separation ability in SFA: “Vox in Excelso”, in the staged battle against the Klingons.

We get a better look at the galactic map as we zoom out to see Nus’ mines surrounding Federation space. Of note is that Klingon space is where it’s supposed to be, the Ferengi Trading Zone is what used to be the Ferengi Alliance, and Cardassian space is labelled where the Cardassian Empire was.

Also, on the Beta Quadrant side of the Federation in what used to be Romulan space is Serrotheyn space. The Serrotheyns first appeared in DIS, with one serving in the United Earth Defense Force (DIS: “People of Earth”) and some working with the Emerald Chain (DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 1”). They had delegates at the Assembly to deal with Species 10-C in DIS: “…But to Connect”. Serrotheyn space was first labeled on a starchart in SFA: “Ko’Zeine”.

This episode sees the return of LTJG Sylvia Tilly, last seen in DIS: “Life, Itself”.

It’s Stardate 869372.1, which technically makes it May 3192, but it has progressed from the last known stardate from SFA: “Vox in Excelso”, which was 868943.8 (late 3191), the obvious mistake in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away” aside. So far, it’s consistent with moving the calendar from 3191 to 3192.

The Doctor recites a line from the opening of Thornton Wilder’s classic American play, Our Town: “The sky is beginning to show some streaks of light over in the East there, behind our mount'in.” Wilder described the theme of the play - which Tilly quotes later - as “the life of the village against the life of the stars,” from which we get the title of the episode.

Kelrec is referred to by Nahla as “Chancellor” now, as opposed to the title of Commander used in his first appearance in SFA: “Beta Test” (he’s wearing four pips like Nahla, which is a captain’s rank, in any case).

Pyroxene is not a mineral by itself, but the name of a group of minerals found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Tilly says she’s been on rotation in the Beta Quadrant with the “third years”. The Academy was officially reopened in DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”, the first episode of DIS’s 4th Season, and Tilly was instructing that batch in DIS: “All is Possible”. Since DIS 5 takes place in 3191, Season 4 would reasonably take place in 3190, which leaves us with a bit of a conundrum since a third year class would then make the current academic year 3192-3193, and in my view the evidence points towards Fall 3191 as the start of this batch.

However, if we squint a bit and say that the Academy opening at the start of DIS Season 4 took place in Fall of 3189 (which is still possible, since most of Season 3 takes place in 3189, with only a five month gap to account for between Seasons 3 and 4 as per “Kobayashi Maru”), then the timings work out for the first batch (Year One as 3189-3190, Year Two as 3190-3191 and Year Three - the current year - being 3191-3192). For the avoidance of doubt, we are now in 3192 as of SFA: “Ko’Zeine”.

But to be fair to the 3195 (or later than 3191) proponents, Tilly could of course be instructing another set of cadets than those in “All is Possible”. The dates work out either way if you just focus on this and ignore the stardates we’ve seen so far in SFA.

(But I digress. Sorry, chronologist’s mind at work.)

Tilly’s course is “Introduction to Theatre” - one of the screens shows “Frame of Mind”, a play where the protagonist, who may or may not be insane, is being tormented in a mental institution. Beverly Crusher staged the play with Riker as the lead in the TNG episode of the same name.

I am very, very intrigued by the idea of Klingon musical theatre and how it might differ from Klingon opera. We see later that Sam selects Our Town for the theatre class.

Despite her stay at the holographic “spa” in Denver in “Ko’Zeine”, Sam still seems to be glitching due to injuries inflicted by the Furies in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”.

Léo Delibes’ “Dôme épais le jasmin”, or “The Flower Duet”, from the opera Lakme plays on Nahla’s phonograph as we come back from the titles.

Reno and Tilly are, of course, fellow time travellers from the 23rd century and were crewmates on Discovery. They have seen more than their fair share of trauma, not least of which is the sense of loss having had to jump 931 years into the future. Reno also lost nearly all her cremates when her ship Hiawatha crashed during the Klingon-Federation war.

Tilly received her commission in 2257. From her perspective, it’s only been about three years since she officially graduated from the Academy.

Jay-Den first made reference to warrior stew (suvwI’ tlhIq) in “Vox in Excelso”. The plot of the opera he describes bears some resemblance to the climax of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, where Titus grinds the bones of Demetrius and Chiron into powder and then bakes their heads into pies which he serves to their mother Tamora. Jay-Den also talks about “quadri-testicles”, implying that Klingons have four testicles instead of two. This is consistent with the idea that Klingons have redundant organs (TNG: “Ethics”), and a Klingon in DIS: “Despite Yourself” that showed him urinating with two distinct streams.

Jay-Den is “embattled” with jaqh-voD, which Caleb says is a cold. This is a new word as far as I can tell - jaqh in Klingon means “deep” and voD means "drill", so the word parts don’t really jibe with the definition.

Although its action takes place between 1901 and 1913, Our Town was written in 1938, when the world was on the brink of World War II.

The Doctor says the patch the holoengineers made to Sam has been failing for weeks, which shows that some time has elapsed between this episode and “Ko’Zeine”.

Darem’s analysis of George and Emily’s wedding is reflected through his own marital complications from “Ko’Zeine”, as is Caleb’s to do with the expectations that he should want to be in Starfleet.

5 years on Kasq equal 3 days on Earth. The Doctor refers to the planet from VOY: “Blink of an Eye”, a planet with a tachyon core where 58 days passed for every minute on Voyager. The Doctor also exaggerates slightly - he spent about 3 years on “Gotana” in those 18 minutes, not exactly a lifetime as we define it. The planet was actually not named in the episode, although a native astronaut was named “Gotana-Retz” and so it was named as “Gotana’s Planet” in The Star Trek Encyclopedia.

Another time dilated planet is Dilmer III from LD: “Fully Dilated”, where a week passed for every second on Cerritos. In The Orville episode, “Mad Idolatry”, 700 years passed on Kandar 1 for every 11-day period in our universe.

The Doctor claims he looked at Our Town, implying it is because Sam selected it that prompted him to do so. But he quotes its opening line at the start of the episode, which means at that point he knows it. The only way to make it make sense is if the opening of the episode takes place after the events of the episode, chronologically speaking.

Sam asks if the Doctor has ever been in love. He had a brief romance with Danara Pel (VOY: “Lifesigns”), a Viidian doctor for whom he created a holographic body. He also harboured romantic feelings towards his crewmate Seven of Nine (VOY: “Someone to Watch Over Me”) and created a holographic family, including a wife and children (VOY: “Real Life”).

The Kressari are an Alpha Quadrant species, who aided the Cardassians in supplying the Bajoran separatist faction known as the Circle with weapons (DS9: “The Circle”).

Wood actually does quite well in space, not decaying because space lacks water and oxygen. In 2024, Japan launched LignoSat 1, a 10 cm^3 satellite made from magnolia wood. A second LignoSat is planned to launch in 2026.

Excitotoxicity is when neurons are damaged or killed due to high levels of neurotransmitters. It is linked to various neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and ALS.

The scene at the beginning where the Doctor quotes Our Town take place after the events of the episode, since he only picks up the play because Sam selects it.

The aria “E lucevan le stelle” (And the starts were shining), from Act III of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, is sung by the character Caravadossi, reflecting on his love for the titular Tosca as he awaits execution.

“It’s the mundane things… that mean everything,” reminds me of another Doctor. The Fifth Doctor retorts to the Cyberleader in Doctor Who: “Earthshock” that, “small, beautiful events are what life is all about.”

“What took us two centuries to build you killed in 209 days,” which is equivalent to almost 7 months - which assuming the Fall Semester started in early September 3191, brings us to the later part of March 3192, which tracks with “weeks” after “Ko’Zeine”, which took place at the start of 3192.

From another angle, it’s 112 days after SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil”, which takes place 97 days - 3 months - into the academic year, during midterm season. 97 days from the start of the Fall Semester (usually early September or late August) takes us into late November. The Miyazaki Incident takes place in early December, and one month later “Ko’Zeine” takes place in January 3192. 112 days from late November is about 3.5 months, which takes us into mid-March, probably before or after when Spring Break usually takes place. So both sets of calculations take us to about the same time, give or take a couple of weeks.

