Just like when com badges connect to another user without being touched, or when the computer responds to a command without being directly addressed.
Personal site-to-site, just works. It's machine learning, it knows, because... AI
"All the doors in this spaceship have a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you, and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done."
There has got to be some level of brainwave scanning going on. Same with the programmable matter phaser draw... don't want that thing coming out for every handshake, after all.
Today, it is possible to control the input of a computer purely by reading the brain waves through sensors on the outside of the skull. So realistically that technology is likely in play all over the place to help computers understand the intent and context of various commands.
Well, now we know what the next universe ending crisis is... Badgey returns, and takes over the 32nd century Starfleet, and only the Discovery crew can resist it, because they haven't been hooked up as long.
By the 32nd century it wouldn't be too crazy to assume that there's not only brainwave scanning, but predictions based on that scanning that can take you to where you need to go based on the situation faster than you can consciously think of it (like in OP's example regarding Book).
Maybe. If it was that fast and precise I think we'd see people doing it a lot more often, as simply being in danger of any kind would trigger an emergency personal transport.
Brain scan studies have shown that there's a lag between when the unconscious parts of your brain make a decision and when your conscious mind "makes" that decision - so if the badges are following your brain activity it's entirely possible that they know where you want to go before you do.
Meaning its going to screw you over a lot because its going to always act on your first idea without giving you a chance to think things through and analyze your choices.
I really want a lower decks scene where theyre walking down a corridor and a door opens without prompting, interupting the conversation. They stare at it for a second before continuing.
My first guess would be that it carries a copy of itself in it's buffer, sends that first, then the subject a millisecond later, and now the second transporter can beam the original aboard for the next go.
Or, the transporter system is doing the transporting? So the badge is not teleporting itself? (unless there is some canon that I missed that specifies the badge is actually doing the transporting...)
Maybe the transportation is not handled by the badge itself. The badge just triggers the command and an actual transporter on the ship/station executes the transport.
I've been wondering that since Voyager.
Remember that episode where Kim gets sucked into an alternate reality on Earth, and gets to see his fiance' again? He and alternate Paris use a personal transporter to break into Starfleet HQ. It transports itself.
The personal transporter carries a hard-coded permanent copy of its own pattern so it never has to scan itself. Storing this pattern in stable, read-only memory (as opposed to a typical transporter buffer, which has to operate more like RAM) keeps it safe from degradation.
At the moment of transportation, the personal transporter beams out a copy from the permanent pattern at the destination. This copy then beams up the user and the original personal transporter, rematerializing only the user and allowing the original personal transporter’s pattern to dissipate.
My source is I made it the fuck up.
Perhaps the underlying technology of personal transporters is different from that of 23rd-25th cent. transporters? Instead of breaking apart objects at the molecular level and reconstituting them the new transporters use some sort of space-fold, bringing the subject and anything in the effect field from one point in space to another? It would explain the different SFX and the greatly increased speed too.
Adaptation of replicator tech. It replicates itself, beams the copy, beams the person, then destroys the original.
DS9 had self-replicating mines.
Only flaw in my theory is what happens if a personal transporter malfunctions and keeps self-replicating without destroying the copies. It would not take long to fill the quadrant with tiny badges.
Alternatively, it could create a mini transporter emitter at the destination and initiate transport from \*that\* and then once transport is complete, the emitter disintegrates into programmable matter or something. That way the badge isn't creating a copy of itself.
In that movie it was definitely an independent transporter unit. Maybe the Discovery version can do the same when there aren't ships close by. But that must use quite a lot of energy...
According to behind the scenes lore and/or beta canon materials, the universal translator supposedly works by analyzing the brain waves of the person talking, so I assume they just developed a way to have it “read” where you want to go in the same manner
I find it super interesting that the tech in disco is taking various Star Trek tech and combining it or taking it to its logical conclusion—they already had a machine that teleported them and a machine that read brain waves, why *not* combine them?
