Sharing of Technology

[Blackstar the Chakat]

It's possible that Seska based the interfaces for the transporter on Voyager's systems. She was on that ship for months, the Cardassian ability for recall is legendary and being a spy her's is sure to be exceptional, even for a Cardassian. In fact I think she was a transporter officer. I'm sure she'd plan ahead and make sure the new Kazon transporter systems were compatible with Voyager's equipment. It's like the docking hatch on subs. The docking collor on the DSRVs is capable of docking with the hatches on most subs because the work on the same principles. Seska may have designed the interface like that, similar enough that it could work on Voyager's systems. As for why she didn't memorize the transporter's programs because she wasn't planning on leaving, and would take millions maybe billions of lines of codes. I doubt even a Cardassian spy could memorize that much.

[Teaos]

The fact of the matter is this is the most likely solution even if it is a stretch. Sure they could have made it more believeable but they didnt so here we are.

Our way IS possible even if it is a stretch.

's hard to believe that the Kazon could have an exact replica of Voyager's transporters - it would have to have been adapted to fit the Kazon ships.

Why?

We have always said we think it would have come mostly from the Cardassian who knows all about fed transporters and knew it would have to be adaptable to the control unit. It wouldnt need to tie int with Kazon tech. It would be totally independent apart from the power which is universal.

[Mikey]

How are power systems universal? I couldn't even plug my toaster into a wall socket in Belgium, but we are to expect that a Federation starship and a backward Delta Quadrant species have identical systems? The mode of generation can vary; the mode of delivery can vary (Feds use EPS; why should we expect anyone else to?); the standard for levels, purity/lack of spikes, even the standard of measurement can vary.

Even when two RL humans talk to each other about electricity, many things need to be clarified. Are we talking about AC or DC? Is your concern with voltage, current, or power? In your circuit, are you figuring basic resistance, capacitance, or total impedance? When you discuss a number, is it peak or is it RMS?

Just the fact of the power systems alone make it incredible that Fed technology would work - unmodified(?) when plugged into the Kazon system.

[Teaos]

Things like the units of measure or the shape of the plug are trivial. The basic princibal of power is universal.

[Mikey]

How about delivery? Are you saying that the Fed control module, designed for EPS power feeds, is CREDIBLY able to run on G-d knows what from the Kazon ship WITHOUT modification? That's lunacy.

Carrots are sugary. They have lots of potential chemical energy. But they won't make my car go if I put them in my gas tank. This is analagous to what you're saying.

[Teaos]

We dont know what type of power generation the Kazon use but it appears to funtion the same way the federation tech does. It creates energy that is directed to the areas needed. They may need to throw it through some form of addaptor or the like but so long as they have enough energy to begin with converting it to the right type is easy.

[Blackstar the Chakat]

Seska probably created some sort of adaptor to allow the Kazon's power systems to run the federation transporter module. Since she would know the details of both having been an engineer on Voyager and spending a year or two working on creating a transporter for the Kazon. Compared to creating a transporter from scratch a power adaptor should be a piece of cake in comparison.

[Mikey]

But, as CPH mentioned, the module seemed to work on a plug-and-play basis.

[Duskofdead]

It goes beyond that: the Kazon simply plugged this box into their ship and started transporting things! It should require a complete refit of the ship to install a transporter.

Forgive me if I'm mistaken but wasn't Seska secretly working with the Kazon during all this time? She could have told them which components were essential to steal from Voyager and helped them jerry rig a crude, unstable transporter together from other components they already had available.

[Mikey]

Even a crude system would require specialized attachment to the power grid; specalized computer control; emitters and other hardware not included in the little box they stole; etc. Scotty or Geordi with a small staff could possibly pull it off; but a non-Fed, non-engineer surrounded by a bunch of technical morons like the Kazon is highly doubtful.

[mwhittington]

It is possible, like Tuvok did with various components to make a phaser in the episode Displaced. But I'm not sure Seska would get onto a transporter that was unstable, even if she built it herself. Crude, perhaps, but not unstable.

[Duskofdead]

Even a crude system would require specialized attachment to the power grid; specalized computer control; emitters and other hardware not included in the little box they stole; etc. Scotty or Geordi with a small staff could possibly pull it off; but a non-Fed, non-engineer surrounded by a bunch of technical morons like the Kazon is highly doubtful.

See I always saw Federation engineers as being a bit of perfectionists. Starfleet regulations seem to maintain a VERY high standard at all times. I mean there are hundreds of bits of dialogue where transporter operaters or engineers are mentioning about how they don't tolerate more than a .03 variance in the such-and-such.

In other words, it's always been my impression that Federation technology is "optimal" and highly safe and reliable compared to most other powers. The level of high standards maintained in the Federation are not "necessary" in order to use basic transporter (or other) technologies.

[Mikey]

That makes sense, Dusk; but being able to whip up a transporter - even one that is below Fed standard - out of basically thin air defies even VOY-type incredulity.

[Duskofdead]

That makes sense, Dusk; but being able to whip up a transporter - even one that is below Fed standard - out of basically thin air defies even VOY-type incredulity.

Well I do hate to upset the status quo here when it comes to Voyager bashing but I do have to point out that Voyager was not the only show to invent hard-to-take-credibly technoinventions out of thin air for plot purposes. In "Field of Fire", in DS9 for example, the Federation had a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny transporter unit that could be attached to the end of a gun to transport the bullet through walls right after it was fired. The thing could have easily fit in the palm of your hand with room to spare, with no bulky supporting hardware and what not. I am sure transporting a bullet is much simpler than transporting humanoid life forms, but a lot of that I am sure is the redundancy of safety procedures, pattern buffers, biofilters, all the various things to make absolutely sure you transport unharmed and even an elaborate system to make sure you don't bring any pathogens with you back onto the ship. Less safe and less reliable systems probably required far less supporting hardware and technical expertise, but might very well blow up on you or teleport half of you or malfunction and kill you or leak radiation... which is exactly what happened with the Kazon transporter when they tried to use it no?

[Teaos]

Even a crude system would require specialized attachment to the power grid; specalized computer control; emitters and other hardware not included in the little box they stole; etc. Scotty or Geordi with a small staff could possibly pull it off; but a non-Fed, non-engineer surrounded by a bunch of technical morons like the Kazon is highly doubtful.

The Kazon werent technically technological morons. They just had inferior technology that Voyager. If given the chance they could very well have quickly adapted it. After all Kazon technology was stolen off other species. Which would be based off other... which is based on other.

There is a reason all the ships we see have a similat technology structure. People tend to copy others. And if something works everyone does it.