Belle was the Doctor’s holographic daughter from “Real Life”, who died in a more realistic simulation B’Elanna Torres set up from an injury sustained during a Parrises square match.

The Doctor asks to spend 17 years on Kasq, which will be about 10 days for Earth. Nahla says later it was 2 weeks.

The dialogue from Our Town recited by the cadets is out of sequence, but makes for better dramatic effect. Tarima adds, “loving that boy and a stupid, ugly pillow from the sweetest girl we ever knew,” which is not in the original play.

The episode ends with Nahla’s log stardated 869408.67.

We open with the Spring Semester, which brings us to the first week of January 3192. By the announcement of the Academy closure for the All-Worlds Day Break, this episode might take place just before or after the official opening of the semester. For what it’s worth, January 7 is the first Monday of January 3192.

As noted before, the Sato Atrium is likely named after Hoshi Sato, communications officer and xenolinguist of the NX-01 Enterprise. Tarima is recovering on Betazed after the events of the previous episode which saw her unleash her emphatic powers against the Furies, which put her in a coma at the end of it. The memorial service was likely for LTCDR Tomov of the Academy and Cadet B’Avi of the War College, who were killed by the Furies also last episode.

Caleb says it’s been a month and two days since he and Tarima last talked in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil” took place during midterm season (late October to early November), then the Furies ambush likely a few weeks later (since it seems a few weeks separate each of the previous episodes), making that in early December, just before the end-of-year break mid-December. One month and two days brings us to early January, so that kind of tracks, regardless of whether you’re a 3192 or 3195 proponent or some other year.

Kenda II was the homeworld of Dalen Quaice, Beverly Crusher’s mentor. Enterprise-D transported him back there from Starbase 133 following his retirement (TNG: “Remember Me”). Sam was wounded by the Furies, hence her glitching.

The Pre-Command Track could be what the Academy calls the Command Training Program in the 32nd century as both are designed to prepare a Starfleet officer for commanding a ship and crew. The CTP was first mentioned in DIS: “Lethe”, and then-Cadet Sylvia Tilly was accepted into it.

The saga of Krebs’ Talaxian furfly continues, now attacking a lab technician. Coach Ohtani may be an inside reference to pro baseball player Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, considered one of the best players of his generation.

The closed captioning calls the item rolled towards Darem a “Khionian pebble.”

Interstellar transport portals, in lore, have been associated with the Iconians (TNG: “Contagion”), who used them to control a vast empire more than 200,000 years prior. We have also seen them associated with Progenitor technology (DIS: “Life, Itself”).

For the record, there is no actual system named “Ursa Nowhere”. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, of course, are well-known constellations in the night sky.

In Germany, there is a tradition known as Brautentführung, literally “bride kidnapping”, where the bride is “kidnapped” during the reception and brought to a bar where she has drinks with her captors until the groom comes and rescues her. In Lombok, Indonesia, the practice of meratiq is when a groom ritually “kidnaps” his bride (but with the parents’ consent) to his house as part of the wedding rite. Bridal kidnapping, in its more sinister guise of actually abducting a woman and forcing her into marriage, has been practiced throughout the world, although in the modern era it is mostly illegal.

Darem explains that “Ko’zeine” is analogous to a best man at a wedding. Darem was betrothed to Kaira when they were children, much like Vulcan children were betrothed to each other to eventually marry when they reached adulthood (TOS: “Amok Time”). Another wedding-themed plot which a character could have left the show was Deanna Troi in TNG: “Haven”.

Takka berries are a fruit native to Drayan II in the Delta Quadrant. They are sometimes eaten with cherel sauce (VOY: “Innocence”).

Jay-Den’s protestation about the Ko’zeine toast is because he has a fear of public speaking (SFA: “Vox in Excelso”).

The meteor shower referred to is likely the Quadrantids, a shower that peaks in early January, appearing to originate from the constellation Boötes.

As Jay-Den waves back to Kyle, the sign behind him and Darem says, “There is no easy way from the Earth to the stars” (non est ad astra mollis e terris via), a quote not from Star Trek but the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger, echoing the Starfleet motto, “Ad Astra Per Aspera”.

The closing song is “We Watch the Stars” by Fink from his 2019 album “Bloom Innocent”.

The title is from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act I sc v: "Come, let's away, the strangers all are gone." It also appears in King Lear, Act V sc iii: "Come, let's away to prison; We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage”.

The opening song is “UFO”, a 2023 song by Olivia Dean, which talks about the feeling of not being in control when one is newly in love - appropriate to describe what’s happening between Caleb and Tamira.

The Deltan race was first seen in TMP with Ilia. Deltans are a very sensual and sexually open people, and to prevent issues with non-Deltans obsessing over them, those who join Starfleet have to take oaths of celibacy so as not to take advantage of sexually immature species.

Tamira’s neuroinhibitors start to flash; she wears them because she claims she feels emotions more intensely than other Betazoids (SFA: “Beta Test”) and that it can harm people if she loses control.

Betazoids are telepathic with others of their own species. However, they can teach this to people they are intimate with or close to, as Deanna Troi did with William Riker (TNG: “Encounter at Farpoint”).

The toy bear is Caleb’s toy Scrap, which he used as a diversion 15 years prior to escape from Pikaru (SFA: “Kids These Days”). He experiences flashbacks to those events.

Ship graveyards can be either actual graveyards where the wreckage of ships is left as a memorial to those who died there like the location of the Battle of Wolf 359 (TNG: “The Best of Both Worlds”, Star Trek Online), or junkyards/depots where old ships are abandoned (TNG: “Unification”).

The USS Miyazaki (NCC-316606) is presumably named after famed anime director Hayao Miyazaki (or his namesake city in Japan). This is the first we’ve heard of the “Singularity Drive”, although the Romulans famously used a quantum singularity to power their warp engines in the 24th century.

Kelrec was previously referred to as Commander, but now Nahla calls him “Chancellor”, so it may be that commander really is his rank after all. The mission, to repower Miyazaki and reboot the computer, bears some resemblance to reactivating the USS Hathaway in TNG: “Peak Performance”, although that was in preparation for war games.

The new “plasma-based” life support system is reminiscent of the force-field-based life-support belts used by Kirk & Co. during the animated series, starting from TAS: “Beyond the Farthest Star”.

This is the first time we’ve heard of ghan’aq, presumably a Klingon drink.

This is the first appearance of the Furies, although an ancient collective of races named the Furies or the Host were the antagonists in the Invasion! series of Star Trek novels.

Latinum (or gold-pressed latinum) is a currency most often used by Ferengi. The latinum itself is liquid and then encased in relatively worthless gold. Its value comes from the fact that latinum apparently cannot be replicated.

We last saw Nus Braka escaping Athena in a lifepod at the end of “Kids These Days”. Sector 119 is first mentioned here on-screen, but a planet in Sector 119-D was the setting of the Gold Key Star Trek comic story “Dwarf Planet” in issue #25 (1974).

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…” was an aphorism quoted by Spock in ST II to Kirk, who finished it with, “… or the one.” Of course, Kirk risked everything to save Spock in ST III “because the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many.”

“The hills are alive with the sound of murder,” is an obvious take-off on “The hills are alive with the sound of music,” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical The Sound of Music, but I first read it as "the streets are alive with the sound of murder," in the book Sing along with Mad (1970), as part of a parody of the musical set in the world of organised crime, written by the great Frank Jacobs and drawn by the equally legendary Al Jaffee.

Añejo means “aged” in Spanish and is used to refer to (in this case) aged tequila or aged rum.

Vance here uses “T-Tauri System” as if it’s a proper name. Although TNG: “Clues” uses “the T-tauri system” several times, the dialogue makes it clear that it’s a type of star rather than the name of a star system and the crew are using “the” just to identify the relevant system that contains that kind of star. In fact, Data notes that unstable wormholes have been mapped near 39 T-Tauri systems.

Nus is apparently short for “Nustopher”. Taygeta is a trinary star system in the constellation of Taurus, with Taygeta V featured in the TOS novel Tears of the Singers by Melinda Snodgrass.