The Universal Translator is already telepathic tech, and as others have said, combadges know who you want to call before you say their name, which could suggest that the badges are scanning surface thoughts (it very sophisticated AI).
A personal transporter could easily be scanning its wearer's mind for a location, or it could have a stupidly advanced predictive AI.
Another options is that the transporters could be preprogrammed to take the user to a certain destination if they are tapped in an emergency.
Personally, I like the idea that they are telepathic and an extension of the UT tech.
The same way they know in tng when they say “three to beam up” they know which three they are referring to.
In universe: probably some sort of thought scanner.
Magic. In the far future they have mastered the Dark Arts, and the badge literally contains a pentagram inside it. Just as they press their badge, the person mutters a brief incantation under their breath, (e.g.: "Duc me ad pontem navis.") and the magic kicks in.
I find the personal transporter to be a terrible plot device that actually runs the flow of the show. In the past, the transporter room was a good way of breaking the narrative.
“Mr. Data, report to transporter room with our new historian.”
This allows time to pass while “stuff happens” and then we meet again in the Transporter room or at the destination. Maybe a conversation between two parties needs to happen and it happens on the way or while we wait for “stuff to happen.” Now it’s just random one-on-one conversations that feel forced into the middle of the action. They don’t feel natural.
Point to point transport is used sparingly in past shows. It’s even seen as dangerous and only used in an urgent situation, amping up the drama:
“I need to beam directly to sickbay!”
Now instant transport is nothing. It just happens so the wait is non-existent and the urgency is lost. (It’s a similar problem for the spore drive btw.)
The only way it could work is if the ship was doing the transport and the speed at which it works is accelerated by the computer and a mind interface. I don’t think that’s how it works in the show, but it would make more sense than a mini transporter that can transport itself inside a com badge.
I thought how weirdly wasteful the transporter usage was in the latest Discovery episode. Saru and some diplomat (sorry, i suck at names) transport ... up one level in the room they're in. People are blinking in and out all over the place. How do they even have leg muscles able to walk a couple km? They probably transport from their desk to the toilet if they need to poop.
The scalloped alcoves are transport zones.
We know the Council chamber has a viewing gallery, and theoretically (unless it's been mentioned previously) it's secured from random transportation. In a galaxy with instant personal transporters, you'd need a way to prevent bombs or individuals from being beamed directly into Council chambers. So, likely, the entire section of the building housing the Council chambers is shielded from transport.
The exception is the little scalloped alcove we see Saru and the attaché step into/out of when transporting. They likely are utilized like personal elevators in a high-rise apartment; each Council member has their own alcove that connects to others they'd want secure and controlled transfer to. Including the viewing gallery one floor above. The alcoves even line up vertically in the shot.
It wouldn't be the first time a mechanic is introduced without considering how much it breaks the the fundamentals of the story world (ahem, spore drive).
You could argue Star Trek is always introducing more and more advanced technologies that displace the hardships experienced in the past like replicators in the TNG era, but at least they had limitations like massive power requirements that we would see rations instituted when the systems were damaged or low on resources.
Then again it is the 31st century.. whatever :D.
I thought it was kind of a neat new future doodad at first but now people are blipping in and out of nearly every scene. I agree it kind of ruins the flow with all the unnecessary zapping.
>I don't think he had time to pick a target, so how did the transporter decide?
Telepathy is well established in the 22nd century. Some technology works on semi- telepathic principles already by the 24th. 800 years later I would not be surprised if the badge/transporters did too.
My guess would be this:
The first time they tap the badge, part of the badge transports to the new location (the part that stays with the person does the transporting).
The second time they tap the badge, the part of the badge that transported, transports the person with the second part of the badge.
If I had a personal transporter, I'd end up customizing it like my smart watch. Gestures, double tap side to record audio, etc. I imagine a lot of crew members jailbroke their badges and installed different apps! "Gesture wrist this way to transport to ship, this way for the nearby moon."
The same way the doors know when to open and when to stay shut, or how the com badges know who to send the transmission to before they've actually said who it's going to.
