Well, they did come across a species that looks like the puppet in Lower Decks' The Inner Fight.
Did the First Federation actually exist, or did Balok make it up?
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Well, they did come across a species that looks like the puppet in Lower Decks' The Inner Fight.
I didn't say that.
From the dialogue it sounded like the Fesarius was controlled by Balok's smaller ship and was described as a "complex". In that context it would seem that the Fesarius is composed of a bunch of Balok's ships or systems like his ship so probably not an empty shell, IMHO.
BALOK: I have no crew, Doctor. I run everything, this entire complex, from this small ship. But I miss company, conversation. Even an alien would be welcome. Perhaps one of your men for some period of time. An exchange of information, cultures.
...
BALOK: (laughs) I see. We think much alike, Captain, you and I. Now, before I bring back the Fesarius, let me show you my vessel. It is not often I have this pleasure. Yes, we're very much alike, Captain. Both proud of our ships.
Perhaps he's the pilot of a sleeper ship.
I don't think Balok was referring to multiple ships of his here. I think he was referring to his small ship and Kirk's Enterprise.
BALOK: I have no crew, Doctor. I run everything, this entire complex, from this small ship. But I miss company, conversation. Even an alien would be welcome. Perhaps one of your men for some period of time. An exchange of information, cultures.
...
BALOK: (laughs) I see. We think much alike, Captain, you and I. Now, before I bring back the Fesarius, let me show you my vessel. It is not often I have this pleasure. Yes, we're very much alike, Captain. Both proud of our ships.
Hmm... Balok describes running "everything, this entire complex, from this small ship." Kirk and Balok is on the "small ship" which we can exclude. So that leaves the "everything, this entire complex" to account for.
Since Balok's "vessel/small ship" resembles the other components that are seen on the surface of the Fesarius and one of the definitions of a "complex" is "a group of similar buildings or facilities on the same site" we could understand that the "complex" is the Fesarius which has a group of similar small ships formed together in a sphere.
On the other hand, Balok later says he'll bring the Fesarius back so we could instead interpret that the Fesarius is a separate complex and not "this complex" that Balok's "vessel/small ship" controls in the immediate vicinity that excludes the Fesarius. Even though the Fesarius is a separate "complex" it would still be under "everything" that Balok runs.
YMMV.
When I first saw the episode, I thought the First Federation was a sham. After all, everything else Balok said before coming clean was a sham. When there were later references to it as an actual thing, I shrugged and went along with them, but it's never quite been satisfying to me. Within the context of the episode, Balok's all alone and desperate for anyone to talk to. If his tech surpasses Starfleet, he should at least be able to hop on subspace. And within Star Trek as a whole, the First Federation's been a complete non-entity.
Let's not over-think it. "Corbomite" is a simple episode. Balok welcomes company because he is obviously a gregarious sort. He is not "lonely" because his entire race is dead. "But we have only his word about the First Federation." And we have only Kirk and company's word about their Federation. To use Krako's argument, "I only saw three guys in that ship. Maybe there ain't no more!" The audience never saw anyone else. A Trek novel addressing the First Federation may not be canon, but then fan forum speculations are not canon, either. We must take some things at face value.
And I don't think we need to put "First" under a microscope, either. Many civilizations have a name for themselves that, when translated, means "The People."
The episode is about fear of the unknown, and stereotypes. Balok used the Fesarius and his puppet to test the response to "overwhelming," and then flipped it around by looking small and helpless. It is evident that Balok had the technological upper hand the whole time. He admitted the distress signal was a ploy, and that he could recall the Fesarius.
My impression was that the First Federation knew about the UFP all along, and took this opportunity to make a first contact. The Metron in "Arena" looked child-like, too, but it is the humans that behave like children.
And I don't think we need to put "First" under a microscope, either. Many civilizations have a name for themselves that, when translated, means "The People."
The episode is about fear of the unknown, and stereotypes. Balok used the Fesarius and his puppet to test the response to "overwhelming," and then flipped it around by looking small and helpless. It is evident that Balok had the technological upper hand the whole time. He admitted the distress signal was a ploy, and that he could recall the Fesarius.
My impression was that the First Federation knew about the UFP all along, and took this opportunity to make a first contact. The Metron in "Arena" looked child-like, too, but it is the humans that behave like children.
In some ways, a big high-volume sphere might be easier to build:
Giant one kilometer Space Bubble telescopes | NextBigFuture.com
Devin Crowe gave an update on the NASA NIAC study on one-kilometer space bubble telescopes.
www.nextbigfuture.com
Now this on the other hand:
I think each smaller set of spheres are ships like Balok’s carried about by the main sphere.
Agreed
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This. I've become beyond tired of these radical rethinks of every TOS episode that makes every character into a liar, an idiot, or both.
"Oh, well, Chekov REALLY had a brother Piotr, even though Sulu said he was an only child!"
"Oh, well, it's not REALLY a parallel universe in 'Mirror, Mirror'! That was just the Halkans TESTING the Enterprise crew to make sure they were as benevolent as they said!"
"Oh, there wasn't REALLY a First Federation! Balok was just lying about that the same way he lied about the other stuff earlier in the episode! He just didn't admit it when Bailey agreed to act as an ambassador to his people for... reasons."
Enough already. What's next? Was Ambassador Gav just playing dead in "Journey to Babel"? Was McCoy not really a doctor? Was Spock just an unusually committed Vulcan cosplayer?
Not every episode has to have a secret truth behind it.
Considering the limited time between the writer receiving notification of acceptance of a script treatment and the constant back and forth between Roddenberry, Coon and NBC Television legal staff and the pressure if your story was one of the first filmed that season or they needed a story _now_ because reasons, there wasn't much time for the writer or set designer to add a secret truth. The typewriters stayed hot and the rewrites went into a myriad of colours until the last scene filmed was done. I think seeing how much Harlan's script is different than the final one for TCotEoF would show how little power the writer had compared to Desilu and NBC's suits.
I think it was more Roddenberry than "the suits". A lot of the scripts went through rewrites by both Genes and DC. Welcome to TV production.
Ah, I got the impression that NBC's legal space canines had influence over scripts as far as things like costumes, exposed skin, gore/blood and such. They get mentioned in the Trek books about how the episodes/scripts were made and suchlike a lot.
Yes I think it existed. By the end of the episode Balok is pretty much friends with kirk and company. Theres no longer any reason for him to to lie. Also the first federation has been referenced in other star trek shows now. It existed at one point for sure. I really hope kurtzman never gets his hands on Balok or the Fesarius. I say leave that great story as it is. Theres no need to bring balok or any of his people back. Theyll just redesign and ruin the original concept.
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Well yeah, Standards and Practices cover things like drug use, nudity, blood and gore. But on the story level it was about making them work as television and Star Trek. And that was the job of the Genes and DC.
IMO, Balok didn't necessarily "make it up", but there is certainly some room to suggest that he did "big up" the First Federation as it were, as there doesn't seem to be much evidence of it being the significant force in galactic politics that such a vast spacecraft might suggest.
It was just a front for the Ferengi anyway.
Would that make Balok a descendant of Muk?
Muk
Muk was a Ferengi pirate who worked with Ulis in 2151. He and two other Ferengi assisted Ulis in pillaging Enterprise NX-01 after rendering its crew unconscious. After being awakened by Tucker, who was unaffected by the anesthetic used by the Ferengi, T'Pol was able to convince Muk that Ulis was...
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