A hengra, also known as a hengrauggi, was a creature from the ice planet Delta Vega (not to be confused with the planetoid Delta Vega from TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”), seen in the Star Trek (2009) movie.

Stardate 898898.3 translates to 3221, which is about 30 years in the future from SFA, so that can’t be right, especially when it’s said that Miyazaki hasn’t been operational for a century. The stardate should be in the 768000s.

Nus plays with a golden version of the NX-01 Enterprise.

A trauma loop is when an individual becomes stuck and re-experiences or re-enacts traumatic events over and over again. It is usually self-perpetuating, like a person who has been abused might unconsciously seek out situations where they will experience the same kind of abuse again. Nahla mentioned previously that she lost her son because of the Burn, but here we get some more detail.

Psilosynine is a neurotransmitter linked to Betazoid telepathy (TNG: “Dark Page”). As we saw in “Beta Test”, Tarima’s father, President Emrin Sadal of Betazed, is deaf. We find out why here.

The Furies are part-Lynar, which makes their inner ears sensitive to high sonic frequencies. Lynars were mentioned in TNG: "Chain of Command" by Picard as "a kind of Celtrine bat" (native to Celtris III).

The Intrepid-class USS Sargasso referred to here is not the 24th century class that the USS Voyager belonged to, but that of the 32nd century Voyager-J, first seen in DIS: “Die Trying”.

We see a trail of green blood at B’Avi’s mouth. Vulcan blood is copper-based, hence the colour.

We get a mention of Discovery, so she must have finished her retrofit (“Kids These Days”).

Nus’ final message to Nahla, where he rages about the self-righteousness of the Federation, is similar to Eddington’s speech to Sisko in DS9: “For the Cause”, accusing the Federation of being more insidious than the Borg in assimilating cultures.

The sound of the Furies screeching plays over the end credits.

The title comes from Sam’s full name, the first photonic cadet from Kasq. Sam is only 217 days old at this point, having been created as the first hologram to reintegrate with organics, but programmed to act like a 17-year-old.

Sam states that in the last millennium (i.e. since 2191, close enough to the founding of the Federation in 2161 that we can just take it as a rounding error), the Federation has encountered 4633 sentient species, over 37 trillion individuals.

We see a Cheronian cadet. The race first appeared in TOS: “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”, where the ruling half-white class (white on the left side) oppressed the half-black (black on the left side). They are extremely long-lived - Bele had been chasing Lokai for 5000 years - but assumed to be extinct since 2268, casualties of a civil war that wiped out Cheron’s population. However, Virgil, a half-white Cheronian appeared in the Section 31 movie, which takes place c.2324. The cadet here is half-white.

It’s been 97 days, or a little over 3 months, after Sam began the Fall Semester of Starfleet Academy (SFA: “Kids These Days”), placing this episode at the end of 3191 (Sam says later that the semester is nearly over).

Of the list of homeworlds displayed in Sam’s database, the names that are not known Federation worlds in the 24th Century are Denobula, Bajor, Ferengar, Hirogen Prime and Kazon Prime. Whether this means that these worlds are now, in the 32nd century, Federation members is not clear.

The Priority One Mission Darem is given consists of chicken, banana (which he hates) and yeel pudding. The yeel tree exists within the mycelial network (DIS: “Saints of Imperfection”), but its bark is deadly to the jahSepp who also live there.

Darem’s personnel file says his major is Sciences and he’s 17 years old, born on Stardate 851095.82, and he graduated from Khionian Royal High on Stardate 868490.0 (consistent with the stardate in SFA: “Vitus Reflux”). By TNG stardate reckoning, that still makes the current year 3191, and he was born in 3174. The file also notes his captaincy of the Khionian All-Planet Under-18 Calico Team and being part of the Premiere Team Khionian Parrises Squares, among other achievements.

Polyphenol oxidase is the enzyme that causes browning and damage to fruits and vegetables. Also, Khionians vomit glitter.

Sam is playing a theremin, an instrument that creates different tones as you interact with its magnetic field. Patented by Leon Theremin in 1928, its unique sound has been used to evoke an otherworldly atmosphere in SF media. Contrary to popular belief, the TOS Star Trek theme did not use a theremin, but was performed by soprano Loulie Jean Norman.

The original Emergency Medical Hologram Mark 1s (of which the Doctor is one) were repurposed by the Federation to become menial labourers in the 24th century (VOY: “Author, Author”), primarily because they were not viewed as sentient. Photonic lifeforms do naturally exist, as in seen in various VOY episodes (“Heroes and Demons”, “Bride of Chaotica!”, “The Voyager Conspiracy”) as well as in LD: “Of Gods and Angles”.

Sam speaking to her Makers reminds me of how the Orkian alien Mork used to report to his supervisor Orson on the strange habits of humans in the 1978-1982 sitcom Mork and Mindy.

The “stupid talking plants” refers to the events of “Vitus Reflux”.

While watching Tamira, Caleb is chewing on a jumja stick, a Bajoran confection made from the sap of the jumja tree (DS9: “In the Hands of the Prophets”).

Appropriately enough, the cadet sniffing Caleb’s pheromones is Orion. Orion women secrete a powerful pheromone which can intoxicate and dominate the males. Underground “scentuaries” on Orion exist, akin to sex and BDSM clubs (LD: “Something Borrowed, Something Green”).

The screens in the “Confronting the Unexplainable” course show “Origins of the Omega Molecule” (VOY: “The Omega Directive”), “Psionic Effects of the Galactic Barrier” (TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”), “Déjà Vu - Alternate Universe Theories” (TNG: “Cause and Effect”), “Katra Stones” (DIS: “Light and Shadows”), “Immortal/Non-Corporeal Entities” (the Guardian of Forever, TOS: “The City on the Edge of Forever”), “Subspace Divergence Fields” (VOY: “Deadlock”), “Alternate Continuums” (like the Q Continuum, VOY: “Death Wish”) and “Multi-Species Accelerated Evolution” (VOY: “Threshold”, perhaps).

Sam stops in front of “The Fate of Benjamin Sisko - Emissary of the Prophets”. It poses two questions: whether he died in the Fire Caves of Bajor or lived on in the Celestial Temple at the end of DS9: “What You Leave Behind”. As viewers, we know that the latter is true, but also that he promised to return (“Maybe a year, maybe yesterday.”). As the screen implies, this has not happened by the 32nd century, although he did return for a time in the IDW Star Trek comic taking place just before Nemesis. Part of the reason, speaking in a Doylist sense, is because Avery Brooks has retired from acting.

Professor Illa (played by LD’s Tawny Newsome) is of Cardassian descent, with the distinctive loop on her forehead (which led to the racial slur “spoonheads” being applied to Cardassians by veterans of the 2340s wars). She says it is midterm season, which usually happens between mid-October and early November. The scene ends with the DS9 theme song swelling.

Darem refers to the Schrodinger’s Cat paradox, a thought experiment where a cat in a box with a poison that has a 50-50 chance of triggering is, accordingly to quantum theory, neither alive nor dead until the box is opened.

The Bajoran custom of grabbing the earlobe to feel a person’s “pagh” (spirit) was first seen in DS9: “Emissary”.

The Sisko Museum is in New Orleans because Sisko is a native of that city. His father ran a restaurant there (DS9: "Homefront") which was still open as of 2381 (LD: “Grounded”).

This is the first mention of the planet Alpherat in lore. There is a star named Alpheratz (Alpha Andromedae or Delta Pegasi), mentioned in the Franz Joseph Star Fleet Technical Manual and the Star Trek Adventures RPG, but this may be a different place. There are fire eels on Earth, but Alpherati ones are presumably not the same.

The uniform on display is the version Sisko wore from DS9: “Rapture” onwards, having been introduced in the movie First Contact.

On display is a Deep Space Niners cap (the station baseball team, DS9: “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”), Sisko’s Niner baseball card, and the ball signed by the team in that episode. We also see a box used to contain an Orb of the Prophets and Benny Russell’s typewriter (DS9: “Far Beyond the Stars”).