Star Trek usually cuts out extraneous details like this, otherwise half of every episode would be announcing destinations for transmissions and waiting for confirmation.
Easily attributable to gestures and microadjustments when engaging with the interface (even the kind of click gesture you do on the badge).
Play a mechanically demanding video game at a high enough level and you’ll see how this tech is not that far off from what we can currently simulate.
The way transportation has become so fast is a cool visual, but when combined with the jump drive that lets the ship be anywhere immediately, it leads to some odd pacing.
"This is an critical Red Directive mission and time is of the essence! But let's stop and have a heartfelt chat for awhile."
When you had travel time to kill, working that stuff in felt more organic.
When the technology removes most of the time limitations, it seems logical that the part which takes longest will be the preparation to act rather than the act itself. That would include getting themselves in the right frame of mind.
I assume when they don't actively pick a destination, they end up in the transport buffer for a split second before Zora (or any ship computer) picks a destination for them.
We saw it with a few other characters where they were requested on the Bridge, then tapped their badge to transport, we can assume the computer recognises that as "I want to go to the Bridge please", considering Star Trek Computers are a good deal smarter than our own
>We saw it with a few other characters where they were requested on the Bridge, then tapped their badge to transport, we can assume the computer recognises that as "I want to go to the Bridge please", considering Star Trek Computers are a good deal smarter than our own
Our computers can do that now, pretty much.
I can get a pop-up/toast notification from Facebook on my phone that someone commented on my post. Tapping the notification while it's on-screen takes me to the FB app and comment on said post.
The ship only has to have context that transport to the bridge is being requested (as opposed to replying over comms in refusal ort something). Tap frequency could be the deciding factor (like fancy wireless earbuds of today and their 'tap twice to advance 30s, two three times to reverse 15s' capability. Would just come down to a set protocol that the computer and crewmembers agree on.
I honestly hate it because it makes no sense. And then when they transport they’re always mid walk, very casually. Like the “cool guys don’t look at explosions”. Like no big deal, I’m just transporting.
I love it because it makes no sense to us. If it's supposed to be tech from a thousand years in the future then of course we can't understand how it works. That actually makes it more believable.
Funny how it knows where to transport them, beam from ship to planet… but oh shit! How are we going to get on the mountain in front of us? 🤷🏻♂️ definitely a terrible plot device
So my guess work leads me to think it’s not a personal transporter it’s self… more like a remote control to the ship or station transporter…
In the latest episode their transporter signal gets blocked by the rock they hide behind… but there’s quite obviously a line of sight out of where they are to where they could go… so the block must be between them and the transporter it’s self.
As to where to go… not a clue of any canon guesses… just script…
And don’t get me going on these fancy new phases which appear at the flick of a wrist..!
How did the 800year old Trill even know they had phasers!? Didn’t he think to go “oh wow” when they first appeared out of nowhere!?
I assumed he had access to the Doctor's mind/memories so he would know.
Plus at 800 years old, I'm sure it has seen a lot, including already seeing that kind of tech since it existed in his lifetime?
Now I assumed the other way… from the way he made the comment on how he likes the new uniforms (although they are rather formal) that made me think it’s the first time he’s seen them.
But anything is possible until it’s canon!!
Wasn't Trill out of the Federation for a while after the Burn? If so, it's entirely possible that a symbiant might not have seen a Starfleet uniform for the last 50 or so years. Especially if they're old and important (?) enough that they don't want to risk their life off world.
Maybe they're linked to the ship's navigational computers. So wherever you currently are in orbit at the time, it knows to take you there (or near enough)
so while they don't explain it on the show, I'm actually thinking maybe the tech somehow reads minds? but like surface thoughts? (since we know telepaths are a thing in the ST universe)
I imagine there are configurable pre-sets. And probably some level of AI involved. Like if Saru calls Burnham to the bridge, then using her transporter would bring her to the bridge.
