In the TOS Episode By Any Other Name, the Kelvans make enhancements to the Enterprise, allowing it to travel at far greater speeds than it normally could (it passed warp 11 from memory). I was wondering then is there any further reference to these modifications being removed from the Enterprise/studied by Starfleet (I don't mind if these are referred to in TOS or onwards, although I'd expect it'd only be discussed in TOS), or was this just ignored as at the next episode?
asked Apr 7, 2014 at 10:07
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The warp page on memory alpha said that the enterprise-a could travel up to warp 12 after their refit– ValorumCommented Apr 7, 2014 at 11:22
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1This is all of course before a strictly-enforced Warp 10 limit was put in place...clearly they were using a different Warp Scale in Kirk's era.– ZibbobzCommented Apr 7, 2014 at 18:40
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1@Zibbobz Yep– IzkataCommented Apr 8, 2014 at 2:03
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Do you care about the trek books because the "corp of engineers" series has several bits about the Kelvan modifications.– ValorumCommented Apr 11, 2014 at 23:03
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2 Answers
They were forgotten by the next episode and never mentioned again. I would assume that the in-universe explanation would be that the Kelvans took them out again at the end of the episode, which would explain the lack of reference to them in the future, but this is just conjecture. TOS had very poor continuity.
answered Apr 8, 2014 at 2:00
OFFICIALLY: No record of what was done with the Kelvan technology is ever made. But I doubt the technology was lost. More than likely what could be salvaged was taken for study by Federation scientists.
A bold statement but one confirmed by an episode of ST:TNG called "Where No One Has Gone Before"
In Memory Alpha's Continuity reference to "A Rose by Any Other Name"
Kirk mentions that an intergalactic voyage by a 23rd century starship would take "thousands of years" to reach the Andromeda Galaxy. For the Kelvans, intergalactic travel is a three-century journey.
In the 24th century, as seen in TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before", Federation technology has apparently matched the Kelvans, perhaps due to this encounter, when it is discussed that a return trip to the Milky Way from the Triangulum Galaxy would take three hundred years at maximum warp.
answered Apr 9, 2014 at 15:07
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The interesting thing about that is that the Triangulum Galaxy is further away than Andromeda. Still, this need not be due to Kelvan technology. I would also assume that if the Enterprise had been fitted with Kelvan technology, the ship would have been taken by Star Fleet for study, not allowed to continue its five-year mission. Three hundred years at maximum warp also contradicts the length of time Voyager would take to return to Earth. It seems to be another case of poor continuity among Trek writers. Perhaps it could be explained by wormholes on the voyage from Triangulum. Commented Apr 10, 2014 at 5:29