There are signs for Sisko’s Creole Kitchen, the Dominion War, Jake Sisko with an article he wrote for the Federation News Service on the arrival of a Dominion Founder, and a video titled Jada Ava Sisko. Jada does not appear on the family tree, nor does Sisko’s daughter with Kasidy Yates, as yet unborn in the DS9 finale. While this may be ominous, in the Litverse novels the daughter was born and named Rebecca Jae Sisko.

Cirroc Lofton reprises his role as Jake Sisko. He mentions Sisko punching out Q (DS9: “Q-Less”), how he supported Jake’s writing, and his ability as a chef.

Krebbs’ Talaxian furfly is now eating its own fur.

Jay-Den claims Klingons invented raktajino, which isn’t really true. Raktajino is a hybrid beverage, with human and Klingon elements involved in its creation. This could simply be like Chekov claiming everything was of Russian origin.

Jake began writing his novel Anslem in DS9: “The Muse”, but we find out he never published it. In the alternate timeline of DS9: “The Visitor”, it was published in 2381. We also find out “Anslem” means “father” in Bajoran - the semi-autobiographical novel features the father of the protagonist.

The story of a Vulcan punching out Sisko refers to Solok defeating Sisko in a wrestling match when they were cadets at The Launching Pad (“Take Me Out to the Holosuite”).

The Kometa fish looks similar to an Earth blobfish, which although it looks like jello on land, has a relatively normal appearance deep underwater where it lives.

Behind the 32nd century San Francisco Ferry Building is a neon sign saying “King Mei”. This same sign appeared in an underground city on Turkana IV (TNG: “Legacy”).

Nahla left Starfleet 15 years prior because of how they treated Caleb and his mother (“Kids These Days”), but returned when Vance offered her the chancellorship of Starfleet Academy.

Sam drunkenly refers to Sisko building sailboats (a Bajoran lightship, DS9: “Explorers”) and starting riots (fulfilling history in 2024, DS9: “Past Tense”).

Muir Woods is part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, north of San Francisco and near the Academy campus. It’s best known for its grove of coast redwoods, which are the tallest living things on Earth.

The cover of Anslem has a Bajoran crest on it. Sisko bought a plot of land in Kendra Valley on Bajor in DS9: “Penumbra”, the same episode the Prophets warned him that if he married Kasidy - if he did not walk his path alone - he would know nothing but sorrow.

Illa is Illa Dax, the latest host for the Dax symbiont, a Cardassian-Trill hybrid. As Sam speaks to her Makers, we hear the TOS theme played on a theremin.

According to Tawny Newsome, Sam's line, "I can live with that," alludes to Sisko's famous line from DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight".

That last voice-over is Avery Brooks, not from Star Trek but from Here… a spoken word and jazz album he released in 2006. In the sky over San Francisco, there seems to be an image of Sisko's face formed by the clouds.

The dedication is "For Avery". The DS9 theme plays over the closing credits.

The title literally translates from Latin as “A voice on high”, and is the title of papal declaration (or bull) issued by Pope Clement V on 22 March 1312 formally dissolving the Knights Templar. It is therefore associated with declarations from lofty authorities.

The opening production titles are a combination of English and Klingon letters: “mutlh CBS Studios malja’”, which translates as “CBS Studios business construction”, a rough approximation of “A CBS Studios Production”.

The stardate is 868943.8, which makes it late 3191, some weeks after the previous episode. The Val Nebula makes it first appearance in lore, although similarly named nebulae include the Volterra Nebula (TNG: “The Chase”) and the Vaultera Nebula (SNW: “Ghosts of Ilyria”).

There is a sign advertising the Bajor Club, the Celestial Temple. The Bajorans worship alien entities they call the Prophets, who live inside a stable wormhole they term the Celestial Temple, central to the premise of DS9.

The Doctor quotes from (as Genesis correctly identifies)Judge Aaron Satie, a passage first recited by Picard in TNG: “The Drumhead” as a warning against small infringements of liberty which can lead to tyranny. The full quote is, “With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.” Oddly, the Doctor skips the words “…the first freedom denied, chains…” which makes the sentence a bit unintelligible.

Klingon mating rituals were described by Worf in TNG: “The Dauphin”: “Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects. And claw at you. [The man] reads love poetry. He ducks a lot.”

The Doctor is correct from a certain point of view. If not for his demands for autonomy and to be recognised as a member of Voyager’s crew, he may not have developed his sentience to the point where he could truly be called an intelligent being. Betazed rejoined the Federation in SFA: “Vitus Reflux”.

The Sigma Draconis system first appeared in TOS: “Spock’s Brain” and was mentioned in DIS: “Die Trying”.

SuvwI’ tlhIq does translate as “warrior stew”.

Caleb summarises a core part of the Klingon creation myth, the defeat of the tyrant Molor by Kahless, first told in TNG: “Rightful Heir”.

The Taurus system first appeared in TOS: “The Galileo Seven”, and more recently as a holoprgram in Star Trek Scouts “Holodeck Rescues, Part 2”.

The Klingon Empire and the Federation were suspicious of each other in the 22nd century, then wartime foes and adversaries in a cold war in the 23rd century, then allies through much of the 24th century. The Burn caused dilithium connected to active matter/antimatter reactors to fail suddenly, with explosive effect.

It is not surprising that the Klingons might have been heavily utilising dilithium-based reactors - overconsumption of energy is what caused the Klingon moon Praxis to explode in 2293 (ST VI), which precipitated the ecological crisis that resulted in the Klingons suing the Federation for peace and the two becoming allies. However, this time the Klingons appear to be refusing help. In DIS: “Scavengers” (c. 3189) a starchart was seen on a wall at Federation HQ showing quite a large “Klingon Zone” of space. This development now explains why it was not labelled as the Empire.

Krios (as a planet) was first mentioned as a Klingon colony in TNG: “The Mind’s Eye”. Subsequently the name Krios was used for another world which was in a war with Valt Minor (TNG: “The Perfect Mate”). This latter planet and the Kriosians showed up in ENT: “Precious Cargo” where it was referred to as Krios Prime. The appearance of Krios Prime here might be an attempt to reconcile the latter planet with the Klingon colony of the former.

“Beware of Klingons bearing gifts,” is a play on the old Latin proverb “Beware Greeks bearing gifts,” from the Aeneid, an allusion to the story of the Trojan Horse. McCoy does something similar in ST II when he gifts Kirk with a bottle of Romulan ale on the latter’s birthday with the phrase, “Beware Romulans bearing gifts.”

HurwI’ is the Klingon word for bow.

The new seat of the Federation government is to be built on Betazed, as per the agreement in “Beta Test”. The Emerald Chain is a 32nd crime syndicate made up of Andorians and Orions which was the main antagonist of DIS Season 3. This is also the first mention of Hectaron and its associated conspiracy theory in lore.

“Night Bird” was a jazz song which Riker struggled to master in TNG: “Second Chances” (and mentions again in LD: “Kayshon, His Eyes Open”). I don’t know if this nightbird mentioned by Jay-Den is related.

Klingon blood is usually seen as red. It was pink in ST VI more as a sop to the MPAA rating rather than something they wanted to do, but red or pink, black isn’t a good colour for it.

The ritual Klingon death chant (TNG: “Heart of Glory”) is supposed to warn the afterlife that a Klingon is on their way.

Veqlargh toQ translates to “Fek’lhr bird of prey.” Fek’lhr is the mythical guardian beast of Grethor, the Klingon underworld for the dishonoured, i.e. Hell as opposed to the Valhalla of Sto’vo’kor.

“Ah pè Kè pè Ulh pè cha” is a Khionan chant while “battle breathing”. Combat tactical breathing (or box breathing) is a technique used by the military, athletes and first responders to regulate stress and regain control and focus, although there is not usually an accompanying chant - inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, hold for a count of court then inhale to start the cycle again.

The Organian Peace Treaty (TOS: “Errand of Mercy”) was forced on the Empire and the Federation by the Organians, and at some point between 2266 and 2285 it appears to have disappeared, to be replaced by a neutral zone between the two powers (ST II). What happened to the Organians has not been established in canon, but the DC Comics Star Trek series had them vanish from the galaxy together with the Excalbians (TOS: “The Savage Curtain”), leaving them unable to enforce the treaty. Eventually, the Khitomer Accords were negotiated starting in 2293 (ST VI), although the Empire did withdraw from them at one point (DS9: “The Way of the Warrior”).