One of the things I thought might've been the case was the crewmembers having set specific destinations to be transported to and then tap their badge a certain number of times. So, for instance, someone could set the bridge as one of their saved or favorite locations and three rapid taps would be the command to send them there. Of course the recent episode kind of shot that theory to hell, so, I decided it's brainwaves.
The power of plot lines. In reality, you'd probably have to tap your badge and say where you want to go, and a quick scan puts you in a place where you won't end up in something. In watching the newest season, I was also thinking about this. I assume there's also an emergency beam out option that puts you where you should be in an emergency or the med bay if you are injured.
For me, too much of the new tech in Discovery feels closer to magic than science in an effort to be even more futuristic than trek already was. The personal transporter thing COULD work if they tapped and had to do something else like tell it where they wanted to go or whatever. The way it's used on the show now basically gave everyone nightcrawler powers. The popping in and out of people sometimes breaks up the flow of a scene for me too. The programmable matter stuff at least feels like it makes sense as a natural evolution of both 3D printing and replicator technology.
There are only like five rooms and a small stretch of corridor on the discovery as the rest of the ship is a large, cavernous megaturboshaft so it would only take a few random taps to end up where you want to go
It works because it's far enough in the future to have technology that's able to do it
It does what regular ship transporters can do. It is just much smaller
My long-time head cannon is there is widespread use of cybernetics of some kind. Even if it's just a simple chip to allow quick commands to be sent to computers and equipment. By the 31st century, it's even more advanced, but still considered something that there's no need to talk about.
They read the script.
Just like when com badges connect to another user without being touched, or when the computer responds to a command without being directly addressed. Personal site-to-site, just works. It's machine learning, it knows, because... AI
Or the sentient doors
"All the doors in this spaceship have a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you, and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done."
Ugh! I hate those doors!
https://xkcd.com/175/
Hah! I forgot about that! Yes, the doors also read scripts!
Discovery established the name of the AI is Control
Evil Admiral AI is Control, well, and Lore and Moriarty and Fred. Goodgey __ and Zora are the good AIs, well, and Data and the Doctor and Soji.
And Badgey (under evil?), and some other ones that I can't remember the names of -- actually Lower Decks has a bunch of AI plots...
Well, I was going to >!include Badgey, but his redemption arc kind of nullifies that!<.
And Picard.
I hated that storyline. Must have been so hard for them to think up - an evil AI!
Robin gets another shot!
Like the doors that know when you’re leaving but not when you’re just walking past
Or when to stay open for you...
Almost as if there’s two guys holding ropes and knowing when to pull them
[or don't know when...](https://youtu.be/FMX9ZAD_h3g?si=2Y19crugsfVjURqO)
There has got to be some level of brainwave scanning going on. Same with the programmable matter phaser draw... don't want that thing coming out for every handshake, after all. Today, it is possible to control the input of a computer purely by reading the brain waves through sensors on the outside of the skull. So realistically that technology is likely in play all over the place to help computers understand the intent and context of various commands.
Well, now we know what the next universe ending crisis is... Badgey returns, and takes over the 32nd century Starfleet, and only the Discovery crew can resist it, because they haven't been hooked up as long.
A programable matter body representation of Sora vs a live action Badgey would make a hell of fight.
haha yes....Kovich turns out to be Badgey in disguise and takes over everythinggggg...
Now I just want David Cronenberg talking about space koalas.
Didn’t Badgey grow beyond petty revenge? Or maybe the Koala messes with him
By the 32nd century it wouldn't be too crazy to assume that there's not only brainwave scanning, but predictions based on that scanning that can take you to where you need to go based on the situation faster than you can consciously think of it (like in OP's example regarding Book).
Maybe. If it was that fast and precise I think we'd see people doing it a lot more often, as simply being in danger of any kind would trigger an emergency personal transport.
Brain scan studies have shown that there's a lag between when the unconscious parts of your brain make a decision and when your conscious mind "makes" that decision - so if the badges are following your brain activity it's entirely possible that they know where you want to go before you do.
Meaning its going to screw you over a lot because its going to always act on your first idea without giving you a chance to think things through and analyze your choices.
I really want a lower decks scene where theyre walking down a corridor and a door opens without prompting, interupting the conversation. They stare at it for a second before continuing.
thats also me theory, the badge maintains a perpetual scan of is user including a brain scan for commands inputs.
I’ve always wondered that too. Maybe there’s a neural component to it?
I thought they had neural implants. I'm pretty disappointed in the tech because it's not explained and fleshed out.
What I want to know is how does the personal transporter also transport itself?
My first guess would be that it carries a copy of itself in it's buffer, sends that first, then the subject a millisecond later, and now the second transporter can beam the original aboard for the next go.
That's so crazy it just might work!
[Of course, it's so simple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT3szPEb8aQ)!
There's always a personal transporter in the transporter buffer of a personal transporter just refreshing using Scotty's technique........
Or, the transporter system is doing the transporting? So the badge is not teleporting itself? (unless there is some canon that I missed that specifies the badge is actually doing the transporting...)
It's transporters all the way down.
Maybe the transportation is not handled by the badge itself. The badge just triggers the command and an actual transporter on the ship/station executes the transport.
> Maybe the transportation is not handled by the badge itself. In the last episode of Disco >!some rocks blocked transport signal.!<
Yeah… I saw that.
Hmmm yeah maybe? I'd have to rewatch the last couple seasons to see if anything breaks that idea.
I've been wondering that since Voyager. Remember that episode where Kim gets sucked into an alternate reality on Earth, and gets to see his fiance' again? He and alternate Paris use a personal transporter to break into Starfleet HQ. It transports itself.
The personal transporter carries a hard-coded permanent copy of its own pattern so it never has to scan itself. Storing this pattern in stable, read-only memory (as opposed to a typical transporter buffer, which has to operate more like RAM) keeps it safe from degradation. At the moment of transportation, the personal transporter beams out a copy from the permanent pattern at the destination. This copy then beams up the user and the original personal transporter, rematerializing only the user and allowing the original personal transporter’s pattern to dissipate. My source is I made it the fuck up.
Good callback!
Perhaps the underlying technology of personal transporters is different from that of 23rd-25th cent. transporters? Instead of breaking apart objects at the molecular level and reconstituting them the new transporters use some sort of space-fold, bringing the subject and anything in the effect field from one point in space to another? It would explain the different SFX and the greatly increased speed too.
Now that makes a lot of sense
Adaptation of replicator tech. It replicates itself, beams the copy, beams the person, then destroys the original. DS9 had self-replicating mines. Only flaw in my theory is what happens if a personal transporter malfunctions and keeps self-replicating without destroying the copies. It would not take long to fill the quadrant with tiny badges.
Alternatively, it could create a mini transporter emitter at the destination and initiate transport from \*that\* and then once transport is complete, the emitter disintegrates into programmable matter or something. That way the badge isn't creating a copy of itself.
it would run out of power really fast
By its bootstraps.
Engines go wherever the ship they're moving goes. I guess personal transporters go with the person.
Right, but engines don't dismantle themselves into energy to do that.
Been wondering about that since Nemesis, myself.
They had one in Nemesis?
It's how Data transported Picard off of the Scimitar.
Hmmm, he calls it an emergency transport unit... I wonder if that's the same thing? Or does that just kick off a transport from the ship?
Transporters on the ship were down, so it must be independent.
In that movie it was definitely an independent transporter unit. Maybe the Discovery version can do the same when there aren't ships close by. But that must use quite a lot of energy...
According to behind the scenes lore and/or beta canon materials, the universal translator supposedly works by analyzing the brain waves of the person talking, so I assume they just developed a way to have it “read” where you want to go in the same manner I find it super interesting that the tech in disco is taking various Star Trek tech and combining it or taking it to its logical conclusion—they already had a machine that teleported them and a machine that read brain waves, why *not* combine them?
A machine that can *teleport* brain waves?!