Jay-Den’s insistence on Klingons being Klingons, retaining their identity, and the fear of losing that identity, has echoes of T’Kuvma’s “remain Klingon” conservative philosophies from DIS Season 1. T’Kuvma also feared that peaceful coexistence with the Federation would lead to an eradication of what he considered the Klingon identity, which is why he set up the Klingon-Federation War of 2257.

Lura says she comes from “freed” Jem’hadar lineage, which implies that at some point between now and the end of the Dominion War in 2375, the Jem’hadar (or at least some) were liberated from Founder and Vorta control, but retained their martial ways.

Vance says, “When the Klingon gods help us.” I was expecting Lura to correct him, because Klingons killed their gods - they were more trouble than they were worth (DS9: “Homefront”).

Athena’s bridge section separates from the main ship, much like the Galaxy-class is capable of disengaging the saucer section from the stardrive section (although it’s the latter that goes into battle rather than the saucer). The Starfleet vessels that join the fight are Capricorn, Crimson, Horizon, Lexington and Riker.

The Klingon battle music comes from Jerry Goldsmith’s classic TMP score. “Qap’la!” is of course Klingon for “success”, usually said before a battle or mission.

Based on my rudimentary Latin, the title can be loosely translated as “Back/Return to Life”, I think. In the episode, it’s a fungus, although it’s unclear if that is its scientific or colloquial name. There is no “vitus” genus as far as I can tell, although grapes belong to the vitis family.

The stardate is 868858.7, which places it in late 3191. It is 3 weeks into the Fall semester, so mid-to-late September, although theoretically, if 1000 stardate units equal 1 year, it should be November 9.

Lura mentions signing up for Calica, which appeared on a sign in SFA: “Kids These Days”. The series is its first appearance in lore. As we see later, it’s a pretty brutal organised sport that is supposed to prepare cadets for combat.

Darem is either bi- or pansexual (and Caleb implies polyamorous as well).

Lura was a War College graduate, which makes sense since the Academy had yet to reopen until a year or so prior to the start of the series. While we’re at it, the etymology of the word “shenanigan” is uncertain, but I’m fond of the theory that it derives from the Irish word sionnachuighim (shun-NEH-huay-em), or “to play the fox.”

We met Kelrec, the Commander of the War College and Nahla’s counterpart, in SFA: “Beta Test”. He is apparently really into tea. We find out that the “transport first year cadets against their will” prank was first done years ago by Academy cadets who teleported their victims to the top of Alcatraz prison.

Nahla calls the Vitus Relux the “empathy flower” and notes it’s actually a fungus. It only blooms at night and has the ability to parrot the voices around it. The Art of War, attributed to Sun Tzu, is the classic Chinese treatise on warfare which has been studied and quoted for over a thousand years. My favourite aphorism from it is, “All warfare is deception.”

Krebs’ Talaxian furfly was mentioned last episode as well. Jay-Den is apparently a pacifist, objecting to participating in violence of any kind.

I’m not sure how Lura’s metaphor about the “force of a thousand tachyons” works, because theoretically in some equations, tachyons - hypothetical particles that travel faster than light - have negative or imaginary mass, and in any case wouldn’t exist in Newtonian space.

Reno describes a lapling as “fuzzy, mean like a koala, cute like a targ…” Believed to be extinct by the 24th century, we saw what was allegedly the last surviving specimen in Kivas Fajo’s collection in TNG: “The Most Toys”. The mascot isn’t exactly the same, more like a stylised version.

Klingons do have fondness for blood in their cuisine. There’s rokeg blood pie (TNG: “A Matter of Honor”, bloodwine (TNG: “Gambit, Part II”), gagh is kept in barrels of blood (LD: “wej Duj”). Bregit lung was mentioned in DS9: “Sons and Daughters”, as was grapok sauce to go with it, although they didn’t say it also had a blood component then. Heart of targ was also mentioned in “A Matter of Honor”.

Nahla says she’s got 352 years on Kelrec. She said she was 422 in “Kids These Days”, which makes him 70 years old.

The mugato mascot costume is, however, more accurate to what was seen in TOS: “A Private Little War” and LD: “Mugato, Gumato”.

Tardigrades, or water bears, are microscopic extremophiles. In the Star Trek universe, however, macroscopic alien multi-dimensional versions of them existed and were used as navigators through mycelial space for the Displacement-activated Spore Hub Drive (or spore drive) in DIS Season 1, until they figured out how to infuse tardigrade DNA into a human who then served as a navigator.

I really want those warp-core polka-dot jammies.

Reno and Lura are a couple, and she talks about how she left a “starship on the edge of creation” (Discovery) for her, so placing this after DIS Season 5. Reno mentions Ni’Vari cuisine, Ni’Var (“two-form”) being the current name for Vulcan, renamed after the reunification of the Vulcan and Romulan peoples. Krada leg is another Klingon dish.

The belaklavion (or just klavion), a Bajoran instrument, was first mentioned in TNG: “Premptive Strike”. Ro Laren claimed that her father played the klavion to drive away the monsters under her bed as a child.

The turbolift shaft at least looks normal and not like the vast eldritch space we’ve seen in DIS and ST: “Q & A”.

While obtaining Kelrec’s DNA will fulfil the trace DNA requirement of the biometric scan, simply growing an eyeball from it won’t work to replicate the retinal pattern. That’s because our retinal patterns are not determined by DNA but are formed as the blood vessels grow in utero (similar to fingerprints), and are unique even among identical twins. Either way, they would still have to have a snapshot of Kelrec’s retina.

As explained in “Beta Test”, Tamira uses a neuroinhibitor because her emphathic abilities are more intense than other Betazoids.

The Vitus Reflux is a protected species under Starfleet Regulation 268.4, which makes harming them before they reach the adult stage a crime. Separately, there is also an Endangered Species Act (DIS: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”), which requires Starfleet captains encountering species on the list to escort them to a sanctuary.

We find out later that Nahla was one of those responsible for the original transporter prank. There are a bunch of starship models on her shelf, including what looks like an Excelsior II-class, a Galaxy-class, an Intrepid-class, an Oberth-class and even an NX-01-class.

The title refers to both Caleb’s adjusting to Starfleet Academy and the arrival of the Betazoids.

The episode opens with a caption saying it’s the Fall Semester. The US Naval Academy starts its Fall Semester in the last week of August, so it’s a safe assumption that Starfleet Academy starts its academic year around there or early September, which dates the season as beginning end-August 3191. I’m aware that Memory Alpha says it’s 3195, but I disagree with their calculations.

These are the first mentions of mutageocillus arniopolus (self-replicating mucus) and Ferengal tape-worms (presumably from Ferenginar). The cadet speaking to Caleb wears spectacles. Usually vision issues like long-sightedness can be treated by a dose of Retinax Five (ST II), but some people are allergic and so wear glasses instead.

As Nahla addresses the student body, we see a cadet in a wheelchair. This can be for a variety of reasons, including coming from a low-gravity environment (DS9: “Melora”). However, this cadet does not have the same visible braces as Melora Pazlar did.

Lura is the product of a Jem’Hadar father and Klingon mother, given that “Victory is life,” is the Jem’Hadar credo, and “Today is a good day to die,” a Klingon aphorism.

The cadets are at Boothby Memorial Park, named after the groundskeeper (played by the inimitable Ray Walston) who was a mentor to generations of cadets in the 24th Century, many of them becoming captains, including Picard and Janeway (TNG: “The First Duty”, VOY: “In the Flesh”).

The fireworks delta formed by the celebration flight is lit in blue, gold and red, the traditional division colours of Starfleet.

The rocky cadet walking down the corridor is a Brikar. The Brikar were introduced in Peter David’s Starfleet Academy YA Novel Worf’s First Adventure and then used in his New Frontier novels before making their way to the screen in PRO. The look of the cadet mirrors our beloved Rok-Tahk from that series, although the latter was more pinkish in colour and spoke in a higher-pitched voice. The Digitial Dean of Students making announcements is voiced by comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert.

Behind Caleb and Sam are displays, one mentioning an Association of Cardassian Cadets, a starship escape room and the other with an oft-quoted Picard line from TNG: “Peak Performance”, “[I]t is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.”

Jay-Den does a little growl we’ve heard often coming from Worf when he’s frustrated.

A red-coloured exocomp (TNG: “The Quality of Life”) is seen in the turbolift with Lura, Nahla and the Doctor and has to keep shifting as the humanoids occupy their space. The closed captioning names them as “Almond Basket”, which is reminiscent of Peanut Hamper, the less-than-heroic exocomp introduced in LD: “No Small Parts”. Kether Donohue voices both.

While San Francisco has been the traditional location of Starfleet Headquarters, the office of the President of the Federation was established to be in Paris (ST VI).

On Nahla’s shelf in her office are three Grateful Dead artifacts: the album covers from Aoxomoxoa (1969) and Wake of the Flood (1973), and a psychedelic poster advertising a gig at the Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, with Oxford Circle opening for them (September 16-17, 1966).

Talaxian furflies are native to Neelix’s home planet of Talax (VOY: “Timeless”). If one stowed away on a ship, it was supposed to be good luck.

Commander Kelrec wears four pips, indicating a captain-rank (O-6) equivalent. It may be that either the War College uses a different rank system, or “Commander” is being used to mean the title“Commandant”, like Nahla is Chancellor of the Academy at her captain’s rank.

The implication seems to be that the War College is more militarily oriented than the Academy. In today’s terms, war colleges exist for the various branches of the armed forces, but they are meant to train experienced officers. Given that in Starfleet, both are foundational education institutions, the distinction might be more like Army/Navy.

Jett Reno was part of Discovery’s crew when they jumped 930 years into future at the end of DIS Season 2, ending up in the 32nd century.

Reno misquotes the saying: “Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.” It is not usually attributed to Wilde, either - its origins are unclear, but variations can be traced back to the early 20th century.

The “holo-guide” that appears to neutralise the mucus on Caleb is a hologram. Caleb glitches it while trying to leave the campus by giving it impossible commands. In DIS: “Die Trying”, Georgiou manages to glitch a 32nd century hologram by blinking at their “harmonic rate”, creating a reference loop that makes them shut down.

President Emrin Sadal signs rather than speaking out loud, indicating that he is probably deaf. The last deaf character that signed of note was the Ramatsian mediator Riva (TNG: “Loud as a Whisper”).

The DDS mentions the Kirk Pavilion, named after James T. Kirk, as we see later.

The joke about not realising gazpacho is served cold calls back to the BBC science fiction comedy Red Dwarf. Rimmer complains about it being cold, which embarrasses him in front of the senior officers.

“Gideon S. Turner” is not a previously known name in lore. The Replicafé now serves raktajino, which is commonly called “Klingon coffee”, but its origins are a bit more complex. We see that the War College sports team is called the Mugatos (TOS: “A Private Little War”), while the Academy team is called the Laplings (TNG: “The Most Toys”).

Humpback whales were hunted to extinction in the 21st century (at least in Star Trek’s timeline), but the species was repopulated beginning in 2286 when two whales were brought from 1986 by Kirk and his crew (ST IV). One of their descendants, Gillian, was seen in 2384 in PRO: “Into the Breach, Part I”, serving on board Voyager-A.

Tamira wears a gem in her tooth, which she claims represents the sacred eye of Nadia, ritually bestowed upon the first daughter of the First House when she reaches Moonflow (a nice euphemism for menses) and becomes Guardian of the Holy Mantle of Betazed. Similarly, Lwaxana Troi was a daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx and heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed.

The star charts in Stellar Cartography are based on Geoffrey Mandel’s initial work in Star Trek: Star Charts, which have been the basis for on-screen star charts since. You can tell from the placements of Minos Korva and Tagra in relation to Betazed. In more recent episodes of SNW, the star charts are taken from Modiphius’ Star Trek Adventures TTRPG 2nd Edition, which were also developed from Star Charts.

Betazoid weddings are traditionally in the nude (TNG: “Haven”), although there are options to follow the customs of the respective spouses-to-be.

The Doctor is performing in the duet “Pa-pa-pa Papageno”, from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which also sang a bit of to himself in SA: “Kids These Days”. The waiter that snatches the glass out of Caleb’s hand appears to be either robotic or cyber-enhanced. The empty space where one would expect a brain is reminiscent of the Decraniated from Star Wars. As Tamira leaves to meet Caleb, the duet - appropriately enough a love song between Papageno and Papagena - reaches its end.

Psilocynine is a neurotransmitter involved in telepathy that exists in Betazoids. In TNG: “Eye of the Beholder”, Troi had elevated psilocynine levels after experience a traumatic empathic vision.

The piece that the Doctor and his singing partner are performing is from Beethoven’s Fidelio, with the repeated line, “Oh, when will you say to me yes?”. In the opera, Jacquino repeatedly proposes to Marzelline with this line and she repeatedly refuses, paralleling Sadal’s refusal to rejoin the Federation.

The reason why Earth is the seat of the Federation has never been outright said, but it’s been assumed that it’s because of the vital role it played in establishing the Federation in the 22nd century. With Vulcans and Andorians and Tellarites at each other’s throats, it was Humans who brought them all together and made the alliance work. A new Federation doesn’t have to be bound to that history.

Band-Aid is a brand name, but it’s become a generic term for plasters (much like hoover became generic for vacuum cleaners). Still, to have the term survive for 13 centuries, with dermal regenerators being commonplace, was a bit anachronistic to my ears.

As Caleb walks back to his room, we see a Kelpien cadet sidle by with their hands waving in typical Kelpien fashion. Ocam Sandal has joined the Academy while Tarima has opted for the War College.

There is a new Star Trek 60th anniversary opening, which starts with the TOS Enterprise going into warp and then transforming into each subsequent series’ hero ships, from the refit to Enterprise-D, Defiant, Voyage, NX-01, Discovery, the SNW Enterprise and finally the USS Athena. The font used in the series captions is the one first seen in TMP.

The Burn was a catastrophic event that occurred about 120 years prior to 3188, which resulted in a galaxy-wide phenomenon of dilithium crystals being rendered inert and severely reducing the speed of faster-than-light travel, cutting off whole systems from each other, the near-collapse of the Federation and the shutting down of Starfleet Academy. The mystery of the Burn and its resolution were central to DIS Season 3 and following that, the Academy was re-established. For those keeping track, DIS Season 5 (with the exception of a flashforward in the finale) took place in 3191, so presumably this new series picks up where it left off.

The opening scene takes place on Stardate 853724.6, 812 years after TNG’s first season which takes place in 2364 (TNG: “The Neutral Zone”), placing it in 3176, 15 years before DIS Season 5. This is the first appearance of Federation Outpost Pikaru (incidentally, Pikaru is a brand of keratin shampoo from Indonesia).

We get out first look at the series’ big bad, Nus Braka, a half-Klingon, half-Tellarite pirate. Neither of his genetic lineages are known for their genteel nature. We also meet Nahla Ake, a half-Lanthanite Starfleet officer who will become Chancellor of the revived Starfleet Academy. She is wearing a tricom badge of the 32nd century and a Captain’s four pips on her collar and shoulders (it’s also indicated on the badge), with a uniform we saw in DIS Season 3.

Lanthanites, introduced in SNW, are a very long-lived race, with lives spanning millennia. We learn later that she is 422 in 3191, which makes her birth year around 2769. The Federation crest on the dais is one with noticeably less stars than the 23rd-24th century one most of us are used to, reflecting the state of the Federation post-burn. It was first seen in DIS Season 3.

Nahla says that Anisha Mir, while she would only have been guilty of theft, is now guilty of felony theft because of the death of an officer. I’m actually surprised the Federation still has a distinction between misdemeanours and felonies, which is very American and doesn’t really exist elsewhere. So if a death occurs in the commission of a misdemeanour, it gets bumped up to a felony?