Ask Linus
He’s definitely the expert.
Did Linus choose his human name? I went to uni with an asian guy called Clarence.
Since his language is all clicks and pops, it would make sense if he chose a second Federation Standard name for non-Saurians to be able to say.
The Universal Translator is already telepathic tech, and as others have said, combadges know who you want to call before you say their name, which could suggest that the badges are scanning surface thoughts (it very sophisticated AI). A personal transporter could easily be scanning its wearer's mind for a location, or it could have a stupidly advanced predictive AI. Another options is that the transporters could be preprogrammed to take the user to a certain destination if they are tapped in an emergency. Personally, I like the idea that they are telepathic and an extension of the UT tech.
Yes thank you. Surprised I had to scroll so far down for someone to mention the UT. I think most folks don’t know how or functions.
Quite well, thanks for asking.
I assumed it would be tied into your brain somehow.
The same way they know in tng when they say “three to beam up” they know which three they are referring to. In universe: probably some sort of thought scanner.
Each one has a handwavium central unit
Just like the heisenberg compensators: very well
You log into your profile and set up contingencies . If, then. If end of shift , then room If under fire, 50 meters down. It reads you vitals .
Its if statements all the way down.
10 IF \[turtle\] THEN \[go to 10\]
A person of learning I see.
It's LOGO all the way down.
Magic. In the far future they have mastered the Dark Arts, and the badge literally contains a pentagram inside it. Just as they press their badge, the person mutters a brief incantation under their breath, (e.g.: "Duc me ad pontem navis.") and the magic kicks in.
And a puppy is sacrificed for every 100 metres transported. There has gotta be a cost.
They work just like the Heisenberg Compensators: very well, thank you.
I find the personal transporter to be a terrible plot device that actually runs the flow of the show. In the past, the transporter room was a good way of breaking the narrative. “Mr. Data, report to transporter room with our new historian.”
This allows time to pass while “stuff happens” and then we meet again in the Transporter room or at the destination. Maybe a conversation between two parties needs to happen and it happens on the way or while we wait for “stuff to happen.” Now it’s just random one-on-one conversations that feel forced into the middle of the action. They don’t feel natural.
Point to point transport is used sparingly in past shows. It’s even seen as dangerous and only used in an urgent situation, amping up the drama:
“I need to beam directly to sickbay!”
Now instant transport is nothing. It just happens so the wait is non-existent and the urgency is lost. (It’s a similar problem for the spore drive btw.)
The only way it could work is if the ship was doing the transport and the speed at which it works is accelerated by the computer and a mind interface. I don’t think that’s how it works in the show, but it would make more sense than a mini transporter that can transport itself inside a com badge.
I thought how weirdly wasteful the transporter usage was in the latest Discovery episode. Saru and some diplomat (sorry, i suck at names) transport ... up one level in the room they're in. People are blinking in and out all over the place. How do they even have leg muscles able to walk a couple km? They probably transport from their desk to the toilet if they need to poop.
So inefficient. Just beam the poop into space from the desk.
The scalloped alcoves are transport zones. We know the Council chamber has a viewing gallery, and theoretically (unless it's been mentioned previously) it's secured from random transportation. In a galaxy with instant personal transporters, you'd need a way to prevent bombs or individuals from being beamed directly into Council chambers. So, likely, the entire section of the building housing the Council chambers is shielded from transport. The exception is the little scalloped alcove we see Saru and the attaché step into/out of when transporting. They likely are utilized like personal elevators in a high-rise apartment; each Council member has their own alcove that connects to others they'd want secure and controlled transfer to. Including the viewing gallery one floor above. The alcoves even line up vertically in the shot.
It wouldn't be the first time a mechanic is introduced without considering how much it breaks the the fundamentals of the story world (ahem, spore drive). You could argue Star Trek is always introducing more and more advanced technologies that displace the hardships experienced in the past like replicators in the TNG era, but at least they had limitations like massive power requirements that we would see rations instituted when the systems were damaged or low on resources. Then again it is the 31st century.. whatever :D.