Bajor is the homeworld of the Bajoran people, who feature centrally in DS9.

The action now moves 15 years later, so to 3191, and the Stardates should be in the 868000s.

Toroth is a system in the Alpha Quadrant. The unnamed Torothan homeworld was first seen in ENT: “Desert Crossing”, and since then the system has been seen marked on various star charts in other series. Star Trek: Star Charts notes that the NX-01 visited the planet (now named also as Toroth) on February 12, 2152. The name V’Rilik sounds Vulcan - or Ni’Var as it is known in the 32nd century. The shuttle Teracaq is named after a Torothan animal, which was roasted and served to Archer and Tucker in “Desert Crossing”. That said, in that episode the Torothan homeworld was arid and desert-like, not like what it is now, but it’s been 1031 years.

The probe flashes through Caleb’s criminal records. The first is from the Federation, I don’t recognise the second, next is Andorian, then Ferengi and Cardassian. The thugs harassing Caleb are Torothan, with the same chin markings seen in “Desert Crossing”. And Anisha is still in prison 15 years later? That’s very… Les Miserables.

The Starfleet Academy motto is “Ex Astra, Scientia” which is Latin for “From the stars, knowledge”.

Fleet Admiral Charles Vance is the CIC of Starfleet, last seen in DIS: “Life, Itself”. Starfleet Academy’s traditional location - at least its main campus - has been in San Francisco since the 23rd century. We saw San Francisco and the Academy grounds still existing in the 32nd century in DIS: “People of Earth”.

Programmable matter is a 32nd century technology, made up of what is probably nanomachines which can be configured in a variety of ways.

Nahla flips through personnel records, one of which is Commander Lura Thok, the Jem’Hadar-Klingon first officer of the USS Athena. The images are projected from her tricom badge. We get our first good look at Athena, NCC-392023.

A DOT-23 greets them as they board - DOTs are repair robots that have been in use since the 2250s (as DOT-7 models), working aboard and outside Starfleet ships. They first appeared in DIS: “Such Sweet Sorrow”. Nahla greets Lura as “Number One”, an old nickname for first officers dating back to the Royal Navy. CAPT Christopher Pike referred to CMDR Una Chin-Riley by that nickname, as did CPT Jean-Luc Picard with CMDR William Riker. Lura is the daughter of Asmaret from the Klingon House of Dak’Hatas, and the Jem’Hadar lineage of Kah-Baj.

Jay-Den Kraag declared his subjects as molecular biology and regenerative therapies - science division, in other words, with a lean towards medical. Not a usual choice for a Klingon, but Klingon medics have to exist.

The officer in operations gold that greets Jay-Den and Kraag at the top of the stairs is a Saurian, a species first seen in TMP. Linus, a Saurian officer, was a supporting character on DIS.

The Regulation Appearance Arches quickly cut Caleb’s hair and put a cadet uniform on him. Technology that materialises clothes on people has been seen as far back as TMP, when Kirk materialised a dress on the Ilia probe who appeared naked in a sonic shower.

The Doctor’s bedside manner has not improved in 800 years. Orillian lung maggots were first mentioned in VOY: “Fair Trade”. They are native to the Delta Quadrant, which explains the Doctor’s surprise at finding them in Caleb.

“Ad Astra per Aspera,” Latin for “To the Stars Through Hardship/Difficulties,” or “A Rough Road Leads to the Stars”. It is the motto of the state of Kansas, can be found on NASA’s Apollo I memorial, and also in-universe the motto of the United Earth Starfleet in ENT.

You can find the names on the Hall of Fame dissected ad nauseam elsewhere, so I won’t go into them, but merely to note that Harry Kim finally made it past ENS, Samantha Wildman became a CMDR, and Zero (from PRO) apparently had a third generation.

Catecholamines are not technobabble - they’re a class of neurotransmitters that prep the body for a fight-or-flight response. A spike in levels means shit is about to go down, in other words.

Sato Atrium is likely named for Hoshi Sato, the NX-01’s communications officer and xenolinguist. The Doctor pushes the Opera Club, a callback to his fondness of it during his days on Voyager. He walks away singing “Pa-pa-pa Papageno” from Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

One of the clubs cadets can sign up for is Parrises Squares, a sometimes violent court-based game first spoken of in TNG, although we didn’t actually see a game being played until PRO: “Is There in Beauty No Truth?”

The Doctor mentions he put an aging program 5 centuries before to put organics at ease, which is obviously the Watsonian explanation for why Robert Picardo looks older. A similar explanation was given by Guinan in PIC to explain Whoppi Goldberg’s appearance.

Sam makes a reference to PRO and the crew of Protostar, including Dal R’El, Murph and Captain Gwyndala (which is where we left her at the end of the series), which makes me so happy. PRO needs more love.

(continued)

By the way, Nahla is doing the stereotypical bisexual chair sitting meme. Just saying. Ion storms are a regular thing in Star Trek (and usually come with nasty effects). Lura notes that they are near the Badlands, which is an area located near the Cardassian border, inside the Demilitarised Zone that separated Federation and Cardassian space in the 24th Century. It was also known for its turbulent plasma storms and gravitational anomalies.

Nahla tells Lura to “get to the kids”, and Lura beams out with her tricom badge’s personal transporter, another bit of 32nd Century technology.

The Doctor says that damage to the emergency holo-emitters mean that medical staff is in short supply, implying that the medical staff is augmented by EMHs like him. The fact that he can say there are injuries but no casualties with such confidence might also mean he’s tied into the internal life signs sensors.

When Caleb goes to the computer panel, it’s displaying a quote from Janeway from VOY: “Dark Frontier”, which she said to Naomi Wildman: “There are three things to remember about being a starship captain. Keep your shirt tucked in, go down with the ship, and never abandon a member of your crew.”

Lura’s authorisation code is “Thok-Gamma-616-Pi”. She gives instructions to inject a broad spectrum vasosuppressant, and then remove the foreign object. This should narrow the blood vessels and reduce the amount of bleeding when they remove it. From my first aid training I still think it’s a bad idea, but hey, I don’t know about 32nd century medicine and Jem’Hadar-Klingon physiology.

Nahla makes a reference to taking apart the warp drive “bolt by stem-seal”, which is reminiscent of the mysterious “self-sealing stem bolts” whose function nobody seemed to know in DS9: “Progress”.

Lura says, “I am dead. I go into battle to reclaim my life,” which is a paraphrase of a Jem’Hadar pep-talk before they go into battle from DS9: “To the Death”: “I am First Omet'iklan, and I am dead. As of this moment we are all dead. We go into battle to reclaim our lives. This we do gladly, for we are Jem'Hadar. Remember. Victory is life.”

Darem, a Khionian, claims he’s survived pressure differentials up to 7,000 pounds. In pounds per square inch that’s about 476 atmospheres, or the pressure at nearly 5 km under the ocean. He also says he can stand temperatures up to -271 degrees Celsius, which is just a couple of degrees above absolute zero (-273.15 C), the lowest possible temperature. For reference, the vacuum of space averages about -270.4 C and liquid nitrogen’s boiling point is -196 C.

Transporter systems are off-line which apparently also renders personal transporters also unusable? But we’ve seen personal transporters being used without a regular transporter unit in sight, so PTs are not just relays for a main system.

Before Darem goes outside, Genesis asks him to place a device on his neck that will pick up his vocal vibrations so she can hear him even in vacuum.

The Doctor’s command code is “Doctor-delta-10-sigma-3-1”.

Sam warns Jay-Den that a Jem’Hadar’s heart is near where a human liver is supposed to be. Coincidentally, the Vulcan heart is located around there as well (TOS: “Mudd’s Women”).

Why doesn't Caleb just ask the bridge to tractor Braka's escape pod? It's not as if it can get very far, and we know the tractors are functioning because Genesis just used them to rescue Darem.

The song that plays as they approach Earth is “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)”, originally sung by Scott McKenzie in 1967, one of the anthems of the countercultural movement of the 1960s, especially the Summer of Love in that year. This version is performed by Rufus Wainright.

When the Burn hit, all ships using dilithium as a rectifier for their warp cores found the dilithium go suddenly inert, creating instant warp core breaches for those ships in warp.

The story on the tapes jumps ahead to five years after McGivers’ death, around 2273. The exile started in late 2267, 4 months pass bringing us into 2268, McGivers becomes pregnant, dies, Kali is born late 2268, five years later brings us to 2273.

Lear refers to tapes CA5-47-31M, CA5-49-2P and CA5-39-17U. How the naming convention is organised is not clear, although the “5” could indicate the year of exile.

Lear notes that Kali’s maturity and intelligence at 5 were consistent with a child twice her age. Advanced development in children in science fiction is a common trope (see Alexander Rozhenko), but at least her Augmented heritage accounts for some of it.

In CA5-53-12K, Khan encourages Kali to quote from Kubla Khan (“The shadow of the dome of pleasure / Floated midway on the waves”) while Kali wants to read more Shakespeare, showing good taste for a child her age.

CA5-61-3P says that Paolo, Kamora, Joachim and Delmonda were selected for the rescue mission. It was established in the last episode that the ship could only hold four people.

Tuvok searches the entries from Day 1800-1900 and plays the last entry, which would be approximately 5.2 years into the exile. Khan quotes from William Butler Yates’s 1919 poem The Second Coming: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” and references the last two lines of the poem: “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” Yeats was contemplating the aftermath of World War I, the start of the Irish War of Independence and the flu pandemic of 1918-1919, which explains the poem’s apocalyptic imagery and its sense of the end of one era of history and the instability that accompanies the birth of another.

Ursula and Madot have broken up due to the death of their unborn child in the previous episode.

Kali packs a copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. In the cargo pod Chekov encounters in ST II, there is no copy of the Complete Works seen, but there is a copy of King Lear, Shakespeare’s play of a king’s descent into madness.

Kali references the sinking of Sea Venture as her inspiration for naming the rescue ship Venture. Sea Venture’s was part of a supply fleet to Jamestown in Virginia in 1609. It got separated from the fleet and was wrecked on the then-uninhabited island of Bermuda. It is believed to have inspired Shakespeare’s The Tempest. That play in turn also inspired the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet, which also influenced Star Trek.

Khan corrects Kali, who believes the wreck also inspired As You Like It, by pointing out that the play was written in 1599. There is a bigger problem here, though, as while several of Shakespeare’s plays have shipwrecks, As You Like It is not among them. Kali may be thinking of The Comedy of Errors (1592) or even Twelfth Night (1601-1602), if we’re sticking to comedies, although those also predate the wreck of Sea Venture.

Once the ship leaves, the caves will collapse and be uninhabitable, which explains why Khan and his Augments were living in the cargo pod in ST II. The ship uses a “spatial compression drive”, which sounds similar to the coaxial warp drive that could fold space in VOY: “Vis à Vis” or the spatial trajector of VOY: “Prime Factors”.

Khan alludes to Starfleet not checking back on them in the five years since the exile, a question that is as yet unanswered in this series.

The question of what destroyed Ceti Alpha VI, however, is resolved. Delmonda explains that when the power that allows the drive to bend space and time was about to lose containment, he chose to vent the energy out of the Elborean ship’s forward ports, and that destroyed Ceti Alpha VI.

This actually connects to one risk of the Alcubierre drive (which also bends spacetime), which is that everything that is caught at the leading edge of the Alcubierre “warp bubble” gets accumulated and carried along. Once the bubble stops at its destination and collapses, all that accumulated energy/debris would be released with devastating effect. I emphasise as I have always done that Star Trek warp drive is not the Alcubierre drive.

Delmonda’s replies to Khan as the latter offers to part as friends, “I have been and always shall be yours.” This is, of course, what Spock says to Kirk in his room in ST II and then paraphrases of when he dies at the end of the movie.

Tuvok dates the crash of the rescue ship at 21 years prior. Give my sums above, this would place the time of the framing sequence in 2294, although the first episode started in 2293. The dates are a bit fuzzy here because Lear and Tuvok are on the surface of Ceti Alpha V twenty-six years after the exile, which would be consistent with the 2293 date but not 2294. Possibly Excelsior was in orbit for several months after that, which might explain Sulu’s impatience.

Lear’s senior thesis was an examination of the Federation ban on genetic engineering and the blurred lines when it comes to Augmentation, using the expression “God is in the grey areas,” a variation on the expression “God is in the details.” The phrase is attributed to various people, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Gustave Flaubert, and is usually taken to mean that when attention is given to details big rewards can be derived. A related expression is “the Devil is in the details”, meaning that while things may seem simple on the surface, an examination of the details will reveal complications. It’s more likely that Lear means the latter rather than the former.

Lear also mentions discrimination against hundred of people with small percentages of Augment DNA, many of them Starfleet officers. Known Starfleet officers with Augmented genetics include SNW’s La’An Noonien Singh, although to what extent she has Augmented abilities is unclear, and Una Chin-Riley, although she is not a descendant of Earth Augments but is augmented due to her Illyrian background - both as of 2261. Dal R’El (PRO) was a Human Augment hybrid, and as a result was initially barred from entering Starfleet Academy in 2385. The 2370s would see Julian Bashir (DS9: “Doctor Bashir, I Presume”) and the members of the Jack Pack (DS9: “Statistical Probabilities”).

Tuvok expresses skepticism about Starfleet officers judging people with Augment ancestry that they do not control but Lear says he’d be surprised. She may be referring to incidents like Chin-Riley’s court martial in 2260 for concealing her Illyrian heritage (SNW: “Ad Astra Per Aspera”).

Tuvok also thinks Lear isn’t telling him the whole story. He says Vulcans find it incredibly difficult to lie, and many are incapable of it, and that this somehow this makes them sensitive to others lying.

Tuvok’s admission that lying is difficult for Vulcans rather than impossible is probably as close as we can get to a fair formulation of the “Vulcans never lie” myth. If we accept Vulcan logic as being devoted to the principle of c’thia, or “reality-truth”, an acceptance of reality as it is, as opposed of what we want it to be, then one can see why it becomes difficult as a matter of principle to deviate from it. Most times when we see Vulcans lie it is usually for what they consider the greater good, or justified as such, with Spock being a prime example. Even Tuvok himself lied when he went undercover in the Maquis (VOY: “Caretaker”).

McGivers and Khan’s as-yet-unborn daughter is named Kali, the Hindu goddess associated with time, death and destruction, although Western depictions of her mostly emphasize the latter qualities, mainly because of her association with the Thuggee cult.

Barolo wine is a red wine from the Piedmont region of France, made from nebbiolo grapes. The bottle in Ivan’s possession comes from a warlord in Kashmir, at the Northern tip of India, bordering Afghanistan.

Ursula’s “If you strike at a king, you best not miss,” is a combination of a saying attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson (“When you strike at a king, you must kill him.”) and the more famous pop culture formulation from The Wire (“You come at the king, you best not miss.”). Ivan’s retort, “I never miss,” is also what James Bond quips when he despatches Elektra King in The World is Not Enough.

The song the young Augments are listening to on Ivan’s boombox is “Your Touch” by Particle House, released in 2021. There were several references in previous episodes to this still being a timeline where Khan and his people left Earth in 1996, but if we are to take this as accurate, perhaps we are in the timeline where the Eugenics Wars took place in the 2020s (SNW: “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”).

We know that McGivers eventually died because of the Ceti eels, and we are now told how she became infected.

Ivan’s scream of “Khan!” is of course echoing the infamous scene where Kirk also screams Khan’s name in ST II.

I’m pretty much on board with the idea that Lear is Kali. The sums work out (she would be around 25-26 years old), as well as why Delmonda would hand her McGivers’ logs and Lear’s interest in how the Federation deals with people with Augment ancestry. They could of course throw us a twist, but it’d be a cheap one given the build-up.

As Marla slips away, Khan quotes from the last stanza of Kubla Khan: “A damsel with a dulcimer / In a vision I once saw: / It was an Abyssinian maid / And on her dulcimer she played, / Singing of Mount Abora. / Could I revive within me / Her symphony and song, / To such a deep delight ’twould win me, / That with music loud and long, / I would build that dome in air…”