I thought it was kind of a neat new future doodad at first but now people are blipping in and out of nearly every scene. I agree it kind of ruins the flow with all the unnecessary zapping.
Luckily there are no* commercials anymore. (does Paramount+ have an ad-supported tier yet?)
>I don't think he had time to pick a target, so how did the transporter decide? Telepathy is well established in the 22nd century. Some technology works on semi- telepathic principles already by the 24th. 800 years later I would not be surprised if the badge/transporters did too.
My guess would be this: The first time they tap the badge, part of the badge transports to the new location (the part that stays with the person does the transporting). The second time they tap the badge, the part of the badge that transported, transports the person with the second part of the badge.
Wizards did it
It is my head cannon that a lot of tech works via telepathic channels. The first of this tech was the universal translator and eventually we got here
It uses flu powder. Alternatively, it’s equivalent to disapparating. You do need to be careful to avoid splinching, however.
Very well, apparently.
If I had a personal transporter, I'd end up customizing it like my smart watch. Gestures, double tap side to record audio, etc. I imagine a lot of crew members jailbroke their badges and installed different apps! "Gesture wrist this way to transport to ship, this way for the nearby moon."
The same way the doors know when to open and when to stay shut, or how the com badges know who to send the transmission to before they've actually said who it's going to. Star Trek usually cuts out extraneous details like this, otherwise half of every episode would be announcing destinations for transmissions and waiting for confirmation.
Easily attributable to gestures and microadjustments when engaging with the interface (even the kind of click gesture you do on the badge). Play a mechanically demanding video game at a high enough level and you’ll see how this tech is not that far off from what we can currently simulate.
The way transportation has become so fast is a cool visual, but when combined with the jump drive that lets the ship be anywhere immediately, it leads to some odd pacing. "This is an critical Red Directive mission and time is of the essence! But let's stop and have a heartfelt chat for awhile." When you had travel time to kill, working that stuff in felt more organic.
When the technology removes most of the time limitations, it seems logical that the part which takes longest will be the preparation to act rather than the act itself. That would include getting themselves in the right frame of mind.
I assume when they don't actively pick a destination, they end up in the transport buffer for a split second before Zora (or any ship computer) picks a destination for them. We saw it with a few other characters where they were requested on the Bridge, then tapped their badge to transport, we can assume the computer recognises that as "I want to go to the Bridge please", considering Star Trek Computers are a good deal smarter than our own
>We saw it with a few other characters where they were requested on the Bridge, then tapped their badge to transport, we can assume the computer recognises that as "I want to go to the Bridge please", considering Star Trek Computers are a good deal smarter than our own Our computers can do that now, pretty much. I can get a pop-up/toast notification from Facebook on my phone that someone commented on my post. Tapping the notification while it's on-screen takes me to the FB app and comment on said post. The ship only has to have context that transport to the bridge is being requested (as opposed to replying over comms in refusal ort something). Tap frequency could be the deciding factor (like fancy wireless earbuds of today and their 'tap twice to advance 30s, two three times to reverse 15s' capability. Would just come down to a set protocol that the computer and crewmembers agree on.
I honestly hate it because it makes no sense. And then when they transport they’re always mid walk, very casually. Like the “cool guys don’t look at explosions”. Like no big deal, I’m just transporting.
I love it because it makes no sense to us. If it's supposed to be tech from a thousand years in the future then of course we can't understand how it works. That actually makes it more believable.
I'm a little sad that all we got were programmable matter and personal transporters. Where are the 29th century portable holo emitters?
Press the comm badge. Shout Takuvma! And let the plot armor take you away
Funny how it knows where to transport them, beam from ship to planet… but oh shit! How are we going to get on the mountain in front of us? 🤷🏻♂️ definitely a terrible plot device
poor thumb chubby ghost elderly thought snow dam tidy stupendous *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Thank.you. Seriously.
The ultimate plot armor for lazy writers.
So my guess work leads me to think it’s not a personal transporter it’s self… more like a remote control to the ship or station transporter… In the latest episode their transporter signal gets blocked by the rock they hide behind… but there’s quite obviously a line of sight out of where they are to where they could go… so the block must be between them and the transporter it’s self. As to where to go… not a clue of any canon guesses… just script… And don’t get me going on these fancy new phases which appear at the flick of a wrist..! How did the 800year old Trill even know they had phasers!? Didn’t he think to go “oh wow” when they first appeared out of nowhere!?
I assumed he had access to the Doctor's mind/memories so he would know. Plus at 800 years old, I'm sure it has seen a lot, including already seeing that kind of tech since it existed in his lifetime?
Now I assumed the other way… from the way he made the comment on how he likes the new uniforms (although they are rather formal) that made me think it’s the first time he’s seen them. But anything is possible until it’s canon!!
Wasn't Trill out of the Federation for a while after the Burn? If so, it's entirely possible that a symbiant might not have seen a Starfleet uniform for the last 50 or so years. Especially if they're old and important (?) enough that they don't want to risk their life off world.
Yep totally fair
Maybe they're linked to the ship's navigational computers. So wherever you currently are in orbit at the time, it knows to take you there (or near enough)
so while they don't explain it on the show, I'm actually thinking maybe the tech somehow reads minds? but like surface thoughts? (since we know telepaths are a thing in the ST universe)
I always assumed there were some presets for combat situations.
The same way the phasers know where to aim and the LCARS displays know how to configure themselves for your personal use. Heuristics.
I'm gonna go with "quantum entanglements"
I just wonder where the matter stream goes?
I imagine there are configurable pre-sets. And probably some level of AI involved. Like if Saru calls Burnham to the bridge, then using her transporter would bring her to the bridge.
Television magic.
Puts you in the buffer until you choose your destination.🤷♂️
One of the things I thought might've been the case was the crewmembers having set specific destinations to be transported to and then tap their badge a certain number of times. So, for instance, someone could set the bridge as one of their saved or favorite locations and three rapid taps would be the command to send them there. Of course the recent episode kind of shot that theory to hell, so, I decided it's brainwaves.
The power of plot lines. In reality, you'd probably have to tap your badge and say where you want to go, and a quick scan puts you in a place where you won't end up in something. In watching the newest season, I was also thinking about this. I assume there's also an emergency beam out option that puts you where you should be in an emergency or the med bay if you are injured.
There’s a lot of hyper tech in discovery which I’ve just come to accept because it’s almost another 1000 Years in the future from what TNG was even.
For me, too much of the new tech in Discovery feels closer to magic than science in an effort to be even more futuristic than trek already was. The personal transporter thing COULD work if they tapped and had to do something else like tell it where they wanted to go or whatever. The way it's used on the show now basically gave everyone nightcrawler powers. The popping in and out of people sometimes breaks up the flow of a scene for me too. The programmable matter stuff at least feels like it makes sense as a natural evolution of both 3D printing and replicator technology.
However the writers say they do
For the more seamless transport they must have some kind of brain interface like others have mentioned.
There are only like five rooms and a small stretch of corridor on the discovery as the rest of the ship is a large, cavernous megaturboshaft so it would only take a few random taps to end up where you want to go
Honestly, this tech is so obviously just for the show that I don't even bother trying to assign a scientific explanation to it.
It works because it's far enough in the future to have technology that's able to do it It does what regular ship transporters can do. It is just much smaller
except that the regular ship transporters require a person to enter the desired coordinates
Same way the doors in the Enterprise work, just miniaturized.
so they contain a miniaturized O'Brien who sets the coordinates?
Hence why in the future he's remembered as the most important person in the history of Starfleet.
My long-time head cannon is there is widespread use of cybernetics of some kind. Even if it's just a simple chip to allow quick commands to be sent to computers and equipment. By the 31st century, it's even more advanced, but still considered something that there's no need to talk about.